Page 29 of How to Stake a Vampire (Diary of a Reluctant Werewolf #2)

UNDERGROUND WARRIORS

The entrance to the abandoned mine looked like a portal to Hell with a No Trespassing sign. Basically, exactly the kind of place where an evil vampire might take a hostage to complete an ancient ritual that would make him super evil.

Bo wagged his tail enthusiastically. “This place looks cool.”

“This isn’t a sightseeing tour,” Samuel reminded my dog sternly.

“I know that,” Bo protested. His voice dropped to a whisper. “But still. Way cool.”

Gregory narrowed his eyes at the Husky.

I swallowed a groan, regret for bringing Bo already setting in. I had a feeling my dog’s newfound enthusiasm for mines was going to become a terminal problem before this was over.

It had taken us an hour to make it here once we’d left our cars on the access road. Samuel had proposed the wolves transform and go ahead with the vampires, but Finnic had insisted we stay together.

“You seem be forgetting that this valley is littered with traps and sink holes,” the dwarf chieftain had said grimly. “Dwarves know how to look out for them. The last thing me and my warriors need is to be picking pieces of werewolves and vampires off wooden spikes and cave floors.”

I shot a wary glance at said warriors where we stood at the edge of the tree line.

The first dwarf was Melvina, Barney’s housekeeper.

She was wearing chain mail over a different vampire-themed apron, had her battleaxe strapped to her back, and was examining a wooden stake with professional interest.

The second dwarf was Hilda from the hospital. Her medical supplies were integrated into her armor and she had a first aid kit that appeared to double as a weapon.

“Don’t worry,” she’d told us matter-of-factly when she’d caught us staring. “I’ve treated more combat injuries than most field medics. Occupational hazard of working the supernatural ward. Why, I once performed emergency surgery on a troll with nothing but a butter knife and some dental floss.”

Mindy had flickered warily where she’d floated beside us.

“And I defeated three pixies in hand-to-hand combat just last week,” Melvina had chimed in cheerfully. “They were trying to put glitter in Master Barney’s coffee,” she’d been at pains to explain.

“That was not hand-to-hand combat,” Barney had muttered. “You chased them around the kitchen with the flambé torch.”

“Details, Master,” Melvina had waved dismissively.

“They’re my nieces,” Finnic had said defensively at our skeptical looks. “And they’re tougher than they look.”

Somehow, Melvina and Hilda being related to Finnic had come as no surprise to anyone.

The rest of Finnic’s team consisted of a grizzled dwarf who introduced himself as Leoric Ironfist, a fierce-looking female warrior called Belinda Stonebreaker, and a shifty-looking dwarf who went by Wildred Tunnelwalker.

Wildred looked like he could navigate a maze blindfolded and empty your pockets while he was at it.

Didi watched the dwarf crew with an expression that said she was seriously reconsidering every decision that had led her here.

“This is going to be a disaster,” Gavin muttered. He nervously adjusted the fire extinguisher collection strapped to his chest.

Samuel had insisted the dragon newt bring them along considering his natural tendency to incinerate anything that moved when he got nervous. No one wanted friendly fire in the confined space of a mine.

Ellie had been quiet since we’d arrived, her attention focused on the mine entrance. She raised her head abruptly, her eyes flashing red in the fading afternoon light.

“That bastard is definitely in there. I can smell him! And”—her expression darkened—”I can smell blood and magic.”

A feral sound left Gregory’s throat. He leaned forward, like he was about to bolt for the entrance.

Barney took hold of his arm before he could move. “It isn’t Virgil’s.”

My pulse spiked when Gregory hissed and whirled around, his face distorted in a monstrous mask that caused the dwarves to clutch their battleaxes and Gavin’s nostrils to spark.

Barney didn’t bat an eyelid. “Unless you want your son to die, I suggest you calm down.”

Gregory took a shuddering breath. His features gradually settled down, along with my heart rate.

“We’re wasting time,” he ground out.

“We’re not,” Finnic said, frowning. “Look, I get why you want to rush in there, but the others are still getting into position.”

The dwarf chieftain had directed Hugh, Nigel, Constantia, Detective Johnson and his team, and the rest of the Alliance to cover Ludvik’s potential escape routes.

There were more of them than Didi and Gavin had initially identified.

Though Constantia hadn’t been happy about being separated from her husband, she’d agreed to Finnic’s plans.

As Daria had put it, this was the dwarf’s rodeo.

My bones itched and my skin tightened as we waited for the signal. I glanced at the darkening sky where it was visible through the canopy. The full moon was only a few hours away and my wolf was dying to escape my human form.

My shoulders knotted when Finnic’s walkie-talkie crackled into life.

Daria’s voice came through. “We’re in position.”

“Roger that.” The dwarf looked around. “Everyone ready?”

There was a low chorus of agreement.

Finnic lowered his brows. “Let’s do this.”

The main entrance gaped in the hillside as we approached the mine entrance in formation—Finnic and his dwarves in front, followed by Samuel, Gregory, and Barney, then me, Mindy, and Ellie. Didi and Gavin brought up the rear while Bo trotted alongside me, the Husky quiet for once.

The mine’s entry point was larger than it had appeared from a distance.

Old support beams framed the opening and rusted rails disappeared into the darkness beyond.

The air that drifted out was cool and carried the scents Ellie and Barney had already identified—blood, magic, and something that made my wolf’s hackles rise.

“This place is as cheerful as a tomb,” Didi muttered.

“I used to mine here in the old days,” Finnic grunted. “It has solid stone formations and great acoustics.”

Bo perked up. “For singing?”

“For practicing our battle cries.”

Bo deflated. “Oh.”

I grimaced. For a rescue mission, this was turning out to be weirdly educational.

Gloom swallowed us as we moved deeper into the mine.

Though our werewolf and vampire vision cut easily through the darkness, we turned on the flashlights the dwarves had provided us with.

Made with secret dwarf technology, they were waterproof, shockproof, and guaranteed to work in the presence of hostile magic.

They also worked well as a blunt weapon Hilda had confessed as she’d distributed them.

We soon reached a junction. Wind whistled faintly in the tunnel to our right. It brought with it a pungent smell that made Gavin gag and Didi wrinkle her nose.

“Bats,” Finnic said, turning into the tunnel. “Watch your step. The floor will be slippery from guano.”

“I hate bats,” Mindy whispered.

“I hate mines,” Gavin said glumly.

“I’m pretty much hating all of this,” Didi declared grimly.

Our lights cast dancing shadows on the walls as we advanced, our footsteps echoing despite our best attempts at stealth. I could feel the weight of the mountain pressing down above us when we reached the next junction.

“How deep does this go?” Samuel asked in a low voice as we followed Finnic into the left branch.

“About four hundred feet at the deepest point,” Finnic replied. “This mine was one of the largest of its time. It has multiple levels and lots of tunnels. It’s a perfect place to hide.”

“Or get lost,” Didi muttered.

“That’s what these are for,” Melvina said, producing something from the pocket of her chain mail. “Trail markers.”

Hilda and the other dwarves exchanged resigned looks. The rest of us stared.

“We are not marking our path with googly eyes,” Barney said firmly.

“But they’re practical, Master,” Melvina protested. “Plus, these ones glow in the dark.” She cocked her thumb over her shoulder, where she’d already stuck a pair to the wall.

Bo grinned and wagged his tail.

Gregory muttered something under his breath.

I was beginning to understand why Barney always looked exhausted.

After a short argument, Melvina was allowed to use her googly eyes to flag our route.

“We’re gonna look stupid if we die in here and people find us by the glow of these things,” Gavin muttered sullenly as we left a phosphorescent trail in our wake.

“We’ll be dead, so we won’t care,” Didi pointed out.

“Death isn’t that bad,” Mindy protested.

Everyone chose to maintain a diplomatic silence at this.

We’d been walking for about ten minutes when Ellie suddenly stopped.

“They’re close,” she growled.

“She’s right!” Mindy hissed. “I can smell the wraith!”

Bo whined.

The rest of us couldn’t smell much past the bat guano, but we were happy to take their word for it. A faint sound reached us as we cautiously crept forward.

We all froze and strained our ears.

At first, I couldn’t hear anything but our breathing and the distant drip of water. Then I caught it.

It was music. Brooding, powerful music that was echoing from somewhere deep in the mine.

I shot a nervous glance at Barney. “Wait. Is that?—?”

“Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony,” the vampire confirmed darkly.

Gregory rushed forward. “It’s the ritual. It has to be!”

Finnic cursed as the vampire dropped his torch and disappeared into the gloom.

“Mindy, follow him!” Samuel barked.

We started running toward the music and whatever waited for us in the depths of the mine. Whatever it was, I just hoped we weren’t too late.