Outside, the sun was rapidly breaking through the clouds as dawn approached. Josie hurried across the street, heading in the direction of the cemetery. It seemed odd to be hunting for vampires in what was about to be broad daylight, but she supposed that it wouldn’t be the last time, seeing as Sunsweet had an entire underground network of hidey-holes.

  Once inside the mausoleum, it wasn’t difficult for Josie to locate the door that would lead her into the tunnels. She hadn’t noticed it earlier, too distracted by the vampire trying to kill her, but it was easily distinguishable amongst the piles of rubble and broken glass from the small windows.

  A heavy chain and a padlock barred her access. She reached for the lock, scratching at the rust and flaking paint, when the sound of footsteps sent her spinning around, borrowed stake already in her hand.

  Standing in the doorway, backed by the twilight sky, was the mysterious Guardian from the alleyway. Josie frowned at him, stowing the stake back in her waistband as she said, “Don’t suppose you’ve got a key for this thing, do you?”

  “Nope.”

  He strode up to her side, taking the padlock in his hand with a thoughtful look on his face. The shadows made the planes of his face sharper. “Are you going down there alone?”

  “Why?” asked Josie, grinning sarcastically, “Are you volunteering to come with me? Wow, I didn’t think Blade’s got more than one Guardian – I must be special.”

  “You shouldn’t go down there.”

  “Why not? I thought you Guardians were supposed to be encouraging me to kill vamps.”

  He sighed, dropping the padlock. Josie couldn’t help but notice that he had large hands and long, pale fingers. “Going down into their nest is a death sentence,” he said archly. “You’re better off regrouping topside, making a plan of attack. You at least know where your nearest exits to the surface are, right?”

  Josie stared at him, deadpan, wondering who in the Guild had had the bright idea to send her two Guardians with very different styles of guidance.

  “If you’re going to be popping up all over Sunsweet with cryptic advice, could you at least tell me your name?”

  The question had been nagging her since they’d unofficially met. The handsome, arrogant man with the broad shoulders and the snarky demeanor, who seemed to know a lot more about her than she did about him.

  “It’s…” There was some hesitation before the Guardian finally said, “Julian.”

  “Julian…” It was a delicate name, almost at odds with the man’s tall, strong form, his less than delicate demeanor.

  “That’s pretty.” She relented, turning back to the padlocked entrance. “I’m Josie, but I guess you already knew that.”

  With a yank, Josie tore the padlock from the chain. The rust helped, allowing her to break through the securing bar without much strain. She realized belatedly that Luke and his inhuman captors must have taken another entrance, as this one had been closed and locked, left undisturbed. There must be another location she’d overlooked, but it was too late to turn back now.

  Besides, she thought as she stared into the darkness, all of the tunnels connected, didn’t they? Wherever they’d taken Luke, she was bound to find them.

  “Well, Julian,” said Josie, testing the name out, “I’ve got to go down there. Are you coming?”

  Julian chuckled with a slow shake of his head.

  “Didn’t think so. I don’t suppose you’ll be waiting for me up here, then?”

  “Would you like me to be?” A smirk curved up one side of his mouth, his hooded gaze resting on her face.

  Was he flirting with her? She pushed the flutter in her stomach aside and faced the dark hole, willing her eyes to adjust as she stared.

  “I’ll see you around, Guardian.”

  She took a step, the heel of her boot striking off uneven stone. There was a staircase beneath her feet, winding into the dark. As she made to take another step, Julian’s voice sounded from behind her.

  “When you get to the tunnels, go north, toward the college. That’s where they’ll be.”

  “Thanks,” said Josie, but she didn’t look back. She couldn’t, too afraid she’d lose her nerve and go running for the hills.

  Another step, and another, each moment pushing forward taking her further from the safety above.

  Soon, the darkness swallowed her up.

  The tunnels were empty and stank of still water and shit.

  Josie tried to ignore whatever the heels of her boots might be stepping into as readily as she ignored the water dripping off the walls and the rats scurrying around. Small lights affixed to the stone lit the way. She followed an unclear path, allowing her instincts to guide her as she ignored some tunnels and turned down others.

  She hadn’t gone far when a very human body wound around a corner and nearly slammed right into her.

  Josie swallowed a shriek of surprise, hefting her stake, but it was Andrew, shielding his face from her oncoming blow. She stopped just short of killing him, and practically snarled, “What the fuck are you doing down here!? Where did you even come from!?”

  “I followed you,” said Andrew simply, not sounding sorry at all. “Well, sort of. I took a different entrance. Did you know the sewer cover outside Heartstone park–”

  Josie bristled, gritting her teeth, “If you don’t turn around and go back to the library, I swear–”

  “Josie, please. Luke is my friend, and I need to help him. You can understand that, can’t you?”

  Josie didn’t want to tell him that she didn’t really have a point of reference – the only person she’d ever tried to protect had lost his arm because of her.

  Her lips drew into a thin line. She supposed, in her way, she could understand. Wasn’t she standing in a watery tunnel because she wanted to rescue someone? Didn’t she want Andrew to leave so that he would be safe?

  Her heart pounded fearfully. “Andrew, I need you to understand… These things–you can’t reason with them. You can’t overpower them. They will kill you as easily as you could kill a fly.”

  “Oh, I don’t know about that,” said Andrew.

  The grin he gave her was lopsided, but she could still see the apprehension in his eyes.

  “Flies aren’t that easy to kill. They’re pretty quick, all things considered. Besides–I’ll have you know I took two months of kickboxing and tae kwon do when I was in the sixth grade!”

  Josie’s surprised giggle was almost a snort, but any amusement she felt was short lived. One look at Andrew’s face, and she knew there would be no changing his mind. He had that same stubborn set to his jaw that he’d had at the library.

  Sighing, Josie took off the necklace Julian had given her and dropped it around Andrew’s neck. “This will buy you some time,” she explained. “This symbol holds magic. If you’re cornered by a vampire, shove it in their face and run. Got it?”

  Andrew’s hand came up, fingers curling around the heavy silver charm as he nodded, his eyes wide.

  “Good,” said Josie, starting forward again. “Follow me, and stay quiet.”

  As they crept through the tunnels, Andrew did not stay quiet. He fired question after question at her, whispered in the stony dark.

  “So, how do you kill a vampire?”

  “Stake to the heart,” said Josie, gesturing to the stake she still had gripped in her right hand. “Decapitation will do it. Severe dismemberment…” She pursed her lips in thought.

  “Sunlight?” Andrew suggested.

  “That’ll work sometimes, yeah,” said Josie. “But it’s more like being severely allergic. There are factors.”

  “Sunlight won’t even do it?” Andrew blew out a long breath, ruffling the thick curls hanging in his eyes. “I thought that was a like, a vampire guarantee.”

  “Yeah, well,” Josie waved the stake in the air, circling her wrist as she considered how to best explain. “The older vampires can withstand sunlight, but it weakens them considerably. Enough that even you could take one out.”

  “Hey!”

  “Which–you know–not ideal, if you’re a vampire. The younger ones are far more likely to just burst into flame.”

  “What about garlic? Crosses?”

  “Myths,” said Josie, snickering at the very thought. She remembered asking the very same questions when she’d been seventeen, new to hunting demons, still lost in the fog of disbelief that monsters could be real.

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  Andrew opened his mouth, but Josie lifted her hand to silence him, because she’d noticed something.

  “We’re getting closer,” she whispered.

  “How can you tell?”

  “No more rats.”

  They’d arrived into a larger part of the tunnel systems, with wider passageways and cement corridors, wide open rooms with humming electrical boxes. As they passed one of the rooms, Josie saw a body crumpled on the ground; a lanky boy with spiky black hair, wearing a familiar baggy grey t-shirt.

  Andrew gasped. “Luke!”

  Already he’d forgotten the rules, rushing forward before Josie could stop him, shouting Luke’s name loud enough to attract every vampire in a five mile radius.

  “Andrew, wait!” Josie chased after him, unease making her heart thud faster.

  As Andrew reached Luke, he jumped to his feet, and the two embraced.

  “They know you’re coming,” said Luke. “They told me to wait here for you.”

  Having reached them, Josie shot Andrew a glare, then turned to Luke. “I’m not worried about them. We’ve got to get you out of here. Are you hurt?”

  “I’m okay,” said Luke. “They didn’t hurt me. I was supposed to be bait.”

  Relief swept through her. “Come on,” she urged, “Follow me.”

  Josie was pretty sure she’d seen a pothole exit a couple of tunnels back. If she could just circle back, escort Andrew and Luke to the surface, she could return and take out the nest, preventing the Culling and whatever other evil plans the Otherlanders were cooking up.

  Turning, Josie headed back the way they had come, but as she rounded another corner, two large men stepped out of the darkness, blocking their path forward.

  Not men, Josie realized, Otherlanders, with the hardened grimace of a Dark Form.

  “This way!” shouted Luke.

  He stumbled back, sprinting in the direction of a left bearing tunnel that Josie had passed earlier.

  Josie and Andrew hurried after him, but they were going in the wrong direction. The map had labelled every dead end, and they were fast approaching one.

  “We can’t escape this way!” she shouted.

  But Luke kept going, and Andrew kept going after him, and Josie could only follow, until they hit the dead end she’d been trying to warn them about.

  “Shit!” heaved Andrew, his chest rising and falling with his labored breathing. “What are we going to do?”

  “Don’t worry, I have an idea,” said Luke.

  The hairs on the back of Josie’s neck rose, and a chill slid down her spine. Luke’s voice had a deep, grating crunch to it that hadn’t been there before. Josie knew before she faced him that he had Changed.

  Smirking at them out of Luke’s face was a monster with beady black eyes, tight ropes of skin, and a bat’s enlarged nose.

  Her heart sank. She’d been too late after all.

  Andrew took a horrified step away, his eyes wide, mouth hanging open. He took a step back, and another, getting as much space from his former friend as he could, until his back hit the cold, damp wall.

  “Luke…” His voice cracked.

  “I’m so, so sorry, Luke,” said Josie.

  “Why are you sorry!?”

  Luke threw his head back and laughed, and the sound was wrong, like a woodcutter shredding through flesh. It made the hairs on the back of Josie’s arms stand up.

  “I feel amazing now! I can hear the rats scurrying through the walls. I can smell the blood pumping through your veins.” This last part was directed at Andrew, who he grinned at. His teeth were sharp, pointed, perfect for biting through Andrew’s flesh.

  “I know what the Oldest wants,” said Luke.

  “The Oldest?” said Josie, confusion knitting her brow. “What are you talking about?”

  He ignored Josie, stalking toward Andrew until he was close enough to reach out and grab a fistful of his t-shirt. “I’m going to help him. But first, I have to feed.” Then he opened his mouth, yanking Andrew close enough to kiss.

  “Andrew!” Josie hefted the stake, ready to destroy the Otherlander that had taken Luke’s place, but suddenly Luke sprang backwards with a wail of pain, and Josie saw the symbol of Vette burned into the right side of his face, turning the skin over his eye a ghastly red.

  “Luke!” Andrew pleaded, his voice shaking, his arm shaking harder. “Luke, we’re friends, don’t you remember?” But even as he pleaded with him, Andrew didn’t lower his arm, holding the symbol of Vette up in the air between them.

  “My memory is fine, Andrew,” Luke hissed, a mocking sneer to the set of his lips, which were now grotesquely wide in order to hide the mass of long teeth behind them.

  He lunged.

  Andrew screamed, but Josie seized Luke by the shoulders before he could land an attack. The other vampires had caught up, rushing towards them with hands outstretched, so Josie hefted Luke’s body through the air and threw him into them, knocking them backwards like bowling pins. It would buy them precious seconds.

  “We have to get out of here.” Josie’s frantic gaze searched the room, looking for a hidden exit, anything that might help them before she had to single handedly defend them both against three vampires.

  “There!” Andrew pointed to the ceiling, where there was a vent in the shadows.

  “You’re a fucking genius, Andrew! Come on!”

  Andrew helped Josie climb up so she could pry the cover of the vent off. She tossed it aside, and they climbed into it together. A few feet away, the bigger vamps were tossing Luke’s body off of them, rising to their feet with growls of frustration.

  Josie threw the vent cover at the approaching Otherlanders, the corner pinging one of the vampires in the face as she climbed into an above set of narrow tunnels.

  She shuffled forward on her hands and knees to make quick room for Andrew, who followed with a shout, kicking backwards at one of the hands groping into the vent hole.

  “Come on,” heaved Josie. The tunnel they found themselves in was narrow, with only room to crawl forward single-file. It would take the massive vamps a minute to catch up, but they didn’t have long.

  Up ahead, Josie saw a pothole cover, and her memory of the underground network Ramsay had showed her flashed in her mind's eye.

  The growls of the vampires followed them, the sound of banging and cursing as one of them tried to hoist himself into the vent hole.

  But Josie had reached the pothole cover, and she heaved it up and out of the way and climbed out, followed by Andrew. Together they heaved the pothole cover back into place and breathed a deep sigh of relief.

  Andrew bent forward, the air catching in his lungs as he tried to catch his breath now that they were out of immediate danger. Josie didn’t rush him – she couldn’t imagine what it would be like to face someone she’d loved who’d been Changed. She didn’t want to imagine it.

  “Are you okay?” she asked after a moment.

  They were standing in an electrical bank of sorts, surrounded by electric lines and buzzing electrical boxes. The sun shone down on them, making Josie’s eyes ache after being in the dark for so long.

  Andrew didn’t answer her. Drawing himself up, he squinted into the sunlight.

  “So what now?”

  ***

  Some time later, Josie and Andrew walked into the library to find that Calliope had settled at one of the bigger tables, and was diverting her attention between a stack of old newspapers and a notebook, in which she was making hastily scribbled notes. Her head shot up when the doors flew open, slamming into the opposite wall.

  Her gaze landed on Andrew with some venom. “You told me you were going to the bathroom!” she hissed indignantly.

  “Young men are made of lies and testosterone,” Ramsay remarked drily from behind his desk, where he was making notes in a leatherbound notebook.

  Andrew didn’t respond to either of them. He stormed up the nearest staircase and disappeared behind the stacks.

  Calliope stared after him, frowning, then turned a downcast expression on Josie. “What happened? Where’s Luke?”

  Josie’s heart panged. She’d failed. How could she explain that? How could she look at Calliope and tell her that her friend was gone forever?

  “I’m sorry…” said Josie softly. She could feel Ramsay’s eyes on her, but she wouldn’t look at him. Instead, she dropped down into one of the chairs at her table and made herself meet Calliope’s eyes. “I was too late.”

  “So he’s… he’s gone?” Calliope’s voice grew even softer, as unwilling to accept it was Andrew.

  “Worse,” said Josie. “He’s been turned.”

  “Oh!”

  Calliope’s sharp intake of breath sent guilt quivering around Josie’s ribs. She hung her head, “I’m sorry, Calliope.”

  A moment later, she felt Calliope’s hand on the back of her own, and Josie’s head shot up, surprise widening her eyes.

  Calliope stared back at her, tears blinking at the corners of her eyes but refusing to fall. She gave Josie a reassuring smile, watery at the edges. “You did your best, Josie. Thank you. I’m glad you’re both safe. I’m glad…” Her gaze shot up, bouncing off the shadows that clung to the second floor, and then lowering back to Josie. “I’m just glad.”

  Even as relief crashed over her like a wave, Josie wasn’t sure she deserved such grace, but she returned Calliope’s gentle smile, and gave her hand a quick squeeze before getting to her feet and heading to where Ramsay was still taking notes.

  “So,” She leaned over his desk, weight resting on her elbows. “What’d you find out?”

  He didn’t look up as he replied, his brows furrowed in concentration. “All that the Guild was able to tell me is that some decades ago, an earthquake struck Sunsweet, where a powerful Otherlander known as the Oldest was known to claim territory. Shortly after, it’s said he disappeared, and hasn’t been heard from since. They believe he was trying to open the Black Portal, but failed, causing the earthquake that buried the city.”

  “Wait,” said Josie, frowning. She lowered her voice, hoping to spare Calliope and Andrew – wherever he may be eavesdropping overhead. “Luke said something about ‘the Oldest.’ What do we make of that?”

  “We think he’s trapped under there,” Calliope interjected, having heard after all. “Uh, that is, under here… Eugh, kinda creepy thinking about some demon lurking underneath us, right?”

  Ramsay looked up at last. “We believe the Oldest is trapped underground, beneath the ruins of the old Sunsweet, imprisoned by his own backfired spell.”

  “And you guys think this… Oldest wants to use the Culling as a way to, what, escape?”

  Ramsay shrugged, “That, or he might be trying to open the Black Portal again, hoping to free himself in doing so.”

  Josie blew out a long breath between her pursed lips, sending stray hairs fleeing. “So… What does that mean for us? How do we stop him?”

  “In order to harness the sort of magic needed to complete the Culling ritual, the planets must align in a certain way that only happens once every century or so.” Ramsay’s expression was grim as he explained. “Tonight is the only night he will be able to attempt it. We hardly have time to prepare for an attack.”

  “If we can stop his disciples, we can stop the ritual, right?” Josie guessed, thinking aloud.

  “Technically speaking, yes, but it won’t exactly defeat the Oldest. He’ll just be…” He waved a hand. “Trapped. Still.”

  “Yeah, but that’s better than realm-destroying magic, right?”

  Ramsay’s lips thinned, but Josie noticed that he wasn’t arguing.

  “So, where do we think they’ll go, then? Somewhere they could get a lot of kills at once, right?”

  “Cups & Coins.”

  Andrew’s voice came from above. Josie’s head tilted backwards to look up, and Ramsay followed suit.

  “That’s where they’ll go,” said Andrew grimly. “It’s a live band night – always draws a huge crowd.”

  His eyes were cold, but Josie could see the sadness underneath.

  Ramsay nodded. “He could be right.”

  Josie was willing to bet on it. After all, wasn’t that where Luke had been taken? Where Andrew had almost been taken, too?

  “They open in a few hours, don’t they?” said Josie.

  Andrew nodded.

  “Then we better start planning,” said Ramsay.