Chapter 30 #2
I struggled to breathe. “I once knew a ghost who was eaten alive by rats. You wouldn’t be so calm if you’d seen what they did to his body.”
When the sound died down, he set me on my feet. “You okay?”
“I’m fine. I’m great. Just rats trying to eat me alive.”
“Let’s move fast before they come back.”
Krys struck another match and cupped his hand around it while we hurried down another tunnel. As soon as we turned right, the harsh glow from a light fixture up ahead came into view, so he flicked the match into the water. A pale man strolled down an intersecting tunnel, so we followed him.
“I want a cookie after this,” I muttered.
When we reached an elevator with bars, I apprehensively stepped in with the heavily tattooed man.
Krys waltzed in as if he didn’t have a care in the world. As the elevator moved down, the stone wall outside the bars moved upward until it opened and revealed a spectacular view.
A cavernous room contained multiple passageways carved into the rock on many levels. It was inconceivable that anything this enormous could exist beneath the city. I’d heard rumors, but seeing it with my own eyes was a different story.
“Look!” Darcy poked her head through the bars. “There’s a river down there. I bet that’s where they throw the bodies.”
“Why don’t you join them?” I asked.
The man flicked his eyes up at me. “Just what we need, another crazy Gravewalker.”
Krys gave him the finger.
The elevator came to an abrupt stop. The other passenger stepped out and crossed a bridge made of wooden planks, which looked like it belonged in an Indiana Jones movie.
There were two other bridges visible, but they were on different levels.
Before we reached it, a man with a black beard stepped in front of us.
“Residents only,” he said, his accent Russian. “I don’t know you.”
“Who the hell are you?” Krys growled.
“A bridge watcher. And who the hell are you?”
“A new resident.”
He muttered something in Russian. “Show me your apartment key.”
Krys had left his wallet at home, but I had mine.
“This is better than a key.” I offered him a generous bribe.
The man laughed. “I don’t want your money. Paper is only good for cigarettes.”
I lifted my pendant to show it off. “Labradorite. They offer protection and spiritual awakening. Your spirit looks like it could use a little pick-me-up.”
He scoffed. “I don’t wear jewelry.”
Krys scowled and turned away from the guard. We needed to find a way across, and tossing this man over the edge might be a last resort.
The guard’s eyes flicked down to Krys’s ass. “What size are you? I like those leather pants.”
Krys locked eyes with me, and I could read his mind. It said something along the lines of hell no.
Meanwhile, Darcy was all the way across the bridge, investigating things.
Krys pivoted and raised his pendant. “How about this?”
The guard shook his head. “I told you, no jewelry. Pants or elevator. You decide.”
Krys handed me the impalement wood, followed by his belt, which had a push dagger attached. People passing us were visibly armed, suggesting this place had no rules.
The guard claimed he wasn’t a jewelry guy, but he also had three expensive watches on his arm. Just behind him were a pair of leather shoes, a leather coat folded up, two phones, and a laptop.
“Any job openings?” I inquired.
He shook his head slowly while watching Krys disrobe. I didn’t like his eyes all over Krys, so I stepped between them.
The leather pants flew past me and slapped the guard in the face. He gingerly straightened them out before holding them up to his waist.
After Krys laced up his boots, he marched across the rickety bridge in nothing but his black boxer briefs and tight shirt. It was a sight to behold, so I beheld it for as long as I could until my foot slipped through a broken plank.
I gripped the rope and smiled sheepishly before joining his side. “You should really consider going commando in leathers. It’s better for air circulation. The boys have to breathe.”
Darcy stood at the mouth of a tunnel. “Don’t go to the right. It’s a dead end.”
“Go left,” I told Krys when the tunnel branched.
“Why?”
“Darcy.”
Farther down, vendors had their tables parked in front of recessed areas of the wall that looked deliberately carved out for that purpose. They sold weapons, home décor, food, paintings, lanterns—a little of everything. I got the idea some people never went topside.
Krys approached a vendor and looked at her pile of clothes. “I need pants.”
“No pants,” the older lady said. “I’ve only got shorts.” She unleashed a wicked chuckle before holding up a pair of Hawaiian shorts.
Krys shook his head. “I’m not wearing those. What else have you got?”
Her eyes narrowed, and she offered him trunks with cartoon chipmunks on them.
Krys reluctantly snatched the Hawaiian shorts, which depicted palm trees over a sunset.
Two men slammed into the wall next to us, fists flying, so I stepped aside while they pounded each other’s faces.
“How much?” I asked, opening my wallet.
She peered at the bills. “All of it.”
“All?”
“The greater the need, the higher the value.” She reached across the table and gripped the shorts. “Or you can walk around in your undies. I would avoid level ten if I were you.”
Krys yanked the shorts from her hands. “Pay her.”
While he put them on, I laid all the bills on the table. Krys put his belt on since it had the dagger. Then he tucked his impalement wood beneath. With his studded collar, colorful shorts, and weapons, he was ready to book a kinky cruise.
Darcy’s rainbow hair bobbed in front of my face. “Show her the picture!”
I pulled out Cleo’s selfie. “Have you seen her?”
The woman shook her head. “I don’t see many kids down here. She’s not familiar.”
The next vendor was busy giving someone a tattoo.
I showed him the pic without a word, and he shook his head.
Sensors offered us a sensory exchange, and Krys punched one of them who tried touching him.
Customers were lined up against the walls, getting their fixes while Sensors pushed their magic into them.
When I spotted a blond ghost in a ridiculous Christmas sweater, I averted my eyes.
Darcy, on the other hand, whooshed right up to her. “Can you help us? I bet you know everyone down here. We’re looking for a young girl.”
“Shit,” I muttered.
Krys frowned at me. “What’s up?”
“Give me a second while I attend to some supernatural bullshit.” Easing up to the girls, I gave a mirthless smile. “Darcy…”
“Show her the picture,” Darcy demanded. “She said she’ll help.”
“Only if you quit announcing to everyone down here that I’m a Gravewalker. Show a little discretion.”
She rocked on her heels and gave a guiltless grin. “Oops?”
I held up the picture to the blonde. “Seen her?”
The ghost squinted and took a long look before finally shaking her head. “Sorry.”
“What about a Vampire named Scorpius?” Darcy went on.
She shook her head again.
“He has tattoos on his hands of scorpions.”
The young woman’s eyes lit up. “I’ve seen that guy.
I don’t know where he lives, but he creeps me out.
He probably lives at least two levels down.
You have to go deeper for baddies like him.
Ask the old vendor,” she said, pointing to our left.
“He knows everyone. Good luck!” The cheerful ghost vanished through a door.