Society of Supernatural Sleuths Box Set 1, page 23
“My cousin isn’t going to be happy about his boat,” Caesar said.
“I’ll buy him a new one,” Cruces replied.
That didn’t seem to be enough for the stallholder. “Well then, how are we going to get back?”
“We will go back through my world,” Scarlet replied, “then jump back to Athens. We would have come here that way if we had known enough about this place to make the trip.”
Caesar considered that. “I wish you had known. That way, I wouldn’t have ended up fighting sea monsters and nearly being drowned by sirens. I’m sure that kind of thing doesn’t happen to my cousin.”
“Will you shut up about your cousin?” Cruces demanded. “I’ve already said I’ll pay for his boat. Right now, we need to get on with finding Rothschild.”
Rothschild. For a moment, in her happiness at surviving the sea serpent, Scarlet had forgotten why they had come there at all. Now, her heart sang with the thought of being so close to the vampire. She had to go to him. She stood quickly, heading for the gap in the rocks. There was a torch there, along with a tinder box that was obviously far too modern for a place like this.
“Wait for the rest of us, Scarlet,” Tavian warned. “Don’t get too far ahead.”
Scarlet nodded as she worked to light the torch, lifting it as it flickered into life. Then, as soon as she was certain that it was not about to go out, she ran deeper into the cave. Rothschild was here somewhere, and Scarlet had no doubt that the others intended him harm, regardless of what they had said about only wanting to help her. As though being in love was some kind of curse to be overcome.
At the same time, they were her friends, and Scarlet did not want them hurt. For all that she loved him, Scarlet knew that Rothschild was not likely to be gentle with either Cruces or Tavian. No, it was far better to leave them all behind now. They would be able to get home once they realized that they would not be able to find Scarlet, Scarlet would be able to warn Rothschild that they were coming, and the two of them would be able to be together in the way that they should be. It was all so simple.
At least, it would be if she could find the vampire. The tunnels through the basalt branched and then branched again, forming something akin to a maze. By touching the mark on her neck, Scarlet thought that she could feel the presence of Rothschild somewhere away over to her right, but that was just a general direction. It told her nothing about how to get through the tunnels that lay between the two of them.
Still, Scarlet did her best, using the light of her torch to guide her way and working from a mixture of guesswork and that nagging sense of where Rothschild was every time she came to a turning. She hurried, knowing that the vampire could not be far away now and wanting to be near him as soon as she could be.
Scarlet stopped sharply, as much on instinct as anything. She did it just in time, as the floor gave way in front of her, falling away to leave a pit so deep that Scarlet could not see the bottom of it even with the torch. Carefully, wary of the slickness of the stone, Scarlet edged her way around to the other side of the pit. She was sure that this was the right way. After all, there would not be traps on dead end routes, would there? Or if there were, they would not be so simply avoided.
Despite the dangers, Scarlet continued on. She was not going to let the threat posed by such things stop her from getting to Rothschild, while even if the vampire had guards protecting him, Scarlet was confident that she could either sneak past them without being detected or convince them that, since she bore Rothschild’s mark, they should take her to him. Scarlet would do whatever she needed to in order to see him.
She paused as ahead she spotted a pair of statues facing one another. No, not statues, carvings, cut into the rock of the tunnels. They appeared to be giant stone faces, staring out at one another with open mouths that made them look like they were bellowing in the middle of an argument. That at least proved that the tunnels were not entirely natural. Someone, or something, had cut them into the rock of this island. Had Rothschild played some part in it, or had he simply taken advantage of a place constructed by others?
Scarlet approached the statues carefully. Their appearance after so many tunnels of blank rock was too much of a coincidence to ignore. She edged closer, examining them. This close, there was a faint feeling of heat that came from them. On impulse, Scarlet took off one of her still damp shoes and tossed it into the space between the two carved heads.
Flames roared out, waist high, from the mouths of the carvings, shooting out to incinerate her shoe. Another experiment, and the other shoe, confirmed that the flames formed a narrow bar of fire as they shot out. They would have struck Scarlet in the torso had she stepped between the heads, probably killing her instantly.
It took Scarlet a second or two to steel herself for what she knew she had to do next. If she was wrong, then she could well end up killed. Yet the ache that came with the thought of not going to Rothschild was worse than that fear, and Scarlet knew that she would do it, regardless of the danger. She got down on her stomach and crawled, hoping that she was correct.
Scarlet inched between the statutes, and again, fire shot out. Scarlet pressed herself flat to the rock floor, dragging herself forward with her arms. It was slow, terrifyingly so with the fire continuing to pour forth above her. Yet inch by inch, Scarlet made it past the barrier presented by the raging inferno, standing up again only once she was sure that she was clear.
She hurried forward again, keeping a careful eye out for more potential dangers. She quickly found herself in a star shaped room with at least a dozen tunnels branching off it. Which way this time? Scarlet pressed her hand to the mark on her neck, hoping for a clear sense of which way to go. She could feel that Rothschild was ahead somewhere, but that only served to narrow down her options a little. There were still three or four tunnels that could have been the correct one. And, given the dangers in the rest of the cavern complex, Scarlet did not want to risk going the wrong way.
Scarlet looked around the tunnels, trying to pick out some kind of difference between them that would help her to make up her mind. She found it only when she brought the torch close to the floor. She had been hoping for dust or dirt on the floor of the tunnels that might show footprints where others had gone that way. There were no footprints, but there was something almost as good. Most of the tunnels had dust and dirt, exactly as Scarlet expected, but one of them had been swept clean, obviously to obliterate earlier footprints. It was as good as a trail.
Scarlet hurried along it. Behind her, she could hear the sounds of an argument, and even with the echoes of the caves, she could recognize the voices. Cruces and Tavian were following her. Caesar too, from the sounds of it. The sounds of the voices were distorted and channeled by the tunnels, so that Scarlet could not tell exactly how close they were, but it was likely that they could not be far behind.
Briefly, Scarlet thought of going back for them and claiming that her flight was all a mistake. After all, she did not wish her friends to become lost in the caves when to do so might mean so much danger for them. Yet at the same time, Scarlet was only too aware that Cruces and Tavian would probably think she was not acting rationally. They might even insist that they abandon their attempt to get to Rothschild in some misguided attempt to keep her safe.
Being away from Rothschild was not safety. It was an agony of separation that Scarlet simply was not going to allow. She had to get to the vampire before the others caught up with her. In desperation, Scarlet put her hand to the mark she bore, hoping that this time she might be able to get a response.
“Rothschild, please. I am in the caves, coming to you, but I will not be able to find my way quickly enough. The others are not with me now, but they will find me if I do not hurry.”
For a second or two there was no response, and Scarlet stood there in despair. Surely Rothschild must be able to hear her so close? He had heard her when she had been close to his home in London, after all. He had to answer. He had to.
And then he did.
“Scarlet? You are in the caves? Where?”
Scarlet tried to explain, retracing her route mentally in the hopes that Rothschild would be able to see it. “Cruces and Tavian are behind me, but I think I have managed to get away from them for now.”
“That is good,” Rothschild whispered into her thoughts, “now come to me, dear Scarlet. Come to me.”
In that moment, Scarlet knew how to get through the remainder of the tunnels. There was not far to go, and there were no more traps on the way, meaning that even with no shoes, she could run to meet her beloved. Scarlet did not hesitate.
She came out of the tunnels into a cavern that was huge and partly lit by a shaft of sunlight coming from above. The cave was bigger even than the submerged one they had come in through, though this one had a smooth floor of black stone. In the middle of that floor stood a familiar figure.
“Rothschild!” Scarlet started to take a step forward, but a hand clamped onto her arm. She looked around to see Cruces, with Tavian and Caesar behind him. The vampire looked furious.
“You followed me,” Scarlet accused.
“Of course we followed you,” Cruces said. “What other way was there to end this madness? Rothschild, this is enough. Enough I say!”
Chapter 16
Scarlet put all her strength into breaking free of Cruces’ grip, tearing her wrist clear so that she could rush over to Rothschild. She turned to make sure that the others stayed back, glaring at them for following her like that. If they meant Rothschild harm, they would have her to contend with.
Satisfied that Cruces, Tavian and Caesar were staying back for now, Scarlet rushed to Rothschild, kissing him deeply. The vampire ran a hand down her neck, over the mark that sat there. The pleasure from just that movement was enough to make Scarlet half close her eyes for a moment or two.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I did not mean to lead them to you. I just could not bear to be parted from you.”
“I know,” Rothschild said, turning Scarlet gently and hugging her to him from behind. Like that, Scarlet could see the pain on Cruces and Tavian’s faces. Couldn’t they just be happy for her? Couldn’t they accept that this was what Scarlet wanted? No, that was a lie. This was only a small part of everything Scarlet wanted from Rothschild, but it was a beginning, and if the others could not accept even this much, what hope was there for the rest?
“I do believe the great Cruces is jealous,” Rothschild murmured beside Scarlet. “Why not tell him who you love, my dear?”
“I love you, Rothschild.” Scarlet said it without hesitation.
Cruces took a step forward, a pained expression on his face. “Step away from her, Rothschild. Hand over the bow or face me like a man.”
Rothschild sighed. “Oh, how tiresome. No, I do not believe that I will. After all, Scarlet does not wish me to step away from her, do you Scarlet?”
Scarlet shook her head. “Please do not fight,” she begged. “Cruces, if you harm Rothschild, I will never forgive you for it. I will not allow it.”
“You can see how much Scarlet loves me,” Rothschild said. He moved beside Scarlet, taking her hand and lifting it like he might kiss it. He turned it over instead, kissing the inside of her wrist, right above the point where her pulse thrummed with excitement. Did he plan to bite her? Scarlet found a strange hint of fear in her at that, but she trusted Rothschild. Trusted him completely in that moment, even as it occurred to Scarlet that he was kissing her there because it was the spot that had borne Cruces’ mark.
“Enough,” Cruces said once more.
Rothschild straightened up and smiled. “Oh, I don’t think so. Not enough by a long way. Scarlet and I are going to get so much closer before I’m done.”
“Because of Cupid’s bow,” Tavian pointed out from beside Cruces. “That is hardly real love, Rothschild.”
“You were happy enough when Aphrodite’s curse meant I loved you,” Scarlet shot back. She saw Tavian wince. She also saw Caesar back away, towards the edge of the room. It could not be easy for him, being caught up in their argument like this.
Cruces made a face. “You are a coward, Rothschild. If you want Scarlet, do the honorable thing. Use the bow to free her from all compulsions.”
“Why would I do that?” Rothschild demanded. “Why would I risk that when I am currently so irresistible to our dear Seeker?”
He was irresistible, Scarlet thought. So much so that she could hardly think about anything else.
“If you truly believed that you were irresistible,” Cruces pointed out, “you would allow Scarlet the choice. You do not truly believe that you could win her heart by fair means, or you would not hide behind magic.”
Rothschild laughed then. “Fair? This is not about whether I am being fair, is it Cruces? You simply cannot stand that once again, a woman has found me more attractive than you. I would have thought you would be used to it by now. After all, it has been that way since our sire made us what we are.”
“As I remember it,” Cruces retorted, “your charm was simply that you never had any restraint.”
Scarlet almost laughed at that. Cruces was arguing that another vampire lacked control? Given everything that she knew of him, it seemed ludicrous. Yet perhaps he had a point. Rothschild was more dangerous still than him, less inhibited. For all that Cruces was not shy when it came to getting what he wanted, Rothschild simply took it. It was part of what made Rothschild infinitely more attractive to Scarlet in that moment than Cruces could ever be.
Rothschild shook his head. “I would say that if you spent a little less time being responsible you might have a chance with Scarlet. However, that simply wouldn’t be true. Would it my dear?”
Scarlet looked up at him with love. She could remember what she had felt for Cruces. She could even remember why she felt the way she did for Rothschild. That changed nothing.
“No. I could never love anyone but you, Rothschild.”
“Because of the bow,” Tavian said.
Cruces nodded. “Isn’t this hurting you, Rothschild? You are so proud of your own charms, yet here Scarlet is, held by a compulsion. Wouldn’t you rather have her choosing you of her own free will?”
Beside Scarlet, Rothschild shrugged. He pulled Scarlet back to him. “I find that free will is overrated. Scarlet here is precisely the kind of young woman who needs to be compelled. She has too many suitors to ever make the choice for herself, and I will not risk losing her.”
“As I said,” Cruces snapped. “You are a coward.”
Rothschild’s grip tightened on Scarlet just a fraction. “Really? I am not the one who has spent time painting me in the worst possible light. You poisoned Scarlet’s mind against me as soon as we met, dear brother.” He looked at Scarlet then. “You must have hated me when Cruces told you such things about me.”
“No… I…” Scarlet wanted to tell him that she could never hate him, but strangely, she could remember a time when she had. She nodded.
Tavian joined in then. “And of course, you need Scarlet to love you so that you can manipulate her into using her gifts to help you. That is what this is about, isn’t it Rothschild?”
“Do not presume to know me, boy,” Rothschild snapped. “I want Scarlet because of all that she is. Yes, her powers, but the rest of her too. How do you know that I do not love her as much as she loves me now?”
“You love no one but yourself, Rothschild,” Cruces said. Scarlet noted that he’d started to circle, obviously looking for a way past Scarlet to get to Rothschild. Scarlet moved to keep herself between them.
“This from you, Cruces?” Rothschild demanded.
“Isn’t it true?” Cruces stalked around them another pace. “Show me a time and a place where you have genuinely cared about someone. Where you have not just used your looks to take what you want until you have become bored and cast your conquests aside.”
Scarlet’s heart constricted at that. “You would not cast me aside, would you?”
Rothschild silenced her with a kiss. “Never.”
“Never?” Cruces scoffed. “Then what about Cecilia? How long did you promise to stay with that foolish girl? How well did you keep your word there, Rothschild?”
“Be silent, Cruces.”
The vampire shook his head. “Scarlet is, despite the adventures of her life, innocent. Yet you are going to ruin that for your own ends. And I fear it will bring disaster. How do you know that the very innocent you have corrupted with this magic is not what allows her to use her powers?”
“Nonsense,” Rothschild said, but Scarlet couldn’t help noticing that he loosened his grip on her a little. “It cannot be true.”
“Why not?” Cruces asked. “There have been stories throughout time of young women who had power only so long as they retained that innocence. Are you truly willing to risk it?”
Scarlet turned away from Cruces then, throwing herself at Rothschild once more. She was not about to let Lord Darthmoor separate them with his words. She was not going to let him put doubt into the mind of the man she loved. Scarlet looked up into Rothschild’s eyes.
“I love you,” she said simply. “Do not listen to him. I will do anything for you.”
“If you do love her,” Cruces said, “there is one other thing to consider. That is not Scarlet. Oh, she looks the same. Her hair is as golden, her form as lovely, her features as beautiful. It is not her, nonetheless.”
“Do not be foolish,” Rothschild snarled.
“I am not being foolish. What attracted you to Scarlet?” Cruces looked his vampire brother in the eye. “Was it merely beauty? We have both had many beautiful women through the centuries. No. Scarlet is more than that. She has wit. She has fire. Or she had it, at any rate. Now, she is too besotted with you to do more than simper. Is that what you want? Well, do you?”
Rothschild smiled. “I happen to think that Scarlet is very alluring this way. And I know that you have no objection to your women empty headed and doting, Cruces. What about you, gypsy boy? Or you, the newcomer? Who here does not find Scarlet at least as attractive now that she is willing to do anything for the man she loves?”
