Chapter 21

Rudolf took a deep breath as he and his sister entered the tomb, noting the broken door in the back of his mind. Aside from the comforting dank smell all mausoleums had, he could smell a light vanilla scent, something he'd grown to associate with Toni. She'd been here, that was certain. He followed his nose out onto a catwalk, where the iron railing had bent and twisted out over the tall room.

Along with vanilla, he smelled fear. Toni's fear. He leapt down to the lower level and sniffed again. She was near. He could smell her, but where was she? His eyes landed on the sarcophagus and he groaned as an idea entered his mind. "Oh no…please not this." He whispered, hurrying to the side of the stone coffin.

He grunted and pushed at the lid, carved from solid rock. He lifted and pushed, finally managing to get it open. And there, curled in a ball in the middle of her stone prison, was Toni.

Anna gasped as he lifted the girl from inside the coffin, moving forward and wanting to help. "She's…not breathing." She whispered, brushing dust from the girl's clothes and hair.

Rudolf sank to the floor, holding Toni in his arms. It hurt more than anything he'd ever felt when her hand fell limply from her waist to land on the floor. "Toni?" he whispered, brushing hair from her face where it had pulled free of her braid. "Toni, come on, you need to breath…"

Rudolf and Anna watched the too-still girl, her pale skin almost a match for their own. Then…finally, she took a very long, very slow breath, coughing lightly before taking a second one. Rudolf exercised all his will power to keep from hugging her so tight that she'd be unable to breathe again.

"Toni?"

"Rudy?" she croaked, dry lips parting in a faint whisper. Her eyes blinked open soon after, the green orbs bleary after her unconscious state.

"I'm here." He promised, helping her to sit up straighter. "I'm here, you're alright."

Toni looked around as she took deep breaths, shivering as her memory returned. She turned to hide her face in his shirt, and he gently rubbed her arm.

"It was Rookery." She finally told him. Rudolf nodded, anger swiftly building up in his unbeating heart. If he had a chance, Rookery would pay for this.

"Why were you here?" he asked her. "In a mausoleum of all places."

"Elizabeth." Toni said, sitting up as her strength returned. "This was her tomb." She tried to push herself upright and winced as she pressed her cuts to the stone floor.

Rudolf didn't hesitate to pull a handkerchief from his pocket, tearing it up and using it to clean her hands. By now they'd scabbed over somewhat, but even so Anna was forced to back away from the scent of blood. He worked on cleaning Toni's cuts and kept talking to distract her from the pain.

"Elizabeth? Who's that?"

"She's the last holder of the stone. The one in the vision your Dad and I saw. Her name was Elizabeth McAshton, and Von turned her into a vampire. She wore the stone on a necklace." Toni's voice was still breathless, but seemed to be growing stronger.

"She did? Really?" Rudolf frowned.

Toni nodded. "Lord McAshton said his own family staked her, then buried her here."

"But… this coffin is empty." Rudolf pointed out.

"I know." Toni said with a slightly wry grin as he wrapped each of her hands with clean scraps of his handkerchief. "Rookery said she was moved, and reburied somewhere outside the church ground."

"That's a lot of land." Anna said with a frustrated sigh. She brightened almost immediately as she hopped to her feet. "I wrote a poem though, about you two! Have a listen!"

The girl climbed onto a pedestal and started to recite. "Her face he saw in the cemetery, filled with fright; for the night was scary…" But Toni wasn't paying an ounce of attention, too focused to allow the girl's amusing words to distract her.

"I did find something though." She said, getting to her feet. She leaned over the edge of the coffin, almost falling in again with a squeak. Rudolf caught her and pulled back onto her feet, seeing the roll of fabric in her hand.

"What is it?"

"I don't know. I couldn't see in there, and I didn't want to risk damaging it by trying to open it in the dark." She said softly, setting the roll on the coffin lid. "It's really really old though, and my hands are too stiff."

Rudolf got the hint and moved to her side, carefully unrolling the bit of fabric, wincing every time it tore or crumbled at the edges.

"It looks like…instructions. For a sand pentagram and garlic and such."

"That's what was here when Rookery opened the sarcophagus." Toni told him with a sigh. "That doesn't help us any."

"Maybe not…but the map underneath does." Rudolf said, pointing at the faint lines on the cloth. "It's a map of the tomb!"

"This tomb?" Toni whirled and looked, matching the objects in the room with the scribbles on the map. "Look." She whispered, pointing at a wavy line that didn't match. "There was a tunnel. In that wall." She turned and looked at the only empty wall in the room. "They must have covered it up after they moved Elizabeth!"

She and Rudolf hurried over to the thick stone wall, knowing now that it held the key to finding Elizabeth and the stone.

"Can you break it?" she asked him, earning a grin in return.

"Watch me." he said, pulling back a fist and punching the wall. Toni would have bruised or broken her hand if she'd tried such a thing, but with Rudolf's strength and power, the brick he'd hit shattered, slipping through a new hole.

"Quick, let's make it bigger." Toni said, helping him to push at the bricks in the wall, letting them fall to the floor on the other side. Soon, a large opening sat in the wall, revealing a tunnel behind it. "We did it!" she said happily as Rudolf climbed through.

"We're so close to finding the stone." Rudolf said as he turned to help her climb through. "I can feel it!"

"I hope you can." Toni said with a grimace. "I can't see a thing."

"I can see just fine." The boy said. Toni snorted and took his hand.

"That's because you're a creature of the night and I'm not." She said, her voice light.

Despite her confidence, she was terrified to go down that hallway. She wasn't sure she'd ever be alright in the dark again, not to mention small spaces. This tunnel was both, and it scared her silly. She wondered if she still had that old night light of hers somewhere…she had a feeling she'd need it.

"Toni? Maybe you should stay here." Rudolf suggested, sensing her change in attitude. Toni shook her head firmly.

"No way. I started this, and I'm going to help finish it. It's my job to find the stone." She reminded him in a firm voice. "Just…don't leave me." she added with a wince.

He smiled down at her in the dim light. "I won't, I promise. Come on then."

He led her down the tunnel, which was soon pitch black. Behind them they heard a disgruntled "Hey!" as Anna realized they'd gone.

"Were either of you even listening?" she demanded once she'd caught up to them.

"Hmm? Oh, yeah. It was great. I think." Toni said quickly, knowing Rudolf was likely smirking in the dark.

Anna didn't notice, sounding very smug as she went on. "I was to play Juliet you know. But Shakespeare thought me too young."

"Sisters." Rudolf said, sounding only the way an older brother could. Toni was chuckling with amusement before the statement sank into her mind.

"Wait…you've met Shakespeare?"

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Yay for the rescue! I should probably apologize for making you wait so long...but that would require feeling guilty. Which I don't XD

Shakespeare fun! If you guys could meet anyone in History, who would you pick?

Your Curious Authoress,

Whisperwings