FOOTSTEPS ECHOED against the stone walls as Kingsley and I hurried down the corridor. If I remember correctly, the entrance to the catacombs should still be intact. They had just locked the door when the rooms caved in on themselves. It was just a matter of remembering where the original entrance was.

The hallway grew progressively darker as we walked deeper into the belly of the castle. Signs of disuse were popping up all around us. The cobwebs on the lampstands grew thicker and a blanket of dust was forming on the floor. A faint set of small footprints became apparent as the dust coating the flagstones grew thicker. I tapped Kingsley's forearm lightly to bring her attention to the trail in front of us. This passageway had been used recently.

I mentally patted myself on the back for bringing a lantern with us at the last minute. I held it in front of me and in the dim illumination I could make out the blurred outline of a door. It took hold of my attention with great power. The last I knew, the door had been locked and boarded up. Now there was no trace of the crossbars, which was odd. I tested the latch. The heavy door creaked open when I pulled on the ring. Why wasn't it locked? I looked over to Kingsley. She must have seen the confusion in my expression because her hand moved to her sword.

I pulled the door open the rest of the way and rested my hand on the hilt of my sword. The curved stone stairway was very narrow. Kingsley followed closely on my heels as I started down, keeping an eye on our backs. The air settled stagnant and humid around us and smelled of mildew.

As we rounded a curve, a faint light glowed from the chamber below. I felt my heart quicken as adrenaline flowed through my veins. Nobody was supposed to be able to get in here. What was going on?

I made my way down the remaining stairs as silently as I could. Facing the far wall, a young woman was crouched over something, a lantern illuminating the wall in front of her. I caught Kingsley's eye over my shoulder and she nodded in understanding. She snuck around me and advanced on the figure as silent as the night. In one swift movement, she drew her sword, grabbed the woman by the shoulder, spun her around, and rested the blade against her neck.

"Who are you and how did you get down here?" She demanded.

Terror flooded the young woman's deep black eyes, her long black hair falling around her shoulders. Her lips trembled in fear and she was struggling to stay upright. Her eyes widened as I drew closer with my lantern, illuminating Kingsley's sharp features. My attention was caught by a metallic glint in the dim light. She had been crouching over a metal basin filled with water, a dirty rag floating in the liquid.

"She asked you a question. I suggest you answer it." I rumbled.

"I... I... I was just trying to find someplace out of the way." She stuttered as she shook like a leaf. "I was just trying to clean up sir. It's not exactly something I want to publicize so I was trying to find someplace out of the way. I didn't think anyone came here, sir." She rambled and then held her breath.

"You mean to tell me that you've been down here before?" I questioned.

"'Down here' sir?" she asked. "There's an up, sir?"

My attention was stolen by the clamor of stones falling. I instinctively pulled Kingsley towards me and covered her head. The clamoring ceased a moment later and Kingsley pulled herself away from me. I looked around me trying to locate the source of the rockfall. The chamber we were in was completely unchanged as far as I could tell, but I noticed a cloud of dust coming from an archway I hadn't noticed before.

I picked up my lantern and made my way over to the entryway. I discovered one of the collapsed passageways. Something had disturbed the passageway and a new volley of rocks had fallen into the empty space.

"She's gone!" I heard Kingsley call from behind me.

"Gone where?" I asked, heading for the stairwell. There were no new footprints on the dusty stones.

"I don't know," Kingsley said. She had picked up the lantern and was examining the wall of the cavern. I made my way to the nearest wall and did the same. The wall was seamless and every hallway that branched off had caved in. It was like she had vanished into thin air.

Kingsley and I finished clearing the room. The girl had dropped her white head scarf in her hurry, but other than that had left no trace to indicate where she had gone. Kingsley sheathed her sword and picked up the basin.

"I think we need to regroup and debrief. There's obviously something going on behind the scenes here." Kingsley stated and headed for the stairs. I followed her up and pulled the heavy door closed behind us.

"Commander..." Kingsley pulled me to a halt when we reached the inhabited regions of the castle.

I looked down at the basin in her hands. The water in the basin was tinged red and dark red veins tracked back to the cloth floating in the liquid.

"Is that blood?" I asked.

"Looks like it," Kingsley said. "She did say it wasn't something she wanted to publicize."

I could feel the confusion flood my face as I tried to figure out why that would make a difference. Kingsley just chuckled at me.

"You know, in all my years here, I've never seen her before," I said as we walked. "I thought I knew all of the servants here. She was wearing a uniform, but I've never seen her before."

"Is it possible you could have just missed her in passing?"

"I don't think so." I mused. "I'll go outside to collect the guys and Arley. You go to the residence wing and collect Evander, Grey, and the rest of the syndicate."

"Roger that." Kingsley set the basin down on a side table and broke off down a side hallway. It amazed me how quickly she had grown familiar with the castle's passageways in her short time here.

I pushed my way through one of the side doors and breathed in the fresh air. Apparently, I had been feeling claustrophobic in that underground chamber. The outside air seemed to wash the mildew and the stress off my shoulders as I made my way to the training ground where Zion had gone to see how Aislin's training program had been implemented.

×××××

It took everything I had to raise my head when I heard the door open. Divya rushed in wide-eyed and out of breath.

"I think they're looking for you." she breathed. "I just found a Japanese girl and a man in a military uniform with white hair in one of the rooms. They asked me how I got down here."

"Leland and Kingsley found you?" I wheezed. "Where were they?"

"They were in an abandoned room nobody uses. I went there to hide the evidence that I've been helping you and they came out of nowhere."

"They must have found access through the castle."

"You mean there's access to the castle from that room?"

"There must be. Because you've used an outside entrance you didn't know they connected." I breathed my mind racing. "Divya, I hate to ask this. You should know if you do as I ask, it will be a great risk to yourself. You will be in grave danger."

"I know that. I knew the instant I decided to treat you like a human instead of a prisoner that I would become a target. At least now I'll be a target with allies." She said determinedly.

"If you go back to that room, do you think you can find the way out?"

"I don't know, but it's worth a try." she surmised. "How do I convince them that I'm telling the truth?"

×××××××××××××

Author Note!

10 more chapters to go!!! crazy bro

Hello My Mickey Mouse Club House Members!!❤️

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Random >

How is your day today? Was it bad? Good? In between?

QOTD: What's your hair type like?

I am African-American and my hair is thick and super curly. I have 3C hair but at the very bottom of my head i have 4A which is annoying to say the least.

We won't even go into how expensive my leave-in conditioner bill is...

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