our way down the stone stairs. Moisture seeped in through the walls, staining the stone a muddy brown. It smelled of mold and dampness that could only mean we had traveled well belowground.
“I don’t think the people who owned the place back when it was a library used it for much of anything,” he continued. “When we found it, there were hardly any signs that anyone had ever been down here at all. I think it might have originally been planned to be used as a bomb shelter of some sort.” Jonathan shrugged. “We made some changes so we could use it for something else.”
We reached the bottom of the stairs and entered a large room that looked to be twice the size of the Den above us. The whole place was made of stone. Pillars dotted the room and held the roof above our heads. A stainless-steel table sat at the room’s center, and a variety of surgical instruments lay on a tray next to it.
Cells were built into the walls. They surrounded the entire room. There had to be at least twenty of them, if not more. Their bars were made of what looked to be heavy iron, and they were mounted into the stone from ceiling to floor. There were no windows anywhere down there, which further solidified the idea that we were well underground.
The place reminded me forcibly of a vampire dungeon. When he had said it might have been an old bomb shelter, my mind had immediately gone to Ethan and his private second basement. Even though I had never seen his workspace for myself, I knew it looked nothing like this.
Now I could think of nothing else but the cages in which the vampires usually kept Purebloods. It made me sick to even think about it.
But unlike the vampire dungeons where there could be dozens, if not hundreds of caged Purebloods, only one of the cells was occupied here. From where I stood, it was hard to make out the hunched form lying on the stone floor. Growls and whines came from the thing, and it shuddered uncontrollably as if it had a permanent case of the shivers.
I stopped at the bottom of the stairs, refusing to go any farther. Whatever the place was, it wasn’t somewhere I wanted to be. I had been trapped in a cell like these before. It wasn’t an experience I ever wanted to repeat.
“Don’t worry,” Jonathan said, striding across the room. “We aren’t going to harm you. Like I said before, we need you.”
Nathan and Gregory took up positions on either side of the occupied cell. They stood well back from the cage, as if they didn’t quite trust what was inside. Gregory’s smile wilted as he stood there, eyes flickering back and forth from Jonathan to the thing within the metal bars.
“I want you to see this,” Jonathan said, turning to me. “You of all people will understand what we are going through. You will know the pain we are suffering.”
“What’s going on here?” I asked, gesturing toward the creature trapped within the cage. I didn’t like this at all.
“I know how it looks,” Jonathan said. “But no one has ever been kept here against their will. Come. Look in the cage. You will understand once you see.”
I hesitated before finally crossing the room. I kept telling myself I was being stupid for ever trusting the wolves. Werewolves were the enemy. I killed them just as readily as I killed vampires. Not to mention the fact that one had once belonged to a House that killed everyone I knew. These three should have been dead long ago.
But somehow, someway, they trusted me. Okay, maybe that wasn’t entirely true. Nathan looked as though he trusted me about as much as I trusted him, which was not at all. Jonathan was the one who seemed to trust me for some reason, and it appeared that was all that mattered in the end. I owed it to them to at least take a look at what they had.
I stopped two feet from the cage. Nathan and Gregory both took a step back to give me more room. Jonathan flipped a switch and an overhead light dimly lit the creature within the cell. It was just barely
“I don’t think the people who owned the place back when it was a library used it for much of anything,” he continued. “When we found it, there were hardly any signs that anyone had ever been down here at all. I think it might have originally been planned to be used as a bomb shelter of some sort.” Jonathan shrugged. “We made some changes so we could use it for something else.”
We reached the bottom of the stairs and entered a large room that looked to be twice the size of the Den above us. The whole place was made of stone. Pillars dotted the room and held the roof above our heads. A stainless-steel table sat at the room’s center, and a variety of surgical instruments lay on a tray next to it.
Cells were built into the walls. They surrounded the entire room. There had to be at least twenty of them, if not more. Their bars were made of what looked to be heavy iron, and they were mounted into the stone from ceiling to floor. There were no windows anywhere down there, which further solidified the idea that we were well underground.
The place reminded me forcibly of a vampire dungeon. When he had said it might have been an old bomb shelter, my mind had immediately gone to Ethan and his private second basement. Even though I had never seen his workspace for myself, I knew it looked nothing like this.
Now I could think of nothing else but the cages in which the vampires usually kept Purebloods. It made me sick to even think about it.
But unlike the vampire dungeons where there could be dozens, if not hundreds of caged Purebloods, only one of the cells was occupied here. From where I stood, it was hard to make out the hunched form lying on the stone floor. Growls and whines came from the thing, and it shuddered uncontrollably as if it had a permanent case of the shivers.
I stopped at the bottom of the stairs, refusing to go any farther. Whatever the place was, it wasn’t somewhere I wanted to be. I had been trapped in a cell like these before. It wasn’t an experience I ever wanted to repeat.
“Don’t worry,” Jonathan said, striding across the room. “We aren’t going to harm you. Like I said before, we need you.”
Nathan and Gregory took up positions on either side of the occupied cell. They stood well back from the cage, as if they didn’t quite trust what was inside. Gregory’s smile wilted as he stood there, eyes flickering back and forth from Jonathan to the thing within the metal bars.
“I want you to see this,” Jonathan said, turning to me. “You of all people will understand what we are going through. You will know the pain we are suffering.”
“What’s going on here?” I asked, gesturing toward the creature trapped within the cage. I didn’t like this at all.
“I know how it looks,” Jonathan said. “But no one has ever been kept here against their will. Come. Look in the cage. You will understand once you see.”
I hesitated before finally crossing the room. I kept telling myself I was being stupid for ever trusting the wolves. Werewolves were the enemy. I killed them just as readily as I killed vampires. Not to mention the fact that one had once belonged to a House that killed everyone I knew. These three should have been dead long ago.
But somehow, someway, they trusted me. Okay, maybe that wasn’t entirely true. Nathan looked as though he trusted me about as much as I trusted him, which was not at all. Jonathan was the one who seemed to trust me for some reason, and it appeared that was all that mattered in the end. I owed it to them to at least take a look at what they had.
I stopped two feet from the cage. Nathan and Gregory both took a step back to give me more room. Jonathan flipped a switch and an overhead light dimly lit the creature within the cell. It was just barely
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