Page 40 of Serpent and Shadow

It was beginning to feel like something that needed to be factored into any discussions about Malefic and Dark Cathedral.

I genuinely couldn’t decide if it would help or hurt to have Alaric know.

At the time, I’d chosen to change the subject.

“Where do you think they have him?” I’d asked. “You have an opinion. You must.”

Alaric exhaled, looked over at Wraith when she minced towards us over the leather couch. “Probably the main dungeon,” he said reluctantly.

I stiffened. “There’s more than one?”

Alaric nodded. “Yes. There’s two on the estate. One under the mausoleum, on the castle grounds. The estate has its own cemetery, and the mausoleum is there, on the side nearer to the house. The main dungeon, which is significantly larger and better fortified, lives under the crypt in the central structure of the castle. Right under the part that’s an actual tower, between the north and south wings.”

“The same crypt we were in over Yule?” I clarified.

“Yes. But not the part we could access.” Alaric frowned, tilting his gaze upward as he seemed to be picturing it in his head. “I’ve only seen it once. Cal took me there once when we were kids, when his father was out of town. There are two entrances. The one Cal showed me is through the mirror in the entryway to the main house.”

He gave me a taut look. “You’d likely have to use that one, Leda. The second entrance lives deep inside the family part of the crypt, the part you and I couldn’t access. As far as I know, no one can access all of that floor but Malefic, and now Cal.”

Pressing his lips together, he shrugged. “Although that may have changed now, as you said. Malefic may even have guards posted. He also might have sealed the mirror entrance, or changed that in some way, as well.”

I nodded, fighting to picture it.

I’d seen that enormous mirror.

I’d used it to get back to Malcroix Bones near the end of our winter break. The thing was huge, bigger than even the castle’s massive front doors, and framed in solid gold. That gold was molded to depict snakes, vines, roses, bones, skulls, and had a large head of Anubis on top.

“Can anyone go through that mirror?” I asked. “Could they, when you went through?”

Alaric shook his head slowly. “I honestly don’t know. Cal was able to bring me through it. There was a password, but there may have been more to it than that. I was with Cal, as I said, and maybe you have to be with someone who already has access.”

Alaric pushed away his mostly-empty plate, including all of his utensils, after plucking off the last piece of toast with jam. He took a bite, his voice thoughtful as he chewed.

“Anyway, that was years ago, Leda,” he continued, waving around the toast. “We were only in middle school then. Even if a password is all that’s needed now, there’s no way Malefic wouldn’t have changed it in all those years. And that’s assuming you can even access the mirror without Malefic or Cal being with you. To try, you’d have to get the new password off Cal, and I doubt he’d give it to you even if he knows it.”

“If I can find a way in, we could maybe do reconnaissance first,” I said.

“Even for reconnaissance, you’d need to be careful, Leda. You’d definitely need to go in armed with something that could test the fields before you attempted entry, using some of your magic, maybe mixed with an enchanted powder, or something else physical that could test the boundary without risking your skin.” His face scrunched into that uncomfortable look again. “Honestly, though, I think it’s very possible you could get inside.”

He cleared his throat.

“Usually spouses share their husband’s magic. Unless they are specifically cut out of a particular spell or chimaera, they should have their spouses access.”

I thought about that, and frowned.

“So you think Malefic removed his wife from the family chimaeras?” I asked, both unsurprised by this and disgusted.

“Yes,” Alaric said, matter-of-fact. “Again, it’s only my opinion. You’d need a way to test it. And if it doesn’t work, you could try the password route. Which also might not work without an escort… not to mention I don’t know how you’d get the password in the first place. Cal won’t help you. I can pretty much guarantee that.”

I didn’t answer, clasping my hands between my thighs and staring into the flames. Remembering the way Bones felt when he’d been warning me away, I’d flinched, though.

“You can’t go through the crypt,” Alaric went on in a mutter, sipping his coffee as if thinking aloud. “Even if the chimaeras let you in, without a map, or at least a rough sketch of the basic layout, you could be down there for a while. The longer you’re inside the chimaeras, the more likely it is that Malefic could sense you there.”

He turned his gaze back on me.

“There’s some chance he’ll know the instant you breach the chimaeras. Your only chance would be to get in and out quickly, before he could react. Without a map, I think you’d definitely be caught.”

I closed my eyes, trying to remember the exact layout of those restricted sections of the crypt. It had been dark. I couldn’t see the far wall. Rows of bookshelves and trunks had obstructed the view even beyond the darkness. There had been statues in there, artworks, china cabinets filled with jewelry and other family artifacts. There were no straight lines, no obvious aisles that all went in a single direction.