Page 68 of Deceived

We climb down the cellar stairs and reach a dimly lit, musty space. The air is damp, cool, and suffocating surrounded by stone.

The walls are lined with shelves full of small jars but I ignore those.

There are several doors up ahead. I notice the lack of cobwebs or dust with interest, people are down here a lot. Must be visiting and feeding the weaver.

Multiple candles line the space, casting shadows against the walls but lighting the way enough for even a human to follow.

More and more jars line the hallways.

We open the first door to find an empty room full of tables and scales. The second room is similar but neither holds a person in them.

I take a deep breath as Aksel opens the final door. Disappointment crashes through me as I realize there’s no one in there either.

It’s full of plants and grow lights. It kind of looks like they’re growing marijuana down here, but I know that doesn’t have any effect on supernaturals.

The guys are frozen as they stare at the plants.

“What is it?” I ask.

Felix bundles me up in his arms and starts herding me toward the door. We don’t make it far before we hear voices above us.

“Fuck!” Felix whispers, moving back to the others.

“They’re back,” I say when we are close enough.

Griffyn, Aksel, and Blaze look torn between me and the room.

When a spray of water comes down from the ceiling on the plants, Griffyn backs away with a white face.

“We need to hide down here and hope they don’t come,” Aksel says.

“Staying around that stuff is going to be a problem. It’s weakening Anna and me by the second,” Griffyn says.

“What the hell are you talking about?” I ask.

I assess myself. I feel a little weaker than before but nothing that noticeable.

“Might as well explain while we are stuck hiding down here in this poison,” Griffyn says.

He steps towards me before catching himself and maintaining the space between us.

“I didn’t even consider it could have been wev,” Blaze grunts.

“Wev sounds awfully close to the beginning of weaver which is what we heard them say at the ball,” I say slowly.

“It’s a poisonous plant specifically for demons,” Felix explains.

“They’re growing demon poison down here?” I ask.

“It’s outlawed to grow. Every species has a weakness and wev is yours. Wolfsbane for shifters, coldiron for fae and absque for mages. A dagger enchanted with wev could kill you, someone ingesting it can stop compulsion, lust, or other powers and-”

“Wait! What the hell? How did I not know this? There’s something out there that stops compulsion from working? It can kill us?” My voice is frantic.

Griffyn grimaces.

“That’s why it’s outlawed. Being down here is dangerous. Prolonged exposure will weaken us and if we need to fight our way out of here, we won’t be of any help.”

Fuck. Real fear threatens to seize my body.

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