“Um… let’s save our questions until the end,” Marcus said quickly, and I heard him conjure a few items. “Ava, light these candles. I have to make two circles— one with fire, and one with salt.”
Fire crackled as Ava ignited the candles, and salt scattered as Marcus poured it out on the floor. Then came a scratching sound, like writing being etched onto the concrete.
“What are you doing?” Kallie asked.
“I have to write protective sigils in chalk, so the spirit remains contained and doesn’t get out of control,” Marcus said.
“Is that a risk? It’s Alice,” Kallie said.
“We don’t know what they put her through. Her spirit could be traumatized. She could hurt us even if she doesn’t mean to.” Marcus took a breath. “Okay, it’s set up. Everyone join hands.”
I took Ava’s hand on one side and Marcus’ on the other. He began muttering Latin words under his breath, and a chill traveled across my skin.
Clicking noises sounded, and it took me a moment to realize it was the bones. The skeleton rose from the ground and stumbled forward. I jumped back as the bones landed on me, as if the skeleton was lunging for attack. My fingers slipped out of Marcus’, and I broke the circle. The skeleton dropped to the ground, as if it was a puppet that’d just been dropped.
I shuddered. “Holy hell, Marcus! A little warning, please.”
Marcus sounded less than pleased. “Come here and finish the circle, or this won’t work.”
Warily, I stepped forward, feeling with the tip of my shoe so I wouldn’t step on any bones. I felt Alice’s skull and stopped in my tracks.
Marcus grabbed my hand and began muttering his spell again. The skeleton moved again, making rattling noises until it was standing in front of us.
“Alice,” Marcus called out. “Are you here with us?”
“I’m here,” a ghostly, ethereal female voice came through. “But I don’t know how much time I have.”
Ava squeezed my hand tightly and leaned over to whisper. “She’s speaking through her skeleton. The protective sigils are keeping her inside the circle.”
“Alice, I’m so sorry about what happened to you,” Marcus said. “We need to prevent this from happening again to someone else. Is there anything you can tell us about the Warden that you learned when you were down here?”
“The Warden made a deal with the dark gods,” Alice said. “It’s how he’s getting the crystals. The Warden wants to be the ruler of all supernaturals on earth. He wants to control who gets magic and who doesn’t. I overheard his whole plan while they were torturing me.”
“What is his plan, exactly?” Kallie pressed.
“He’ll funnel people to hell for the dark gods. In exchange, the dark gods will give him power,” Alice explained. “He doesn’t want people to be able to get to the Blessed Haven, because he wants himself and the angels to decide who gets what— who lives and who dies, who rests in peace and who is condemned.”
“How do the demigods play into this?” Ava asked.
“He needs a demigod’s power to find some sort of key,” Alice said. “He spoke of a gate that he wished to open, and then destroy.”
The Elven Gate, Oberi said.
“But that’s not all,” Alice continued. “He wishes to harness demigod power. He wants to put their power into the crystals so he can try and draw from it. He wants to become a demigod himself.”
I gave a shudder. “Have any of his experiments been successful?”
“Not yet,” Alice said. “Everyone he’s experimented on so far has died, and the crystals always break every time he tries. You must not let him succeed. If he’s able to harness demigod powers, he could gain enough magic to betray the dark gods. He intends to kill the gods we worship and become a supreme being himself. But there are whispers on the other side. The dark gods are manipulating him. They need him to start this war, in order to overthrow our gods and free the dark gods from hell. They will kill the Warden when that happens.”
The skeleton creaked as Alice turned. “My reaper is here for me. My soul has been tied to this place, waiting to pass on the information I’ve learned. Now that you know it, I can leave the Underground and join my ancestors in Alora.”
“Go in peace, Alice,” Marcus told her. “We’ll do what we can to save people with the knowledge you’ve given us.”
A whoosh of air swept through the room, and Alice’s skeleton crumbled to the ground. I smelled smoke as the candles went out. I knew her time with us was up, and I hoped she was finally at rest.
“We have to escape,” Ava blurted. “If the Warden experiments on us and succeeds—”
“How do we keep him from hunting us down?” Kallie asked.
