Veiled Threat by Shannon Mayer Page B

what to do for him. He was dying and we both knew it. He flopped his hand over and dropped it on my shoulder.
    “I’ve never seen a thing like this before. We had no chance.”
    Chills swept up and down my spine, the skin on my arms tingling. “Can you tell me anything?”
    His eyes flickered, the light in them fading and then he let out a cough. “Alex, help me!” We rolled him onto his side as blood and bile poured out. Carefully, I rolled him back.
    “It moved like the wind, a shape that could not be seen, a monster that had no form but killed with ease.”
    “A demon?”
    His eyes stared up at me. “It wants the sealed door open. Don’t open the door, Tracker. The world will cease to be if you do. Orion waits for you on the other side.”
    My jaw clenched and tears threatened at the back of my eyes. “My friends are in the deep veils, and I have no other way to get them.”
    “One other way. Always another way.”
    My fingers found his and I clenched his hand hard. “Tell me. Please.” I would beg on my knees, give him anything he wanted. I would put on his bloody cap if it would make him tell me.
    A long low boom filled the air and his hand gripped my shoulder. “It tries to break the door. It cannot. Blessed gods, let it not be able to.”
    I shook his shoulder, demanding his attention. “The other way into the deep veils. Please, I can’t leave them there.”
    He took a sudden, sharp breath and let it out in a final word.
    “Necromancerrrrrrr.”
    His hand fell limp on my shoulder and I slid it off, placing it across his chest.
    Another castle-shaking boom rattled the air. Whatever it was, even I wasn’t brassy enough to try and find it. I stood and backed away from the captain’s body.
    “Alex, we are leaving.”
    “Goody good.”
    We jogged to the doorway and I looked over my shoulder, regret for the lives lost heavy on me. Even if they were red caps.
    There was no way to honor them, to honor their sacrifice to keep the deep levels from opening. And they did deserve that honor, even if they’d tried to kill us. Twice. I knew it wasn’t personal; they were doing what they’d been trained to do.
    Protect the castle.
    “Boss is here,” Alex said and I whipped around to stare into the dark stairwell leading to the dungeon.
    “Are you sure?”
    “Smells him.”
    I didn’t dare call out, hell, there was no way I wanted to draw the thing’s attention to us.
    “Give a soft woof, Alex.”
    He did, but there was nothing from below. A slow burning fuse of fear wrapped itself up my legs and buried deep in my belly. There were two ways to get to the upper levels on the other side of the castle. I’d gone for the more direct route.
    But Liam … he would take the long way so I wouldn’t see him. Which meant he’d be closing in on the doorway.
    “Oh, shit.”
    I ran across the courtyard, Alex behind me. We’d never beat him to the sealed doorway.
    I knew why he’d come; hell, I even wondered at how easy he’d let me go. But I was too blind to see he had no intention of letting me go by myself.
    None at all.
    We bolted up the dark stairway and another boom rattled the walls, dust falling around our ears. We had to stop and steady ourselves or fall back the way we’d come.
    “I no likes this shaking shit,” Alex grumbled, his body pressed into the side of the stairwell.
    “Me either.” Fuck, I didn’t know whether or not to call out to Liam. It would draw the attention of the thing at the doorway, which was one problem. Another shake dropped me to my knees. There was no way we’d make it up the stairwell before Liam …
    A yell erupted from above us.
    Liam.
    The shaking stopped and we scrambled to our feet, running up the final few flights. Once on the upper level, I didn’t pause, just turned to the right and ran through the hall.
    “Liam. Don’t open the door!” I screamed the words, and what came back was not Liam’s voice.
    Alex and I rounded the corner and there was the sealed