by Amber Garr
“Cressa, I don’t know what I’m going to do.” He ran his hand through his hair and continued to walk around the perimeter of the room. “I mean, what you did was illegal. But there’s something else going on here. It’s like they’ve just been waiting for you to mess up,” he mused.
“Why would they care about me?”
River stopped moving and turned to look at me. His nostrils flared and he shook his head. “That’s what I don’t know yet.”
After a brief pause, I asked, “Did you bribe the guy monitoring this room?”
“What?” he sounded distracted. Like I’d pulled him from some deep thought. “Oh, yeah. I promised him basketball tickets if he could give me some time off camera.”
“And you guys won’t get caught?”
River huffed. “I’ve been here long enough to know how to manipulate the system.”
I had no doubt he was telling the truth. My brother—always adapting. “How did you use magic in this room? I mean, not that I wasn’t happy to see you kick Charlotte’s ass, but there’s a lot of lodestone in here.”
He hesitated a moment and a flash of anger roiled through me. I wondered if he was going to tell me, but then he pulled back the sleeve to his dark blue shirt and exposed his arm. A wide, brass-colored cuff covered his wrist.
“It’s another metal mixture, kind of like electrum but with more copper,” he said.
“And that counters the effect of lodestone?”
“It hinders it a bit. We have to learn to push through the blockage.”
Is that why he looked so terrible? Had he been practicing a lot? “And do all of you have them? Or wear them when you’re in the Reformatory?”
River chuckled, an arrogant laugh that put my nerves on edge. “No, only a select handful of us have them.”
“Oh.” I sat back in my chair trying to make as little movement as possible to appease my burning ribs. “Will they let me see a healer?”
“I don’t think so,” River said a little too quickly. It made me suspicious.
“So what happens next?” I asked.
“Well, you’ll be given a cell and you’ll wait until your sentencing.”
“That’s it?” I shook my head in frustration. “When do I get to call a lawyer or…someone?”
“Never.”
“Never?”
“Cressa, this is not like human jail. Why do you think I warned you?” His voice raised an octave as he got more upset. “Part of the agreement made at the end of the war was that the Imperium would severely punish any magic users that broke the law. So you have no rights in here as a prisoner.”
“But I didn’t hurt anyone…” I thought about my mom. What I had used my magic for was something totally different than why she was in here.
“No, you didn’t,” River sighed. “And that’s why I think there’s something else going on.” He began pacing again, fingers brushing over his chin like he could pull the answers out from there.
“Do you know how mom got here?”
River stumbled over his feet and tried to recover without me noticing. “Do you?” he countered. I nodded. “How?” he asked.
“I raised Iain last night. Or tonight…I don’t even know what time it is—”
River jumped forward and grabbed my shoulders, his face just a few inches from mine. I tensed with surprise and my broken ribs punished me for that. “You raised a phoenix?”
With narrowed eyes and a pile of suspicion in my voice, I glared at River. “How do you know Iain was a phoenix?”
“Because I know everything, Cressa. Don’t be such an idiot.”
The second he let go of my shoulders, I stood so that I was on equal ground. “You know, I’m sick of everyone lying to me! You, dad, mom…all you ever do is lie!”
River’s cell phone rang and cut off my tirade. He didn’t’ answer it right away until I made a sound of disgust and gave him a look that said “Fine, answer the damn thing.”
“What?” he snapped into the phone. A beat later he said, “Understood,” and shoved the phone back in his pocket. He looked at me. “Cameras are coming back on,” he growled.
“Can I see mom?” I asked quickly. I couldn’t even think about my sentencing or how long I’d have to stay in here. All I wanted to do was talk to her and clear the air.
“Cressa,” he sighed, “I don’t know if I can make that happen. I’ve already pulled so many strings…”
“Please, River.”
He started for the door and the camera lights clicked back on. “I’ll see what I can do,” he said quietly. Something beeped in the wall, and the locks slid into submission. The red door opened and two large men dressed all in black stomped their way inside past River. Without saying a word, they yanked me to my feet and the one with blond hair gave me a little shove in the shoulder. “Go over there and change.”
My eyes followed his finger to one of the corners of the room. No privacy whatsoever. “No,” I said.
He pushed me again and I wheezed in pain. “You must change before we take you to your cell.”
I looked past him at River, who now stood in the doorway with his head hanging. “Just do it quickly, Cressa.” He didn’t sound angry, he sounded defeated.
But I was angry. Why would he let me be humiliated like this—
“Do it now or we do it for you.”
Neither man flinched making me believe they were serious. So like the broken, little girl I once was, I made my way to the furthest corner and started stripping out of my clothes. Facing the wall, I quickly slipped out of my sweater and replaced it with the ugly white top. Taking a moment, I glanced down at my chest. I’d felt the burn, but the pain of my injuries had outweighed the payment of my necromancy. There, above my left breast was the scar from Iain. An empty circle. A nimbus. Why it had taken shape on my chest, I didn’t know. But I kind of felt proud to have a mark of a phoenix on me…even though I’d sent him back to an early grave.
To my surprise, the shirt was rather large and helped me cover my most private areas while I changed my pants. When finished, I gathered up my bloody and dirt encrusted clothes and stomped over to the guards. “Here, asshole,” I said, shoving them into the hands of the blond one that had yelled at me. “Sorry about the blood,” I sneered.
River chuckled in the doorway and for a second, we made eye contact. “Come on,” he said to all three of us.
The black-haired man pulled metal handcuffs out of his back pocket. “Miss?” he said looking at my wrists. At least he wasn’t as demanding.
I contemplated what would happen if I refused. And then I took a deep breath and felt the throbbing in my side again. So, I lifted my arms in front of me and let him cuff me like a criminal.
The three of us left the holding room and proceeded down a number of hallways—all stark white with no personality. We then took two elevators, both times going down several floors. Through the whole walk, River led the way with the guards flanking me in front and behind. The building was quiet and we hadn’t passed a single person until the elevator doors opened up for the last time.
And that’s when I saw what my new, and hopefully temporary, home would be like. The hallway widened and the entire floor opened up. Rows of glass cells lined the warehouse-sized room. Each cell encompassed maybe only ten feet by ten feet with a small, frosted glass corner that must have held the sink and toilet. In the center sat a twin sized bed and dark stone surrounded the entire perimeter inside the cell.
Fear gripped me like a claw. Until this moment, I hadn’t really thought about the consequences of using necromancy. All I’d cared about was saving my mom. But now that I was here, I had a sudden realization that perhaps I should have listened to my brother’s warnings.
“I’ll take her from here,” River said. The guards didn’t move until he waved them away in frustration. “Come on, Cressa,” he said quietly once we were alone.
“Where’s mom?” I asked, peering through all of the glass just so I could get a
glimpse of her.
“She’s in the maximum security side. Not in here.”
My heart sank, disappointment making my feet heavy. I wanted to cry but not in front of River. We stopped in front of an empty cell and River pressed his thumb against a scanner. The glass door slid open and he stepped inside, encouraging me to follow.
“Give me your hands,” he said. I did and he quickly unhooked the cuffs. “Just mind your own business and don’t cause any trouble, okay?” River left the cell and stood by the open doorway, hesitating.
“How long do I have to wait to find out what they’ll sentence me with?” I asked quietly. No longer did I have the mental strength to pretend this whole situation wasn’t bothering me.
“I don’t know,” River said. Someone called out for him from the front of the room and he nodded in acknowledgement. With a sad smile, he used his thumb to close the door and left me alone in my cell. I ran to the edge, faced pressed against the glass so that I could watch his retreat. I tried to stop the tears, but it was futile.
My heart ached for so many reasons. My incarceration, my mother’s lies, Noah. Noah’s betrayal had been the worst. He’d used me to accomplish his goals, sucking me in with his lies and encouragement. I would have never acted like a magic whore, as so many people liked to call me, had Noah not shown me the ease at which the money flowed. I supposed I wasn’t much better though, seeing how quickly I turned into a greedy criminal. And my mother? She left us as a consequence of her loving another man. She abandoned us and I really wished I could see her one more time so that she could explain it to me in person. Make her see how much pain she caused and how I was in here now because of her.
At those negative thoughts, I stopped myself. Thinking that way was not going to get me out of here. I needed to formulate a plan and hope that River was truly on my side. I didn’t know if I could trust him. I didn’t know if I could trust anyone anymore.
I sat on my bed, the mattress as hard as the concrete floor. The lodestone was already taking its toll and a few minutes later I lay back and closed my eyes. My body shut down as my brain contemplated everything else.
And as I drifted off to sleep, Noah’s face filled my vision.
Almost one week passed before I had another visitor. I’d all but given up on my brother and the relentless claws of depression began to settle in. All day I stared at the glass ceiling, counting the minutes away, trying not to fall over the cliff of despair. Dr. Ferrell had stopped by once. Meals were delivered to my room three times a day, but other than that, I’d had no contact with another human being.
So when Rome showed up at my cell, my excitement couldn’t be contained. Even with his intimidating size and cranky expression, I didn’t stop myself from throwing my arms around him when he stepped into my tiny room.
“I’m so glad to see you,” I said as I squeezed him tight. Not caring for one second how he might react, I sobbed into his broad chest letting all of my emotion seep out at once.
“Okay, there,” he said with a small laugh. When I didn’t let go, he gently patted my head with his hand. “Stop crying.”
I pulled away, wiping the tears and giving him a grateful smile. “Sorry. It’s just…I’m just tired I guess.” Tired?
“Well, you look like shit,” he said with a shrug and a real grin.
I sniffed. “Thanks.”
Rome stuck his hands in his pockets and leaned against one of the glass walls. “So how are you doing?”
“Terrible.” Why bother lying?
“You know you’ve really stirred things up in here.” Rome walked over to my bed and tested the mattress. He didn’t sit. “Between you, your brother, and your mother…I’m not sure what leadership might do.”
“My brother?” I decided to sit down. “What does he have to do with this?”
“Let’s just say that he’s been a thorn in many sides this past week. Mine included.” Rome looked down at the border of lodestone. I wondered if he had one of those metal cuffs to protect him from its effects.
“You know my brother?”
“Who doesn’t?”
Not quite sure what to make of that, I shook my head. “Well, is he ever going to come back for me? I haven’t seen him since they arrested me.”
“He’s working on something,” Rome said and then quickly looked around to see if any guards were passing nearby.
“Why are you here,” I asked when all the other questions I wanted answered didn’t seem appropriate right now.
“To see you,” he said with a huff.
“But you hardly know me.” I studied the Imp in front of me. His eyes focused on the floor and he was moving his foot back and forth over a joint in the tile. Something was up. “Did Noah send you?” I didn’t even try to hide my annoyance.
Rome shrugged but stayed silent.
“You know he just used me for my necromancy, right? Did he tell you that?” Noah had no right being concerned for me, even if a piece of my heart wanted it. “He picked me out and manipulated me into doing anything he wanted. And now I’m in here.” I waved my hands around for emphasis. At the same time I noticed that my ribs were feeling better then yesterday.
“There’s so much more to the story, Cressa. You should really give him a chance to explain.”
Shocked by his words, I jumped to my feet. “Really?” I spat. “And just how am I supposed to let him explain while I’m stuck in here?”
“You’ll have your chance soon.”
“What do you mean?” I yelled, but the way he stared at me clued me in to something larger. There was a plan. Something big would be happening. “I…I…” I had absolutely nothing to say.
“Your brother is here,” Rome said suddenly. He turned toward the door and that’s when I saw River. Rome’s size had blocked my view. “I will see you later,” he whispered just before my prison door slid open.
The two men exchanged glances but no words. Rome disappeared down the endless row of prisoner cells and my brother dangled a pair of metal handcuffs in the air. “I need to put these on you.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m taking you to see mom.”
I couldn’t complete a coherent thought. So many questions swarmed through my mind like a raging hive of bees that had just been stirred. How had he done this? What would I say to her? Did she know I was even here?”
“Cressa?” River asked, jangling the cuffs again.
“Okay,” I said in a daze. Like a zombie, I walked over to him and stretched out my arms. “Thank you,” I whispered.
“Don’t thank me yet,” he muttered.
We left the common prisoner area and entered a different elevator system than what I’d been in before. River kept a firm grasp on my arm as he keyed in a passcode and spoke into a microphone. “To Floor U9,” he said in a robotic voice and the elevator began to move. It felt like we were going sideways, but without any point of reference to orient myself, I wasn’t totally sure.
“When you see her, remember that others will be watching.” River’s voice startled me.
“Watching?”
“I couldn’t bribe everyone,” he replied with a smirk. “Just use your time with her wisely.”
I turned my head to look at my brother. I felt like he was giving me some kind of clue, yet I had no idea what it meant. “Have they set my sentencing date?”
“Not yet.”
“Do you know why?”
“Yeah, I think I do.” He leaned in closer. Although he had a few inches on me, he easily whispered into my ear. “But I can’t tell you right now.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat the best I could. It was nice to know that I had a few friends on the inside, but I still didn’t fully trust my brother. He was keeping secrets. And whether they were for my benefit or not, I needed to tread lightly with everything that he said.
The elevator stopped moving and the doors behind us open. I jumped around, surprised by this new exit and was hit with a smell of ozone and ince
nse. Magic. We stepped over the threshold and entered a darker hallway with flickering lights and grey concrete floors.
“No white?” I asked sarcastically and River frowned.
“Not in here.”
I didn’t like how sad he sounded and I began to panic about seeing my mom. She’d been in the Reformatory for eight years now. And although I’d seen her on the video footage, I didn’t know what her mental state would be like. Rumor had it that magic users sent to the Reformatory would not only be stripped of their magic, but they’d be “rehabilitated”. Usually no one ever saw them again. Those that did rejoin society lived the rest of their lives in fear, hiding in the shadows and never recovering.
“She’s in here,” River said when we stopped in front of a dark, black door. More lodestone.
I knew it would be inside too, based on the surveillance video, and I could already feel its effect. After a week sitting on my bed surrounded by it, I’d noticed how drained and tired I’d become. That spark of energy always dancing inside of me had totally disappeared. And that was only after one week. I couldn’t imagine how my mother must feel after eight years of dealing with this.
River looked up at the top of the door frame to a camera similar in size to the one in my holding room. After a moment, two large metal bars jutting across the center of the door pulled away from each other. Underneath them was a circular dial that spun both clockwise and counterclockwise until the pieces inside split apart as well. The large door then opened down the center, both halves disappearing into the surrounding walls. This locking system was way more sophisticated then what I had in my cell.
“How many people are in maximum security?” I asked River.
“Only a few,” he said. “Come on, they won’t hold the door forever.”
I followed him up a step and into the room I’d seen before. Solid white walls, a bed in the center, a toilet in the corner. No privacy here. Her back was facing us as she sat on the far side of the bed. Sitting straight as a board, I wondered if my mother was actually awake. She didn’t make a single move as we shuffled over the lodestone and stood on the other side of the mattress. Hers looked even worse than mine.