“Sorry, Fire Starter. You can’t kill me, but don’t worry, I’ll be sure that Danaus knows the truth the moment before he dies,” she said, then sauntered back down the dark hallway, leaving me alone with Rowe.
“Get back here, Sofia!” I screamed, pressing my face against the bars. “Get back here so I can kill you!”
“Oh, yeah. That’s going to win her over,” Rowe said sarcastically beside me.
“Shut it, pirate!” I snapped, pushing away from the door to pace the cell. Unfortunately, it was only a few feet wide. “I need to concentrate. We need to make a plan.”
“A plan for getting out of here?”
“And killing all those that put us in here.”
“I would be game for that,” Rowe said, surprising me.
I looked up at him, my brows furrowed over my nose. “A temporary truce?”
“Extremely temporary. Just until we get out of his house.”
I nodded, and returned to my corner in the cell. I lowered my eyelids so I could still partially see Rowe but was able to concentrate on what was going on outside the cell. I could sense Sofia and a scattering of other humans, but she appeared to be the only magic user in the house. I couldn’t sense Clarion. Ferko was also in the house, but there were no nightwalkers about. The hour was still relatively early. I could only guess that they were all out hunting, not expecting me to actually survive the day locked up with Rowe. And in truth, I couldn’t blame them. The only reason I could guess that I was still alive was because Rowe thought he had more use for me as a living entity to barter with.
I took another calming breath and reached out nervously with my powers. Rowe had said Danaus had been shot, and Sofia seemed to think that he was still alive, but I was afraid to find out for sure. My powers crept slowly across Budapest, fanning out in all directions. I could have reached out directly but was afraid he wouldn’t be there.
Mira! Danaus’s voice rang true and clear in my head.
I stifled a half sob at the touch of his powers. He was alive and he felt strong to me. Danaus! You’re alive. Rowe said you were shot.
I was. Where are you? Is Rowe with you?
Ferko and some others grabbed me. I think I’m at Veyron’s. They grabbed Rowe, too. Are you all right?
Fine. Rowe’s there? He’s with you? he demanded.
Yes, we’re both locked together in what looks to be the basement. We’re going to try to break out. Where are you?
Near the hotel. I’m going to grab a taxi and get to Veyron’s. Wait and let me get there first before you strike.
No, stay where you are. I’ll get Stefan to come get you. We’re going to need the help. I paused and took a deep breath. Sofia is a witch.
Mira—
No, listen to me. It was all a plot to separate us. She’s a witch.
Mira, you can’t—
I can’t explain now. Just trust me.
Send me Stefan, Danaus said. He didn’t sound happy, but at least he was willing to come get me out of my prison.
I looked up at Rowe to find him watching me expectantly. “Almost got the troops rallied,” I said, then turned my attention to Stefan. He was a bit more pliable than Danaus. He didn’t care about Sofia, only where I was and how he was going to set me free. While he preferred to come get me directly, he at last agreed to fetch Danaus before appearing at Veyron’s place.
“Help is on the way,” I said, finally turning my full attention back to the naturi watching me.
“So I would hope. Are they going to break us out of here?”
I walked over to the massive steel door and frowned. “They are going to act as support. I was hoping we could get out of here on our own.”
“And then what?” he asked, not moving from where he stood against the wall. “You’ve summoned up your little soldiers, but there are no other naturi in Budapest to assist me. How far does this truce extend? The cell door? The front door?”
I held onto the tiny bars in the windows and stared down at the rough concrete ground. “I should kill you now for what you did to Valerio,” I muttered, but then shook my head. “But you could have killed me while I slept and you didn’t. That earns you a free ticket out of this house. However, if you strike at me or mine even once while we’re on the property of this house, I won’t hesitate to kill you. The truce extends as long as you behave. That goes for me and mine.”
“Agreed.”
I turned my focus to the door in front of me and the string of problems I had yet to face. I wasn’t ready to contemplate the fact that I had just struck a deal with the worst of my enemies. I’d face that nightmare some night when I was home safe, away from the naturi and the coven.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Rowe pressed his hand and cheek against the cold steel door, sensing for any kind of spell that might have been wrapped around the opening. Not only was the naturi well versed in nature-based magic, but in his years of struggling to come up with a way to free his people, he had also become an expert in blood magic—the very thing that got him exiled. His hand slid across the metal in a slow caress, while I stood back from the opening, waiting to see if anything went awry. My skills did not lay with magic spells and other bits of hocus-pocus.
The naturi pushed away from the door and brushed off his hands. “There’s no spell barring our way,” he announced. “In fact, as far as I can tell, there’s no spell in all of this basement area. Apparently, no one thought we would survive to attempt an escape.”
“At least, they didn’t think you’d have the strength to escape alone after you killed me while I slept,” I added. “We should get moving. My companions should be arriving shortly and they’ll need our help.”
I wrapped my hands around one corner of the window in the door, while bracing my left leg against the stone wall. Rowe did the same on the opposite side of the door and we pulled. Alone, we were both stronger than the normal human, but neither of us were capable of pulling loose the steel door that was firmly bolted into the stone wall. However, working together, the door folded like a piece of warm cheese. A loud metallic screeching echoed through the stone basement, announcing our escape attempt. We had to get moving before someone arrived to investigate.
Climbing through the opening, I reached down to my side for my knife, to discover it was missing. I had forgotten that I’d taken off all of my weapons as I collapsed into bed. I was completely unarmed. I glanced over at Rowe, who simply shook his head at me. Apparently, his captors had taken the time to disarm him.
No matter. I’d tear Sofia apart with my bare hands if it came to that. She had caused me enough problems to last a lifetime and now it was time to take her life.
We hurried down the hallway to the entrance of the basement, not making a sound except for the occasional rustling of our clothes. I climbed up the stairs first and poked my head through the trapdoor, to find that we were actually in a subbasement below the real basement. On stone slabs there were an array of wood and metal coffins where Veyron and his companions obviously slept during the daylight hours. A quick count revealed more than a dozen coffins. Apparently, they subscribed to some of the old ways despite their talk of escaping the old-fashioned precepts of our people. I hadn’t seen a grouping of coffins like this except for the underground rooms at the coven meeting hall.
“Can we burn them?” Rowe asked as his eyes scanned them, searching for any that might still be occupied.
“Why bother? We’re going to kill them all eventually,” I said with a shrug. The naturi smiled unexpectedly at me. Of course, he would be pleased with any plan that worked toward the demise of my kind.