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Once on the ground, she and Vaughn passed through a gate, then descended a set of stone steps leading below the guest house and well into the earth.
She knew then that she’d located Loghry’s infamous labyrinth, the place he supposedly kept a female vampire locked up. Rumors had it she suffered from a second-hand addiction to amethyst flame because of the wizard’s lust for the powerful flame drug combined with his need to have a vampire drinking from him.
Within the images, she followed Vaughn, levitating behind him through a series of pillars and narrow stone passageways. Electric light bulbs, encased in small wire cages, hung from posts at various intervals but were never bright enough to fully illuminate any given space. She could feel the sinister nature of the structure, how the maze-like web of paths would make it difficult for anyone to escape.
She heard the sound of distant weeping and watched Vaughn turn to the right to follow the curve of the strange underground space. She felt herself directing him to make a series of turns, one after the other, as though she’d always known how to navigate the labyrinth.
The last path led them to the heart of the maze with a huge open area of dirt surrounded by a dozen large cages. All of them were empty except two. The biggest cage, directly across from Emma, held five human female teens. Three of them were weeping. Each was badly bruised.
A hissing sound drew Emma’s attention to the other occupied cage at her right.
The space was like a jail cell because it had a toilet, a sink and a cot, but nothing else. The floor, like the rest of the central part of the labyrinth, was made of dirt.
The woman inside, a vampire, wore a dirty, red tunic and crouched on all fours as though ready to spring. She had mottled violet flame marks on her arms, neck and face, indicating she satisfied her blood needs from a donor addicted to amethyst flame. The mottling was a sure sign of second-hand addiction.
So here she was, the fabled woman Loghry had kept imprisoned in his labyrinth for years.
The woman, her black hair hanging over her face, leaped at the bars, latching on with her hands and toes like a wild animal. “He’s coming for you. Don’t you see? He’s created this vision to draw you here, then he’ll kill you.”
Emma was so startled by her vehemence and by the wild light in her gray eyes that the images scattered like leaves caught by a sudden wind.
She blinked and opened her eyes.
Vaughn still stood far away, near Stormy’s post. The owl blinked his large eyes at her.
Emma sat up and met Vaughn’s gaze. “We were in Loghry’s labyrinth, together, you and I. We made it to the center, but there were five more girls caged there who need to be rescued. I saw a deranged female vampire as well, locked up in a cage. Vaughn, this isn’t about Loghry tonight. It’s about saving these girls.”
She then shared all the details of the vision.
~ ~ ~
Vaughn didn’t know what to think. He’d been prepared to tell Emma he couldn’t let her go into another dangerous situation. She served as a Trib officer and rarely saw the kind of action the Border Patrol officers encountered.
But it appeared the nature of the mission had gotten changed up to a rescue operation.
Emma rose from her couch and drew close to him. “Vaughn, what’s going on here? You had no problem with me going into Savage. How is this different?”
He settled his hands on her arms. Jesus his throat was tight. “I don’t want you to get hurt.”
She nodded. “I know. I get it. I don’t want you to get hurt either.”
“What if it’s a trap?”
She shrugged but planted her hands on his chest, her strange witchy electricity flowing over him. “I’m pretty confident that’s exactly what it is. But we were there, you and I, together. Neither of us held back. I won’t say I’m not scared, because I am. But we have to do this, both of us.”
Vaughn released a heavy sigh. “I’ve been trying to avoid this moment ever since I took you to bed. I don’t want this time with you to end and I don’t want you to get hurt. I know you should go. My instincts confirm that you need to do this. But I hate it.”
She slid her hands up to caress his shoulders. “If it helps, I don’t want to go either. I’d rather stay here with you secure in my home until the end of time. But we’re beyond all that, aren’t we? I mean, we live and work and battle impossible enemies because we’re both alter creatures and we live in this hellhole.”
He pulled her tight against him. “Being with you felt so normal. That’s all. And I wanted more of it, greedy bastard that I am.”
She drew back, smiling up at him. “I’d almost join a dark coven if it meant I’d get to spend one more night with you.”
At that, he smiled. “No you wouldn’t.” He stroked a hand the length of her hair.
“I said ‘almost’. But you’re right. I’d die before I took up the dark arts.”
“And that’s exactly why I don’t want my time with you to end. I love who you are in this world. You’ve been the biggest surprise and you’ve given me something I shouldn’t be feeling. Something like hope.”
