“Fortuna,” Gil said, his voice laced with urgency. “Let’s go.”
Blinking, I bent my head, breaking the strange spell Laurie had put over me. Using my free hand, I hurriedly got into the manhole. A smell rushed up, and it was so foul that my instincts reared, trying to recoil from that putrid stench. I gripped the edges of the manhole with white fingers, biting back a curse. Shit. That was human shit. And I was about to walk—maybe swim—through it.
Suddenly I regretted not killing Belanor.
We didn’t have time for this. With a swift, bracing breath, I started climbing down the ladder, fitting my new boots onto the rust-covered rungs. My stomach churned harder with each step, but I didn’t voice a single complaint out loud. There was little I wouldn’t do to get out of this city.
But the sword in my fist rattled as it hit the ladder, betraying the force of my dread. Breathing hard, I reached deep inside me and scooped courage out of darkness as if it were diamonds buried in the earth. Determined. Frenzied.
Once I was halfway down, Gil appeared at the top, blocking out the light as he followed. He closed the lid, and there was a finality in the sound that made anxiety flutter in my throat. I kept climbing as my mind filled with a single question. Where was Laurie?
I reminded myself that he could sift. Knowing Laurie, he’d probably show up when there was no more risk of ruining his suit.
A few seconds later, I reached the bottom of the ladder. The last rung seemed to hover over nothing but air. I looked down, but it was too dark to make anything out, even Peeks. The ladder shook now, along with my sword. Gil was coming down fast; there was no time for hesitation. I gritted my teeth and forced myself to let go.
Then I was plummeting into the bowels of Munich.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
I landed in water.
I couldn’t see much, but I could hear the sound plainly. Feel the cold shock of it splash against my boots. Down here, the smell was so strong that it took physical effort not to gag. I covered my nose and breathed through my mouth, moving away from the ladder so Gil could make the jump, too. He hit the water a moment later, but by then, my attention had gone to the small figure waiting a few steps away.
Peeks stood with his back to us. When he heard Gil’s landing, the faerie turned, revealing a white-bulbed lantern clutched in his long fingers. Its light bounced off the round walls, making the smooth bricks gleam.
“What’s your game?” I demanded without preamble. I hadn’t forgotten the connection I made back in that cell, when I’d recognized Peeks’s scent. He was the one who had stopped me from killing Belanor after I’d been pitted against Finn. Maybe if he hadn’t, my werewolf would still be here and we could’ve been home by now. Gil moved to stand next to me, and I felt my nostrils flare as I continued, “You knock me unconscious, then you save my ass? Did Laurie just buy your loyalty for the night?”
“If you’re referring to what happened in the arena, I kept you from revealing the return of your abilities,” Peeks countered, his tone far less heated than mine. He had probably noticed the blood all over Gil and decided self-preservation was more important. “I didn’t know the full extent of Belanor’s plans for you—I still don’t—but I knew he couldn’t move forward with them as long as he believed you were human. I’m also the one who sent Vulen on his merry goose chase two weeks ago so he wouldn’t be here to torment you. You’re welcome, by the way.”
Without waiting for a response, Jassin’s son turned and plunged into the murky depths of the tunnel.
“Right. Well, the sooner we follow him, the sooner we can get out of here.” Gil’s voice was muffled, and I looked over to see that he’d mashed his arm over his face. To his vampiric senses, the stench must’ve been unbearable. Feeling a stab of genuine sympathy for him, I nodded and started down the tunnel. My irritation was still there, though, and it only heightened as the smell worsened. The water was ankle-deep, and I tried not to think about what was in it. Instead, I kept my focus on the light Peeks held aloft, using it like a lighthouse in the distance.
None of us spoke, and during our silent trek through the dark, the only sounds were cars sporadically passing overhead and ripples lapping against the walls. I knew Laurie would come eventually, and when he did, he’d probably materialize at my side. But knowing something didn’t automatically give it power over the rest of the mind—I kept glancing over my shoulder, hoping to see the glint of silver hair or the flash of a devilish grin. Peeks led us deeper beneath the city, taking turn after turn, and there was no sign of either. Every once in a while, a sewer grate appeared overhead, allowing the glow of a streetlight or headlights sweeping past. The tunnel narrowed, forcing Gil to walk behind me for a time. Even then, I couldn’t stop looking backward. Come on, Laurie, where are you?
What I found more annoying than his continued absence was the strength of my concern. Scowling, I faced forward and reminded myself that Laurie was a big boy. He was also hard to kill. Worrying about him was ridiculous.
“Looking for me?”
At the sound of that voice, I almost exhaled in relief, and only the fact that Laurie would hear kept it at bay. I couldn’t hide how some of the tension visibly seeped from my shoulders, though. The tunnel had widened again, and Laurie now walked beside me. Gil trudged along behind us, still covering the lower half of his face. What I could see of his expression was miserable. Turning back around, I took in Laurie’s profile. He was deep in thought; his brows were lowered and his lips slightly pursed. He’d discarded the cloak, and the sword Tabitha had brought dangled from a scabbard at his hip. The long blade was dark with blood. I looked away quickly, remembering the shadow in Laurie’s eyes as he’d said, Spare as many as you can.
“Do you know if your friends made it out?” I asked. Our boots sloshed through the water in a short-lived tandem.
Laurie didn’t look at me as he spoke. “None of them were harmed or captured. Kruek will keep everyone is safe until it’s determined that Belanor is dead.”
I frowned. “Kruek?”
“The tall one.”
My face cleared as I realized Kruek was the faerie I’d been comparing to a lumberjack. He looks like a Kruek, I thought. Out loud I said, “I’m really glad everyone in your circle is okay. Even Cock Sucker. I owe each one a debt for helping me, and I won’t forget that. Now, about the shit we’re literally wading through… how much longer can we expect to be down here? We never talked about what happens after our big escape. Is the plan to get to a Door?”
“Yes.” Laurie finally turned his head. His eyes met mine, and the dark, pensive cast in them was gone. Seeing this, it felt like the knots inside me loosened and fell away. Then Laurie ruined it by adding, “But you can’t go back to Granby, Fortuna. If Belanor recovers, that will be the first place he checks.”
I sincerely doubted Belanor would recover this time, but his cleverer twin had taught me it was better to err on the side of caution. “You obviously have a place in mind,” I ventured.
It had just been a guess, but Laurie hesitated—hesitation was so unlike him that I almost stopped. But Peeks was still plunging ahead, and Gil came up from behind, the narrow slits of his eyes making it obvious he was scowling. I didn’t need a magical bond to know that his priority was getting out of these tunnels. I rushed to match Laurie’s pace again. Once we were alongside each other again, he shot me an inscrutable look and said, “The only place my brother wouldn’t dare to enter is the Unseelie Court.”