Page 26 of Bound by Vengeance
“I also said an unknown subculture,” shereminded him.
“Do you really think there’s a group orgroupsout there we don’t all know about?”
“Yes. I know of one.”
CHAPTER 12
As Vicky led him through a series oftwisting tunnels, Nathan kept expecting the Minotaur to step outand block them from continuing through the labyrinth.
“Do you know the mole people?” he hissed ather.
“Shh,” she shushed him.
The bouncing beam of his flashlightilluminated the cracked concrete walls. A few of the walls had treeroots tearing through them as they sought to reclaim the landthey’d lost. The whole place reeked of damp earth, animal feces,and the feral aroma of rats.
Beyond that, he also detected the stalescent of standing water. The air grew chillier the farther theyprogressed, but Vicky had warned him it would be cold, and they’dprepared themselves with winter coats and layers.
They’d initially entered this undergroundmaze through a pipe over the harbor, but he had no idea where theywere now. “What is this place, and where are we?”
“Boston had sewers in use before seventeenhundred,” she whispered. “Of course things have changed alotover the years. Tunnels have been torn out, blocked off,built over, or simply forgotten. These are some of the forgottentunnels.”
“So you don’t know the mole people, you knowthe sewer people,” he muttered.
Vicky spun and planted herself before him.In the dim beam of her penlight, her eyes were luminescent, but theferociousness in them stopped him abruptly.
“Not sewer people,” she hissed. “When youmeet them, be nice or so help me, I’ll bite you. Theydeserverespect.”
It was an empty threat, she didn’t daretaste his blood as she knew she would only crave more of it and itwould deepen her need to be with him, but it caused his hands toraise.
“I’ll be nice to whoever’s ahead,” hepromised.
“Good.”
Turning away, Vicky continued through themaze of drainage and sewage tunnels. Most had been empty for solong there was no concern of finding waste outside of that from theanimals surviving down here too.
“Why didn’t you tell Ronan about thesepeople?” he asked.
“Because I figured no one would find them.It never occurred to me Joseph might go below ground to hunt hisprey.”
“Is that what you think he’s doing?”
“I hope not,” she muttered. “The people hereprobably don’t know about him, but it’s time to ask, and theyshould be warned that they could be at risk.”
They traversed at least another mile beforea pinprick of light came into view ahead. Vicky clicked off herflashlight, and he did the same. The light grew brighter thefurther they walked, and the acrid scent of smoke began ticklinghis nostrils.
Stopping outside a blanket hanging over thecircular opening of a drainage pipe, Vicky rapped her knuckles onthe wall outside the “door.”
“Who is it?” a gruff voice inquired.
“It’s Vicky.”
The blanket yanked back to reveal a face socreased with wrinkles it resembled a Shar Pei, but warm blue eyestwinkled when they landed on Vicky, and Sister June’s smile exposedthe gap between her front teeth. With her coarse gray hair tumblingaround her stooped shoulders, Sister June looked like a wizened oldcrone stirring her cauldron, but she was one of the kindest soulsVicky had ever encountered.
“Victoria,” Sister greeted. “It’s been toolong.”
Sister clasped Vicky’s hand in both of hers.Vicky almost yanked her hand away, not because she didn’t wantSister touching her, but because she didn’t feel she deserved thekind touch ofanyonesince her time in the warehouse. Sisterwouldn’t know that and would only think Vicky had changed or wasbeing cruel.
She squeezed Sister June’s hand as shesmiled back. “It has.”
