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The hallways echoed with their footsteps as they navigated the main building, the department-issued light orbs floating above their heads casting their shadows ahead of them.Evander felt the stares of the portraits lining the walls as they made their way towards the south wing.He could not help but wonder how many of the famous mages gracing the hallowed halls of the Institute had known about the secrets lurking beneath their feet.

They slowed as they approached the lecture hall.

“Wait here,” Evander ordered quietly.

Rufus and Shaw watched tensely as he raised a shield of wind and water magic and moved cautiously towards the entrance.

Evander’s hand found the small crystal pendant around his neck.

It was the amulet McAndrew and Mrs.Scarborough had created to help combat shadow creatures.Though the device would not block the monsters completely, it would disrupt them enough to provide some measure of protection.McAndrew had told him the object also possessed an inbuilt warning system to alert the user to the creatures’ proximity.Thankfully, he and Mrs.Scarborough had prepared two prototypes in their general wisdom.

Evander had given the second one to Leon.

He stopped at the side of the open doors and cast a pulse of elemental magic into the lecture hall.It returned nothing.

He steeled himself and stepped inside, his eyes swiftly scanning the gloom.

The room still bore scars from their battle with the professor that morning—scorch marks on the floor, cracks in the walls, and broken windows hastily boarded up.The splintered furniture had been pushed to the sides.

He detected no signs of shadow creatures or dark mages in the uncanny stillness, the cold amulet against his chest confirming what his senses were telling him.

“It’s safe,” Evander called out to the hall.

He headed for the middle of the room while the rest of the team piled in behind him.It was where Leon had surprised Musgrave and the professor had subsequently pulled his vanishing act.

“Are you sure this is the right place?”Rufus asked tensely while their light orbs ascended higher into the air and illuminated the deserted lecture hall.

Evander nodded, his gaze fixed on the heavy wooden lectern.“The coordinates in Whitley and Chevalier’s journals pointed to this position.The entrance must be here somewhere.”He circled the structure before squatting to examine the floor.

Shaw crouched opposite him and studied the wooden base of the podium.Her eyes narrowed after a moment.“The wood grain doesn’t match here.”She indicated a barely discernible seam that ran along one side of the structure.

Evander’s pulse quickened.He joined her and trailed his fingers over the smooth oak surface.“You’re right.”

They followed the near invisible line to the recess under the lectern.

A trace of magic prickled Evander’s skin then.“There’s something there.”

He removed his foldable cane, engaged the magic in the crystal at the top, and moved the light closer.

Shaw spotted it first.“There, your Grace.Directly underneath!”She pointed excitedly.

Evander shifted the light closer.

There was an engraving in the wood on the underside of the lectern.

“That looks like the symbol on the ring you found in the alley,” Shaw said excitedly.

Evander’s heart slammed against his ribs as he withdrew the silver ring they had discovered close to where Solomon had disappeared.He’d been carrying it on his person ever since, suspecting it might prove useful.The ring felt unnaturally cold in his palm as he held it up to the light.

He and Shaw compared the rune inscribed in the metal to the engraving.

It was an identical match.

“This might be a key to the facility.”Evander shot an uneasy glance at Shaw and the others.“It would be best if you moved back.This could trigger some kind of defensive measure once I activate it.”

They retreated several paces, tension evident in the set of their shoulders.The four Met officers positioned by the doors shifted uneasily, knuckles whitening on their warded truncheons.

Evander focused his magic on the energy he’d detected within the lectern.It was a moment before the complex arcane symbols present beneath the layers of mundane wood became evident to his senses; they pulsed with a subdued power that made his scalp prickle.His heart quickened when the pattern became clear to him.