Kiss of Light by Eve Langlais

Author:Eve Langlais
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Eve Langlais

Chapter Twelve

The interior proved dark. Desmond held up his hand, and a ball of light formed and hovered in his palm. The shadows scattered, as did the rodents, who scurried off with their pink tails dragging behind them. The inside of the hut didn’t appear any better than the exterior. The pungent aroma of urine filled the nose, as did the stench of rotting carcasses.

There was a broken chair in one corner, tilting drunkenly on three legs. A pile of branches and leaves in another.

“Where is the portal?” Titus queried.

“Below us.” Desmond knelt and gripped a hole in a floorboard, the tug activating a hinge that raised a whole jagged section. A waft of warm air, hinting once more of brimstone, wafted up from below. Stairs, hewn of stone, descended into pitch blackness.

“Of course, they keep it in the cellar,” Titus grumbled.

“Complaining again, leech?” Desmond taunted.

“I smell dead things,” Logan remarked.

“Is that any way to speak of your companion?” The jest came from the Dark Lord, and Erela had to bite her lip lest she grin.

Titus stiffened. “I am not dead.”

“Yet the virus that animates you is the only thing keeping you alive.”

“What do you know of my kind?” Titus spat.

“We are aligned with those who created your kind,” Desmond riposted. “An error they should have rectified. Especially given your lack of respect for your betters. Now, if you’re both done complaining, time passes, and our window to cross shortens.” Desmond flung his ball of light, and it skipped down the steps, rolling much as a ball would, leaving behind an illuminated trail. A trajectory that went down, down, down, and turned a corner. They couldn’t see the bottom.

“How far?” Titus asked.

“Does it matter? I heard your kind enjoys spending time underground.” Desmond seemed intent on needling Titus. Erela could feel the vampire’s frustration through their mark.

“Not by choice,” Titus muttered as he swept past Desmond and hit the first step. Only to sway and almost tumble as a shaggy shape bounded past.

Titus glared at the receding furry tail. “I am not carrying your underwear for you!”

Neither would Desmond, which meant Erela got the task of collecting the shed clothing—which lacked underwear—and carrying it tucked under an arm. Following Titus, she entered the narrow stairwell, all too aware of Desmond at her rear.

It wasn’t fear that prickled her nape, but awareness. The last time Desmond had followed her down some stairs, he’d grabbed her partway down, pressed her up against a wall, and kissed her until they heard steps descending. They’d sprung apart, and she remembered her heart pounding, thinking they were lucky they’d not been caught.

Desmond didn’t grab her this time. She quelled her disappointment.

They descended a for a long time, the faint light from the magic Desmond flung, marching off into the darkness and disappearing from sight as it wound around a corner. She knew they’d arrived when she saw a furry shape sitting on the last step.

“Woof,” Logan barked and then turned to head through an arched doorway.

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