“Fran, this spell is complicated,” Idris told me when we were walking back to his car. I was going to strangle him if he asked me if I was all right again.
“For now, I can deal with it. I feel a little odd, but overall, I’m fine. There are strange buzzing sensations in my arms and legs. The Dark One’s energy is so different, heavy and overwhelming. They’re mages, not wardens, so I guess it’ll take a while to get used to it.”
Idris grabbed my hand, stopping me right in front of his car. His eyes were wide, and he looked concerned. The sun was shining, burning the nape of my neck.
“I just got a text from Baxley, he’s planning to leave in a few hours. You must walk into the office several minutes after me. We’ll pretend that you’re my father’s new assistant, that you have to deliver important paperwork,” Idris continued, and I nodded.
It was reasonable plan. I didn’t want to think about side effects just yet. Ripley was a competent warlock, so I wasn’t worried.
“Fine, that’s doable, but we have to think about a plan once we get to the Lower World. I have to stay close to Baxley. I can communicate with Avianna once I’m near her. Don’t forget that I’m a thief. He won’t have her with him all the time, right?” I asked, unsure that this plan was as straightforward after as he thought.
Anything could go wrong. My nerves were getting to me, but I needed to remain positive. Avianna and Nicolas—they were both counting on me.
“We’ll improvise. Baxley will be occupied interrogating prisoners. This is what he’s good at, and somehow, we have to get to Nicolas, too. You know, little one, that I’m risking a hell of a lot for you,” he reminded me, and I nodded again.
He was right. He was helping me, and at the same time, betraying his family, his kind and I needed to put my fears aside. Avianna was all right. She managed to survive in this world and her magic was strong.
“And I appreciate it, Idris. I really do,” I said, smiling at him. “We’ll free Nicolas. We might get separated at some point, but I think it’s necessary. That way, no one will suspect that you were helping me.”
The heat inside the car was almost unbearable. My skirt was suddenly way too short, and Idris noticed.
“You even smell like one of us. It’s baffling, but that means Ripley did a good job,” Idris said.
“Why are you doing this for me? Why do you want to help me so much?” I asked, shocked at my own words.
Idris didn’t reply straight away, and the silence was unnerving. He inhaled sharply, as were moving swiftly through London traffic.
“I don’t agree with the way the Dark Ones are running this party. Something has to change,” he replied, and my heart melted a little. He was a good guy and I had been wrong about him in the past. He had done so much for me.
“I have to apologise again for my behaviour earlier on. I snapped in your house and I felt like I was suddenly possessed. I believe you, but since I lost my best friend, I haven’t been able to trust many people,” I admitted, thinking about Dara.
A small smile danced on his face, but he didn’t say anything else. The tension between us was still there, but we were into each other. Even now being someone else, I felt it.
After an hour-long drive, Idris parked his car near Central London. I remembered the street, remembered how I had been being dragged inside by a bunch of Dark Ones. Moments later, Idris took something out of his pocket and handed it to me. It was a badge with black marks: a small drawing of a dragon was on the front by the words, STAFF.
“The badge is magical; it’s your entry to the office. You tell Polly at the desk that you’re my father’s new assistant. Then I’ll introduce you to Baxley. Just play on the fact that you have to deliver very important paperwork to my father. No one will ask questions, and no one will recognise you. Ripley’s spell is very strong. It will hold.”
I nodded and took the badge. I told myself that this was easy, that it was just a game. The plan was simple, and I just had to play my part right. Baxley had Avianna and I needed to find a way to steal her back.
“Okay, what about Nicolas?” I asked.
“Once we get into the prison, we’ll probably get separated, but that’s okay. I have an idea, but we can discuss it later on,” he said. “Wait half an hour and then walk inside the office.”
We got out of his car. Once he locked it, he left me outside and started walking towards the large building.
I waited, anxiously staring at the clock in one of the shops. People were passing by, glancing at me, especially the human men. I didn’t know why, but right now I was much more beautiful it seemed. Luckily for me the spell allowed me to take on the Dark One’s clothes. I wasn’t very comfortable in that short skirt, but I needed to look professional. Five minutes later, a tall handsome human offered me a cigarette. He smiled at me and tried to chat me up, but when the time was up, I told him I had to go.
It started raining and the humidity rose in the air. I wasn’t dressed appropriately for this weather, but right now that didn’t matter anymore. My anxiety spiked when I entered the building. The dark energy swirled inside my core.
Seconds later, I had to get inside the lift with two Dark Ones. I dropped my head, trying to blend in to my surroundings. Only after about five minutes, I realised that I’d ended up in line with Darius. For a split second, I thought that I was hallucinating—what where the odds? The warden who left me alone in the pub when Baxley showed up looked miserable. He looked like he had been beaten up. He had black eyes and cuts all over his face, and he stunk of cigarettes.
“Move away, you moron,” the Dark One with thick blond hair barked at him, when I tried to press the button for the second floor.
He moaned when the Dark One kicked him.
“I gave you everything you wanted, Charles. I don’t know what else you want from me.” Darius cried out.
The Dark One glanced at him, releasing sparks of electricity. Darius moved closer to the wall, looking terrified. I couldn’t bloody believe it; he was a rat—the Dark One’s rat. I wondered how long he had been working for them.
“She escaped, you idiot, but now it doesn’t matter. Besides, we found some illegal magic in your house, Darius. There’s nothing you can say that will change your fate.” the Dark One laughed and then glanced at me with a wink. Anger was boiling inside my veins. I told myself I needed to breathe in and out.
Darius didn’t know Avianna, but I was at fault, too. I showed up in that pub, shouting about dragons and lies the Dark Ones had been spreading for years. I should have kept my mouth shut. The wardens in this world didn’t care. They were used to this life without magic.
The lift stopped, and Darius was dragged out, still begging his oppressor to let him go. I smoothed my jacket nervously, stepping onto the second floor filled with many Dark Ones. They were all working at their desks, looking busy. I could feel magical energy drifting around. They all looked so human—ordinary. The secretary looked me up and down, lifting her mouth in a mock smile, like she didn’t approve of my outfit. I didn’t care, I just had to locate Idris.
“May I help you?” she finally asked.
“Yes … I’m here to deliver some paperwork for Magnus. I’m his new assistant. He has been waiting for it since last week,” I said, clearing my throat and giving her a look that said I didn’t want to waste any time. My heart was pounding in my chest, and I needed to calm down. Avianna was somewhere in this building and soon enough, we were going to be reunited.
“He’s not here. Apparently, he’s visiting the Lower World, but you can go through the corridor and speak to Baxley. I’m sure he will take care of you, love,” the woman said, sounding bored.
I nodded to her and started walking through the long corridor, passing several workstations on the way. I was itching to cast a strong spell on all of them, so they would suffer. They were walking around like they owned the place, like they belonged here. The women and the men; they were my enemy.
“Are you lost, beautiful?�
� some stranger with enigmatic dark eyes asked. The electric current of foreign energy moved over my spine.
His smile made me angry and I wanted to kick his arse. I told myself to breathe in, these were just side effects of the spell.
“I’m looking for Baxley,” I managed to say. The stranger looked disappointed and pointed to the room at the end of the corridor.
“He’s with Idris, just go on in. I don’t think they’ll mind,” he responded.
I started walking away, hearing him muttering to himself, “why does this guy always get the best ladies?”
I saw Idris behind the glass wall in the small room and I felt a little relieved. He was with Baxley and his sister, Zuzanna. They weren’t expecting me, but as long as I stuck to the plan, everything would be all right.
I went inside without knocking. Idris’s eyes found mine and he tilted his head slightly, letting me know I just had to carry on.
“What the hell do you want?” Zuzanna’s asked, staring at me annoyed.
“I was told to find Baxley. I’m Magnus’s new assistant and I need to deliver some important paperwork to him,” I said.
Baxley touched her and said,
“Calm down, love. We’re leaving soon, and you still haven’t made up your mind whether or not you’re joining us. We both know how worked up you get when you’re there. I’ll be back in a day or two,” Baxley said and Zuzanna’s expression didn’t change. She looked undecided.
I looked discreetly around expecting to see my backpack, but Avianna wasn’t here. I was a little disappointed.
“Baxley, we need to get moving,” Idris reminded him, but he was looking at his sister.
“Give me two minutes with my fiancée Idris. I’ll meet you by the lifts. Take the new girl and get her some coffee,” Baxley said, and Idris nodded.
“You don’t need to go there. We had plans, remember?” Zuzanna asked when Idris and I were leaving.
“Your father will reward me; the dragon is real, and this will be good for both of us …
I didn’t catch the rest, because Idris closed the door to the room and pushed me forward. His touch did something to my skin. Blazing heat enveloped my whole body.
“Good job. Let’s get the coffee, so we can talk,” Idris whispered. “He keeps Avianna in a cage. Don’t worry, you’ll be reunited with her soon enough.”
That was good enough for me.
Chapter Seventeen
The way down.
Idris looked a little apprehensive, but we walked all the way to the kitchen without attracting too much attention. He put the kettle on and waited until the other Dark Ones left us alone. I was worried about Avianna; I wondered where Baxley was keeping her and if she even had a little bit of freedom. I just hated the thought of her being stuck in a cage.
“My father has no idea that Baxley managed to catch Avianna. He was supposed to report it to the council, but he’s holding off for now,” Idris said, sounding serious. He put two spoons of coffee into a white cup when the water boiled in the old rusty kettle.
“Why?” I asked, a little concerned that something was wrong.
“I guess he’s weighing his options. There isn’t supposed to be any dragons in the human world, and yet you managed to slip through, bringing an egg that wasn’t supposed to exist. I believe that Baxley wants to blackmail my father. He’s expected to be stationed back in Draconia. My sister always wanted to relocate there. If the council discovered that someone left the Lower World with an unaccounted-for dragon egg, my father could possibly be hanged for that, literally,” Idris whispered, keeping an eye on the door.
“So, I guess your sister isn’t coming along?”
“No, probably not and that will only make things easier. Come on, let’s go. We should be heading out now. Baxley is keeping Avianna in a small cage, so you need to be calm when you see her. You’ll get a chance to communicate with her soon,” Idris explained, and I nodded that I understood.
I told myself to breathe in calmly. Five minutes later we joined his brother-in-law by the lift. Zuzanna gave me a sharp look. She kissed Baxley deeply and then leaned over to her brother.
“Don’t screw anything up for him. I mean it this time, Idris,” she said. Idris nodded, looking displeased. I wondered if this was how their interactions normally appeared.
“She’s tough.” Baxley laughed, and I wanted to punch him in the face. Maybe lately I had been way too violent, especially now in my thoughts. He was wearing a sharp black suit and I noticed a signet on his middle finger. I wondered where my dragon was. This entire plan was going to fall to pieces if that idiot didn’t take her with him. The lift opened, and I stepped inside.
“Anything you hear or see from now on is confidential. Whatever happens, you have to keep it to yourself,” he said, looking at me with a serious expression. I shook my head that I understood. Energy sparked between us as he continued to stare at me intensely. He had no idea that his magic wouldn’t work on me, especially now when I was under a warlock’s spell.
“Of course,” I said.
He looked satisfied enough. I didn’t give a crap if he trusted me or not. I was going to kick his arse the first chance I had. I felt suffocated being in the lift. Idris didn’t tell me how we were going to pass through to the Lower World. The office must have had some sort of controlled portal to the other side, most likely in the underground.
There was a series of buttons to my right. Baxley pressed the last one and the lift moved. Tension filled the lift. A bead of sweat rolled down my back. We were all silent and my blood pressure was rising. I still couldn’t believe that the Dark Ones were so organised, that Darius worked for the enemy.
A few minutes later the lift stopped, and the door opened up into a dark corridor.
“I can’t wait to show you the beast, Idris. It now makes sense why that bitch had so much energy. It’s one of the rarest breeds of mountain dragons,” Baxley told Idris, sounding excited. We were most likely in the underground now, walking past a series of empty cells.
My heart was pounding like crazy and I couldn’t wait to see how my baby dragon was doing. Finally, after another five minutes, we stopped outside the room. Baxley opened the door, and there on the table, was a small cage.
Avianna was sleeping; she jerked the moment we walked inside. I was ready to reach out for her, but Idris must have sensed my distress, because he grabbed my arm.
“Avianna, it’s me, Fran. I’m here, everything will be all right, just stay calm,” I said, using the same internal voice as before.
The baby dragon hissed with fire, moving around the cage, staring at all of us with her golden eyes. I didn’t know why she wasn’t responding to me.
“Avianna, can you hear me? Come on, it’s me, Francesca. Sooner or later, I’ll get you out of here,” I said, but there was no response.
“Come on, little one, let’s get you back to your native world,” Baxley said, grabbing the cage. “Isn’t he beautiful?”
“How do you know it’s a he? Maybe it’s a she,” Idris pointed out, probably because he couldn’t help himself. I couldn’t speak; I was in shock. Idris and Baxley walked back along the long corridor, then down the stairs. This was my chance. Baxley was walking in front of me, and I just had to use some sort of disabling spell. My hands were itching, but this wasn’t how I had planned it. We needed to get to the Lower World first, then find Nicolas. We couldn’t try to enter the crack in the salon again, but either way, it was a hell of a risk. Besides, Idris mentioned that the Dark Ones had already closed all the illegal portals.
“Good point, but it’s a rare dragon and I heard that all the female dragons were slaughtered before males,” he explained as we stopped at what looked like an entrance to a large vault. Outside, there was another Dark One; he seemed to be older. He had masses of white hair, and wrinkles around his eyes.
“Hello, Mr. Fulkner,” Baxley said, and they shook hands. “Lauren is ready to open the portal. I hope your day passed okay?”
>
“It could have been better. Tell me, the wardens in Sepulcrum aren’t causing any problems, right? We don’t want any delays.” Baxley said.
“Everything is under control. We had some issues in the past, but now that area has been completely cleared,” the man replied and then the giant entrance to the vault began to open. The entire mechanism was impressive. Inside stood another attractive blond fairy. She smiled at Baxley and fluttered her long eyelashes. I had my theory: Fairies were most likely working closely with the Dark Ones in exchange for protection.
The cracks of magic were appearing all over London. The mages couldn’t control every single one. The fairies had a gift: they could open and close portals, too. They were feeding off human energies in order to sustain their abilities.
Avianna wasn’t responding and I wasn’t sure what was wrong. She kept hissing at me, spreading her fire. Baxley had to cover the cage with a thick blanket, because she was making a hell of a racket. She probably hated being treated like some caged animal, but this wasn’t going to last long.
The fairy giggled, then talked with Baxley for a little while. Five minutes later, she opened the portal the same way Donna had at the beauty salon. We crossed through it without any major drama. Everything was straightforward and the next thing I knew, we were walking through a pile of dust.
We must have crossed over into a different part of Sepulcrum, somewhere much closer to the prison. This area was most likely strictly controlled by Dark Ones. The landscape was grey and miserable. The prison stretched right in front of us, the wind was swirling the dust into what looked like small whirlwinds along the ground. I wondered what happened to the dragons. The sky was clear.
“It’s a shithole; we should send all the wardens here. Draconia is like heaven for them,” Baxley said, and I clenched my fists, wondering if I could keep my mouth shut much longer. Zuzanna’s husband thought he was better than everyone else.
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