by Linsey Hall
The magic felt stronger as we walked, as if we were entering the true heart of Cambridge.
When we finally reached the end, a short path led to the river he’d mentioned. It was wide and slow moving, with buildings on either side. The massive stone structures butted up right to the water, with no room to walk on the bank between the building and the river. To our right, a smaller structure crouched on a stone platform. Long, shallow boats had been pulled onto the narrow strip of shore. It must be a boathouse. Tall poles were stacked against the boathouse wall. For pushing the boat along, perhaps.
I took stock of my dragon sense, unsurprised when it pulled us right.
“We either have to go through the buildings or take a boat down river,” I said.
“Boat.”
“Yeah.”
Together, we put one of the long, shallow boats in the water. They had wide, flat platforms on either side—perfect for standing upon and pushing the boat along with one of the poles. I grabbed one of the tall poles and hopped in. Roarke grabbed another and followed.
I stood on the front platform, while he stepped onto the back. In tandem, we stuck our poles in the water. Mine hit the bottom only a few feet down and I pushed, propelling us forward. We moved quickly down the river, our boat gliding along silently in the dark.
It was a good thing it was so late and this place was full of hard-working scholars. They were all asleep in their beds or had their noses in books, not outside to witness our silent passage.
The thought was still fresh in my mind when a rustling on the shore caught my attention.
I glanced over. A massive, horned demon was running alongside the boat. My heart thundered.
Damn.
A rustling from the other side of the shore caught my attention a moment later. There was another demon, this one spindly and thin. Two more followed behind him.
“We’ve got company,” I said.
“Four more on the right.”
I looked over. That made at least eight demons total.
“Where the heck did they come from?” I asked as I pushed us along. For now, the demons weren’t jumping in the water to come get us. But they would eventually.
“Maybe they were already here.”
Or they had come through the hole in the protection charm Roarke had created. Either way, we had a problem.
I turned to look at Roarke. “Should we each take a bank and get rid of them?”
“We have bigger problems.” He pointed ahead.
I spun around. Five other boats were drifting toward us, each manned by a huge Magica. Their power rolled out from them in waves.
“Who the hell are they?” I whispered.
“Security.”
“Damn.” What the hell were we going to do? I didn’t want to fight a bunch of security guards who were just doing their job.
“We’re here to see Horatio Penderren,” Roarke called. “We mean no harm.”
“Then you shouldn’t have brought your demon minions.” The mage who spoke threw out his hands. A light blasted from him.
Before I could fully process it, a massive net flew through the air and landed on top of Roarke and me, throwing us down. I thrashed, struggling to get up, but the heavy net bound us tight into the hull of the boat. It stung slightly wherever it touched my bare face and hands.
Beside me, Roarke struggled to stand, putting all his strength into tearing through the net. But the thing wouldn’t budge. It was like it had wrapped around the bottom of the boat, trapping us inside.
“Don’t bother,” the guard said. “The Montaris Net won’t let you out.”
He steered his boat against the stern of ours, the other guards maneuvering their crafts until our little boat was surrounded. I peered up through the net, my skin stinging like mad. It got worse the longer we were trapped under the damned thing.
“We really are just here to talk to Horatio Penderren,” I said.
“Then you should have set up an appointment. And mentioned that you were bringing along an army of demons.” His face twisted, as if the very idea offended him to his core.
I couldn’t blame him if he thought I was here to attack them.
On the shore, more guards appeared to take care of the demons.
“We’re not here to do any harm,” Roarke said.
“I can hardly trust the word of someone who broke in under the cover of darkness and who possesses the power to compel demons.” The guard began to push us along, directing our boat with his.
“We didn’t bring the demons!” I cried.
The guard’s face turned red with rage. His dark, beady eyes bulged. “Don’t lie!”
“I’m not! Just let me talk to someone. Your boss, or anyone. I can explain.”
He puffed himself up, raising his reed-thin body to its fullest height as indignation distorted his face. “I am the Chief Constable!”
Oooh, shoot. I pissed him off.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t bring the demons, I promise.”
“Lies!” His venomous gaze met mine as his voice filled with threat. “The Order of the Magica will be very interested to hear about this.”
“No!” I struggled to stand, desperate to make him hear reason. He couldn’t report me to the Order.
Roarke grabbed my arm, forcing me to meet his gaze.
“Shh!” The noise was short and harsh, but his message clear.
Anything I said would only hurt us. The Chief Constable clearly had it out for us. Me, in fact. Maybe I looked like an ex-girlfriend who had dumped him.
So I shut up, though it was damned hard. I just wanted to scream at the guard that he was a freaking moron. Or turn into a Phantom and drift through this net. But if I did that, I’d have to kill all the guards who saw me in my Phantom form. And I didn’t want to do that.
Better to wait and see where they took us, then deal with this once the enchanted net was off.
I lay still, fuming. I could feel the guard’s beady gaze on me, seething. I felt his ire like a brand against my skin.
As he pushed us along in the boat, I did my best to keep track of where we were going, noting our location in relation to that of Horatio Penderren. We were heading away, unfortunately.
The river drifted silently below us. Soon, a massive building loomed overhead. Oh fates, the river went under a building. What the hell was in here?
Dim yellow light illuminated the underground river bank. The ceiling was only about eight feet overhead, and either side of the river butted up to a stone walkway. A moment later, the boat was pushed over to the side until it rested against the walkway.
Before I could move, the magic in the net vibrated. It slithered away from the boat, pulling Roarke and me up into the air. One of my lucky necklaces caught on something in the boat and tore off my neck.
“No!” I reached for it, but we were dragged quickly through the air, prisoners in the enchanted net.
I thrashed, trying to escape, but the magic was too strong. The net carried us toward a big door. As if on cue, the door swung open. The net tossed us inside. Roarke and I crashed to the stone ground as the door slammed shut.
Chapter Four
“What the heck was that?” I scrambled to my feet and raced to the door. I pushed against the wooden surface, but it didn’t budge.
The room was small—only about twelve feet by twelve—and the walls and floor were made of massive stone slabs. A single lightbulb hung from the ceiling, shedding a pathetic twenty-five watts on the dingy cell.
I rubbed my arms, my stomach turning. This place felt weird, but vaguely familiar. A bit sickening. I couldn’t place it though.
“This damned university has a prison?”
“And some powerful magic.” Roarke stood. “I’ve never seen anything like that net.”
“They must have something important they’re protecting.”
“Or a lot of important somethings. That Constable was not pleased to see us. He really doesn’t like anyone breaking int
o his university.”
“No.” I shivered at the thought of his glee at the idea of alerting the Order. “But this is good, right? We wanted to get away from them so we could sneak away. Now we can.”
Roarke could either bust through the wall like I’d seen him do before, or I could walk out of here as a Phantom and hopefully find a key.
“Hopefully.” Roarke walked to the walls and inspected them. “Do you want to do this, or shall I?”
“Can you do it quietly?”
“Tearing through walls isn’t exactly a quiet business.”
“Fair point. I’ll try.”
I closed my eyes and called upon my Phantom power, waiting for the chilly magic to flow through me.
It didn’t.
The usual chill didn’t come, nor did my limbs turn a transparent blue. I tried harder, but nothing happened.
“Shit,” I said. “Dampening spell.”
The best prisons had them. Cass, Nix, and I had been locked up in a place like this when our boss had turned on us. Since then, we’d worked for ourselves. But that prison had felt like this one, with the sickening sense of my magic being repressed. I’d tried to forget the memory, but that was why this place had felt familiar.
“You try,” I said.
Roarke just stood there, eventually closing his eyes for concentration. When I didn’t feel the swell of his magic, I knew.
“Damn it.” I started to pace. We were as helpless as humans in here. “This is no normal university.”
“No kidding.”
“This was supposed to be a quick in and out—meet a guy, get some help. Who knew universities could be so dangerous?”
Roarke grinned and paced the cell, inspecting the walls again. I did the same to the door, but found only a massively thick slab of wood reinforced by iron straps. There wasn’t even a door handle on this side.
This wasn’t good.
We needed help.
“Where do you think Draka is?” I asked. “Last week, whenever I needed help, she showed up. But now—nothing.”
“Maybe we don’t really need the help.”
I glanced around at the stone box in which we stood. “I’m pretty sure we do. This dampening spell has made us helpless.”
“No, though it is inconvenient.”
I paced the cell, my mind racing. I hated being cooped up like this. If only we had our magic. It spurred a memory.
“I once met a Hellhound named Pond Flower.” The mental image of the big dog made me smile. “She was immune to charms like this because her power was fueled by hell. So the dampening charm couldn’t work on her. We need a bit of that right now.”
“If anyone could do it, you could.”
“I wish.” But the mental image of Pond Flower remained. What I wouldn’t give to see her friendly face right now.
Magic shimmered on the air.
“You feel that?” Roarke asked.
“Yeah, it’s star—” My jaw dropped open.
A dog suddenly stood in the middle of the cell.
“Pond Flower!” I cried. She was massive—nearly the size of a horse—with brown and white spots and a big smile that allowed her tongue to loll out of her mouth. The scent of brimstone and flame wafted off her.
“Did you just summon her?” Roarke asked.
“Apparently.” I approached and scratched her head, then asked her, “So, did you come because I called?”
She just looked up at me, and I got the sense that she was saying, “Yeah, duh.”
The last I’d seen Pond Flower, we’d rescued her from living in a dingy castle filled with demons. She’d gone to live in an enchanted forest with the League of FireSouls, which was something like a magical justice league that helped to protect FireSouls from persecution.
“Got any ideas on how to get out of here?” I asked as I scratched her head.
Her brown eyes flamed red, and an eerie black flame burst up from her fur. It didn’t burn me, though. Instead, magic rolled out from her, igniting inside me.
“Whoa,” I whispered.
The magic pulled on mine, making it come alive inside my chest. It was a bit different than my normal magic. It felt hot, and if I had to guess, I, too, smelled like brimstone.
I closed my eyes and called upon my Phantom form, letting the icy magic flow through my veins. I shivered as it filled me, then opened my eyes to see that my body had turned fully blue and transparent. Pond Flower continued to glow with her black flame. But as I watched, a blue glow extended out from my hand, turning her black flame blue. Soon, she was blue like me, a Phantom dog whose eyes still glowed red.
“That’s impressive,” Roarke said.
I grinned, then glanced at Pond Flower and removed my hand. The magic inside me died. My body returned to normal. So did Pond Flower.
Shoot.
I touched Pond Flower again, and the magic ignited once more. I shifted to Phantom form. Pond Flower followed.
“I think she’s like a conduit. I’m getting power from the Underworld.”
“Yeah, you both stink like brimstone.”
As I’d thought.
“We’ll go through the wall and get you out of here.” I knocked on my head for good luck, hoping this would work.
He nodded.
I turned, walking with Pond Flower toward the door, careful not to lose contact with her warm head.
This was so freaking weird.
We walked through the door without any problem, appearing at the darkened riverbank.
A guard to my left gave a strangled shout and stumbled back, his eyes wide.
No doubt he’d never seen the likes of me before. His hand went to his belt where some kind of wand hung from a little holster.
I let go of Pond Flower and drew my sword, turning corporeal and lunging at him. As he drew his wand, I brought the hilt of my sword down upon his head. It cracked against his skull, and his eyes rolled back. He fell like an oak, out cold.
A silvery key ring glinted at his belt.
I knelt and checked his pulse, relieved to feel it beat. Pond Flower stood over his body, staring down at him.
“Thanks, pal,” I said to her as I fumbled for the keys. “You can go back and hang out with your buddies in the forest again.”
I didn’t want her hanging out here where she could get hurt. Better to have her frolicking in the forest.
She licked my hand as I stood, then disappeared. As I turned back to the locked door, I glanced at the water, hoping to see the boat where my lucky necklace had fallen off. The boat was gone.
Damn.
I stepped up to the door where a massive black lock awaited. It wasn’t hard to find the matching key. It, too, was massive and black. I shoved it into the lock and twisted until the familiar snicking noise sounded, then pushed open the door.
Roarke stepped out. “That was quick.”
“I got lucky.” I turned and dropped the keys near the guard, then called on my dragon sense. “We’re close. Come on.”
We hurried along the stone embankment, sticking close to the wall. A doorway caught my eye, and I pushed it open, revealing a small antechamber. Unlike the grim stone walls that surrounded the river, the walls were paneled with some kind of pretty wood. Glowing sconces provided light. There was a doorway opposite the one we stood in.
“That should lead into the rest of the building,” Roarke said.
We slipped inside.
“I think Boadica’s College is the one next to this one,” I whispered, following my dragon sense.
Roarke nodded and pushed open the door a crack. I dipped under his arm and peered out. A grand foyer stretched in front of us, the ornately tiled floor gleaming in the light of the chandelier above. Weird that the prison was next to such opulence. But then, this whole place was weird.
Two massive doors took up a big part of the adjacent wall. Windows revealed the snowy scene outside. The foyer was dead silent, so we hurried out of the little room and across the tiled floor. For
tunately, the doors weren’t locked, and we spilled out onto the massive front steps. An open courtyard stretched in front of us, with buildings looming on all sides.
Frosty air chilled my lungs as I followed my dragon sense down the stairs and to the left.
We kept to the shadows near the building, our footsteps silent. A narrow alley between buildings led us to another courtyard, this one smaller and filed with trees and plants. The sparkling lamps made it look like a fairy land. The buildings here weren’t the massive stone ones, but rather like old Tudor houses with the black wood and white plaster.
“That’s it.” I pointed to the largest building. There were multiple peaked roofs and many tiny, mullioned windows. Roses climbed up the sides, even more beautiful because they were speckled with snow.
We hurried through the garden and let ourselves in through the small wooden door. The foyer was tiny and dark, but warm, with a staircase on the other side.
“I think we go up,” I whispered. “Third floor.”
Roarke nodded and led the way up the narrow stairs. No matter how light we kept our footsteps, the old stairs creaked. At the third landing, warm yellow light glowed.
As soon as I reached the top, I caught sight of a room to the left of the stairs. Bookshelves crammed full of leather-bound tomes covered every inch of the walls. A fire glowed in the hearth. It smelled of books and woodsmoke, and the heat bowling out of the room warmed my icy skin.
In the middle of the room, a man leaned against the desk, his arms crossed over his chest as he watched us.
Horatio Penderren.
“Roarke Fallon.” Horatio nodded at Roarke. “I didn’t expect to see you again.”
Roarke stepped into the room. “I suppose not. But I need your assistance.”
“You trust me to provide it?”
Trust? What had happened between these two? It was impossible not to catch a serious undercurrent on the air. There was history between these two guys, and I definitely believed Roarke when he said that he and Horatio weren’t friends.
“You’re our only hope,” Roarke said.
Oh, I didn’t like the sound of that. I wanted more than one hope. I wanted multiple hopes.
“I’m Delphine Bellator.” I stepped into Horatio’s line of sight.