Gods Of The Stone Oracle

by Krista Walsh

  When it didn’t reach for her, she squeezed past it. She dragged her fingers across one wall and then the other. Cells on both sides.

  The air grew colder, and goosebumps rose on her arms. She clenched her teeth to keep them from chattering.

  Her foot caught on something on the floor, and as she worked to keep her balance, she prayed no one down the corridor had heard her. She stayed frozen as she counted to sixty, but the door remained closed.

  Releasing a soft breath, she knelt down and tried to find what she had tripped over. With any luck, it was something she would be able to use as a weapon.

  What she found was cold metal, which boded well, but when she tried to lift it, she found it was stuck to the ground. Exploring further, she realized it was a metal circle, like a handle. She stepped back to where she’d been when she’d tripped and tried pulling on the circle again. Her muscles strained, but she seemed to be lifting part of the floor.

  A trapdoor!

  Excitement rippled through her as she ran her fingers along the surface under the ring. The door was wood, and the hinges felt rusty, but she managed to lift it open an inch without trouble or any screeching noise.

  Come on, luck. Don’t desert me now.

  Her heart racing, she lifted it another few inches, taking it slowly until she felt it was wide enough for her to slip through. It didn’t matter that she didn’t know where it led, as long as it got her out of here. She guided her hand along the edge of the opening door until she discovered the top of a ladder.

  Extending one leg down, she froze at the slam of a door farther up ahead.

  Accepting that if she didn’t get out of here now, she’d lose her chance, she scurried farther down the ladder and pulled the trapdoor shut overhead as quietly as she could.

  For better or worse, she was out of the dungeon. Now it was time to find her way out of this prison. She just hoped she didn’t get killed in the process.

  24

  Zach stood at the front of the ferry, his adrenaline surging as Tartarus Prison came closer and clearer with every passing minute. He tilted his head back and glared at its imposing frame. Lit by the spotlights pointing up toward the fortress’s walls, the shadows in its crumbling rock stood out as deep gouges in the stone. He counted six rows of black square windows between the ground and the top of the building, which meant six more levels existed out of sight, burrowed beneath the jagged island. Movement on the top of the building revealed the guards watching the ferry’s arrival, and he hoped the Collegiate’s glamor would hold up long enough for them to pass under their watchful gaze. The thick stone walls were surrounded by electrical fencing and no small amount of magical security. Even here, still a mile out, he felt the tingle of it over his skin.

  A full moon filled the sky with a cool silver glow. By his best guess, it was around one o’clock in the morning, though the hour meant nothing to him. All he cared about was the ticking clock.

  The man steering the ferry turned to look at him, and Zach tensed, his hands squeezing into fists before he could stop himself. Not wanting to take his gaze off the driver, he scanned the other three people on the ferry in his periphery. All of them were in guard uniforms, though by the energy running off them, he knew it was a glamor.

  A moment later, the helmsman looked away, as though uninterested in or unaware of Zach’s presence.

  He released a breath, and it took another moment to relax his fists.

  Daphne stood at his side, as silent now as she had been the moment they’d stepped onto the boat. He knew she was afraid, but that didn’t seem to be the reason she’d sunk into herself. That had happened after her phone call to her mother to have them start up the protective circle. They’d spoken long enough that he’d begun to get impatient, worried the ferry would leave without them and they’d need to wait for the next trip out. But she’d hung up in time and rushed to clear the tears from her face, even though her smeared makeup and the red around her eyes were enough to give her away.

  Under other circumstances, he’d be worried her appearance would draw looks from the others on the ferry, but so far the shield Chiron and the other two Collegiate members had draped over them seemed to be doing its job. No one appeared to have noticed them get on board, and during the crossing to the island, they’d paid him and Daphne no mind.

  It had been strange, seeing Chiron again. Those women made his skin crawl, the way they all looked so similar, as though their bodies were simply the cases they wore to contain the fullness of their immortality. One look in their eyes was enough to show you they weren’t human. It was possible to slip into the ages if you held their gazes for too long.

  He shuddered.

  He’d been so sure they would put their collective foot down and blow up the prison without giving them a chance to get inside. Gabe had surprised him with his persuasiveness. He’d thought all the Gorgon-Fae was good for was his smarmy smile, sharp wit, and skill with transportation. To have him be the one to play mediator — and win — made Zach reassess the man’s usefulness to their team. They were down to five hours before the Collegiate stepped in, but at least now they had a shot.

  He closed his fingers around the pass in his hand and sent a wish through his palm that the mundane piece of plastic would be all it took to get them inside. If Allegra’s information was good, it should take them through the prison without fuss. If not… He curled his fingers tighter and forced himself to release his grip before he snapped the pass in two.

  “It’s strange, isn’t it?” Daphne asked, drawing him out of his thoughts. When she saw he was paying attention, she nodded to the stone walls looming ahead of them, only half a mile away now. “You’d think once the demons were released, they’d all want to get the hell out of there. Why would they agree to stay and help? Why not tear up the streets and go back to whatever they’d done that got them locked away in the first place?”

  “Wenzell and Mayes must have given them an offer they couldn’t refuse,” Zach said. He didn’t see that it mattered, but if it kept Daphne’s eye on their target, he was fine to bounce ideas around.

  “Mayes, you mean.”

  He raised an eyebrow.

  “Wenzell’s dead,” she said. “Either something happened they didn’t intend, or Mayes killed him. Considering the timing, I suspect the latter to be the case. They closed the New Haven factory, and he died just as they moved out here? If you want my guess, Wenzell had no idea what Mayes was planning. Maybe something we did pushed Mayes’s plans ahead, or he’d always intended to move forward now but couldn’t keep lying to Wenzell and had no need of him anymore. So he got rid of him before he could get word to the press and give up the game.”

  “Does it change anything?”

  Daphne shrugged. “It tells me he’s smart. He managed to build this whole project under the eye of his partner without being caught. It might suggest he’s arrogant, as well. He thinks he can get rid of anything that stands in his way. I think it’s time we prove him wrong.” She brought her thumb to her lips and started chewing on the edge. “I do wish we knew what his plans were.”

  “Whatever they are, it doesn’t matter. They won’t get the opportunity to play it out.”

  They fell silent as the prison’s shadow touched on the edge of the ferry, drawing them deeper into the darkness. At his side, Daphne sucked in a breath and drew back her shoulders, raising her chin. Her hands took on a faint golden glow, and his own power rose in response. He held it close to the surface, not wanting to sink so deep into it that he couldn’t bring himself back.

  As the boat docked, they positioned themselves close to the doors, then led the way down the ramp to the craggy path ahead.

  Daphne’s foot slipped, and Zach grabbed her arm to steady her. He glanced over his shoulder at the guards returning to their shifts. They didn’t spare them a glance as they passed by on their way to the front doors.

  Daphne caught Zach’s eye, and they fell into step behind them. While the Collegiate’s sh
ield held up, it was better to follow the people who knew where they were going.

  The tall doors stood up ahead, their thick wooden panels reinforced with iron bars and a heavy magic that threatened to press Zach backward. He summoned the strength of the angelic fortifications surrounding his mind and pushed against it. The magic crawled around him as though working to get into his head, poking and prodding for weaknesses. Testing him? Whatever its purpose, he wouldn’t let it through. This close, he couldn’t afford to let some psychological manipulation send him away. Daphne’s steps slowed, but he grabbed her arm and pulled her forward.

  “I can’t,” she said.

  The smaller door within the larger was open, and the guards were filing in, each one swiping their pass as they went through. In a few seconds the door would close and they’d be screwed.

  Exhaling sharply, Zach grabbed both of Daphne’s arms and stared into her eyes. “You can. It’s just a shield. You’re a powerful sorceress, and you’re going to let an invisible wall stop you?”

  Daphne took another step forward, but her face turned red with the strain. “It’s pushing me back. I can’t breathe. I feel like I’m about to break my legs if I go any farther.”

  Zach growled. “Then let’s see if this works.”

  There was no time to ask her permission. He scooped her up, threw her over his shoulder, and pushed through the barrier. Although he’d had no trouble moving on his own, with Daphne in his arms, the pressure of the barrier pushed against him, as though he were walking through molten glass. The door wavered in his vision ahead. Daphne flailed in his grip, and the sounds of her choking were almost enough to make him turn back, but he couldn’t. Not when they were so close. He could leave her here, let her return to the RV, but his chances of success dropped significantly if he went in on his own, and if he failed, she would die anyway.

  His deep-rooted sense of angelic justice forced him to push through. Daphne had revealed their secret to the mundane people in her life. This would be her chance to atone for that error. To fight for their cause instead of consistently standing against it.

  Heat flared through him, and his vision took on a pale white haze. Fresh strength imbued his limbs, and he reached the door just as the last guard went inside. His arm weighed more than anything he’d ever lifted, but Zach managed to swipe the pass over the security panel. The light flashed green, and he stepped inside the prison.

  In a breath, the barrier disappeared, the weight lifting from his limbs, leaving him lighter. As though, if he wanted to, he could float away and drift through the prison without taking another step. Dampness passed over his skin, steam rising off the backs of his hands as the cold made contact with his burning flesh.

  When he lowered Daphne to the ground, her legs went limp, and he rushed to catch her before she fell. As he steadied her, he spotted the security panel on the inside of the door as well. Hopefully getting out wouldn’t prove to be as much of challenge as getting in.

  “What the hell? Who in the seven hells are you?”

  Zach wheeled on his heel and found himself facing a gang of demons, each one looking angrier than the last. It appeared that going through the barrier had stripped away the Collegiate’s shield as well as the glamor that had kept these guards looking human. At the front of the group stood a Colcex demon, its red skin slick and oozing with boils, along with an annoyingly familiar Topan demon.

  “Karl,” Zach growled, recognizing the oily sheen to his hair. The demon’s expression had gone slack with shock, but in another moment his mouth contorted with contempt.

  “I knew you were a fool, daemelus,” he said, “but I never took you for a martyr.”

  Zach gave him no time to say anything else. His scales burst through the backs of his hands and he drew back his arm so he could slam his fist into the beast’s face, but before he had a chance, a third demon hurled a ball of flames at his head — a goddamned fire elemental.

  Zach dodged the blast and allowed his power to surge through him, adding to the strength he’d already summoned.

  Daphne groaned, and although her legs were still shaking, she drew on her own magic. The air around Zach shifted as she pulled water from the walls. Droplets joined together, creating a ball that grew larger as she strained her trembling hands. In a smooth motion, she hurled the ball at the fire elemental, dousing him under the cold water. He extinguished with a hiss of steam, and the cry of rage he released was enough to push his colleagues into motion.

  They were nine against two, but Zach didn’t let himself focus on that as he swung his arm toward the Colcex demon, who had thrown itself at him. His fist lodged into the demon’s cheek. Black blood spewed across Zach’s chest, steaming through the leather and cotton to sear his skin.

  At his side, Daphne summoned dirt from the floor and stirred it up, creating a dust storm that enclosed three of the demons, choking them. They tried to beat the magic away, but she simply dragged more into the whirlwind. Small pebbles struck the side of Zach’s face and caught in his throat.

  He turned his face away from the spray and spotted Karl darting for the exit. Zach pursued, grabbing him by the back of his collar before he reached the door. He dragged the demon back, letting him kick and scrape his heels against the floor in an effort to escape.

  “Going somewhere already?” he growled in Karl’s ear. “And here I thought you wanted to find me.”

  Without giving Karl time to answer, Zach dropped his collar to snatch him by his lapel, then drove a blow squarely into the demon’s face. Karl’s neck snapped, and his body sagged in Zach’s grip.

  The Colcex demon had recovered enough to leap at Zach and latch on to his arm. Its blood burned through the sleeve of his coat and deep into his skin. Embers glowed and drifted through the air as Zach hissed with the pain.

  His scales spread up his arms toward his chest, then over and down his stomach. The shoulders of his coat strained at the seams. The Colcex demon seemed to realize too late that it had jumped into a mismatched fight. It tried to run away, but Zach grabbed it by the throat and raised it off its feet. His face prickled as scales slid over his cheeks and pressed through the thick scars on the right side of his face and over his scalp.

  The Colcex demon’s nails scrabbled against Zach’s wrist, but he barely felt it. He squeezed tighter, making the demon’s eyes bulge as more pus oozed down its neck. Using it as a bat, Zach pivoted and swung it into the fire elemental, who had regained enough heat to form a fireball in its palms. Daphne was distracted, buffeting another three demons back with the force of the wind she’d stirred up — one of them had already suffocated under the pressure — and hadn’t noticed the elemental’s pending attack. Zach caught it in the neck with the Colcex demon’s feet before it could release its blow.

  It stumbled forward, falling on its hands and leaving scorch marks against the stone. Zach closed in and slammed the Colcex demon down on the elemental’s back, pressing them both into the ground. The Colcex screamed and squirmed to get away as the heat of the demon beneath him rose and consumed the tattered clothing it wore over its red-fleshed putrescence.

  In the corner of Zach’s eye, the demons caught in the sorceress’s tornado sagged to the floor. More water leached out of the walls, forming a flat sheet in the air.

  Zach’s own heat increased to match that of the elemental, fighting back so he wasn’t caught in the growing flames. When the Colcex demon fell still, its red eyes staring up at the ceiling, Zach tossed it aside.

  Daphne dropped the sheet around the elemental, keeping the watery blanket in place, cycling the steam back into water as soon as it evaporated. The muscles in its blackened body spasmed and contracted, but under the cold water, it couldn’t regain its strength. After a few minutes, it fell still, but Daphne kept drawing power, hardening the water to ice around the corpse, squeezing it until Zach could hear bones snapping under the weight.

  He looked to Daphne, and his chest tightened on seeing the golden haze that had come over her
entire body, causing her hair to stand on end and her eyes to glow.

  “Daphne,” he called, working to project his voice over the snap and crackle of the breaking ice.

  She didn’t stop, didn’t hear him. Whatever had drained her outside the door must have stripped away her ability to gauge her power. Her arms were shaking now, and her legs were beginning to tremble. Not wanting to see what might happen next, he crossed over the floor and grabbed hold of her arm, giving her a sharp jerk.

  For a brief moment, her magic turned on him, the tingle of it running in burning currents under his palm, but then her eyes widened and she stumbled backward.

  In a wave, she released her magic and sagged against the wall. The sleeves of her blue jacket were rolled up to her elbows. A mix of mud and blood had spattered her jeans and practically engulfed her red Converse shoes.

  “Quite the greeting,” she rasped, and rubbed her throat as she grimaced.

  “You all right?” Zach asked.

  She nodded. “Thanks for dragging me in here and then pulling me back. I wouldn’t have been able to do either on my own.”

  He turned away instead of acknowledging her gratitude. His reasons had been far from altruistic. “We should move these bodies out of sight.”

  “There’s a door over there,” Daphne pointed. “Hopefully that will keep them out of the way for a while.”

  Working together, they shifted the nine corpses into what appeared to be a small office. Probably the warden’s room back when Tartarus had been a legitimate prison instead of an ironic symbol of rebellion.

  “Think you can clean this place up at all?” Zach asked, gesturing to the blood, water, and mud sprayed around the room.