Page 72 of Elmwood Inclusive Magic Academy
I try not to think about it, but I know that voice was Persephone. I imagine her locked in a dark cell. How long can mermaids survive out of water? I remember how my pack tied her up and took her gem so she couldn’t move. Is that what my uncle and Hallie’s Creator did? Is Persephone locked in her cell, trapped in her mermaid form?
I can hear Uncle Leander shouting from one of the cells, but I can’t make out the words. I feel sick to my stomach.
When he returns, his face is hard, glowing eerily in the light of the burning torch.
He doesn’t look like my uncle anymore.
Maggie
I think I can hear her voice. Rae.
It’s strange, but there’s a moment when I can almost feel her. Like locking eyes with someone from across the room, or when you text someone at exactly the same moment that they text you. My heart aches in my chest and I want to cry. I try to sleep, but the hard stone floor is freezing and I can’t stop shaking. I hold my thin cardigan close to my skin. I might not be bothered by the cold, but I miss her warmth.
“Rae,” I whisper. “Please.”
Rae
The day is short, but it feels like the longest in my life. I know that the sun has set because the vampires awaken, emerging smugly from their crypt.
“Where’s Hallie?” I ask as they come through the dungeon hall.
Tudor Thornblade looks at me, amused, but doesn’t answer my question.
“Any activity?” he asks.
“Nothing,” Uncle grins. “They have no way of getting messages in and out. It’ll be weeks before there’s any word, and by then we’ll have fortified our position. I’m expecting reinforcements from the wolf shifters in the west woods.”
“Excellent,” Tudor nods. “We’ll take the next watch, after our feed.”
He opens the cell door closest to him.
“Wait!” I shout. That cell is where Maggie and June are. I stammer, “Feed…you can’t…”
Tudor Thornblade turns to my uncle, fangs bared. “Leander, control your pack.”
He disappears into the cell. I try to follow him, but my uncle grabs me by the arm.
“Rae, what are you doing? He’s a vampire, and our ally.”
“How could you let him do this?” I try to pull away, but Leander is too strong.
“He’s not going to kill them, just drink from them. Listen,” he pulls me close, his voice serious and low. “This iswar. If we’re going to beat the panthers and the witches, this is what we have to do. They would do the same to us.”
“No, they didn’t!”
I hear a shriek from inside the cell. It’s June. I can’t help feeling relieved, even though I can practically hear Maggie’s heart thumping through our connection. I shake my head, and uncle lets me go.
Finley and Rory come down the stairs to take the next shift.
“Rory,” Uncle Leander says, sternly. “Take Rae upstairs, she needs some rest. Finley, you and I need to talk, then you’ll take the next dungeon watch.”
Maggie
“Stop!” I shriek. Adrenaline courses through my veins as I throw myself at Tudor Thornblade. I don’t know what I’m thinking. He throws me aside like I’m a rag doll, almost the entire length of the cell. I hit my head against the stone floor as I fall, my wrist pulled by the chain. Tears well up in my eyes.
“Maggie!” June yells, struggling against Tudor. But she’s no match for him. One look into his eyes and she goes quiet. I don’t know if it’s an enchantment or if she’s just stunned. I’m glad I immediately passed out when the other vampire attacked me.
I feel my head. No wound, thank goddess. I try to get up but I immediately get dizzy. Everything aches. Even if I could go to June, there’s nothing I can do. I watch helplessly as Tudor drinks from the vein at her throat.
