Embrace The Darkness (Guardians of Eternity #2)(43)
Author: Alexandra Ivy

A beat passed. "A spider?"

"Don’t mock, I hate spiders. They’re creepy."

The full lips twitched. "Oh yes, very creepy."

She stepped back with a huff. It had been a huge spider. And hairy. Who wouldn’t have screamed?

"Fine. Just go back to doing what you were doing," she muttered.

He leaned against the shelves, folding his arms over his chest. "Why don’t you tell me what you remember of this place?"

She hesitated, her gaze unwillingly straying toward the distant counter. The stir of ghosts brushed over her skin.

"Not much. I remember sitting at that counter and reading books while my father would talk to the woman who owned the store." Her expression softened. She could almost feel the warm, strong touch of her father’s hands as he would lift her onto one of the high stools. "Books in that time were far more rare, and each one was a treasure to me."

"Did you ever speak to the woman?"

Shay had the misty recollection of a round face and kindly smile. "She would sometimes give me candy, but I don’t remember any specific conversation."

Viper gave a pointed glance toward the ceramic pots. "Could she have been a witch?"

"It’s possible." Shay struggled to dredge up the past she had buried so long ago. "She never seemed to question how… different my father or I was. And there were always customers coming in to purchase those small pots. At the time I just thought they were pretty bits of clay."

"Potions," he muttered, moving toward the counter with cautious steps.

"That would be my guess."

"Hmmm…"

With a frown, Shay watched as the vampire pushed aside the various pots and began rapping on the wall behind them.

"What are you doing?"

Without turning around Viper continued his strange taps on the wall as he moved down the wall.

"If she was a witch she would have a secure room to perform her spells. A place where she could establish a stable circle and ensure she wouldn’t be disturbed." He paused and rapped several times in the same spot. "Ah."

"Viper?"

He ignored her for a long moment. Long enough for her to consider tossing a book at the back of his head. Then, doing something with a small plaque set in the wall, he abruptly turned to flash a smug smile.

"Here it is."

Moving forward Shay realized that a portion of the shelves had slid open to reveal a narrow flight of steps.

"Oh my God."

"Shall we have a look?"

She swallowed before giving a reluctant nod of her head. She would go, but she intended to wait for Viper to take the lead on this occasion. There was a decidedly nasty stench wafting from the lower darkness. She had no desire to step into whatever it was making that smell.

They moved in silence. Well, Viper moved in silence. Shay was not blessed with the same night vision, and managed to stumble on a half dozen occasions before they reached the bottom of the stairs.

Thankfully for the safety of her neck Viper managed to discover a switch that turned on a single bulb hanging from the rafters above. Shay blinked as her eyes adjusted and then she froze in shock.

"Viper…"

His hand reached out to grasp hers, his cool touch offering a sense of security that allowed her to breathe again.

"The cave," he murmured, his gaze skimming over the roughly carved dirt walls and the circle clearly chiseled into the floor. "This is where you were cursed."

"Yes. I remember the markings." She gave a shiver. "This is the place."

"So where is the witch?" he murmured.

Taking back her hand Shay forced her feet to carry her toward the circle. The memories were still hazy, but she was absolutely certain that this was the place where she had been taken and given the mark.

Unconsciously, her hand reached out. She wasn’t sure what she was reaching for until the tips of her fingers touched the invisible wall of power that surrounded the circle. She gave a faint gasp as the air seemed to shiver, and then without warning, the ground beneath her feet began to shift and she fell to her knees. The spell that had surrounded the circle was broken and suddenly she could see the pile of bones that had been hidden behind the clever shield.

Bones that were unmistakably human.

"I think I found her," she choked in horror.

Viper approached with understandable caution, his gaze trained on the skeleton. "If this is the witch, she’s been dead for a considerable length of time."

Shay licked her dry lips, edging forward to get a better look at the gruesome pile. Her breath caught in her throat at the sight of the knife that remained caught between two rib bones.

"Murdered."

"Yes."

She glanced up as Viper bent next to her in the center of the circle. "It was Evor."

His face showed surprise. "Are you certain?"

"He has a blade that matches this one exactly. I would recognize it anywhere."

Reaching out he grasped the knife and pulled it free. "That would explain how he managed to take command of your curse."

Her stomach cramped as she thought of the hideous little troll who had made her life a misery. She certainly wouldn’t put cold-blooded murder past Evor. It was practically a hobby with him. But she still had far too many questions unanswered.

"It makes no sense."

"What?"

She gave a restless shrug. "When I was young the mark on my back was just a nuisance. I didn’t even know it was a curse until Evor used the binding to force me to him. If the witch was the one who placed the curse on me why didn’t she ever allow me to sense the bond?" She pointed toward the bones. "And why didn’t I die when she did?"

Viper absently studied the dagger in his hand. "The only explanation would be that Evor managed to force the witch to hand over the curse before he killed her. As to why she never used the mark… I do not know."

"Crap." Shay heaved a sigh. "Now what?"

He rose to his feet and glanced about the cramped cellar.

"Dawn is approaching. Unless I am to be trapped here, I must return to Dante’s. We can return tomorrow night if you wish."

She grimaced as she began to rise to her feet. She paused as her gaze caught sight of a small box nearly hidden beneath the skeleton.

"What’s that?"

"Shay . . ." Viper barked as she reached out to dig the box free.

"I know, I know, don’t be stupid," she muttered.

"Touching things that we know once belonged to a witch would come under the category of stupid. There might very well be a trap awaiting an unwary touch."