Page 131 of Eternal Devotion

“Mostly. We pursue leads, listen for rumors, bleed them out.”

“It’s not like that here. Not anymore. You know what we’ve got in there?” He motioned to the trapdoor.

“An elder, or so I’m told. Someone of importance.”

“You got that right.”

“Sounds dangerous.”

“Don’t you worry. The subject is nothing more than a canned corpse. Can’t hurt you. It’s other vamps we need to watch out for. One in particular. He’s been skulking around, testing our boundaries. It’s why we’ve upped our guard.”

“That’s what I hear. Aren’t you worried he’ll bring reinforcements?”

“Won’t do him any good. Even if he manages to get past us, there’s no way he’ll get close to the subject. Not alone, and not with an army of backup, either.”

“Oh?” I feigned curiosity.

Lou went on to explain the wards in the same detail Mordecai had done the other day. I listened carefully in case anything had been missed or added. The list was the same.

“Do you mind if I hang back and get a feel for the new position tonight? I’d like to walk the perimeter of the island and familiarize myself with the forest, maybe see below at some point. A prepared soldier is an effective soldier.” I laughed self-consciously. “Know what I’m saying? Wouldn’t want to be caught with my pants down.”

To my shock, Lou chuckled. “True that. I say go for it. You’ll make everyone jealous. Since the bird incident, we’ve been warned to stay alert and not get distracted. Less chitchat and more focus on the possible intrusions. Makes for some boring shifts.”

“I bet.”

So that was what I did. I wandered the island, eyes peeled for any sign of Mordecai and Cristofer, but I didn’t see them. My palms were slick from stress as I worked up the nerve to put our plan into action.

I gave myself an hour to explore and chat with the random men above ground, who seemed more than happy to break the monotony of their evening. I learned their names and got a feel for their personalities. What I wanted to know was how they ended up tangled in vampire hunting. Who recruited them? How much did they really understand?

Time stretched. The pale moon inched higher, vanishing behind clouds at times and blanketing the eyot in a veil of gloom. Fear of the unknown ate at me. Giving myself a false sense of control, I pretended I was on a mission with Mars, Ziggy, and Poet. A quest with a fanciful objective that required precision and teamwork.

Clear the underground lair of traps. Release the elder vampire from a forced stasis. Don’t get killed by hunters.

Except this wasn’t an RPG, and I couldn’t swig a healing potion and pop a shield to keep myself alive. I had to use wit and ingenuity to fulfill my part of the mission and run like my ass was on fire the second Mordecai and Cristofer took over.

It was go-time. I couldn’t put it off any longer. My adrenaline spiked as I circled the trapdoor and announced I wanted to see below. A few of the men weren’t pleased with the idea, but Lou told them to relax.

Surprisingly, they did.

Their easy acquiescence and laid-back attitudes was so unfitting, I almost laughed.

I helped Lou remove the garlic flowers. When the heavy trapdoor underneath came into view, I stalled, my attention drawn to the horseshoe-sized iron loops welded to concrete slabs embedded into the ground on either side of the door. Mordecai hadn’t mentioned them. Maybe he hadn’t noticed.

“What are those for?” The question was out before I could stop it, but a quiver of apprehension stirred my belly.

“Precaution.”

“I don’t understand.”

“We don’t keep the door locked. No reason, really. Not with the wards. You’ll see. But, in the event of an unforeseen emergency—let’s say our corpse got free—we can seal the tunnel.”

Lou motioned a short distance away. Hidden in shadow at the base of a tree was a steel beam shaped to fit through the two horseshoes and easily eight feet long. When slid through the loops, it would lie over the entire entrance, preventing it from being opened.

“Steel door. Steel lock. Valerius said it was strong enough.” Lou shrugged. “We can only hope.” From inside his pouch, he withdrew an unmarked toothpaste-sized tube. “Once it’s in place, we use this to seal the cracks around the circumference. It’s a sealant made specially for this purpose. Water-based but dries like glue. We use holy water for its production. No chance of a vamp slipping out.”

“Wow.” My shock was genuine. I didn’t know what to say.

“I’ll be sure you get some. We all carry it, just in case. We can use it on doors or windows. The vamp they sent to fuck with us? We found his lair and sealed it. Decrepit mansion outside of town. Real shit hole. Freaky as fuck.”