Limbo (Part Two)

Chapter Eight: Liar Liar

Chapter Eight: Liar Liar

We all held our breath as Darren, in rat form, skittered through the crypts in search of Dietrich. Ever since he had woken up and Mara had explained everything to him, he had been eager to help us with our plans in order to get revenge on Moroi. He had even forgiven me for biting him. So, naturally, when he had volunteered to search for the goblin king, I was more than happy to agree. After all, I might not be a complete germaphobe anymore, but digging through corpses still wasn't my idea of fun.

As we watched from around the corner, rat Darren paused in front of one of the crypts and shifted back into his human form. He motioned us forward with one hand and pressed a finger to his lips with the other. Apparently he had found something, but whether or not it was Dietrich remained to be seen.

When we were within hearing range Darren whispered, "He's in there. Are you sure we can trust him? He may have already handed the journal off to one of his minions."

I snorted. "Of course we can't trust him, but I doubt he's given up the journal."

"Well, let's get him out and ask," Mara said with a shrug.

I stepped forward to do just that, but was stopped by Roran's hand on my elbow. I glanced up at him in confusion.

"Darren and I will pull him out of there," he explained. "You and Mara stand ready with weapons in case he tries to fight or run."

Nodding, I pulled the knife from my belt and handed it to Mara. When she frowned in confusion, I smirked and flashed her my talons. To my surprise she rolled her eyes and wiggled her hand at me showing off an almost exact replica of the sharp claw-like nails on my hands.

I huffed and snatched the knife back. "Show-off."

She snickered under her breath and I couldn't help but grin in return. It felt good to have friends, even if they were monsters.

I peered over at her out of the corner of my eye, wondering how she had even ended up here in the first place. Mara had said she had been a nurse during her time on earth; she probably saved lives. How could someone like that be cursed to spend an eternity in purgatory just because she was a shape-shifter? How was that fair?

The rustling sounds Roran and Darren were making as they dug into the crypt brought my attention back to the situation at hand. I turned just in time to see them pull Dietrich's body from the wall. The goblin fell to the ground with a dull thump and it was obvious, even without checking, that he was dead. The amount of blood and deep lacerations covering his body brought back memories of my first night in purgatory. I knew exactly what had attacked him.

Panicking more and more by the second, I placed my hands on my knees and tried to breathe evenly to calm myself down.

"They put him back in the wall so we wouldn't get suspicious," Roran said, frowning. "That means they knew we would be coming here. Thea, this could be—"

"A trap?" Aleksandra's voice carried to us from the darkness. "Of course it is."

She stepped forward, holding the journal up so we could see it. "Looking for this?"

I snarled and lunged for her, only to be yanked back by Darren.

"What are you doing?" I raged at him, trying to pry my arms out of his grip. "She has the journal! We have to get it back."

"Don't be stupid!" he snapped in return, shaking me slightly. "She just said it's a trap! And even though the scent of dead bodies masks their scent, I'm sure she's got enough vampires with her to take down an army."