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“I…” She was quiet for a second. “The compound was built when Luciana was a kid, but it makes sense that there would be a place for the coven leader to store information. I never thought about it, but besides the schoolhouse, we didn’t really have a library or even a central place to practice together, unless we were outdoors. I just assumed nothing like that existed there, and I never questioned it.”
“Why would you? You weren’t alive when this place was built. Who knows what this place is hiding, even now.”
“I guess. I just...” Her exhale hissed across the line. “If it runs under her craft room, I wouldn’t doubt that her circle was both on top and under. Which would make sense for it to still be active. Astaroth was the demon she was dealing with, and he’d want to leave a way in and out of this plane.”
I nearly dropped the phone. “Shit.”
“Exactly. Be very, very careful, prima.”
“I’ll do my best.” I hung up and slid the phone into my pocket. “The circle is probably under the craft room. I can’t tell exactly what was where in this mess without the walls, but probably about five to seven feet to the right of where you’re standing.”
Chris looked around the rubble. “If it’s that big, then the basement might even be as big or bigger than the footprint of the house. I bet she’s got all kinds of shit down there.”
I didn’t want to think about what she’d been hiding, which meant one thing. “I should go down—”
“No!” Chris and Dastien yelled at the same time.
I held up my hands. “Fine.” But I was going to have to check it out eventually.
“Let me see what’s down there,” Chris said. “If it’s cool, I’ll get you to come down, okay?”
“That works.” I wasn’t sure what qualified as “cool,” but I was reasonably certain I was going to have to see what Luciana had stocked her lair with.
“Here goes nothing.” He crouched and the metal groaned as he pried the trapdoor open. “Oh man. It smells like something died down there.” He made a face, and then jumped down, disappearing from sight.
Instinctively, I stepped toward the house, but Dastien held me back. “Just wait, chérie. We can trust him.”
I trusted Chris with my life, but I didn’t like the idea of him going down there alone. Not even a little bit.
Me, either. If he’s not back soon, I’ll go down after him.
I wasn’t sure what good that would do. Dastien wasn’t going to disappear down that hole without me.
W
hat felt like hours later but was probably only a minute or two, Chris popped back up. I grabbed Dastien’s hand. Thank God. Maybe he found something, but even as I said that through the bond, I noticed that Chris wasn’t carrying anything with him as he walked toward us, except for a noxious odor. The closer he got, the worse the stench got.
“The circle is there—on the ceiling and a mirror of it on the floor. Don’t know what that means, but it can’t be good. And the room is filled with stuff and—” He ran his hand over his beard. His skin looked a little green as he stopped to stare up at the sky. “I don’t want you to go down there, but I don’t know what to take and what to leave alone. The thing is…” He swallowed. “The thing is, I was right. It smells like something died down there because they did. There are bodies in pieces piled up against one of the walls. Must’ve been witches, since there haven’t been any missing persons reports around here that we haven’t already looked into, but kind of seems like what was done to Muraco. At least from what I’ve heard and the quick peek that I saw. I don’t know what Luciana was doing down there or if it was Astaroth or what, but whatever happened down there…it’s bad.”
“Son of a bitch.” I closed my eyes, saying a silent prayer for whoever had been killed down there. This was so much worse than I’d imagined. “I should see if I can break the circle.”
Dastien’s fear pounded at me. “That sounds like a terrible idea, chérie.”
“I don’t like it either, but I like the fact that Astaroth could come through here anytime even less.”
Dastien muttered something in French, but he knew I was right. “Fine. We all go.”
“Let me go first,” Chris said. “I’m going to need a tarp from the car. I can’t do a damned thing about the smell, but I can cover the bodies for you.”
I nodded. “Thanks.” That was appreciated. I didn’t really want to see them.
I moved away from the SUV as Dastien opened the trunk and started rummaging through the supply bag. “You wouldn’t happen to have some tote bags or anything we could use to stash whatever we want to take with us in there, would you?”
Dastien looked over his shoulder at me. “Of course I do.” He gave me a wink.
I was always impressed with how much crap the Weres kept in the back of their cars. From extra clothes to protein bars to first aid supplies, and now Dastien was pulling out two folded up tarps and three black reusable shopping totes.
Jesus Christ. The bag wasn’t big enough to fit all of that stuff. “Who hooks you guys up with these magical bottomless supply bags? Because I could totally use one.”
