Another ten minutes and I was beginning to feel claustrophobic. The passage was so close and tight that it seemed to be narrowing in on us, and I wanted nothing more than to get the hell out from beneath the ground. I tried not to think about the fact that we were looking for an older, more dangerous subterranean sector of the city.
“There,” Tam said, pointing over my shoulder to the right side of the passage. “Is that the entrance?”
Jason whispered something under his breath and another ball of light darted forward, dancing beside what appeared to be a dark opening against the side of the passage.
I hesitantly crept forward, doing my best to keep my breath steady and even. As I approached the jagged hole that had been hewn in the side of the sewer, I could see that it was rough and uneven, chiseled out of the rock that made up the walls of the passage. From where I stood, I could see a vague section of the wall on the other side that looked like brick, and I knew we had found what we were looking for.
“Queet, can you take a peek on the other side and see what’s there?”
Queet swiftly gusted toward the opening but suddenly bounced back, the mists of his body swirling from the impact. I heard a faint snap, like an electric shock, and he disappeared.
“Fuck, Queet, Queet, are you all right?”
Jason struggled in, finally managing to squeeze past both Tam and me, forcing us to lean against the walls that were cold and slimy and covered with years of buildup. I tried not to cringe, even while I was panicking over what happened to Queet.
“It’s a force field. We can pass, but spirits and elementals can’t. Queet was repelled by it.”
“Do you think he’s okay? He hasn’t answered me.”
“Do you think his attempt set off an alarm somewhere?” Tam asked.
“I don’t know. As far as an alarm goes, I don’t sense one, and we certainly didn’t hear anything. I think the force field is used to prevent these entities from escaping rather than from entering. Unlike witches, magicians summon things imperiously. That lends itself to a certain need for control over what you call in, because chances are good the creature won’t come voluntarily.”
At that moment, I sensed—rather than saw—Queet appear. His energy felt agitated.
“Queet, are you all right?”
“Damned thing disrupted me. I’m…I’ll be all right but I’m not going to be able to go any farther with you.” His whisper-speak was so low I could barely hear it.
I relayed his message to the others. “He’ll have to wait out here. I guess we just go through and see what happens. If they were watching the entrance, they know something’s up by now, and if they weren’t, then we might as well get in there now while the going is good.”
“I concur,” Tam said. “Go now, before we lose our advantage.”
I steeled myself. “Stay here by the entrance, Queet, unless something happens so you have to get out of the way. Wish us luck.”
“Luck to you, Fury. And Hecate’s blessings.”
Any time Queet wished me blessings from Hecate, I knew he was worried. I glanced at Tam, whose soft expression made me want to lean in for a hug, but instead, I turned and crawled through the entrance into the Tunnels.
As I crawled through the hole, I felt a shift in energy. It was probably the force field that I was feeling, but whatever the case, it made my skin crawl. After the disruption with the rogue magic, I really didn’t want any more static filtering through my energy field. Thank gods nothing had disrupted my Trace, but I had the feeling I’d be spending days trying to shake off the pinpricks that rippled through my body.
I glanced around. I was in a brick tunnel. Here and there, the bricks had crumbled and I could see rotting wood slats beneath—remnants of an earlier passage, perhaps. The tunnel was at least fifteen feet high, as wide as a city street, and lit along both sides with dim lights attached near the top. There was no visible sign of what their power supply was, but my guess pegged them as magical in origin.
Quickly scanning the length of the tunnel for signs of life, I could see no one. I stepped to one side to make way for Tam and Jason. As we struggled to get our bearings, I remembered what Hecate had said.
“We need to find the waterfront area. That’s where Tunnel Pike is.”
Tam nodded, closing his eyes as he lifted his nose to the air. “I smell…water…but it’s a distance. This way. To the left.”
I glanced at Jason, who had scrunched up his face. I knew that look—he was thinking, turning over our whereabouts in his mind. He was good at visualizing the layout of places like that—very analytical and precise.
After a moment, he slowly nodded. “Yes, to the left, but about a mile from here we will need to jog to the right. That will lead us beyond the Junk Yard, then we turn to the left again. Which means we have a couple miles of walking to do. We’d better get a move on, if we don’t want to get caught. I’m doubting the Tunnels are heavily populated, but all it takes is one chance meeting with the wrong person and we’re screwed.”
“Let’s jog. Quicker.” I took off at an easy pace, not so fast they couldn’t keep up, but certainly quicker than walking. Along the way, I wondered who or what might be down here besides the magicians. The Order of the Black Mist couldn’t be that big, and from what it was beginning to look like, the Tunnels stretched out for miles. A nasty twinge warned me to be on the lookout for Aboms. I wouldn’t put it past them to make their way down here to hide out. Speaking of, I thought…and pulled up my Trace screen.
We moved at a quick, steady pace. The going was fairly easy as long as we skirted the debris that littered part of the tunnel. But the passages were wide enough that we were able to find our way around the occasional pile of bricks and broken wood. Some of them were knee-high, while others were taller than I was.
As I swung around one tall pile, a deep growl startled me. I skidded to a halt, dagger in hand, as a gigantic disfigured creature rose from where it had been sleeping. Looking more human than wolf, his features were horribly mangled. His muzzle was a cross between wolf and human, and his hair raced down his back like hackles, but still long and flowing.
I brought up my dagger, but Jason barked out “Stop!” and I froze.
“Lycanthrope. Ease back a step, very slowly. Do not take your eyes off of it.” Jason’s voice was soft and cautious.
I did as he said, very carefully stepping back first one step, then another. The lycanthrope’s eyes glittered, but he wasn’t happy to see us. The creature had a dangerous, chaotic feel to him—it was definitely a him by the looks of his groin—and he eyed us suspiciously, wavering as if unsure what to do.
“What now?” I asked Jason in whisper-speak.
“What now is that we try to ease around him without setting him off. We scoot toward the opposite wall and make it clear we don’t want any altercations. Lycanthropes are tough—far tougher than Weres and shifters. We could probably take him on, but I doubt we would walk away without bloodshed, and most of it would be ours.”
Jason very carefully edged to the side, then over to the opposite wall, pausing with every step as he kept his gaze fastened on the creature. The lycanthrope’s eyes narrowed, the bridge of his brow furrowing deeply. But still, he waited, poised. Jason began to ease himself along the wall, moving forward at a slow, steady pace.
“He’s got a nest over this side of that pile of debris. We woke him up, I think.” Again, in whisper-speak. After another moment, Jason added, “Fury, you next.”
I followed his lead exactly, moving toward the opposite wall, never letting my gaze drop. Lycanthropes attacked from the back, and they attacked when they smelled or sensed weakness. But there were three of us, and if he thought we had no interest in him or his nest, there was a chance he would let us pass without incident. Tam followed me. We were almost beyond the nest when Jason stopped.
“We have a problem. If we keep going, our backs will be to him. Tam, are you comfortable walkin
g backward for a while to keep an eye on him? If he doesn’t follow us, after about five minutes we should be good.”
“I’m dexterous enough to walk backward, yes. Just warn me about any bumps or dips.” Tam’s sword was out, and he eased into position. As we moved along the wall, still opting to remain next to it, he used the bricks for balance.
We continued on, still silent, until the lycanthrope was out of sight. Tam turned around to face forward, and we set off at a good clip. Corridors began branching off each side off the tunnel, leading into dark spaces. I wasn’t sure whether we should explore any of them, but Jason seemed determined to lead us forward and I trusted his sense of direction. I didn’t expect to find the Thunderstrike until we reached the Pike area, anyway.
After ten minutes, Jason paused and leaned against the wall. He was sweating, but it couldn’t have been from the weather. It was colder down here than it was up topside, and if we had been open to the sky, it would have been snowing up a storm.
But the lycanthrope still had me wondering. “Do you think he’s tracking us? I can’t find him on my Trace because he’s not an Abom.”
Lycanthropes were like Theosians, actually. I had something in common with him. Both our mothers had been hit by rogue magic when we were in the womb. The werewolves bore lycanthropes, while the humans gave birth to Theosians. I wasn’t sure what happened to the other shifter types, or the Fae in similar situations, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to know.
“I don’t know, but I think we can bet he’s not. Just keep alert and let’s pick up the pace. By my reckoning, it’s almost time we turned right, so Tam, keep your nose at the ready. Can you still smell water?”
Tam inhaled deeply, then caught his breath. “Yes, and it’s getting stronger. We’re going in the right direction. I suggest that we take one of the next passages to the right.”
Jason nodded. “I thought so, too. All right, let’s go. Up for another quick jog?”
We took off, back on pace. I made sure my Trace was up, and kept hope that we’d run into the Thunderstrike sooner than later. I didn’t want to be too deep into the Tunnels when we found it, without a clear exit nearby. Jason passed three more side-tunnels before skidding to a halt at a four-way intersection.
“This must be a major juncture,” he said, then quieted as three men came into view from the opposite direction. They hadn’t noticed us yet, they were so deep in conversation. They were wearing long brown robes, and my first thought was the Order of the Black Mist, but Jason suddenly swore an oath and strode out into the middle of the four-way intersection.
“Terrance?”
The man in the middle jerked his head up, then did a double take. “Jason? Jason Aerie? Is that really you?”
Jason strode forward, a tense smile spreading across his face. “We all thought you were dead.”
Terrance—a middle-aged man with graying hair and broad, burly shoulders beneath the long robe—shook his head. “I had to disappear.” He motioned to the other men, who backed off to stand by the entrance of the tunnel they had just come from.
Terrance glanced over at us. “Is that little Kaeleen?”
Jason nodded. “Yes, that’s her. That’s right, I told you about her before you vanished. And this is Tam, one of the Bonny Fae. They can both be trusted. What about…your men?”
“They’re safe, so don’t sweat it. What are you doing here? I didn’t realize you knew about this place.” Terrance was glancing to either side. “We don’t want to stay in the open too long. Come, follow me.”
“We’re on the trail of something big. We don’t have much time to talk and we can’t be caught down here. But why are you here?” Jason motioned for us to follow him.
We swung in behind Terrance as he led us back the way he had come. Terrance’s friends flanked him. We had gone about twenty yards before he motioned to a door off to the left. This was the first passage I’d seen with a door, and to my surprise, it opened into what appeared to be a magic shop that looked a lot like Dream Wardens.
As we filed to the back, entering through yet another door, Terrance motioned to the table and chairs in the center of the room.
“Please, sit down. Fury, Tam, I can tell you’re ill at ease so let me introduce myself. Jason may not have talked much about me. I was his mentor. I taught him his magic.”
Jason nodded as I glanced over at him. “Yeah, Terrance was my teacher. But we thought you died thirteen years ago. You vanished into the Bogs. The Cast assumed you had come to a bad end. We couldn’t pick up your presence.”
“I had to break the bonding, Jason. I had to break my connection with the Cast in order to do my job. Everyone needed to assume I was dead. And it’s vital that you don’t tell anyone about seeing me when you return to the Cast. In fact, this is a sticky problem. You won’t be able to hide everything. If they ask you, Mahit will be able to sense the truth.”
Now I was totally lost. I knew there was some form of connection between Cast members, but I had never known how strong or how far it linked through.
Jason stared at the table. “I can cloak it. I’ve become really good at cloaking. I closed off so well that the only inkling I had that my fiancée was murdered came as a migraine.” He sounded bitter and I suddenly realized that he was blaming himself for Eileen’s death in some way.
“Who’s Mahit?” Tam asked.
“Mahit is our current shaman. Terrance was the shaman before him, until he went traipsing down to the Bogs one day and vanished.” Jason’s voice had an edge to it. His expression was clouded, and I could feel the rumblings of anger below the surface.
Terrance turned to us. “I need to ask you, too, to keep my presence here silent. Nobody here knows that I belonged to the Cast. They think I’m a human magician who happens to have figured out how to shape-shift. They have no idea that my name is Terrance, or that I work for the Crystal Guardians.” He lowered his voice. “I go by Bodie here.”
“What are the Crystal Guardians?” I had never heard of them.
Tam answered for him. “They’re a secret organization run by the Greenlings. They keep a watch on the world order and are, in some ways, connected to Lightning Strikes. They rise above all the laws of the land and answer only to Gaia herself.”
Jason let out a slow breath. “What are you doing here…Bodie?”
One beat. Then another.
And then, Terrance slowly said, “We are observing a rising group of insurgents who seek to overthrow everything. Not just the government, but the entire way of life our world has built. They’re magicians, and they’re powerful. I don’t know why you’re down here, but you want to be careful and get the hell topside as soon as you can.”
It began to click then. I let out a slow breath. Terrance was after the Order of the Black Mist. I knew it—it couldn’t be anything else. The Crystal Guardians, the Greenlings…they were all connected. But as I turned to him, about to ask, something stayed my tongue. There was something off-kilter.
At that moment, Tam tapped me on the arm, flashing a glance toward the door. I stiffened as my Trace flared to attention. The Thunderstrike was near, and if the Thunderstrike was near, that meant Lyon and his cronies couldn’t be far behind.
Chapter 24
I stiffened, trying to catch Jason’s eye. But the Trace was growing louder and closer, and there wasn’t any time to waste.
“Jason, we have to go. Now.” I jumped up. “What we’re looking for is within searching distance.” I started for the door, but before I reached it, Terrance spoke up.
“The Thunderstrike?”
Freeze-frame.
I slowly turned around, searching his face, looking for signs that this might be a setup, but saw none. “How did you know?”
His voice was grave when he answered. “Think about it. I work for the Crystal Guardians—the Greenlings. They know about the Thunderstrike, so we know. Jerako told me first thing after you went to see him. We’ve been after in
formation about the Order of the Black Mist for some time. That’s why I had disappear, Jason. This uprising started far earlier than anybody realizes. The Greenlings suspected, though, and sent us to infiltrate.”
“That makes sense. Jerako hinted that they’ve been watching the group for a while.” I closed my eyes, focusing on the trace. “They’re coming this way. I don’t know how many, but the Thunderstrike is on the move. It’s within five hundred yards.”
“My guess is they’re going to take it out through the secret entrance and set off an aftershock. The quake wasn’t natural, as you know, and while it could set off aftershocks on its own, it doesn’t seem to have done so.” Terrance looked so grim it scared me.
“They’re out to finish the job, I guess.” I stood, preparing myself for a showdown. “We’d better get ready.”
Tam joined me near the door, but Jason wasn’t quite ready to follow me out.
“Are you going to stand with us?” he asked, turning to Terrance.
Terrance shook his head. “I wish we could, but we’ve managed to infiltrate the group. We can’t be seen with you, I’m sorry. I wish we could help, but all our years of work would come to naught if I stayed and they found out I was a spy. Even if you take out Lyon, there are others, and the group is growing worldwide. We have a chance to learn so much about them in our position.”
“Can you at least give us some advice?” I asked.
After a brief pause, he nodded. “The best advice I can give you is this: Lyon’s ego gets the best of him. I’ve seen it trip him up time and again. If you can trigger it—if you can wound his pride—it will throw him off balance. And he’s a powerful magician, but his specialty is fire. He’s weak when it comes to the other elements. He specialized so narrowly that it’s done him a disservice. Now, please leave before he finds you here. We don’t want him associating you with any of our operations.”
With that, Terrance and his men quickly moved to the back and—pressing one of the bricks—they vanished through a hidden panel that slid open in the wall. I wondered which one of them owned this place, but it was too late to ask.
Fury Rising (Fury Unbound Book 1) Page 22