Chapter 74

Preparing for the tunnel excursion was probably the only thing that kept me from crying all day. The first night had been so hard. I hadn’t slept at all. I kept tossing and turning. I fought with myself to call Candido and ask him to come or to let me come home, but I held back.

I knew I was doing the right thing. I unpacked and reviewed my homework a few times to try and get my mind off of the silence of the condo.

If I were at the Estate, I would have heard someone walking past my door by now, but there was none of that now.

In the morning, I drank a large cup of coffee and tried to get through the search results of my investigation. There had been no new sightings of the vampire, but there was plenty of data on the fountain water, the air samples, and the attack on the mall in the capital.

It turned out that there were three other attacks like it spread out across New Moon, Red Moon, and a few of the larger packs.

The vampire had been seen at every single one though they’d all happened on the same day. That meant there were more vampires who could change their faces and they were all sharing the same face.

Did that mean he knew I was searching for him? Had he realized that I had a video of him?

I didn’t know, but from the analysis, it looked like the substance used in the fountain was a bit different than the others. I thought it might be a derivative or some sort of new version of it.

Three people had died in the attack on the capital. I was grateful that I hadn’t killed any of them. The other attacks had much higher kill counts.

The testing of Moon Shadow operatives was going slow. It was hard because we had to be secretive about it and other than some sort of scan that could be installed without anyone knowing, it was almost impossible to screen the entire organization.

I worried my lip and sent a message to Armageddon.

Can vampires entire the temple of the Moon Goddess?

He replied. Yes.

I huffed. That shot down that idea.

But if they stand in opposition to the Moon Goddess’ plan, they are rejected by the altar and are not granted sanctuary.

My lips twitched. Would it be too much to have everyone come to the temple and start trying to kill them to see who it is?

A moment passed before he replied. A bit bloody, but efficient. Let’s use that as a last resort… How are you? You’ve been online a lot for the past few days. Has something happened?

My lips twitched. I could say the same of you.

Fair.

I didn’t reply to that. It was obviously a path neither of us was ready to go down.

My lips twitched as I looked around. Being alone in this condo was probably the best thing that could have happened to my investigative work with Moon Shadow. I didn’t have to hide myself behind the canopy of my bed. I could just work as I pleased.

I had already checked for surveillance inside the condo, but there was none.

I checked Armageddon’s plans for the tunnel and tried to get some rest. I couldn’t the second day, but the night before we were going into the tunnels, I took a dose of sleeping pills and went to sleep peacefully.

In my dreams, I saw Candido looking at me, offering his hand to me. I took it and my heart swelled with happiness. Then he led me forward to meet a faceless woman.

His mate.

I tried to get out of the dream. I tried to change it, but the does I had taken was too strong.

Beside me, there was no one. I expected Armageddon to appear in my dreams, at least, but there was no one.

When I woke up, I didn’t know what to think of it. Was my mind trying to tell me something? I went to the bathroom to look at the mark on my chest. It had grown a bit brighter, but it still wasn’t complete.

I sighed and turned on the shower getting ready to go.

When it was time to go, I dressed for the mission. I snuck out of the condo and headed towards the rendezvous place near the academy.

My heart raced as another figure moved closer to me. The man flashed a symbol at me. Then, I felt my awareness skyrocket and turned as I felt Armageddon growing closer to me. His gaze was focused on me.

“Apollo,” the first man said, offering his hand. “Nice to be working with you.”

I shook his hand. “Pandora.”

He let out a low whistle. “Never thought I’d meet you.”

“Armageddon,” he said, offering his hand to Apollo.

He let out another whistle. “Two superstars in one evening? This has to be serious. The brief was… vague.”

“Reconnaissance,” Armageddon said, scanning the area. “Pandora, a moment?”

I nodded and followed him away from Apollo. He pressed in close to me and trailed his fingertips down my shoulder.

“Are you okay?” Armageddon asked.

“I… don’t want to talk about it.”

He nodded. “That is fair… for now. If you wish to talk, you need only reach out.”

I nodded, and we returned to Apollo as the rest of the team arrived. Artemis, Gilgamesh, Armageddon, Apollo, Dune, and I were it. Armageddon led us into the school and through the halls until we reached the library. I shuddered.

My heart sank as I looked up. I frowned, noticing the large crack that had gone through the New Moon panel was gone. Now, there were sparkling stars and shooting stars.

The blue moon was still with the full moon, but the panel of the red moon had changed. The moon was still blood red, but the forest beneath it had withered and turned into a barren wasteland.

“This way,” Armageddon said, taking my hand and pulling me along.

We reached the large painting and looked up at the vampires in the painting. My throat became dry as Armageddon stepped forward and spoke in a language I didn’t understand, but I felt like I should.

“What…” Gilgamesh asked. “What was that?”

“It’s complicated,” Armageddon said softly. The vampires turned in the painting and looked at us as the moon in the painting began to rise and turn blue. Their eyes flashed, and the painting began to slide aside.

“Pair up,” he said. “Let’s go.”

The caves were dark, but as we stepped inside, crystals in the wall began to glow. My heart raced, and tightened my grip on Armageddon’s hand. We walked slowly, descending into the dark.

It was strange to be so intensely aware of him and our surroundings. My senses had never felt so sharp as they did now. We turned down cave after cave as we moved forward.

There was writing and pictures on the wall that I couldn’t make out much about them. We reached a dead end and Armageddon let out a short huff.

“We’ll need to split up eventually.”

“Not yet,” Artemis said. “There’s someone nearby.”

“Werewolf?”

“Yes,” she tilted her head.

“How far ahead can you sense them?”

“Not too far.”

She nodded. She pointed ahead.

We followed Artemis through the caves until we could hear something. Armageddon leaned around the edge and waved us forward.

There was a stone and metal cage. Lying on the ground in the cage and chained was Bella. Her hair was a mess and she was barely breathing.

There were a lot of holes in her arms and legs. She was bleeding a lot. I crossed the area and crouched beside the cage.

“… Hedy… ruin…”

My heart lurched.

“Who is she?”

“A daughter of the Wolf Fang Pack,” Dune said. “She’s the one that was banished.”

“Banished?”

“She orchestrated the attack on His Majesty’s ward,” Gilgamesh said. “She deserved it. The question is how she got down here.”

“Hedy,” she hissed and opened her eyes. They were delirious. Her eyes were sunken in her face. “It’s Hedy’s fault.”

“Why are you down here?”

She hissed and sat up, trembling on her thin limbs. “Where else could I be after I was banished? After that bitch got me banished—”

“You were banished for orchestrating an attack on her,” Dune said. “How did you get down here?”

Her lips twitched. “Vampires need to eat. This is just a pit stop.”

She laughed. “And there are things coming.”

My heart lurched. “What… kind of things?”

A deep howl echoed through the caves. We turned towards the sound.

Bella laughed. “Looks like you’ll be a new pitstop.”

Something lumbered towards us. The creature’s eyes flashed in the darkness.

“Run,” Armageddon said. “Run!”

The beast roared and followed us. Armageddon grabbed my hand and pulled me after him, leading the group away from the beast.