Into the Dark (The Conjurors) (38 page)

“Is it only the two of them? I mean, if we all attacked at once, we could defeat them for sure!”

Shade snorted. “Not likely. Besides all the invisible guards they have with all sorts of powers, there’s another guy who comes here too. I don’t know anything about him, except that whenever he’s here there’s always lots of screaming. I get me and my gang outta here then.”

“Is he here now?”

“Nah, I don’t think so. It’s too quiet,” he said as he opened a tall arched door. He led Valerie down a long hall lined with cells on either side. Inside, silent shadows hunched in the corners of the cells, barely moving. They were the prisoners, she realized. It was eerily quiet for a prison, and she sensed that terrible, unspeakable things had happened to make these prisoners so silent and motionless.

“I know this is a lot to ask, but Shade, my friends are coming to help me. When they came before, they couldn’t find the castle on their own.”

He nodded knowingly. “It can only be found by someone who has been shown the path,” he explained.

“Would you show them the path if – when – they come?”

He glanced around nervously, and her heart sank. But then, to her surprise, he said, “I’ll do what I can. No promises. I’m not gonna do anything that gets me or mine killed. All right, we’re here,” he said, leading her to a cell. Then he whispered, “It’s the cell next to your friend, the lightweaver guy. I’m not sure what happened to him, but he don’t look so good.”

If she didn’t know better, Valerie would almost swear that Shade looked worried. Looking into his eyes, she said earnestly, “Thank you, Shade.”

“My real name’s Jack. And, uh, good luck or whatever,” he said, and then closed her cell with a clang. He and his gang scurried down the hall, clearly eager to be away from the eerie, dark prison.

“Cy?” Valerie called, wishing more than ever for a little light. There was no response. “Hello?”

Not a single prisoner responded. She suddenly wondered if Jack had lied, and she was alone here, buried underground, forgotten, forever. Her friends would never know what happened to her, and eventually they would forget about her while she rotted down here. For one petrifying moment, she felt as if the darkness would eat her alive, and it would be as if she had never existed.

Valerie felt panic rise inside of her, and the Laurel Circle grew cold on her thumb. But before her fear could swallow her up, she heard the sound of someone moaning softly in the cell next to her. She went over to the bars that separated her from the cell next to her and called, “Cy, is that you? It’s going to be okay.”

“Val? Is it really you, or another dream?”

She looked down to see Cyrus curled into a tight ball, shivering.  Tears filled her eyes, and she knelt down. “It’s me.”

She touched his cold hands through the bars of her cell. “We’re going to die, aren’t we?” he asked. His voice sounded lifeless.

Rage rose up in her. Whoever had taken away the light and life from his eyes would pay. Fury infused her with energy, and she felt the magic that had disappeared when Zunya was near well up inside of her. She allowed herself to relish the feeling for a brief moment before she turned back to Cyrus. “What happened to you?”

“That woman, Sanguina, asked me questions about you. When I wouldn’t answer, she hurt me,” he said, his voice hoarse. “I tried to fight back, to use light to scare her away like I did last time. I did my best, Val, I swear! But there is so little light inside of this place to pull, not nearly enough to hurt her. I’m sorry.”

    Without realizing it, she clenched her hands into fists. She had never yearned to bring someone pain before, but now there was nothing she craved so badly as to make Sanguina beg her for mercy – and then to deny it to her. The darkness inside of Valerie frightened her a little, and she forced herself to breathe slowly. She needed to channel her anger and adrenaline as Gideon had taught her, not waste it on her hate.

    “You didn’t fail. This is my fault – she never would have kidnapped you if it weren’t for me. But one way or another, I’m going to stop her, I swear.”

    “No! Stay away from her and Zunya! They’re too strong, and the more scared you are, the more pain you’re in, the more they love it. Fear and pain are like food to them.”

    Hearing Cyrus sound so defeated made Valerie feel physically sick. “It isn’t over yet,” she said softly.

    “I wish there was a little light in here, something to drive the darkness away. It feels like I’m going to disappear inside it.”

    For the first time, Valerie remembered the flower of light that she always kept in her pocket. Gently, she took it out and held it up to the bars. Cyrus’ face, streaked with dirt and blood, appeared in the soft, golden light. He looked exhausted and scared, but a small smile appeared as he took the flower in his hands. As she watched, the light seemed to bring life back in Cyrus’ blue eyes, and he looked more like the mischievous boy she knew. She could hear the other prisoners stirring in their cells, aroused from their silent stupor at last by the little flower of pure light.

     “I know it seems hopeless, but I have a plan. Zunya captured me, but before he did, I sent my sword back to the callbox. This time, when I face Sanguina, I’ll be ready. I’ll be armed, and if I can channel my magic, I know I have a chance.”

    Cyrus’ face became thoughtful. “Call the sword. I have an idea.”

    “Pathos!” she said, and it instantly appeared in her hand.

    “Hold it here, next to the bars,” he said. Then Cyrus concentrated, staring at the flower that he held gently.

    Valerie watched, mesmerized, as the flower melted into a pool of light in his hands. Then he poured the light from his hands onto the blade, and Pathos glowed from hilt to tip. “Now send it back to the callbox. With your powers, a weapon, and a little light, I think you can beat her, Val, I really do.”

    By the glow of the sword, she saw that hope had returned to his eyes. “Pathos!” she said, and the sword and the light disappeared. She heard Cyrus sigh softly, already missing the light. Then they sat back-to-back in their cells, whispering to each other about the best strategy to use when she fought Sanguina.

The sound of Valerie’s cell door being wrenched open interrupted their whispers.

“Sanguina is asking for you,” a strange voice said, and someone grabbed her by the arm and dragged her out of the cell.

    “Val!” Cyrus cried.

    “I’m okay – I’ll see you soon, I swear!” she said, trying to sound brave.

    In the dim light, Valerie saw that it was a transparent Conjuror who was yanking her down the hall. He was much more difficult to see than Blake had been, so his power must still be new.

By the sound of the scuffling of feet all around her, she guessed that at least 10 other transparent Conjurors were also guarding her to make sure she didn’t escape. She tried to calm her thumping heart and concentrate on her plan – call for her sword, channel her magic, fight Sanguina. If Valerie could take her down, chaos would ensue and with a little luck she would be able to rescue Cyrus in the mayhem. But she had trouble collecting her scattered thoughts, and her terror of facing Sanguina again seemed to choke her magic, making it feel like a trickle running through her body instead of the flood that she needed to win.

    Suddenly, she felt the pull of Henry on her mind. She desperately tried to resist his call, but his terror was so great that she had no choice.

    Venu stood out like a dark shadow against the verdant green grasslands of the African landscape. He loomed over Henry, who was curled in a ball on the ground, his entire body shaking. Venu lifted his boot and kicked him in the back. The sharp pain rippled through his body, and Valerie felt the tears streaming down his face as if they were her own.

    “Please, no more. I’ll do it, I’ll do it.”

    Venu pulled back his leg, preparing to kick him again when Sanguina appeared.

    “You miserable cretin, what are you doing? You have disobeyed me! I don’t have time to deal with your incompetence now!” Sanguina screeched at Venu. Valerie was shocked. Why was she helping Henry? She had to have some sinister reason for intervening.

    For the first time, Valerie saw fear flickering in Venu’s eyes. “I’m sorry, mistress. But the boy refused to follow my orders! I had no choice–”

    “I heard him agree to do what you asked,” Sanguina replied icily. “You’re wasting time. You should be at the Devil’s Pool by now! Go!”

    Henry looked up from the ground through swollen eyes, and for the first time Valerie saw where he was. The longest, most magnificent waterfall she had ever seen stretched out for miles. The water rushed over the edge so hard that the spray rose up like a cloud when it crashed into the pool below, creating a mist in the air even though they were still far away from the falls.

    ‘Don’t give up, Henry! I’m sending help,’ Valerie thought, hoping he could perceive her message. Then she let herself be pulled back to the Globe.

    “What’s wrong with you?” the guard standing nearest to her said, shaking her roughly.

    “Sorry,” she said, realizing that she was slumped on the ground.

    “I’m not falling for your tricks,” the guard said, and without another word, Valerie was slung over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. It was an awkward position, but she was able to reach into her pocket and clutch the charm she had made for Thai. She pictured his face, and instantly she stood next to him in a busy airport. Thai looked at her questioningly.

    “Can’t stay – go to the biggest waterfall in Zambia. Ask anyone – it’s enormous; it can’t be hard to find.”

    “Victoria Falls, of course!” Thai exclaimed.

    “Venu’s taking Henry there – somewhere called the Devil’s Pool!”

    “But what –”

    Thai’s question was lost as Valerie felt her body thrown on the stone floor. She hit the ground hard, but despite how disoriented she felt from her vision and her whirlwind visit to Thai, she had the sense to immediately leap to her feet and assume a fighting stance, though she doubted that she could take on all of the guards in addition to Sanguina.

    It didn’t help that she couldn’t even guess how many people were surrounding her. She was in total darkness. Not even one of the dim balls of light was near to give her a sense of the layout of the room and the location of her enemies. She felt defenseless without the use of her sight. How could she possibly fight Sanguina when she couldn’t even see where she was standing?

    “Glad you’ve come out to play,” Zunya’s voice slithered through the darkness. Valerie felt her power dip, and a hopeless fear gripped her heart. She would be completely defenseless in the battle to come with Zunya present to subdue her power.

    “Leave us,” Sanguina’s raspy voice commanded.  Valerie heard the light tread of the guards’ footsteps as they immediately left the room. “You too, Zunya. I don’t need your help with this.”

    “I should stay, in case–” he started to say, clearly annoyed at her order.

    “Get out – NOW!” Sanguina’s voice exploded. Zunya opened the door to leave, looking back once at Valerie. In his gleaming yellow eyes, she could see his fury at Sanguina’s order mixed with amusement at her fear.

Then the door slammed closed, and she was alone with Sanguina and completely blind. She took a few practice kicks, preparing herself for Sanguina’s attack. But the onslaught of blows never came.

     “You’re not here to fight me. I’ve already proved that I could kill you without breaking a sweat,” Sanguina whispered in Valerie’s ear, the threat of violence in her voice. Valerie felt her chest tighten as the fear that she couldn’t hold back gushed through her.