Page 82 of The Warlock's Trial

I pulled Nadine closer to me, and she shivered. I lifted my hand, and a shield bloomed in front of us. We waited for a beat but heard nothing. Slowly, we crept forward.

As we approached the area where the tunnel widened, more shimmering objects came into view. They weren’t the eyes of mysterious cave-dwelling creatures. They were jewels.

The cavern widened to reveal the lair of some sort of jewel-hoarding beast—a dragon, perhaps, or the questing beast Alexei had mentioned. There was no beast in sight, just treasures the monster had stored for safekeeping.

Piles of coins scattered the cavern, along with various pieces of jewelry. A sword lay on the ground, though it seemed it’d been down here so long it barely had any shine left to it. Grant picked up a twisted silver crown with blue gemstones and inspected it.

“Don’t touch anything,” Professor Warren warned cautiously. “We don’t know what kind of magic or curses may be on these objects.”

Grant quickly tossed the crown aside.

Our cats slunk forward, sniffing the cave floor. They surrounded three large pits in the ground. At first, I thought they were new tunnels opening below us, but when I gazed into them, I found that these pits were bowl-shaped, like they were once pools that no longer held any water. They weren’t very deep—six feet max. The cats circled the pits to nowhere, seeming particularly interested in them.

“I don’t see any entrance to the Abyss,” Grant said. “This is it—there’s no way forward. The only way out of here is back the way we came. We’ve literally hit a dead end.”

“Perhaps that’s a clue that things aren’t quite what they seem here,” Verla said thoughtfully. She circled one of the dry pools, following the cats’ lead. “There are words carved into the edge of these pools. It’s written in Unseelie runes.”

“Can you read it?” Nadine asked.

Verla shook her head. “No, but I may know a spell that will translate it for us. Everyone stand back.”

Verla raised her hand. Magic swirled out of her palms, shimmering off the riches surrounding us. “Verbis revelare!” she shouted, bringing her hands down in one swift motion.

A loud poof sounded, and a gust of wind whooshed through the tunnel. The cats jumped in unison, and Oliver ducked behind my leg. Magic erupted inside the pools, billowing smoke upward toward the cavern ceiling. As the smoke cleared, I saw that the runes had rearranged themselves into letters.

Professor Warren’s eyebrows shot up, and he gazed at Verla in admiration. “I might say, that was quite an impressive spell. I have yet to learn it.”

“How did you do that?” Nadine wondered.

“Witches can do many things with enough power,” Verla replied. “You didn’t think we could just cast shields and unlock doors, did you?”

“You’re going to have to teach me that,” Chloe said.

I peered into the empty pool and began reading the carving aloud. “Beware those who enter the Pits of Despair, for your worst fears lie along the path to the Underworld. Speak now your Unseelie intention. What does that mean?”

I took a step back, waiting for someone to answer, but they all shared a puzzled expression.

Nadine tapped her chin. “These must be the Pits of Despair. I’m assuming the Underworld is another term for hell? Alexei kept calling it that.”

Talia nodded. “It’s the fae’s term for it.”

“So the pits are a path to the Underworld,” Nadine determined. “So… could these pits be an entrance to the Abyss? Maybe they aren’t pits at all, but an illusion.”

Nadine bent to pick a coin off the ground, then tossed into the pit like she was throwing a coin into a wishing well. The coin clanked against the stone, then settled at the bottom of the pit. It obviously wasn’t an illusion.

“Speak now your Unseelie intention,” Professor Warren repeated. “It’s asking us to perform a spell, perhaps to open a portal.”

“But the Unseelie are a type of fae, which means our witch magic won’t work,” Chloe pointed out.

“Actually, it might be just the magic we need,” Talia said thoughtfully. “There are two classifications of fae—Seelie and Unseelie. Seelie draw magic from within themselves, while the Unseelie take magic from outside energy sources, or utilize tools like crystals and wands. The fae would consider Unseelie magic dark, just as they would classify witch magic. The translation may not mean Unseelie magic literally, but dark magic. By technicality, what the fae believe to be dark magic is the kind of magic witches use, so we should be able to do something here.”

Chloe placed her hands on her hips. “Okay, say we could cast a spell to open a portal to the Abyss. How can we be sure the portals will stay open so we can return?”

“We will have to sustain the spell,” Verla said.

“So someone has to stay behind?” Chloe wondered. “We have a better chance in the Abyss if we go together.”

“Someone has to stay behind to sustain the spell and keep the portals open, but it does not have to be one of us.” Verla’s gaze turned toward the cats circled around the pits. “Cats have one foot in the spirit realm at all times, and therefore can assist in spellwork. If we succeed at casting this spell and a portal appears, the cats must stay behind to keep the gateway open.”

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