by Linsey Hall
“Agreed.” I waved goodbye, then followed Jolinda down the hall.
She moved quickly and silently, a process that was no doubt helped by the fact that she could float above the ground. I did my best to stay quiet behind her, passing through the narrow ghost-only tunnels.
When we stepped out into a wider one, I couldn’t help but suck in a deep breath of appreciation.
“This is where a whole bunch of the outlaws live,” Jolinda whispered.
We passed by doors that were flung open, revealing little apartments that had been ransacked. Redistributing everyone’s possessions would be a doozy, that was for sure. Though the whole place looked comfortable enough, it made my skin crawl.
There wasn’t a single window in this place. Not one. All the colorful fabric and artwork in the world couldn’t cover up the fact that no one saw the sun when they lived down here.
It was the reason that Bree, Rowan, and I had never come out here. We might be hiding from some seriously dangerous people who wanted us for some mysterious reason, but we wouldn’t give up our lives down here. I’d take the risk to stay free.
“I’m going to leave you here,” Jolinda said. “I don’t want them seeing my glow. Hand out your weapons, then meet me back here, all right?”
I nodded, then kept going down the passage, walking by a dozen more tiny apartments. When I saw the tunnel exit, I crouched low and pressed myself against the wall. People filled the space all the way up to the tunnel exit. Fortunately, everyone faced the middle of the cavern. And if I stayed low enough, I’d be hidden behind their bodies so the three demons in the middle couldn’t see me.
As quietly as I could, I crept toward the tunnel exit. This was damned dangerous, with the three of us doing this maneuver twice. That was six opportunities to be caught.
I kept my eyes glued to the demon guard who stood at the middle of the tunnel entrance, his eyes on the three who stood at the center of the cavern. The prisoners sat on the ground around him, pressed all the way up against the exit.
I inched toward the one closest to the edge of the tunnel. When I reached him—a young guy of about twenty—I stuck my hand over his mouth.
He twitched, just slightly, but stayed dead silent. His eyes darted to me. I pressed a dagger into his hand and whispered near silently against his ear, “Wait for the signal.”
He nodded imperceptibly, but I knew he got the gist of it. If you were smart and tough enough to make it out to Hider’s Haven, much less survive, you could keep up with my plan. I passed six more daggers to him, which I counted on him to pass out, then melted back into the tunnel.
Jolinda grinned as I returned, and I shot her a thumbs-up. She led me to the next tunnel over, and I repeated the procedure, handing out the weapons to an older woman who looked like she knew how to use them.
Thank fates, I wasn’t caught this time, either. And since there was no outcry, I assumed Bree and Ana had completed their mission as well.
I rejoined Jolinda, who led me back through the tunnels. We were nearly back to the overlook when a figure stepped into our passage.
A demon.
A huge freaking demon. At least eight feet tall with muscles on top of muscles and horns as long as my arms.
His red gaze drifted to me, and he bared his teeth, growling.
Oh, crap. I’m a dead woman.
5
The enormous demon took a step toward me, his fists clenched and no doubt ready to tear me limb from limb.
My heart jumped into my throat as I dug into my pocket for one of the two daggers I’d kept for myself.
The demon charged, picking up speed with footsteps that hit the ground so hard dust came off the ceiling.
I hurled my dagger, aiming for his throat.
The steel flipped end over end, gleaming in the light of the gems above. It sank into his thick neck.
Jackpot!
But the demon kept coming.
“Move, child!” Jolinda shouted.
Oh, crap!
I dived out of the way, but I was too late. The demon’s hands went around my throat, and I gasped.
No air.
He squeezed so tightly that my vision nearly blacked out. Instinct alone drove me, and I kicked up into his chest, driving my feet against his muscles.
He didn’t even budge.
What the heck!
My brain was starting to fuzz, my thoughts becoming cloudy. How was he still standing? Was his neck so thick that I’d missed all the good bits?
I reached up and grabbed for the hilt of the dagger that stuck out of his flesh. I twisted and jerked, trying to slice whatever I could, praying for an artery.
Blood sprayed my face, and his hands slackened.
I gagged, spitting and gasping, as he dropped me to the ground.
Well, I’d gotten my wish.
And it was gross.
I wiped the blood from my face, scrambling backward as the demon collapsed.
“Well done!” Jolinda clapped, a soundless motion coming from a ghost.
I staggered to my feet, my throat killing me, and surveyed the damage.
The giant demon was sprawled out, a massive pool of blood forming beneath his neck. Every breath ached, so I didn’t feel too guilty. Especially since his body would disappear in a few minutes and he’d wake up back in hell where he belonged.
I stumbled to him, the strength returning to my oxygen-starved muscles, and bent down, retrieving my dagger. I wiped it on his clothes.
“Don’t forget to check his pockets, dear,” Jolinda said.
I grinned. “This ain’t my first rodeo.”
“Now you’re talking my language.” She pointed to a pocket at his thigh. “Check that one. Looks real full.”
I dug around, pulling out a few charms of indeterminate type and a wickedly carved dagger. I stood. “Not bad. But there’s no way I can hide him. Too big. Let’s just hope he’s gone before anyone shows.”
Jolinda nudged his foot. “He’s already disappearing. He’ll be gone in no time.”
“Good. Let’s go.”
We hurried back through the tunnels, fortunately finding no one. Bree and Ana were already there, both grinning. Their smiles turned to grimaces when they spotted me, though.
Bree pointed to her face. “You’ve got something there.”
Rowan waved her hand in front of her shoulders and chest. “And alllll down here. Everywhere, really.”
“Ha-ha.” I grinned. “Let’s get this show on the road.”
We sidled up to the mouth of the tunnel, peering down into the cavern. The demons were still guarding their captives, and everything looked ready for our attack.
I pulled the fireworks out of my pocket.
“That’s our signal?” Rowan asked.
“I just thought it’d be a shout,” Bree said.
“Nope! I found these.” I drew the lighter out of my pocket. I liked to be prepared, and this thing was about to come in handy. I looked at my sisters. “You all got your plans in place?”
“Duh,” Bree said. “I’m going for the spell demon. You’re going for the other two. Rowan is taking care of any stragglers at the edges.”
“And my ghosts will get in there and cause a ruckus,” Jolinda said.
“Thanks, Jolinda.” I grinned. “I guess that means we’re ready. Check your jetpacks.”
We all turned around and inspected each other’s packs, making sure that the fuel was full enough. Then we lined up at the edge of the tunnel, ready to jump.
“This is nuts,” Bree said.
“Sure is.” Rowan grinned. “I like it.”
I struck the match, lighting the firework’s fuse. I waited until the fuse was almost burned down, then tossed the thing high into the air.
It burst to life, red and blue sparking as the crack and pop tore through the silence. I pressed the button on my jetpack at the same time my sisters did. The engines burst to life, magic sparking, and my feet rose off the ground. I leaned forward
, shooting off the stone ledge.
As soon as I felt air under me and saw the ground fall away below, terror clutched at my throat.
I was now afraid of heights.
I’d totally forgotten.
Oh no!
For a half second, I whirled uncontrollably, the jetpack taking the lead. Then I caught sight of Uncle Joe.
Snap to it!
There was no time to be afraid, new paranoia or not. I sucked in a deep breath and leaned forward, controlling my pack with my body weight. I had basically no idea how to do this, but I’d figure it out on the way.
A massive fight had broken out down below, the armed captives attacking the nearest demon guards. More guards would come, but by then, we’d hopefully have the spell taken out.
Bree zoomed right for the three demons in the middle, and I followed, digging into my pocket for a blade. She was high enough up that she was out of range of the spell that repressed magic, but my shield wasn’t going to do me any good for this job.
I clutched the hilt of the dagger and eyed my prey, the massive demon standing next to the little gray one. He was the same species as the one I’d fought earlier, so I aimed for his eye.
As I flew in front of him, he looked up.
Bingo.
I hurled the dagger. It flipped end over end and sank into his eye. He stumbled backward and went down hard on his back.
Jackpot!
I dug into my pocket for my second blade, eyeing the tall demon who was my next target. He had his hands raised, ready to hurl some kind of magic at a crowd of prisoners.
Bree shot the little gray demon with her sonic boom, and he slammed into the demon behind him. My target.
They both tumbled end over end, landing in a pile on the ground.
I couldn’t get a clear shot. I flew around, zipping over the hordes fighting below, and found my angle. It wasn’t one hundred percent clear, so I went for a bigger target, throwing my dagger at his chest. It sank into him with a thud, but he didn’t go down!
Crap!
I wheeled on the air, turning around so that I could fly right for him. I gave it all the power I had, then pulled my legs up and slammed into him with my boots. He went down hard, crashing into the ground. I followed him down and landed in a pile on top of him.
The shock of the hit made my brains rattle, and I was awkward as I scrambled up. He reached for me with skinny hands. They were tipped with claws that glowed an acid green.
I lunged away from him, panic driving me.
Nothing good ever came from claws that color. That was the color of poison. He hissed and dived for me, blood pouring from the wound on his chest. Demon anatomy was weird, and their hearts weren’t always where you expected them to be.
I scrambled backward, trying to get away from him as I threw out my hand, calling on my shield. It was about to burst from me when another figure hurtled out of the sky. Rowan kicked the demon in the head so hard that he flipped backward.
“Nice!” I shouted.
One of the captives—former captives, since this was definitely going our way—lunged for the fallen demon and stabbed him in the neck with his dagger. The demon shuddered and lay still.
I caught the eye of my rescuer, an older man with wild white hair and a lined face.
“Uncle Joe!” I leapt upright and ran for him, then threw my arms around him.
He hugged me tight, then pushed me back. “No time for that now. Get back to fighting!”
“You always have the best advice.” I was so happy to see the grizzled older man. He might not be our blood uncle, but he was the closest thing we had to family, and I wouldn’t trade him for the world.
I spun away, eyeing the crowd for a demon to kill. I saw none, so I leapt back into the air, swallowing my newfound terror as the ground fell away from me. I wasn’t going to let this new fear get the better of me.
High up, I surveyed the scene down below. There were no demons standing. Not in the main cavern, anyway. One ran out of the tunnel, clearly ready to lay down the law on the captives, but they weren’t having any of that. He was a pincushion within seconds.
I surveyed the scene for a few minutes more. My sisters darted around using their jetpacks, surveying the scene. But soon, it became clear that the fight was over. There was a lot of confusion and general light panic, but the demons were gone.
Jolinda drifted up to meet me, a big grin on her pale white face. “The ghosts are reporting that all of the bandits are gone. Well done, young lady!”
“Thanks, Jolinda. We couldn’t have done it without you.” I surveyed the rest of the scene, grateful for her help and my sisters’.
I grinned. For our first big adventure across the desert, I’d have to call this one a success.
Epilogue
A month later, I sat on my rickety front porch, sipping a lemonade and gazing out with pride at the buggy. The mine sprite had guarded it well, and it’d been hiding behind the rocks when we’d finally gotten out of the mines. Bree and Rowan sat next to me, each of us huddled in the little bit of shade that our holey roof provided.
Uncle Joe was stalking around the buggy, checking it out before its first official ride across the desert. He maintained that the trip to save him was an unofficial trip, of course. Done without approval, but received with much gratitude.
No one in Hider’s Haven had been killed, and though there had been some nasty injuries, we’d been assured that everyone would have a full recovery.
“I can’t believe he’s retiring,” Bree murmured.
“I can,” Rowan said. “He’s over seventy. He needs to put his feet up.”
“And we need to get ours on the ground,” I said. “This is going to be so much better than waitressing.”
“Don’t I know it,” Rowan said. “I hope he approves of our modifications.”
We might have made it across the desert, but we’d done it by the skin of our teeth. We’d learned some things that we’d incorporate into future trips—safety harnesses, definitely—but we were waiting for Uncle Joe’s final word on the buggy.
He was the real expert. If you didn’t count the ambush that had resulted in his abduction a month ago, he had a perfect record.
He slapped the hood and turned to us, a big grin on his face. He was so tanned from the sun that he looked like a wrinkled paper bag, but his smile was so genuine that it made me grin in response.
“I think you’ve done well, ladies,” he said. “Can’t find a thing wrong with your vehicle here. I particularly like the safety harnesses.”
I smiled, wondering if I should share the story of how we’d ended up with those. He’d probably have a heart attack if he heard that we’d ended up out of the buggy in Wendigo territory, so I kept my mouth shut.
“So, you think we’re ready?” Bree asked.
“I don’t think. I know.” He shook his head as he approached. “Though I wish the day didn’t have to come, but it seems it’s your turn to cross the valley.”
“We want to,” Rowan said.
He sat on the stairs in front of us, turning to look at us. “I know, honey. But it’s a dangerous life. Forgive an old man for wanting better for you.”
“What’s better? Something boring?” I asked.
“Something safe.”
“You know that’s not for us,” Rowan said.
We hadn’t told him who hunted us—we actually didn’t even know that ourselves. Just that our mother, a powerful seer, had prophesied enough danger that she’d taken us from our home and set out on the run. But Uncle Joe wasn’t stupid. He knew we were on the run, and in our world full of supernaturals, there could be some really bad things hunting us.
“I know, honey,” Uncle Joe said. “And now it’s your turn to take up the mantle and have some adventures.”
“We’ll be careful,” I said.
“Sure you will.” His eyes twinkled, as if he knew that I wasn’t telling the truth. I wanted to be telling the truth, but when it came tim
e to jump into danger, he knew I’d be taking the chance. “And I’d be lying if I said you weren’t up for the job. You’ve proven that you are. Just be sure to check in every once in a while, all right? And don’t let customers lowball you.”
“No lowballing,” Bree said. “If they want to get across the valley, they can pay.”
“But we’ll take a few charity cases every year,” Rowan said.
Uncle Joe frowned, but knew not to argue with Rowan. She’d always been the kindest of us, and she was right. Sometimes people needed to hide out, and they didn’t have any money to help. We all knew that too well ourselves.
But we wouldn’t be hiding. Not us. No, we’d be fighting our way across the valley, facing the danger that came at us every day. Because that was the only way to live. Free.
Thank you for reading! If you’d like to continue Ana’s adventure, check out Institute of Magic, which is available now on Amazon and in Kindle Unlimited.
Excerpt Of Institute of Magic
The Edinburgh alley stank of dark magic and pee. Which made it perfect for one of the Academy’s obstacle courses. The Undercover Protectorate really liked to chuck its trainees into the deep end, after all.
For a magical mess like me, this was whoa deep.
I crouched lower in the alley as I waited for the race to start and searched the darkened street ahead. Rain pattered on the cobblestones that gleamed beneath the streetlamp. My competitors were hiding in other alleys, but we’d all begin as soon as the clock tolled midnight.
“How’s it going, Ana?” Bree’s voice whispered out of the comms charm around my neck.
“Oh, fab.” I grinned. “About to run into a death trap. My favorite way to spend a Friday night.”
“It’s the only way we spend Friday nights.”
“True.” If I wasn’t training to join the Protectorate, I was helping my sister Bree with one of her assignments. They were always deadly, of course. She’d finished the Academy in record time and had graduated to taking on investigative cases.
I, on the other hand, was taking my own sweet time.
