Hunting Prince Dracula (Stalking Jack the Ripper 2)

A floorboard creaked beneath us. I pushed myself away from him, testing the spot with my weight. It sounded as if it had hinges that were in need of a good oiling. I was fairly positive I saw the outline of a door. I prayed it wasn’t another delusion. Thomas didn’t seem to have noticed it; his focus was solely on me, expression guarded yet hopeful. I realized he was waiting for my response to his apology.

“If you swear to never, ever speak on my behalf without my consent, then I forgive you,” I said, knowing full well I would have forgiven him regardless. He brightened, and it took everything in me not to wrap my arms around him. I cleared my throat and pointed to the floor. “I have a theory I’m trying to prove. And I believe the trapdoor we’re standing on is our first clue.”

Thomas stared at me a beat longer, then turned his attention to the floor. While standing back a few feet it was easier to make it out—there was most decidedly a hidden door within the morgue.

“I overheard Moldoveanu and Danesti talking about disarming chambers, though I’m not quite sure what they meant by it. They said

they needed to find some book to locate them,” I said. Excitement replaced my earlier dark emotions as I gazed at the trapdoor. “I believe we beat them to it.”

“It’s very possible.” Thomas pulled his shoulders back. “Could be an old tunnel into the woods. Vlad used this castle as a fortress. I’m sure there were plenty of ways for him to make a strategic exit if he needed to. It’s likely nothing but a spider’s palace now. I’d prefer to not soil this suit.”

I sniffed rather dramatically. “That reeks of excuses, Cresswell. Are you afraid of spiders?”

He tapped his fingers on his arms, expression thoughtful. “I feel no loss of dignity by admitting I loathe them.”

I smiled. We were both going to be in trouble, then. I hoped we wouldn’t encounter any eight-legged creatures. Curiosity’s magnetic pull was much too great for me to resist. I felt around the wooden planks, searching for a release mechanism. The space below us was either old and filled with cobwebs, or it was regularly taken care of, leading me to believe someone knew about it.

And if someone knew about it, perhaps it was full of clues. If Danesti was seeking hidden chambers, I wanted to know why. I glanced up at Thomas.

“Aren’t you going to help?” He gnawed on his lip and I nearly saw crimson again. “Honestly? You think this is a worse idea than the one where you played dead and scared the life out of me?”

“Point taken.” He drummed his fingers against his lips, considering. “If I end up being devoured by ravenous spiders, at least I’ll be memorable for something other than my good looks.”

He grinned as I rolled my eyes, then walked over to the unlit sconce. I watched him study it briefly, then twist it to the side. Amazingly, the trapdoor swung inward, revealing a dank, musty stairwell. I lifted my eyes, incredulous, and Thomas beamed.

Of course. The broken sconce was glaringly obvious now.

“Shall I impress you with my powers of deduction? It was the only unlit sconce in the room, leading one to believe if there was indeed a secret—”

“Not now, Cresswell. Give me a hand. I want to see what Vlad Dracula was hiding down here. And what Danesti is after.”

SECRET PASSAGE

PASAJ SECRET

BRAN CASTLE

5 DECEMBER 1888

If the near-complete darkness wasn’t enough of a warning to turn back, then the sickeningly sweet stench of decay that assaulted us should have been.

“Lovely.” Thomas scrunched his nose. “There’s nothing quite like the aroma of a bloated corpse to get one in the mood for adventure.”

We stood on the threshold of the trapdoor, staring down into what was sure to be a dismal setting. Gray stones edged with cobwebs and other detritus yawned before us, opening their chipped teeth wide to allow entry into the bowels of the castle. I did my best to breathe through my mouth. “Think of it as if it were simply a ripe fruit ready to burst.”

Thomas’s gaze swept over me, brows lifted in appraisal. “You are morbidly enchanting.”

“We need to hurry. I don’t want to linger too long.” I nodded at the trapdoor. “Should we close this?”

Thomas eyed the secret passage and then the main door, resignation settling on his features. He sighed. “I’ve a feeling we’ll regret it, but yes. Go on down a few steps and I’ll close us in with the dead body and spiders. In the dark.”

I gathered my skirts, thankful that they weren’t as bulky as normal, and descended one step at a time, cringing at what might be getting caught in my hemline. I was terrified of what was causing the stench and hoped it was only the carcass of an animal that had found its way into the castle. I wasn’t keen on finding human remains.

Thomas huffed from behind me, his shoes finding every way imaginable to scrape over stone as he maneuvered the trapdoor into place. From previous experience, I knew he was more than capable of moving through the night with inhuman stealth. I gritted my teeth, ignoring the smack of his shoes as he stomped down the steps after me. Perhaps he was still shaken from his idiotic maneuver of playing dead.

A pebble bounced down the steps, sounding our arrival for all the world to hear. I stopped moving, my pulse a roaring wave crashing through my veins. We couldn’t be positive we were alone down here, and I did not want to get expelled so quickly. Especially when there were so many unanswered questions about what, exactly, was happening at this academy.

Thomas muttered something too low for me to understand.