5
I woke up some time later, drained and exhausted.
Without a clock or a window, I couldn’t tell how long it had been.
I rubbed my eyes, reaching for my magic and thankful to feel it stirring inside me.
It had fully returned once the chains were removed, and I was able to clear the effects of that drug easily, but when I looked around my new concrete cage, I knew there was no way for me to get out.
The walls were covered with runes and the metal bars were alive with magic.
If I tried to tamper with it, I’d probably lose my arms.
A scuffle in the far corner caught my attention. From the darkness, a curious pair of blue eyes shone through the shadows to stare at me.
“Oh. Hey,” I said as I observed my cellmate from afar. I would have certainly noticed a second person in this cell when I arrived. They must have come back after I passed out. “I’m Theo. What’s your name?”
The prisoner couldn't have been much older than a teenager.
Long, matted hair and layers of grime concealed most of their features, and their slight frame made me assume they were a girl.
The moment I looked their way, she curled in on herself, hiding her face against her knees while a tremor ran through her thin body.
“I’m not going to hurt you.” I tried to soothe my voice, but it was dry and scratchy. I had had nothing to eat or drink for almost a full day. “I’m sorry if I stole your bed. I hope you didn’t sleep the entire night on the cold floor.”
“Good luck getting any answers,” came a male voice from the cell across from me. “Kid hasn’t said a single word the entire time I’ve been kept here, so you might as well save your breath.”
“Stop talking nonsense, Jordan.” Another voice carried from the cell next to mine. I couldn’t see them, but the tone was unmistakably female … older, softened by time rather than broken by it. “How are you holding up? I’m Marin. Nice to meet you, although I wish it were under better circumstances.”
“Theo.” I pushed myself up from the mattress pad and walked over to stand in front of the metal bars, peering out across the hallway to the man staring back at me.
Sunken eyes had a wary intelligence, and the pale skin stretched tight over his sharp cheekbones was evidence of months, maybe years, spent in this prison constantly undergoing Syndicate torture, whatever that might have been.
His hair was tangled and greasy, hanging in uneven clumps around his gaunt face.
His clothes were ragged, sleeves torn and stained, and the hollowed look in his expression spoke of someone who had long since learned how to survive in silence.
“You’re lucky,” Jordan picked up a stale piece of bread and unsuccessfully tried to bite into it. “The three of us have been here for years. At least you get the luxury of a quick death. Auction day is tomorrow.”
“That hardly sounds like a win to me.” I backed away from the metal bars to inspect the child huddled in the corner of the cell. She was shivering, the air in the basement cold and damp, and her ripped, oversized short-sleeve shirt was doing nothing to stop the chill from crawling into her bones.
Without hesitating, I removed my coat and offered it to her.
“Here. Take this. It’s not very thick, but it’ll keep you warm.”
It was the first time she had looked up at me, her face so covered in dirt and grime that only the blue of her eyes shone through, startlingly vivid against the layers of filth. She hesitantly reached out to take the jacket, flashing a series of burn marks that marred her arm.
I crouched down next to her, nodding to the scars. “That looks painful. I can’t do much about the scarring, but my magic can heal the fresher wounds. Can I do that for you?”
I didn’t press for an immediate answer, but then with a quiet whimper, she held out her arm. It wasn’t just fresh burn marks I saw, but scars and scabs from previous injuries not yet healed. My heart went out to this kid. What had the Syndicate been doing to her this whole time?
“It might feel a little tingly and cold, but I promise it won’t hurt.”
My fingertips gently hovered over the scorched and bumpy skin on her arm, sending in small pulses of magic and being cautious not to touch and frighten the girl. Whenever I got too close, she’d flinch and I would pause, but eventually the blistered skin softened and the redness faded.
“There. All done. How does it feel?”
She marveled at the healed skin, a mumble of awe passing through her lips. She looked up at me, tears in her eyes, and said her first words to me. “Alex.”
“Alex. Well, it’s nice to meet you, Alex. How old are you?”
“N … nineteen.”
She was so young, and the thought landed pretty hard in my mind. She should have been attending school, hanging out with friends and laughing … not stuck in a dark prison cell being treated like a lab rat.
Thinking of something, I tapped my fingers to my lips and flicked them outward. A small flame sparked to life above my hand, wobbling before steadying. It gave off a subtle heat that warmed the space between us.
“Well, that’s cool.” I couldn’t tell if Jordan was being sarcastic or actually intrigued. “What kind of magic is that?”
“Sign language magic,” I answered, as Alex attempted to catch the flame in my palm.
“My sister is deaf, so she can’t speak spells or use magic the same way others can.
She taught me a few things. It’s not my best ability, but I use it from time to time.
This one gives off warmth. The flame is just for show, though. It won’t hurt.”
“I wish it could create some food and water,” Marin sighed. “They only feed us once a day, and the food is barely edible.”
“So, why are you two here?” I stood up from the floor and walked over toward the bars.
Leon had given me some context about the underveil, and our conversation with Alistair helped me understand a bit about what was going on, but I needed to hear their stories.
It was Marin who shared hers first. “This place is known as the underveil,” she said quietly, her voice steady despite the strain underneath it, “a hidden realm within the underworld. Think of it like a private island for the Syndicate to do as they please. It’s protected from everywhere else, allowing both the living and the dead to survive here. ”
That would have explained Brie’s presence at the bar. She was probably caught sneaking into the underworld, and dumped here to be trapped like everyone else.
Marin paused, and I could hear the faint shift of movement from the cell beside mine.
“Most that pass through here came from troubled pasts,” she continued.
“Some tried to sneak into the underworld and got caught by rift wardens. Others who couldn’t control their magic were promised help, the Syndicate showering them with lies that they could fix all their magic problems.” A short, humorless breath left her, soft but edged with something worn down by repetition.
“And some of us,” she added more quietly, “had no other choice, forced into this life to protect someone we cared about. By the time I realized what they really wanted from me …” Her voice thinned for a moment, but didn’t break.
“I was already a prisoner. No way out. No one was coming for me.”
“I’ve been here like … six or seven years,” Jordan added.
“Six or seven years?” I gasped. “Why haven’t they sold either of you at the auction? What about a demon named Ren? Do you know if he’s been here at all?” I couldn’t see inside most of the other cells, but no one else had bothered to join our conversation.
“It’s hard to tell time down here.” Jordan shrugged.
“I’m their guinea pig. My magic flared to life when I was in an accident.
I died, actually, but in the heat of the moment, I realized I didn’t want to let go.
I came back to life, and the Syndicate praised my ability as something that could be studied to heal broken magic.
At first, I agreed to the tests and experiments, but when it became too much, they wouldn’t let me leave.
I learned then that they told my family I died, then I was locked up and they bound me with these chains.
I’ve been stuck here ever since. The name Ren doesn’t ring a bell though. ”
I sighed, leaning my back against the cold concrete wall. I supposed it was good news that he hadn’t been sold off or killed.
“My ability temporarily stops time,” Marin chimed in.
“The Syndicate used my family against me. My child was sick, and no one could find a cure to prevent her death. The Syndicate approached me and said they’re working on experimental magic, and that my ability to stop time could in theory stop the progression of my child’s disease.
Naturally, I agreed to help. But they won’t let me leave either.
I don’t know if my little girl is even still alive, but they said they’ll stop treating her if I ever leave here. ”
“I can’t even imagine … I’m so sorry.” I dragged a hand down my face.
“I guess it wasn’t all bad,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper.
“I watched my magic save countless people. Children who were too sick to survive, parents who thought they were about to bury their sons and daughters, families who got years together they never should have had.” Her voice softened at the memory.
“It made me feel like what I was going through meant something.”
The silence that followed stretched on for several seconds.
“But the more they experimented on me, the weaker my magic became. It stopped regenerating. Piece by piece, they took it until there was almost nothing left.” She laughed bitterly.
“In the end, they didn't need me anymore.
They recreated my magic and turned it into a potion that slows movement and dulls the senses.
Now I'm only brought in when they need help subduing someone who won't cooperate.”
I squeezed my eyes shut. I knew the Syndicate was bad news, but this—this went past cruelty into something colder, more deliberate. This wasn’t just about me escaping anymore. I forced myself to breathe through the weight pressing down on me, to think past the haze.
“So, how do we get out of here?” The words came out in an unconvincing tone.
“Get out of here?” Jordan cackled. “Sorry, buddy, but there’s no escaping this place.”
I reached out and brushed one of the metal bars, wondering if I could corrode it with my magic.
As I expected, a sharp jolt of current snapped through my fingertips, racing up my arm.
Clenching my fist, something felt off. A burning ache crept up my arm, spreading through my chest like venom.
My magic recoiled, twisting in protest as something foreign seeped into it …
and for a moment silver flashed in my veins.
“The cages here are electrified with magic,” Jordan explained.
“Just like those chains, if you try to fight against it, it’ll respond not just by draining your magic, but scrambling it so it’s unusable.
Not to mention, I don’t think they’ll just let us ride the elevator up to the lobby so we can casually walk out the front door. ”
“There has to be something we can do.” I rested my elbow in my hand, scratching my hair then rubbing my chin. The thought suddenly came to me.
“Lyric!” I exclaimed. “Lyric can help us!” The little fairy could track me, at least relaying a message to Ivy and the others about what was going on. Golden vines illuminated across my arms as I tried to summon her, but my call was left unanswered.
“Are you trying to summon someone?” Jordan asked.
“That won’t work,” Marin confirmed. “The Syndicate monitors the veil around this city. If they don’t want the magic to come through, then it won’t. That includes summoning magic.”
“Damn it,” I muttered. That meant Jacob couldn’t transport here either, and I had to count on him to pull through with a miracle.
Ivy had successfully called him back before I was taken.
He knew about Leon and the bookshelf portal.
He’d find a way through. He had to. “It’s okay.
Someone was with me when they took me. He’ll think of something and come for us. ”
“Be careful about making promises you can’t deliver.” Jordan crossed his arms. “So what’s this big plan of yours, huh? I want in.”
“My plan?” I turned around and plopped down on the flattened mattress pad on the floor, a spring digging into my back.
“This place sounds like it’s too difficult to escape from.
There’s too much security; one way in and one way out.
So, I guess my plan is to conserve my energy and take a nap.
That way I’ll be prepared to fight those rift wardens during auction day when I’m let out of here. ”
Without my jacket, the cold sank straight through the thin mattress pad, biting into my back until it felt like the chill was in my bones.
I closed my eyes, pulling my arms in close and trying to trap what little warmth I could.
The past few months had been exhausting, and even though my body ached for rest, the shiver in my chest wouldn’t let me forget what awaited me in the coming days.
I felt a presence nearby, and I opened my eyes to see Alex kneeling beside me, holding out the jacket I had given her.
“It’s okay. I’m fine. You need it more than I do.”
She shook her head then lay down next to me, draping the jacket over both of us.
At first she had kept her distance, her back to mine as we drifted off.
As the cold became more unbearable, we subtly inched closer for warmth.
Caspian’s magic stirred inside me, as if it was pleased with the thoughtfulness of her action.
The jacket was barely big enough to cover our shoulders, but it was enough to take the edge off.
As tired as I was, thoughts of Ren plagued my mind.
He was the main reason I’d refused to sleep in the first place, because I couldn’t stop thinking about him every time I closed my eyes.
The way his voice had faltered before we were separated and the look in his eyes of half defiance, half fear had me worried whether he really did have a plan when he left.
Every time I’d drift off, I’d replay that moment in my head.
No matter how many times I told myself he could take care of himself, the thought of him out there, alone, gnawed at me like a wound that wouldn’t close.
He needed me. And now here I was, trapped and wishing he was here to get me out of my mess.
Since things weren’t looking good for me, all I had left was the hope that he had his own plan to make it out alive … even if it meant leaving me behind.