Thaddeus led them deeper into the mountain's heart.
The passages were narrow, forcing them to move single-file through spaces that pressed close from all sides. The air grew colder as they descended.
No one spoke.
Just the sound of footsteps echoing off rock walls, the occasional scrape of clothing against stone.
Behind them the sounds of battle continued. Detonations transmitted through the mountain itself as vibrations that made loose stones rattle.
BOOM! Boom! Boom!
Like a dying heartbeat.
Thaddeus kept moving.
The passage opened into a larger chamber, natural cave system that had been prepared weeks ago. Emergency supplies stacked against walls. Water pooling in a depression that suggested underground spring. Enough space for forty vampires to exist, if not comfortably.
Thaddeus stopped in the center and turned to face the survivors.
