Bones returned to Mathias and found him exactly where he had left him, wearing a gas mask.

  "What happened to 'the gas mask won't help'?" Bones teased, though his question was aimed at checking on his companion's well-being. Mathias smirked, relieved that Bones had come back safely.

  "The gas mask gives me some peace of mind, and it doesn't hurt to wear one. What did you find?"

  Bones sat next to him and began recounting everything he had observed. When he finished, both men sat in silence. Technically, the information they had gathered so far was sufficient to conclude their mission, but neither felt their task was complete.

  "It's a factory—a damn human factory!" Mathias broke the silence, seething. He grabbed the gas mask, yanked it off his face, and hurled it against the opposite wall in a fit of rage. He took a deep breath before turning to Bones. "I'll leave the decision to you, Bones. You're not a spy, nor do you have any ties to Wolford. You're not obligated to continue the investigation. If you want to leave, we will. We have enough to complete our report," he offered.

  "Jeanie and Frank, they must've started the fire by now, right?" Bones asked as he stood up.

  "They did, yeah. And knowing Frank, he probably decided to sabotage the second warehouse as well to divert attention from Jeanie. She's more flexible anyway."

  "Is that okay? The last-minute changes?"

  "Honestly, we kind of expected it. We've known each other for years, so it's fine. If Frank decides to take things further, we can only hope he'll cause enough disruption to keep all eyes on him, allowing Jeanie to slip through security easily. What I'm worried about is whether there will be enough time to find the ledger. The longer she takes, the more dangerous it becomes."

  "Then we better do our part and find everything we can," Bones decided, offering a helping hand. Mathias exhaled in relief and accepted the hand. The path ahead was a dead end, and the only way forward was to return to the intersection and try a different route.

  Meanwhile, outside, the night was lit up by the raging fire consuming the third warehouse. The patrolling soldiers flocked to the scene, disorganized and in need of instructions, while the elite guards in the western district stayed stationed, watching the brightly lit sky from a distance.

  The sound of approaching footsteps was heard, and the guards turned and greeted the figure with a slight bow.

  "Greetings, Count Faas. What brings you outside at this hour?"

  "What do you think?" the Count replied briskly. "What happened?"

  One of the guards responded that they weren't sure, just that the fire was burning from the direction of the warehouse.

  "Then go and find out what happened," the Count ordered the guard, then addressed the other one. "Where is Yuri?"

  "Sir, the supervisor ran past not even ten minutes ago, heading toward the third warehouse."

  "Then you should go as well. Tell him to come see me as soon as he deals with the fire! And return to your post as soon as possible," the Count instructed, then turned and left.

  The two guards briefly exchanged glances, then ran off, leaving the usually guarded entrance to the western district unprotected. Jeanie watched the interaction with the Count from one of the dark alleys connecting to the main street. After helping Frank sabotage the warehouse, as Mathias had predicted, the two split up. Frank continued toward the second warehouse while she returned to observe the guards' reaction. As luck would have it, the Count provided her with the perfect window of opportunity.

  Jeanie didn't hesitate; as soon as the guards were out of sight, she carefully moved toward the entrance and began trailing the enigmatic Count. She had heard of him but knew little else, only that he held a high rank among the thralls and had direct contact with the Vampire Lord.

  The western district was cleaner, well-lit, and the houses were of a higher standard than the rest of the city. Patrols were frequent, so Jeanie deviated from following the Count as he ascended the stone stairs and passed through the archway. She sensed an unsettling aura from the man, something unfamiliar to her. Shaking off these unnecessary thoughts, she refocused on her mission. The location of Yuri Rikhter's manor, a warehouse overseer, had been revealed a few days ago after observing his routines.

  A distant explosion echoed as the second warehouse erupted into flames. Jeanie quickly took cover in the shadow of a nearby wall as the patrol ran past her. The disturbance affected even the western district. Apparently, Frank's actions had more impact than anyone had anticipated.

  Jeanie located the two-story manor she was seeking. She vaulted over the fence, approached the back, and climbed the wall until she reached a small window just beneath the roof tiles. Covering her hand with a piece of cloth to muffle the sound, she broke the window. After clearing the opening of glass, she squeezed through and landed softly in the bathroom, almost slipping on the marble tiles as she did so. Approaching the door, she heard voices coming from the floor below—a woman's and... a child's voice? She wasn't certain. The voices seemed muted and distant. She gently turned the doorknob, opened the door, and after peeking left and right to ensure it was safe, continued to sneak down the corridor in search of the office.

  Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.

  The manor featured numerous rooms, the majority situated on the upper level, with a hallway dividing them. If that wasn’t challenging enough, the voices below grew increasingly audible. Jeanie quickened her steps, counting on the rising volume of the voices and the sound of footsteps ascending to the second floor to mask her presence. She hurried from room to room, glancing inside before moving on. At last, she discovered the office and shut the doors behind her just as the footsteps arrived on the upper level.

  “Hmm? Yuri, is that you?” a woman asked, then turned her gaze toward the office at the end of the hall. Jeanie heard footsteps approaching. "Damn," she muttered, swiftly tiptoeing behind the office desk and hiding beneath it. The door swung open with force as the woman, presumably Yuri's wife, entered. She scanned the office, briefly pausing at the desk, before turning and exiting.

  “Come on, it’s time for bed,” Jeanie heard as the door closed. She exhaled the breath she had been holding and began rummaging through the drawers. Yuri kept various items neatly organized on the desk. However, the ledger was not among them.

  “Blast… where is it?” Jeanie whispered. “Wait a minute…” A man as meticulous as Yuri wouldn't simply keep the ledger in his desk, she thought. No, someone like him would archive the book, likely with the other books. Two cabinets in the office were filled with books, and like a thief hunting for valuables, Jeanie carefully examined each one, opening and inspecting its contents. Halfway through the second cabinet, after picking up one of the hefty books, she noticed it felt much lighter than it appeared. She opened it and, after flipping through the first few pages, discovered the hardcover of the ledger hidden inside. Excitedly, she removed the ledger, opened it, and reviewed its contents.

  The ledger, as expected, detailed timestamps, names of workers, assembled materials, and more. The problem was, the information was a few years old. Jeanie stored the ledger and returned to the cabinet. This time, she focused only on thick books and, after going through the entire cabinet, found three more, all with hidden ledgers inside. Jeanie didn't stop to check each and every ledger for its content. The tension was getting to her, and she felt the agitation of not knowing if Frank had been caught or if they were searching for her.

  Deep in the depths of the Undercity, Bones and Mathias cleared another passage teeming with lesser vampires. These tunnels were crawling with the creatures. As Albion had mentioned, they behaved more like vampire spawn than true lesser vampires. Initially daunted by the lurking danger, Mathias soon showcased the full range of his skills, particularly with his homemade mini bombs. The seasoned spy was well-equipped, using the bombs to release silver nitrate gas, disorienting and weakening the vampires before launching stealth attacks. Bones relied on Skully and Harmony for the bulk of the damage, while Murdok was too noisy for the task at hand. Bones himself focused on advancing his Bone Lance mastery, having reached level nineteen and anticipating an upgrade soon.

  Most tunnels ended in dead ends, where Bones had to handle the crimson tree and vampire nurturing pods by himself, as Mathias had started calling them. It became apparent that the Undercity was a true labyrinth, making map charting and previous locations increasingly difficult. Fortunately, Bones wasn't the one holding the map or guiding them. The pair stood at an intersection, deliberating on their next move.

  "This is the last route we haven't explored yet," Mathias said, pointing to the tunnel on the left.

  "Are you sure? They all look the same to me," Bones questioned.

  "Of course I'm sure. I marked the entrance of each tunnel."

  "Marked?" Bones inspected the tunnel they had come from and only after searching did he find a small scratch mark made by a dagger. "When did you..."

  "After we entered, of course. You didn't think we were wandering around blindly, did you?"

  Without further comment, Bones started down the unexplored tunnel, with Mathias trailing behind, snickering. The tunnel seemed like any other, but this one ended not with metal containers, pods, and a tree, but with a spiraling staircase leading downward.

  "This is different. I didn't think there would be more below," Bones remarked as Mathias' expression grew serious.

  "We've come this far, might as well keep going," Bones said, stepping onto the staircase and beginning to descend. Mathias hesitated briefly, scanning for any hidden mechanisms. From his experience, this would be the perfect place for a trap. Finding none, he followed Bones. Thirty steps later, they reached the bottom of the staircase, where thick iron doors blocked their way.

  "Tricky! This lock is peculiar and ancient. They don't make them like this anymore," Mathias noted after inspecting the lock closely.

  "That's why I'm here," Bones replied. He approached the doors confidently, holding an incomplete Skeleton Key. Mathias stepped aside, watching over his shoulder.

  Bones inserted the key and began to shape it to fit the lock's mechanism. After one turn, the lock clicked, but something prevented the key from turning fully.

  "Tricky indeed," Bones agreed with Mathias' initial assessment.

  "What happened?" Mathias asked.

  "The mechanism changed after I turned the key. I vaguely remember reading about locks like this in a book called Locksmithing for Dummies. They are called trick locks, with hidden and reconfigurable mechanisms."

  "Locksmithing for Dummies?" Mathias muttered, momentarily doubting Bones. He shook his head, snapping out of it. "Is that going to be a problem?" he inquired.

  "Not at all. It will just take a bit longer. I just have to-" umphf "-put a bit more effort into it." On the third attempt, the locking mechanism reset to its initial configuration, forcing Bones to start over. He turned to Mathias and suggested he take a break, explaining that the mechanism was too sensitive to allow any mistakes.

  Mathias, thinking Bones implied that his presence was distracting, excused himself and sat on the last step of the staircase. Bones considered correcting himself but ultimately shook his head and returned to the lock.

  "I really hope Frank and Jeanie finished their tasks and got out in time. If everything went smoothly, Albion was the first to escape down the well, followed by the two of them. We're the last ones to leave," Mathias said somberly.

  "I hope so too, Mathias," Bones replied, not pausing his work.

  "We should be gone before dawn while we still have the night's cover. I'm giving us two more hours! How's it going?"

  "I think-" click click creak "-I'm done," Bones said as he fully turned the key, and the iron doors creaked open.