Page 102 of Secrets of the Six

I’m failing Ines.

And now, I’m about to bring outsiders to the City of Dreams putting my people in danger’s path.

Our carriage whips down the nearly abandoned streets until we find ourselves in the Scholar District with the church in our sights.

“We can’t exactly drag two unconscious people through the sanctuary, Remus,” Carmen dutifully reminds me of another flaw in my plan.

“There’s another way in,” Olli speaks up.

“What?” I turn my focus on him.

“I stumbled upon a boarded-up door a couple days ago by accident. It’s well hidden behind a bookcase in the basement. They must have used the entrance to bring in the dead years ago.”

This just might work.

“Can you get us in?”

Olli nods. “I think so.” He sticks his head out the window and gives Cas instructions to take us down a narrow, dark alley on the church’s western side.

“This is it!” Olli hits the cab ceiling and hops out in one fluid motion. He rushes to the stone façade and brushes his hands against the building. If there’s a door, it’s invisible to the naked eye.

Ines mutters something under her breath and I know we’re running out of time to save her.

Olli stills. He tucks his fingers into the stone and tugs, opening a hidden door and revealing a flight of stairs leading deep beneath the church.

I don’t hesitate. I slip my arms beneath Ines’ neck and knees and carry her down the cobweb invested tunnel.

Cas has Rogelio draped over his shoulder and follows me, Carmen and Olli in tow after closing the door and shrouding us in darkness.

When we reach the bottom of the staircase, Olli squeezes past me to slide the wall to the side. We empty into one of the purification rooms.

“This way.” Olli places the secret entrance back in place and heads for the door.

Leaving the room, we head down the long hallway, skulls fashioned in the walls our only companions, until we reach a locked door at the end. Olli pulls his keys out of his pant pocket and unlocks it for us. Another long staircase greets us and the further down we go, the colder it is.

Ines shivers in my arms and her breathing slows.

Fear grips my heart and constricts. She doesn’t have much longer. We need to speed up.

Boots scuff the stone steps as we descend to a wooden platform with a gondola tied, bobbing in the water.

It’s a tight squeeze, but all of us fit. Cas lays Rogelio down gently and Carmen cradles his head in her lap.

Olli unties the boat and hops aboard in the same breath Cas takes the oar and propels us down the waterway.

I haven’t been down here in months, but Cas and Olli are frequent visitors, bringing supplies and resources to our people hiding downstream.

The arched ceiling is low and at times Cas ducks his head to avoid clipping his forehead against the stone masonry. It’s a claustrophobic journey for a few minutes until we reach the mouth of the tunnel.

A groan draws my gaze downward, but the sound doesn’t belong to Ines. I twist toward Carmen and watch Rogelio’s eyes fly open and terror quickly overtake him.

“Where am I?” he sits up and startles when he sees Carmen. “Who are you?”

“Hush!” she hisses, pressing her index finger to her lips. “We’ll be there soon.”

Rogelio whips to lock eyes with me. “You kidnapped me?”

“Temporarily borrowed you.”