Page 40 of Ignited Spirits
Once we’re done inspecting that cell, we move on to the fourth out of seven. My hope that we’ll find my dad dwindles with each empty one we encounter. What if our intel is wrong? What if he’s actually being held somewhere else? What if we’re too late?
The only way I’ll answer those questions is by figuring out what’s inside the remaining cells. Closing my eyes and letting my magic flow out, I picture this door melting like the first one did.
When I feel my magic tapering off, I open my eyes just in time to see the concrete mini door I cut start falling toward us. We scramble out of the way to avoid being smooshed, and Levi gently lowers it to the ground.
Before I can even peek inside the cell, I look up and notice a bolt of magic about to slam into me. I don’t have time to do anything other than close my eyes and brace myself for impact.
CHAPTER 14
IZZY
When nothing slams into me, I hesitantly peek an eye open to see the flickering navy dome of Rhys’s magic protecting all of us. I look over at him with wide eyes. “Thanks.”
He gives me a jerky nod, his hazel eyes filled with relief that I wasn’t obliterated by whatever spell almost crashed into me. Three more spells shoot out of the opening at us, all of them easily deflected by Rhys’s shield. I think it’s safe to say that they don’t havecuraartifacts this time. Otherwise, they’d tear through mage magic like it’s nothing.
As a group, we move closer to the opening until we can see what’s in the cell.
I groan softly when I see the twenty-five mages crammed into the concrete cell, with Dad standing in front of them as a human shield.
Dad looks rough. He’s sporting two black eyes, a purple and blue bruise along his jaw, cuts up and down his exposed arms, and I’m sure more injuries are hidden under his orange jumpsuit.
Anger at what they’ve done to Dad spreads like acid through my veins, tempered only by a crushing sense of failure for notprotecting him from this. I’m the reason he’s here, so I need to be the reason he gets out.
“Welp. I think it’s safe to say we found where Dad is,” Aiden comments unnecessarily.
I roll my eyes half-heartedly at him. “Thank you, Captain Obvious. Now the question is: how the fuck do we get Dad out of there safely?”
“I think our only choice is to try to take out the guards around him.” Bishop’s magic starts ramping up as he stares down the council goons. “The more of them there are, the more likely one of them will take out your dad. We need to handle that as fast as we can.”
Nodding grimly, I call my magic and give it no other directions other than to get rid of the council dudes surrounding Dad. I let it build inside me until it feels like it’s going to explode. Then I free it to pour out of me, uncaring about the damage it causes.
The purple and blue magic zings through the council thugs, rendering anyone it touches unconscious. Or dead. I can’t tell, and I really don’t care.
Rhys, Aiden, Bishop, and Levi all fire magic at the guards as well. Cerberus grows to his gigantic form but stays by my side, not venturing into the fray quite yet.
Cain lets his hellfire rush toward the goons, burning anyone it touches to a crisp. While it’s a gruesome way to go, it’s pretty fitting for people who voluntarily work for the council.
Luca and Archer can’t do much from within the shield, so they just watch the whole confrontation anxiously.
Together, we manage to kill all but five guards. I’m feeling pretty on top of the world until a portal opens in the back of the cell, and more goons come pouring through.
I resist the urge to groan in dismay as two guards pop up for each one we manage to take out. As more and more guards fillthe cell, the hope that all of us and Dad are going to get out of this unscathed drains away.
We put up a good fight. We’re knocking the council minions down almost as fast as they pop up, but it’s taking its toll.
Everyone is starting to wear out. Rhys, Aiden, and Bishop are firing off spells slower and slower. Cain’s fire is sluggishly crawling along the ground. Levi’s magic is getting weaker and requiring more tries to take out the goons. And even my well of magic is draining alarmingly fast.
“Stop!” one of the bulky council thugs next to Dad screams, his voice just able to be heard over the roar of the battle. Surprisingly, people on both sides pause what they’re doing to look at him. He holds his hand, glowing with yellow magic, up to Dad. “Fire one more spell, and I will kill him.”
At the man’s threat, twenty more mages ready their magic and point it at my dad. I don’t know how I can take out all of them before they take out my dad, who’s basically defenseless in the magic-suppression cuffs. I’m not willing to gamble with Dad’s life like that.
“Do that and you’re a dead man,” I growl as I push to the center of our line. “Harm one fucking hair on his head, and I’ll make you beg for a death that won’t come.”
I let my mage magic illuminate my hands. It buzzes through me in anticipation of the fight, making my eyes glow and my hair wave in a nonexistent breeze.
The man gulps nervously before schooling his features. “I guess we’ll both lose in that scenario. If you really care about your father that little, then go ahead.”
I clench my jaw because the last thing I want to do is get my dad hurt. “In what scenario do we both win?”
