“Why did you go to Stasha’s?” I blurted out and then quickly lowered my voice. “Why did you go with her to her house?”

He considered this for what seemed like an eternity. “I was standing outside of the…Red Dragon…debating whether I wanted to go in or not, when she showed up out of the blue. I think she hangs out there sometimes, but she didn’t want to admit it, so she pretended to be wandering around the area. She asked me if I wanted to go back to her house.” He paused. “I went with her because the only other option I had was going inside the Red Dragon.” A club where evil hung out…yeah, I could see a girl like Stasha hanging out there.

I tugged the sleeve of my thermal shirt down, trying to cover up the ugly permanent lines on my arms. “I’m glad you left with her then, even if she is sort of crazy.” He laughed and for a split second, some of his pain vanished from his eyes.

“You know, Aislin was freaked out the whole time you were gone,” I told him, dodging around a bush. “She cried practically the entire time.”

“Aislin always cries,” Laylen informed me, karate-chopping a low branch that was in his way. “She’s been that way basically forever.”

“Yeah, but do you think…maybe….it would help if you forgave her for what happened between you two.” I had no idea why I was saying this, and I worried I might have crossed a line.

He didn’t answer, staring straight ahead through the darkness. “Did you cry while I was gone?” I blinked up at him confusedly. “What?”

He met my eyes and tension clasped the air. “Did you cry while I was gone?”

“Oh, yeah, I cried until my tears ran out,” I joked, trying to break the tension.

He smiled and shook his head. “I knew you were secretly pining for me.”

I laughed and he did to. Then he swung his arm around me and pulled me into him.

“I’ll try to fix things between Aislin and me, but it has to be a mutual thing,” he said in a low voice. “She has to want me back in her life too, vampire and all.”

I nodded. “Yeah, I know. And I have this feeling she will.”

“But honestly, I could be okay with this.” He kissed the top of my head. “Just you and me.”

Part of me agreed with him—I could stay like this way forever. Just me and Laylen, the first friend I ever had.

We walked the rest of the way in the quiet still ness that only night brings. It wasn’t awkward or anything, just a comfortable silence; the kind of silence that only exist between two people who are comfortable with each other.

The bright lights inside the castle lit up the outside, warning us there were people inside.

Laylen guided us behind a large oak tree when we reached the edge of the forest. “Okay…we’re probably just going to have to make a run for the back.” He peered around the corner of the tree trunk. “I don’t see anyone outside.” His eyes searched for something. “And I think I see the rock Alex was talking about.” He met my eyes. “Are you sure you’re ready for this?”

I clutched the Sword of Immortality in my trembling hand.

“As ready as I’ll ever be.”

“Alright, then.” He was nervous, which made me even more nervous. He raised his eyebrows at me. “On the count of three?” he asked and I nodded, crossing my fingers I didn’t eat dirt during the sprint. “One…two…three.” We took off, charging through the night toward the ominous castle, our feet thudding in unison. I tripped over a rock, but caught myself and didn’t endure anymore stumbles the rest of the way. The rock was gigantic—the size of a car at least, and it took Laylen quite some effort to scoot it forward. Beneath it was a small hole burrowed into the ground. Even with my night vision, I couldn’t see the bottom. Laylen jumped into the hole first, since neither of us could tell how far of a drop it was, and Laylen was skilled in the art of enduring high falls.

“Alright, go ahead and jump,” he called up once he reached the bottom.

Figuring it must not be too far of a drop, I sat down on the ground, slid my legs into the hole, and without any hesitation I jumped. I was wrong, though. It was a far jump.

At least a few stories high. At least. But Laylen was there, in the darkness, breaking my fall as he caught me in his arms.

“Holy, crap,” I breathed into his chest as I clasped tightly to his neck. “I didn’t think it would be that far.”

“I thought it would be easier if you didn’t know,” he replied, letting me go so I could stand.

He was right—it was easier.

It was the thickest darkness down here. “Can you see?” I whispered.

“Barely.” Laylen took my hand. “This way,” he said, guiding me with him as he walked through the blackness.

I’m not really afraid of the dark or anything, but this was scaring me to death. I mean, I didn’t know this place, only that Stephan probably was around somewhere. And what if he was out there in the darkness, watching us as we wandered around blindly. What if we couldn’t see him, but he could see us and he was just waiting for the perfect moment to—

“Gemma, take some deep breathes and try to relax.” Laylen squeezed my hand. “Your hearts beating so loud I can hear it.”

“Sorry.” I took a deep breath, but I knew it wouldn’t relax me. “It’s just creepy, you know. I mean, I can’t see a thing.”

“I can see a little,” he tried to reassure me. “We’re in an empty tunnel. There’s nothing here to worry about.” Worry about yet. I scooted in closer to him.

The tunnel seemed to last forever. And just when I thought I couldn’t take it anymore, that the pitch black was never going to leave us, I could suddenly see again. But what I saw made me want to shrink back into the dark tunnel again. It made me want to run.

Laylen and I were standing in a torture chamber.

And we were not alone.

Chapter 14

“What is this place?” I whispered, staring at the pale figure, strapped to a rack in the center of the room.

Laylen shook his head. ‘I have no idea…I’ve never been down here before.”

“Should we…” I gestured at the person bound to the rack.

“Should we free them?”

Laylen gave me a skeptical look and then slowly made his way over. I followed at his heels, trying to figure out if the person was alive or dead. Honestly, they looked dead, their eyes sealed shut, their body unmoving, their lips silent as a grave.

Even when we stood above them—or should I say her—

she still showed no signs of life.

“Is she…is she alive?” I said to Laylen.

Laylen leaned over her. “Yeah, I can hear her heart beating.”

“Should we…” I reached for one of the ropes around her wrist. “Should I untie her?”

Laylen nodded and reached for the other rope around her wrist. The rack wasn’t stretching her limbs to their full capacity, but her pale skin was pulled rather tight. Her curly black hair ran off the sides of the rack, and so did the worn-out blue dress she was wearing. Laylen and I untied the ropes around her arms and her legs, but still she didn’t move.

“Now what?” I wondered, reaching out as I considered giving her a soft shake.

But Laylen beat me to the punch, lightly shaking her shoulder. But still, she didn’t show any signs of being alive.

“Maybe she’s—” I started

The girl’s eyes shot open. She took one look at us and leapt from the rack. She backed herself up against the stone wall like a skittish cat, her black curly hair a tangled mess around her face as she let out the loudest blood-curdling scream.

“Son of a…” Laylen jumped for her, grabbing her as gently as possible and covering her mouth with his hand.

“We’re not going to hurt you, but you have got to stop screaming.”

The girl’s bright yellow eyes were wild as she scanned the room, the rack, the stairway that twisted up to a door.

Then, she caught sight of me and something in her expression changed. She calmed down.