“I know your kind of stopping,” I said. “Why do I think it would end up with someone’s neck accidentally snapped?”
“It was just a suggestion.”
“Well, thanks, but no, thanks,” I said.
“So what now, kid?” Connor asked, all of the folders gathered up in his hands now.
“Let’s remain calm,” I said, more to convince myself more than anyone else.
“Calm,” Aidan said, distressed and crossing to me. He grabbed the lapels of my jacket and tried to lift me off the ground. Nothing happened. My feet stayed firm on the floor. “You want me to stay calm when I’ve been reduced to this? Powerless?” He shoved at me, and this time I felt a burst of his vampiric strength as I flew backward into the door. I hit it and started to slide down to the floor. Apparently not all systems were on the fritz with him.
“Okaay,” I said, pushing myself back to standing. My back cricked as I rolled my shoulders. “That’s not quite the kind of calm I was going for. Nice try, though.”
Connor stepped forward, standing between us. “My brother’s just a little spooked, is all.”
“I’ve lost my powers before, too,” I said, feeling a bit defensive. “Shoving people around didn’t help get them back.”
Connor turned to his brother and glared at him. “So what do we say to the nice human, Aidan?”
Aidan looked like he wanted to say something flip, but held his tongue. He let out a long, slow breath before finally speaking. “Sorry,” Aidan said.
“Good,” I said. I turned to the door, opened it, and checked the hallway. For now, it was empty. “Let’s go.”
Connor grabbed my arm to stop me, but I was already heading for the stairs, pulling him after me. “Go where, kid?”
“Out the goddamn front door,” I said. I took the stairs two at a time going down. “Allorah’s probably snatching up a complete vampire-hunting kit out of her lab or alerting the rest of the Enchancellorship, but I’m not too worried about the latter option. I doubt the Enchancellors are swift enough to be assembled together on short notice to deal with this. Just think of the paperwork… We’ll be long gone before they can get it in gear.”
I hit the bottom of the stairs, Connor and Aidan right behind me. We weren’t more than five feet off of them before I heard a commotion coming from just beyond the red curtains that separated the bull-pen area from the rest of the office proper. The curtain flew aside and a team of Shadowers was already assembled with Allorah in the lead, wearing her protective necklace and wielding with what looked like a Nerf pop gun loaded with a wooden stake. The Shadowers were armed, too, holding an assortment of crosses, holy water, and nets. One of them held a long sharpened pole. We were separated by several rows of cubicles and partial walls, but they’d be on us in no time.
“Shit,” I said. “I guess I shouldn’t underestimate an Enchancellor with a cause.”
“Looks like the locals are hunting for bear,” Connor said. “Still want to remain calm?”
“I say we abandon calm until cooler heads are prevailing on their side,” I said. I looked around to assess our options.
“Where’s the back door?” Aidan asked, for once his voice sounding a bit unsure.
“Don’t hurt anyone, Aidan,” I said, stern. “They’re only doing their jobs.”
“There isn’t a back door,” Connor said, answering his question. “Not that I’m aware of, anyway.”
Not that I was, either. Unless…
“Follow me,” I called out and dashed off in the opposite direction of the Shadower team. I heard Connor and Aidan fall into step behind me. When Connor saw where I was headed, his eyes lit up.
“The Gauntlet?”
I didn’t bother to answer. Instead, I kept on running toward the heavy old wooden door that led down to the research archives. I threw it open, and after Connor and Aidan came through, I slammed the door shut. All three of us put our weight against it.
I looked at Aidan, who for once actually looked winded. “Please tell me you have the strength to crush the locking mechanism on this.”
Aidan turned to the ornate handle and lock trigger, pressing the tips of his fingers flush against them. His face contorted with effort as he tried to squeeze them together. After a moment they started to give way, and once he had better leverage and momentum on his side, he was able to twist the two into an unwieldy knot.
“Happy?” he said. I nodded. Aidan lifted his hand and flexed his fingers. “Funny. I’ve forgotten what it feels like to exert myself.”
The thump of people reaching the other side of the door had me moving again. I ran down the carved stone stairs, taking a bit more caution given their age and the subterranean slope. The overhead lights lit up the tunnel all the way down.
We burst into the main room of the Gauntlet. Several of the archivists looked up from the long tables they were working at, while others simply carried on with their business. I spotted Godfrey Candella two tables away from us, where he was helping that Chloe girl with some sort of translation. When he saw me, he looked a bit startled, but waved.
“Hello, Simon.”
I was out of breath, but still found a little strength to wave him over to us. By the time he walked over, I was standing and had gained a little bit of my composure back.
“We need your help,” I said.
Godfrey stood there, his usual quizzical expression on his face. “Go on. I was just helping Chloe with a little bit of Carpathian she was having trouble with…”
I held my hand up to silence him. “Not now,” I said. He looked hurt. “Sorry,” I added. I continued on. “Remember when I was down here a few days ago… You took me to that place where we were looking up records on old New York, chasing down those blueprints from the 1800s?”
Godfrey nodded. “Of course I remember,” he said, sounding insulted.
“You need to take us there,” I said. “Now.”
Godfrey’s gaze switched to look at my two companions as if only now just seeing them. First he looked at Aidan, then at Connor. “Are they…?”
“Related?” I volunteered.
“No,” Connor said, interrupting. “You’re just seeing double.” He looked back up the stairs, wary. The sound of approaching footsteps came echoing down the staircase.
“Door didn’t hold as long as I thought,” Aidan said, sounding a bit disappointed.
Godfrey looked at him, adjusted his glasses, and looked closer. He turned to me and started to whisper.
“Is he…?” He held his hand up to his mouth, making little finger-fangs with it.
“I’m undead,” Aidan said, turning from the stairs to Godfrey with a scowl, “not deaf.”
Godfrey backed away, the awe on his face bordering on comical.
“Now would be a good time to get going, kid,” Connor called out. “Those Shadowers aren’t getting any farther away.”
I reached out and put a hand on Godfrey’s shoulder. He jumped with a start but turned his focus back to me.
“Just show us the way out of here,” I pleaded. “I swear… Aidan’s one of the good guys.” I gave Connor’s brother a look, but he just gave me a testy smile back. “Well, goodish, at any rate.”
Godfrey nodded his head over and over, a little frazzled, but starting off down one of the darkened tunnels lined with ancient filing cabinets and books. “Absolutely. Sure. No problem.”
The three of us followed close behind him as the archivist wended his way back through the ages of history. After the first three quick turns, I lost all sense of direction, but several moments later, the look of the older archives turned familiar. We were definitely headed back to where the blueprints had been, the place where I had heard the distant shuffling of creatures scurrying to and fro. When Godfrey produced a flashlight as conventional lighting came to an end, Connor spoke up.
“Jesus, kid. Where the hell does this lead to?”
“Not sure,” I said, noting the cavernous echo of my voice down here, “but it’s away from those guys following us.”