by Antara Mann
Yup, it’s not an illusion.
How did you know the last scene was part of the training?
The voice chuckled inside my mind. The fae wouldn’t be affected by our powers when he is casting illusions on you. Besides, even if he were hurt, he wouldn’t ever ask you to heal him.
That made sense. Kagan would be too proud to ask me for help.
“Bravo! Well done. You took the bait but still defeated the illusions.” The fae rushed to me and hugged me tight in his strong embrace. He gently wiped the droplets of sweat that had formed on my neck and forehead. This training session had exhausted me.
“Kudos to you, too. You were quite deceptive and sly,” I said.
He grinned. “I tried to be. Which reminds me. Don’t allow Garrett to manipulate you lest he take your magic, even if he threatens to hurt me or anyone else, like one or more of the missing mages, for example. Garrett and his inferni guys are never going to play by the rules, even if they promise to.”
I nodded and asked him, “Can we eat now? I’m kinda hungry.”
He chuckled. “Physical activity is giving you an appetite.”
“Well, I love food. Don’t you?”
“Umm, if I’d known about your food obsession, I would have challenged you with a culinary illusion.”
“Don’t you ever dare throw such abomination at me!”
His smirk grew wider. “As one wise poet once said, ‘we love the things that kill us.’”
***
Kagan and I were having breakfast and discussing what to do about our case when the shrill ringing of a cell phone resounded in his private suite. I glanced at the fae. He reached out across the freshly baked croissants and jar of jam and picked up the phone to stem its continuous ringing.
“What’s up?” Kagan said in his bass voice. I heard a deep, muffled voice coming from the other end. A tense silence followed for a split second then Kagan cut in, “We are coming. Make sure he doesn’t disappear.”
I turned to him. “What’s happening?”
“They spotted Derek, the sorcerer, enter his home. I knew he’d go back to his place! We’d better hurry up and catch him,” he said while he was putting on his blazer and quickly changed into his jeans.
I stood up and looked with regret at the food on the table; these were the most delicious croissants I had ever sunk my teeth into. I quickly changed into my work clothes. Finally, I touched Anumati’s necklace. It prickled on my skin giving me low sizzling, rhythmic waves, as if it was saying, “Everything’s going to be alright, honey.”
“Ready?” Kagan asked looking at me expectantly. I glanced at my wrist watch. It showed ten past ten. So it wasn’t that early.
I cringed when I recalled how the owl shifter had woken me up much earlier the day before. I nodded and the fae reached for his magic. The air swirled around us and the familiar magical cloud appeared and took us through the void.
We stepped straight into Derek’s apartment. It was all shrouded in darkness, but the scene gave me an unnatural, odd vibe. I called my elemental magic, the fire element, and created a small fireball in my hand. It threw light into the room, chasing away the shadows.
I walked into the hall, the room unusually quiet.
“Do you see him?” I whispered to Kagan. He was checking the corridor and the kitchen next to it. Derek’s bedroom was the one remaining room that had to be checked.
“Not here,” the fae said keeping his voice low, coming out of Derek’s bedroom.
“Where are your guards?” I asked him.
“Outside, covering the exits in case he tries to run away.”
I took a look around and sniffled the air. The magic in here was stranger than before. I would have expected it to feel sinister or eerie, but it was devoid of any flavor, as if someone had tampered with it, concealing the actual magic that reigned over the apartment.
I turned to Kagan. “This feels wrong. I think it’s a—” Before I could say ‘trap’, we heard steps approaching from outside the apartment. Kagan and I exchanged glances, he nodded to me curtly, and I got his message. We were both ready to blast the intruder, whoever that might be.
I intensified the brightness of my fireball. It swirled wilder, sizzling on the edges of my fingertips. The front door that stood a little ajar opened farther and a man came in. When I saw Ryan’s face — the summoner mage from Chaos Corporation — the adrenaline gave way to surprise.
“What the hell?” I said.
Ryan’s eyes fixed on mine, piercing through me. They were strangely cold, two charcoals gleaming menacingly in the semi-darkness, my fireball flames chasing the shadows on the wall. My heartbeat quickened, blood rushed to my cheeks, and the knot at the pit of my stomach tightened. Something bad was brewing.
Before I could ask him, Kagan bellowed next to me, “What are you doing here, Ryan? Where are my ogres?”
His fairy power intensified, ready to blast him at any moment. I called my goddess magic as well. Obediently, it came to my fingertips, stronger than ever. It was incredible how, despite the new moon, my magic had stopped being affected by it. Probably because of my approaching 25th birthday.
Ryan raised his hand — he was clutching a small glowing object in it — and snapped the fingers of his free hand. Hundreds of purple lights shone, sparkling in the space around, blinding us.
Before I could hurl a magical blast at him, the spell from the small object had connected with Anumati’s necklace and created an enchanted thread through the air. It grew larger and larger, like a chain, shimmering in a bright yellow color. Glyphs vibrated on the thread link and pushed back Kagan’s fairy dust attack, dissolving it into flurries of snowflakes.
A powerful vortex blew right in our faces, fluttering our hair. Hurried steps came in earshot, and the massive bodies of Kagan’s several ogres stormed into the room. They charged at Ryan, their tattoos glowing — they had come to life — but the vortex knocked them out with a bang. Ouch! They hit the floor, and a hammer began pounding in my head. Lightning flashed in the air, and the floor beneath my feet tumbled over and took me into oblivion.
Chapter 18
The nauseating smell of scorching flesh, gore and blood came to my senses and made my headache even more vicious. Dark, exceptionally dark, twisted magic drifted in the stale, cold air. I staggered on my feet, my whole body convulsed, and I woke up, desperately gasping for air.
“Aw, our little goddess has come to life,” Ryan’s voice reached my ears, and I looked up in his direction. He loomed above me; his arrogant, smug demeanor only compounded my fury. A migraine shot up in my temples and I closed my eyes trying for a second to slow down my throbbing head.
“Just about time,” a second voice chimed in. He wasn’t so close to me, but nevertheless was present in the room. The man’s voice sounded terribly familiar, and suddenly the realization struck me: It was Garrett’s voice. The blood drained from my face and shivers crept up and down my spine.
Well, we expected that much, didn’t we? the goddess inside me said.
I mentally agreed with her and quickly scanned the place I was in. It was a vast underground cavern shrouded in semi-darkness. Just like in Derek’s apartment, shadows danced around me. This time, though, their magic, dark and twisted, was palpable in the air. It came to me, prickled at my power, and the pain in my head increased, setting my heart hammering. By the dimness of a few weak lights above my head I spotted bright, ugly graffiti painted on the walls all around me. I took a step forward, but something sticky and heavy rattled; it was bounding my right foot and even my magic. I instinctively tried to free myself, but the iron chain pulled me back with a clank. Ouch! Searing pain shot up through my body, and I regretted the movement.
Holy shit! I cursed mentally. As a half-mage, I hated iron; during my previous encounter with Garrett, when he’d held me down in his basement, there was iron all around the place. At least now my hands weren’t cuffed, and the walls, as far as I could tell, weren’t made of iron. Small rel
ief. To make up for that, the magic that now brewed in the air was ten times more vile.
“Hurts, doesn’t it?” Ryan drew nearer to me, his breath hot on my cheeks — eww. His power pulsated with the energies of revenge, hatred and vice; they washed over me, tainting me, and I swallowed the bile in my mouth. It was as if someone had poured neat poison down my throat.
“We couldn’t let you use your elemental powers or tracking spells — we don't want to be interrupted.” Ryan laughed out loud, and the sound only compounded the sickening feeling in the pit of my stomach. My migraine shot up to new levels of wretchedness.
“I knew you were bad news when we first met, but I had no idea you’d join the losers’ fairground ride to hell,” I spat out. Sarcasm was my best weapon right now.
Talk, Alex, buy us time, my voice advised me.
“Tut-tut. There are so many things you don’t know, sunshine.” The glow in Ryan’s eyes changed, turning smoother and more benign. For a split second, I swear I read compassion in them. What the hell? But as quickly as it had appeared, the chink of kindness snapped shut.
“Don’t talk sense to her; she is brainwashed,” Garrett said, his bass voice sharp and cutting as millions of pointed swords slicing open my flesh.
Takes one to know one, I thought, but kept silent.
“Now that you’re with us, the fun can finally start.”
Garrett stood a few feet away from me and turned to the graffiti wall. He placed his hand on it, magic flickering on the back of his hair. I knew he was mentally chanting a spell. The wall glowed bright in a light greenish color, blinding me for a second. In the next moment the concealing enchantment broke. The thick wall disappeared and a new cavernous space was revealed before my eyes.
“Do you like what I've done with the place?” Garrett chuckled.
A new, even more revolting magic washed over me, dulling and clouding my senses like a raging tsunami in the midst of a Pacific storm, and I recoiled. The chain clattered, and the iron dug deeper into my skin. Scorching pain throbbed in my chest and head. Yellow stars exploded before my eyes. The desire to vomit reached its peak, and I threw up. Better this than blacking out.
Garrett’s cold, cruel eyes pierced mine. He glowed with delight. I had to block my elemental magic so that it wouldn’t clash with the iron; it could kill me, painfully and slowly. Instead, I inverted the magic inside me, and the iron stopped impaling me with searing pain. In slightly more control of my senses, I took a look at the newly revealed space.
A man was tied up on a shattered chair. No, actually, on close inspection there were two more men bound like him, their bodies immobile, unconscious. I couldn’t use my magic to sense their kind, but I didn’t need to. I already knew these were the three missing mages whose disappearances I was investigating. I briefly wondered what had happened to the fae, but pushed the thought to the back of my mind. I knew he would be trying his best to find me, but for now I had to survive on my own.
“That’s right, Alexandra. The pride of the supernatural community lies defeated right before your eyes,” Garrett cackled. Had he read my mind? Sneaky bastard! Once drained of magic, he could quite easily access my mind. We can’t allow this to happen. Stop him from eavesdropping on us, I ordered my inner voice.
I’ll try. I think I can partially cloud his hearing and mind reading, the voice replied. The magic here is insanely powerful.
Well said — it’s insane in here.
“Don’t you dare hurt them, asshole!” I yelled at Garrett, my voice rather hoarse and weak. Not the effect I was after. Garrett: 1 — me: nil.
“Or what? What will the little goddess do?” He laughed out loud and I gritted my teeth. I had half a mind to reconnect with my magic no matter the pain that would follow, just to wipe off the smug smile on his face. Even for a second.
Ryan forestalled me by growling out, “Don’t speak to him like that, you bitch!” He raised his hand to clock me across the head, but Garrett stopped him.
“Let her speak. I’d like to talk to her while she is still sane.” An abominable smirk flickered on his lips and my heart skipped a beat. Sane? I SO didn’t like the sound of that!
“Umm,” I tried to speak but the words wouldn’t come. I swallowed hard. The vile magic in here was affecting me badly. I still felt as if someone had poured vomit into my mouth and hung me up to dry.
Distract him, keep talking, the goddess inside urged me. We need answers.
And did you block him? Can he still hear us?
I think I managed to shut him out. If he hears anything at all, it’ll be some humming, nothing more.
Okay. Now, how are we going to make it out of here alive? I asked, panic and dread drowning my mind. Can you handle it just like last time?
The magic here is way more highly charged than last time. But I’ll still try. I think I have a plan.
Care to share?
Shh, give me some time. Patience, Alex.
I cleared my throat as much as I could and asked Garrett, “How long was I unconscious?”
I didn’t expect an answer, and was surprised when he replied.
“Long enough. Ryan had to use one of my special, signature charms on you so your precious goddess necklace couldn’t protect you.” He twirled a glowing spiral item in his hands, a self-satisfied smirk cracking on his lips. He’d taken Anumati’s necklace!
“Give it back to me or I’ll make you pay.” I tried to wriggle myself free from the chain, but the iron only rattled, holding me bound. Damn it! At least, with my magic now inverted, it didn’t shoot searing pain through me.
Garrett chuckled. “You are not really in a good position to threaten, darling.”
The sound of approaching steps echoed in the vastness of the cavern and caught my attention.
“W-where are we?” I asked and called my inner voice; I didn’t like these steps and the feeling of dread that had settled in the pit of my stomach. It made me feel like a trapped animal, a sacrificial lamb.
“A disused subway station,” Ryan replied after he looked at Garrett — the latter had nodded absent-mindedly. I guessed he didn’t think it mattered if I knew where I was held. He was right — it didn’t.
The steps grew louder and louder, and soon enough a group of four men burst into the underground cavern. They were all dressed in black, hoods concealed their faces, and each one of them held a torch in one hand and helped support between them a large, formidable skull with the other. I cringed at the look of it. Its huge, empty eye sockets stared at me, a foreboding omen.
“We are ready, master,” said one of them.
“Nah, send it back. Not adding anywhere near enough class to the interior design,” I said, trying my best to sound cocky and nonchalant.
“Shut up!” Ryan came over and slammed his fist in my ribs hard enough to leave me breathless.
Damn him! He was going to pay for this once I got myself out of this mess. I hoped I would.
“Mind filling me in on what you are planning?” I asked as loudly as I could, turning to Garrett and clutching at the last bits of strength I could muster.
“Just shut up and watch, little goddess. I bet they have never taught you anything like this at the Magica Academy,” he sneered. “Now, loyal servants of the dark forces, let the infernal magical circle appear.”
He clapped his hands, and the pendant on his chest glowed in an eerie greenish light. The throbbing pain in my head exploded, and for a moment I thought I was going to black out. The bile in my mouth mounted and the desire to hurl came again. Even though I could control it, I decided to play the weak card and let them think I was drained and ready to crumble.
Each of the four hooded men lit up their torches from Garrett’s glowing pendant. The tar sizzled as it caught fire and illuminated the darkness around us. I suddenly realized how huge this space was — wide enough to accommodate a whole army.
“What is this all about?” I shouted, my head heavy as a millstone. I didn’t really need an answer.
I feared they were about to make another attempt to release the inferni locked in Inferno and wanted nothing more than to interrupt or delay whatever ritual they were about to launch into.
“You’ll soon see, girlie,” one of the hooded guys sneered. I glimpsed blond locks under his hood and it dawned on me this could be Derek. Ugh!
Ryan stooped down on the cold, dirty floor and drew a big circle with some crimson liquid from a small bowl. I had the sinking suspicion it was blood. Once the circle was ready, Ryan stepped inside it and painted an inverted triangle. Then he sprinkled some dark grains on the edges of the circle and one of the hooded men touched his flaming torch to it. The circle caught on fire, sizzling.
Green flames encompassed the whole circle. Each of the hooded figures holding their greenish burning torches took position around the circle and stood silently and obediently there. Ryan placed the skull right in the center of the circle, then nodded curtly to his master, Garrett.
Talk! Distract him! my inner voice practically ordered me. Buy us more time and sidetrack him.
I cleared my throat and repeated my question. “What is this, Garrett? Another Egyptian ritual to crack open Inferno?”
Ryan shot me a dirty look, his hand ready to slap me. Garrett was too wrapped up in his thing to even notice my presence by now. He threw out his arms, his body in a trance-like mode, and began reciting something in an unknown language. I couldn’t understand even a word, but my body did. The blood in me froze, the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end, and suddenly the temperature felt lower by several degrees.
This has to be them speaking in Inferni.
The hooded figures on the edges of the circle joined hands and made a circle. Garrett increased the tempo and raised his voice to a shrill pitch. The pendant on his chest glowed even brighter, as did the torches’ flames. The air swirled around and caressed my hair and back with a low humming sound, carrying across the incantations’ powers. They brought to me the sensations of torment, pains and unimaginable horrors.
Inferni scripture verses, that’s what he is chanting, the inner voice said.