Jeremy waited. After a moment, Botnick interpreted Jeremy's silence as meaning he wasn't satisfied and cleared his throat.
"Her exact words were that your group had found a way to harness the power of life." He smiled. "She had no idea what that meant. I think she expected me to tell her. I didn't, of course. I kept your secret."
Only telling a few of his closest contacts… like the one Zack Flynn knew. Jeremy didn't call him on it, though, just kept silent, as if still awaiting a full reply. Botnick shifted his weight, his eyes rolling back as he tried to gauge Jeremy's expression. Jeremy kept him facing forward. Botnick looked to me for help. I looked back, face as impassive as Jeremy's.
"I understood what she meant," Botnick said. "That you'd harnessed the power of magic through the transference of the life force. Through sacrifice."
"Sacrifice?" Jeremy said. "She said that?"
"Well, not specifically, but I inferred it, given the wording."
"What do you know of us? Our group?"
Botnick straightened. "That you're serious practitioners. Not like most of them-wannabes and freaks looking for a place to belong, messing around with ritual magic and calling themselves witches and satanists as if it were no different than calling themselves Rotarians. Or indulging some socially unacceptable need-" he waved at the hook on the floor, "-and telling themselves it's an act of faith. You aren't like that. You are true seekers. Like me."
"And who told you this?"
"Botnick shifted. "No one told me directly. But I've heard rumors for years now. About a group, very tight-knit and secretive, closed to newcomers. Dead serious, though. Scientific even, in their quest."
"These rumors. What else-?"
"Eric?" A woman's voice echoed down the chute.
Botnick opened his mouth, but Jeremy's forearm clamped on his throat. Botnick shook his head, whispering "I'll get rid of her." Jeremy hesitated, then slackened his hold.
"Still looking," Botnick shouted. "I'll be up in a minute."
"Here, let me help-"
"No! I'm fine."
Jeremy motioned for me to circle around to the hidden exit. I did, steering clear of the chute. On the wall behind it was an opening, maybe thirty inches square. Jeremy had ripped the cover off by the hinges, the lock still intact. I shone the flashlight inside and saw a dark tunnel.
Behind me, Botnick was still trying to convince the woman he didn't need help but, the more he argued, the more suspicious he sounded. I'd just crawled into the passage when the entrance went dark and I glanced back to see Jeremy following me.
He pulled the cover on and the tunnel dimmed, lit only by my flashlight. As shoes clicked down the rungs, Jeremy crawled over to me, hand resting on my leg, and while I knew it was there to reassure me, I felt the heat of that touch burn through me, igniting thoughts very inappropriate under the circumstances.
"I said I was fine, didn't I?" Botnick snapped. "Now go back upstairs-"
"The office door was unlocked. Glen noticed when-"
"Yes, I was in there earlier. I probably left it unlocked."
The woman continued to argue, certain something was wrong and intent on figuring out what it was.
"Eric?" A man's voice now. "Did Dawn tell you about the office? You should have a look, see if anything has been-"
Footsteps on the concrete, coming our way. Jeremy waved for me to move fast.
"Eric? These boxes have been moved. The one in front of that old tunnel door…"
The voice faded as I moved away quickly, Jeremy at my rear. I crawled as fast as I could over the damp earth, the musty stink of it filling my nostrils, stones cutting into my palms and knees, skirt bunching up over my knees and slowing me down. I reached back with my flashlight hand, grabbed the skirt by the slit and ripped it, almost pitching face-first into a pit as my other hand came down on empty air.
I jerked back as Jeremy caught my legs.
"It drops off," I whispered.
"How far?"
I shone the flashlight down. As I did, a clanking sounded behind me and light filled the tunnel.
I leaned into the pit, holding the flashlight down as low as I could, afraid the sound of clicking it off would echo down the tunnel.
"Can you see anything?" Botnick's distant voice asked.
"No," the other man answered. "It's too dark. We need a light."
"Dawn? You'll find a flashlight in my office. Glen? Help me search the room, in case they're still here."
Shadows moved at the far end as they backed away from the opening. I peered into the pit.
"How deep?" Jeremy whispered.
It dropped down about four feet, then stretched into another tunnel. I twisted around and lowered myself. "Water seeped through my nylons, my toes squelching in the mud below. It smelled foul but didn't stink like raw sewage.
Jeremy stepped down behind me, barely rippling the water. I considered asking for verification that we were not, in fact, standing in sewage… and decided I was better off not knowing.
I shone the light down the tunnel, but darkness swallowed it after no more than a yard.
"Is it me or is this light getting dimmer?" I asked.
"Hard to say," he lied. "Give it a shake."
I did, and the light seemed to flare brighter. "Should we wait here, or continue on?"
Jeremy peered down the tunnel, then looked back down the one we'd come in. A clank. I recognized the sound of the trap door opening and ducked even as Jeremy pulled me down.
A beam danced over our heads. Mud oozed up to my ankles, swallowing my feet.
"See anything?" a woman whispered.
"No," Botnick replied.
"Where does the tunnel lead?"
"To the street, I was told. Guy who owned the shop before me ran some underground political paper. Always worrying about being raided."
"I'm going in," said the other man.
"Wait, you don't know what's…"
I didn't catch the rest. They'd pulled back, their voices now indistinct. Jeremy leaned down to my ear.
"We should move. Can you put on your shoes?"
"Not if I plan to walk in this. I'm fine."
I started into the tunnel. He caught my arm.
"You're in stockinged feet and can't see where you're stepping."
"I'm-"
"Here-"
"Don't offer me your shoes. Gallant, but it hardly solves the problem unless you're going to squeeze into my heels. I'll be careful."
"Feel before you step. I'll lead and take it slow."
We'd gone about twenty feet when the water level dropped to a trickle and the ground beneath it turned to concrete. I was about to whisper "well, that's better" when my flashlight beam flickered and went out. That was fate for you. Gives and takes, keeping the balance.
Jeremy's fingers reached back and brushed my arm, warning me that he'd stopped before I smacked into him.
CHIVALRY
"WHAT'S WRONG?" I whispered as Jeremy stopped.
"I can't see. Give me a moment."
We waited, the distant drip of water the only sound. It smelled different here-stale with an almost musky odor. Cold too. I wrapped my arms around myself, trying not to let my teeth chatter, which would only have Jeremy offering me his jacket.
"Hmmm," he said after a moment. "There must be a distant source of light. I can make out shapes, but barely, and it doesn't seem to be getting any better."
"No light at all means even you can't see, right?"
"I'm afraid so. My night vision needs something to work with. I'll move slowly. Here, give me the flashlight and your shoes, and put your hands-"
He guided them to his hips. I moved closer… just for safety, of course.
We started forward again, creeping along in the dark. We made it about fifty feet, and around the bend, when I heard a sound that made the hair on my neck rise. The chattering of tiny, needle-sharp teeth.
"Please tell me that's mice," I said. "Or underground squirrels."
"Okay."
I poked his back. "Liar."
"Don't worry. They're a ways off yet."
"Do you remember the psycho rats in Toronto? Did Elena ever tell you we were cornered by them?"