Chapter Twenty-Three

We sprinted down the stairs and through the hallway, hearts hammering to the beat of our racing footsteps. We turned several corners until we came upon a narrow dead-end hall at the back of the building. It was dark and looked like the kind of place you kept storage boxes—not people.

"Help!" Mandy's voice came again, much louder this time.

I hurried to the door the screaming was coming from and flung it open. We flooded inside to find ourselves in a darkened storage room. Beyond the crowded shelving stood a metal cage that stretched from the floor to the ceiling. It looked to be a kind of storage locker one would keep valuables in to prevent theft. Instead, the locker had been cleared out to make room for two women.

"Thank the Goddess," Mandy wept. It was our Mandy this time. The relief in her tear-filled eyes was undeniable. The priestesses hadn't been kind to her. She'd dropped a considerable amount of weight, and her dark hair was matted in a tangled bun. She had cuts and bruises all over her arms.

Mandy sniffled. "I've waited so long to see you guys."

"We're going to get you out," I promised.

I stepped up to the cage and laced my fingers through the metal fencing. Miles fidgeted with the lock, trying to set them free. My attention was captivated by the other woman inside the cell. She was in her thirties with caramel colored hair and wore a long skirt that had been ripped on the end. She looked so frail, with bruises mottling one side of her face.

"Professor Wykoff," I breathed. "What have the priestesses done to you?"

This hadn't been the first time the priestesses set out to hurt her. Last year, Professor Wykoff wrote a letter to the editor that was published in the Miriamic Messenger, in which she came out against what the priestesses were doing. The priestesses had made a big deal at school about making her answer for it, but we'd protested, and managed to save Professor Wykoff from being hanged.

She knotted her hands together. "I continued your work and kept your news column going. I published articles in secret to expose the priestesses' true intentions, and I gathered quite a following. There are people who will side with you. Unfortunately, despite my best efforts to conceal myself, the priestesses found out I was behind it. They brought me here with the intent to execute me publicly any day now."

"That's not going to happen," I assured her.

Miles kicked the cage. "This lock is protected by magic. I can't get through."

Nadine lifted her hands. "Everyone stand back."

We all took several steps back, and Mandy and Professor Wykoff huddled together in the corner. Nadine took control of the magic protecting the cage, then transformed it. Blue, electric power crackled across the metal like sparks of lightning, then a huge boom sounded as the door blasted inward. The heavy door clanged against the wall, then fell to the floor.

I reached my hand inside the cage. "Quickly."

Mandy took my hand and scrambled out of the holding cell. She was so weak that she practically sagged into my arms. "I'm so sorry!"

I stared down at her incredulously. "You have nothing to be sorry for."

Tears leaked from her eyes. "I do. The priestesses tortured me. They made me send you visions through dreams, to lure you to Octavia Falls. I didn't want to, but they forced me. I figure they got what they wanted, because they eventually dragged me here. That cage wasn't just enchanted to keep us in, but also to block our powers. I had no way of getting in touch with any of you…"

Mandy trailed off as she looked around. "But you're all still here. They didn't hurt you. Then what did they want from me?"

Dear Goddess. Mandy had no idea Magnus had been pretending to be her for months.

"We have a lot to tell you—" I started, but I was cut off by the sound of an animalistic wail coming down the hall. It was reminiscent of nails on a chalkboard, almost like the distorted tone of a horse's bray.

"There's no time to chat," Verla insisted. "We have to get moving."

We left the storage room and turned a few corners until we entered the wide expanse of the main hallway. My heart dropped to my stomach, and I skidded to a halt when I saw what awaited us.

On both ends of the hall stood half a dozen horse-like creatures. They had no skin—just red flesh coating their bodies. Each horse had only one eye, along with a rider attached to its back. Each rider had long, spindly arms that dragged on the ground.

We'd seen these creatures before, when we'd made the trek to hell. Nuckelavee, the Ferryman had called them.

"Everyone stay back!" I cried.

Professor Wykoff grabbed Mandy, who was shaking at the sight of the beasts. Slowly, she dragged Mandy back down the hall, out of sight of the nuckelavee. Mandy was in no condition to fight right now.

I took a few paces back, but the nuckelavee inched closer, as if stalking prey. I could see their chests rising and falling. I remembered what the Ferryman had said about them.

"They can kill cattle in a single breath," I told the others. "I'm certain that poison doesn't discriminate."

"Didn't he also say they're terrified of fresh water?" Grant asked.

"I don't see any freshwater streams around!" Miles's voice rose a few pitches.

"I've got this." Chloe stepped forward confidently, and the end of the Mentalist Wand glowed. "Turn around and go back to where you came from!"

Chloe was trying to get into their heads, but the herd kept creeping closer. The way behind us was only a dead end. To escape, we'd have to get to one of the stairwells on either side of the hall and down to the main level. The monsters were blocking off all exits.

"Uh, I don't think it's working!" Talia squeaked.

"Use the Oaken Wands," Verla encouraged. "There has to be a spell that can break them."

"What am I going to do?" Talia demanded. "The best I can do is feel their emotions, and it's obvious they were sent to kill us!"

Grant held up the Alchemy Wand. "I'll poison their blood. That should stop them."

The dark blood in the nuckelavees' veins glowed as Grant infused it with his magic. In moments, their muscles seemed to grow an extra twenty-five percent. It had the exact opposite effect he intended.

Grant chuckled nervously. "Uh… I see you all have been spending some time in the weight room."

"They're already poisonous," Onyx pointed out. "You've only made them stronger."

"Let me try," I offered, taking another step back as they stopped their hooves at us. I lifted the Mortana Wand and curled my magic around their throats. I tried to rip their souls apart one by one, the same way I'd dragged the Executors' souls from their bodies, but the darkness I felt within them didn't budge.

"It's not going to work," Autumn said in a shaky tone. "They're already dead."

"Autumn's right," I told the others. I felt into their energy, and I could tell something was off, the same way I had sensed that Professor Leto was a demon last year. "They're raw dark spiritual energy. They can't be influenced by personality, which means there's nothing for our power to manipulate."

The nuckelavee were getting too close now. They'd backed us into the wall, and any moment now they'd be close enough to breathe their deathly breath on us.

"Then we're going to have to turn to brute force." Professor Warren lifted his hands, and I quickly caught on to what he was doing. Footsteps sounded on the stairs—the heavy boots of dead Executors from downstairs, reanimated by Professor Warren's necromancy magic. Several nuckelavee turned their heads to see what was coming. In the moment they were distracted, I gestured to the others. We quickly slipped to the side and raced toward another stairwell at the other end of the hall.

We weren't fast enough, though. Two nuckelavee got to the stairwell before we did to block our path. They huffed and stomped their feet.

I shoved the others back. "Don't let them breathe on you!"

Chloe shrugged me off and stepped forward to face the nuckelavee. "For fuck's sake, get the hell out of our way."

She thrust her hand forward, and the two nuckelavee went flying backward in response to her telekinetic magic. They tumbled down the stairs, but immediately jumped to their feet on the landing. They narrowed their eyes at us and scraped their hooves on the ground. I threw up a shield to hold them back.

"All you did was piss them off!" Nadine cried.

She barely got the words out before a group of nuckelavee came charging down the hallway. I immediately conjured my scythe and swung it at the nearest monster. The horse's head rolled off its shoulders, and its rider screamed a high-pitched cry that reverberated through the walls.

I ordered my scythe to fly down the hall and swing at the second closest nuckelavee. All I had to do was think about it. But before the blade could make contact, the nuckelavee caught it in his spindly fingers and tossed it aside. My scythe clattered to the ground.

My shoulders slumped. I'd already performed so much magic, and it was wearing me out.

Nadine thrust her hand out, blasting the closest creatures back with battle orbs. It wasn't enough to get rid of them, though. How were we going to kill something that was already dead?

Down the hall, ten dead bodies had reached the top of the stairs. Professor Warren moved them like puppets, ordering them to attack the nuckelavee. Blood dripped out of slashed wounds in their abdomen, and they slumped over. My scythe had delivered so much damage that even in death they couldn't walk right. Two of the corpses had been sliced clean in half by my blade, and their bottom half marched up the stairs, while the top half dragged itself upward by its hands.

The dead tried to climb onto the monsters' backs, and the nuckelavee turned their heads to deliver their deadly breath. Naturally, it didn't work on the dead bodies. When the nuckelavee realized this, they began punching and scratching at the Executors. They tossed the bodies off their backs, then stomped them with their hooves. The crunch of bones echoed off the walls. It all happened so fast.

"Lucas, portal us out of here!" Verla cried.

I lifted my hands, but only sparks appeared. "I'm… drained," I admitted breathlessly. I couldn't perform much more magic. Not when I'd already done so much to kill the hundreds of Executors. Whatever power I could still do was up to the ability of the Mortana Wand.

"We're not leaving without Marcus," Autumn demanded. "If it's portals you want, then let's portal these creatures back to the hell they came from."

She stepped in front of me, but I wasn't about to let her do this spell alone. It was a powerful one, even for a reaper.

I grabbed Autumn's hand and lifted the Mortana Wand in the other. "Together."

Autumn looked up at me and nodded.

Magic swelled through me, filling me up from head to toe. A powerful gust of wind swept through the hallway, then the shimmering edges of a portal bloomed at the nuckelavee's feet. I could hear the snap of bubbling lava below us. The red glow of hell reflected off the walls. One by one, nuckelavee let out horrifying cries as they were sucked into the portal.

A single monster remained at the end of the hall. He set his sights on me, then began galloping in our direction. Autumn and I only funneled more magic into the spell. Our portal expanded, until it was so large it touched each wall. I could see the lake of boiling lava below us—even feel the heat of it on my face.

The nuckelavee jumped, soaring over top of the portal. I was certain he wasn't going to make it and would fall into the pit…

The monster's front hooves touched solid ground, but its backend dropped into the portal. His feet scraped at the floor, desperately searching for a handhold. When he didn't find one, the long arms of his humanoid half reached outward—and connected with my ankle.

I was swept off my feet in an instant and felt myself being dragged across the floor. My heart jumped into my throat.

"NO!" The word echoed around me, and I was certain multiple people had screamed it.

My legs slipped into the portal, being dragged down by the weight of the nuckelavee. I felt the heat of hell on my clothes as the monster attempted to drag me into the portal, down to hell with it. I thought for certain I was a goner, and that the fires of hell would consume me. But at the last second, my friends reached me. Multiple hands grabbed my arms, my clothes—anything they could reach. Autumn clung to me as she kicked at the nuckelavee, trying to force him off.

I felt his hand break free. It was at that same moment that Autumn's eyes filled with terror. A split second of panic hit, and then, her hands left my body. The nuckelavee had grabbed hold of her instead, and she'd lost her grip on me.

"Autumn!" I screamed. I reached out for her, but it was already too late. Her fingers slipped from mine, and she went tumbling into the lava below. I looked through the portal to hell. It all happened so fast that she was a mere flash of color, reduced to a splash…

And then, she was gone.

I hope my sacrifice has redeemed me. Autumn's voice rang through my mind.

My friends pulled me back to solid ground. Tears welled in my eyes. "I shall see you in Alora," I whispered, hoping that somewhere out there, Autumn could hear me.

The portal slammed shut. In front of us, the dead bodies Professor Warren had reanimated lay sprawled out on the ground. The nuckelavee were gone—they'd all been swallowed up by the portal.

Or so I thought. Hooves stomped up the staircase. Somewhere in the chaos, my shield had broken, and the two nuckelavee left in the stairwell came charging at us. They had their sights set on the nearest person—Nadine.

I wasn't close enough to stop them. I choked back my tears and immediately sprang into action. I lifted my hand to cast a shield, but I wasn't as quick as Verla. She threw herself in front of Nadine and lifted her palms. A crackle of magic made the hair on my arms stand on end a moment before battle magic unlike anything I'd ever seen burst from Verla's hands.

A thundering boom consumed the following moment. It was as if a bomb had detonated, sending a wave of magic blasting down the hall. The two charging nuckelavee were reduced to a pile of ash in the blink of an eye. Windows exploded outward, and the sound of glass filled Octavia Hall.

My friends and I were thrown backward. The wind knocked out of me when I hit the wall, and my ears rang. My friends lay scattered across the hallway.

I thought it'd be over in a second, but the building began to creak, and I realized the ground was shaking beneath me. A loud crack broke through the air, and building materials rained down from above us. Half the building gave way all at once, and a gaping fissure opened in the floor.

Professor Warren didn't get a chance to move as the rift split under him. His legs slipped into the opening.

"Professor!" Nadine and I screamed at the same time. We both lunged forward, but Professor Warren had already fallen.

I heard the hard thud of his landing on the level below us, along with the snap of what I assumed to be building material.

My heart hammered as I peered through the opening. I found relief when I saw Professor Warren lying on the floor below us, trying to catch his breath. His leg was twisted at an odd angle. I realized the snap I heard had been bone. He was hurt, but he was alive.

"Professor, are you okay!?" I called.

He sucked a breath between his teeth. "I'll live…"

I whirled around to assess the damage. The fissure was six feet wide at its largest spot and progressively got smaller, until it stopped halfway down the hall. My friends groaned and rubbed parts of themselves that had been hit in the blast.

"Everyone all right?" I asked.

Murmurs of I'm okay spread through the hall. Apart from a few bruises and Warren's broken leg, everyone looked to be fine. The nuckelavee were gone, and we were all still alive. Mandy clung to Professor Wykoff as they slowly inched out of the hall they'd been hiding in.

Nadine turned her gaze to Verla. "How did you do that? A blast that big should've killed you."

"I had to stop them…" Verla took a step forward, but it was shaky. All at once, the blood drained from her face, and she collapsed.

Nadine and I were at her side in an instant. I quickly flipped Verla over and rested her head in my lap.

"Stay with us," I demanded.

Verla winced as she tried to get up. "We need to keep moving. Marcus needs us."

"No, Clarice," Nadine pressed. "Your magic is completely drained. If you cast one more spell, even a small one, it could take the rest of your energy and kill you. You can't fight anymore. You and Warren need to get out of here. You need medical attention."

"But Marcus…" Verla rasped.

"We'll bring him home," I promised. "Onyx, can you help?"

Onyx stepped forward. "I'll take them to the hospital and make sure they get the medical care they need."

"You'll need help supporting Warren on the way out," Miles said. "I'll help."

"Take Mandy and Wykoff, too," I added.

"I'll stay," Professor Wykoff offered. "I'm prepared to fight."

She was still banged up from what the priestesses had done to her, but the confidence in her eyes told me she wouldn't leave even if I made her.

"All right," I agreed. "Onyx, Miles, get Mandy, Verla, and Warren out of here."

Verla slumped in my arms, and I realized she'd slipped into unconsciousness. Mandy hurried over to lift her up, and Onyx helped. They started carrying her toward the stairs, carefully maneuvering around the fissure.

Miles hurried in front of them. "Hold on, Professor Warren! I'm on my way."

I picked up my scythe and subconjured it, then turned back to those who had remained—Nadine, Grant, Talia, Chloe, and Professor Wykoff.

I gritted my teeth. "The priestesses are going to get sick of playing this game sooner or later. It's time we found them and put an end to this."

Grant smashed his fist into his opposite palm. "They're going to be sorry they ever messed with the Shield Squad."

Chloe eyed Grant. "You're not going to give that up, are you? I guess the Shield Squad it is."

Talia lifted her chin high and repeated what we'd said before we'd jumped into the hell pits. "To hell and back?"

"Even if it kills us," Nadine and I confirmed in unison.

The Shield Squad was getting our son back… no matter what.

My hands curled into fists, and I was ready to give the priestesses exactly what was coming to them. "Tal, now that Magnus's fae amulet isn't blocking your powers, can you see where the priestesses went?"

Talia closed her eyes and ran her fingers over the wall. "I see them coming down this hall before we arrived. Marcus is with them, and Priestess Margaret is saying, We'll go through the tunnel and wait out the nuckelavee where it's safe, until all but the Curse Breaker are destroyed."

"What tunnel?" I demanded.

Talia shook her head. "I'm not sure, but I can use my visions to follow them. If we're fast, we might still be able to catch up with them before they realize we've killed all the nuckelavee. Follow me."

We raced behind her. Talia led us down the stairwell, until we reached the basement of the building. Verla's explosion hadn't reached this far down, and the ceiling appeared stable above us.

Talia ran her fingers along the walls and paused at the end of corridors to assess her visions. We turned a corner, and I figured we'd reached the front of the building by now. I thought for sure we were going to hit a dead end. But instead, a long, dark hall stretched in front of us. It looked like it traveled under the street and appeared long enough to reach the courthouse.

"They went this way!" Talia cried. "Let's keep moving!"

Nadine cast a witch light, because the hall was so dark. The six of us sprinted down the hall, until we came to a stairway at the end. It didn't appear to lead anywhere, until I looked upward to see a trap doorway. I took the stairs upward before anyone else could reach them, and I shoved the trap door open with my shoulder.

The dark walls of the coven's courtroom surrounded me, and sconces flickered with candlelight from the walls. I emerged from behind a long podium, and I realized the secret tunnel opened directly beneath where the judge sat during trials.

I stepped down from the podium and looked around the courtroom, but it was empty. Nadine climbed out of the trap door, and the others followed into the courtroom. Professor Wykoff came up beside me and spun around, looking confused.

"Where'd they go from here, Tal?" I asked desperately.

Talia placed her hand on the podium, but she didn't have a chance to speak before the front doors of the courtroom opened. Heels clicked against the marble floor. We whirled toward the sound to see three priestesses coming our way. Claudia's dark dress swirled around her ankles, and the Seer priestess was flanked by Mira—the false Curse Breaker—and Professor Hernandez—the new Mortana Priestess.

"You found our secret tunnel, I see," Claudia sneered. "We didn't expect you all to survive. Of course the idiots we planted to stop you didn't do their job."

"I'll take care of them," Mira stated, but her confidence was unfounded. She lifted her hands, and black tendrils of magic curled out of her fingers. It was all too reminiscent of what I'd seen her brother Leroy pull off the night we fled Octavia Falls a year ago. With just one touch of his magic, people would drop dead. It appeared she was gifted the same power.

I aimed the Mortana Wand at her, and her magic shriveled to nothing. Mira's features darkened, like she had thought she was impervious to the Wand's powers.

My friends already had their Wands out, which put the priestesses in the crosshairs of four Oaken Wands. I didn't know what the council thought they were going to do; the Oaken Wands were far more powerful than they were.

"The only reason you're still alive is because you're going to tell us where our son is," I growled.

"So you can kill us afterward?" Claudia gave a chilling laugh. "You're too scared to go through with it. I can feel it."

All our friends instinctually shrank closer to me, apart from Professor Wykoff, who'd been standing several paces away and closest to the priestesses. She didn't dare make a move, though.

"That's it?" Nadine demanded in a shaky tone. She inched even closer to me, until our arms were touching. "That's been your power all this time? A Seer who can feel fear? Of course we're afraid! You don't have to be a Seer to know that. What use are your powers?"

A sinister smile spread across Claudia's face. "It's certainly helped my business negotiations."

"We aren't here to negotiate," I seethed. "Tell us where our son is, or die."

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." A female voice came from the hall. Lilian and Margaret stepped out of their hiding place and into the courtroom.

Margaret held a bundle in her arms. My heart skipped a beat when I saw the tuft of hair on Marcus's head poking out of the end of the bundle. A moment of hesitation stopped me from ripping their souls straight from their bodies, because Lilian was standing alongside Margaret, pointing a wand at Marcus.

"Your child has been cursed," Lilian stated. "Hurt any one of the priestesses, and he will instantly die. Are you willing to risk that, reaper? Do you really want your son to meet his brother in the Abyss?"

I had the thought that she could be bluffing. Yet I realized if I truly believed that, I'd have killed them already.

The priestesses were playing a dangerous game. And they were holding the most valuable card in the deck.