Page 26 of Cry of the Damned
A shudder slid down my spine as I stared down the long hall that led to a set of winding steps. Electric sconces gave a dim glow. The sounds of steps made me pause. Someone was coming. Wasting no time, I slid behind a column. A guard marched past me, doing rounds. When the steps receded, I approached the stairs leading down to the cavernous hot spring. The area was dipped in darkness.
At the top of the stone steps, I let my eyes adjust to the pitch black and started descending. Even as I walked lightly, my steps echoed in the quiet. When I got to the bottom, the sound of trickling water reached me. The air hung thick with steam and the smell of sulfur, and with my sharper shifter senses, the scent was so strong that, immediately, all my awful memories became more vivid. I saw the slash of daggers across wrists, scented the metallic blood in the air, and heard repeated splashes as my friends fell face-first into the water.
Gritting my teeth, I pushed the memories away and followed the sound of water. There was a gentle glow ahead that quickly resolved into torches. They were affixed to the stone walls, their flickering flames creating dancing shadows.
Was someone here?!
Heart beating faster, I came to a halt and listened for a long moment. I scrutinized every dancing shadow and didn’t breathe until I was satisfied I was alone. Then I set to exploring every inch of the space, searching for a way out.
For the next ten minutes, I walked around the perimeter. At the far end of the cave, I found a deep, round pool with hot, bubbling water that looked perfect for a bath. On a nearby wall, there were hooks apt for hanging towels or bathrobes. But that was it. There were no signs of any passages or doors. It all looked so deceptively harmless. But therehadto be something. How else could they have gotten those corpse-laden carts out of here?!
I searched again, but the longer I stayed, the more nervous I became. What if one of the magistrates came down for a relaxing soak while I was here?
Frustration building, I went around one more time, examining anything that appeared remotely out of place. It was then that I noticed a rock protruding from one of the walls. I put my hand around it and found that its shape was perfect to accommodate my palm and fingers around it. Wondering if it was some sort of lever designed to open a secret door, I pushed on it and tried to turn it left and right, but nothing happened.
“Dammit!” I muttered under my breath, pulling on the rock as the last resort. Nothing.
Hands on hips, I stared at the stupid thing, sure this had to be it. But how did it work?
Magic, the logical side of me whispered in my mind.
It had to be.
A magistrate had to use magic to activate the lever. Either electricity or fire. Immediately, I decided it had to be the former. Fire would have left scorch marks on the rock, and there weren’t any. But how could I be sure? Rob didn’t have any magic. He was just… an apprentice.
I held out a hand and stared at Rob’s finished coda. The tattoo went completely around his wrist, which was all that was needed to finish transforming his magic into the type of magic the magistrates used.
We were taught that once an initiate became an apprentice, it could take up to a year for them to learn to wield their power. But that wasn’t a fast and hard rule. Val had been able to use magic within days after becoming an apprentice. Something had triggered him and sped up his ability to control his skills. So that meant there was nothing stopping Rob from doing the same—nothing except his lack of experience, and the fact that his innate magic was thwarted from a young age. He never practiced or knew how to access it.
Except… he wasn’t here, was he? And I—the one in control of his body—knew exactly how to tap into the magical energy that made me awildling.
Closing my eyes, I searched for that familiar force inside of Rob’s body. It took me a long minute to find it because it was subdued, much quieter than the riotous power that lived inside of me, but it was there. And as I commanded the magic to come forth, I felt a tingle go all over me. My eyes sprang open and found a crackling web of blue electricity dancing over Rob’s thick fingers.
I smiled and reached for the protruding rock. Before I managed to touch it, the sound of rock sliding against rock came from behind me. Instinctively, I put a tamper on the magic I was wielding, then froze as if that would make me invisible.
“What are you doing here?!” a familiar male voice demanded behind me. “This area is off-limits to apprentices.” It was Magistrate Sonticus, whom I’d seen walking drunkenly on the path down to the city.
Shit!
What had I done? If I didn’t think of something, this would get Rob killed.
“Don’t just stand there. Turn around and face me,” he spat.
Slowly, I turned to face him. He was wearing a white terry robe and slippers. I almost busted out laughing at how ridiculous he looked, but it was only nerves. There was nothing funny about my situation.
“Apprentice Arcanus?” he said in surprise, as if Rob was the last person he expected to see here.
“Magistrate Sonticus.” I lowered my head in greeting, trying to look contrite. “I’m sorry. I know I shouldn’t be here.”
“Damn right you’re not!” He came closer, his slippers making a shuffling sound against the stone floor.
He stopped a couple of yards away from me, his wide-set eyes examining me from head to toe. He paused at my waist, probably marking the fact that I didn’t have a sword. Next, he glanced around the cave. He was about six-foot-four with wide shoulders that could easily darken any threshold. He had a bald head, shiny and polished like a silver platter.
“Is anyone else here?” he asked.
I shook my head.
He took a step closer. The magistrate was caging me in against the wall, the exit at his back.
