"I would still be Castor's prisoner, even if he doesn't know it. There has to be another way. What about the other tunnel? You said it leads elsewhere?"
"Nowhere good, unless you favor a watery grave rather than the comfort of a nice bed." Mitron tilted her head. "I know this is not a good decision to have to make, but I assure you, it's the best one. And ..." She twiddled her fingers. "You would be doing me a favor too. Instead of being trapped here for no reason but to endure the constant pain of my murder, you could give me purpose again. I could be your protector. The guardian of your resting place. And when Castor is gone, I can find someone to let you out."
Ianora nodded, but she realized, it was very possible that several more centuries could pass, and Castor could still be alive. "I understand, and I'll think more about what you're offering me. But I need to know for myself that there's no other way before I agree to anything. Otherwise, I could rest in doubt forever, wouldn't I?"
Mitron floated back toward the entrance of the chamber. "By all means, let me show you the other way. But you're not going to like it."
Ianora followed the ghost, her heart heavy with the decision she might have to make. If there were truly no other way out from these tunnels, then she would have to take Mitron up on her offer and hope that one day, someone would find her and release her from this prison. But first, she had to know if there was another way.
The second tunnel was much like the first, dark and dank, with a musty smell that made Ianora want to gag. Ianora took a deep breath and steeled herself for whatever horrors awaited her down the left path before stepping forward into the darkness. The deeper she went, the less space she had to move, flattening herself against the wall to squeeze through at some point, crouching low at others where the ceiling and walls allowed for room barely larger than a crawl space.
And then there was the water. Puddles at first, and then past her ankles, the cold, icy touch growing more powerful and deeper the farther she went down the tunnel. By the time the water reached her waist, and she was swimming more than walking, with still no sign of an exit, she began to doubt her decision to go this way.
Up ahead, the ceiling came down low, with only inches between the stone and the water. Mitron stopped near the gap to hover. "Are you sure you want to continue this way? You'll need to swim."
Ianora only had to consider the fate waiting for her if she went back to her bedroom to remember that she was not ready to give up yet. She had to be sure that there was no other way out before she made her decision. If she left this tunnel unexplored to the farthest point she could go, she would be giving up far too soon.
"I'm a good swimmer, and vampires don't need as much air as humans do," Ianora said. "I should be fine."
"If you say so. Follow me."
Mitron fell into the water, her ghostly form not even disturbing the surface. Ianora took a deep breath and dove into the water after her before she could change her mind.
The chill quickly numbed her skin, and the deeper she went, the weight of the water pressed down on her from all sides. She had to fight to keep moving forward, following the subtle glow of Mitron's ghostly form. Finally, she saw another light ahead of her, a brighter one, and she burst through the water's surface, gasping for air.
Floating on the surface was a small platform, just large enough for her to stand on. Ianora clung to the edge of it as she caught her breath. The light came from a lantern hanging on a hook just out of reach.
Ianora could see now that the platform was attached to a chain, which disappeared into the darkness below her. There must be another way down, but she could not see it from where she floated.
She hesitated for a moment before finally climbing onto the platform and reaching for the lantern. There had to be some magic to the fire to have any light in this forsaken place.
The lantern cast a weak light over the scene before her, and Ianora's heart sank when she saw that the tunnel beyond opened into a vast underground lake, and there was no sign of an exit anywhere. She would have to swim all the way around to find a way out, and there was no guarantee she would find one.
Could she stay here for an eternity instead, searching for a way out that might not exist, rather than giving up and going to sleep instead?
Honestly, she didn't think so. Maybe she would last days, or even years, fueled on hatred and hope until even that well eventually ran dry.
Ianora hung the lantern back on the hook above her, and she hung her head. "You were right," she said. "There truly is no way out of this place."
"I'm sorry," Mitron whispered. "I wish I could offer you a better solution than this, but it's all I have. For years, out of boredom, I've tried to find another way out. A hidden tunnel deep beneath the water, or ..." She shook her head. "I haven't had any luck."
"Take me back to the coffin."
On the journey back, Ianora wracked her brain for any other last-minute solutions to her problem. Ianora had already examined every inch of the suite where Castor locked her up. These tunnels were her last hope, and she did not have it in her to continue exploring the lake if Mitron had already searched for a way out for years.
That only left the coffin.
Back in the room where it waited, just as unchanged and eternal as before, but now the coffin had taken on a darker meaning. It would be her resting place, and it had every chance of being her final one.
"How long before the magic takes effect?" Ianora asked as she popped the lid open.
"For a vampire, I would say about a week," Mitron said.
"Will you stay with me until then? Until I'm asleep?"
"Of course." Mitron's voice was soft as she floated closer. "I wouldn't leave you alone."
With one final nod to convince herself that this was the right move, Ianora stepped into the coffin, letting her legs and then back and shoulders relax into the coffin. As soon as she took her hands off the edge and set her head down on the cushion, the lid snapped shut, locking her in darkness except for the glass slit over her eyes.
Ianora thrust her hands up in a panic, trying to push the lid off. She hadn't yet been ready!
But as her hands struck the wood, metal clasps snapped into place outside, locking the coffin shut. She cried out in alarm. "Mitron! Mitron, what's happening?"
"I'm here, dearie," the ghost said. "You're all right."
"Why is it locking?"
"I told you. The coffin was designed as a trap. The magic takes a while to affect a vampire fully, so my father had to take other liberties to ensure that Castor was stuck inside."
Ianora was panting, her heart racing, but she tried to steady herself, to not let the panic set in. "I—I thought I would have a chance to change my mind. Why didn't you tell me this was going to happen?"
Mitron opened her mouth, but it was another voice that answered.
"Because I instructed her not to." Castor's twisted visage came into view through the glass slit in the coffin, his lips curling into a cruel smile. "Do you like the surprise I left for you?"