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Tanne glanced at her. “Somehow I doubt any of us is going to have the know-how to disarm it. Without the code, we’re screwed.”>Camille turned to him. “You really know how to fight, don’t you?”
He smiled faintly. “I can hold my own. As I said, I’ve protected myself over the years in more than one skirmish. And I’ve destroyed more than one monster. I will tell you more later, if you are interested. For now, let’s search for Violet.”
“I’m least likely to be harmed by a sneak attack. Let me take the lead.” As I moved in front with Delilah, Roz and Tanne swept in behind us. Camille and Morio came next—they worked in unison with their death magic and needed to be able to clasp hands for some of their spells. Smoky played rear guard.
The door led to a darkened hallway. The air was musty, as if nothing had stirred through it for a long time, so I was hopeful we’d make it through to the basement without incident. But we needed light in order to see.
From behind, Morio whispered something and a glowing orb of green light suddenly appeared in the air behind me. Foxfire. One of the youkai-kitsune’s natural abilities. It hovered alongside me, lighting our way enough to see a few yards in front of us.
The passageway was like any hallway that had been let go for some time—a feeling of abandonment permeating the air, both in sense and in smell. Our movement stirred up dust from the floor, and the ceiling was covered with cobwebs and spiderwebs. By the looks of things, nothing had ventured this way in a long time, which was a good thing for us. But then again, ghosts didn’t stir up dust usually, so I didn’t want to get too cocky in case we were surprised by an unwelcome spiritual visitor. The hall ran on for some distance, forking off to the right along the way.
“We want the third hall to the right,” Delilah whispered in a falsetto voice. “That should lead us to the basement.” She gestured to the next turn. “That one. Turn right.”
“Where else would we turn? There is no left turn.” I gave a little snort, but turned where she’d motioned to. We were facing another long hall, but it jogged to the right up ahead, after ending at a door. “Is that it? The door to the basement?”
Delilah nodded. “I think so. We’ll find out for sure soon enough.”
As we reached the door, I stood back to allow Tanne room to examine it. He shook his head. “No lock. Not locked. And I have no ability to tell if it’s trapped. That would be one of my sisters’ specialties.”
Morio took his place. “No traps that I can sense,” he said after a moment. “That doesn’t mean there isn’t one, but if there is, I can’t place it.”
“Well, here goes nothing.” I reached out and turned the knob. As the door inched open, a dark hole appeared and I realized this was, indeed, a staircase leading down. So probably to the basement. But something stopped me before I stepped into the passage.
Get out. Get out now.
“Did anyone hear that besides me?”
“I did,” Camille and Delilah said simultaneously.
“Oh fuck. Please, please don’t tell me we’re dealing with ghosts here.” But at that moment, my plea went unanswered because a whooshing sound erupted from the open door as something rushed by on a gust of air.
The next thing I knew, Rozurial was struggling as something was yanking on his coat. He tried to shake it off, but the material was flapping in some astral wind and then—before any of us could do anything—one of those damned magical bombs he carried exploded and the hall was filled with ice crystals, a hail of sleet raining down on us.
Camille let out a shout as Morio stumbled and his foxfire vanished. Behind them, Smoky let loose with a blue streak of cursing.
But before any of us had the thought or time to move, another explosion from Roz’s magical bomb stash rocked the air. This time fire ripped through the passage, the magical flames lighting up the corridor with an unnatural glow. The explosion sent me reeling, almost deafening me, but through the ringing in my ears I made out one other sound—the sound of Rozurial screaming as flames consumed him and the hallway filled with smoke.
Chapter 12
“Fuck! Roz, are you all right?” I scrambled in the darkness that followed the fiery blast. The magical flames had exploded, then burned out within seconds, as frozen rain pelted the hall through the darkness.
“Roz! Rozurial!” Camille and Delilah were calling his name, too, but there was no answer. A moment later and the foxfire suddenly blossomed into view again, lighting the area. Morio was focusing on it, and the flames kept growing until there were several of the lights dancing around us.
“I don’t see him anywhere.” Smoky raised his hands and the sleet began to die down. “Is he on the ground? Did he fall?”
“I don’t know! Did you cause the storm?” Camille turned to him.
“Yes. When I saw the flames engulf him, I did the only thing I could think to do in order to smother them.” Smoky was about to say something else when a force slammed past me, into Delilah. She flew back, as if whatever it was had punched her in the stomach. As she landed on her butt, up against the wall of the passage, a low laughter echoed along the hallway.
“That’s not demonic. I can’t sense demon anywhere.” Camille grabbed for Morio’s hand. “Ghost?”
I was about to say, “What else?” when Tanne sprang forward.
He pushed us to the side. “I know what it is! Let me through to face it.”
Reaching up, he clasped an amulet that was hanging around his neck, and fell into a soft whisper—again, a tune that was as magical as the chant he was invoking. The rush of power that surrounded him was immediate, and dark, and felt like predatory dogs on our heels. In fact, I thought I could hear the baying of a hound—not a wolf—but some large dog, hungry for blood.
“What the fuck—” Camille started, but then fell silent.
