Page 52 of Cry of the Damned
Nearly strangled, I fell back into the chair and coughed. The chains were still attached to the heavy chair, and I wouldn’t be free of it unless I undid the lock on my neck.
My blood thudded in my ears, panic and desperation getting the best of me as I twisted my claw inside the lock. Tears blurred my eyes, and I’d nearly given up when the mechanism finally gave, and the collar fell away.
I barely gave myself a couple of seconds to feel relief, then shifted into my wolf form and bounded out of the room. My clawed paws scraped against the stone floor as I ran down the long hall back toward the cells where Bethel and Rob were kept.
As I entered the area, I reverted back to my human form and nearly tripped and fell on my face. Startled from his reclined position against the wall, the man guarding the cell came at me, starting to draw his sword. Rearing up, I grabbed his hand and forced the weapon back into the scabbard. I continued the upward motion and slammed my head against the bottom of his chin. His head snapped back, and he gave a grunt of pain. Putting him in a headlock, I slammed him against the wall until he went limp. I let him go, and he crumpled to the floor.
Quickly, I removed the keys from his belt and ran to the cells.
“Bethel!” I exclaimed, quickly unlocking her door.
She rose from her cot and stumbled out. I turned to Rob’s cell next and set him free. He stared at me wide-eyed, as if he couldn’t believe there was a chance he might escape.
Saying nothing, we turned and ran, me guiding the way.
“Wait!” I backtracked and took the unconscious guard’s sword. “Alright, let’s go!”
I had memorized the winding passages through which they’d led us last night, and I knew exactly how to get back to the hot spring.
“Are you strong enough for any magical attacks?” I asked Bethel as we rushed down the narrow tunnel.
“I don’t know, but I think I’m strong enough for this.”
I glanced back and saw she was holding the potion.
Stopping, I started in disbelief. “How did you get it back?!”
“I didn’t,” the witch replied. “I made two.”
“Thank the moon!” I grabbed her face and kissed her.
We kept going until we reached the end of the passage. There, I pressed a protruding rock off to the side. The narrow slab slid out of the way, making a grinding sound. As soon as it was out of the way, we ran toward the hot spring, and Bethel immediately got to work on the spell.
This time, we positioned ourselves near the secret exit.
“Stay alert. Guard Bethel with your life if you have to,” I instructed Rob, then set about the cavernous room, peering into the shadows, poking at them with the sword.
I didn’t find anyone. This time, Bethel got to the end of her spell, uncorked the bottle, and swiftly emptied its content into the hot spring. The potion hissed as it hit the surface. In the next breath, white foam began building at the edges of the spring, and the water started turning milky.
If only this was enough to destroy the Academy, to take the magic the magistrates already possessed, but these would only help to weaken them over time. Either way, it was a blow they would not easily recover from—not even if they found a witch willing to help them heal the spring. Because Bethel was almost certain they wouldn’t be able to decipher exactly what she’d done. She was a talented witch, even more so than her mother.
I would have loved to stay and see Magistrate Novus’s face at the sight of the ruined spring, but we had to get out of here.
“Let’s go.” I turned to the exit and firmly pressed the protruding rock to activate the mechanism that would move the slab out of the way.
Nothing happened.
I tried again.
Still nothing.
I should’ve guessed the magistrates would do something to block the way out.
I turned back to Bethel, wondering if she could use her magic to let us out. Taking a step forward, she pressed her hands to the rock, closed her eyes, and issued a spell. The slab shifted slightly, making a small grinding sound, but other than that, it remained firmly in place.
“It’s too heavy,” Bethel said. “And I still haven’t regained all my strength.
“There’s only one way out then,” Rob said
