Page 55 of Light Fae's Love
“They haunt the under-passages of the Florence Hotel, and I have powerful wards to keep them out,” Quinn says as he clips the amulet around his neck, tucking it behind his black shirt. “Both times, I demolished one of those wards and let a Revenant come pouring in, attracted by all the sex, lust, and powerful blood-energy inside the Hotel. The box was already in a location where it could be transported out, and our bait both times was potent.”
I don’t ask who Quinn used as bait the first two times he caught Revenants, nor what they did that would have drawn a Revenant right to them once Quinn demolished his ward. I only know I have to be the bait now in a plan that’s risky as shit, with so many unknown variables I’m loathe to even try it.
This is our one shot at proving ourselves to the Vampire Council and protecting the Dark Haven of Florence, though, not to mention getting Quinn a chance to argue for his Sire’s seat among them. It’s something he desperately needs if he’s going to enact any change at all in Vampire society, beyond just Florence. I nod, letting him feel I’m ready through our bond.
But deep inside, I’m still churning—as I wonder if this entire plan is just going to fail right now, tonight.
Quinn holds my gaze, and I feel how deeply he doubts this plan, too, though I know he’ll see it through because we have no better one.
“We should head out.” Arturos glances at the sky again. “We’ll want as much darkness as possible tonight to find a suitable spot to wait for a Revenant before sunrise finds us.”
“Yes.” Quinn nods, rousing himself back to the moment rather than worry about the future. Turning to the Florentine Box, he moves towards it, taking the Summer Fae amulet out from beneath his shirt. As it returns to the open air, it glows again, touched by the fading light of the evening. Quinn closes his eyes and touches the amulet lightly as I feel him set his intention, that the box be easily portable tonight until he needs it to return to full size again.
As the amulet sears a brighter violet now, the silver beneath Quinn’s fingertips seems to whirl. I can almost see silver lines of Fae script and violet light emanate out, touching the Florentine Box like ephemeral fingertips.
The whole thing is shrinking down now, still perfectly proportioned until it’s the size of Quinn’s fist. With a pleased smile, Quinn moves forward, picking up the box and placing it in a black leather satchel, the inside thickly padded with a black satin lining.
Quinn buckles the satchel now and glances at us. “Everything, it seems, is ready.”
“Let’s get to the SUV.” Arturos nods at the Range Rover parked in the drive. “Everything’s loaded, so we’re ready to head out. Whenever you and Ariana are, of course.”
“No time like right now.” I head over to the car because there’s no use lingering. We’ve slept all day, we ate a big dinner to prepare for being out all night, and I know Arturos packed snacks for me, blood for him and Quinn, and all the other weapons, charms, and Revenant lures we might need in the car.
As we all turn, heading over to the SUV, Arturos heads around to the driver’s side and hops in. Quinn takes the passenger side, which leaves me in the back seat, but I don’t mind. I close my door and buckle in as I focus on what lies ahead, though like Quinn, I don’t let myself focus too far ahead. Our mission is just this tonight: capture a Revenant and bring it home.
With no one dying—or worse.
Everything else will wait for another day for us to worry about. As Arturos fires up the car and rolls out of the driveway onto the cobbled street, silence takes us. We’re all lost in thought, each of us wondering what we’re going to face tonight and whether we can handle it. I know Quinn has gone Revenant hunting before, and from Arturos’ demeanor, I bet he’s helped Quinn, as well. That just leaves me as the newbie involved in all this.
And the bait—trying not to freak out as we drive.
I’m lost in all the twists and turns Arturos takes in the tight downtown Roman streets as we reach the central city. We’re suddenly arriving at our destination, as he parks the car at an open spot on a side street near a Vampire bistro serving pasta, pizza, and blood-beverages to the early evening crowd.
Their tables out on the street are still sparsely populated; no one looks at us as we exit the SUV in our black tactical gear and fetch a variety of weapons from the back. There are pistols for Arturos and Quinn, that fire Revenant-stunning bullets of Quinn’s own design. I get a very normal taser, which apparently works alright on Revenants to startle them. There are also short black knives for Arturos and Quinn, that will lengthen into vicious Vampire spears; they are the same thing Quinn and his Dark Haven used to fight the Summer Fae King’s Brightwatch weeks ago when we were surrounded at the waterfall ravine.
I also get a Faeanic spear to fight with—the same thing as a Vampire spear but made of silver-white wood, covered in Faenic sigils and script rather than Bloodsigns. Quinn glances at me, and I pat the spear in its current knife-form, where it sits in an inner pocket of my tactical vest. It’s joined by vials of attractants to summon a Revenant, and stunning vials for stopping one.
We all carry weapons tonight, though.
Because no matter how many Revenants we find, we can’t let any of them get too close.
As Quinn slings the satchel with the Florentine Box on across his body, we’re ready. Arturos heaves the tailgate of the Range Rover closed and leads the way from the restaurant down a side alley. Ancient and tight, the alley has no shops or eateries; it’s just an old pass-through between busier, adjacent streets. As we come to an ornate, filigreed black iron gate set into a vaulted arch of the building on our right, I feel nasty black Vampire wards simmer over the entrance.
With a wave of his hand and a wash of his oceanic-dark magic, Arturos dissipates those wards. I see cruel red runes dissolve like smoke from the iron bars of the gate. And then he’s picking it with a lock pick set, opening the ancient iron lock and gate, ushering us in.
There are stairs behind, and they go down. As Quinn lights a swirling violet-red orb of light in one hand, we head on in.
Down and further down, until we’re in darkness.
22
NIGHT
As we head into Rome’s underground, Arturos, Quinn, and I go from a straight staircase to a corkscrewing one, to a set of stairs so steep they’re basically a ladder. Far beneath the city, the earth has a musty scent, like graves. As Arturos picks a lock on another gate, this one not warded, I finally see catacombs. I’ve been to the catacombs beneath Rome in the human world; these are similar, except the vaults are decorated with an ancient script.
I can’t tell whether it’s Fae or Vampire, though, it’s so similar to both.
As we enter the catacombs, piles of bones greet us, stacked beneath the vaults just like in the human world. The skulls here grin with needle-sharp fangs, like either Vampires or Fae in their shifted appearance. Their long finger bones have cruel talons, like both Lineages grow when they fight. It’s strange, and the energy down here is strange, too.