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The Royal Institute loomed like a dark sentinel at the end of the cul-de-sac as Evander headed briskly towards it with Shaw and a team of mages from the Arcane Division. This area of Bloomsbury was eerily quiet, the cordon they’d erected at the end of the street keeping much of the traffic out.

Sergeant Griffiths and his men were already at the gates.

“We’ve finished evacuating the properties within a five-hundred-foot radius of here, your Grace,” the sergeant reported briskly.

“Good.” Evander scanned the assembled men and women.

“Remember, we’re dealing with dark mages and shadow creatures.

Do not hesitate to engage full offensive powers.

” He hesitated. “And fall back if you feel you’re in mortal danger.

That’s a direct order. No one will think any less of you if you do.

I would rather you walk out of here alive than die a foolish death. ”

The officers and mages nodded, their expressions resolute despite his warning.

A figure hurried towards them from the direction of the cordon. It was Rufus.

“Winterbourne has stationed officers at the other exits,” he told them quietly.

Richfield and Inkwell had identified where the underground tunnels connected to the secret facility had openings in the city. If Musgrave or any of his associates attempted to flee, they would be intercepted.

The buildings of the Institute stood silent as they crossed the courtyard, windows dark and not a soul in sight thanks to the evacuation order Evander had convinced Headmaster Rigley to issue under the guise of structural concerns after the magical confrontation with Musgrave that morning.

His thoughts strayed briefly to Viggo. The Brute should be approaching the sewer entrance with Leon by now.

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.

“It’s a ward lock.” He frowned. “Not unlike those used in the Ministry of Arcane Affairs for their most sensitive archives.”

Rufus and Shaw exchanged a wary look.

“Go for it, your Grace,” Shaw said in a hard voice.

Evander’s shoulders knotted as he aligned the ring and the engraving with deliberate care. Metal slotted smoothly into wood.

The silver band immediately grew warm in his fingers.

Arcane runes flared to life, the symbols glowing an eerie crimson before fading just as quickly.

The ground beneath them shuddered.

“Move!” Evander barked. He yanked the ring out of the engraving and pulled back just as the lectern began to sink.

Shaw gasped when a section of the floor disappeared beneath her.

“ Lyra! ” Rufus lunged to grab her.

Evander cursed and raised his hand. A powerful burst of wind magic surged from his fingertips and shot towards the plummeting forensic mage. The vortex wrapped around her, buffeting her body and halting her fall.

Shaw stared at the gaping void beneath her feet as Evander carefully floated her up to safety.

“Blimey, I thought I was a goner there,” she mumbled.

Rufus and Griffiths took hold of her arms and steadied her as she stepped onto solid ground. They gathered cautiously around the previously concealed entrance.

A set of stone steps descended into darkness where the wooden platform and the section of floor had once been. Cool air wafted up from below. It carried the stench of damp stone and something else—something foul and ominous that set Evander’s teeth on edge.

“By God, that’s unholy,” Rufus whispered, his face pale in the dim light.

Griffiths looked similarly troubled beside him.

Evander summoned a sphere of fire to illuminate the passage. It would serve not only to light the way but weaken whatever corrupt magic choked the passages beneath them. The orange flames cast elongated shadows across the stone walls as he took the first step down.

“Stay on your guard,” he warned over his shoulder.