I spun around and glared at him. "I just drank your blood. I just trusted you. I'd like to know if that was a really stupid mistake."
Simon pursed his lips. His eyes flickered upward for a moment before they returned to me. He held out his hand. "Trust me when I tell you that without me you will die down here."
I narrowed my eyes. "That's not an answer."
"It is the best I can give until we free ourselves from the sewers," he insisted. He took a step towards me with his hand still outstretched. His eyes caught mine in their firm, soft gaze. The corners of his mouth twitched upward. "Have Faith."
My shoulders sagged. "That's a really corny joke."
He chuckled. "It is the best I can do under the circumstances."
My eyes flickered between his face and hand. I sighed. "Fine, but just remember I'm not letting you off. I'm just giving you a break."
He bowed his head. "I will accept that."
I accepted his hand, and he pulled me through the small doorway.
CHAPTER 4
My moment of majesty ended when I tripped on the bottom of the doorway and stumbled against Simon's chest. His chuckle rumbled through my body as I looked up into his sly grin.
"It seems you are quick to forgive me," he teased.
I pushed myself away and glared at him. "Could we just get out of here?"
He bowed his head. "As you wish." He glanced left and right down the opposite ends of the hall.
I arched an eyebrow. "You do know hot to get out of here, don't you?"
He shook his head. "My memory of this particular area of the sewers is rather fragmented. I cannot be sure which is the shortest path."
My shoulders drooped. "So what now?"
Simon grasped my hand and led me down the path to the left of the doorway. "We will travel in the direction of the river. There is sure to be an outlet near the treatment plant."
"Sounds lovely," I quipped.
He glanced over my shoulder and smiled at me. "It is rather picturesque if one doesn't have a nose."
"Or eyes," I added.
Simon guided me through a hundred yards through the rounded sewer passage when he paused. A frown slipped onto his lips. "We are being followed."
I looked up and down the passage. "I don't see-"
"Duck!" he yelled.
He dove on top of me just as a shadow flew over us. I was smashed into the small puddles that littered the ground. The fowl odor of the water invaded my nostrils and soaked into my clothes.
Simon rose onto his hands and glanced over his shoulder. His long fangs glistened in the dark as he snarled at the shadow that floated behind us and close to the ceiling.
The shadow blinked back. It had red eyes similar to Simon, but less merciful. I could make out the outline of a human figure, and when it spoke in a raspy voice a mouth moved on its face. "Sssimon Cruor."
I grasped Simon's arms and hid beneath him. "W-what the hell is that?" I whispered to him.
His eyes narrowed. "A Phantom, a hollow human soul."
The Phantom chuckled. It was an empty, raspy sound. "As hollow as yours."
Simon helped me to my feet and pulled me behind him so we both faced the Phantom. "If your mistress expects you to destroy us then she will be disappointed."
It shook its head. "Not I." The creature stretched out its arms on either side of itself. A dozen pair of red eyes opened behind it. All of them glistened with malevolent glee, and several held up their long, sharpened fingers. "We are to destroy you."
I pressed my body against Simon's back. "I hope you have a plan."
He glanced over his shoulder and flashed me a smile. "Always."
Simon grabbed my hand and swung me towards the wall just as the Phantoms dove at us. My back slammed into the wall at the same moment the Phantoms covered him in their black bodies.
My eyes widened and I stretched out my hand. "Simon!"
A raspy scream emanated from the center of the darkness. One of the Phantoms on the top of the pile was sucked into the center. Then another. And another. The remaining Phantoms flew to the ceiling and revealed a dark, hunched form of Simon. His clothes were torn to shreds and he were covered in claw marks. Blood dripped onto the floor and caused ripples in the puddles.
Simon straightened and raised a clenched fist. He opened his hand and revealed four small piles of black dust on his palm. Beneath the pile was a small slip of white paper. The Phantoms hissed, but didn't approach him. He dropped his hand to his side. The dust floated to the ground and soaked into the floor. The paper remained pinched between his fingers.
"How?" the lead Phantom hissed. "How did you know?"
Simon smiled. "I am well aware of the gorgon's contract with you. Now-" he raised his hand. The slip of paper stood upright and I glimpsed black writing on both sides. "Who wishes to be the next challenger?"
The Phantoms hissed and lunged at him. Simon sliced the air with the paper as though it was a dagger. Horrible screams and screeches echoed off the brick walls. I clamped my hands against my ears and cringed, but I couldn't take my eyes off the fight. Simon cut into the Phantoms and hacked off limbs and heads. With each slice they either turned into dust immediately or flew back and clutched at their missing body part. Their bodies crumbled at the severing and the sickness ran up through the rest of their forms until they, too, finally crumbled to nothing.
In a half a minute only Simon remained. He tucked the paper into what remained of his coat and rushed off the dust that had settled on his shoulders. He turned away from the scene and walked over to me.
"Are you hurt at all?" he asked me.
I shook my head. "No, I'm good. But you-" I reached out to touch his bloodied arm.
Simon drew back. "I am fine. The wounds will heal in time."
I frowned. "Those cuts don't look fine." My eyes fell on the pocket in which was hidden the paper. "And what was that thing you used on them?"
"A talisman that wards off evil," he explained.
I snorted. "So how come you can handle it?"
Simon chuckled. "Very deftly." He offered me his arm. "Shall we leave before we are interrupted again?"
I took his arm and frowned as he led me down the sewers. "By more Phantoms, or something else?"
We wound our way through the twisting maze of smelly concrete and brick. The heady stench of Simon's blood filled the sewers with a fragrant flower smell. "Both. Georgina is as competent as her sister in her dealings, and I have no doubt she has gathered a formidable group of assassins around her."
I looked up at him and narrowed my eyes. "If you knew she was so dangerous why'd you go to her first? Wasn't there a fluffy bunny we could have met with?"
He smiled and shook his head. "Unfortunately, no, but we will pay her cousin the promised visit."
I swept my eyes over the dark area. "If we ever get out of here. . ."
Simon chuckled. "Have Faith."
My shoulders drooped. "Okay, that's just milking things a little too-ah!"
We rounded a corner and the floor beneath me disappeared. I grabbed Simon and pulled him down into another new and exciting abyss.
CHAPTER 5
The drop was a short ten feet onto another hard floor. I sat up and groaned. "I am getting really tired of falling down holes."
Simon was seated beside me. He stood and swept his eyes over the small space. I followed his example and saw we were in a small, square room. The walls were a dull, rough gray that reached the full ten feet to the like ceiling. The floor was the same. The only difference was the square outline of the small trapdoor in the ceiling.
Simon paced the small room. He brushed his hands against the wall and left a smeared hand print on the rough, dusty surface. "We may be in a greater dilemma than I anticipated."
I glared at him. "Don't tell me that."
"Would you rather I lied?"
"At this point, that might be preferable." I stood and brushed off the dust. "And don't forget to sugarcoat it for extra measure."
Simon paused halfway down one wall and drew back his hand. He slammed his fist into the metal plating. A hiss escaped his lips and he withdrew his hand. My eyes widened as I beheld a large amount of steam rush from his knuckles. His skin was covered in thick, hot blisters. Blood dripped onto the ground.
I hurried to his side and took his hand in mine. "What happened?"
He swept his eyes over the room. "I confirmed my suspicions. This is a Revenant Riddle."
I looked up at him and furrowed my brow. "A what?"
He nodded at the hole in the wall. "The exterior layer of the walls is made of a thin layer of steel plating , but beneath that are several thick sheets of silver."
I cringed. "Let me guess, silver hurts us pretty bad."
He lifted his burnt hand. "I am a very old vampire, and yet the silver nearly scalded me to my bones. One as young as you would lose your hand in such an attempt."
I shuddered and looked at the hole in the wall. The hole was the size of his fist, and only four inches deep. I glanced back at Simon. "So how do we get out?"
He pulled a strip of his shirt off and wrapped his hand in the makeshift bandage. "That is the riddle. Unless we are found by Certus and freed, there is only one choice." He nodded at the hole. "We force our way through the walls."
My mouth dropped open. I jabbed a finger at the hole. "But those walls could be a foot thick, and you barely got anywhere with that much burning!"