Wicked Challenge (Darkwater Reformatory Book 2)

by Marty Mayberry

Behind us, Titan roared, but I couldn’t tell from the echo if he was at the top of the cavern or had fallen behind us. I doubted he’d hang out up there with us within his reach. He’d leap into the tunnel.

  Spinning, I flew down through a channel only wide enough to accommodate our mass of flailing limbs.

  We hit a bump and it shot us to the left, taking us down a narrower tunnel. Would the right have taken us to a different trial?

  And while I was on the subject, why were Titan and his crew sent into the same challenge as us? I’d thought each triad or quad was given a unique series of tests. Unless everything Jacey and the others believed about the catacombs was a lie…

  We spit out of the tunnel and skidded across the bare ground, coming to a quick stop in a tangle of limbs.

  “Ugh,” I said, yanking my arm out from between Brodin’s legs and scrambling to my feet. My face was hotter than a furnace.

  He lay on the ground, laughing up at me. “Getting kinda touchy-feely, aren’t you?”

  I rolled my eyes and looked around while my friends got up and brushed off their clothing. Brodin and Jacey, that is. Akimi stood and shiver-shook, flinging dirt everywhere.

  A jungle surrounded us, made up of lush, green trees, draping vines, and an endless whir of insects. The cliff we’d been ejected from rose almost to the clouds behind me. As I stared, the gaping black hole we’d shot through winked out as if it had never been there.

  The lack of Titan and the gorelon was an awesome sign.

  “Did we lose them?” I asked as my friends paced around the small open area.

  Jacey shrugged. “Hope so. Maybe they’re off doing their own trial.”

  “But they can’t get through to the Reformatory without their full quad, can they?”

  “I don’t know,” she said. “I don’t think so.”

  “I have heard that even individuals can make it through if some of their triad or quad…” Akimi’s gaze drifted across us, and she shuddered. “We, however, shall remain together.”

  “Are you saying sometimes only part of a triad makes it through?” Jacey asked, studying Akimi.

  Akimi shrugged. “Perhaps?”

  “That’s not an answer,” Jacey said.

  “I know nothing more. Except…”

  “What?” I asked.

  “See that?” She pointed to a ring small area off to one side of the meadow. Trees that looked like they’d been crafted of metal stood in a big circle. “That is a safe spot.”

  “What does safe spot mean?” I asked, drifting in that direction. Inside the approximately twenty-foot wide circle, I spied a pile of blankets, a basket, and a jug. “Is this the next test?”

  “No, as I said, it is a safe spot,” Akimi had crept up behind me like a ghost.

  “Like a free zone?” Brodin asked, stepping toward the trees.

  “Yes,” Akimi said. The bark on her face crinkled in thought. “It is only rumor, as no one has ever returned to tell us details about the Challenge, but I once heard the catacombs allow opportunities for rest.”

  “How many?” Jacey asked, ever the practical one.

  Akimi shrugged. “Who is to say?”

  “Should we use it?” I asked them, stifling my yawn. Back at the prison, it had to be early morning by now. We’d faced multiple trials before entering the Challenge and had been running since. It would be nice to take a break. “And if we stop, do you have any idea how long we’ll be allowed to remain inside, Akimi?”

  “I do not know this, but is there harm in using what is offered?”

  “With the catacombs?” Brodin said. “I don’t trust a damn thing.” Wise, as always.

  “If we rest, we will have the strength to continue,” Akimi said. “This chance could make the difference we need to succeed.”

  “You convinced me,” Jacey said, boldly stepping inside the circle. She pivoted around with her arms outstretched as if stroking the air with her fingers. “Looks and feels safe so far to me. I say let’s do it.”

  “Will Titan catch up to us if we take time to relax?” I asked, peering toward the cliffs. No sign of him yet.

  “Only one way to find out,” Brodin said, moving around a tree and joining Jacey in the center. His gaze fell on me. “I think we can trust it, as much as we can trust anything here.”

  With some trepidation, I passed the outer ring and kept going until I reached the blankets. Four. When I flipped the lid back on the basket, I found food. And the jug must contain water if the clear color was anything to go by.

  To say I was nervous about this was an understatement. What if it was a trick? But then, each test we would take here could bring about the death of one of us. Having the chance to rest between the trials could make all the difference.

  I spread out a blanket and dropped down onto it. My body pretty much groaned, savoring the chance to relax. Brodin did the same, sitting beside me. While Akimi rooted her limbs into the soil and sighed, Jacey pulled out food and handed it around.

  “Are we stupid to trust this?” I asked, staring down at the piece of fruit and the block of paper wrapped cheese.

  Jacey shrugged. “Maybe we’d be stupid not to use what is offered.”

  “Yup,” Brodin said, taking a big bite of the fruit unlike anything I’d seen before. He chewed slowly. “Tastes okay,” he said, and swallowed. “If you want, give it a minute. If I’m okay, I say we eat, drink, and sleep.”

  “I feel energy seeping from this world into me, through my roots,” Akimi said softly. “It is wonderful to connect to the natural world once again.”

  “Do you sense anything harmful here?” I asked her.

  “No. This is a safe place.” She closed her eyes and her chest rose and fell in an even rhythm. I couldn’t imagine being able to fall asleep that fast.

  When nothing happened to Brodin after the fruit, we dug in, eating until we were satisfied and draining the water in the jug.

  I dropped down onto my side on the blanket, facing Brodin, who also lay down.

  Jacey tumbled down onto another near my feet.

  “Tell me something about yourself no one else knows,” I whispered to Brodin.

  “Why?”

  “I want to know more.”

  “You want to know more about me.” He said it as a statement, but an edge of reservation crept into his voice.

  “Do you have secrets?”

  He huffed. “Don’t we all?”

  “I know one of yours.”

  “My Eerie.”

  “Any others?” I studied his face, but it remained smooth, relaxed. If he hid something deep and dark in his past—something the Master Seeker would kill to keep him from revealing—I hadn’t seen evidence of it so far.

  “I lived here in the fae world for most of my life, as you know,” he said.

  “Yet you left.”

  “My mother took a position at Crystal Wing Academy, and I followed.”

  Hmm. “I didn’t see you there.” I would’ve remembered. This boy had stood out to me from the moment I’d met him.

  “I didn’t attend.” He released a rueful laugh. “I took off, traveled, eager to see more of the other world.”

  “Did you discover anything?”

  “That true magic only exists here.”

  My lips twisted. “You won’t convince anyone at the Academy of that.”

  “They use a pale shadow.”

  “Yet it is powerful.” I thought of my sister and her Unraveler skapti.

  “For some, but not for all. Some of you have been born without any magic at all.”

  A chill traveled across my skin and I pulled the edges of my blanket up over me. “Yes, that’s true.” They’re sent to live with regular humans.

  Sorrow filled his eyes. “And that is only the beginning. I believe, over time, magic will fade from that world, a bit more leaching away with each generation.”

  “What about here in the fae world?”

  “Perhaps it fades here, too, though I haven’t s
een it happen.”

  “And maybe it doesn’t fade at all.” It couldn’t, could it? Magic was my world. Where would I—we—be without it?

  “Only time will tell,” he said.

  “That sounds ominous.”

  “It is.” His chest rose and fell.

  “I guess we need to appreciate what we have.”

  “Yup. I’m grateful for one thing.”

  “What’s that?” I said, yawning. The gravity of our conversation tugged at my emotions and wore me out even further. Sleep, even a snatched hour or two, would be welcome.

  “I’m grateful we’re able to talk without anger. That we can take this step…” With a nudge of his head, he sent his hair off his face. “That we have now.”

  Brodin. This guy tugged my heart toward him whenever we talked. Did I dare step off the edge?

  “Sleep,” he said. “Plenty of time to figure this out.”

  He was right. My brain kept pausing, seeing the rest it needed. “You sleep, too.”

  He’d already closed his eyes.

  I peered around, hoping to find the assurance I needed that I could trust this space long enough to let down my guard.

  Eyes closed, Akimi swayed slightly, and her roots flexed as if she milked the soil.

  Jacey had drifted off. She twitched. Did she dream?

  “Rohnan,” she mumbled. “I’ll free you.”

  I closed my eyes and hoped she’d find the rest she needed…

  Four

  Jacey

  I knew it was a dream, but I couldn’t stop my mind from tumbling back, taking me into the past…

  A fae palace guard slipped up behind me and pressed a knife against my throat. His burly arm snapped around my waist, keeping me from breaking free and running.

  My heart slammed behind my ribcage, and I bit back my yelp.

  Don’t make a move. Act natural.

  Winky-sparks flickered high on the stone walls, the normally innocent, light-infused creatures pinned in place. They didn’t generate much light, barely enough to help me avoid things lying on the mosaic floor I’d rather not examine closely. Who could blame the winkys for not shining brightly? Decayed magic coated this place like slime at the bottom of a stagnant pool.

  Winkys, like everyone else around here, were forced to serve the king.

  “Where are you going at this time of night, Jacelyn?” Conor, the head of the king’s security team growled. His fingers shook, and the blade nicked my skin. Hot blood trickled down my throat, pooling at the neck of my t-shirt.

  “That’s Lady Jacelyn to you,” I said. Considering how rarely I used the title, my words came out snooty. But I needed to remind him that my power came not only from my magic. My social status—well, my dad’s social status as the third cousin to the king—carried weight here, too.

  As did the man the king was forcing me to marry.

  Ugh. The guy was a total creep. Not only thirty-two years older than my eighteen, he’d also had four wives. All who’d died from suspicious causes. I’d heard he enjoyed them for a year or so and then replaced them with another.

  I refused to be the fifth.

  Panic coursed through my veins, but I remained still. One wrong move would leave me with a severed windpipe. Then I’d become another estate statistic. Too many “accidents” around here already. Funny how the only witches to die were those who opposed the king.

  “Let me go. Now.” While I fed magic into the command, my voice trembled worse than Conor’s hand. Because I didn’t want him to know I was on a secret mission.

  If only I could’ve flitted directly to Rohnan’s cell instead of walking there like an everyday mortal. But a spell had been placed on the estate to keep anyone except the king from flitting.

  I pushed against Conor’s arm, but the pressure on my neck didn’t slacken.

  His body tightened, and the knife nicked deeper. “Answer my question.”

  “I’m a healer.” By the fae, he knew I’d taken care of most of his cuts and bruises over the past few years, plus those of the security guards beneath his command. “Someone’s injured.” My boyfriend, actually, but it would take torture to drag Rohnan’s name past my lips. Because my chances of being caught in my upcoming crime grew with every second, I kept my voice casual, sweet even, afraid I’d give myself away. “Please let me go? The poor guy is uncomfortable.”

  “Who is it?” Conor asked. A scraping sound farther down the long stone corridor sent his head spinning in that direction, but when the sound wasn’t repeated, his attention returned to me. “I haven’t heard of anyone being hurt.”

  “Daegan.” My father’s best friend, Daegan, had been like an uncle to me since the day I was born. “He twisted his ankle. It might be nothing, but—”

  “Daegan? Oh.” Shock and dismay made Conor’s voice squeak, and his hand at my throat dropped. He pushed me away. “Well, you should’ve said so.” He coughed and fidgeted, worried he’d get into trouble. Daegan was one of the king’s top advisors. Few knew he was also one of the king’s greatest enemies. “Go, then. But don’t let me catch you wandering the halls again tonight. King doesn’t like weird things happening inside the palace when he’s sleeping.”

  As far as I could tell, the king didn’t like much of anything happening except things he commanded himself.

  I wiped my sweaty palms on my jeans and nodded.

  “Go on.” Conor waved his blade at me, and I backed up, not stopping until my butt smacked into the cold stone wall. A winky overhead flared bright blue before fading to dusky gray. “Take care of him, then get out of here. I’ll notify the front checkpoint you’ll be leaving the palace within ten minutes.”

  Goosebumps rippled across my skin. The checkpoint did not know I was here. I’d snuck in from the city, through a long unused hidden passage.

  “Twenty minutes?” I said, pleased I sounded reasonable. Not scared shitless, which I was. Hands clenched together, I pressed them against my lips. “Please? It might take me a little while to heal him.” There was no way I could reach Rohnan’s cell, cast my spells, and then get him out of the dungeons within ten minutes. It would take that long just to reach the holding area, where the king had thrown Rohnan after capture. After he told the security team to beat him up. All because I’d refused to marry the king’s choice. And because I’d stood in front of him and his sycophants and told them I wanted to be with Rohnan.

  Once I healed my boyfriend, we’d bribe our way through the veil and join the Sídhe, who’d fled the kingdom thousands of years ago. Rumor had it their rulers treated fae witches fairly.

  Conor grumbled, but I could tell by the softening of his shoulders he was relenting. “Twenty minutes then, but no more.”

  “Thanks.” Turning, I ran down the corridor and entered the western wing of the estate, my sneakers squeaking on the floor tiles. At the back of the building, I snuck through a room that hadn’t been used for so long, nips had taken up residence in the mattress. From their chirps, they were having a party.

  On the left side of the room, I creaked open a door most believed led to a closet. But I’d played on the estate as a kid, and I’d discovered all the building’s secrets.

  My breathing ragged from fear and exertion, I pushed aside the wooden panel in the back of the closet and took the three flights of steps to the top of the third western tower. There, I opened the heavy wooden door and rushed inside.

  “Good, you’re here. I was getting worried.” Daegan jumped up from the ancient rocker he’d been sitting in. It scooted back fast, almost hitting the dusty arched window. Outside, the moons had risen, sending stabby shadows across the back grounds. Nothing moved out there that I could see.

  Except…

  Frowning, I crossed the tiny room and braced my hands on the windowsill, staring out. Had I seen something shifting in the woods?

  Reddish mist swirled around the tree trunks and drifted across the grass, flowing in this direction. The wind gathered it up, and it shot to the sky,
where it dissipated in seconds. Were my eyes playing tricks on me, or had I just witnessed something weird?

  “What do you see?” Dread came through in Daegan’s voice as he joined me at the window.

  “Nothing.” Maybe. Magic could play tricks with a witch’s mind.

  I shook myself, wishing I could stop my body from trembling. I wouldn’t feel safe until we’d left the fae kingdom.

  The rocker continued to move, which freaked me out. I jerked it to a standstill and glanced around the room, noting the rickety table with a book encrusted with dust, probably unopened since the dawn of the fae. An ancient bureau leaned against a wall, one leg close to snapping. The isolation of this room was why we’d chosen to meet here.

  Daegan tapped my arm. “We’ve got to go.”

  “I haven’t thanked you.” I gazed up at him, my heart warming with gratitude. He was taking a dangerous chance by helping me. Caught, he’d not only lose his position in the court, he’d lose his head.

  “None is needed.” His hands tightened at his sides. “Knowing you’ll get away, that you’re no longer forced to live under this terrifying regimen, is all the thanks I need.” He tugged me into his arms and rested his chin on the top of my head. “I’m going to miss you, Jacey-May.” The nickname he’s used my whole life.

  Tears stung my eyes, but I blinked them away. No time for sobbing. “I’ll miss you, too.” Even more than my father, who’d had the nerve to approve my arranged marriage. But he was afraid of the king, like everyone else. “I wish it could have been different. That I could have…” Emotion choked off my voice.

  “I understand.” He released me. Shoulders curling forward, his face suddenly looked twenty years older. He wrenched his gaze from mine and directed it to the floor, as if…

  “What aren’t you telling me?” I asked.

  “Nothing. Absolutely nothing.”

  As far as I knew, he didn’t possess divination power. If he’d seen this plan wouldn’t work, he would have suggested we do something different.

  “We need to go,” he said.

  I pushed aside my unease. The moment I’d been waiting for was at hand. “How are we going to get inside?” We’d only shared the early parts of the plan during last night’s formal dinner, feeding in vital details during what would sound like a lighthearted conversation to everyone else.