Page 25 of Ignited Spirits (Haunted Magic #3)

Without waiting for me to agree to anything, they turn on their heels and march down the narrow passage that leads to the city. I have to jog to keep up with their long strides. By the pounding footsteps behind me, I know that my mates are following.

We march down the pathway and the stairs in silence. The jaguars don’t really want to talk to a couple of mages and some wolves, and the six of us are wrung out from the battle we just narrowly survived.

Hopefully we can get this resolved and make plans with Hades quickly so we can go to bed and be done with this whole day.

I’m not surprised to see a dour Mateo waiting for us at the bottom of the stairs.

His arms are crossed over his chest, his biceps straining against the thin material of his black tee.

He raises an eyebrow at me. “Why are you sending mages here? Our city is a sanctuary from those who wish to do us harm.”

“I know. And Joseph won’t hurt you.” I don’t think. Again, I don’t add that part.

Mateo throws his hands up in exasperation. “He’s a mage. Of course, he wishes us harm. You and your mate are the exception to the rule, not the norm.”

“Because the council imprisoned him for having forbidden magic like me. I can assure you, those the council hates aren’t their biggest fans.”

He grinds his teeth as he stares at me silently for a long moment. Eventually, his shoulders slump. “How long do you want him to stay here? And what kind of magic does he have?”

I wince, knowing he isn’t going to like my answer. “I don’t know how long. I also don’t know what kind of magic he has, but I can ask.”

Mateo pinches the bridge of his nose and sighs deeply. “I don’t know why I expected anything different from you. You’re pure trouble, Isabel. Find out what magic he has, then we can discuss arrangements.”

Snorting, because he’s not wrong, I give him a cheeky salute. “Aye, aye, Captain.”

Sighing, he gestures for us to go to the left. “Follow me. Your mage is in the holding cells.”

Well, that’s the last thing he needed. Joseph went from being locked up by the council straight to being locked up by a bunch of jaguars who hate his guts. I suppose it’s a step up from being killed.

“He’s not mine,” I protest as we walk on the outskirts of La Esperanza .

Unlike last time, we don’t enter the colorful, bustling streets of the city. Instead, we stick to a dreary gray rock path that leads us farther and farther away from the entrance.

“He’s part of your band of misfits, like me, your mates, and the people you know in Infernus .

You draw us into your orbit, and we’re all along for the journey.

” Mateo glances over and sees the probably horrified look on my face.

He rushes to add, “That’s not a bad thing.

We all believe in you and the path you’re on. ”

“If only I knew what I was doing,” I grumble.

His mouth curves up in a small smile that makes his deep brown eyes a touch lighter. “You’ll figure it out. You just need to have as much faith in yourself as the rest of us do.”

If only it were that easy. Soon enough, we’re standing outside a squat gray building with one entrance and no windows. I’m guessing this is where the holding cells are.

Mateo leads us in, my mates and me following like lost little ducklings. He walks over to a burly guard sitting behind a plexiglass shield. A lot of good that would do to stop an enraged shifter, though.

After a brief whispered conversation, Mateo steps back and a buzzing noise sounds. A gray door with black and yellow caution tape on the top and bottom slowly slides open. Once the gap is wide enough for him to fit, Mateo strolls through.

I stare after him for a minute, wondering what we’re supposed to do.

When he doesn’t even turn back, I rush after him, and my mates follow my lead. By the time I catch up to the brown-haired jaguar shifter, I’m embarrassingly a bit out of breath. We’re going to ignore that, though.

“Where are we going?” I ask once I stop panting.

I swear I hear a chuckle behind me, one of my mates finding my lack of physical fitness amusing. I resist the urge to turn around to glare at whoever it was.

Instead, I keep my gaze on the cream-tiled hallway.

Unlike the mage prison, the walls here are painted a warm brown.

The ceiling is beige and lit by bulbs that provide soft illumination.

Even though this building is for people accused of crimes, it’s way more inviting and less intimidating than the council’s building.

“To release your mage. I assume that’s what you wanted to do. I’m happy to leave him here to rot if you would rather.” He lifts one shoulder casually, like it really doesn’t matter to him which I choose.

“Nope. No rotting required,” I rush out. The last thing I want to do is leave the poor guy locked up. “Let’s get Joseph and get out of here. I’m at my limit of prison time today.”

“Do I even want to know why you were in another prison today?” Mateo turns left at a fork in the hallway, and we finally see some of the prison cells.

Most of them are empty. The few that are occupied have who I assume are shifters lying in their beds, reading books, or working out.

None of them seem too upset to be here, which is weird.

I shrug. “I was just breaking my dad out of council jail after I accidentally killed the head of the mage council. No biggie.”

He freezes and turns to me, gaping. “You what?”

I resist the urge to roll my eyes. I don’t know why he’s so shocked when he hates mages almost as much as I do. “I killed a council member. Now, let’s get a move on it. I have people to free and places to be today.”

Striding ahead of him, I hope it doesn’t take him too long to get over his surprise because I have no idea where I’m going.

He catches up to me once I’m almost down the hallway and am starting to make another left. “You’re going the wrong way.”

Turning on my heel, I march down the opposite direction. “No, I wasn’t.”

Chuckling, Mateo doesn’t argue with me as we walk the rest of the way in silence. This hallway dead-ends in front of a large metal door that goes all the way to the ceiling. I’m guessing Joseph got thrown in their version of maximum security because he’s a mage.

Mateo places his hand on a scanner next to the door. He then hurriedly enters a code and steps back.

After a moment, the door chirps and makes a grinding noise. It then slowly swings outward toward us.

When it’s fully open, I gasp at what I see before locking eyes with Joseph. “I guess I know why the council locked you up.”