Had he been watching me? Why? All of a sudden I was skeptical, and it made me nervous. “Why would you help me?”
“Let’s just say I’d like to shake things up a bit.” He paused just long enough for me to wonder what he’d meant by that. “Frankly, having the most badass Acari on the island owe me?” He tapped his head. “That’s just smart. Come on,” he said, urging me forward again. “I’ve got an idea where they’re keeping him.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
“But we’re headed away from the castle.” I stopped. Josh had taken a path that forked away from the top-secret vampire quarters. “I thought you were going to get me into the keep.”
“Shhh.” He looked around, looking half-amused, half-scared. “Are you nuts? I can’t get you in there. They’d have both of us for breakfast.”
“But I need to find Card—Master McCloud.”
He narrowed his eyes on me. “Carden, eh?”
Of everyone, would it be Josh who ended up guessing at our bond? I couldn’t worry about it now. But just in case, I quickly added, “Look, I was close with Amanda and Judge. I have some questions for Master McCloud. If it turns out he killed them, I’ll stake him myself.”
He gave me a sly smile. “Whatever you say, D. If McCloud is still alive—and seeing as the vamps are practically drooling for a public spectacle, I’m sure he must be—then I’m pretty sure he’s in the caverns.”
“The caverns?”
“Yeah, you know them.”
I followed his line of sight to the standing stones. He was right. I did know the caverns. I’d seen them—or rather, fallen into them—while fighting Lilac. It was a vast underground network of tunnels and sea caves beneath the standing stones. The perfect spot for a dungeon.
“We don’t need to drop into the water, do we?” I shuddered at the memory of our fight, of falling into the subterranean springs. They were hot, sulfurous, and very, very dark.
“We’re not doing anything,” he said. “You’re going it alone. I’ll show you a way around, though.” He pointed to a faint trail, winding down to the sea. “Follow that down, and you’ll see what looks like a rabbit’s burrow. You’re small—you can climb in that way.”
“Gee, thanks.” I eyed the trail—I never would’ve spotted it without him pointing it out to me. “It means leaving the path.”
He shrugged, agreeing. “You asked where. I’m showing you.”
I thought of Carden imprisoned. Again.
Except this time, would he be so willing to accept his death? I hoped not. I knew I had to see for myself. I had to help him, again.
But saving him meant breaking yet another rule. I faced Josh. “Should I take it personally that you just assumed I’d be game for leaving the path?”
“You should take it as a sign of my respect for you. You’re one tough sheila. I hope you’re on my side if I ever find myself locked up.”
“I’ll take that under advisement.” I eyed the trail. We’d skipped lunch to come, and I needed to hustle if I wanted to do this today. Nobody was around now, but the chances of being seen would increase once kids finished in the dining hall and started heading to their afternoon classes.
I took my first step off the path, then paused, part of me still the tiniest bit skeptical. “I can’t believe the vampires told you all this. About the caverns, I mean.”
“Vampires didn’t tell me anything. I spotted it the day of your fight, then went back later to check it out. I’ve been exploring when I can. I found a spot with a bunch of shackles. I think they must be holding McCloud there.”
Shackles. Just the thought gave me a chill. “There are probably shackles all over this creepy island. Why would these be any different?”
“Because, Blondie.” He paused, looking uncomfortable. “On the day of your fight, when I passed this particular tunnel, I could smell the blood. It was fresh.”
I shuddered. Who else ended up in these dungeons? “Is that where they take all the bodies?”
“Please don’t ask me too many questions,” he said. “I’m walking a line here as it is.”
It brought Acari Kate to mind. Ever since the day of her climbing accident, I hadn’t been able to get her out of my mind. Had a bond with a vampire been what’d made her so unhinged? Had her mania been a glimpse into my future? What had she seen that’d sent her falling to her death? “Just one more question?”
He hesitated.
“Please,” I pleaded.
Josh checked his watch, looking nervous. “Only for you, D. But make it fast.”
“A girl died the other day.”
“What else is new?”
I shook my head. “No, this was different. Acari Kate—did you know her?” He didn’t, so I went on. “Well, she was acting all weird. We were far down that beach where Priti holds her combat classes.”
“I know the spot.”
“She was climbing up the rock face there. She saw something when she got to the top.”
He only nodded, but I could see by his expression that he had some thoughts on the matter.
“She saw something,” I said. “Didn’t she?”
“Could be.”
“You know something else, don’t you?” But he just looked at me blankly, so I pressed. “Come on, Josh. This is important.”
He sighed. “I guess it’s not that big a deal. There’s a man who lives out that way, near the southern part of the island.”
“A man? Like, a human man?” I gaped at him. That was not the answer I’d been expecting. “What would he be doing out there? And why would some man scare her, anyway?” At this point, I imagined if I spotted an ordinary human male, I’d run to him with open arms.
“It’s not who he is,” Josh said. “It’s who he would’ve been with. He’s the keeper of the Draug.”
I laughed, it was so ridiculous. But then the look he gave me was one part horrified disbelief and one part afraid. It was the fear that stole the smile from my face. “You’re being serious.”
He gave me a grim nod. “As a heart attack.”
With that cheering thought, I thanked him and was on my way, jogging down the trail before my small window of time ran out. I had Expeditionary Skills Training with Priti at three o’clock. She held class not far from here, but I’d need to double back and put on my gym clothes first. If I’d been thinking, I’d have put a change of clothes in my bag. But this morning I’d been too busy reeling from the news about Carden. I’d just have to go quickly.
Once I was out of sight, I could slow my pace a little, as I wasn’t in as great a danger of being spotted. At least, not by a fellow student. If a vampire saw me out this way, I’d be screwed, no matter what. Something told me that not even Alcántara’s weird fascination with me would save me this time.
I contemplated Josh’s bizarre report. A Draug keeper? Was there a Draug pen? What did they eat? I shuddered to consider it.
More important, did the keeper have anything to do with the vampires I’d overheard? Is he in control? They grow reckless. Those words could apply to Keeper and Draug. Though I supposed they could be applied to most anything on this island and still make sense.
But then something else hit me: The keeper was a human man, living in solitude, on a high plateau. He’d have seen much. He might have seen the true killer. And like that, this mysterious keeper became my hope. I sure didn’t have anything else to go with.
I almost jogged right by the entry tunnel Josh described. If his instructions hadn’t been so clear, I’d have mistaken the small passage for the burrow of some animal.
With a quick glance in either direction, I dropped to my knees and crawled in. The darkness was immediate, swallowing me whole. The smell of brine and sulfur hit me, and I had to pause a moment to gather myself. The scent memory threw me back to the day of my fight with Lilac.
The old fear erupted from deep inside, setting my heart hammering against my chest. I forced myself to calm, to breathe, to be centered. And that was when I felt him.
Carden.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
He was near. He was reaching out to me. It wasn’t clear, though, not like hearing his voice in my head or how I imagined ESP might be. But I felt him nonetheless. He was a tug in my belly. A buzzing in my head. A nudge in the back of my mind, a sensation telling me he was nearby.
Carden needed me to come. Maybe even wanted me to.
I upped my pace, crawling quickly through the darkness until my hands met damp, close air. It was the caverns.
I waited for my eyes to adjust, but there wasn’t the slightest bit of ambient light. On the day of the Directorate Challenge, there’d been torches. There’d also been a terrible rent in the rocks overhead that’d let in fingers of watery sunlight. But the vampires must’ve patched it up, because it was pitch-black now.
I’d have to feel my way.
Without sight, my other senses overcompensated. I became hyperaware of the sound of my breath in my head. Of the plip-plip of distant condensation dripping onto rocks. Of the feel and taste of the humid air. And of Carden opening his mind to me.
“I’m coming,” I whispered, teetering to standing. I made myself keep a steady pace, wary I might accidentally fall into the hot springs—or worse. I wouldn’t have been surprised if this place held a crevasse leading straight down to hell.
I didn’t know how much time passed before I heard the clinking of chains. Carden’s voice was close, a harsh rasp saying, “You must leave me.”
I forgot my fears of pits and pools and ran straight toward that voice. “Carden.” I slammed into his chest, and he made an oof sound that made me feel such a swell of affection.
He chuckled. “We must stop meeting in dungeons, petal.”
“Are you okay?” Though my body responded instantly to him, overcome with thirst and longing, those feelings weren’t as powerful as this relief I felt, touching him again. Knowing he was alive. “We have to get you out of here.” I ran my hands up his arms. The fabric of his sleeves was damp with condensation. I felt for his shackles. “Who did this? Was it Alcántara?” I frantically rattled the chains, trying to find some give. “I’ll kill him.”