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The wolves raced through the woods like flames engulfing dry tinder. The pavilion was in sight up ahead, but the gap between us and those snarling teeth began closing with frightening speed. The excited yipping of the pack when they spotted us brought goosebumps to my skin. Their hot breath would be on the back of our necks within seconds.
“Hurry!” I yanked myself free of Knight’s grip and kicked off my pumps. We’d run faster apart than holding hands. Side by side, we dashed toward the break in the trees where the pavilion stood like a little Greek temple in the moonlight. Sanctuary. But only if we got there before the wolves brought us down.
I caught my stockinged foot in a tree root and almost fell flat, but Knight grabbed my arm and pulled me along with a brutal grip. This time, he didn’t let go.
With my muscles burning as we burst from the stand of trees, my breath came in sobs as we reached the headland and ran toward the wide, flat steps leading up onto the raised platform that served as a dance floor and dining area beneath the long roof.
As we sprinted up the stairs and into the pavilion, I begged whoever might be listening, please don’t have changed the lock.
I charged up to the small stage that took up one end of the open floor plan. Behind the dais stood an ornate carving, depicting a series of scenes from Greek mythology. The moon went behind the clouds as I reached it, and I had to squint to make out the figures.
Paris holding the Apple of Discord before Aphrodite, Hera, and Athena. Hercules battling the Hydra. Perseus brandishing the slain Medusa’s head. Persephone descending into the Underworld. Goat-footed Pan, playing his wooden flute.
The moon came out from the clouds and the silver light intensified, illuminating the figures in question. It also highlighted the sleek canine forms streaking across the open field toward us.
As the sounds of snarling and panting approached from behind, with a shaking hand I pressed on the apple, twisted the lyre sideways, then back in place, and pulled Medusa’s head out from the wall before clicking it back where it had been. Something beneath us rumbled and groaned, and the dais slid to one side. A steep ladder led straight down into near Stygian darkness.
“Down here. Hurry!” I pushed Knight toward the opening.
“You first.”
“Go, damn it,” I yelled and shoved him again. I knew where the release was and he didn’t; we didn’t have time for his British politeness. I plunged into the dark hold, following behind Knight as close as I dared without stepping on his hands. My stockings were slippery on wooden rungs, and if I hadn’t scrambled down this ladder a million times in the past, I would have taken both of us down to the ground. The yip of delight as the first wolf shoved its head through the opening and spied us prompted me to jump off the ladder with a quick prayer that I wouldn’t break my ankle, and then I lunged for the lever mounted on the wall at the base of the ladder and pulled it down with both hands. Gears tumbled, and the dais slid back into place as wolves shoved and snarled at each other over the slowly closing entrance.
“Can they get in?” Knight’s voice, so close to my ear, made me jump.
“We should be safe enough for the moment. They must change back into human form and know the sequence to open the trapdoor.” I leaned against the damp wall for a moment to catch my breath and then stood up straight. “We can’t stay here. They may have sent a pretty little wolf-shifter to make a play for Tommy. Anyone who’s ever met him would have to know he’s the weak link in any operation. In which case, there’s a good chance he brought someone else here at some point. He wouldn’t be able to resist showing off.”
“It’s a miracle young Stanford has survived this long.” Knight sounded as though he’d be the first to volunteer to rectify that situation.
That thought had occurred to me as well. What had Tommy gotten himself into this time?
The hold wasn’t as dark as I’d thought. Our eyes adjusted to the gloom as we walked forward. Dim light glowed from a series of ancient bulbs encased in metal cages along one wall. A motorboat rocked gently back and forth on its moorings alongside the old wooden dock, the reflected light on the water sending spangled beams along its hull. From the dock, a walkway extended into the shadows, where a tunnel led to the main cavern. Over the water, the ceiling sloped down to a narrow passage leading to a fissure some distance away, which was hard to spot from the outside. It took a boat with a skilled driver at the wheel to access that entrance. Someone had installed a heavy mesh gate over this opening since the last time I was here, and I saw no mechanism at the dock to raise it. The air was dank with the odor of dead fish and brackish water from the nearby marsh.
Above us, we heard claws scratching at the wood. I could only hope it held.
“Is there another way out of here?” Knight waved toward the boat. The stone walls threw his voice back to us in a weird echo.
I nodded and lowered my voice when I spoke. “There’s a tunnel that goes all the way back to the main house. On the other side of the main hold. If it hasn’t been closed off, that is.”
“This just gets better and better.”
At least Knight kept his voice down, too.
“Being torn apart by wolves isn’t my idea of a good time, either. You realize someone probably hid the artifacts down here. The wolves wouldn’t be on the scene otherwise.”
And by implication, Margo must be in on the heist.
My words jolted him into recalling why we were there. The low-level lighting cast shadows under his eyes, making his face look drawn and severe. He gave a stiff nod.
“If we’re quiet, we can sneak up on the main room, confirm the presence of the artifacts, and withdraw to contact Redclaw. There has to be a way to raise the gate, and if push comes to shove, I’m sure I can pilot the boat.”
Knight shot me a look of frank disbelief. “Or we can just look for the gate mechanism, take the boat, and hightail it out of here to notify Redclaw.”
As an alternative plan, it wasn’t half-bad, but it wouldn’t give me the win I needed.
“I thought the entire goal of the weekend was to find the artifacts. Do you really want to call Redclaw out here on a possible fool’s errand before we know all the facts? Not to mention, taking the boat will tip our hand to whoever is behind the theft.”
“That was before we knew how many players were involved. It’s too risky. If we leave now, we can call Ryker and his minions and let them take over here. It’s the only sensible thing to do.”
Being told what was sensible or not had the same effect on me as waving a red flag in front of a bull.
“Fine,” I snapped. “I’ll check out the cavern. You stay here and look for a way to raise the gate. It won’t take me more than a minute to see what’s in the next chamber. Then we can get out of here.”
“We’re not splitting up.” His words pelted me like unexpected hail.
I lobbed his own words back at him. “It’s the only sensible thing to do. You’re right. Figure out how to lift the gate while I check out the hold. If we need to leave in a hurry—”
“Has anyone ever told you you’re too damn stubborn for your own good? You can’t stop me from following you. Let’s get this over with. If I have to risk my neck, I’d rather not prolong the agony. We’ll confirm our suspicions and come back for the boat. We don’t have a choice.” He pointed toward the trapdoor above us. “It’s the fastest way out of here past the wolves.”
The passage to the main chamber was just wide enough for a man carrying a crate to navigate. Moisture dripped down the walls, gleaming in the faint beams cast by the periodic posting of a lightbulb, networked by a strand of electrical wire snaking down the length of the tunnel. The wall had crumbled in places, leaving piles of broken rock. I regretted the loss of my shoes. My stockings were in shreds, and I’d be lucky if I didn’t turn an ankle or cut my feet on the sharp shale. As we neared the main room, the murmur of voices echoed with an odd reverberation off the walls.
The layout of the main hold hadn’t changed much since the last time I’d been there. The tunnel ahead opened out into a small space behind a row of large boulders ringing the cavern, with a narrow path between them into the larger cavern. With luck, the natural rock wall would shield us to a certain extent as we scouted out the activity there. The light grew brighter as we approached, but the rocks cast long jagged shadows deep enough to hide the careful spy. At the sound of the voices, I felt around inside my clutch for the ray gun, and my hand had just closed on the smooth warmth of its barrel when I heard Knight’s sharp intake of breath. His hand clamped down like a vise on my arm, but it was too late. I’d crossed the faint beam I never saw, causing a wave of green light to envelop me. And because Knight was in contact with me, the same energy washed over him as well.
I don’t even remember falling.