Once Upon a Dark October

Chapter Eleven

A nother staircase curled into the shadowy bowels of the estate, carrying us below. The gaslights did not enter here, so every now and then our path was lit by overflowing candles that dribbled stalactites of wax over the alcoves in the stone walls and gathered on the edge of the steps like molten spider silk. Of course, there happened to be plenty of that, too, the webs laced about our heads, whispering into the dark.

The change in the air was rather dramatic. A damp, raw cold that reeked of salt and brine, seawater glistening as it rolled down the stones. The entire estate had been hewn from the pitch-black rock that formed Dreadmist’s sheer cliffs and hemmed in the gloomy black sand of its beaches. A grim-looking sentry rising from the earth itself, dutiful and ancient. Down here, that reminder was inescapable. How long had it stood over the divide between land and sea, sheltering a coven of vampires from thick fog and battering winter tempests?

Morrigan felt the shiver that passed through me while she led me down. The candlelight bowed to her, spilling more wax while the air constricted, scented with warm iron, hot pressure spreading in my veins. Silent as the grave, her sorcery had vanquished the cold from my body. The warmth was immediate, as though she’d submerged me in a drawn bath. My veins hummed with the heat she’d left inside, my lips still tingling with her brutal kiss.