Page 48 of Ignited Spirits
I swear I hear a chuckle behind me, one of my mates finding my lack of physical fitness amusing. I resist the urge to turn around to glare at whoever it was.
Instead, I keep my gaze on the cream-tiled hallway. Unlike the mage prison, the walls here are painted a warm brown. The ceiling is beige and lit by bulbs that provide soft illumination. Even though this building is for people accused of crimes, it’s way more inviting and less intimidating than the council’s building.
“To release your mage. I assume that’s what you wanted to do. I’m happy to leave him here to rot if you would rather.” He lifts one shoulder casually, like it really doesn’t matter to him which I choose.
“Nope. No rotting required,” I rush out. The last thing I want to do is leave the poor guy locked up. “Let’s get Joseph and get out of here. I’m at my limit of prison time today.”
“Do I even want to know why you were in another prison today?” Mateo turns left at a fork in the hallway, and we finallysee some of the prison cells. Most of them are empty. The few that are occupied have who I assume are shifters lying in their beds, reading books, or working out. None of them seem too upset to be here, which is weird.
I shrug. “I was just breaking my dad out of council jail after I accidentally killed the head of the mage council. No biggie.”
He freezes and turns to me, gaping. “You what?”
I resist the urge to roll my eyes. I don’t know why he’s so shocked when he hates mages almost as much as I do. “I killed a council member. Now, let’s get a move on it. I have people to free and places to be today.”
Striding ahead of him, I hope it doesn’t take him too long to get over his surprise because I have no idea where I’m going.
He catches up to me once I’m almost down the hallway and am starting to make another left. “You’re going the wrong way.”
Turning on my heel, I march down the opposite direction. “No, I wasn’t.”
Chuckling, Mateo doesn’t argue with me as we walk the rest of the way in silence. This hallway dead-ends in front of a large metal door that goes all the way to the ceiling. I’m guessing Joseph got thrown in their version of maximum security because he’s a mage.
Mateo places his hand on a scanner next to the door. He then hurriedly enters a code and steps back.
After a moment, the door chirps and makes a grinding noise. It then slowly swings outward toward us.
When it’s fully open, I gasp at what I see before locking eyes with Joseph. “I guess I know why the council locked you up.”
CHAPTER 17
IZZY
Joseph gives me a wry smile as I watch the storm clouds swirl around the ceiling of his cell.
“Yeah. Apparently, mages shouldn’t be able to do this.” He gestures to the thunderstorm he created in his cell, complete with angry clouds, pouring rain in some areas, a strong breeze, and even some lightning.
That’s the understatement of the century.
Mages can control what already exists. They can set paper on fire because paper is flammable and the oxygen in the air feeds fire. They can douse someone in water because there’s water in the air all around us. They can throw a punch of magic or cause seizures because the world around us and our bodies already make that possible.
But what they can’t do is change nature. Mages can’t control the weather or create thunderstorms where there aren’t any. They can’t see the dead. And they certainly can’t bring someone back to life. All of those go against the natural order of the universe and should be outside the scope of mage power.
Yet, both Joseph and I prove that what we know about what’s possible isn’t true. Sure, most mages can’t mess with the naturalorder. But some of us can, and the council is right to fear us. We’re the only ones who have a hope of stopping them.
I jump a little when a bolt of lightning strikes the ground near his feet. “So your super-secret magic is the ability to create thunderstorms inside?”
“Nah. I can control the weather, whether inside or outside. I can clear up severe storms, create a blizzard, strike people with lightning, and whatever else I can dream up. I can create or stop any sort of weather event.” He shrugs like it’s normal and no big deal. For him, I suppose it isn’t anything special.
I look behind me and see my mates staring up at the show in amazement. Other than Levi, of course. This type of magic is normal in his realm.
Mateo, however, is watching the whole thing with horror.
My lips tip up at the unflappable jaguar shifter being fazed by Joseph’s magic. “You should probably pull back on your magic before Mateo has a heart attack.”
“Sorry.” Joseph smirks at me, not looking the least bit apologetic. “It’s just nice to have my magic back after so long.”
I’ll bet. I was without my magic for a matter of minutes, and it was a huge relief to have it back after. Magic is a part of us in the same way a shifter’s animal is part of them. It feels like you’re missing half of yourself when you don’t have it.
