The ride downtown was the longest I ever remembered, everyone uncomfortably crammed into Erin's car. When she parked off campus, we headed past the archway behind Yale Art Gallery, making our way to The Tomb. The vine covered brownstone's iron doors were padlocked shut, not a hint of light filtered through the windowless structure.
I couldn't stop thinking about Rowan, and what I was up against once I got inside.
I know they're in there," I whispered to Sitri, hoping Erin and Lucia didn't hear.
"Do you know what to do once you get inside?" he whispered back..
"I'm…. not really sure," I replied. "I'll have to follow Dantalion's lead, I guess."
I turned to Erin. "You did make the call… you know, to Christa's boyfriend who's friends with a Bonesman? "
"Yea… well, you didn't hear it from me… and you never heard of Christa's boyfriend or his friend, okay?" Erin smirked.
"Right," I grinned.
The Courtyard was scarcely lit, and the cold night gave me an uneasy feeling as we tried the side gate.
"What the???" I rattled the gate, throwing Erin an evil glare.
"They said to come around to the side," she winced.
I rattled the gate, giving the lock another try. When my hands touched against the metal, the brands burned my flesh straight through to my fingertips, the smoldering lock falling to the ground. The others were waiting behind me in the darkness, and I gestured for them to follow through the gate. Vine and Halphas crouched near the molten lock on the ground, whispering to one another.
"Did you see that? The girl is wielding fire?" Halphas muttered.
"Halphas… just like Master Rowan said, they are changing her, bit by bit she will become more like them, more like the demons we once were," Vine answered in a whisper.
"No… this is a dangerous game she's playing."
"Remember… she and Master Rowan are of immortal blood… combined, they could become a threat," Sitri chimed in.
"A threat…. To whom?" Druitte was curious what the others were saying.
"Let them take on those infernal bastards and seal them back up," Halphas was twisting his beard and pacing.
"Their untapped powers combined could be used to strike a bargain for their lives, both angelic and infernal," Vine's aged faced showed his concern. "If Master Rowan accompanied her here, their wager might have released Laurel of the brands. Dantalion wouldn't need to sign the oath!"