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“Roger triggered an explosion going into the building.” We didn’t know that for sure, of course, but there was no way in hell I was about to admit we might have been responsible for it. Especially if Roger wasn’t just missing but dead. “The building is destroyed, but there’s not enough blood or body bits to suggest there was more than one or two people inside.”
“There were seven before he entered. I checked.”
“Then they either magicked themselves away or—”
My gaze shot to the ground. Was it possible there was a mine shaft close by? While most of the old mines seemed to be situated on the other side of town, there were several out Muckleford way, and that really wasn’t all that far from here. It certainly wasn’t an uncommon practice in the gold rush era for miners to randomly dig mines in what would be unlikely areas hoping to find the mother lode.
“Or?” Maelle growled.
“Sorry, but I need to call you back after I check something.” I hung up without waiting for her response. “Aiden, are there any known mine shafts or tunnels around this area?”
He frowned. “Not that I know of—why?”
“Maelle said seven people were inside the bunkhouse just before Roger entered. So, either they magicked themselves out—”
“Which could have been what that explosion was covering,” Monty said.
“Or,” I continued, “there’s an unknown mine system near here, and they used one of its tunnels to drop into after they’d grabbed him.”
“If heisstill alive, then he’ll be used as bait,” Monty said. “He’s the closest thing to family—Jaqueline aside—Maelle has.”
“And evenIknow Maelle isn’t going to takethathappening too kindly.” Aiden scanned the ground for a second. “Is it safe to approach what’s left of the building? Magic wise, I mean.”
“Yes,” Monty said.
Aiden carefully stepped between two of the remaining stumps then grabbed what looked to be a five-foot remnant of stud wall, forcefully prodding the ground before taking a step forward. He was close to the middle when the bit of wood hit something with a softthunk.
“That sound suggests we might have found the answer to your earlier question.” He tossed the wood to one side, then knelt and began scooping aside the dirt. In no time at all, several bits of wooden planking that didn’t look all that old appeared.
“A trapdoor?” Monty asked.
“Maybe, though I would have expected the explosion to have dumped building rubble more than dirt on top of it,” Aiden said.
I wrinkled my nose. “Maybe one vamp stayed behind to ensure it was covered. He was their sacrificial lamb, so to speak.”
“Possible, although there wasn’t all that much time between Roger entering the building and the explosion,” Monty said. “Certainly not enough for them to capture Roger and then get into a tunnel.”
“Unless most of them were already in the tunnel.” I squatted beside Aiden. “Can you see a catch or something?”
“Not immediately.”
Aiden continued shifting the loose dirt until a square of planking roughly a meter square was completely revealed. There was no latch on this side, but he worked his fingers into a gap between two of the planks and heaved upwards, the lovely definition in his arm muscles briefly increasing. The door moved fractionally, but an obvious metal rattle came from the right edge.
“Locked from underneath, from the feel of it,” Aiden said.
“That isn’t a problem.” Monty squatted on the opposite side, pressed his fingers against the wood, and quickly crafted an unlock spell. Or, as the case was here, a “slide the bolt aside” one. The trapdoor dropped open; below it was a newly cut shaft supported by beams that looked to be the same age as the trapdoor. The sunlight didn’t quite get to the bottom of the shaft, so I created a light sphere and cast it down. It revealed a shaft about three or four meters long with hand and footholds cut into the heavy clay soil, then hit the bottom, revealing an old metal track running east to west and what looked to be the disintegrating remnants of a trolley or cart.
“You were right,” Monty said. “They’ve tapped into an old shaft.”
“Which means this is a trap they’ve been planning for a while.” And that was not only scary, but made me wonder just how many other traps were out there, waiting to be sprung. They’d obviously gotten to know the lay of the land—and possibly us—very well indeed in the short time they’d been here. “I guess the next question is, do we go down after them?”
I wasn’t keen on the idea myself after already having had several unpleasantly close encounters with mines and shafts. This was likely to be a little different, given it was in good enough condition for the vamps to cut a new shaft into it, but that wasn’t enough to counter the overall reluctance.
“I think we have to,” Monty said. “They wouldn’t expect us to find the trapdoor after that explosion, and it’s unlikely they would have set any traps.”
“I wouldn’t be underestimating them inanyway.” Aiden’s voice was grim. “But given your obvious intention of not doing the sensible thing, I’ll run back to the car and retrieve the ropes and harnesses. Don’t go in there before I get back.”
I smiled. “Promise.”
