Page 27 of A Lost Light

“What do you want, Lovell? Who is it you're here to break out?” she ground out, her voice becoming less harsh and more oily as she spoke. “Whatever it is you came here to do, I'm sure we can reach some kind of agreement,” she all but cooed. “You can't be working for the supremacists, not after the hissy fit you threw about your morals last time we met. So you must be here on behalf of those idiotic rebels. I know they don't have theresources to buy a witch of your caliber. But I do. What is it you want? Money? A pardon? Revenge? I can give it to you.”

I laughed. “You really are a dumb cunt.”

She just blinked at me. Then her face hardened. “I see. We had suspicions, of course, but it's you behind the rebels isn't it? Or… is it that traitorous sister of yours? Well, if you've come to get your spy back, you're too late,” she said with a grin. Waving a hand, she sent one of her people scurrying off down the hallway behind me. “He'll be dead before you get there.”

I rolled my eyes. “You know what. I'm done talking to you. I know there is some kind of connection between you and the O'Leary's and whatever corruption has taken hold of this place. I know you're not as high and mighty as you want everyone to think. And Ialsoknow you're just an annoying asshole who isn’t worth my time. Move.”

I started walking again, the others moving with me. Strom lobbed her lightning balls at us, but they fizzled out and did nothing. The other agents let loose a shower of magic and gunshots, and I gritted my teething, hoping like hell the spell could hold up to all that firepower all at once.

But it did.

Then the room began to fill with shadows. Dark, writhing tendrils snaked out from the floor and the ceiling, oozing from between the cracks and crevices, the shadows of the people and things around us coming to life, going distorted and nightmarish as they lurched toward the SA people.

The hallway was plunged into utter blackness. Not a single mote of light existed. Even safe inside our ring of magic, I shivered with a stray trace of fear. Then the screaming started. Spells flashed in the darkness, twisting horror shapes visible in the brief bursts of light. Gunshots sounded. Chaos ensued.

In mere moments it all went quiet.

Ambrose's shadows receded and the harsh gleam of fluorescent light returned to the hallway. The floor was littered with SA agents, all either dead or unconscious.

“Fucking hell,” I muttered.

Nightmares. I was going to have nightmares for the rest of my life. They had all panicked and attacked each other under the influence of Ambrose's boogeyman aura.

A hand pressed against my back. Zhong's touch, strong and grounding, urging me to move. Not to stand here staring at the scene that would haunt me.

“Can I grab a fewnow?” Dyre asked curiously. He might be teasing me. But then again, he was probably serious.

“No,” I snapped. “For fuck's sake.” He didn't have to sound so eager to flex his necromancy.

I stepped over director Strom's body, not checking to see if she was alive or not. I did not want to see. I did not want to know. I wasnotLovell enough for this shit.

Finally, we reached the hallway where the block of holding cells was located. The door to the block was locked, both with spells and mundane means, but we made quick work of that. There were a couple of cells that were occupied. I was tempted to just let everyone out and let the SA deal with it later. But there was a possibility that some of these peoplewereactually dangerous criminals. As I had reminded Aahil earlier, not everyone who worked here was corrupt.

Bella's description of the prisoner we were looking for was sparse. I knew he was a jaguar shifter with black hair. She said I'd know him when I saw him. I hoped she was right, because I had never met a shifter before in my life. They were incredibly rare, even among the magical population on Magea.

I glanced into the occupied cells as we passed. One contained a petulant looking man with a receding hairline who my instincts immediately told me was a witch. He gave me serial killer vibes.I kept walking. The next few cells were empty. The next prisoner we came across was a woman who shouted something about me working with abominations and how witches were the supreme race.

Yeah, she could rot in there.

I almost walked past the next occupied cell, seeing only a lean woman in a long pencil skirt and vest combo in my rush to get out of here. But it was the last cell in the block. I stopped and backpedaled, then watched as the person unfolded from where they had been sitting on the edge of a sparse bunk with their long legs crossed. Black hair cut in a shoulder-length shag. Piercing catlike citrine eyes framed by stylishly nerdy glasses that had to be purely for looks. And broad shoulders and a prominent Adam's apple. Ooops. I had almost made assumptions that caused me to overlook our target.

This was definitely Bella's jaguar shifter. A pair of fluffy black cat ears and the long, swishing black tail were kind of a dead giveaway.Geesh, Andy, are you an idiot?How had I missed that the first time by? Though… my head was feeling a bit foggy, and I thought maybe I was reaching the end of my concentration, thanks to maintaining this fusion spell for so long.

A slow smile stretched across the man's handsome features. “You're here for me?” he said happily, in a voice that was more like a purr. But he didn't actually sound surprised. It was as if he had been expecting us. “Delightful.” He smoothed his hands over his skirt and studied us all curiously.

I shook my head. “River?”

At his nod, I let out a sigh. At least we had found the guy. Now all we had to do was get out of here. “It's a long story, but the rebels sent us to get you.”

He paced over to the cell door with measured steps that I didn't think had anything to do with the classy heels he was wearing, his posture ramrod straight and his sharp gaze takingin everything around him. “Bella sent you. I knew she wouldn't leave me here to die.”

“You know Bella?” Of course he did. That little liar. She didn't tell me he was one of her people. She made it sound like he was completely uninvolved in her rebel games. “You're not actually innocent, are you?” I groaned.

He winked at me. “That depends on the charges.”

Damn it. “Whatever,” I muttered. “We need to get out of here before more reinforcements arrive.”

And with those prophetic words, a portal opened and a group of SA agents stepped through, blocking our way out. Spells flew as they launched their attack, but we were once more saved by the null zone.

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