Chasing the Shadows (Nikki & Michael 3)

"She's right. It's a doorway of some kind.” He pressed the wall near the crack. He could see the catch—it was just a matter of finding the right way to spring it. Nikki blinked and for a second looked like a dreamer just awakening from a dream. “The entrance is on this side, the exit your side.” She reached up on tippy-toes and pressed her palm against the wall. The whole wall rotated aside, revealing a two-foot gap.

The air that rushed out was thick with age and death. Nikki shuddered, her face white. “There's a body in there somewhere."

He caught her fingers, squeezing them in gentle reassurance. “Yes. Do you wish to remain here while I check it out?"

Her gaze flashed to his. “I think you already know the answer to that." He smiled grimly and tugged her forward. “Then prepare for the worst. It will not be a pretty sight. This one has been dead for a while."

"How can you tell?” Jake asked as he followed them in. The beam of his flashlight danced across the darkness, crisscrossing Nikki's and creating crazy patterns on the cobwebbed brick walls.

"I am a vampire, remember. I saw the body long before you were able to smell it." "Even through the walls?"

"Yes."

"Damn—"

Jake's voice died as the beam of the flashlights centered on a huddled, shapeless form at the far end of the small gap. Beside it, there was a hole that led into a deeper darkness. Nikki stopped abruptly, as did Jake.

"Someone's been feasting on the poor fellow,” she said, voice holding a slight tremor. Her revulsion seemed to curl through the link, a wave of horror that stirred his senses, even though death and he were old companions.

"Probably rats coming up from the sewer,” he said, squeezing her hand before releasing it. He squatted beside the body. It was a male, and what remained of his clothes indicated he was a guard of some kind—probably hotel security. If the state of decay was anything to go by, he'd been dead a good two months, if not more—though it was hard to be certain because damp conditions like this often hastened decomposition.

"Has the hotel had any personnel go missing of late?” he asked, examining the corpse's neck and arms.

"Not since I've been here,” Jake said. “But I've only been here a month. It could have happened earlier."

"Can you check the files? Ask around?"

"Yep.” Jake hesitated. “Was he killed by vampires?"

"Yes.” Given the extent and manner of his injuries, it was undoubtedly fledglings who'd attacked him. No vampire who'd been on this earth any length of time was this messy. Or this careless. Leaving a body here like this was nothing short of stupidity—unless, of course, they didn't intend to hang around all that long.

The vampire who attacked me was a fledgling.

He met Nikki's gaze. He saw in her expressive eyes the fear so evident in her thoughts, yet he knew it wasn't fear of the darkness or the body or even the fledglings. It was fear of what awaited them. An evil they couldn't yet see, but whose presence tainted the very air around them. Not that he could feel anything beyond the chill of the stinking air. Whoever was behind the kidnappings was nowhere close; otherwise, he would have been able to sense their presence. The evil he could smell was little more than a psychic overflow from Nikki. Somehow, she was sharing what she sensed with him. He wondered if it was deliberate, or yet another worrying mutation of her abilities. It's a presence that doesn't feel very old, he said.

Jasper wasn't very old, either. Nor was Cordell. She hesitated, rubbing her arms. This feels far worse than either of those.

If the mutilations were anything to go by, then yes, it was. It's not near, Nikki. We're safe for the moment.

For the moment. Her trepidation swam around him, yet it was a fear he knew she would not retreat from. Aloud, she said, “Where does that hole lead?"

"A sewer tunnel, by the look of it."

"Wonderful,” she muttered. “And here I am wearing only sneakers." He smiled. “The nasty stuff is all piped."

She snorted. “A lot of shit flows down the storm drains, you know, and I'm not just talking about human waste."

"You could stay here if you want."

She raised an eyebrow. “One of these days you're going to get sick of hearing the answer to that question."

"Never.” Nor would he stop asking it. Her safety would always be a priority, whether she liked it or not. He threaded his fingers through the warmth of hers again. “Let's go." They climbed carefully through the gap. The brick tunnel beyond was little more than three feet wide and five feet high. Not much room for maneuvering if they were discovered.

"They've gone to some trouble to conceal that sewer entrance,” Jake said, sweeping the light left and right as he came through the hole. “Wonder why?"

Michael shrugged, his reply almost absent as he listened to the silence for movement. “It would suggest the hotel has some major part to play in their schemes."

"But they haven't yet hit the same place twice, so why go to the bother of building a false wall?"