(40) Two vampires, a ghoul and a shifter.

"What the hell," Helmut growled when he heard a shout from the side of the ruins.

"A young male who looks upset," the vampire told him from where he was suddenly perched on one of higher walls of the ruined castle.

As Helmut started to move, a voice he knew well cried out, "Piers, where are you?" His speed increased incrementally with his growing fear for his boy, reaching him well before the vampire who raced along the top of the ruins.

"Helmut!" Linden flew into his arms. "Piers—he was right in front of me and then I thought he fell but he—he disappeared."

The shifter didn't know whether to hug Linden in relief, or yell at him for being there. He opted for the middle ground, giving him a quick hug before grabbing his shoulders, shaking him hard. "Why the hell are you here?"

"I had to be sure you were all right." Linden replied, his eyes wide with fear when he realized how upset Helmut was.

"Noble gesture, if stupid," the vampire said as he leapt down from the wall to join them.

"I'm sorry," Linden said, staring down at the ground.

"I will deal with you later," Helmut told him, "Right now, however, exactly where was Piers when he vanished?"

Linden pointed to a spot at the edge of the mound. "There."

"Don't move," Helmut ordered as he walked to the spot Linden had indicated. The vampire came to stand beside him and they studied the ground, their eyes searching it inch by inch. Helmut shifted and the wolf sniffed the dirt and then the air. Suddenly he froze, his nose to the ground beside one of several large rocks that scattered the area. Shifting again, flashing on his clothing seconds later, he knelt and with some difficulty managed to move the rock a few inches away from where it had stood.

"Clever," the vampire said, a note of admiration in his voice. The two men looked at the edge of a dark hole. "Let's open it the rest of the way."

Between them, they got the rock shifted to the point that the entrance to what appeared to be a steeply down-sloping tunnel was revealed.

"He has to be damned strong," Helmet muttered, "to be able to move the rock as quickly as he must have in order to grab Piers, get back into the tunnel, and cover it again without Linden knowing what had happened."

The vampire nodded. "I have to wonder how many more of these he has."

"We'll find out once we get down there." Helmut turned to look at Linden. "You, home, now."

"Like hell," Linden growled in a passable imitation of Helmut. "It's my fault he's down there, I'm coming with you."

"Boy!"

"No, I am going too, whether with you or following you." Linden crossed his arms over his chest, daring Helmut to do anything about it.

Helmut stalked over to him. "I should transport you back to the manor and give you to Mr. Pope to guard."

"You should, but you won't. We can't waste the time doing that. Piers is down there somewhere and who knows what the revenant is doing to him."

Sighing deeply, Helmut nodded. "I go first, you stay between me and him," he nodded towards the vampire. "You will do whatever I tell you to once we're inside, and immediately. Is. That. Understood?"

"Yes," Linden replied quietly. "I promise."