A low rumbling started underneath the chamber, and I started to move back but Roth said, “Don’t. It’s working.”
Tiny rocks fell to the chamber floor. A crack broke out across the ceiling. Dust plumed, catching in the flames, turning into tiny sparks that glided through the air. Man, I hoped this chamber didn’t cave in on us.
The square trembled and then began to rise. I pulled my hand back then, as did Roth. Standing together, we took a step back as the hunk of cement erupted out the floor in a loud groan of cement grinding.
“Bingo,” Roth said.
In the middle of the cement block was a cubby, and in that cubby was what could only be the original Lesser Key of Solomon.
Roth swiped up the torch and held it close. The cover was just like he’d said before. It looked like aged beef jerky. Bound in human skin—really old human skin.
I already wanted to hurl.
Carved into the cover was the same symbol that had been on the replica Roth had. A circle with a star in the middle was outlined in gold. The star was slightly crooked to the right, making it off center. Tiny numbers and letters were carved near the four points.
Roth handed me the torch, which I took gladly. No way did I want to touch that thing. I watched him reach inside and gingerly place his hands on either side of the book. It would totally suck if the thing imploded in dust, and I almost laughed at the image, except in reality it wouldn’t be so funny.
Roth stepped back with the Lesser Key in his hand. The crack in the ceiling suddenly exploded. Chunks of the roof crashed to the floor. Roth jumped forward, grabbing my arm and pulling me out of the way of a large section. It hit where I’d just been standing.
Another piece came down, blocking the way we’d come in. Horror poured in, as thick as the dust filling the cavern. “Roth!”
He grabbed my hand and pulled me around the raised square. We darted under the archway. “Do you know where this goes?” I yelled.
There was a wild sort of laugh. “No. But it has to go somewhere.”
Somewhere was better than where we were. We hit the tunnel at a dead run. The entire chamber came down behind us, triggering some sort of faulty seam in the craftsmanship. Or maybe it had been designed this way. That once the Lesser Key was moved, the whole thing would collapse, trapping the Key and whoever took it.
Hearts pounding, we raced down the tunnel, hanging a right when we came to an intersection. A plume of dust and rocks chased us through the maze of tunnels, snapping at our heels. I stumbled once, nearly face-planting the floor, but Roth caught me at the last minute, hauling me to my feet.
When we finally passed under a larger archway, there was a drop. We landed roughly, stumbling over tracks. Gaining my balance, I turned just as the very last section of the tunnel came down, sealing it off.
I let out a harsh breath. “Well, we won’t be returning the book, will we?”
“No.” Roth stepped off the track and placed the book up on a ledge. He grabbed my waist and lifted me up. “There you go.”
Scrambling along the ledge, I stood and realized we were in the subway system. In the distance, there was a flashing light. “My God, we have to be miles from the Monument.”
Roth was beside me in an indecent amount of time, Lesser Key in hand. I glanced at him. Exhilaration lit his eyes. “That was kind of fun, right?” he said. “It got the heart pumping.”
“That wasn’t fun! There were rats walking on two legs. Bats! And then the whole thing came—”
He moved so fast there was no chance to prepare myself. One second he was there, and then he was curving a hand around the nape of my neck. “You need something,” he said, and when I stared at him, he added, “Your face.”
“My face?”
“It’s in need of my kisses.”
I started to laugh, but his lips found mine as if they were made specifically to do so. My mouth parted on a gasp and the kiss deepened, stealing my breath. His fingers dug into my neck in a firm hold. Time slowed to a crawl and his mouth never left mine, his lips soaking up my responses like he was starved for water. The kiss felt good—really good—and it made me think of what we’d done back in his loft.
But reality got in the way. When he did pull back the slightest bit, he rested his forehead against mine. Those beautiful eyes were closed. “We need to get out of here and take a crack at the book.”
“Boo,” I murmured, but I disentangled myself and walked ahead, giving my heart time to slow its rhythm, along with my body. There were much more important things we had to focus on. I wasn’t surprised when Roth caught up with me easily. “I can’t believe we actually got the book, huh?”
“I didn’t doubt it for one second.” He stepped in front of me as we entered a narrow tunnel that opened up into a metro station stop. “We make a good team.”
There was that stupid fluttering in my chest again. A team—like we were together. And, dear Lord, the girlie-girl part of me was doing a very happy dance, which was ridiculous, because a future together was riddled with problems. There was the problem that I was part Warden and the whole “my kind was meant to kill his kind” thing, but it was more than that. Roth couldn’t stay up here forever. He was just doing a job.
And we were getting closer to his job being completed.
Once we came out of the metro station, I realized we were a couple of blocks from Union Station. The musky smell of the tunnel lingered on us, and I drew in a deep breath of the somewhat-fresh air as I stared up at the stars peeking out from behind the clouds.
I squinted.
One of the stars was falling.
Dread formed like a cannonball in my stomach and then exploded a second too late. It wasn’t a star falling.
It was a Warden.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
He dropped from the sky, landing gracefully in front of us.
The impact shook nearby parked cars, added another pothole in the street and sent what few humans were on the street running for cover. His wings were unfurled, spanning eight feet or more. The broad chest, the color of granite, was heavily scarred, but the face was smooth and handsome.
Nicolai.
His yellow eyes, pupils slanted like a cat’s, slid toward Roth. He let out a growl that shook inside my chest. “Demon.”
“Congrats,” Roth said tightly. “You know your species. Want a cookie?”
The Warden’s eyes narrowed and a voice I’d never heard from Nicolai came out. “How dare you speak to me, alandlik demon?”
The switch to Estonian, Nicolai’s native language, caught me off guard. And honestly, out of everything, I had no idea why it did. My brain was slow to process what was happening, and before it could catch up, another shadow dropped.
“Layla,” he said, rising off the ground and hovering about like a twisted angel. His wings made no sound as they moved through air. All he said was my name, but there was so much weight behind that one word that he had to know. Everything.
Fear hit me in the gut, but not for me.
Nicolai swung toward Roth, baring fangs. There was a second, a sliver of time, when my eyes locked with Roth’s and the air was punched from my lungs. Roth stared at me like he couldn’t believe it. Betrayal ran deep in his stare, slicing through me.
“No,” I whispered hoarsely.
Roth turned at the last second, deflecting Nicolai’s attack with a single swipe of his arm. “You really don’t want to do that,” he snarled. His pupils dilated as he pushed Nicolai back. “Seriously.”