Page 135 of The Vampire's Mercy
The thunder crashed, the wind throwing itself harder at the window.
I shouldn’t be here…
In an instant, my feet glued to the spot. Instinct was slamming on my brakes, forcing me to pause and take stock. Somewhere buried deep inside me, a tiny spark sent a message in rebuttal to my fear.
You should be here…
“Why do things have to be so weird?” I complained.
The spark sent the same message again.
After half a minute of pondering, Medusa mumbling about the wrongness of this damn room, I began to approach the door.
“What are you doing?” she hissed.
I steeled myself against my anxiety. “Getting answers. Otherwise, what was the point in coming here?”
If we did nothing, we remained in the dark.
“I’m going back,” Medusa said.
“But—”
“To bring Silvanus with me. He needs to be here.”
My breath caught in my throat. No. She couldn’t bring him here. Absolutely fucking not.
As if she’d heard my thoughts, she came at me with, “Spare me any whining. He deserves to be here. Never mind your mutual hatred. This is something for you both to witness.”
She clapped, opened the doorway, and off she popped. I didn’t try stopping her because I got the vibe she’d smash my teeth in if I did.
Silvanus. Here. Seeing him again after?—
I applied more steel on my emotions, focusing on the door.
Fuck this. I wasn’t waiting for King Prick.
Here we go…
I moved across the floorboards, my lightfeet not making a sound, my heart a gong in my chest. If I opened that door and some beast leaped out to tear my face off, I’d?—
Stop it!
“I’m not going down easily,” I fired off a warning at the door.
Mumble, mumble.
I tested the metal doorhandle. No shocks, no nasty kickbacks. Pushing it down, the door popped open, swinging toward me a little, a pale gray light spilling out. The unholy stink of death belched in my face, acrid and hot.
I gagged, moving back, my eyes watering.
Gross. Gross. Gross.
The mumbling came louder, but not clearer.
With a deep breath, I pinched my nose again and dragged the door open. Its hinges wailed as it revealed a recess filled with luminous gray mist swirling around a man cocooned in chains.
Whoa.
