The Crown of Gilded Bones (Blood and..

I shuddered.
“Sorry.” Casteel gently squeezed the back of my neck.
“The good news is that it’s nothing like what you were kept
in.”
“It’s okay,” I told him, and it would be. It wasn’t like
we’d be spending any amount of time in them.
Carrying a heavy ring of keys, Hisa continued toward a
narrow door. Turning the key as she twisted the handle, the
door creaked open.
Faint light lit our way down a staircase that made awful
sounds under our weight. The temperature dropped at least
five degrees with each step, and the familiar musky scent
turned my stomach.
Hisa proceeded forward, passing several stone tombs.
Casteel stuck close to me, his hand slipping to my shoulder.
He was right. The crypt was clean and well-kept, flower
garlands piled on the lids of the tombs.
“Are you sure about this?” Hisa had stopped in front of
another door as she thumbed through the keys.
“We are,” I answered.
She nodded and then proceeded to unlock the second
door. “These tunnels were once used to move goods from
different areas of the city, and then they were solely used to
transport the dead,” she told us, and Emil’s lip curled. “But
they haven’t been accessed in several decades. I have no
idea what kind of shape they’re in.
“It’s unlikely that there has been any type of collapse,”
she continued. “But hopefully, the route you seek is still
open.”
“From what I remember, it’s a pretty straight path with
only a few turns.” Casteel picked up a torch. Delano stepped
forward, striking flint against the top. Sparks gave way to
fire. He handed the torch to Kieran. “It should only take an
hour to reach the mountains.”
“And then?” I asked as he picked up another torch.
Flames flared to life.