“Yes, well, it was a good little hub for information, but I’ve found its usefulness has run out. Yours, however, is still boundless to me.” The Warden turned upon me, and I swear, it felt like the wrath of the devil himself. “I followed your degenerate friends to your little clubhouse. I have more than enough evidence now to do whatever I like to you, and not the Union, nor your pathetic parents, have any authority to get in my way."
Though I was trying to put on a good front, I felt the color from my face drain away. They’d found the Lair. They’d found everything.
The Warden turned his back to me. “I am going to bleed you of every bit of power you dare to have. Guards, take them— all of them— down to Cellblock 9.”
That was it. Cellblock 9 was the one place none of us wanted to go, but we were heading there. There wasn’t any way out of this.
Wehadto break these inferichite bracelets. We’d done it before; we could do it again. But the crystals in these cuffs were much larger, and so heavy. I felt like I might die with each passing second that the stones touched my skin. I attempted to force magic into the cuffs, explode them like I had in the Underground, because I was that desperate, but I couldn’t even summon a spark right now. Two guards hooked me under the arms and began dragging me after the others, who were kicked and slapped as they were marched to Cellblock 9. Oberi whimpered as the guards picked up the cage that held him and carried him in another direction.
“Oberi!” I started crying. Out of everything that had happened, watching the guards take him away was the worst. Oberi pawed at the cage door, but couldn’t break free. It wasn’t long before he was out of my sight. With the inferichite bracelets on me, I couldn’t feel him or Charlie across our bond, or speak to them telepathically.
As the guards hauled me off, I caught sight of two faces in the bushes. My brother and Alistair— they appeared completely horrified. Ez went to take a step forward to intercede, and Tahoma shook his antlers beside him, ready to fight.
Don’t.I couldn’t say anything, but I could plead with my eyes. Ez and Opal had the rest of the keys. It was all we had left.
Ez paused, and he put an arm to Tahoma’s front to hold him back. Tears welled in his eyes and ran down his face, but he gave me a quick nod before backing away into the dark, secluded trees. Alistair and Tahoma followed, along with Pig.
A tiny sense of relief rushed through me, mixed amongst the impending doom. At least the Warden wouldn’t find the keys… not yet.
And that was my only comfort. Because where we were going, I knew we wouldn’t find any. I promised myself going down there that we’d survive, and we’d get out.Allof us. I swore upon my soul that no matter what torture the Warden put us through, we’d be the first people to break out of Cellblock 9.
Even if there wasn’t much left to save once we came out of those doors.
Let the Warden do his worst. I’d faced the afterlife and come back even stronger. I wasn’t afraid.
After all, what more could he do to me?
I’d already died.
CHAPTERTWENTY-THREE
CHARLIE
My pulse pounded in my ears, and time seemed to slow as the Warden ordered the guards to take us to Cellblock 9. We’d been ambushed and bound by inferichite cuffs before we knew what was happening, and we hadn’t been able to fight back.
These weren’t the measly little inferichite cuffs we’d broken earlier this semester. They were thick and solid, bigger than the crystals Jaymin had tried to use on Ava in the Underground. I tried to shake the earth, to brew up a windstorm—anything— but my magic didn’t respond. There was so much inferichite in these cuffs that they didn’t just block our demigod powers. They rendered us completely powerless. It didn’t matter that we’d resisted inferichite before or that we were immune to noxite. Our powers were locked down tight under the weight of these crystals.
My perception became skewed as pure rage ignited throughout my body. I heard the sound of a cage clang shut as they locked Oberi inside. Rishi howled as he too was thrown in a carrier. The distant sound of the Warden’s threats to Ava met my ears. I struggled against the guards and kicked my feet out, but I didn’t have the strength to break free— not with the inferichite bracelets binding my magic. The crystals were more than we’d ever resisted before.
A guard smashed a fist into my gut, and I nearly spewed my guts right there. The inferichite was so strong, it was enough to make me gag, and the beating didn’t help.
The guards hauled us inside. The air grew damp as they forced us down a flight of stairs. Several locks clanged loudly and echoed off the stone as we were ushered inside the high-security cell block.
Ava gave a bitter laugh. She was utterly pissed. I didn’t have to feel our bond to know it.
“You think you can lockusup?” Ava spat. “I’m going to tear this place to pieces before I get out of here— just like I did to your precious Underground.”
“Go ahead and try, sweetheart,” one of the guards replied. “It already cost you your legs. I’d like to see it cost you your life.”
It was cold down here, and the air felt stale. Water dripped from the ceiling and landed on my head. My feet splashed in small puddles throughout the hall. Something scurried across the top of my foot, and chills of disgust traveled up and down my spine. It reminded me a bittoomuch of the Infernal Underground, except it wasloud.
We hadn’t reached the cells yet, but inmates’ voices echoed down the hall as they shouted obscenities and insults at one another. These weren’t the petty jibes you heard around the Institute, either. These were honest-to-god death threats… and other things I didn’t care to repeat. To think of what the inmates did to each other down here churned my stomach. Guards barked back at the inmates. Metal clanged loudly, and my best guess was the guards were threatening inmates by banging on their cell bars with batons.
We must’ve reached a crossroads, because the guards stopped. They all went silent as heavy footsteps landed against the concrete.
“Well, well, well…” a deep voice drawled. “Would you look who it is.”
My guts clenched. I knew that voice. It was Captain, the ex-military vampire who ran the underground fight ring. He was head of security around here, and I guess that meant he ran Cellblock 9, too.
