Page 279 of Sigils & Spells

Norm’s body lay motionless on the ground, in a puddle of his own blood flowing from his neck. I held my nose as I searched his pockets for keys. As soon as I found them, I ran as fast as I could to the tunnels behind him. With Norm dead, I wasn’t sure how long the demon’s master would bother keeping Onyx alive. I had to get to him.

CHAPTER13

Was I too late?What if he was dead? What if I had to manage the academy without him? What if I had to live … without him?

As I entered the tunnels all I could think about was time. It disappeared too bloody fast. There were so many things I wanted to say to Onyx … needed to say … and may never get to say. He might die without knowing my true feelings. Onyx may be the most infuriating bastard of a night stalker in all the realms, but … I wanted him alive.

The tunnel entrance was large enough for a subway car to enter, but it narrowed quickly. The walls changed from concrete to earth. The stale air smelled of rat dung, vampires, and something sinister that I couldn’t quite put my finger on. I moved as fast as I could, not knowing where or how to find Onyx, not knowing if more drones, or some other deadly device, would leap out at me at any moment like in an Indiana Jones movie; not knowing how I could free Onyx when I found him. All I knew was that I had to get to him.

The tunnel—now just large enough for me to stand—meandered. Water dripped down the earthen walls, and rats scuttled along the ground. In the distance, I could hear a fan whirling not far away.

The underpass took a sharp turn to the north, and I came to a stop facing three new tunnels. While they all tracked north, they did so at different angles.

The first one, to my right, was the narrowest. It reminded me of burrows criminals dig under international borders. The walls had been scraped away roughly, possibly by hand. It could collapse easily at any moment. It smelled gross. I didn’t want to think of what had been stashed inside that space.

The middle shaft, directly in front me, had a line of unlit torches. Though wider it too had earthen walls. No doubt it had been left behind by the smugglers.

The one to my left surprised me. It had cement block walls and fresher air. The sound of the fan came from somewhere inside it.

While I would prefer to traverse the more finished tunnel, I had to decide which one a demon would use to hide Onyx? Would this nightmare ever end? Panting, I wiped sweat from my face and forced myself to concentrate.

If I were a demon—I couldn’t believe I was thinking like this—I would choose the most remote location, the one the vampires would be least likely to explore. I reached out with my witch senses and tried to locate him.

It took a couple minutes, but I detected faint breathing down the first tunnel. Of course, it would be the most dangerous, most smelly, and by far the creepiest tunnel. I swallowed hard, and walked into the smallest underpass the one that smelled like a freshly dug grave.

Inside, the stench of death grew stronger. Was this where vampires hid corpses? They weren’t supposed to kill people, but I could smell rotting flesh. I gagged and pushed on.

One hundred yards in, I stumbled on a rock and fell face first onto the mucky dirt floor. In the process, my mouth filled with mud. Ugh. It tasted as bad as it smelled. I spit it out.

Pushing myself up on to my knees, I vowed, “If I ever get out of this Goddess forsaken hellhole, I’ll take charge of my life. No more drifting in the currents of other people’s lives. No more bowing to vampires.”

On all fours, I could see a small hole in the wall. If I had continued walking, I probably wouldn’t have seen it, as it lay two feet from me at my current eye level.

Could I make myself squeeze into that small a space? There wasn’t anyone else around to volunteer. I crawled through the muck and into the dark opening. As I moved the distant sound of breathing became louder. The entranceway narrowed until the sides pressed against my body, and the ceiling against my back. I pulled my body along the ground as the space narrowed even more. The demon must have used another entrance. Why couldn’t I find that one.

The breathing sound became clearer. It was faint and raspy as if the person didn’t have much time left. Desperately I pulled my body along the filth and slime. With every pull, the sound of the slow inhale and exhale grew louder. A few more yards in, the tunnel opened into a rock cavern.

I squeezed myself out of the hole and landed on my feet in a rock cave. I gasped in the clean, salty air that surrounded me, and looked around the space with my flashlight.

Onyx’s still body lay to the side. Thick ropes held him on top of a plank of wood, balanced on the top of a boulder of sandstone. His pallor appeared gray. My pulse quickened as I watched his chest rise and fall. He was alive. Well, as alive as an undead hybrid relic of the netherworld could be. Relief gushed into me with the force of a tsunami. I felt lighthearted, jubilant, ecstatic, and ran to his side.

“Onyx. Onyx. Wake up.”

No response.

I shook his arm. Nothing. What had the demon’s magic done to him? A sigil marked his forehead; two interlocking ovals contained within a circle. It glowed an eerie shade of green. It had to be the signature of a powerful demon. Would it have the power to keep Onyx in a coma?

I scanned the area for a potion bottle, hex bag, or anything else that could explain his condition. But all I found was the demon’s sigil.

I could hear ocean waves hitting the rocks below. I tried my phone, but the signal wasn’t strong enough. It kept crapping out just before it made a connection. I could try a telepathic link with my sisters, but I was never good at that and I had little magical energy left.

There was just me and Onyx, alone, and in trouble.

“Caw. Caw. Caw.”I froze at the familiar sound of the raven’s call.

He flew through the open space and alighted on Onyx’s chest.

“Not now. Shoo,” I said to it. “Go away. I’ll find you some crumbs later.”

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