Page 14

CHAPTER 14

VIOLET

T he Department's computer system hummed as Gadross pulled up another file on the Blackwood family. After our disastrous encounter at pack lands, we'd retreated to regroup and dig deeper. Being overwhelmed a second time had shaken all of us. It wasn't something we were used to encountering. Of course, we were down Aislinn and Fiona was crippled by her injury.

But the excursion hadn't all been for nothing. It sparked ideas and a place for us to look further. It was unlikely Marcus was keeping Aislinn close to the pack. Argies acknowledged her scent was likely secondary. It made sense that he would keep tight control over the ritual. It was evident that he didn't have complete control over the shifters. Their natures were too volatile.

"Here's something interesting," Gadross said. He tapped the screen for emphasis. "Before Richard Blackwood went off the rails, his family maintained a private cemetery. It predates the corruption by at least a century."

I leaned over his shoulder and scanned the historical records. "A family mausoleum? That's rather posh. "

"I'll try not to take offense to that," Fiona replied from where she was propped up in a chair. She was still pale from her wound. "My family created ours out of necessity to secure the portal to Eidothea. But in the Blackwood's case, I'm betting on old money and magic. They'd want somewhere special to keep their secrets."

"And their bodies," Bas added as he studied the architectural plans Gadross had pulled up. "Look at these designs. There's an entire network of chambers underneath the mausoleum."

"The records mention they used it to store their magical artifacts," Gadross noted. "Things they wanted to keep away from prying eyes. And since it predates the corruption..."

"It might give us access to Aislinn through a less defended route," I finished. Hope stirred in my chest, making me giddy. "The corruption would have had to work around the consecration. That could mean weaker defenses."

"Or at least different ones," Thanos pointed out. "It's worth checking out either way. Has to be better than fighting our way through the pack again."

Argies, who had been silently brooding since our retreat, finally spoke up. "If there's any chance it leads us to Aislinn, I say we take it."

I nodded and grimaced as the purple light pulsed through Fiona's bandages. She was a liability as much as an asset right now. But we had to do something. We would have our asses handed to us if we charged back into pack territory for another round with those corrupted enforcers.

"Right then," I said, straightening up. "Let's go poke around some posh graves. Should be a laugh."

The trip to the cemetery was tense. We kept to the shadows and avoided the main roads where corrupted pack members might patrol. It made my stomach roil when I noted how wrong Hambledon felt. The corruption had spread beyond since we arrived. It was seeping into the town like a slow poison.

We scaled the cemetery wall rather than risk the main gates. The old stones were slick with evening dew, which made for a treacherous climb. Fiona barely managed it. Her wound was clearly causing her more pain than she let on. Bas stayed close to her and was ready to catch her if she slipped. Gadross moved with surprising agility behind us, his eyes constantly scanning the shadows as he brought up the rear.

The Blackwood mausoleum rose before us. It was a Gothic monstrosity silhouetted against the darkening sky. My phoenix stirred beneath my skin. As we approached, my magical senses screamed warnings. The corrupted power flowing through the underground chambers felt like oil slicking across my skin. It made me want to shift and burn it all away. But that wouldn't help us find Aislinn.

"There's something down there," I whispered. I had to fight back nausea as another wave of dark magic rolled over us. "The corruption, bloody hell, it's worse than it was in the cellars."

"Can you get a fix on the layout?" Fiona asked. "Is it the same as the blueprints? Or has it been changed?" She was leaning heavily against Bas.

"I can't say for sure. It's like looking through dirty water. There's definitely a way down through here." I gestured to the mausoleum. I swear someone in the family had gotten overexcited with the gargoyles when they designed it. "The wards are keyed to the corrupted magic, so I can't determine if they're weak or not."

"Lovely," Fiona muttered. "This evil cult has embraced all the cliches. Having a secret underground lair accessed through a creepy tomb is the cherry on top. I don't suppose anyone brought a torch?" She sighed and continued, "I'm not sure I can maintain my witch fire that long. I want to save my energy."

"Definitely conserve all you can. I've got illumination covered," I promised as I conjured a fireball.

Thanos moved forward and lifted a hand in the air. He traced some sort of sigils that lit up for a few seconds. "The dark magic is warring with the original protections, which has created weak points. If we hit them right..."

"We can break through without setting off every alarm in Hambledon," I finished. "Bas, can you handle the Fae elements? There seemed to be a significant number of them, and Fiona should reserve herself."

"The magical signatures are unlike anything in the Department records," Gadross observed, studying the warring energies with a furrowed brow. "The corruption has twisted the original wards into something new."

Bas nodded grimly and stepped forward. His Fae magic shimmered in the air as he began dismantling layers of corrupted protections. I joined him and threw my phoenix fire to burn away components while he handled the Fae elements. The work was delicate. Like trying to unpick a jumper made of razor wire and malice.

"Bloody hell," I muttered as another trap revealed itself. This one was particularly nasty. It was a blend of shifter essence and corrupted Fae magic that would have turned any intruder into a rather artistic bloody stain. "They've really gone all out with the security, haven't they?"

"How are the wards getting stronger?" Bas asked as he carefully unwound another layer.

"These patterns," Gadross murmured, tracing the energy flows in the air. "They're actively adapting to our attempts to dismantle them."

Fiona shook her head. "My guess is they're getting desperate to protect their ritual and reinforcing all of their wards at once."

A sharp gasp from Fiona made us all turn. Fresh blood seeped through her bandages as animated shadows tried to force their way into the wound. They moved with purpose. They were testing her defenses. "I'm fine," she insisted through gritted teeth, though she was anything but. "Just focus on getting us in. These shadows are being arseholes, but I can handle them."

It took us nearly twenty minutes to create a safe passage through the wards. By the end, my phoenix was screaming to be released so it could burn away all this corruption. The entrance we revealed led to steep stone stairs descending into darkness. "Right then," I said as I called more phoenix fire to light our way. "Let's go see what horrors await us in the Hambledon Underground. It's probably not as crowded as the London Tube."

Fiona smirked at me. "It might be as dangerous, though."

"The Department's architectural records didn't show half of what's down here," Gadross added grimly as we descended.

The stairs opened into a massive chamber that made my heart stop. Rows of containment circles filled the space. Each held a supernatural being in various stages of power drain. The magic that pervaded the air was thick with death and corruption.

"Oh gods," I breathed as my fire revealed the full horror of what was happening. The leader was draining power from these beings and transforming it so he could use it for his dark ritual. The process was like watching someone try to turn wine into poison. Here, he was using living souls instead of grapes.

"We need to help them," Fiona started forward, but Bas held her back.

"Their cores have been corrupted," I explained. I nearly lost what little food I had in my stomach. "The process is not reversible. If we had time, I would burn this place to the ground and put them out of their misery."

"We can't alert the leader to our presence," Fiona replied with a sigh as we continued.

"Each circle shows signs of prolonged power extraction," Gadross noted, his voice tight with horror as he examined the nearest containment field. "They've been here for months, maybe years."

We hadn't gone too far when a sudden surge of power made me reel. It was Bas and Argies. They'd combined their abilities. Dragon fire merged with Fae magic in a display that would have been beautiful if it wasn't born of desperation. The combined force shattered major barriers that had been hiding chambers.

"So much for a stealthy approach," I muttered as alarms shrieked through the complex. The sound was like having a fire alarm go off inside your skull.

"There," Argies growled, already moving forward. His nostrils flared as he caught Aislinn's scent. "She was here recently. The trail leads deeper."

Fresh blood marred the floor near one of the circles. Based on how Argies was reacting, it was Aislinn's blood. They'd moved her shortly before we arrived. Just our bloody luck. "Don't touch anything," I warned as we proceeded. "The corruption is active here. It's trying to-"

The shadows ahead of us condensed and formed into a familiar figure. Peterson stood before us. Though 'stood' might be generous. He sort of flowed like oil on water. His form rippled between solid and shadow, and purple energy leaked from his eyes.

"Bloody hell," I breathed. "What have they done to you? "

Gadross shifted into a defensive stance beside me, his expression grim as he assessed what Peterson had become. "They've shown me true power," he replied in a voice that echoed wrongly. "The kind your precious Department tries to suppress. The old ways are returning, and the vessels will-"

Thanos interrupted him with a blast of demigod magic that should have incinerated him. Instead, Peterson flowed around it like liquid darkness. He moved faster than I thought possible. I screamed when he materialized behind Thanos with claws of shadow aimed at his throat.

I reacted on instinct. Phoenix fire erupted from my hands. The golden flames caught Peterson mid-strike. For a moment, his form solidified enough for us to see what he'd become. The corruption had eaten away his humanity. It left something that existed between states of being. Something dark had replaced blood in his veins. He was a living conduit for dark magic.

"You are the final vessels and have walked into our trap," he snarled as he danced away from my flames. "When the moon reaches its peak, the First Ones will have their anchor in this world. Your power will open the way."

"Not bloody likely," I shot back as I gathered more fire. "We're getting her back. Then we're going to dismantle everything you've built here."

His laugh was like breaking glass. "You don't understand. This can't be stopped. It spreads through all it touches." His gaze fixed on Fiona's wound meaningfully. "Every defense broken, every barrier crossed just feeds it. Even now, your friend's power transforms. Soon she'll be-"

Argies's dragon fire cut him off, but Peterson was already moving. He flowed into the shadows cast by my flames. He used them as paths we couldn't follow. His final words echoed back to us. "Time grows short. When midnight comes, the old ways return. You will serve as the perfect vessels. The rest of you will also serve in time."

"Well," Fiona said into the silence that followed, "that was dramatic, wasn't it? Though I have to say, the whole 'liquid shadow' thing really isn't a good look on him."

"His magical signature has been completely rewritten," Gadross said, studying the residual energy with a mix of horror and fascination. "There's almost nothing left of his original pattern."

I examined the traces of Peterson's essence. "If they've done that to Aislinn..."

"They haven't," Argies growled as he cut me off. His hands were smoking with barely contained dragon fire. "Her scent is still pure. But it's getting weaker. We need to move."

"At least we know we're getting close," Thanos pointed out as we moved deeper into the complex. "And we have time. It's not even morning yet. They need the moon at its peak. That gives us several hours."

"Several hours to find Aislinn, stop an apocalyptic ritual, and deal with an entire pack of shadow-corrupted shifters," Fiona summarized. "Plus, whatever other horrors they've got waiting down here. Should be a piece of cake, yeah?"

I was about to reply when my senses screamed a warning. The energy ahead was different. It pulsed with a rhythm that made my magical core recoil. We were getting close to something. Something big.

"Does anyone else feel that?" I asked, though based on their expressions, they did. "Whatever is going on ahead has a heartbeat."

"The ritual chamber," Bas said grimly. "They're channeling power through the entire complex and using these tunnels like magical circuits. And based on these energy patterns..." He trailed off as he studied the purple light that seeped from the walls .

"Based on what?" I prompted, though I had a feeling I knew what he was going to say.

"The magical frequencies are converging," Gadross added, his face pale as he studied the pulsing energy. "Like tributaries flowing into a river of power."

"Based on this power, we're not approaching a ritual chamber," Bas replied. "We're walking into the heart of whatever they're building. And it's already active."

Lovely. Just bloody lovely. Another fun day out with the Backside of Forty crew. Although I had to admit, even for us, this was getting a bit excessive. We were weaker without Aislinn, and it terrified me.

The tunnel ahead opened into what had once been a natural cavern beneath Hambledon. The limestone walls were carved with runes that pulsed with that sickly purple light. Each symbol looked like it had been etched with acid and pain rather than proper tools. The physical stench of decay made my nausea worse.

"Anyone else getting horror film vibes?" Fiona asked. She flinched as another wave of corruption tried to seep through her wound. Bas's power automatically reached out to push it away. "Because I'm fairly certain this is the part where someone says 'what could possibly go wrong' and then everything goes completely tits up."

"Don't," I warned her, though I agreed. The cavern ahead felt like something out of one of those late-night films they show on Channel Four when they're trying to be edgy. "I swear I'm going mental just being near this place. Everything natural has been turned inside out."

"The process is accelerating," Bas observed. His aristocratic features were tight with disgust as he studied the magical currents flowing through the chamber.

A scream cut through the air. One I recognized. Aislinn's voice was filled with pain and fury. The sound made my magic surge beneath my skin. And golden fire erupted around my hands without conscious thought.

"I'm not sure how close that is," Argies snarled. His dragon fire lit his eyes. The temperature in the cavern rose several degrees as his control slipped. "But something's wrong with the acoustics. The sound's being redirected and magically amplified."

"The chamber's architecture," Gadross noted grimly, "it's designed to channel and amplify magical frequencies."

He was right. The scream seemed to come from multiple directions at once. It bounced off the corrupted walls in ways that defied normal physics. Why make anything simple when you could be dramatic about it? "They're using her pain to power something," I realized as my magical senses picked up patterns in the energy flows.

Fiona nodded and gestured ahead of us in an arc. "Each scream feeds into these circuits they've built. It's all connected. The vessels, the ritual, even these bloody walls. They've turned all of Hambledon's underground into one massive magical machine."

"And we are the battery they need to power it," I finished. Her face was pale but determined despite the corruption trying to eat through her defenses. "As soon as they get us, they'll be able to activate it fully."

Another scream echoed through the chambers. This one cut off abruptly. The sudden silence was somehow worse than the sound had been. The purple light pulsing through the runes intensified. I could feel power building throughout the complex like pressure before a storm. "We can't go running after the sound. It's a trap to lure us in," I warned Argies.

"You're right. But time is running out," Thanos said unnecessarily. "We need to move. Now."

"Should we split up?" Fiona asked. "Cover more ground? "

"Not bloody likely," I replied. "Have you never seen a horror film? Splitting up is exactly what they want us to do. Besides, I've got a better idea." I reached for my phoenix fire, letting it build until golden flames filled my vision. "These tunnels are connected, yeah? Part of their magical circuit?"

Understanding dawned in Bas's eyes. "If we disrupt the flow in one section..."

"It'll ripple through the whole system," I confirmed with a grim smile. "It might even give us a clearer path to Aislinn. Though I imagine they'll have something to say about us mucking about with their careful planning."

"Let them try," Argies growled. His form started to shimmer with barely contained dragon power. "I've got some things to say about them taking my mate."

I gathered my power and allowed the phoenix to rise within me. At my side, Thanos's blade pulsed in harmony with my flames while Bas and Argies prepared their own assault on the magical circuits. Gadross positioned himself strategically, ready to analyze any weaknesses our combined attack might reveal.

"Ready?" I asked, though it was a bit of a redundant question. None of us were really ready for this level of madness, but when had that ever stopped us?

"Let's try not to bring the whole of Hambledon down on our heads," Fiona suggested as she gathered what power she could despite her wound.

"No promises," I replied and then released my power into the nearest cluster of corrupted runes.

The effect was immediate and violent. My phoenix fire hit the magical circuit like a hammer to glass. It sent fractures of golden light racing through the purple corruption. The backlash nearly knocked me off my feet. Thanos cut through the stone. Grey lightning sparked across the surface. Bas's Fae magic targeted specific nodes and Argies's dragon fire provided raw power. Fiona's magic twined with mine to enhance my assault.

For a moment, it seemed to be working. The corruption retreated and revealed cleaner passages beneath its taint. Then, the shadows erupted from the walls like geysers of liquid darkness. They formed into nightmare shapes with the faces of previous victims twisted in their depths.

But it was Argies who turned the tide. His fury at Aislinn's capture finally broke free. He transformed into his full dragon form despite the confined space. The rest of us scrambled to the edges of the room. The cavern could barely contain him, but that didn't seem to matter as his fire melted stone and shadow alike.

The magical circuit was overloaded under our combined assault. Victory turned to horror as I realized the corruption wasn't retreating. It was being drawn deeper into the complex. Our power was feeding something that had alarm bells clanging in my head. Aislinn's scream echoed through the chambers then. It had changed somehow. It was no longer pure. The sound made my heart ache even as it urged me to burn everything.

"We need to move," Thanos said, already heading toward the source. He was right. The corrupted power was building, and somewhere ahead, our friend was being used to power a ritual that could destroy everything we knew. We couldn't take our time to avoid being captured in the process.