The commercial area of Mega Cavern was no five-star resort, but it was a far cry from the rest of the mine. While the floor was poured concrete, the walls and ceilings were bare limestone, though they had been painted over, probably to cut down on dust. Numerous wires and pipes crisscrossed the thirty-foot-high ceiling, feeding the facility’s electric, sprinkler, and water systems.
The front of each warehouse was built across what had once been the open spaces between limestone columns. Sebastian could see the five or six closest warehouses down the long corridor, but the rest was lost in darkness. Some of the warehouses had ramps leading up to loading docks and bay doors, while some had only a single-entry door. All loomed silent in the chilly air.
As they approached the nearest warehouse’s door where Sir Kipling sat waiting for them, Sebastian felt a frigid touch on his leg. By the time they had reached the door, the charm in his pocket was burning an icy hole through his pants. With Mallory surreptitiously keeping a lookout, Sebastian reached for the handle of the door, but then hesitated and glanced at Sir Kipling. The cat seemed to anticipate his worry, and dipped his head in an encouraging nod that looked slightly comical coming from a cat. Hoping he wasn’t about to get zapped or blown to pieces, Sebastian grasped the handle and pulled the door open. His family ring sent tingles along his arm and he guessed that meant he was passing through wards, but neither the ring nor the icicle charm in his pocket could tell him any more than that. Like, for instance, when he should run for his life. Hopefully Kip was on the ball watching for all the big, scary “touch this and die” spells.
Nothing jumped out and ate them as they slipped into the warehouse and shut the door carefully behind them. Sebastian hoped Kip left it unlocked, just in case they needed to make a quick getaway. Mallory replaced her ninja mask, then switched on the warehouse lights and set off to do a quiet perimeter check while Sebastian stood by the door and took it all in, hoping to spot some sort of clue.
Unlike the corridor outside, the warehouse was not open to the bare limestone. The walls were smooth and white, probably made of sheetrock, and the ceiling was a series of repeated panels with rows upon rows of fluorescent lights. The entire warehouse was probably about half the size of a football field, with the section closest to the door left clear and open. The farther half was filled with huge shelving units stretching all the way up to the high ceiling.
And the entire warehouse, from concrete floor to paneled ceiling, was as clean and vacant as if it had just been built.
“You weren’t joking about the empty part,” Sebastian muttered to Sir Kipling as he watched Mallory move through the shelving units. He looked down to see if the cat had any reply, and realized he stood alone next to the door. A quick scan of the room showed him the feline was sniffing at one of the warehouse wall’s bases. As Sebastian watched him, the cat reared up on his hind legs and pawed at a spot on the wall, then stopped, sniffed it, and pawed at it again. Curious to know what the cat had found, Sebastian headed over and gave Mallory, who was turning down the long line of shelves, a gesture to come join them. He was wary about speaking, remembering Morgan’s tomb in England where Lily had found spells of seeing and hearing left by John Faust. The magic-detection charm in Sebastian’s pocket was icy enough that Mr. Fancypants probably had dozens of those types of spells spying on them right now.
Using hand motions, Sebastian got Mallory’s attention and indicated she and Sir Kipling should gather with him a few feet away from the spot on the wall. Once assembled, he and Mallory crouched down close to the cat so their bodies shielded the feline from sight.
“Find anything?” he asked Mallory first.
She shook her head. “There’s a door to a small bathroom in the far corner, but that’s it.”
“Okay, what is it, Kip?” he whispered to the cat seated between them. “Try to keep your letters small and dim. It’s safest to assume we’re being watched.”
THERE ARE MANY SCENTS IN THIS ROOM. WITCHES, DEMONS, LEFAY, THE ANCIENT ONE—
“Lily?” Sebastian asked, his gut clenching in sudden worry.
YES. VERY RECENTLY.
“Richard?”
YES.
Sebastian’s jaw clenched.
ALL SCENTS LEAD TO THAT SPOT ON THE WALL. THERE IS MAGIC THERE. POWERFUL MAGIC. BUT IT IS HIDDEN.
“Huh.” Both he and Mallory gave the wall a surreptitious glance before returning their gaze to the cat. Sebastian rubbed the back of his neck, then looked at Mallory. “If you poke it with one of your iron daggers, do you think that will pop the glamour on it without breaking the spell underneath?”
“There are no guarantees, but I can try.”
Sebastian chewed on his lip, unable to decide. But finally he gave a nod.
Mallory rose from her crouch and suddenly there was a dagger in her hand. It was such a deft move that, if Sebastian wasn’t positive Mallory would rather gouge her own eyes out than use magic, he would have said she’d conjured it from somewhere, almost like how he used to pull the ebony staff from the fae realm. She kept her weapon tucked against her side as she wandered over to the wall and leaned casually against it. Then, with small and subtle movements, she brought her dagger hand down low between her leg and the wall so that the tip scraped against the spot Sir Kipling had been pawing. Sebastian felt a tiny change in the air, as if an invisible and silent balloon had just popped, and suddenly the wall where Mallory leaned was covered in glittering silver dimmu runes. She jumped back—whether in feigned or real surprise, Sebastian didn’t know—then came over to crouch by Sir Kipling as all three of them eyed the wall.
“I figured,” Sebastian whispered. “It looks like one of those portals I’ve seen Lily and Aunt B use.”
Mallory nodded. “I have seen my father use them as well.”
“The question is, where does this one lead, and how do we get there?” Panic twisted in Sebastian’s gut at the thought that he was once again helpless to save Lily. They could wait for his aunt to arrive with the cavalry, but if John Faust was watching them right now, who knew what he would do while they were delayed. He might take Lily and flee somewhere else. Or he might decide he preferred Lily being dead over being rescued…
Sebastian gave his head a violent shake, trying to dislodge that thought. He was not stuck. There had to be something they could do now, before it was too late. He rose and walked over to the oval of runes and placed one hand hesitantly on the wall. Nothing happened. He leaned into it, pushing on the wall as though he could pass through it if he just pressed hard enough. But nothing changed.
Unwilling to give up, he turned and began to walk along the wall with his left hand brushing the sheetrock in hopes that his family ring would give him some sort of signal if he touched any more hidden spells. When he glanced to the side, he saw Mallory doing something similar, though her gloved hand was curled into a tight fist, probably around her magic-detection charm. Then, in the middle of the open half of the warehouse, he spotted Sir Kipling walking in a tight circle, nose to the ground. Suddenly, the cat meowed, the sound sharp and plaintive in the silent warehouse. Sebastian abandoned the wall and hurried over to find the cat crouched on the floor and panting again. He knelt by Sir Kipling and reached out, then drew his hand back, unsure if touching the cat would help or hurt matters.
“What’s the matter, Kip? What’s wrong?”
SHE IS HERE. RIGHT HERE. AND SHE IS IN DANGER.
Anger and desperation swept through him like a raging wildfire, and he dug his nails into his palms, using the pain to help him focus. “What do you mean she’s here? Is she invisible?” he asked, making sure to keep his voice low.
I DO NOT KNOW. SHE IS RIGHT HERE. I CAN FEEL HER.
“What do you mean you can feel her? Is it like that location spell you used when you took me to save her from her family at their fancy manor?”
YES. THE SPELL IS VERY OLD, MOSTLY FADED. I DID NOT FEEL HER UNTIL NOW.
“We need to make sure she keeps that spell charged up
from now on,” Sebastian growled. “That or fix her with a tracking collar.”
Sir Kipling gave him a disapproving glare and slowly sat up. The episode seemed to have passed without any lasting effect, just as it had in Sebastian’s kitchen and on the drive up from Atlanta.
DO NOT WASTE TIME WITH JOKES. WE NEED TO FIND LILY.
“But how?”
SHE IS RIGHT HERE.
“Not helping, Kip,” Sebastian said through gritted teeth.
“What’s going on?” Mallory had finally run over to see what was going on. She looked down at Sir Kipling, her expression hidden by her dark mask.
“Kip says Lily is right here, in this exact spot. Except she isn’t, obviously.”
Mallory studied them both, then leaned in close and spoke quietly. “Could she be under us? A secret tunnel?”
NO. SHE IS RIGHT HERE, Sir Kipling insisted.
“But how—wait a minute. Kip, you were with Lily when she woke up Morgan, right? There was that empty stone plinth, but Lily said Morgan was there, just in a different time stream or something, right? Like Pitts, too! Well, you hadn’t been changed yet at that point, so maybe you don’t remember, but we got stuck in a time loop in Pitts and—er—never mind, this isn’t the time. My point is, what if Morgan, who we know has been here, cast another loop spell or whatever it was she used to survive all those years in her tomb? There were portal runes on the wall of her tomb too, remember?” He turned to Mallory, and she nodded.
“So maybe they’re all right here,” he continued, voice rising in excitement, “just not right now. Kip how did Lily—ow!” He stopped because Sir Kipling had suddenly sunk all ten front claws into his pant leg. Once the cat had Sebastian’s attention, glowing letters appeared.
WE CANNOT REACH THEM. WE MUST WAIT FOR THE OTHERS. LET US GO.
“What? What are you talking about, Kip, we have to keep trying—”
GO. NOW. The cat emphasized the order with a vigorous flex of his claws, and Sebastian bit back a yelp.
Then he remembered: they were probably being watched.
“No. I’m not leaving. There’s got to be something else we can do.” If he was going to sell this thing, he had to sell it. But just in case Sir Kipling didn’t catch on right away, Sebastian winked down at him before the cat could decide to take matters into his own, er, claws.
GIRL, DRAG HIM OUT. IF WE STAY WE MAY BE CAUGHT. WE WILL WAIT FOR THE OTHERS TO ARRIVE.
“Oh no you don’t. I’m not leaving without Lily!” Sebastian said, planning to put up a bit of a fight, and then finally relent.
He hadn’t counted on Mallory deciding to sell the act too.
A sharp pressure on his throat was his only warning before he realized Mallory was no longer beside him, but behind him.
“You can come conscious and unhurt, or unconscious and bleeding. Your choice.”
Sebastian swallowed against the blade pricking his skin and slowly raised his hands in surrender. “Geez, okay, I’ll come. Just put the freaking knife away, will you?”
She did not. Instead, she prodded him in the back with something equally pointy, urging him in the direction of the door. When they reached it, she told him to turn off the lights, and as soon as darkness swallowed them, he felt the pointy things disappear.
“Remember, act natural for the cameras,” Mallory muttered before shoving him through the door.
It was difficult to stroll naturally after being pushed out of a door, but somehow Sebastian managed it. In no time, the three of them were back in the dusty blackness of the unfinished mine.
“Good grief, Mallory, did you really have to be quite so—so—lethal? You could have accidentally cut me! I was just putting on a bit of a show.”
“So was I.”
Sebastian couldn’t see her in the darkness, but he could just imagine the smug not-smile on her face. “Yeah, yeah, whatever. Okay, Kip, what’s going on? What didn’t you want to say in front of Mr. Fancypants’ little spy spells?”
WE NEED THE ELEMENT OF SURPRISE. YOU ARE CORRECT ABOUT THE TIME LOOP. IT EXPLAINS WHAT I FOUND BEFORE THAT I DID NOT UNDERSTAND.
“Uh, okay, great. What did you find before?”
THE SCENT OF LEFAY AND THE ANCIENT ONE GOING WHERE THEY SHOULD NOT NEED TO GO.
“Okaaay, why am I getting a bad feeling about this?”
SAYS THE HUMAN WHO WENT UP AGAINST SEVEN WITCHES BY HIMSELF IN A NEEDLESS ACT OF STUPIDITY.
“Hey! First of all, they had my brother, and second of all, I had a bad feeling about that too. I just didn’t have a choice.”
DO NOT LIE TO YOURSELF. YOU ALWAYS HAVE A CHOICE.
“I—”
“How did Lily bring Morgan back to our time, cat?” Mallory’s harsh words were a much-needed bucket of cold water for Sebastian, and he shook off the tense defensiveness in his shoulders.
THERE WAS A HIDDEN ANCHOR SEPARATE FROM HER TOMB.
“I knew it,” Sebastian groaned. Of course it couldn’t be easy, simple, or straightforward. Of course the anchor would be hidden in some deep, dark, and difficult-to-reach hole. Because his day hadn’t been hard enough already... “We’re going spelunking, aren’t we?”
“Spelunking is done in caves. This is a mine,” Mallory said, and Sebastian could hear her unzipping her pack, no doubt going for her night-vision goggles.
“Whatever! Mine, cave, they’re both dark and dank. I swear, next time Mr. Fancypants had better hide in a five-star hotel or I’ll—”
“Next time?” Mallory’s voice sounded particularly cold in the absolute blackness.
“Ugh, you know what I mean.”
“Put your goggles on and let’s go,” was her only response.
***
Sir Kipling led them back the way they had come, then veered off their original course and headed deeper into the mine, this time with Mallory in the lead. Soon they were no longer following a packed-earth track marked by numerous foot and tire prints. The dusty, shifting earth beneath their feet became bumpy and loose, and the only sign of life they saw was the old but deep tracks left by whatever massive trucks had carted in load after load of material to back-fill the mine. They spotted no footprints along the way as Sir Kipling followed the faded scent of the two wizards. Their enemies had obviously had the foresight to erase the visual mark of their passage, but they, as most humans often did, had forgotten about scent.
Mallory and Sebastian had to move slowly because of the uneven footing, though as they forged deeper into the mine they had to worry less about keeping quiet. There were no people or security cameras this far in to notice them. Even Sebastian’s magic-detection charm had gone inert, and its temperature slowly warmed until it was merely cool to the touch. They must have gone nearly a half a mile when Mallory halted abruptly. Sebastian had been focused on his footing and almost ran into her.
“Hey, what’s going on?”
“Use your eyes more and your mouth less.”
Grumbling to himself, Sebastian leaned around her and swept his goggled gaze across the passageway. For a moment he couldn’t make sense of what he saw, the strange infrared contrast confusing his depth perception. He focused on Sir Kipling sitting about ten feet in front of them and used the animal as a reference point. The cat’s warm body created the normal blaze of red and yellow in an otherwise blue and green corridor, but there was something funny about the tunnel behind him. Then Sebastian saw it.
The floor was gone.
“Well that’s just peachy.”
“Take off your goggles, we don’t need them here.”
“Um, I don’t know about you, but I have not yet managed to grow my third eye that can see in the dark, so I’ll keep my goggles on if it’s all the same to you.”
A snort came from Mallory, and if Sebastian didn’t know better, he’d have said it sounded like a laugh.
“I have headlamps and flashlights, genius.”
“Oh.” Sheepish, Sebastian pulled off his goggles just in time to be blinded by Mallory’s head
lamp. He yelped in protest and threw up his hands in front of his eyes. “Holy son of a motherless goat, woman, turn that thing off!”
“Stop whining and put this on.”
Sebastian felt her shove something into his hands, conveniently shining her headlamp directly in his face in the process. He turned his head away, blindly grabbing at the something as his eyes watered behind tightly shut lids.
“Crazy b—” Sebastian bit his tongue, reminding himself that there was a very conveniently placed bottomless pit not ten feet away for Mallory to throw him into if she had a mind to. No one would ever find his body.
So, instead of calling her all the names she most definitely deserved, he turned his back and rubbed his eyes, blinking away tears as he squinted into the darkness. Once his eyes no longer burned like he was staring straight into the sun, he stowed his night-vision goggles and put on his headlamp.
“Okay, what have we got?”
“See for yourself.”
Turning around, Sebastian cautiously stepped forward to join Mallory and Sir Kipling. They stood about four feet from the edge of a very steep, but not quite vertical slope. As the floor fell away, the clumped earth became mixed in with rocks, small and large, and in some places it turned to solid rubble, with large, jagged chunks peeking out here and there.
“I wonder how many demolished buildings and old parking lots are buried in this mine,” Sebastian mused as he eyed the drop off, which continued down, down, down into the darkness. “Good grief, how in the world did those two wizards get down there? Can they fly?”
Instead of replying, Mallory spun on her heels and headed for the nearest limestone pillar.
MY HUMAN HAS SPOKEN OF ANTI GRAVITY BUBBLES.
“Great, just great. So wizards can fly. Exactly what we need.” Sebastian bit his tongue to stop himself from asking how they were going to get down, much less back up, that incline alive, and instead simply watched Mallory work. He couldn’t tell what she was doing, but he suddenly heard a loud, sharp crack. The noise repeated several times, making him flinch, but he reminded himself that there was no one around to hear the echoes. A few minutes later Mallory motioned them over, and the two of them approached to find that she’d hammered a spike into a crack in the pillar. The flared end had a hole in the metal through which she had clipped a snap ring, and to the ring was tied some sturdy-looking rope.
Love, Lies, and Hocus Pocus Identity Page 28
