It was all a rationalization, but we convinced each other of its merit. Meagan located access points to the underground on her map and we tried them in succession.
The first manhole we tested was locked down or stuck. The second was on a street that bustled with traffic, probably because it was close to a big church. The third was on a quiet side street. It also seemed to be locked, but Nick was impatient. He shifted shape quickly and hauled it open in his dragon form. Garrett went first into the hole, Meagan right behind him. Liam and Isabelle followed, then Derek, then me. Nick shifted back to his human form while we were slipping into the wet darkness, then pulled the manhole cover over the opening again.
Sealing us in darkness.
There was a ladder fixed to the side of the shaft and we descended in silence. Every sound echoed and was magnified, and we seemed to understand as one the need for quiet.
I could hear water running.
I could smell sewage – although I didn’t need Pyr powers of perception for that.
And, thanks to my new ring, I could see the dizzy orange swirl of Mage spell light. It emanated clearly from one direction. It danced in spirals, tugging deeper into the system. I pointed and the others followed me, letting me lead the way.
The guys arrayed themselves behind me, Isabelle between Garrett and Liam, Meagan between Liam and Nick. There was a faint shimmer around the guys, as they were agitated enough to be on the cusp of change.
It said something for my state of mind that the sudden brilliant shimmer of light blue to my right reassured me. It reassured me even more when a silver-gray wolf matched my stride, his pale eyes shining with wariness. I buried my fingers in the silken fur at Derek’s neck and felt the tension in him.
It was the kind of place where a person could do with a pet predator.
Chapter Twelve
I don’t know how long we walked, never mind how far. The spell light was swirling ahead of me, leading me on a golden path that seemed to take us deeper and deeper into the underground. There was water in the bottom of the tunnel, but we walked to the left and the right of it, keeping our feet mostly dry.
It got colder. It got darker beyond the spell light. It was impossible to guess the amount of time that had passed. There were boarded-up passageways and blocked tunnels, but the spell cut a steady course through the darkness.
Like a thousand threads, twining together into a thicker rope.
Or a spiderweb, drawing its victims into a place of no return.
It was strange because I had this sense of dread, yet at the same time, the radiant spell had a soothing effect. Maybe it lulled me into complacency. It was pretty. It had a pleasant glow. It made me feel serene and outside of any tension.
Maybe the spiderweb analogy was a good one. Don’t spiders drug their victims so they struggle less?
Either way, we drifted along the path that was laid for us, lulled into believing that we’d made our choice and now had to follow it to the end.
There wasn’t a lot of conversation.
We weren’t alone either. Derek kept looking over his shoulder and snarling into the shadows behind us. I finally looked back to see, and realized that not only did the spell light dim noticeably right behind us – like it was gathering us close – but there was a procession of cats heading in the same direction.
The cats from the street. They walked a little higher up the sides of the tunnel to keep their feet dry. They trailed behind us, as if trying to avoid the full power of the spell light. They also seemed to be enchanted by it. I saw one sitting in a side tunnel, batting at a swirl of gold as if it were a butterfly.
Then the cat rubbed against it, its expression euphoric.
A moment later it joined the procession.
What was going on with these cats? Were they another variety of cat shifter? Were they drawn to the plight of a jaguar shifter? I know cats tend to be mysterious, but this was extraordinary.
Another cat mewled at Isabelle from a side tunnel. He was a big handsome cat with presence to spare, sitting like a statue. He looked almost leonine, with a mane of long fur framing his face, his coat striped in coal black and gold. He had a white bib and white socks, and golden eyes. He purred with loud approval when Isabelle scooped him up into her arms.
‘He must weigh thirty pounds,’ she said with surprise, hefting him higher.
‘Then leave him behind,’ Nick suggested in an undertone. ‘You don’t need the extra responsibility.’ I saw that he was nervous, too, his gaze darting back and forth. Even though he couldn’t see the spells, he must be feeling their effect.
And trying to fight them.
Isabelle’s eyes flashed and she hugged the cat more tightly. ‘Not a chance. That’s not what I do.’ She and Nick glared at each other for a charged moment, and then Nick turned away.
‘We’ve got to make sure we keep Zoë’s back,’ Nick said to Garrett. ‘Not like the last time.’
Garrett nodded, strain in his features. ‘It gets to you, doesn’t it?’
‘What’s it like for you guys?’ I asked.
‘Like an earworm, a song you can’t get out of your mind,’ Garrett said. ‘A pulsing, insistent one.’
‘A violent one,’ Nick agreed, wiping sweat from his brow. ‘Feeding doubt.’
‘Just don’t give it anything to root in,’ Liam said. ‘Remember that we’re a team and we’re not going to split ranks.’
‘Pyr forever,’ Garrett said grimly and the guys nodded as one.
‘One for all and all for one,’ I teased in old-speak, but they didn’t smile.
They just crowded a little closer.
I saw Isabelle’s expression soften as she watched Nick, but I had bigger responsibilities at the moment than fixing their relationship.
‘What do you see it doing, anyway?’ Nick asked me.
‘Getting brighter. We’re arriving somewhere.’
‘Can’t get there soon enough,’ Garrett said. ‘This pulsing in my head is going to drive me crazy.’
‘That’s the point,’ Liam said. ‘Fight it!’
‘So we’ll be all worn-out by the time we really need to fight,’ Nick muttered. ‘Fucking brilliant strategy.’
Meagan hummed something that sounded familiar.
‘Mozart’s Eine Kleine Nachtmusik,’ Isabelle said.
‘Also known as Serenade no. 13 in G Major,’ Meagan answered and continued to hum. I’m not sure whether it kept spells at bay or not, but we all tried to join in. It’s a memorable piece of music, though not easy to hum.
We walked a bit faster.
The cat settled against Isabelle, his gaze flicking between Derek and me, that luxuriant tail lashing at the air. I must have looked at him too long, because he bared his teeth to hiss at me.
Fine. I wasn’t in the mood to make friends anyway.
The tunnels were getting bigger in diameter. I couldn’t even sense how high this one stretched overhead. It had to be four or five times my height. The concrete radiated a chill that went right through my bones.
The swirling spell light was getting brighter.
Just when I thought I couldn’t stand the tension much longer, we turned a corner and the tunnel widened even more. Daylight was visible far ahead, as if the tunnel dumped out. There was a frenzy of Mage spell light crisscrossing that opening, almost blinding me with its intensity.
‘Uh-oh,’ I said and Derek snarled.
‘Let’s get out of here!’ Nick said. The guys pushed past me and ran for the opening. They couldn’t see the spell light.
It was a lure, one that would trap them!
‘Look out!’ I shouted and raced after them. Derek galloped beside me. Even the cats hurried.
‘No!’ I shouted. ‘Stop! It’s a trap! There’s a spell over the opening, like a net!’
They ignored me. The girls did, too.
I ran faster, and kept shouting.
Suddenly Derek halted and turned back. He growled. I saw the hair stand up on the b
ack of his shoulders, and his ears flattened against his head. He was staring back the way we had come. I looked back and strained my ears.
Water. I could hear water.
A lot of water.
The others heard it, too.
That made them stop and glance back. Once they looked away from the opening and that network of spell light, they seemed to recover themselves and comprehend what I had said.
‘Zoë?’ Nick said, his voice strained. ‘What do we do?’
There was a splash as a wall of water collided with that last corner. It frothed and the wave of it swelled; then it gushed toward us like an ocean wave.
No – like a tsunami.
It filled at least a third of the tunnel’s height and it was headed straight for us.
‘Fuck!’ Nick shouted.
‘Holy shit!’ Garrett cried and grabbed for Meagan. ‘Link hands!’
We grabbed hands as we ran away from the water. At least we’d keep track of each other in the deluge.
‘Wait. We’ll be washed right into the spell trap!’ I shouted. ‘Like fish in a net.’
‘That can’t be good,’ Liam muttered. The cat arched his back and lashed his tail, spitting. Isabelle held him more tightly.
‘What do we do, Zoë?’ Garrett demanded. ‘Drown or get trapped by Mages?’
There were no good choices and the water was surging closer. I had the scruff of Derek’s neck in one hand and Meagan’s hand clutched in my other. There was a cat winding around her ankles, a soot-colored one with white socks, and she snatched it up. She held it tightly against her chest, her eyes wide with fear.
But there was one thing we could do.
‘Shift!’ I shouted to the guys and let the shimmer rock through my body.
In a heartbeat, I was in dragon form and took flight in the tunnel. I snatched up both Derek and Meagan as I went, lifting them above the sudden flood. Meagan’s fingers dug into me in panic, the water lapping at her feet. The herd of cats howled and yelped as they were washed away in the torrent.
The guys had followed my lead immediately and shifted, the pale blue light of the change illuminating the tunnel. Garrett had snatched up Isabelle. Liam hovered in the middle, watching the water with concentration. It churned beneath us, racing for the opening, murky and dark.
Fortunately, the tunnel was big enough for us to hover above the water.
So far.
Nick reached over and took Meagan from me. ‘Why didn’t we think of that right away?’ he asked with irritation. ‘Why do they have to screw with our heads like this?’
‘Because they can,’ Garrett said.
The water gurgled and sloshed around that corner and it was clear that there was more coming. ‘Time for Plan B,’ Nick said, looking at me. We flew a little higher, crowding against the top of the tunnel. I hit my wings on the concrete with every beat, but it was better than drowning.
Soon more water surged around that bend.
And it flowed faster.
We were either going to drown or be Mage bait.
I had to do something.
I turned the ring on my talon and whispered in old-speak. ‘Help me, Sophie. Help us, please.’
My mouth went dry. Would Sophie help me again? Or was her assistance a one time offer? We could use all the help we could get. If there were still a pair of ghostly genies trapped in the ring, they might know what to do.
I saw the ring pulse with red.
I felt it spin of its own accord. My heart skipped in anticipation and I dared to hope.
Then the light went out. The ring turned cold. It stopped turning on my talon.
Sophie had declined to respond.
Shit.
I looked at the raging water and heard the guys’ panic. The water seemed to be moving even faster.
I caught my breath as another wave crashed around the corner, nearly filling the tunnel to the top. It headed straight for us. The guys crowded higher against the top of the tunnel.
And a black bird soared around the corner in the last sliver of space. He had blazing yellow eyes and carried a lightning bolt in each claw. He flew straight toward me, his purpose clear as he sped up.
This was the chance I’d been hoping for.
Derek barked.
I roared with dragonfire, daring Kohana.
Kohana took the dare. He threw a lightning bolt at me and kept coming. I dodged it and it collided with the spell trap in a flurry of sparks. He screamed at me, the infuriated screech of a raven. He was close, almost close enough to snatch, when Derek suddenly lunged at him, teeth bared. The move ripped him free of my grasp, but his teeth closed on Kohana’s wing.
Kohana lost the rhythm of his flight and dipped low with the weight of the wolf. He screamed again and glared at Derek, loosing a flash of heat lightning from his eyes.
I saw the jolt hit Derek and smelled burning fur. He lost his grip on Kohana with a whimper and splashed into the water that swirled beneath us. He was washed away in a heartbeat, swept into the spell trap before my very eyes.
Isabelle screamed. The water surged higher and engulfed our lower bodies. Meagan hummed even more loudly. The guys shouted in fear and anger.
But I snatched at Kohana with both front claws. I wanted his feathers. I wanted his shape shifting coat. I wanted to have some power over him. Some feathers came free as he struggled, and I didn’t drop them.
I wasn’t going to let those feathers go. ‘Give me the whole coat,’ I muttered. ‘Then we can make a deal.’
I felt him panic.
I braced myself for his reaction.
He took off like a shot for the wall of Mage spell, dragging me behind him.
‘Zoë!’ Garrett shouted. ‘No!’
I knew Kohana was trying to frighten me into letting go. I knew he was worried, which meant I was right about there being power in his feathers. That weakness was the same for all shifters. I held fast, even tightening my grip.
Just before we collided with the spell net, everything disappeared in a blinding flash of blue light.
I opened my eyes cautiously when the wind stilled. I was in human form, with those black feathers in my right hand, sprawled across a huge red rock.
One with petroglyphs carved in it.
I recognized this rock. I’d visited it in the spring, when the elder Pyr had been trapped on it by Mage spells. It was somewhere in Minnesota.
How the hell did I get here?
A massive black bird crouched beside me to offer one wing tip. He looked a bit the worse for wear.
He also looked angry.
I remembered that the red rock was a sacred place for the Thunderbirds. Kohana had told me that the earth’s songs were strong there.
I wasn’t taking any help from him.
I glanced pointedly at his wing, then got up by myself. Our gazes locked and held, as I brandished the feathers in front of him.
His eyes turned more vivid yellow, almost snapping with hostility. It was a reasonable approximation of the way I often felt about him. ‘Okay,’ Kohana said. ‘Let’s make a deal.’
I smiled. ‘Not yet. When you only get one wish, you’ve got to make it count.’
He snatched at me with his claw, but I pivoted and called to the shimmer. I knew exactly where I wanted to be and it wasn’t with a Thunderbird intent on sacrificing me to the Mages. I didn’t think Kohana could travel through time and space like me, although I knew he could travel in dreams with ease.
This would be like a test. The shimmer consumed me, illuminated me, danced through my veins. I envisioned my destination, looked him in the eye one last time and smiled.
Then I was out of there.
‘Zoë!’ Kohana roared, but he didn’t follow me.
Which meant he couldn’t.
Either his own abilities or the feathers in my hand made sure of it.
I wasn’t overly concerned with the technicalities.
I was shaking when I opened my eyes again. I had hopes in terms
of my destination, but like I said before, this spontaneous manifestation feat has a bit of unpredictability to it.
Then I breathed a sigh of relief. I knew the inside of this purse, even when it was soaking wet. I scored another chunk of Isabelle’s chocolate stash – I had to love that she’d restocked – as I eavesdropped on the situation beyond the zipper of the bag.
‘We must have been in the Deep Tunnel system,’ Meagan said and I heard her tapping on her messenger. ‘Stupid old thing. It never links right once it gets wet.’
‘What’s that?’ Isabelle asked and I knew she didn’t mean the messenger. I could hear the purring of a cat really close. I guessed it was the one she’d picked up in the tunnel.
‘The Deep Tunnel system was built to move floodwater and storm water out of the city,’ Meagan said. ‘Huge engineering project. The idea was to move the water quickly to reservoirs and old quarries, where it could be slowly released into the lake and river. There! It’s working again.’
‘Do you have any idea where we are?’ Isabelle shivered so violently that I even felt it in her purse.
‘Well, there aren’t that many options, and they’re mostly all in the suburbs. Good! I got a satellite connection. And’ – Meagan tapped busily – ‘our location. Ta-da!’
‘Not too far to the subway,’ Isabelle mused and I guessed she was checking out a map. ‘Let’s get moving before we freeze into icicles. Maybe we’ll find the guys.’
Oh, no. Meagan and Isabelle were alone? At that news, the bottom dropped out of my stomach.
‘I don’t think so,’ Meagan said.
The purse swung as Isabelle started to move. ‘What do you mean?’
‘We didn’t get away because we were brilliant,’ Meagan said. ‘We got away because we’re human. They just didn’t want us.’
Isabelle caught her breath. ‘But they wanted Zoë and the guys.’
‘And probably Derek, too.’ Meagan sounded determined. ‘We have to figure out what we can do to help.’