A Slayer's Reckoning by Ariel Cross

Author:Ariel Cross [Cross, Ariel]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-01-30T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 13

The entrance to the site of the trial was in Over-the-Rhine, a patchwork neighborhood of gentrification and neglect that rested north of the downtown business district and was referred to as “OTR” by local Cincinnatians. Near the narrow X intersection of Vine and McMicken, we faced the base of a set of old concrete stairs, set back from the sidewalk at the crest of a faded white stone half-circle. Jake led the way up the stairs as it cut through the small hillside patch of grass and tiered trees. He broke to the right and onto the hillside before the final handful of steps to follow the base of the worn, cobbled wall that ran beneath the sidewalk of the street atop the staircase.

A subtle bit of graffiti, faded with apparent age, covered a few of the irregular stones of the wall. Jake stood facing them and held out the letter he’d received as he glanced between the stone and the paper a few times. With a nod, he reached out and passed the back of his hand over the graffiti and plunged his fingers into the dot of a stylized letter i, pushed something beyond it, and withdrew his hand as a low rumbling issued from the wall. A two-foot-wide section lowered enough to leave a gap for us to shimmy through, revealing a deeper, wider space beyond.

“Mages help hide these?”

Jake nodded as he climbed into the opening. “Mages love hiding secret tunnels, especially creepy ones.”

“That tracks,” I scoffed and followed him into the hole.

We started down the earthen hallway with Jake in the lead and me lagging behind. The musty space had a feel to it I didn’t like and definitely had nothing to do with my abject terror at the thought of being in the presence of dozens, maybe hundreds, of vampires in an enclosed space. All my training was screaming at me to turn around and run no matter how many times I reminded myself this was the course I had to take if I wanted to see justice done to my murderer-and-then-some. I hadn’t been able to come up with a succinct word for what Devana had done. I didn’t think one existed.

“Secret tunnellll,” I murmured to keep myself moving forward.

Jake shook his head as he walked in front of me but didn’t poke fun. My television-based coping mechanisms were largely lost on him, which was honestly a shame.

The initial stretch of the trek was bare earth, wide enough for one broad-shouldered person to walk comfortably, though I had to crouch to avoid the stray roots above my head. The damp, still air had a depressing weight to it that wasn’t helping my nerves.

My body didn’t have adrenaline rushes the way it used to. Something still happened, but it was dulled and slow. My mental anxiety, however, was not only real but magnified by the clarity provided by a lack of compensating hormones. Every tiny noise from the surrounding soil had me glancing in its direction.

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