The Silver Mist: A Wild Hunt Novel, Book 6 Read online

  “I want you to go in front, just in case there are any more spiders that come after us. I can guard the back that way. Come on, let’s hurry. We don’t want to hang around down here too long or we might attract attention from more of the beasts.” He changed places with me, urging me to fit a bolt into my crossbow so I’d be ready. I did so, then took the lead, cautiously turning to the left as we came to the juncture.

  The sound of water dripping from somewhere up ahead echoed through the metal pipe. About halfway to the ladder, I noticed a leak to the left. A fine trickle of water was dripping down the sides of the pipe to the metal below our feet. It appeared to be a steady flow, so it couldn’t just be coming from snow melt.

  I frowned as I flashed the light over the edges of the eroded pipe. The metal looked thin and fragile and seemed to have rusted through, and the water had breached the pipe through a half-inch hole. Around the hole, for about a four-inch diameter section, the pipe looked fragile and the rusty metal was flaking. Without thinking, I pressed my thumb against one of the thinner sections. The metal broke and the flow of water increased.

  I glanced back at Herne. The trickle was rapidly becoming a steady stream, as though someone had left the faucet on.

  “I have an uneasy feeling that we’re either next to or below a stream. If the metal breaks any further, I’m afraid the pipe will flood. Let’s get the hell out of here.” Herne shook his head, glancing at the flowing water. “Don’t touch it again. We don’t know how weak the rest of the metal around the leak is and I don’t want to find out. If there’s enough water on the other side, the pressure could split the welds that hold the tube together. Have you noticed? This isn’t one solid tube. We passed through five sections that have been welded together.”

  I hadn’t noticed, but now that he mentioned it I took a closer look and could see what he was talking about. The breach was at one of the welds, and I quickly pulled away from the leak and hurried through the last ten feet toward the ladder.

  Herne shined his light up the rungs. They led about twenty feet up, ending at a circular hole against the ceiling, which appeared to be domed. There, a valve about two feet in diameter was attached to the top of the dome. It had to be a trap door, and my guess was that turning the valve would open the top of the tube.

  I reached out to grab the first rung and let out an involuntary shout as my fingers began to blister. I pulled away quickly and turned to Herne.

  “Iron. The damn thing is cast iron. I don’t think the tube is—or at least it’s coated because it didn’t hurt me when I touched it, but the ladder is going to be a problem. Let me get my gloves and see if it helps.” I pulled out my gloves and slid them on over the blistered tips of my fingers.

  Herne looked concerned. “Do you think you can climb with your hand injured like that?”

  I nodded. “Yeah, it’s not going to feel good, but I can climb. When I get up there, should I open the door? There’s no way of knowing what’s on the other side.” I paused as the rushing of the water grew louder.

  We turned back to look at the breach in the pipe. There was a pause, and then a large section of the pipe crumbled as a torrent of water began to pour through. The broken section was at least eight inches wide, and the flood showed no sign of stopping.

  “Get moving,” Herne said. “Now. It’s amazing how much water can accumulate from a stream that large.”

  For a moment I considered whether I could do anything about the water, but unless there was an elemental in it, I didn’t think I had much of a chance. I could try to hold it back, but my skills with water magic weren’t that refined. Without another word, I swung onto the ladder, grimacing as the iron reverberated through the gloves. I could climb, all right, but it was still uncomfortable. As I hurried up the ladder, Herne swung onto the rungs as soon as there was clearance.

  I climbed as quickly as I could, glancing over my shoulder. Water was beginning to accumulate in the bottom of the pipe, and while I knew it had to be running through the tunnel toward the spiders and the pit, there seemed to be plenty more coming. Herne was probably right—we must have tapped into a stream and soon, the entire pipe would be flooded. I glanced up at the top, hoping to hell that I could get that valve open. Otherwise, we’d be trapped.

  When I was almost at the top, I paused a couple rungs below. Reaching up, I got as good of a hold as I could on the valve. I began turning it counterclockwise, and while it budged a little, I just didn’t have the strength to jar it loose. I looked down at Herne.

  “I can’t get it open. You need to change places with me.”

  I flattened myself against the side of the shaft as Herne squeezed up next to me. Then I managed to maneuver myself below him on the ladder.

  I glanced down again, shining my light onto the water that was rapidly building up. From what I could tell, the breach had widened and now the water was pouring in. In the distance, I could hear squeaks and hisses, no doubt another bunch of spiders trying to cope with the sudden flood. We still had a little while before the water would climb the shaft around the ladder, but I didn’t want to bet on how much. And given the length of the tunnel, we couldn’t swim back through to the pit on one breath of air. Oh, Herne probably could, but I sure couldn’t, not without help like I had had from the elemental in the sound beneath the ferry.

  Herne was struggling with the valve now, and finally, a loud creak told me that he was managing to wedge it open. He pushed, climbing the rungs as he pressed his shoulder against it, and with one last grunt, shoved it open. He scrambled through, and I followed him. We weren’t sure where we were headed, but we had no choice. The rising water below ensured that we were committed.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  A s I popped through the opening, Herne reached down and yanked me out, slamming the lid behind me. I shivered as a cold blast of wind railed against us, swirling snow every which way. We were outside, behind what looked like a shed.

  I quickly looked around, trying to get my bearings.

  Behind us, about two yards away, was a tall chain-link fence. Snow had drifted halfway up the sides. The fence must have been a good ten feet tall. To the left was the back of another building that reminded me of army barracks. To the right was another shed, with a pathway running between the two.

  I blinked as my eyes adjusted from the darkness of the tunnel to the dim light of the snowstorm. The shed behind which we were hiding had no windows on the back wall, so nobody could glance out and see us. The snow and the howl of the wind guaranteed that no one had heard the thud of the tunnel door as it slammed shut. I glanced down to see that the valve on top was almost hidden. The cover was sunk two feet into the ground.

  Herne pulled me toward the building, and we huddled against it. “I think we’re in the compound. At least we didn’t come up inside a building, although that might actually be easier.”

  I nodded, wrapping Raven’s scarf tightly around my mouth to warm my breath. I hoped she and Kipa had made it back to the cabin, but then it occurred to me that Kipa would be headed back down to the pit, which by now was filling up with water.

  I was about to say something when Herne pressed his finger to his lips. I froze, hearing the crunch of footsteps nearby. I readied my crossbow and made sure my dagger was easy to access. As we pressed our backs against the building, a figure appeared to the right. Whoever it was, he was tall, with a gun slung over his shoulder. With a quick glance behind the dormitory, and then down our way, the guard turned and vanished, walking slowly. I let out a slow breath, relief flooding over me. The shadows had hidden us, but how long we could stay here without being noticed was another question.

  “What do we do?” I whispered to Herne, trying to keep my voice low.

  He gnawed on his lip for a moment, then glanced up at the low-hanging eaves of the roof. I knew exactly what he was thinking. We silently moved forward and he knelt, holding out his hands with his fingers interlaced. I placed my boot in his hands and he boosted me up as I grabbed hold
of the eaves. He gave me a push and I scrambled up to lie flat in the snow, against the sloped roof. Herne leapt up, swinging one leg up to pull himself over the edge. He motioned for me to climb higher, and so I did, with him following right behind. As we neared the top, I eased up to peek over the ridge.

  The compound spread out around me. It was fairly small, surrounded by the chain-link fence that ran around the entire perimeter. I realized we were facing the direction in which the cabin was. But the building directly in front of us was impeding our view of the gate, so it was difficult to tell much more. The compound was dimly lit by a few scattered floodlights, but they seemed more for the benefit of those walking around the encampment rather than to keep an eye out for anyone who might be trying to sneak in—or out.

  The yard was empty except for the occasional guard, but a yellowish light spilled from the windows of one of the buildings toward the left front of the compound. All the buildings—from what I could tell there were six or seven—looked to be of modular construction. I squinted, trying to make out the gate, but because of the building between us and the front, couldn’t see it very well.

  I pulled back. From what I could tell, the Tuathan Brotherhood’s headquarters wasn’t exactly a jumping place. I frowned. For a group that was targeting victims across the nation, it didn’t really make sense. Nobody could run a nationwide hate group from this small of a compound.

  “Herne,” I whispered. “This can’t be the main headquarters.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Think about it. The TB has become a nationwide group. This place is just too small and quiet to be their primary headquarters. And it doesn’t make sense to have all your eggs in one basket. Taking out this compound would disrupt the entire organization, and they aren’t going to be that stupid. And given they’re working on the Dark Web, chances are they’re bigger than we gave them credit for.”

  Herne stared at me. “Fucking hell, you’re probably right.” He started to say something else, but then shook his head. “We can’t discuss this here.”

  “Then what do we do next?”

  “We find Rafé and get out of here, and regroup. We take this place out if we can.”

  He held his finger to his lips and scooted over to the corner of the roof. Cautiously, he set his bow on the roof and pulled out a wicked-looking dagger. He motioned for me to get ready and I brought my crossbow to bear.

  A moment later, the soft sound of footsteps sounded around the corner, and Herne swung down from the roof, taking the guard down and coming up with his dagger at the man’s throat. I grabbed his crossbow and silently joined him.

  “Say one word and you’re dead.” Herne’s voice was gravelly. The guard stiffened as I pointed my crossbow at him. Herne held up his dagger. “See this? My blade says you’re going to talk to us, and you’re going to do so very softly. If I even think that you’re about to shout for help, you’ll be dead before you can take your next breath. Nod once if you understand.”

  The man nodded, his eyes wide.

  I slipped off my pack and rummaged through it, finding some rope. Quickly, I knotted it around the man’s hands and feet, trussing him up like a pig on butchering day. I rolled a handkerchief into an effective gag and held it ready. Herne lowered him to the ground. I knelt on one side as Herne knelt on the other, still keeping his knife to the man’s throat.

  “Is Nuanda in this encampment?” Herne whispered. “Nod once for yes, shake your head for no. And if you tell us a lie, you die.”

  The guard shook his head.

  “Who’s in charge? Give me a name.”

  Shivering, the guard opened his mouth and whispered, “Cranston.”

  I took a closer look at the guard. He was a Light Fae from what I could tell. “Is Cranston Fae? Nod yes or no.”

  The guard nodded.

  “How many guards are there here? And how many people in the encampment total?” Herne traced the blade down the man’s cheek, poking it just enough to draw blood. The trickle of blood dribbled down the guard’s face.

  “A dozen guards, six on duty at any time. There are a total of thirty-five people here.”

  “Does that include new recruits? And do you know a man named Rafé?”

  “Yes, there aren’t very many of us here. I believe someone by that name was brought in a couple days ago.” He paused, then added, “Please don’t kill me.”

  Herne stared at him for a moment. “You help us, and we’ll see you get out of this alive and in one piece. If you give us away, you forfeit your life.”

  I watched Herne for a moment, hoping he was telling the truth. I had come to accept that there were occasions during which we needed to take out our enemies, but I didn’t like deceit, even though I recognized that sometimes it was the only means to a necessary end. Herne gave me a soft smile.

  “What do you want from me?” the man asked.

  “Do you know where they took the man named Rafé? We need to know where he is.”

  “He’s with the new recruits. In that building over there.” The guard nodded toward the building that I had thought was a dormitory. “There’s a nine P.M. curfew, so he should be in there.” He paused, then said, “I signed on for the work because I needed the money. I’m just trying to feed my family.”

  “What do you know about this organization?” I asked.

  “The Tuathan Brotherhood is aimed at making life better for our kind,” he said, staring at me. “I didn’t realize how oppressed we were until I started talking to some of the members.”

  I wanted to smack him. The Fae weren’t oppressed in anyway, other than having to deal with the Fomorians, and we all had to deal with people we didn’t like. There were a great many people who were facing a hell of a lot more resistance and oppression than us.

  Herne looked at me. “Gag him.”

  I did so, making sure the gag was tight but that he could still breathe. I double-checked the ropes, making sure they were still taut.

  “Now what?” I asked. “If Rafé is in that dormitory, how are we going to sneak him out without bringing the whole camp down on us? If we still had—” I paused, not wanting to talk too much in front of the man. The fact was, if we still had Kipa and Raven with us, we could have chanced taking on more opponents. But we were two people down, and while Herne probably could escape without being hurt, I wasn’t so certain I could.

  “Stay here. If anybody comes at you, shoot them. Use your crossbow if possible because of the noise.” Herne handed me the man’s gun. “But keep this as a backup.”

  He peeked around the corner, then—crouching low—he dashed toward the dormitory, flattening himself against the back of the building.

  I leaned against the back of the shed, holding my crossbow ready. The guard let out a muffled sound behind the gag, but I ignored him. I kept my foot on the rope to keep him from trying to wiggle off. As I watched, Herne approached one of the back windows. No light came from within, and I held my breath as he swung himself up to pry it open and slip through.

  I looked down at the guard. “You do realize that you’ve been fed a bunch of garbage? The Fae are no more oppressed than the status quo. And your fucked-up organization has killed innocent people. Congratulations on winning against the innocent.”

  As I spoke, the guard jerked his head up to look at me. He frowned.

  “Don’t play innocent with me. I’m certain all the victims of the bank bombing would agree with you—especially the dead. And the people who were beaten to death, and run down. Hell, I’m ever so glad to know that you’re just trying to help our kind, and I’m certain all the shards of glass that impaled my back from that bomb…well, they really helped me out.”

  He frantically shook his head, but I grabbed hold of his hair to keep him still. I glanced over at the dormitory, wondering what was taking so long. Realistically, it hadn’t been that long, but it seemed to be taking forever. A moment later, I heard a commotion coming from the front of the encampment.

&nbs
p; Please don’t let them have caught Herne.

  The noise grew louder, and I wondered what the hell was going on. I glanced at the guard, roughly tilting his head up so that he was looking at me. The dim light that filtered around the compound illuminated the fear on his face.

  “Do you know what’s going on?” I whispered.

  He frantically shook his head.

  Wondering whether I should go find out, I glanced back over the dormitory, but there was still no sign of Herne. And the noise didn’t seem to be coming from the building.

  Biting my lip, I weighed the pros and cons of sneaking out to find out what was happening. I glanced over the back of the shed, looking for anything I could find to tie the rope onto so that the guard couldn’t squirm away. Finally, I found a loose board. It wasn’t loose enough that he would be able to yank it off, but I could slip the end of the rope around it and tie it firmly. Making sure the ropes were still tight, and the gag was secure, I was reasonably sure he wouldn’t be able to get away.

  “I’ll be back, so don’t you try anything.” For good measure, I pulled a handkerchief out of my pocket and blindfolded him.

  I crept to the opposite edge of the shed, peering around the corner. The shouts were continuing and getting louder from what seemed to be a well-lit place near the front of the compound, to the left of the gate. Another building sat between the shed and the voices. The building was dark, and the roof was steeply sloped, close enough to the ground where I could actually touch it. A lot of roofs in snow country were slanted so the snow would slide off of them, forestalling collapse. I darted to the back of the building, grabbed the eaves, and swung myself up onto the roof.

  Spreading flat against it, I began to inch my way up, hand over hand, using my feet to propel me up the side of the shingles. The snow was thick and cold against my chest, and it made it difficult to ascend, but finally I reached the apex. I eased up, barely peeking over the edge.