Institute of Magic

by Linsey Hall

“I can’t say the same for mine.” I looked behind to see the hellhound racing off, the Cats of Catastrophe hot on his heels.

  “What the heck are they?”

  “No idea.” I didn’t know how to explain them, so I’d go with avoidance.

  We sprinted up to the base of the tower, and he leapt onto it without stopping.

  I stumbled to a halt, panting. “You have got to be kidding me. We can’t just take the elevator and stairs?”

  “They don’t access the very top. You want the good stuff, you have to work for it.” He looked behind him, searching for the hellhounds. “Come on, before the hellhounds wake up!”

  Yeah, that was enough to encourage me. I leapt onto the tower, grabbing the iron with my hands. It wasn’t an easy climb, but I scrambled after him, feeling my heart thud in my chest like a giant freaking drum. There was no way I could look down.

  Up. Up. Up.

  I put hand over hand, ignoring the cold fear that threatened to freeze my muscles and leave me clinging to the side of the tower like a freaking ninny.

  Lachlan climbed like a pro, moving quickly and with such complete assurance that I was sure he scaled mountains daily.

  I turned my attention back to the tower. The metal was slippery beneath my hands, but at least the rain wasn’t falling on my face. Suddenly, I realized that Lachlan had been keeping me dry this entire time, even when we’d been separated and running across the field, pursued by the beasts of hell.

  It was just enough to distract me from the fear, and I kept climbing. My muscles ached and my lungs burned as we went ever higher.

  I glanced up. Still a third of the way to go.

  Three pairs of eyes peered down at me.

  The Cats of Catastrophe sat on a higher metal bar. They looked wet and miserable—Princess Snowflake III, particularly, with her wet white fur plastered against her body, making her look like a skinny rat. She hissed at me.

  Hairless Muffin couldn’t look any skinnier, and Bojangles looked even more insane than usual, his head tilted to look down on me. The expression on his cross-eyed face said I was an idiot to be climbing all the way up here. I couldn’t help but agree.

  But how the heck had they gotten up there?

  I shook my head. Not important. Not when I needed all my strength and all my wits to survive this.

  I continued to climb, my muscles aching and my hands freezing against the wet steel of the tower. Though my skin was chilled with fear, I never looked down. That way lay madness.

  Up. Up. Up.

  The cats watched.

  Lachlan climbed silently beside me.

  As we neared the top, the tower narrowed, forcing Lachlan and me more closely together. I could hear his breathing, even and calm. Far different from my breath, which heaved in and out of my lungs. Terror made me breathless, and every foot that I climbed seemed to reinforce the idea that this. Was. Dumb.

  A girl afraid of heights climbing the Eiffel Tower?

  Yeah, not great. My muscles trembled with strain and fear.

  “Are you okay?” Lachlan asked from beside me.

  “Fine.” My response was short. I kept my gaze on the tower and continued to climb.

  We were close. Not much farther now.

  Which also meant that we were hundreds of feet above the ground. If I fell, that gave me a long time to think about the crash that was coming.

  I reached for the next rung.

  My hand slipped.

  Then my foot.

  A scream caught in my throat as I dangled, barely able to hold on with one hand.

  Lachlan reached down, grabbing me. His strong hand gripped my wrist, cementing my hold. My heart thundered as I went into tunnel vision.

  “Ana! I’ve got you!” Fear spiked Lachlan’s voice.

  I swallowed hard and focused, pulling myself back from the edge. Blood roared in my ears as I reached up with my dangling arm, scrabbling for purchase.

  “I won’t let you go.” Lachlan’s voice was my lifeline.

  I looked up, meeting his gaze. It grounded me, calming the panic. Finally, my fingertips closed over the cold metal, and I gripped it hard. My foot found a metal bar, and I clung to the tower, panting.

  “You can let go,” I wheezed.

  “Are you sure?”

  I nodded, squeezing my eyes shut and focusing on the reassuring feeling of the cold steel beneath me. He had saved me—been my lifeline in that moment—but I had to rely on myself. On my grip on the steel and my own muscles to pull me out of this.

  “We’re nearly there,” he said.

  “I know.” That was part of the problem. But I didn’t focus on how far away the ground was.

  Lachlan’s grip released me, and we continued to climb. I felt for every metal rung on the tower-ladder, focusing harder than I ever had in my life.

  By the time I finally scrambled onto the top, my heart was thundering and my skin felt like ice.

  Princess Snowflake III stared at me, her gaze unimpressed. My cheek pressed against the cold steel floor as I looked at her. She was more than unimpressed.

  Stupid.

  Yeah. I had to agree with her.

  Bojangles ran up to me and licked my nose, his tongue rough as sandpaper and smelling of fish.

  “I like you, too.” I pushed myself up onto my hands and knees, trembling. Crap. I was so weak I’d never be able to walk again. Or at least, not for an hour.

  Muffin walked up to me, then pressed his paw to my hand. Magic flowed through me, bringing strength and warmth with it.

  I looked into the green eyes of the hairless cat who looked like he’d been in one fight too many. “What’s that?”

  “Meerow.” Magic, you moron.

  I smiled. “Thanks.”

  I scrambled to my feet, stronger now.

  Lachlan stared at me, a curious expression on his face. “You’re afraid of heights.”

  I shrugged.

  “Why didn’t you say so?”

  “It wouldn’t have made the fear go away.”

  He nodded, respect flashing in his eyes. “You’re tough, Ana Blackwood.”

  “Highest compliment you could give me.” In my world, toughness was what kept you alive.

  “You also brought along some friends?” He pointed to the cats.

  “New buddies.” Though I had no way to explain the magic that had just flowed from Muffin.

  “Do you know who they are?” he asked.

  “Muffin, Princess Snowflake III, and Bojangles.”

  “The black one with no fur—is that Muffin?”

  “Yes.”

  He turned his appraising gaze to me. He was clearly impressed. “He’s the Cat Sìth. And he’s chosen you.”

  “The what?”

  “A mythological Scottish creature.”

  Uh. I turned to look at Muffin. “So you run a racket with your cat gang down in Edinburgh, and you’re some fancy mythical cat?”

  I’m a cat of many talents.

  “What is the Cat Sìth exactly?” I asked.

  “A bit like a fairy cat.”

  Muffin hissed. I’m no fairy cat! I’m more like a dragon!

  Lachlan didn’t appear to have heard Muffin, so I translated. “He didn’t like that.”

  “My apologies, King of Cats.”

  Muffin inclined his head, accepting. It seemed he could be gracious when called a king.

  “It appears he’s bonded himself to you,” Lachlan said. “The Cat Sìth doesn’t choose just anyone.”

  I looked at Muffin. “Probably a mistake, right?”

  Muffin shrugged, and it was good enough for me.

  It was time to drop this discussion, so I spun in a circle, taking in the platform at the top. It was tiny, with no railing on any of the sides and a vertical spear of metal right in the middle. Like a small flagpole.

  My head whirled. The city spread out around us, golden lights forming a rolling blanket over the earth. “This is amazing. I’m surprised it’s not crawling wit
h tourists.”

  “Humans can’t see it. To them, it doesn’t exist. They stop at the lower level and go no farther.”

  “Wow.” I rubbed the back of my neck, trying to drive away the uncomfortable tinge. “And it’s super hard to get to.”

  “True enough.”

  I glanced at him. He’d saved my life. “Thank you.”

  He nodded, then reached into his pocket and withdrew the crystal. He took a few steps to reach the post in the middle of the tower. “This is where most of the magic in Paris resides. It’s like a beacon, drawing on the power in the city and magnifying it.” He placed the crystal on top of the flagpole, sliding it onto a little spike.

  I stared at it, waiting.

  Nothing happened.

  “What now?” I asked.

  “It needs moonlight.” He looked up, a frown on his face. “And the moon needs a little help.”

  He raised his hands, looking like an ancient warlock. Rain fell around him in a circle, never landing on him.

  Princess Snowflake III went to join him, sitting at his side. Clearly, she liked him. It was dry where I was, but she had eyes only for Lachlan.

  Magic flared on the air, the scent of pine and the taste of caramel. Light glowed around his hands, illuminating his handsome face and dark eyes.

  The breath caught in my throat as his magic rolled over me, soaring toward the sky above.

  I looked up, searching for the moon that was hidden behind clouds. A faint glowing patch caught my eye, and wonder filled me as the clouds moved away from the moon, revealing a bright white orb.

  I’d seen a lot of powerful magic, but I’d never seen anyone move the clouds before.

  The moon’s light shined on the crystal, making it glow bright white. A beam of sharp light streamed forth from the glass, blinding me. I stepped left to avoid it, then turned, following the beam that was like a spotlight.

  It shined over the city, landing on the ground in the middle of a huge intersection. Cars zipped through the light, but it was shining right in the middle of the ground.

  “It’s shining on the street. But there’s nothing there,” I said.

  “Under the street.” The moon’s light disappeared, and I realized that Lachlan had let the clouds return to their natural position. “The sewers in Paris are famous.”

  “Sewers?” Just my luck. First heights, now…

  I didn’t want to think of it.

  “Let’s go, then.” I shot Princess Snowflake III a look. She wouldn’t like the sewers, but she was talented enough to keep her fur white, I’d bet. Bojangles, on the other hand, didn’t look like he’d care either way. And Muffin was his usual stoic self.

  “The climb down will be worse. Can you manage?”

  “I can manage.” But I sure wouldn’t like it.

  6

  As Lachlan had said, the climb down was worse. I hadn’t slipped, thank fates, but was still wobbly when I reached the bottom.

  Muffin had stayed at my side the whole time. The little gremlin pressed his paw to my hand every time he thought I was faltering, and muttered helpful things like Don’t quit now, lily butt. I had no idea what a “lily butt” was, but I’d be lying if I said it hadn’t helped.

  We hit the ground running—me on shaky legs and Lachlan on much sturdier ones. Fortunately, we didn’t alert the hellhounds to our presence. Or maybe they were scared off by the sight of our feline guardians.

  Lachlan had recognized the location of the intersection, so I followed him, racing along the rainy streets of Paris, past fashionable people with dark umbrellas and silk scarves that cost more than my yearly income back in Death Valley.

  When we reached the intersection, I stared. “Crap.”

  “That is a lot of traffic.”

  “Understatement.”

  The cars whizzed by, headlights golden in the rain. As expected, right in the middle of the intersection was a manhole leading to the sewers.

  “I can buy us a minute,” he said. “Exactly a minute, so follow everything I do.”

  I glanced at him. “What do you mean?”

  But he was already holding up his hands, magic surging on the air. I loved the scent of it, so fresh in the middle of the city.

  Then the air became thick, almost difficult to breathe. I sucked in a gasp, grateful when it slowly filled my lungs.

  The cars in the street began to slow. The people around us, too. Finally, the cars stopped, yellow lights frozen in the gleaming rain.

  “Holy fates. Telekinesis?” I asked. If so, it was the most powerful I’d ever seen. Moving one object was hard. But hundreds?

  “Not quite. I can slow time around myself.”

  “Why don’t you do this in a fight?”

  “It wouldn’t matter. I can’t interfere with the objects that I’m controlling, or something terrible could happen. But come on. We don’t have long.” Sweat dotted his brow. Clearly, this took some serious effort.

  He sprinted into the street, and I followed. The Cats of Catastrophe were close on my heels, though Bojangles kept getting distracted by the bright lights of the cars.

  It was eerie, and scary. There were enough cars that we’d be pancakes if they started up again.

  Lachlan bent and pulled off the heavy manhole cover. The Cats of Catastrophe dived in first, scraggly Muffin leading the way. Princess Snowflake III gave the hole a disdainful look, then leapt in with a shudder. Bojangles ran right in without hesitating or even looking. He was like the Road Runner going off a cliff.

  I followed, climbing down the iron ladder into the gloom. Lachlan came behind me, and as soon as he pulled the manhole cover back over the hole, the roar of traffic started up again.

  “Too close,” I muttered.

  “Aye.”

  I hopped onto a stone sidewalk built along the side of the sewer, and I raised my hand to illuminate my lightstone ring. It flared golden, revealing the space all around us.

  I turned, taking in the wide stone tunnel that stretched in either direction. Water traveled sluggishly at the bottom of the tunnel, smelly, but not the worst. I had a distinct feeling there were grosser parts of the sewer. Other tunnels jutted off this one, giving the feeling of a massive catacomb.

  “There’s a city under a city down here,” Lachlan said. “The most famous sewers in the world.”

  “They should run tours.”

  “They do. But not of this part.”

  The Cats of Catastrophe were scouting out the ground ahead, sniffing all over as they inspected the walkway. The stone ledge that they walked on looked ancient, but at least it kept us out of the sewer water.

  Something fizzled over my skin, a distinct feel of dark magic that prickled lightly. “You feel that?”

  “Aye.” He pointed to the right, to where the cats had gone. “Coming from that way.”

  “Let’s go.” I set off, following the sense of dark magic. Where the heck are you, magic thieves?

  Something else pulled me along, too, though. A sense of my own magic, leading the way.

  It spoke in my head, as if it knew the question I was asking and wanted to provide an answer.

  What weird new power was this?

  My Dragon God magic?

  I shook away the thought. Now was not the time for distractions. We made our way through the tunnels, going deeper and deeper into the sewer. Water flowed sluggishly beneath, beginning to stink more strongly as we went.

  The tunnel appeared to turn right as we neared, but I stopped, peering hard at the dead end in front of me.

  Something in me tugged in that direction.

  Did it really end here? It was an abrupt and strange way to divert a tunnel.

  “Come on,” Lachlan said. “We need to go right.”

  “Hang on.” I held out a hand, reaching toward the wall that seemed to be a dead end.

  “What the heck is past here?” I murmured, more to myself than to him.

  It was something. I could feel it.

  Look an
d you will find what you seek.

  Magic seemed to fizzle in my mind. It was a guide, in my head. It hadn’t worked before, but now it was?

  It had a mind of its own.

  The cats were sniffing at the base of the stone, clearly perplexed.

  I stuck my hand out, ignoring the repellent sensation that the wall gave off. That was enough to convince me that there was magic here.

  I pushed harder against the stone, and my hand disappeared through the wall.

  “Bingo.” I stepped through the false barrier, into a long stretch of tunnel on the other side.

  Lachlan followed. “How did you know? Even your feline sidekicks didn’t realize.”

  “Instinct.” Lie. “Come on.”

  We hurried down the tunnel, toward the strong sense of dark magic that was ahead of us.

  When flame burst to life ahead of us, my heart leapt into my throat. The wall of fire seared my skin, making my eyes water. I flung out my shield. The protective barrier burst forth, forming a semi-transparent white wall between us and the flame. The air cooled a bit, no longer hot enough to maim.

  Panting, I inspected what was ahead. Nothing but fire.

  Then my magic faltered.

  My shield dropped.

  Shit!

  I stumbled backward, away from the flame that roared forth. Lachlan waved a hand, his magic flaring. Sewer water rushed from below, crashing against the flame.

  It sizzled and died, smelling of hot garbage.

  “Oh, thank fates,” I muttered, leaning against the wall and gagging at the scent.

  Panic followed quickly on relief’s heels.

  My magic had faltered again.

  Change was definitely coming, and I couldn’t let him know.

  I caught his gaze, and it looked like he wanted to ask about my magic dying.

  Fortunately, a massive splash sounded from behind him. My gaze darted to the water, where a huge serpent’s head was bursting forth.

  I drew my sword from the ether and lunged for the scaly black creature, slicing cleanly through its neck. Blood sprayed, but I was fast, dodging low to avoid it. It splattered the wall behind me.

  I stood, looking at Lachlan. “You’re welcome.”

  He nodded his thanks, then his eyes widened on something behind me.

  Oh, shit.

  Before I could turn, he pulled the same trick I had, yanking his two short swords from the ether and lunging. I spun in time to see him slice another sea creature across the throat.