Chapter 37
Rule thirty-seven: Chug! Chug! Chug!
T he entrance to the underworld is completely underwhelming. I was expecting large wrought iron gates, maybe welded together with the bones of millions of inhabitants. Or at least a little bit of fire. A three-headed dog would have been a treat, too.
But instead, I’m standing in front of a stone staircase leading down under a mountain.
Shame.
“This is it?” I ask Sin, disappointed.
Sin shrugs. “It’s not the main entrance. No one ever bothers to come here. The Council technically owns the realm, but they’ve never bothered to populate it. The main entrance is likely guarded, so we’re using the back door.”
I eye the dark stairwell a bit warily. The tunnel is still large enough that a vehicle could drive through, so I’m not getting claustrophobic.
Silver linings are good.
“How far to the bottom?” I ask, buying myself a few more minutes of fresh air. Caves and I have had a less-than-stellar history together. At least if I piss off Sin, he can be a living flashlight. He seems more durable than a smartphone.
Sin walks to the steps but pauses at the first one. “A few hours. Longer now since we’re going to try and come in undetected.”
He holds out his hand to me. “Ready, kitten?”
I swallow but take his hand. “Ready.”
Sin eyes me before moving. “If anything happens, get out. Get out and hide until I find you.”
He doesn’t give me time to argue, starting down the steps.
The stone steps are steep, and within minutes, we’re swallowed by the darkness. I squeeze Sin’s hand, wondering how the war might play out differently if I trip and break my neck. Neither of us has said a word since entering, not wanting to risk being discovered.
Sin squeezes my hand in response, acknowledging me. A moment later, a faint red ball of energy appears at our feet. Its light is just enough to help me make out where the next step is. We continue down for ages, and with the light from the mouth of the tunnel completely gone, I quickly lose track of time .
This is how I picture sensory deprivation. Our footsteps don’t make a sound, and we take care to be as silent as possible.
At one point, I start counting the steps, just to give myself something else to focus on, other than the constant straining to listen for signs of other life. I hit step six thousand, seven hundred and twelve, when we finally hit level stone.
My muscles are screaming, and I regret not using my college gym pass to work out on the stair master. As it turns out, the few flights to my apartment were insufficient to prepare me for life after college.
We’re inside a large stone corridor, which snakes into the darkness. The air is heavy, and I wonder if oxygen carries here well enough to sustain a mortal. The thought gets my pulse racing, and I try to not think about how far below the surface we are.
It’s a big tunnel, Vivian. It’s not small. You’re fine.
Sin squeezes my hand, and I look up to find him looking down at me, concerned.
Squeezing back, I give him a small smile, hoping it’s reassuring. I nod into the darkness as if to say, ‘Lead the way, glowstick warlord.’
I hope my nod conveyed the message adequately.
Sin squeezes my hand again before we set off into the tunnel. The silence isn’t absolute anymore, and I catch the occasional sounds of water dripping and distant footsteps. My heart thunders in my ears at the footsteps, but Sin continues, seemingly unbothered.
The tunnel starts to split off into multiple paths. We’ve taken two thousand four hundred and ninety-five steps. I can’t remember what turns we took, but at least counting distracts me from the fact that the tunnels are definitely getting narrower. There’s a smell now, too. It’s making me want to gag the further we go down the tunnel.
Sin pauses at the mouth of a tunnel, listening. I peek around the edge to see a large, open cavern. Along the space’s edges are at least a dozen other tunnel entrances. Small torches line the walls, removing the option to go in unnoticed. If someone comes through any of those tunnels, we’ll be seen.
I wish that was the worst thing about the room. But the floor is dotted with rotting corpses, each in different stages of decay. Their mouths are twisted open as if they died screaming.
I blink. Well, that explains the smell.
Sin points to a tunnel opening almost directly across the room. The entrance is no different from the others except for a small black mark on the torch beside it.
Sin’s memory is doing pretty good for his age. I’m impressed.
Another breath and Sin gives a gentle tug on my hand. I nod at him so he knows I’m ready. We step out into the light, straining to hear every sound.
So far, so good.
Maybe this place isn’t as dangerous as Morgana hinted.
And maybe I need to stop jinxing my life.
Once we reach the center of the cavern, Sin collapses. He goes down hard, and I barely stop his head from slamming into the floor. “Sin!” I whisper-yell, rolling him over to see what’s wrong .
His eyes have rolled behind his head, and he starts convulsing.
“Sin!” I call him more loudly, trying to shake him out of whatever episode he’s having. I don’t see any signs of a wound, and there’s no one around.
Suddenly, to my horror, he sits up and starts yelling, “No! No, don’t take them! Please! Take me instead!”
His eyes are still rolled behind his head, and my heart starts thundering in my chest.
Oh fuck, this is bad. So bad.
“Sin, stop! Wake up!” I yell back at him. I slap his face, trying to snap him out of whatever is happening.
He continues to scream, his face twisted in terror, oblivious to me. “No! Take me instead! Kill me! Leave her alone!”
I don’t want to panic.
That doesn’t mean I’m not panicking.
I grab one of my daggers and slice it across Sin’s arm, hoping the pain will snap him out of it.
Nothing.
He keeps screaming.
I can’t even hear if guards are coming. But with the noise he’s making, I know we don’t have long.
It’s like he’s stuck in a dream, reliving a horrible memory.
More screams, and I hear yells in the distance.
Sin is too big for me to drag out.
His words from earlier ring in my head. To leave him and hide if anything happens.
I look at him, desperate, but I can’t do it. I won’t leave him .
I grasp at anything to try and get him out. Sin is trapped in his pain, reliving a memory, just like the faceless back in my realm. It’s a long shot, but I have to try.
Blocking out the sound of yelling and footsteps, I take a deep breath. I focus on Sin, on his pain. He’s hurting. Whatever he’s seeing, it’s horrific. I can’t stand to see him like this. My heart aches for him, and with that, the silver energy I use on the trapped spirits flows from inside of me, circling Sin.
Another breath and Sin stops yelling, his eyes returning to normal. I grab his arm, pulling him up to stand. He helps me, even as he stares at me, looking lost.
I pull at him more urgently, and he follows slowly until I turn back and hiss, “Move it! They’re coming!”
Sin blinks, still looking out of it, but he follows me, keeping up. I hustle down the tunnel he pointed out before, only focused on getting us as far from the cavern as possible.
We run for another minute when Sin finally squeezes my hand. “Fucking fuck,” he mutters.
I take that as a sign he is fully back to consciousness.
He takes the lead, tugging us down another long tunnel at a fork in the path. We slow down, listening for any sound.
It takes just a heartbeat to hear the reverberating footsteps. Guards are coming. From the sounds, they’re on both sides of the tunnel. I turn to Sin, and he’s looking around, his eyes assessing. I reach for a blade, ready to fight the guards, but he pulls me forward another ten steps.
Before I can question what he’s doing, Sin picks me up, shoving me into a crack in the ceiling I hadn’t seen in the darkness. I roll over, trying to make room, and Sin climbs up beside me a second later.
The crevice is tiny, barely wide enough to fit a single person lying down. Sin’s body is glued to mine, and I’m all too aware of the stone walls pressing in on us from all angles.
The guards’ footsteps grow louder, but it’s hard to hear them. The walls are closing in on us. My lungs aren’t working right. There isn’t enough air, and we’re stuck. Stuck in the cave. Circles form on the edges of my vision, and I keep trying to breathe.
It isn’t working. The claustrophobia is taking over.
Sin is whispering to me to be quiet, but I can barely see him; the tunnel vision is getting too deep.
More heartbeats, and Sin’s hands are on either side of my face, trying to bring me back. I can’t, though. There’s no air.
“Fuck, please forgive me for this, kitten,” he whispers.
He pulls my face towards him, and his lips crush against mine. The panic still has its grip on me, and Sin angles my face, deepening the kiss. My pulse stutters. I try to breathe, but the air won’t come.
Sin’s hands are gentle on my face, but he shifts to wrap a hand in the hair at the nape of my neck. He tugs just as his tongue sweeps in to fully explore me. An intense heat surges through me, and I inhale sharply at the sensation. He pulls back a fraction, only to nip at my bottom lip, and I swallow my moan before slamming my mouth over his.
At my response, Sin’s fingers tighten in my hair, and the kiss becomes wild, all tongues and teeth, each of us desperate for more.
After long moments, Sin starts to pull back, and I suck his bottom lip, reluctant to let him go. His answering growl travels straight to my core, and he claims my mouth again. Only once my lips are swollen does he release me and whisper, “Guards are gone, kitten.”
He climbs out of the crevice, and I follow. His hands come around my waist to settle me on the floor. He doesn’t let me go, though, instead pressing his forehead to mine. “I’m so sorry. You were panicking, and it was the only thing I could think of to distract you from the small space.”
His breathing is still labored, and I realize mine is the same.
I’ve wondered for a while now what it would feel like to kiss him. I have my answer now.
Addictive.
Kissing Sin is addictive.
My body is still flushed, and I’m not entirely opposed to climbing back into the crevice if it means I can taste him again.
Sin sounds devastated, though. Like he’s violated me.
I clear my throat as silently as possible before whispering, “It – It’s really okay. I didn’t mind at all. And to be fair, I cut your arm back there to try to snap you out of whatever nightmare you were stuck in. ”
Sin frowns at me, lifting his head but not letting me go. “What happened back in the cavern?”
I swallow. “You collapsed and started screaming like you were seeing something horrible. I used my ghost powers to pull you out of it.”
Sin’s hands tighten on my waist, and he looks livid. “Fates above, kitten. I told you to leave if something happened.”
I frown back at him. “Since when do I listen to your orders?”
Sin’s jaw ticks. I smile at him.
He sighs, releasing me. “You should have left. And I’m sorry again for kissing you.”
That’s precisely what a woman wants to hear after kissing the guy she has too many fantasies about.
I huff, “I’m sorry it was such a disappointment for you.”
Sin whirls on me, pressing me against the tunnel wall. “You know that’s not what I meant.”
I glare at him. “I get it. You regret kissing me. You didn’t like it. It’s fine. We can move on and continue the mission. We don’t need to keep revisiting.”
It’s not like I have much experience in the kissing department, but I didn’t think I was bad enough to warrant not enjoying it.
Sin looks at me like I’m insane before grabbing my hand and pressing it against his pants. Immediately, I feel his thick length straining through his pants.
Inhaling sharply, I look up to meet his gaze.
He presses himself against my hand once before growling, “Does that feel like regret, kitten?”
I shake my head quickly, and he releases my hand .
“I’m sorry I kissed you here while you were in the middle of a panic attack and not in my bed, with you naked and writhing against me,” he finishes, pulling me off the wall.
Heat courses through my body, and my pulse races. “Thanks for clarifying,” I whisper as we continue on.
He nods, and we slip back into silence.
Two thousand and twenty-six steps, this time until we stop again. Another cave opens up before us, a table with two goblets within it. A door lies just beyond the table.
Sin motions for me to wait as he enters the cave. He makes it across the room without issue and waves me forward.
The whole lack of convulsing is a nice change of pace. I like this cave better.
Sin tries the door. It’s locked by a thick bar, but no matter how much he struggles with it, it doesn’t budge.
I pad into the cave, moving to the table. A small note waits there, next to the cups.
‘ Only those who drink may pass .’
I peek inside the goblets, which look filled with wine.
Sin struggles against the door again, and I call out to him softly, “Hey, it looks like we need to drink these.”
Sin looks at me, frowning, before coming over to read the note. “Like fuck you’re drinking that,” he hisses.
I arch a brow at him, and he narrows his eyes in response. “For all you know, it could be poison, set out for anyone who tries to reach the man in the wall. Please, kitten, don’t accept drinks if you don’t know where they came from.”
He moves back to the door, trying to free the lock.
My gaze lingers on the goblet. Nothing in my gut is telling me the drink is a danger. Just like in the cavern before, other than being discovered by the guards, I wasn’t at all worried about the corpses.
It’s such an odd feeling. It’s almost comfortable here if you can get over the tighter stone passages.
Sin’s tattoos glow faintly red, and I realize he’s using his Destroyer powers on the lock. I hold my breath, waiting for it to disintegrate.
Nothing happens.
Sin’s tattoos glow brighter, but still, the lock doesn’t budge.
The lock is impervious to Destroyer energy. Other than the wards around the Council’s castle, I didn’t even know that was possible.
Sin continues to use more power, and I’m acutely aware that he isn’t supposed to do that here. I make an executive decision and down the first goblet.
The liquid heats down my throat, and it burns like I’ve just tried to chug liquor.
I wait a beat before calling, “Sin?”
Sin grumbles at the lock before turning to me.
I smile sweetly at him, fully aware I’m about to piss him off. “It isn’t poison,” I note, showing him my empty drink.
“Kitten, what in the actual fuck were you thinking?” he barks, stalking over to me. His tattoos are glowing even brighter now. “You’re a mortal. You could have died.” He takes the goblet from me, glowering.
I shrug. “I had a feeling it wasn’t poison.”
He rakes his hands through his hair, muttering, “A feeling. You risked your life on a fucking hunch. Fates, the only era you’re going to usher in is the one where I go crazy trying to keep you alive.”
I pick up the second goblet. “That sounds like a fun job. So, are we going into the other room?”
Sin’s sigh could knock over a small house as he takes the cup from my hands. Despite the clear anger radiating off him, he’s gentle doing it.
He gives me one last glare before downing it. Not even a heartbeat later, Sin starts coughing and sputtering, his tattoos dimming. He doubles over, still choking on the liquid.
“Hey, are you okay?” I ask, patting his back.
More coughs until finally, Sin stands back up, breathing evenly.
His eyes widen in horror.
My stomach drops.
Oh god, is he about to have another episode?
But instead, he looks at his hands before looking back at me. “My powers are gone.”
Just as the words leave his mouth, the lock on the door clicks open.