“Hence why King DuVir was constantly paranoid that he would be attacked. And created this hideaway-slash-escape route.” Layla commented. Standing in the underground hall, she could see how well it had been taken care of over the years by Hotel staff. Called the Safehouse, this space had been tended and stocked as an emergency hideout in modern times, in case anything happened to the Hotel above. Though the furnishings were old, mother-of-pearl room dividers and Persian rugs sitting next to ornately brocaded chaises and hand-painted armoires from the 1600’s, everything had been immaculately kept. Potted palms whispered in an underground breeze, tastefully grouped throughout the foyer and balconies to create lounging-spaces as a ripple of light moved through the crystal vaults. “How far back does the Safehouse go?”
“This is the first of twenty caverns,” Dusk continued as they looked around. “King DuVir built this space to house a full contingent of warriors, dignitaries, and commoners – his entire Parisian Crystal Dragon Court. Nowadays, the Safehouse is big enough to protect all the Paris Hotel’s employees and guests in an emergency. We’ve got full pantries and kitchens down here, bathing areas and bedrooms, even a ballroom. Basically, King DuVir built a palace below the palace, able to be fortified in an emergency. And the Paris Hotel has kept it that way, including keeping a fully-stocked armory for our Guard.”
“Yeah, how does that fortification work?” Layla frowned, not seeing guard-niches or arrow-slits or anything as she gazed around. During the prepping for battle at solstice, now only a day away, Layla knew Dusk and Rikyava had already coordinated with Rhennic to use this space as a potential retreat area if things got bad with fighting in the Hotel proper. Evacuation routes down here had been memorized by everyone, and Rikyava had her best Red Giants stationed for the passage down just in case there was a cave-in.
But Layla still didn’t see exactly how it was defensible as she took it all in.
“See all those balconies?” Adrian took over as he gestured to the ranks of balconies cascading up the walls like a theater’s box seats. “Those aren’t just for show, Layla; they’re guard-spaces for ranged weapons and magical distance attacks. In addition, this foyer is the only real entrance to the Safehouse, though there are twenty tunnels that connect out as escape routes to the Thin Ways. See that behind you?” Adrian gestured behind her and Layla turned, seeing two massive pillars of pure diamond flanking the ornate vaulted entrance they had come in through, with plain stone stairs beyond that they had come down. “Dusk, show her.”
“Gladly.” An eager grin lifted Dusk’s face as he held up his hands, then rumbled a fast rush of Crystal Dragon magic at the pillars. With a deafening ring, the diamond pillars suddenly concentrated that vibration into light, then blasted an array of what looked like blue-white laser-strikes across the space between.
“Holy shit!” Layla whistled, her dark eyebrows arching. “I’m guessing those can seriously fuck up an enemy.”
“They’re concentrated laser-light, Layla,” Dusk spoke with a raised eyebrow as he confirmed Layla’s suspicions. “They can fuck up most things. Not only can the pillars be harmonized to shoot light on command, they can be primed to do it when someone tries to step between them – kinda like those guardian statues in that movieThe NeverEnding Story.And these pillars can be used by even the most untrained Crystal Dragon – even a youngling could hold this entrance against invaders.”
“What about the diamond pillars themselves?” Quindici asked now with a thoughtful look as he stroked a long finger over his lips. “Could Hunter or a strong Crystal Dragon shatter them?”
“I’ve tried.” Dusk spoke, turning to Quinn. “They look solid, but they’re actually built from a vast network of micro-diamonds bound together by intensely creative Crystal Dragon magic. I ended up bursting a few of the micro-diamonds, but it took tremendous effort, and the pillars worked nearly the same as before. Hunter would have to attack this barrier personally, I think, and still it would take some time to fall.”
“So what about the escape routes into the Thin Ways?” Layla frowned now, glancing back to the gargantuan hall. “How do we prevent Hunter coming in through those via his Crystal Dragon magic or his Bound Crystal Dragons?”
“Well, we protect them the same way King DuVir did. By enlisting non-Dragon assistance.” Dusk’s grin was enigmatic now, in a way that told Layla he had something up his sleeve concerning this space. “Which is where my idea comes in today. And Quinn’s help – or advice, maybe.”
“Okay, spill.” Adrian spoke now as he watched Dusk with an intrigued smile, though his blue-green gaze was intense. “What is this plan you have brewing that you haven’t told us about yet, Dusk? And why do you need a Master Vampire? No offense, Quinn.”
“None taken.” Quinn spoke back casually, his onyx gaze calm as he waved a hand, then looked back to Dusk with as much curiosity as Adrian. “But considering my…disagreementwith you all and Reginald yesterday, I had simply planned to make my presence here as inconspicuous as possible until the battle, until you said you needed me. So what are we down here for?”
“Well, remember how I told you all I had made a breakthrough battling Vampire Revenants under the mountains near Wahdi Atlamenta recently?” Dusk smiled slyly now, clearly enjoying dragging this out for all the drama it was worth.
“Yeah.” Crossing her arms, Layla took a one-hip stance in her comfy boots. “So?”
“So, I discovered there’s a certain frequency I can emit that not only skewers Vampire Revenants and kills them, but also makes them cease attacking. And when I found that, I also found a tone that can sort of… make them listen to me.”
“Listento you?!” Quinn’s eyebrows truly rose now as his eyes flashed a fierce red-copper with astonishment, his full lips dropping open. “Do you mean obey you? Because nothing I know of in Vampiredom or otherwise has ever truly tamed a Vampire once they’ve turned Revenant. Revenants are predominantly what give my kind a bad name – Vampires who have gone insane over the ages from some trauma and lost their personhood, and indeed, their physical form. They are not tamable, Dusk. Loosely containable with strong magical wards and such… but to return their human minds enough to listen to you? Impossible.”
“Possible, apparently, though I’m not quite there yet.” Dusk’s sapphire gaze sobered now, intent as he watched Quinn, then looked back to Adrian and Layla. “Adrian, Layla. Remember how King Markus created a tone at the Crystal Palace in Prague that summoned Revenants from the Thin Ways to attack us? Well, I found King DuVir’s journals in Markus’ collection recently. Apparently, King DuVir discovered a tone that could not only make Revenants attack or stop attacking, but alsodo his bidding– one of the reasons he was able to build so many new Thin Ways passages in France when no one else did for thousands of years. Hemadethem listen to him – something King Markus couldn’t do. And I think that’s how King DuVir ensured his people’s protection down here; by using Vampire Revenants to guard his escape passages to the Thin Ways.”
“Wow.” Layla’s eyebrows rose as she stared at Dusk, impressed. “So you’re thinking that if you can make some Vampire Revenants listen to you, they’ll be able to guard our fighters down here from Hunter if we retreat. Maybe even escort us out through the Thin Ways if we need to make a quick escape.”
“It’s worth a shot.” Dusk spoke with a clever flash in his sapphire eyes, before glancing at the obviously astounded Quinn. “Apparently, King DuVir kept his Revenant-commanding tone a deep secret – no one else knew he’d done it. When he died, his Revenants went back to being mindless killers, but King Markus was impressed and worked the rest of his life to find the tones King DuVir’s journals mentioned. He managed to find enough of that frequency to make Revenants attack, but that was it. And because Markus had a chip on his shoulder about Hunter, I’m assuming he never told Hunter about it.”
“Gods of the Blood.” Quinn cursed now softly, still staring at Dusk. “So there’s a vibrational tone that commands Revenants. That makes them hear you and come back to their right minds?”
“Somewhat.” Dusk responded with a nod, though his look was cautionary now. “But I have no idea how far it goes, Quinn. It could be useful, but there could just as easily be a tone that drives them even more berserk and makes them ten times stronger. Using my Crystal Dragon frequencies on an entirely different kind of magical creature is not an exact science.”
“Still.” Quinn spoke with intensity now as he crossed his arms. “It may have future merits for the advancement of Vampire acceptance all throughout the Twilight Realm if we can tame Revenants.”
“It might.” Dusk nodded back, as Layla watched him and Quinn come to an accord.
“What about the rest of this space?” Layla spoke up as she surveyed the upper vaults of the hall. “Could Hunter portal himself and his forces in here through the ether?”
“Doubtful.” Adrian answered her now. “I already tried a few days ago at Dusk’s request, and got bounced to some intensely strange underground space where a monstrous white eel-like newt nearly bit my head off. An oubliette in the Thin Ways, I’m guessing; the Crystal Dragon ancients built a lot of them to hide their wealth in days long gone.”
“Like the diamond pillars that guard the entrance, there’s a coating of micro-diamonds everywhere we look, Layla, it’s part of what makes this space shimmer so much.” Dusk continued. “King DuVir was thorough in his protection of this place. But the point is that this space is about as impenetrable to Hunter as we’re going to get for solstice, to protect people for a retreat or a run-away, if we get hit super hard in battle. Short of a meteor strike, I think we’d be okay here for a time. Hunter’d probably smash his way in before we could starve or eat each other Donner-party style.”
“Charming.” Layla grimaced, though she also smiled as she shook her head.
“But that brings me to why you’re all here this morning,” Dusk went on, “to help me as we head into the Thin Ways and explore the Revenant angle. We need solutions that will break Hunter’s dominance over not just his forces, but our own on battle-day – and I think having a safe retreat-and-run space is primary, not to mention protecting it with something Hunter wouldn’t expect us to be aligned with. What do you think? You three in to see if we can go approach a few Revenants and tame them to be our guardians?” Dusk spoke with intensity now as he glanced around.
