The river drifted silently below us. Soon, a massive building loomed overhead. Oh fates, the river went under a building. What the hell was in here?
Dim yellow light illuminated the underground river bank. The ceiling was only about eight feet overhead, and either side of the river butted up to a stone walkway. A moment later, the boat was pushed over to the side until it rested against the walkway.
Before I could move, the magic in the net vibrated. It slithered away from the boat, pulling Roarke and me up into the air. One of my lucky necklaces caught on something in the boat and tore off my neck.
“No!” I reached for it, but we were dragged quickly through the air, prisoners in the enchanted net.
I thrashed, trying to escape, but the magic was too strong. The net carried us toward a big door. As if on cue, the door swung open. The net tossed us inside. Roarke and I crashed to the stone ground as the door slammed shut.
Chapter Four
“What the heck was that?” I scrambled to my feet and raced to the door. I pushed against the wooden surface, but it didn’t budge.
The room was small—only about twelve feet by twelve—and the walls and floor were made of massive stone slabs. A single lightbulb hung from the ceiling, shedding a pathetic twenty-five watts on the dingy cell.
I rubbed my arms, my stomach turning. This place felt weird, but vaguely familiar. A bit sickening. I couldn’t place it though.
“This damned university has a prison?”
“And some powerful magic.” Roarke stood. “I’ve never seen anything like that net.”
“They must have something important they’re protecting.”
“Or a lot of important somethings. That Constable was not pleased to see us. He really doesn’t like anyone breaking into his university.”
“No.” I shivered at the thought of his glee at the idea of alerting the Order. “But this is good, right? We wanted to get away from them so we could sneak away. Now we can.”
Roarke could either bust through the wall like I’d seen him do before, or I could walk out of here as a Phantom and hopefully find a key.
“Hopefully.” Roarke walked to the walls and inspected them. “Do you want to do this, or shall I?”
“Can you do it quietly?”
“Tearing through walls isn’t exactly a quiet business.”
“Fair point. I’ll try.”
I closed my eyes and called upon my Phantom power, waiting for the chilly magic to flow through me.
It didn’t.
The usual chill didn’t come, nor did my limbs turn a transparent blue. I tried harder, but nothing happened.
“Shit,” I said. “Dampening spell.”
The best prisons had them. Cass, Nix, and I had been locked up in a place like this when our boss had turned on us. Since then, we’d worked for ourselves. But that prison had felt like this one, with the sickening sense of my magic being repressed. I’d tried to forget the memory, but that was why this place had felt familiar.
“You try,” I said.
Roarke just stood there, eventually closing his eyes for concentration. When I didn’t feel the swell of his magic, I knew.
“Damn it.” I started to pace. We were as helpless as humans in here. “This is no normal university.”
“No kidding.”
“This was supposed to be a quick in and out—meet a guy, get some help. Who knew universities could be so dangerous?”
Roarke grinned and paced the cell, inspecting the walls again. I did the same to the door, but found only a massively thick slab of wood reinforced by iron straps. There wasn’t even a door handle on this side.
This wasn’t good.
We needed help.
“Where do you think Draka is?” I asked. “Last week, whenever I needed help, she showed up. But now—nothing.”
“Maybe we don’t really need the help.”
I glanced around at the stone box in which we stood. “I’m pretty sure we do. This dampening spell has made us helpless.”
“No, though it is inconvenient.”
I paced the cell, my mind racing. I hated being cooped up like this. If only we had our magic. It spurred a memory.
“I once met a Hellhound named Pond Flower.” The mental image of the big dog made me smile. “She was immune to charms like this because her power was fueled by hell. So the dampening charm couldn’t work on her. We need a bit of that right now.”
“If anyone could do it, you could.”
“I wish.” But the mental image of Pond Flower remained. What I wouldn’t give to see her friendly face right now.
Magic shimmered on the air.
“You feel that?” Roarke asked.
“Yeah, it’s star—” My jaw dropped open.
A dog suddenly stood in the middle of the cell.
“Pond Flower!” I cried. She was massive—nearly the size of a horse—with brown and white spots and a big smile that allowed her tongue to loll out of her mouth. The scent of brimstone and flame wafted off her.
“Did you just summon her?” Roarke asked.
“Apparently.” I approached and scratched her head, then asked her, “So, did you come because I called?”
She just looked up at me, and I got the sense that she was saying, “Yeah, duh.”
The last I’d seen Pond Flower, we’d rescued her from living in a dingy castle filled with demons. She’d gone to live in an enchanted forest with the League of FireSouls, which was something like a magical justice league that helped to protect FireSouls from persecution.
“Got any ideas on how to get out of here?” I asked as I scratched her head.
Her brown eyes flamed red, and an eerie black flame burst up from her fur. It didn’t burn me, though. Instead, magic rolled out from her, igniting inside me.
“Whoa,” I whispered.
The magic pulled on mine, making it come alive inside my chest. It was a bit different than my normal magic. It felt hot, and if I had to guess, I, too, smelled like brimstone.
I closed my eyes and called upon my Phantom form, letting the icy magic flow through my veins. I shivered as it filled me, then opened my eyes to see that my body had turned fully blue and transparent. Pond Flower continued to glow with her black flame. But as I watched, a blue glow extended out from my hand, turning her black flame blue. Soon, she was blue like me, a Phantom dog whose eyes still glowed red.
“That’s impressive,” Roarke said.
I grinned, then glanced at Pond Flower and removed my hand. The magic inside me died. My body returned to normal. So did Pond Flower.
Shoot.
I touched Pond Flower again, and the magic ignited once more. I shifted to Phantom form. Pond Flower followed.
“I think she’s like a conduit. I’m getting power from the Underworld.”
“Yeah, you both stink like brimstone.”
As I’d thought.
“We’ll go through the wall and get you out of here.” I knocked on my head for good luck, hoping this would work.
He nodded.
I turned, walking with Pond Flower toward the door, careful not to lose contact with her warm head.
This was so freaking weird.
We walked through the door without any problem, appearing at the darkened riverbank.
A guard to my left gave a strangled shout and stumbled back, his eyes wide.