Rise of the Arcanist Series: Books 1 - 6 Page 15

  TS nodded. “Now that I think about it, he wasn’t very keen on the idea of you following that other scent.”

  “No,” Thomas agreed. “He wasn’t, was he?”

  “Still remember how to get there?” Dani asked.

  Thomas nodded.

  We changed directions and soon the five of us were hiking deeper into the woods. My night vision spell wasn’t wearing off yet, but I swear the woods seemed darker.

  “Smell anything?” Charlie whispered when Thomas slowed down suddenly.

  “Witch.” He sniffed. “A different one. And blood.”

  “I smell it too,” TS said. “That way.”

  We all shared a nervous look. I adjusted my grip on my wand and followed.

  “How’s Rak?” Thomas asked me softly.

  “He seems fine.” I could sense a lazy concentration, like he felt when he was watching TV. It was almost funny, imagining Rak curled up with Shannon, while she watched a movie with Ember, Mariana, and Charlotte. How strange and normal all at the same time. I hoped I was right and they were all peacefully getting along, and safe, back at the house.

  “The scent is getting stronger,” Thomas announced a few minutes later.

  “And fouler,” TS added.

  “And I bet it’s coming from there,” Dani cried, pointing.

  There, through the trees, was a large tree with an honest-to-god doorway in the middle.

  “Be ready,” said Thomas.

  We slowly, silently crept closer. The bark of the huge tree was peeled away and blackened, leaving a perfect hole, just bigger than the average person. I could see a stairway inside that led down and curved away. After an exchange of nervous looks, we started down, one by one. Thomas went first, with Dani close behind, then me and Charlie, then TS bringing up the rear. I could hear his claws clacking on the ground as he padded down the steps. I glanced down and saw that the dirt steps had turned into stone.

  I wasn’t sure how far down we were when Thomas stopped. I peered around him and Dani and saw that the small staircase opened into a much larger looking room. Thomas cautiously headed the rest of the way down and we followed.

  I bit back a gasp as I reached the bottom of the stairs. They opened into a large, almost circular cavern. Several huge pillars circled, holding up a rough stone ceiling. We were on a long, curved landing. The stairs picked up again, splitting into two stairways that followed the walls down and out of sight.

  We moved slowly to the edge and looked down. The entire room was visible and empty, except for a strange round platform at the bottom, right in the middle. Thomas nodded to TS and Dani, then started down the stairway to our right. He beckoned and Charlie and I followed him. Dani and TS took the other stairs, mirroring us as we carefully made our way down.

  The air seemed oppressive and thick. The cool night air was gone. It was too hot, too stale. And something smelled awful. It reminded me of the time a mouse died in the wall of the house I rented in college: rotten and dead.

  It seemed to take forever to get to the bottom. At last, we made it and crossed the room to the platform. It came up to my waist and was covered in carved symbols and dark stains.

  “Blood,” Charlie whispered as I reached the same conclusion.

  I turned to see that Thomas was covering his nose. He nodded, then removed his hand and sniffed. I swear, he turned slightly green. “From at least a dozen people. All kinds of magics. And it smells wrong.” He took another quick whiff. “It’s not like normal old blood.”

  I took a step closer and my foot bumped against something, which made a metallic clanking sound. I moved away to look and saw a large chain, one end attached to the platform. The final link on the other end was hinged and open. There were two more just like it, attached an equal distance around the sides of the platform. A chill went up my spine as I realized what the platform was for. I knew without looking that there would be a fourth chain on the other side.

  My stomach churned and I moved farther away. I thought of the stacks of files of missing people. How many of them had ended up here? Chained to this platform and sacrificed?

  “Okay,” Thomas said suddenly, raising his voice. I almost jumped and turned to see he was looking up at the other stairway. “Be careful.” He turned back to us. “There’s a door up there.”

  I looked up and sure enough, there was a now-open door halfway up the stairs.

  Thomas pulled out his cell phone. “This is eerie, let’s get some evidence and get out of here.”

  Charlie and I nodded and took out our own phones. I snapped a few pictures and then TS joined us.

  “Where’s Dani?” Charlie asked.

  “What did you find?” Thomas said.

  TS sniffed at the platform, then snorted and shook himself. “It’s a little storage room, full of potions ingredients and things like that. Dani’s checking it out and taking some pictures.” He snorted again. “Bugger, it smells even worse up close.”

  “Tell me about it,” Thomas muttered.

  “It reminds me of when that blood magic hit us in the woods. Did you smell it?”

  “Yeah,” said Thomas with a nod. “It’s similar. Worse here, I think.”

  “Can you tell anything from the scent?”

  Thomas sniffed again, then shook his head. “No. I can hardly even tell what types of magics it’s from. It’s so rotten it’s overpowering everything. What about you, Charlie? See anything odd?”

  Charlie frowned and looked around the room. I knew without my night vision the room would be pitch black and assumed Charlie was using his heat vision. Sure enough, I could see the tell-tale flicker in his eyes.

  “No,” he said after a moment. “Nothing seems out of place, temperature-wise.”

  “I think we’ve been here long enough,” Thomas said. “Come on.”

  We started walking toward the stairs, when Thomas flung out his arms, holding Charlie and I back.

  “Someone’s coming!” he gasped.

  We all looked around frantically. There was nowhere to go, unless we hid behind the platform, which couldn’t possibly hide us all.

  And then it was too late.

  A figure appeared high up on the landing. He stopped in surprise, then laughed.

  “Well, well. I knew you’d find your way here sooner or later, but I am surprised to see you already.”

  TS growled and Thomas moved protectively in front of me as Fletcher began to descend the stairs. He stopped halfway down and stood regarding us with a smirk.

  “But you don’t seem so surprised to see me,” Fletcher went on. “I suppose you think you have it all figured out.”

  “Everything except why,” Thomas said. “Why, Morgan? How many people did you lure here and murder?”

  “Not as many as you may think,” Fletcher said with a dark laugh.

  Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted Dani slip from the storage room and start making his way slowly up the stairs. Unless Fletcher looked across the room and up behind him, he’d never know Dani was there. I locked my eyes back on Fletcher, determined not to accidentally give him a reason to look.

  “Even one is too many,” TS said harshly.

  “Why?” Thomas repeated.

  “For power,” Fletcher cried, raising his wand. “Maybe if you were still a wizard you’d understand. Then again, you have always pushed yourself, haven’t you? The youngest agent in the office, always trying to prove yourself… All three of you.”

  “Not at the expense of innocent lives,” Thomas said.

  “Necessary sacrifices.”

  “And what about Ember?” Charlie demanded. “Was having her attacked necessary too? Were you going to bring her here and kill her? Or just do it right there in the garage?!” Fire flared up in his fists.

  Fletcher only laughed. “Little brat was sticking her nose where it didn’t belong.”

  “Into Greyson Turner? What does he have to do with it?” Thomas asked.

  “I don’t have to explain anything to you,�
�� Fletcher said. He started to raise his wand. Dani silently mirrored him, raising his gun and taking aim.

  “And what about Delilah?” TS cried. “You owe me that much; she’s my soul-packmate. It wasn’t an accident was it?”

  “I apologize for that one,” Fletcher said, not looking sorry at all. “You were both supposed to die.”

  TS lunged and snapped furiously. Thomas grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and hauled him back.

  “You took quite a bit of time off from MES four years ago,” Thomas said, keeping his grip on TS. “Where did you go?”

  “A tropical island,” Fletcher sneered. “Where else would I go?”

  Thomas released TS who shook himself off, then bared his teeth up at Fletcher. “Maybe you were becoming a blood wizard.”

  “Oh, no no. I’ve been a blood wizard for a long time.” A dark grin spread over Fletcher’s face. “But you’re right, I wasn’t on a vacation. I was being inducted into the service of the Disciples of Dewinnos. And…” His grin widened and I felt a chill. “My mistress has at last unlocked the secret of her great ancestor’s power and will soon teach her most loyal followers. Then, a power you cannot begin to fathom will be mine.”

  I swallowed nervously. That didn’t sound good. Behind him on the stairs, I could see Dani slowly closing in, obviously waiting in case Fletcher gave us more information.

  “But enough talk,” Fletcher said. “I have things to do and you’re in my way now.”

  “You’re outnumbered, Fletcher,” Thomas said.

  Fletcher smiled. “Then you’ve made two grave mistakes. The first is drastically underestimating the power of blood magic.”

  “And the second?” Thomas asked when it became clear Fletcher was waiting.

  “I’ve worked with you for too long,” Fletcher said simply. He took a step forward and raised his wand.

  Thomas and TS tensed, fire flared between Charlie’s hands, and I lifted my own wand, ready with a defensive spell. Dani raised his gun, ready to fire.

  “Skal-esh-kan!” Fletcher started down the stairs, shouting a spell I had never heard. But as he finished, he spun and snapped his wand out behind him.

  Dani had to be just as shocked as the rest of us, but I still heard his gun go off as the spell hit him. The force of Fletcher’s attack threw him backward into the wall, sending his gun clattering down the rocks somewhere. Then, to my horror he crashed back to the too-narrow stairs, scrambled desperately for a moment, then went over the edge.

  Screams, including my own, echoed around me as Dani fell.

  Thomas hurtled across the room, so fast I could hardly see him. He hit the far wall and used it to launch himself into the air. My knees nearly gave out in relief as Thomas caught Dani and landed safely. He paused a moment, giving Dani a chance to regain his balance, then hissed furiously at Fletcher.

  Fletcher had one hand pressed to his shoulder. He lowered it and I spotted an unusually dark blood stain spreading across his shirt. “You missed,” he sneered, even though Dani had obviously hit him.

  Dani wiped away a trickle of blood from his nose and smiled grimly. “So did you.”

  The sound of Fletcher’s laughter filled the air. “I have to confess,” he said, slowly coming down the stairs. “I wasn’t sure if you were there. I would have looked quite foolish wasting a spell. You are good at sneaking up on people, Pelagos. But, Clark would never be here without you. Neither would Smith. Both of them?” Fletcher laughed. “Impossible. And you’ve pulled that same stunt on plenty of people working with me. Never expected you to try it against me.” He shrugged. “As I said, I’ve worked with you for too long. You should have fired the moment you had a clear shot. I guess you made three mistakes.”

  “If you really have worked with us for too long,” Dani said, “then you’d realize you made a mistake leaving me standing.”

  Fletcher’s answering smile chilled me. “What makes you think I did leave you standing? Maybe I’m waiting for something.”

  We all glanced nervously at each other and around the room. Dani drew a knife with one hand and used the other to wipe away more blood from his nose. He flicked the blood away to the side, never taking his eyes off Fletcher.

  “If you’re stalling for backup,” TS said. “Forget it. It ends here, Fletcher. Tonight.”

  “For you maybe,” Fletcher replied casually. “You’re still underestimating what blood magic can do. It’s just me, no backup. I’m just waiting for…” He let the end of his sentence hang and an oppressive silence settled over us.

  It was broken by a sudden cry of pain from Dani. He dropped his knife and staggered back a step, clutching his head.

  “Danio?!” Thomas cried.

  “Dan!” Charlie yelled, rushing to his side.

  “Ah. That,” said Fletcher.

  Dani collapsed.

  TS and I quickly hurried over. Charlie was kneeling by Dani, carefully patting his cheek. “Dan! Danio!”

  Dani looked completely unharmed. He could have been sleeping, if not for the steady trickle of blood, still running from his nose. Was it my imagination or was there even more?

  Heat blazed around me as Charlie climbed to his feet. “What did you do to him?” he screamed.

  “Cool down, Smith,” said Fletcher. “It won’t be fatal. As long as he gets water. Quickly.” He laughed cruelly. “Of course, I don’t plan on letting you leave this place, so that may be difficult.”

  Whatever Charlie was about to say was cut off by a cough from Thomas. I turned just as he clamped a hand over his nose, eyes wide with horror as he stared at Dani. I followed his gaze and gasped; the black swollen veins had spread across Dani’s face again. A foul smell hit me and I wanted to gag.

  “It’s turning black!” TS cried.

  It took me a moment to realize he didn’t mean Dani’s veins! At first, it was hard to tell with the dark blue blood of a water elemental, but it quickly became obvious that the blood still dripping steadily from Dani’s nose was turning black.

  “You bastard!” The air around me began to shimmer with extreme heat and I realized in alarm that Charlie was erupting.

  “Char, no!” Thomas yelled, but he was too late.

  Charlie rushed toward Fletcher, almost totally obscured by flames.

  “Skal-ang-gral!” The harsh spell words, so different from the magic I was used to, echoed through the chamber and Charlie flew backward with a cry. For several agonizing seconds, he writhed on the ground in pain, then lay still. My breath caught in horror as I watched the dark lines twisting and spreading across his skin, as if someone invisible was painting his veins with black ink.

  TS stalked toward Fletcher, growling furiously. Thomas gently pushed me back, closer to Dani, then planted himself between us and the blood wizard.

  “How could you?” TS snarled viciously. “We’re your co-workers. Your friends! What can possibly be worth this?!”

  “Power, Conall,” Fletcher laughed. “Unimaginable power.”

  “Power you’re willing to kill us for? Your friends?!” Thomas demanded. “And countless innocent people?!”

  Fletcher smiled. “You were my friends once, yes. But, mark my words, there is no soul in this world so precious that I would not willingly sacrifice it in exchange for this power. None. Nor is there a limit to how many lives I will take to maintain this power.”

  I turned back to look at Dani, hoping desperately he would wake up. Nothing. Just as I started to look away, something caught my eye. I moved closer and knelt down to examine a tiny puddle of black blood near his head, wondering where it had come from. I eased a hand under his head and gently tried to turn it a bit, looking for a cut. My hand felt wet and I pulled it away. There. I gasped; it wasn’t just Dani’s nose that was slowly, but relentlessly bleeding.

  “Thomas!” I cried. He turned and his eyes locked onto the blood dripping from Dani’s ear onto my hand.

  Thomas hissed furiously and advanced toward Fletcher. The blood wizard readied his wan
d. Thomas’ shoulders tensed and I knew he was about to attack.

  “Mar!” I cried, setting Fletcher’s wand on fire.

  He flicked it almost casually and muttered, “mar,” effortlessly countering my flame. But it worked. Fletcher was distracted for a couple of seconds and Thomas didn’t hesitate to take advantage. He sprinted across the room and up the stairs. I held my breath as he reached Fletcher. To my shock, Fletcher hurled himself off the stairway before Thomas could tackle him.

  Fletcher hit the floor, hard. He rolled onto his back with a groan. The distance was no problem for a vampire and Thomas vaulted fearlessly off the stairs after him. As if in slow motion, Fletcher raised his wand above him.

  “No!” I screamed, lurching to my feet.

  “Skal-ang-gral!” shouted Fletcher.

  Thomas slammed into the ground with a cry of pain, veins blackening and swelling with blood magic.

  “Ahn!” Fletcher said.

  I was quite familiar with the air spell, but helpless to stop it as he hurled Thomas across the room and slammed him into one of the massive stone pillars.

  “Skal-dyn!” The strange combination of earth spell and what must have been the word for blood magic made the pillar explode. I watched in horror as the rocks tumbled down onto Thomas. The entire chamber seemed to shake and rattle. Tiny stones clattered down all around us. I threw myself over Dani and covered my head until it stopped. I heard TS yelp and wondered if it was from shared pain or falling rocks. For a moment, everything was quiet, then Fletcher began to laugh. I lifted my head warily.

  Fletcher had climbed back to his feet. “Two for the price of one!” he sneered. He aimed his wand at TS, who was standing but looked unsteady. “This time I’ll take care of you for sure. Skal-ang-gral!”

  TS winced and waited. But nothing happened.

  Instead of looking alarmed or trying again, Fletcher shrugged, then waved his wand and cast another air spell, sending TS crashing into the rock pile. For a moment, I wondered why the blood magic spell hadn’t worked, until I realized I was alone now.

  I stood, wand ready. Fletcher smiled at me and slowly limped closer. I wondered if an injured leg would slow him down at all. Probably not, considering the gunshot wound hadn’t and he had already stopped a vampire and a werewolf with both injuries.