Charlie and I followed the mental trail leading us to our Familiar. The moment we stepped outside the door of the room we’d been in, there was a host of guards waiting for us in the hallway. They raised their pistols, taking aim.
They had no idea who they were dealing with. My sights fell on three guards, and before our eyes they spontaneously combusted into ash, their forms becoming a pile of embers without a singular flame. Charlie’s Air magic blasted them backward, sending three guards sailing down the hall with so much force that their bodies were crushed when they finally hit the concrete wall at the end. Kallie conjured swords with her illusion magic, which hovered in the air before they spun into the hearts of four other guards, slicing them from shoulder to belly. As their entrails collapsed from their middles, Marcus used telekinesis to lift the guards off the floor, smashing them into the ceiling before wrenching their bodies back down to the floor.
“All right, now we’re talking!” Ivy shouted as we moved forward. They gave a wicked cackle and racked the pistol.
Oberi’s panicky urges through our bond made us move quickly. I attempted to speak to him, but I don’t think he heard me, because he didn’t respond. I felt his terror resonating in a room about fifty feet down the hall. There was a guard protecting the door ahead, and he raised his pistol to shoot, but Charlie lifted his hand, and the guard put both hands to his neck as he immediately lost the ability to breathe. He rasped as his lungs were crushed, attempting to uselessly conjure a fireball before it fizzled out. Charlie grabbed him by the shoulders and tossed him out of the way as Chancey opened the door.
My stomach clenched painfully as we entered the room, and I observed the area. It was some sort of pound for Familiars and animal companions of those in Cellblock 9. The walls were lined with cages, rows of them stacked one right on top of the other. The room appeared empty, all cages vacant. I worried we’d found the wrong place, or that they’d been moved.
A low whimpering in the corner of the room caught my attention. Charlie and I pivoted toward it at the same time, drawn to the call. We rushed forward, and my heart was wrenched out of my chest as I saw Oberi shivering in a little cage, which was on eye level with us. He still had the muzzle on, and looked completely terrified. When he saw us, he gave a low whine and wagged his tail slowly. He appeared absolutely pitiful, and I wanted to cry. No dog, especially not Oberi, belonged in a pound.
“Rishi!” Marcus stood on his tiptoes, looking into a cage above us. “He’s here!”
I heard Rishi give a low yowl from up high. Charlie grabbed the cage holding Oberi and shook its door, before he drew back with a hiss. “The bars have inferichite in them.”
“Let’s break it together.” Kallie grasped the door, and the three of us copied her movement. Simultension formed our powers together in one blast, and the inferichite stood no chance against it. Our magic ripped apart the inferichite lock keeping the cage door closed like it was nothing but a piece of paper caught in a hurricane, and the lock blew into pieces.
We combined our powers to let Rishi loose, before Charlie ripped open the cage door that led to Oberi. He wrenched the muzzle off of Oberi’s mouth and tossed it to the floor, then took Oberi into his arms and cuddled him to his chest. “Oh, Oberi.”
Our Familiar shook as he licked Charlie’s face.You found me, you found me!
“Of course we did,” Charlie said, and he buried his face in Oberi’s shoulder fur while I patted his head and kissed his nose. Oberi gave me an affectionate lick before Charlie set him down, and the husky began hopping furiously around on his paws.
Gods. I’m pissed, I’m SO pissed, Oberi fumed.How dare they put me in a tiny cage! I am not one for tiny cages!
Rishi gave a surly meow from Marcus’ arms. His eyes were half shut, lip curled as his nose shriveled up in distaste. He was certainlynot happy.
I glanced quickly around the pound. “I don’t see Tahoma or Pig. Maybe they never found Ez or Alistair. What if they got out with the keys?”
“Let’s hope so. What’s our next move?” Chancey asked.
“I can paint a door,” Marcus offered.
“We need to find Springs and Alette first. The Warden’s also got my grimoire,” Kallie said breathlessly.
“My journal, too,” I added. “He can’t be allowed to have it. He’ll figure out my aunt’s clues and use them against us.”
“I’ll bet anything they’re in his office,” Marcus said shortly. “It’ll be faster for us to walk there than it will be for me to paint a life-sized door.”
“Good plan. Come on.” Charlie grabbed my wheelchair handles and pushed me out of the pound, which I was grateful for, because I didn’t want to be in there for one more second.
I asked my compass to direct us toward the exit. The needle spun, and we followed its instructions until it led us to a set of staircases that went upward. There was a slight beam of light resonating from the top of them, and it appeared to be the light of salvation.
My arms shook. Ancestors, we were almost free.
Until… my attention was stolen away as we passed a door by the base of the stairs. “What’s that?” I asked, grabbing my wheels so Charlie knew to stop.
“It’s the control room. Who cares?” Chancey asked.
“Wait,” I said, and Chancey gave a groan. “Hold on a minute.”
I used a fireball to melt the lock on the door, and Ivy propped it open for me. I wheeled inside and observed the control panel inside the room, which was very similar to the one in solitary except for one thing.
“What’s this big red button do?” I asked as I stared at it. I was itching to press it, mainly because the warning inscribed by the button told me not to.
“It’s an emergency release. It overrides all the locks and instantly opens every cell in the block. I learned about them while Marcus and I were investigating death row,” Kallie informed me, looking down at it.
All was quiet for a second, before I brought my hand slamming down onto the button. The minute I touched it, an alarm siren blared. Spinning red lights lit up in the control room and down the hallway, signaling an escape.
