Midnight Moon (Vampire for Hire #13)(58)

This time, I saw so much more.





Chapter Thirty-four



It was an open space, but just barely.

A man could sit in there, but not stand. A man could lie in there, but not fully. It was a hellish sort of prison, one that was entirely surrounded by many dozens, perhaps even hundreds, of layers of rock. In the ceiling, I could see vent holes, undoubtedly reaching the surface, perhaps even magically so. There was no door, no bed, no table, no stool. Only a small pocket of rock from which to suffer.

Sam, we can't hold it off for much longer...

I nodded, then said to the queen, "I'll be right back."

"But where are you-"

Except I had already summoned the single flame, and within it, I saw the tiny stone cell. Most important, I saw what was hovering in the tiny cell: a baby girl, suspended in the air, and surrounded by blue light.

In a blink, I was gone.



***



I found myself on my back, within the stone chamber, and looking up at the hovering babe, wrapped in a dangling white shawl. Interestingly, my inner alarm sounded, buzzing just inside my right ear.

The little girl had been clearly enchanted; indeed, I could see the blue light pulsating around her. I suspected that same enchantment could, potentially, ensnare me. Warning heard and heeded.

I carefully eased myself up, avoiding the blue glow at all costs. There was barely enough room for me to sit up, much less navigate around the floating babe. Truly, this was a place for prisoners to go mad. I seriously questioned Charlie Reed's own sanity. I mean, who thinks up these places?

Most interesting was the silence. The eternal silence. The complete and total and all-consuming silence. It was as if this place had never known sound. Even the sound of my own breathing or beating heart would have been something, anything. My heart beat, I knew, but only rarely. Which got me thinking... the baby? Was she breathing? Surely, I would have heard her by now, in this small and cramped and silent place.

I sat up on my knees, all too aware that the ceiling itself was just a few feet away. Already, I was feeling the panic settling in. This place... was just too much, even for a vampire. Especially for a vampire. 

The babe was a foot or so away from me. The soft blue edges of the light nearly reached me. Correction, some of the azure wisps floated around my shoulder, and as they did... as they did... I felt the sleepiness takes over. I also heard the warning bell, buzzing louder and louder. But I ignored the buzzing, the stupid, incessant buzzing. Why wouldn't Mom just let me sleep in this one time? Stupid alarm, stupid mom, stupid school.

I forced open my eyes, but a literal weight pushed them down again. A heavy, relaxing, beautiful weight, peaceful weight...

Yes, sleeping now felt so right, so perfect, even while my friend was fighting for her life, and while a mother waited anxiously in the tunnel beyond for any news about her kidnapped baby. Yes, a nap-a long, dark, blissful nap-wouldn't hurt anyone, right?

SAM!! WAKE UP!!

Allie, shhh, it's quiet time...

It's the sleeping spell, Sam!! WAKE UP!!

Allie, please, you'll wake the baby.

Move back, Sam!! Move back NOW!!!

Will it make me more comfortable if I move back a few inches, Allie? I sure am tired. It's been a long day...

Sure, Sam. Whatever. Move back a few inches and then you can sleep for as long as you want.

Okay, Allie. You sure are a swell friend. Needy, but still a swell friend.

I moved back an inch or two and was preparing to sleep, perhaps forever, when my eyes popped open. I looked around, confused, wondering where the hell I was, until I saw the babe, the blue light, and the rock cage around me.

I gasped and inched back some more, hitting my head on the rock wall behind me. The pain helped to further jar me awake, and snap me back to my senses.

Welcome back, Sam, came Allison's voice in my head. Now, please hurry. The dragon has figured out all our tricks and is advancing.

Before me, the sweet little girl, no older than a year or so, slept with an angelic expression on her face, as she would do for, perhaps, forever, unless I figured something out. What if I leaped in with guns blazing, so to speak, grabbed the girl, and teleported back before I fell asleep? Maybe, but I suspected that much exposure to the spell would instantly conk me out.

An explosion rocked the tiny cell and I heard a distant scream in my head, followed by a god-awful roar.

Think, Sam. Think.

I considered my very limited options. There was nothing in the cell to use in order to reach out to the baby, something that could be used as, say, a buffer between me and the blue light. A shepherd's staff would have been awesome right about now.

And then I had it, and nearly squealed. I immediately took off my tee-shirt and one of my shoes. It didn't take me long at all to tie one of the laces of my Asics to the cuff of my long-sleeved shirt.