Page 51 of Heart of the Cursed
Chapter 20
They walked in silence for the rest of the day. Arun was fuming over what had been done to Selene. Even though he didn’t know the details, he knew how Humans were treated to know it had been bad.
She might not know the names of those responsible, but one way or another, he was going to find out. And when he did, he would make each one of them suffer for what they had put her through. By the time he was finished with them, they were going to regret ever laying a finger on her, he would make sure of it.
Darkness was descending quickly. The dark, ominous clouds that were rolling in over the mountain didn’t help. A storm was brewing, and from the look of the sky, it was going to be a bad one. The last one had passed over quickly, but he didn’t think that would be the case this time.
Arun slowed his pace as he looked around for somewhere they could take shelter, but there was nowhere. At least, nothing suitable that he could see.
“There’s an underground bunker nearby,” Selene said as she slowed her pace to match his. When he gave her a questioning look, she added, “I assume that’s what you’re looking for. It is getting dark, after all. Plus, that cloud looks like it’s about to dump a shit ton of water on us.”
Arun looked up at the sky. “Is it far?”
“No, just a short distance in that direction,” she said, pointing east.
He was glad she hadn’t pointed to where they had just come from. He wouldn’t have been happy. South would have been better, though. Especially since they were already heading in that direction. But as long as it wasn’t too far east, they shouldn’t be too far off course.
Arun assumed Taredd and Dain would be camped out in the same tavern he’d last seen them, or at least near to it. So, that’s where he was heading.
“What’s it going to be, handsome?”
“Okay,” he said. “Lead the way.”
Selene nodded before veering off to the east. Arun followed closely behind her. He wasn’t exactly happy about taking shelter underground, but if it was the only place around, then it would have to do for the night.
They arrived at the bunker just in time for the heavens to open. It was a good job Selene knew exactly where it was because he would never have found it.
It just looked like a manhole cover. It was the same round metal disk that he’d seen hundreds of times before in the areas where Humans had lived. Those ones, however, led to underground sewer systems, which nobody went inside of, and for good reason.
Even though the metal disk looked the same as the others from a distance, on closer inspection, he could tell the difference. For starters, it was a lot higher off the ground and had a metal handlebar on top for easy access.
“Wait out here,” he said when she reached for the handle. “Let me go in first to make sure it’s safe.”
Selene glared at him. “I can take care of myself.”
Arun raised an eyebrow. The faint yellowy-green bruise on her face said otherwise.
“That guy took me by surprise,” she grimaced. “Trust me, it won’t happen again.”
“Fine,” he relented. “But stay behind me.”
“Yes, sir,” she said, saluting.
Like a trap door, Arun lifted the round disk, revealing a ladder leading down into the darkness. There was a handle, similar to the one he was holding, on the underside of the disk and a large metal bolt. It wasn’t the best, but at least they had a way to lock the door.
If someone really wanted in the bunker, they would be able to get in. The lock wasn’t good enough to stop them, but Arun would hear them breaking in, which would give him plenty of time to prepare for their arrival.
“Stay back,” he reminded her as he began his descent.
Selene didn’t hang around. She quickly followed him inside, shutting the hatch behind her.
Arun blinked a couple of times, letting his eyes adjust to the darkness. No soon had they adjusted, he was momentarily blinded by a bright ball of light coming from above him.
The ball of light split into two. One headed straight down, the other stayed close to Selene.
“Sorry if I blinded you,” she said. “But I couldn’t see anything with the door shut.”
When he looked up, he noticed she was watching him.
