“No!

John’s protest took him by surprise. Cain glared at him. “As your king—”

“As my king, you would never demand such a thing,” John interrupted, his voice firm, his face unflinching. “You would never reveal the location of the tunnels to a stranger, let alone allow someone into them. If you insist on Thomas coming with us, I won’t show you the entrance.” John crossed his arms over his chest, waiting.

Cain didn’t move. He simply stood there facing John in a silent battle. But it was clear instantly that John wouldn’t budge. On one hand, Cain had to admire him for it. It showed loyalty and strength. On the other hand, it ticked him off to have to concede to this man who he still couldn’t fully trust. But if he wanted to see Faye in private without anybody knowing, he had no choice.

“Just you and I then. But I’m warning you: I might not remember who I am, but I’m deadly with any weapon. You cross me, you’re dust.”

John acknowledged the threat with a curt nod. “Follow me.” He turned and walked out of the shed.

Cain glanced at his friends, then addressed Thomas, “Any trouble, you text me immediately. My cell is on vibrate.”

“Understood. Be careful. If you’re not back within an hour, we’ll head for the palace.”

Without another word, Cain walked outside. The air was humid, so different from what he was used to in San Francisco, where even summer nights could be chilly and require a light jacket. Here, his cotton shirt already stuck to his sweaty body. To his surprise, he didn’t mind the heat, almost as if he were used to it.

In silence Cain walked alongside the other vampire, his eyes watchful, his body ready to attack should anybody approach them. Scanguards had taught him well. He wasn’t afraid of any enemy he would encounter, but that fact didn’t alleviate the knot in his gut. He was uneasy about seeing Faye, seeing the woman he’d made love to in his dreams, the woman who in his former life had belonged to him. Did she now belong to Abel, the man John claimed was his brother?

“We’re here,” John announced and stopped.

Cain looked at the spot John pointed to, which didn’t look any different from the terrain they’d crossed during their short walk. There were moss-covered trees, bushes, and dirt. They hadn’t walked on any sort of recognizable path, but had gone clear through a wooded patch.

“I don’t see anything.”

“It’s well disguised.”

John walked toward two trees which stood at a slight incline. Behind them, moss covered a boulder. Instead of walking to the boulder, John veered left to another copse of trees where broken branches had accumulated and were rotting. He gripped one of the protruding sticks and pulled on it. The entire hovel of branches moved, and only then did Cain notice that they were all interconnected in such a random but ingenious way that to a casual observer it didn’t look like anything else but a heap of rotting branches, while in fact it was a door.

When John held it open for him, Cain suppressed his surprise. “Lead the way.”

Cain walked into the tunnel behind John, immediately inhaling the scents around him. The air was stale. When John closed the door behind them, the earthen tunnel was robbed of the moonlight that had guided their way earlier. Cain’s eyes immediately adjusted to the darkness, his vampire vision compensating for the lack of light.

“What keeps the tunnel stable?” he asked quietly, knowing his voice would travel far in this confined space.

John pointed to the ceiling. “Every few feet there’s wooden reinforcements, but it’s old construction and nobody has done any repairs here in decades. There’s more and more moisture penetrating and weakening the structure. We’re close to the bayous. Katrina did some damage here. One day, the tunnels will collapse.”

“Then let’s hope this is not the day,” Cain remarked dryly.

John turned and walked down the long tunnel. Cain followed, taking in his surroundings.

“How long is the tunnel?”

“It’s actually a tunnel system with many branches. It stretches over several miles, but the branch we’re going down is only about a mile long. We’ll be there shortly,” John assured him.

“Where do all the different branches lead to?”

“Other exits around the property, as well as entry points into the palace.”

“Where in the palace?”

“One directly into the king’s suite, another into the cells, and a third one underneath the fireplace in your office.”

“Underneath the fireplace? Sounds kind of hard to get to.”