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I met Carys’ gaze and silently pointed to the ground. Without saying a word, she bent down and laid the object back onto the newspaper.

:There she is,: Sekh said immediately. :Now I can’t See Vore.:

:I passed it to him as a test,: Daire said.

Sekh opened his eyes. :I See both of you now.:

:I put it in my pocket instead of holding it in my hand,: Vore replied.

:I have one more experiment to try,: I said in the bond. :Bring the object to me.:

I felt Rik’s scowl like a burning coal. Naturally he didn’t like anything around me that we didn’t fully understand. :We need to see where Angela went. If her object is the key, hers may open something here that this other object can’t. It might be location specific. Or maybe both would work if we knew how to activate it. But we won’t know if we don’t try.:

He nodded. :I know. I just don’t like it.: He stepped closer and put his left hand on my back. :If you go somewhere, I’m going with you.:

Unspoken, in seconds everyone linked up, touching each other in a chain. Vore trotted up and Rik held his hand out. Vore reached into his shirt pocket, and as he pulled the object out, a passage opened in the cement wall. My Blood immediately shifted toward it, putting themselves between me and anything that might come out of the darkness on the other side. Which made it difficult for me to see what was happening unless I used one of their bonds.

:Lew, go through and scout the area,: Rik ordered.

My heartbeat quickened, worry surging for any of my Blood sent into the unknown. Each of them was irreplaceable and precious to me, but especially my mother’s former alpha.

His gryphon shrieked, red-gold eyes filled with fiery sparks. :Even if I die, I will join Thierry and the other birds. I will never leave your side, Shara Isador, daughter of Esetta. Long may you reign.:

58

LLEWELLYN

The passageway opened by the object appeared to be just a black empty oval. I couldn’t see anything on the other side. Letting my gryphon’s fierce energy burn through me, I shifted just my hands for the talons, ducked low enough to fit through the hole, and dove through darkness to the other side.

Scanning, smelling, listening. Dark but I didn’t need light to see. Rough earth like a cave, bowled in the center and domed above. Not polished or manmade. I smelled dirt and rock. No sounds, not even droplets of moisture that would drip from the ceiling in a normal underground cave. I didn’t smell anything alive. Even the earth smelled sterile. No moisture, mold, or fungus. No hint of rot or vegetation. Just minerals and dust, as if all the usable organic material had been eaten away.

:No other exits,: I reported, running my gaze over the domed interior for my queen and her other Blood. :No other life forms that I can identify. There is some kind of liquid or surface down in the center that’s different from the rock. Moving closer to investigate.:

:With Lew inside, I can See.: Sekh’s mental voice sounded a million miles away.

Instinctively, I glanced back over my shoulder, checking to make sure the exit was still there. I’d go anywhere my queen sent me without question, but a Blood always wanted to be able to return to her. An oval shape gleamed slightly brighter than the darkness around me.

:Angela came to the center. Her mouth moves. Damn it, I can’t hear what she says. Then she leaves.:

:So she was reporting to someone or something,: Shara replied. :Maybe the object is also a communication device? Though I’m still not clear how she even knew this place was here.:

I slowly made my way down the sloped edges toward the depression, only partially listening to their conversation. It wasn’t steep but I didn’t want a misstep to send me into whatever waited below.

:It was created by Tanza’s death,: Sekh said. :The black components in her blood dripped into the space and created a sort of… pocket. A hidden wrinkle in the fabric of our existence. It’s inside our world but also apart from it.:

:Vore, stay on this side to ensure the passage remains open,: Rik said. :Do not enter, even if we’re attacked. Nevarre and Nox, be ready to step inside to get our queen to safety if needed. Mehen will be your backup. G, use your discretion if you think we need your sword, but keep at least one Blood at the elevator.:

:Understood, alpha,: G replied.

:We’re going in.: Each word weighed as heavy as Rik’s rock troll. He absolutely did not want to bring Shara into danger. Me either. I got it.

Yet the first thing an alpha must accept and understand was absolute surrender to his queen’s will. We protected her as much as we could. Always. But ultimately, she was the one with the Mother’s power. She made the decision about where she would go, and what she might or might not do.

Even if she decided to dissolve her Blood bonds and walk into a volcano to find her god of monsters. Alone.

I squatted at the edge of the small pond in the center. Barely more than a puddle really, assuming the bottom slope was consistent. I assumed it was liquid from what she’d seen in the bond of the black drops pulling away from Tanza’s blood, but it didn’t ripple or shimmer. If it was made from some kind of fluid, it seemed more viscous than water. Not shiny like oil. I didn’t sense any inherent evil intent from it. Short of touching it, I couldn’t really even tell if it was a liquid or just a different textured surface. Maybe metallic, though dull and matte.

Gaze locked on the surface, I watched for any hint of danger or movement as more Blood came through the hole. Then my queen.