Dead Matter

“Good,” I said. I turned to the door, opened it, and checked the hallway. For now, it was empty. “Let’s go.”

Co

“Out the goddamn front door,” I said. I took the stairs two at a time going down. “Allorah’s probably snatching up a complete vampire-hunting kit out of her lab or alerting the rest of the Enchancellorship, but I’m not too worried about the latter option. I doubt the Enchancellors are swift enough to be assembled together on short notice to deal with this. Just think of the paperwork… We’ll be long gone before they can get it in gear.”

I hit the bottom of the stairs, Co

“Shit,” I said. “I guess I shouldn’t underestimate an Enchancellor with a cause.”

“Looks like the locals are hunting for bear,” Co

“I say we abandon calm until cooler heads are prevailing on their side,” I said. I looked around to assess our options.

“Where’s the back door?” Aidan asked, for once his voice sounding a bit unsure.

“Don’t hurt anyone, Aidan,” I said, stern. “They’re only doing their jobs.”

“There isn’t a back door,” Co

Not that I was, either. Unless…

“Follow me,” I called out and dashed off in the opposite direction of the Shadower team. I heard Co

“The Gauntlet?”

I didn’t bother to answer. Instead, I kept on ru

I looked at Aidan, who for once actually looked winded. “Please tell me you have the strength to crush the locking mechanism on this.”

Aidan turned to the ornate handle and lock trigger, pressing the tips of his fingers flush against them. His face contorted with effort as he tried to squeeze them together. After a moment they started to give way, and once he had better leverage and momentum on his side, he was able to twist the two into an unwieldy knot.

“Happy?” he said. I nodded. Aidan lifted his hand and flexed his fingers. “Fu

The thump of people reaching the other side of the door had me moving again. I ran down the carved stone stairs, taking a bit more caution given their age and the subterranean slope. The overhead lights lit up the tu

We burst into the main room of the Gauntlet. Several of the archivists looked up from the long tables they were working at, while others simply carried on with their business. I spotted Godfrey Candella two tables away from us, where he was helping that Chloe girl with some sort of translation. When he saw me, he looked a bit startled, but waved.

“Hello, Simon.”

I was out of breath, but still found a little strength to wave him over to us. By the time he walked over, I was standing and had gained a little bit of my composure back.

“We need your help,” I said.

Godfrey stood there, his usual quizzical expression on his face. “Go on. I was just helping Chloe with a little bit of Carpathian she was having trouble with…”

I held my hand up to silence him. “Not now,” I said. He looked hurt. “Sorry,” I added. I continued on. “Remember when I was down here a few days ago… You took me to that place where we were looking up records on old New York, chasing down those blueprints from the 1800s?”

Godfrey nodded. “Of course I remember,” he said, sounding insulted.

“You need to take us there,” I said. “Now.”

Godfrey’s gaze switched to look at my two companions as if only now just seeing them. First he looked at Aidan, then at Co

“Related?” I volunteered.

“No,” Co

“Door didn’t hold as long as I thought,” Aidan said, sounding a bit disappointed.

Godfrey looked at him, adjusted his glasses, and looked closer. He turned to me and started to whisper.

“Is he…?” He held his hand up to his mouth, making little finger-fangs with it.

“I’m undead,” Aidan said, turning from the stairs to Godfrey with a scowl, “not deaf.”

Godfrey backed away, the awe on his face bordering on comical.

“Now would be a good time to get going, kid,” Co

I reached out and put a hand on Godfrey’s shoulder. He jumped with a start but turned his focus back to me.

“Just show us the way out of here,” I pleaded. “I swear… Aidan’s one of the good guys.” I gave Co

Godfrey nodded his head over and over, a little frazzled, but starting off down one of the darkened tu

The three of us followed close behind him as the archivist wended his way back through the ages of history. After the first three quick turns, I lost all sense of direction, but several moments later, the look of the older archives turned familiar. We were definitely headed back to where the blueprints had been, the place where I had heard the distant shuffling of creatures scurrying to and fro. When Godfrey produced a flashlight as conventional lighting came to an end, Co

“Jesus, kid. Where the hell does this lead to?”

“Not sure,” I said, noting the cavernous echo of my voice down here, “but it’s away from those guys following us.”

“Good enough for me,” Co

The cabinets came to an end, Godfrey’s flashlight showing only faint glimpses of distant caves leading off under the city.

“This is it,” he said. “This is as far as I know. Beyond this point, your guess is as good as mine.”

“I’m sorry,” Co

Godfrey shook his head. “Sorry.”

“Or where it leads?” Co

“Again, my apologies,” Godfrey said. “I can tell you that there have been some signs of things that kind of slither around, but I haven’t come across anything lately.”

The sound of the men pursuing us echoed throughout the cavern. It was impossible to tell how close or far away they were.

“Fine,” Co

Godfrey looked hesitant.

“What?” Co

“It’s the only one I have on me,” he said. “How will I find my way out?”

“Oh, for God’s sake,” Co

Now it was Godfrey who was angry. “Well, excuse me for not being prepared to aid and abet two agents and a vampire in escaping members of our own Department. Do you realize what trouble you’ve probably gotten me into…?”