Chapter 10: Do You Even Lift, Bro?

 

 

IT WAS odd being back in Castle Lockes after all this time. I’d been through the knights’ entrance countless times, but the moment we stepped through the door and shut it behind us, it was like I was seeing everything with new eyes.

A long stone hallway stretched out in front of us, lit by torches that hung on the walls. The ceiling was so low, Ryan could have reached up and touched it. The air was musty and dank, and it smelled so much like home that I had to take a moment to breathe it in to commit it once again to memory.

“Remember,” Justin said, sounding just as affected. “We move quickly and quietly. Do not engage unless necessary. Keep your heads low, and don’t draw attention. Sam, that means no getting distracted by—Sam, are you even listening to me?”

I wasn’t but said, “Yeah, yeah, sure,” as I stared at a painting of a Dark wizard throwing a child into a moat while other Darks cheered around him. “Was this here before? Because if it was, remind me to put in a request to the King to have the artist sent to the dungeons. And if it wasn’t, I call dibs on taking out the artist who thinks he can paint better than me.”

“Noted,” Justin said through gritted teeth. “Now, can we focus, please?”

“I mean, do they think it’s okay just to hang up art anywhere they want—”

“Sam!”

“Right. Focusing. Carry on.”

“No distraction, no deviations, no engaging. We are in, and out, and that is it.”

“Yes,” I agreed. “After all, what could possibly go wrong?”

The others groaned.

“Why would you say that?” Tina demanded.

“It’s like you want us to fail,” Justin groaned.

“I mean, there were only four of them,” Ryan growled. “And in case you hadn’t noticed, my biceps were bigger than all of theirs. Combined.”

We stared at him.

He glared at us.

“Great,” Justin muttered. “Just great.”

The hallway was empty, and as we moved ahead, we listened for movement. Aside from the usual sounds of a castle creaking and settling, it was quiet.

“A little too quiet,” I muttered.

“What was that?” Ryan asked.

“I said, it’s a little too—” And then I ran smack-dab into someone coming from a hallway to my left.

“Kill it with fire!” I squeaked, because apparently I scared easily.

“Please don’t kill it with fire!” came the response as I jumped back. “I would really rather not burn to death, my lords.”

It was a woman I recognized, a member of the cleaning staff handpicked by the King. They took their work seriously and considered it an honor to serve the King. The maids and butlers had their own rooms in the castle, were paid and fed well, and were treated like every other member of the King’s staff. Or at least they had been before Myrin took over.

She looked tired now, aged far beyond her forty-odd years. Her eyes were wide and fearful as she looked away from us, wringing her hands. I wondered why she was so scared, and was about to console her until I remembered we were in disguise.

Which, great. We weren’t recognizable. But awful too, because that meant she was scared of us.

“Yes, well,” I said, hating myself for it. “See that it doesn’t happen again. Why are you even up and about? It’s the middle of the night.”

She looked confused. “You only allow us a few hours of sleep per week, my lord. Now is not my sleeping time.”

“Those monsters,” I breathed. Then I coughed. “I mean, right. Right. Well, then, go about your business, and don’t let me catch you slacking off.”

She nodded and turned, obviously wanting to get away from us as quickly as possible.

“Wait!” Justin said before she could get too far.

She stiffened but turned around slowly. “My lord?”

“The King.”

She took a step back.

“Is he guarded?”

“Yes?” she said, as if she thought it was a trick question. “Always.”

“How many?”

“Two of you,” she spat at him. And then she added, “My lord.” Pride swelled in my chest at the anger in her voice.

Justin nodded, and she fled.

“Exactly what the Dark prisoners back at Camp HaveHeart said,” Ryan said. “Good to know.”

“Two,” Lady Tina said. “We can take two of them.”

Justin rubbed his double chin in thought. “I want you to stay here,” he said, staring after where the maid had disappeared. “Keep the hallway free of any obstruction. When we’ve freed my father, we’ll need to move quickly. And the fewer of us moving about the castle, the better. Do you understand?”

Lady Tina snapped to attention, nodding tightly. It would have been impressive if I didn’t dislike everything about her. “Yes, Your Highness.”

“Take whatever action you deem necessary to keep the hallway clear, but stay out of sight as much as possible. I’m counting on you.”

She preened a little like an undeserving show dog with mange, but moved to stand against the far wall, where she had a view of all approaches.

Ryan nodded at her as he followed Justin.

“Sam,” she said as I passed her by.

I sighed as I stopped. “What?”

“Keep them safe.”

I scoffed. “I’ve been keeping them safe longer than you’ve decided to pretend to have a soul. You don’t need to worry about that.”

She narrowed her eyes at me. “And I’ve been protecting them since you decided to disappear into the forest.”

Why did she keep having valid points? What kind of Dark magic was this? “I am going to—”

“Sam! Move your ass.”

Tina grinned smugly. “You heard the Prince, Sam.”

If looks could kill, Lady Tina’s entire bloodline would have been obliterated right then and there, even though I was almost begrudgingly impressed.

I grumbled as I followed my knight and my best friend 5eva, leaving Lady Tina behind.

 

 

IT WASN’T until we reached a set of stairs that led to the main floor of the castle that I began to see noticeable changes to Castle Lockes. It’d only been a year since I’d seen it last, but I didn’t think Darks were as worried about home décor as they were about making everyone miserable with their existence.

But the paintings of kings past and dignitaries and heads of state that had lined the walls had been removed (probably destroyed) and replaced with red-and-white banners that had a large black M right in the middle.

“He’s not very subtle, is he?” Justin said, sounding pained.

“Villains usually aren’t,” I replied.

“Are you okay?” Ryan asked Justin, dropping a hand on his shoulder and squeezing.

Justin shook him off. “I will be once we get to my father. Keep moving.”

Ryan glanced back at me, but I could only shrug.

We made our way up the stairs to the main floor. Off to the left was another set of stairs that led to our old living quarters, and I shuddered to think what had happened to them and who was staying in the home Ryan and I had made for ourselves.

“Hey.”

I startled, looking over at Ryan to find him watching me with a knowing expression. “It’s gonna be okay.”

“Promise?”

“Yeah, Sam. I promise. But we gotta keep moving, okay? Before—”

“Gentlemen,” a voice said.

We whirled around.

Caleb Marlowe.

He didn’t look any worse for wear since I’d seen him last. He was dressed similarly to us, in black robes that scraped along the stone floors, the hem speckled with dust. He looked severe but not suspicious. “Where are you going?”

I was struggling to keep my magic under control because he was right there, and I’d already let him walk away once. I didn’t know if I could do it again.

As if he knew I was struggling, Justin stepped in front of me, blocking Caleb. Out of sight, Ryan grabbed my hand, squeezing tightly. I calmed slightly, the bubbling rage lowering to a slow simmer. “New recruits, sir,” Justin said, tilting his head deferentially, and I hated the sight of him treating Caleb with any sign of respect, no matter how false. “Just showing them the ropes.”

Caleb hummed a little at that. “At this time of night?”

“They were late arrivals.”

“On that caravan from earlier?”

“Yes.”

Caleb took a step toward us. “Interesting. I thought it was just supplies being delivered. I don’t like it when things are late.”

“My apologies, sir,” Justin said evenly. “It won’t happen again. Which is why I am trying to bring these slackers up to speed so they don’t waste anyone else’s time.”

“Good. If there are any further… problems, I’d like for you to report to me. Is that clear?”

“Yes, sir.”

Caleb nodded and made as if he was going to leave. But then he paused and turned back to Justin. “One more thing. I don’t know if I even recognize you.”

“I was in Meridian City until last week,” Justin said hastily. “But I was assigned to Castle Lockes by Craven the Bold.”

Caleb made a face at that. “Craven. He still draws breath? How… unfortunate. But I suppose he gets results, however unorthodox the method. Well, I’ll leave you to it, then. Remember, anyone steps out of line, you come to me.”

Justin bowed slightly. “Of course, sir.”

“Good. Off with you, then. I have matters to attend to.”

He turned and walked away, robes swirling behind him.

Justin breathed a sigh of relief as he turned back toward us. He eyed me warily. “All right?”

I nodded but didn’t speak.

“We’ll get him, Sam,” Ryan said quietly. “Not today, but soon. I promise.”

He was right about that.

We’d get them all.

 

 

THE NEXT room over held the Great Doors to the throne room of Castle Lockes.

I sighed at the sight of them.

The stood as they always had, tall and proud and imposing. I’d walked through them countless times and knew on the other side sat the thrones of the King and Prince, now turned into a twisted mockery of what they’d once been since Myrin had risen to power.

Someone cleared their throat behind me.

I turned and found Justin and Ryan watching me, looking concerned.

I shook my head. “I’m fine,” I said. “Just—it doesn’t matter.”

“It’s the same, you know,” Justin said, looking up at the Great Doors. “For me.”

“Me too,” Ryan said. “Whatever it was, it’s the same.”

I believed them. “We should keep moving.”

Ryan looked like he was going to protest, but changed his mind after Justin nodded and turned toward the Great Doors. He put his hands upon them and started to push.

“What are you doing?” I asked, confused. “We need to go to the dungeons.”

He glanced back at me. “We are. We know how many are guarding my father, but we don’t know how many are at the entrance to the dungeons. We’re going a different way.”

I blinked. “What other way is there?”

He grinned. “There’s a secret entrance.”

“What? Okay, not even touching upon how convenient that is, but how in the hell didn’t I know about it?”

He shrugged, hands still upon the Great Doors. “Only a few of us do. Me. My father. Ryan.” He paused. Then, “Your mother.”

I gaped at him. “My mother? How in the hell did she—” And then I remembered what was on the other side of the throne room. “Her garden. Are you telling me that there is a passage through the garden to the dungeons and my mother knew about it?”

“She was its caretaker,” Ryan said quietly. “The King entrusted the secret to her.”

“I don’t understand. I know every inch of this castle. Where would it—” I sighed. “Her secret garden. That’s where it is, isn’t it? That’s why she—godsdammit. I didn’t see that one coming. Well played. I’m a little pissed that you all knew about it and I didn’t, but still. Good job on that one.”

“Are you done?” Justin asked.

I rolled my eyes. “Yes. Please, go ahead. Lead me toward the secret that was kept from me because you guys suck balls or whatever. I mean, I would accept an apology, but we can worry about that later. Stop wasting time.”

Justin sighed but pushed open the Great Doors.

 

 

THE THRONES sat as they always had, the King’s bigger than the Prince’s. Myrin hadn’t removed them. He probably enjoyed the irony of one such as him sitting in a place meant for one who ruled with a kind and gentle hand.

But everything else was different.

The banners were here too, much larger and hanging from the ceiling. It was almost shocking to see them, looking brutal and cruel in what was meant to be a place of peace.

Myrin had made this place his own, and I hated everything about it.

Justin’s jaw tightened, but he didn’t hesitate as he marched through the throne room, thick shoulders squared, head held high. He glanced once at the thrones but didn’t stop, heading for the doors on the opposite wall.

Ryan followed him just as quickly.

I paused when we passed the thrones. I sent up a silent prayer to the gods, however useless it would be.

But that was all I could do for now.

We were through the doors and out into the garden before we could be noticed.

The sky above was littered with stars.

David’s Dragon twinkled brightly, and I did my best not to scowl up at it.

My mother’s flowers were mostly dead and rotting, the grounds unkempt. She would be fuming at the sight of them. I promised myself it’d be one of the first things we’d correct. I’d be out here with her from sunup to sundown if that’s what it took. We moved through the garden, pushing through leafy limbs that stretched out around us, thorns prickling, the perfume of the dead flowers sickly-sweet and cloying. Ryan knew the way to the secret part of the garden, but I’d never seen Justin there, so I was a little surprised to find him leading the way confidently. Granted, I hadn’t known about the secret entrance either, so perhaps Justin had been there more than I’d thought.

Right before we rounded the corner to the start of the secret garden, Ryan and Justin stopped, exchanged a look, then turned back around to face me.

I didn’t like the look of this.

“Morgan knew,” Justin said quietly.

I had no idea what he was talking about. “Knew what?”

“He knew you came here,” Ryan said. “When you had to think. When you needed to clear your head. When you wished upon the stars.”

No, I wasn’t going to do this now. “Good for him. I don’t know how you know that, but that’s just great. So, if we can—”

“He left a letter,” Justin said, and I swallowed with an audible click. “My father found it in his office. He swore that it wasn’t there before, and maybe with all the upheaval, he missed it, but—he found it. The day after you left.”

“What did it say?” I asked hoarsely.

“Where he wanted to be laid to rest,” Ryan said, raising a hand like he was going to comfort me, but thinking better of it. “Where he felt he’d be closest to you. He knew, I think. That you’d leave.”

“Where?” I managed to say. “Where did he—” Then, “In the garden. That’s why you didn’t tell me.” I was angry now. “That’s why you didn’t say anything. Because you didn’t think I could deal with—”

“We didn’t say anything because we needed you to be focused,” Justin said. “We needed you to be here, with us. Have you had time to grieve, Sam? We have. Even with everything we went through, with the fall of Verania, we grieved. You still haven’t said what happened to you in the forest with the dragons.”

“It doesn’t matter,” I snapped, hands in fists at my sides.

“Of course it matters,” Ryan said, tone pleading as he took a step toward me. “Sam, he was your family. And we all know how you internalize—”

“Don’t,” I growled. “Don’t you dare try and analyze me. That’s not fair. We’re here to save the King. Nothing else matters.”

“His marker is in the secret garden,” Justin said. “Near the entrance. You can pay your respects if you want, if Myrin hasn’t destroyed it, which I don’t think even he’s capable of. We can handle the dungeons and my father. You can wait for us there.”

I shook my head. “Let’s just go, okay?”

They exchanged another look, which irritated the holy hell out of me, but I chose to ignore it. Justin turned and entered my mother’s garden, leaving Ryan and me behind.

I tried to walk past Ryan, but he caught me by the arm. I didn’t try to shake him off. I was furious, but I didn’t want to take it out on him. He was only thinking of me.

“He loved you,” Ryan said. “More than anything else in this world.”

“I know.”

“And he believed in you.”

I blinked away the burn, only nodding in response.

I felt Ryan’s searching gaze but couldn’t bring myself to look at him.

He let me go.

I followed Justin.

 

 

IN THE end, we become bones and dust, and if we’re lucky, someone will be left who cares enough to leave a reminder of wood or stone to show that we were here, that we lived and laughed and loved. That we existed.

No matter what was raised in Morgan’s honor, it wouldn’t be enough.

So I wasn’t surprised when we entered my mother’s garden to find a small plaque set upon an onyx obelisk, the stone gleaming dully in the starlight. It sat in the middle of a small clearing, rising from the ground, almost as tall as I was. It was smooth, the lines cleanly cut, obviously lovingly crafted.

The base was surrounded by the brightest of flowers, blues and greens and reds and golds and pinks, the last of which reminded me of pointy shoes sticking out from underneath brightly colored robes.

The plaque read:

Here Lies Morgan of Shadows

The King’s Wizard

Brother, Friend, Mentor

He Loved, and Was Loved in Return

I reached out and traced my fingers over the grooves of each word.

“How is it still here?” I whispered. “Myrin should have….”

“Regardless of what he did,” Justin said, voice low, “regardless of who he was and who he’s become, he was still Morgan’s brother first. I think that matters. Even to him.”

I wiped my face, and my hand came away wet. “That didn’t stop him from taking Morgan away.”

“No,” Ryan said. “It didn’t. And he’ll pay for that. In this life or the next.”

“In this one,” I said. “He’ll pay for it in this one.”

They had no response to that.

They left me alone for a moment, moving toward the far corner of the garden.

I didn’t know what to say. I’m sorry I failed you? I wish I’d been stronger? I wish you’d never come for me that day in the slums? Nothing seemed even remotely adequate to the tangled knot in my chest. He loved me as I loved him.

And maybe that was enough.

“You jerk,” I said with a sniffle. “You asshole. You brave, foolish idiot.”

Wherever he was, I figured he’d be laughing at me in that way he did, eyes crinkled, mouth quirked in a small, knowing smile.

There was a loud mechanical groan, and I snapped my head up in time to see Justin pulling his hand away from the wall as it slid away to the right. I winced at the scrape of metal and stone, hoping the trees around us muffled the worst of it. When it creaked to a stop, what remained was a small doorway, hidden behind thick vines.

A secret entrance.

Even with the gravity of the situation, even standing upon the grave of my mentor, I couldn’t help but feel a small thrill of excitement race through me at such a sight. I wondered if there were any others in the castle. It seemed possible.

I trailed my hand along the words on the plaque one more time before I went to Ryan and Justin, both of whom were peering down a set of stairs that had appeared behind the wall, of which only the first few steps were visible.

They looked at me as I came to stand beside them. I shook my head before they could ask whatever questions were on their tongues. “So, this is fun.”

“Fun,” Justin repeated.

“Secret passageways in secret gardens. Yeah. That’s pretty fun.”

Ryan smiled. “I thought the same thing when I found out.”

I arched an eyebrow at him. “And when was that?”

“After I was promoted to Knight Commander.”

“Really. You kept it from me for that long? And after you gave me so much shit in Castle Freesias for keeping things from you. You’re kind of a bitch, Foxheart. Sexy as all hell, but still a bitch.”

His grin widened.

“Oh my gods,” Justin muttered. “I can’t take either of you anywhere.”

“How far down do these stairs go?” I asked, looking into the doorway again. “We’re not above the dungeons here.”

“A ways,” Justin said vaguely.

“You don’t really know, do you.”

“There were spiders when Dad showed me the first time,” he mumbled. “I don’t like spiders.”

“Ah,” I said wisely. “It’s a good thing you’ve got us, then, eh? And by us, I mean Ryan, because I also don’t like spiders, so he can go first and scare them all away and make sure we don’t get bitten and die.”

We both looked at him expectantly.

“You guys both suck,” he said with a sigh.

“You would know,” Justin said.

I gasped. “Did you just make a sex joke? About blowing Ryan?”

Justin groaned. “No. That wasn’t what I—”

“This is the greatest day of my life,” I said in awe. “I mean, aside from the whole breaking into the castle and seeing my mentor’s grave and being sad and stuff. That part was awful, but you just made a sex joke. Best. Day. Ever. I can’t wait to tell your dad. In fact, that’s going to be the first thing I say to him. Then I will hug him and probably compliment him on his mustache, because no matter what, he’s still a KILF, and that needs to be recognized.”

“Maybe we should just leave him in the dungeons,” Ryan said, giving me the evil eye.

Justin didn’t seem to like that idea, especially when he grabbed a torch off the wall and shoved it into Ryan’s hands before pushing him toward the stairs. “Less talk. More rescue.”

Ryan glared back at the both of us before he turned and started to descend.

Justin followed him.

I looked back only once, at the marker of Morgan of Shadows.

“I’ll be back,” I whispered to him. “I promise.”

Because he did love with his whole heart and was loved just as much in return.

 

 

THERE WERE spiders.

A shit-ton of them.

Ryan was the absolute worst at scaring spiders away.

“One just landed on me!” I shrieked after we’d walked what felt like a thousand steps. “It’s crawling in my ear and is going to lay eggs—wait. Never mind. That was just the collar of my robe. My bad.”

Since I could barely see in front of me, I had to imagine their matching looks of disdain. Given that I was well versed in such expressions, it didn’t require much effort.

“Maybe keep your voice down?” Justin said through what sounded like gritted teeth.

“I was just practicing in case one did land on me,” I retorted. “Because my boyfriend isn’t doing a very good job. I’ve walked into, like, four spiderwebs. The gods only know how many dead bugs are in my hair right now. You know how I feel about dead bugs being in my hair.”

“Unfortunately I do,” Ryan said, the torch moving left and right ahead of me.

Justin wasn’t kidding when he said a ways. It felt like we descended for hours, even though I knew that wasn’t the case. The stairs were long and winding, appearing to move throughout the castle hidden behind the walls. I swore we came upon other doorways, but Justin didn’t let us stop to study them, saying that we had to keep moving before we ran out of time. I called him a buzzkill, and Ryan told him he couldn’t stab me, and we continued downward.

“What’s the plan for the Darks guarding the King?” I asked after another ten minutes of stairs. My thighs were screaming. I probably should have done more squats, but exercising was the worst. “You said there should only be a couple of them, right? Should I try to seduce these ones too? I’m really good at that, huh?”

“You’re not going to try and seduce them,” Ryan said, sounding grumpy as ever. “In fact, that’s not something you should do to anyone ever again.”

“Even to you?”

“Well, let’s not go that far—”

Justin sounded irritated when he said, “If there are only two of them, that means they’re outnumbered. They…”

I waited.

Nothing.

I decided to help. “They… don’t know how to finish their sentences?”

But Justin didn’t respond. Instead he was staring at yet another doorway covered in cobwebs and shadows, the flame from the torch flickering along the stone.

“Is this it?” Ryan asked quietly.

“I think so,” Justin said, reaching up to rub away the webs and dust on the door to reveal a single word:

Temniță

I blinked. “That’s… my mother’s tongue. Why the hell is there an old gypsy word on a door in a secret tunnel in Castle Lockes?”

“The gypsies helped build the castle,” Justin muttered, running a hand down the door. “They made these secret passages under the instruction of the king at the time, Barry the Paranoid.”

“The guy that thought that everyone was against him and that there were conspiracies to steal the crown that ran through the highest-ranking members of his Court, only to tragically starve himself to death when he refused to eat meals he thought were poisoned?”

“Yes. That guy.”

“Huh. Verania has a strange and storied history. Also, you descend from him, so I hope the crazy doesn’t run through the family. I won’t let anyone poison you.”

“That wasn’t as comforting as you think it was.”

“I’ll try harder next time. What does temniță mean?”

“It literally translates to dungeon,” Justin said, frowning at the door. “I think. But there doesn’t seem to be a handle.”

“Great!” I said cheerfully, shoving him to the side. “Allow me, then.”

“Why you?”

“Your relatives had this castle built on the backs of my relatives,” I said. “This is a gypsy door, and I have gypsy blood.”

“It wasn’t like that,” Justin said. “They weren’t slaves.”

I waved a hand at him dismissively. “I expect reparations at some point, but we can talk about that later, so long as we can agree that white people are the worst.”

“Hey!” Ryan said. “Not all white—you know what? That’s a terrible argument to make.”

“It is,” I said, putting my hands on the stone. It was cool underneath my fingertips. “But I forgive you because you keep my dick wet.”

“I hate you both so much,” Justin mumbled.

It was pretty much bullshit, the whole gypsy door, gypsy blood thing. I highly doubted that it would open just for me because of that. But I didn’t want Justin to be the one to stumble through the doorway into the dungeons in case there were Darks in there. I knew my duty as his wizard, and it meant keeping the once and future King safe.

I pushed on the stone, and of course nothing happened.

I pushed a little harder.

Still nothing.

“Well, then,” I said. “This is quite the conundrum.”

“What is it?” Justin asked.

“Apparently, and stick with me here because it can be hard to understand, but stone is really heavy and hard to move.”

“Sam?”

“Yes, Justin.”

“You’re a fucking moron.”

“Hey!”

“Both of you move,” Ryan said, popping his neck side to side. “This probably calls for brute strength. And we all know how much I work out.”

“Wow,” I said, staring at him. “That was such a douchebag thing to say. And I can do it.”

Ryan arched an eyebrow at me. “Do you even lift, bro?”

I smacked him upside the head. “Stop it. You stop it right now. I’m not one of your knights. I am not your bro.”

He rubbed his head and glared at me.

I sighed. “Fine. Use your large muscles and push the door out of the way.”

“You act like this isn’t turning you on,” Justin whispered as I stepped away from the door.

“I know, right?” I whispered back. “But his ego is already out of control, so he doesn’t need to know that. Have you ever had a boner while you’ve had dead bugs in your hair? It’s really quite vexing. I’m terribly vexed.”

Ryan pressed his hands against the door and grunted as he pushed.

“Holy biceps,” I breathed. “They look like they’re about to burst right through his robes. Do you think his thighs are quivering with exertion?”

“I try not to think about his thighs.”

“That was a lie. Everyone thinks about Ryan Foxheart’s thighs.”

“In case you can’t quite remember, we’re trying to rescue my father. I don’t have time to deal with the sick and twisted thing you have going on with Ryan.”

“Yeah,” I sighed happily. “Our love is one for the ages. Hey, Foxheart. You done trying to move the immoveable stone wall?”

His face was red with exertion, sweat dripping down his brow. “Almost got it,” he grunted.

“Right. Well, while you’ve almost got it, maybe consider pulling the lever to your right that I noticed right after you called me bro.”

Justin snorted.

Ryan glared at me.

I smiled sweetly at him. “Love you.”

He muttered something under his breath that I assumed was him saying he loved me too before he reached over and grabbed the wooden lever that stuck out from the wall. He pulled it down and—

Nothing happened.

“We are the worst at rescuing people,” I said. “Okay, that’s it, I’m just going to blast it from existence and hope Myrin doesn’t notice my magic—”

The door opened with a grinding moan, dust spilling from the ceiling above us.

Ryan looked back at me and grinned. “See? I told you I could do it.”

And then a hand shot through the open doorway, wrapped around his throat, and jerked him into the waiting darkness.