Chapter 75: The Road Beneath

Her voice echoed from the other side.

"I am alive, but furious!"

Malric followed.

Lucien stepped toward the rift next, then stopped beside Corvin.

"Whatever happens when we cross, keep her close."

Corvin's eyes narrowed. "I already planned to."

"Closer than that."

Before Corvin could demand more, Lucien disappeared into the silver light.

The woman remained. Waiting. For Rowan.

Corvin stepped in front of her.

"No."

Her expression sharpened. "You are wasting time."

"You do not take her through first."

The woman looked past him, down the stairwell. For the first time since appearing, her control cracked. Fear crossed her face. Real fear. The cold, ancient kind that did not belong on someone like her.

Corvin turned.

The creature had reached the landing below.

It was enormous, shaped almost like a man if a man had been carved from shadow and ruin. Symbols burned across its skin in dozens of shifting lines. Not written.

Branded.

The darkness around its face moved like smoke.

Then it smiled.

Rowan stopped breathing.

Corvin felt something inside him answer.

Not fear.

Possession.

Rage.

The creature tilted its head and looked directly at Rowan.

"Mine."

The word struck the stairwell like a bell.

Corvin moved before thought. He pulled Rowan behind him, fangs fully bared, every old instinct roaring awake.

"No."

The creature's smile widened.

The building cracked.

The woman shouted, "Now!"

Corvin grabbed Rowan's hand. She did not hesitate.

Together, they ran for the rift. Behind them, the creature lunged. The stairwell exploded. Concrete burst outward. Metal tore free. The air filled with dust and silver light. Corvin wrapped himself around Rowan as they hit the opening. Cold swallowed them whole. For one impossible heartbeat, he felt the city beneath Houston open around them. Endless tunnels. Black stone. Water moving in the dark. Doors. Thousands of doors. And something behind them, listening. Then Rowan gasped his name. The world broke apart. And Corvin fell with her into the dark.

Rowan couldn't breathe. The darkness wasn't empty. It was moving. She felt it sliding around her like a current, carrying her somewhere impossible. Images flashed around them. Not visions. Memories. A city carved from black stone. Rivers flowing beneath the earth. Massive pillars stretching into darkness. Figures walking roads that should not exist. Human, not human, something in between. The images appeared and vanished before she could understand them. Corvin's arm remained locked around her. The only thing keeping her from completely losing herself. Then the fall stopped. The impact knocked every ounce of air from her lungs. Stone met her shoulder. Pain exploded through her body. For a second she simply lay there staring upward. Except there wasn't an upward. Only darkness, endless darkness.

"Ow."

A familiar voice echoed nearby.

"Oh thank God."

Jess.

"If we're complaining, we're alive."

Rowan groaned.

"Debatable."

"See? Alive."

Corvin was beside her instantly. His hand brushed her arm.

"Are you hurt?"

"A little."

His jaw tightened.She could tell he wanted a better answer.

Unfortunately it was the only one she had.Around them came the sounds of everyone else recovering from the trip.

Malric.

Lucien.

The woman.

Nobody sounded particularly happy about it. Rowan slowly pushed herself upright. Then immediately forgot every pain in her body. The cavern stretched beyond sight. Not a cave. A world.

Massive black pillars rose from the darkness like the supports of some impossible cathedral. Roads crossed between them in intricate patterns. Bridges arched over underground rivers. Entire structures stood in the distance. Some broken, some intact, all ancient. All hidden beneath Houston.

"No."

The word escaped before she could stop it.

Jess looked up. Then immediately sat back down.

"Nope."

Malric followed her gaze.

For once he had absolutely nothing sarcastic to say.

The silence lasted several seconds.

Finally Lucien spoke.

"Welcome."

Rowan looked at him.

"What is this?"

The question echoed through the enormous cavern. Lucien didn't answer immediately.

The woman did.

"Home."

That somehow raised more questions than it answered. The whispering returned. Soft, gentle, different. The moment Rowan heard it she froze. The city recognized her. Not as a stranger. Not as an intruder. The feeling settled into her chest with terrifying certainty. It knew who she was. A chill crawled down her spine.

Corvin noticed instantly.

"What is it?"

She looked toward the darkness.

"I think..."

The whispering grew stronger. Thousands of distant voices speaking at once. Not words but recognition.

Welcome.

Rowan's stomach dropped.

"I think this place knows me."

Nobody moved. Nobody spoke.

Lucien's expression darkened. The woman's face lost what little color remained. Even Malric looked concerned. Jess looked between everyone. Then pointed directly at Rowan.

"I would just like to clarify that nobody is reacting appropriately to that statement."

No one disagreed. A distant sound echoed through the cavern. Metal scraping stone.

Everyone turned toward it. The noise came again. Far away. Yet somehow large enough to vibrate through the ground beneath their feet. Rowan's pulse quickened. The city whispered louder. Not fear, warning. Something was moving.

Lucien immediately looked toward the nearest road.

"We need to leave."

"Wonderful," Jess said. "Love that. We get five seconds in the underground nightmare city before something tries to kill us."

Malric offered a hand to help her stand.

"You complain a lot."

"Because things keep happening."

For once, Rowan couldn't argue with her. She looked toward the black stone road stretching away into the darkness. The moment she saw it, recognition slammed into her. The vision, the city, the doors, this road. She had seen it before. Her breath caught.

Corvin noticed.

"What?"

Rowan pointed.

"That road."

Lucien followed her gaze. The tension in his face sharpened immediately. Of course he knew it too.

"What about it?"

She swallowed.

"I saw it."

The cavern fell silent.

"Before."

No one spoke.

Not even Jess.

"I saw it when the city showed me those visions."

The whispering intensified. The road seemed to pull at her attention.Drawing her forward. Toward something hidden deeper in the darkness. Toward answers, toward danger, toward the doors. Then a voice echoed from somewhere ahead.

Calm.

Ancient.

Amused.

"Well."

Everyone froze. The voice came from the darkness beyond the road.

"I was beginning to wonder how much longer you planned to keep her waiting."

Rowan's blood turned to ice.

Because whoever had spoken...

Sounded like they knew exactly who she was.