Page 47 of Ignited Spirits
Russ chuffs.“Of course we helped you. You’re oursagana. It’s our job! See you later!”
With Russ’s enthusiastic goodbye, Cerberus disappears in a flash of swirling black magic.
Creating a rift to where I hope isLa Esperanza, I don’t bother asking my mates if they’re coming. I wait for Levi to walk through first before following. When I see the familiar rough gray walls of the cave outside the jaguar city, I resist the urge to fist pump. I’m totally getting the hang of this whole interdimensional travel thing.
My triumph doesn’t last long as ten grim-faced jaguars seem to melt out of the walls. “Mateo is waiting for you with a mage who claims you sent him here. Follow us.”
I resist the urge to groan. I told Joseph to wait for me, but he clearly had other plans.
The whole point was to avoid pissing off Mateo and his prowl by dumping a random mage here. They hate mages as a whole, and I need to do some serious sweet-talking to get him to allow Joseph to stay.
Without waiting for me to agree to anything, they turn on their heels and march down the narrow passage that leads to the city. I have to jog to keep up with their long strides. By the pounding footsteps behind me, I know that my mates are following.
We march down the pathway and the stairs in silence. The jaguars don’t really want to talk to a couple of mages and some wolves, and the six of us are wrung out from the battle we just narrowly survived.
Hopefully we can get this resolved and make plans with Hades quickly so we can go to bed and be done with this whole day.
I’m not surprised to see a dour Mateo waiting for us at the bottom of the stairs. His arms are crossed over his chest, his biceps straining against the thin material of his black tee. He raises an eyebrow at me. “Why are you sending mages here? Our city is a sanctuary from those who wish to do us harm.”
“I know. And Joseph won’t hurt you.” I don’t think. Again, I don’t add that part.
Mateo throws his hands up in exasperation. “He’s a mage. Of course, he wishes us harm. You and your mate are the exception to the rule, not the norm.”
“Because the council imprisoned him for having forbidden magic like me. I can assure you, those the council hates aren’t their biggest fans.”
He grinds his teeth as he stares at me silently for a long moment. Eventually, his shoulders slump. “How long do you want him to stay here? And what kind of magic does he have?”
I wince, knowing he isn’t going to like my answer. “I don’t know how long. I also don’t know what kind of magic he has, but I can ask.”
Mateo pinches the bridge of his nose and sighs deeply. “I don’t know why I expected anything different from you. You’re pure trouble, Isabel. Find out what magic he has, then we can discuss arrangements.”
Snorting, because he’s not wrong, I give him a cheeky salute. “Aye, aye, Captain.”
Sighing, he gestures for us to go to the left. “Follow me. Your mage is in the holding cells.”
Well, that’s the last thing he needed. Joseph went from being locked up by the council straight to being locked up by a bunch of jaguars who hate his guts. I suppose it’s a step up from being killed.
“He’s not mine,” I protest as we walk on the outskirts ofLa Esperanza.
Unlike last time, we don’t enter the colorful, bustling streets of the city. Instead, we stick to a dreary gray rock path that leads us farther and farther away from the entrance.
“He’s part of your band of misfits, like me, your mates, and the people you know inInfernus. You draw us into your orbit, and we’re all along for the journey.” Mateo glances over and sees the probably horrified look on my face. He rushes to add, “That’s not a bad thing. We all believe in you and the path you’re on.”
“If only I knew what I was doing,” I grumble.
His mouth curves up in a small smile that makes his deep brown eyes a touch lighter. “You’ll figure it out. You just need to have as much faith in yourself as the rest of us do.”
If only it were that easy. Soon enough, we’re standing outside a squat gray building with one entrance and no windows. I’m guessing this is where the holding cells are.
Mateo leads us in, my mates and me following like lost little ducklings. He walks over to a burly guard sitting behind a plexiglass shield. A lot of good that would do to stop an enraged shifter, though.
After a brief whispered conversation, Mateo steps back and a buzzing noise sounds. A gray door with black and yellow caution tape on the top and bottom slowly slides open. Once the gap is wide enough for him to fit, Mateo strolls through.
I stare after him for a minute, wondering what we’re supposed to do.
When he doesn’t even turn back, I rush after him, and my mates follow my lead. By the time I catch up to the brown-haired jaguar shifter, I’m embarrassingly a bit out of breath. We’re going to ignore that, though.
“Where are we going?” I ask once I stop panting.
