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Luckily, my vampire half adjusted easily to the darkness. When we reached the bottom I felt like we’d journeyed to the centre of the earth, or whatever planet Oreylia could be found on.
Was that where we were? Another planet? Or perhaps another universe? Were there endless universes out there, all with their own unique planets and lifeforms?
Pondering these questions made my head hurt.
As my eyes further adjusted to the darkness, I took in the large space. Hundreds of people of every kind of supernatural species were hard at work, while full-blooded demons in the employ of Red Armand watched on, weapons at the ready, making sure nobody stepped out of line.
The din of hammers pounding into rock was deafening as my eyes desperately searched for Vas. I couldn’t see him anywhere but there were so many people and it was incredibly dark.
“What circle of hell is this?” Ren muttered at my side.
My attention went to poor Maya and her sister, Demi. Both girls looked positively terrified.
“Maybe we should take them under our wing,” Ren suggested, seeing where my attention had gone. We weren’t there to protect people. We were there to murder the man who kept them captive and free Vas and Sven. Unfortunately, I couldn’t stand to leave Maya and Demi to the whims of the Blaze. I had to try to help them.
“Hey, how about we stick together?” I suggested to Maya, whose eyes lit up at the offer. “We’ll be stronger in numbers.”
She nodded gratefully and she and her sister sidled closer. “Yes, good idea.”
The demons who’d brought us down the shaft began herding us through the mine. I shared a grimace with Ren when we went by the toilets, though calling them that was being generous. Let’s just say I didn’t look forward to needing to use the bathroom.
Next we were hustled into a large sleeping area. There were narrow, hollowed out spaces in the walls where the workers slept. The hollows were stacked about ten high, with ladders attached to the walls for workers to climb to their sleeping pod. Each pod was about big enough to hold two people at a pinch.
There appeared to be small chalkboards above each pod with names scrawled across them.
“Okay, listen up,” the demon in charge announced. “Sleeping chambers are an every person for themselves situation.” I tried not to scoff at him calling them ‘chambers.’ A hole in a wall was not a chamber in my book. “The free chambers are the ones without names above them. If you fail to claim one you’ll have to sleep out here on the floor. Grab a blanket from the pile in the corner and please only take one per person. You have an hour to get settled and then your first shift will begin. Use this time wisely.”
As he spoke, I very quietly translated for Ren. Then, as soon as the demon gave the signal for people to start claiming beds, those around us whipped into action. Maya looked a little lost, like she was too stressed to even listen to what the demon said.
I turned to Ren. “You find a chamber for us. I’m going to help Maya and Demi.”
He nodded and I took Maya’s hand before leading her forward, grabbing two blankets for the sisters before searching for a free sleeping pod. The two of them were tiny so I decided they could share the same pod. It would also be safer than leaving the younger girl to sleep on her own.
In no time at all the empty pods were taken but then Ren called out, waving us over to two free ones he’d found at the very top level.
“You and I can share this one and Maya and Demi can sleep in here,” he said, and I quickly scrawled our names on the boards. It seemed that along with gifting me the Oreylian tongue, Roman had also bestowed upon me the ability to write in their alphabet. I was sceptical about Ren and I both fitting into one pod, but there were already fights breaking out down below so we’d have to make do.
“I’m going to start checking for Vasilios and Sven’s names. See if I can find where they sleep.”
“But there are so many,” Ren said, eyes scanning the vast space. “And you heard that guy. We start working in less than an hour. I think we should take the time to rest up.”
“You rest. I’ll be back shortly.”
I left before he had the chance to argue, but just as I was climbing down Maya reached out and grabbed my arm.
“Sorry to eavesdrop, but did I just hear you mention the names Vasilios and Sven?”
My heart pounded. “Yes, do you know them?”
“I know of them. Their names are notorious in this city. They’re the only two miners to ever escape from servitude. Their escape sullied Red Armand’s name so much that he travelled far and wide to locate and recapture them. Word is he succeeded. I can’t imagine how awful it must be to win your freedom and then have it snatched away from you all over again.”
