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The entrance to the tunnel was large enough for three men to walk abreast, and rounded, like a tube. I flashed back to the specials I'd seen on Animal Planet about trap-door spiders.
Yep, it looked remarkably like that. Kyoka must have played demented geneticist as well as mad magician.
The passageway led far back, with openings along the way, both to the left and to the right. I could still smell the tang of blood from outside, but now other scents crowded in, flooding me with an intoxicating array of sensation. The pungent swirl of sweat and urine and feces made me cringe. Sex was in the air, too, and the smell of decay and food long gone bad. My stomach lurched as I reeled, trying to focus.
"Delilah? Are you okay?" Chase grabbed my elbow as I swayed.
"Yeah, I think so." I forced myself to concentrate. One step at a time as we entered the nest. We were almost to the first side tunnel when a shriek cut through the air. I clasped my hands to my head in pain, noticing that Rhonda was doing the same.
"What the fuck was that?" Trillian said, pushing by me as he raced ahead, Chase and Smoky right behind him. I started to follow, but something caught hold of my elbow, stopping me.
"Delilah? It's me," a disembodied voice whispered in my ear.
"Camille?" There was no answer, and I frowned. "If you're nodding, remember I can't see you."
"Oh yeah, right!" She sounded flustered. "Listen, Morio and I are going up ahead to check out a room where we can smell cat magic coming from. You want to come with us?"
"I can't see to come with you," I said, but just then, a shadow disengaged itself from the wall. "Holy crap, what's that?"
"Hush, it's me," Menolly said, slipping into view. "I'll lead you. I can hear Camille and Morio walking. My ears are sharper than yours."
I looked over at Rhonda. "Come with?"
Her eyes were filled with fear, but all she said was, "I've got your back."
As Menolly hurried down the hall, leading us, shouts erupted from the passage into which Smoky, Trillian, and Chase had disappeared. An unfamiliar voice screamed for help, and all we could do was hope our boys were all right.
We passed two more passages before turning to the left. As we entered the narrow tunnel, I caught a fleeting glance of men racing down the hall. Probably in answer to their comrades' screams.
The passage we had entered led into a large room. The walls were rounded and had been chipped out by hand. They were solid rock, polished to a high sheen. The ceiling was at least twenty feet high, and as I peered into the darkened heights, the faint shape of spiderwebs draping one onto another formed a canopy across the entire room. I swallowed, trying not to think about what might be hiding up there. Several exits opened into what looked like yet more tunnels, leading far into the mountainside.
And then I noticed the dais in the center of the room. No wonder Morio had smelled cat magic. Next to what looked like a large egg on the dais, Venus the Moon Child hung cuffed by his wrists and ankles to a circular stone that stood upright. He was slumped over as far as his chains would allow, and he was naked. A latticework of bloody welts and burns crisscrossed his chest, ridged and still oozing. His nose had been broken, and both eyes were swollen and black. I swallowed hard, unable to look away.
Three men were standing around him. One wielded a whip. Another was heating a poker in a stone fire pit nearby. The third leaned against a stalagmite, looking bored.
Menolly let out a little growl. Her eyes took on a crimson glimmer as bloody tears leaked down her cheeks. She stared at Venus for a moment and then, without a word, launched herself at the man holding the poker.
I looked at Rhonda. "They know we're here, so let's get to work!"
She whipped out a wooden baton and raced in as I unsheathed my knife and followed her.
"What the fuck—" the dude with the poker said when he saw Menolly heading toward him. She was in kill mode, her teeth fully extended, and he whirled around, swinging the poker at her. Without missing a beat, she grabbed the branding iron by its glowing end and yanked it out of his hand, tossing it in the air so that it landed on the other side of the room.
"Holy shit!" He screamed, but she was on him before he could get out another sound, and within a second, his head lolled to the side, and she tossed him on the ground. Straight for the kill. Do not pass Go. Do not collect two hundred dollars.
Meanwhile, Rhonda engaged Mr. Bored while I moved in on the one with the whip. He gave me the once-over and, leering, tossed the whip back and forth between his hands.
"Who's your daddy, little girl?" He smacked his lips. "Be good, and I might just give you a good fucking before I teach you not to meddle in the affairs of men."
A low growl emanated from my throat, rumbling through the room. What the hell? Where had that come from? My opponent looked a little disconcerted but raised the whip anyway.
"You like pain, pussycat?" he whispered. "Come play with the master."
"Big talk for somebody who's standing on the other side of a boulder." The perfect setup. Now, if he just stayed where he was.
I gathered myself and then raced forward and leapt onto the rock, using it as a springboard. A back flip in the air, and I landed directly behind him. Very Bruce Lee, I thought. Before he could whirl around, I thrust my blade into his left side, angling so that it struck through the heart. He had time enough to mutter something that sounded vaguely like "Fuck you" and then collapsed as I yanked my knife free.
"Thanks for the help," I said, wiping my blade on my jeans. Whatever I'd expected to feel, it wasn't the intense sense of satisfaction that swept over me. Taken aback, I glanced over at Rhonda, but she had managed to dispatch her opponent, too. Menolly was up on the dais, where she ripped Venus's manacles out of the rock wall. He slumped into her arms, and she carefully laid him down on the rock platform.
