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“She saw something,” I said. “Didn’t she?”
“Could be. ”
“You know something else, don’t you?” But he just looked at me blankly, so I pressed. “Come on, Josh. This is important. ”
He sighed. “I guess it’s not that big a deal. There’s a man who lives out that way, near the southern part of the island. ”
“A man? Like, a human man?” I gaped at him. That was not the answer I’d been expecting. “What would he be doing out there? And why would some man scare her, anyway?” At this point, I imagined if I spotted an ordinary human male, I’d run to him with open arms.
“It’s not who he is,” Josh said. “It’s who he would’ve been with. He’s the keeper of the Draug. ”
I laughed, it was so ridiculous. But then the look he gave me was one part horrified disbelief and one part afraid. It was the fear that stole the smile from my face. “You’re being serious. ”
He gave me a grim nod. “As a heart attack. ”
With that cheering thought, I thanked him and was on my way, jogging down the trail before my small window of time ran out. I had Expeditionary Skills Training with Priti at three o’clock. She held class not far from here, but I’d need to double back and put on my gym clothes first. If I’d been thinking, I’d have put a change of clothes in my bag. But this morning I’d been too busy reeling from the news about Carden. I’d just have to go quickly.
Once I was out of sight, I could slow my pace a little, as I wasn’t in as great a danger of being spotted. At least, not by a fellow student. If a vampire saw me out this way, I’d be screwed, no matter what. Something told me that not even Alcántara’s weird fascination with me would save me this time.
I contemplated Josh’s bizarre report. A Draug keeper? Was there a Draug pen? What did they eat? I shuddered to consider it.
More important, did the keeper have anything to do with the vampires I’d overheard? Is he in control? They grow reckless. Those words could apply to Keeper and Draug. Though I supposed they could be applied to most anything on this island and still make sense.
But then something else hit me: The keeper was a human man, living in solitude, on a high plateau. He’d have seen much. He might have seen the true killer. And like that, this mysterious keeper became my hope. I sure didn’t have anything else to go with.
I almost jogged right by the entry tunnel Josh described. If his instructions hadn’t been so clear, I’d have mistaken the small passage for the burrow of some animal.
With a quick glance in either direction, I dropped to my knees and crawled in. The darkness was immediate, swallowing me whole. The smell of brine and sulfur hit me, and I had to pause a moment to gather myself. The scent memory threw me back to the day of my fight with Lilac.
The old fear erupted from
deep inside, setting my heart hammering against my chest. I forced myself to calm, to breathe, to be centered. And that was when I felt him.
Carden.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
He was near. He was reaching out to me. It wasn’t clear, though, not like hearing his voice in my head or how I imagined ESP might be. But I felt him nonetheless. He was a tug in my belly. A buzzing in my head. A nudge in the back of my mind, a sensation telling me he was nearby.
Carden needed me to come. Maybe even wanted me to.
I upped my pace, crawling quickly through the darkness until my hands met damp, close air. It was the caverns.
I waited for my eyes to adjust, but there wasn’t the slightest bit of ambient light. On the day of the Directorate Challenge, there’d been torches. There’d also been a terrible rent in the rocks overhead that’d let in fingers of watery sunlight. But the vampires must’ve patched it up, because it was pitch-black now.
I’d have to feel my way.
Without sight, my other senses overcompensated. I became hyperaware of the sound of my breath in my head. Of the plip-plip of distant condensation dripping onto rocks. Of the feel and taste of the humid air. And of Carden opening his mind to me.
“I’m coming,” I whispered, teetering to standing. I made myself keep a steady pace, wary I might accidentally fall into the hot springs—or worse. I wouldn’t have been surprised if this place held a crevasse leading straight down to hell.
I didn’t know how much time passed before I heard the clinking of chains. Carden’s voice was close, a harsh rasp saying, “You must leave me. ”
I forgot my fears of pits and pools and ran straight toward that voice. “Carden. ” I slammed into his chest, and he made an oof sound that made me feel such a swell of affection.
He chuckled. “We must stop meeting in dungeons, petal. ”
“Are you okay?” Though my body responded instantly to him, overcome with thirst and longing, those feelings weren’t as powerful as this relief I felt, touching him again. Knowing he was alive. “We have to get you out of here. ” I ran my hands up his arms. The fabric of his sleeves was damp with condensation. I felt for his shackles. “Who did this? Was it Alcántara?” I frantically rattled the chains, trying to find some give. “I’ll kill him. ”
