Wicked Challenge (Darkwater Reformatory Book 2) Read online

  Daegan had been a Master, and he’d shared some tricks.

  If we picked the wrong direction, we could die. I’d heard enough about Darkwater to know they kept the population down through brutal means.

  I sought the heady faede, or essence of skeitse magic Daegan had taught me. Skeitse magic was common with sketar witches but scorned, thus rarely used in the fae kingdom. The skeitse magic floated past the tenna restraints as if they were ordinary bracelets.

  Yes. Time to put this power to work.

  I sent out feelers, and they coasted down each tunnel. “The first option, what I’ll call number one, is behind us.”

  “Can’t go back there.”

  As a Master Beast Tamer, if Rohnan said that direction was impassable, I’d take his word for it.

  “Number two—” I pointed to the first hall on my right. “Is a dead end. There’s a high wall that’s unable to be scaled.” I frowned, savoring the taste of skeitse magic that flew out and then back to me with information. “Number three is a trap. The passage goes on indefinitely, but to continue in that direction, we’d have to cross a deep pit about fifteen feet across.”

  “Any ridges along the sides? Handholds?”

  I sought farther. “I can’t tell.”

  Another bang and a mechanical growl erupted behind us. Near enough, the pressure of it scraped across my skin. My pulse shot through the roof, and my feet twitched on the smooth steel floor. “Number four—”

  “Straight ahead.”

  “Exits at the sea.” I could smell the brine in my magic, and I could sense other things…

  “I haven’t met the creatures in the waters surrounding the island,” he said, meaning he hadn’t met and thus learned a way to tame them yet.

  “They’re… hungry,” I said.

  “Four’s out, then.”

  “Five…” I growled. “I can’t fully feel it but something…”

  “A creature?”

  “A spirit. It waits.”

  “In this place, we can’t risk it.”

  “Do we have any other choice?”

  His fingers tightened around mine, relaying his urgency. “What about six?” he said. “Hurry. Our time’s almost up.”

  “Beastly or other?” I asked, meaning whatever was coming up behind us.

  “Other.”

  Nothing he could tame, then.

  “Six leads us out of the prison,” I said. “But it would dump us in the center of the island, and waiting near the exit…” I shook my head. What were those things?

  “Another no.”

  “For sure.”

  Bang!

  “Decision made. No choice.” He tugged me down hall number three.

  The pit.

  Our breathing ragged, we rushed along the corridor. Our sneakers clanged on the floor, and the slick walls closed in around us, weeping slimy tears. They seeped across the gleaming surface, leaving dark stains behind. Along the edges of the floor, things scurried. They shrieked as we passed them, as if shouting a warning.

  We had no choice. We had to find a way.

  Approaching the hole in the ground, we slowed.

  Dark mist swirled in the pit, and I couldn’t see beyond a few feet. Who knew what waited below the surface?

  “Jump across?” I asked. I peered over my shoulder but saw nothing yet. Whatever was back there would either leap forward and devour us or keep driving us in this direction. Had we picked the right passage?

  “I’m game if you are,” Rohnan said.

  I approached the edge and shot down skeitse magic, but it smacked back at me as if it had hit a solid wall. I sensed the pit went on forever…

  Vertigo grabbed hold of my brain and yanked me in that direction.

  Rohnan grabbed the back of my tee. “Not so fast. Wait for me.”

  My nervous laugh echoed around us.

  “Look.” He pointed to the walls on the right side of the cavern. “I think we can use those dips to make our way across.”

  “Dips? They looked more like pinpricks on the surface. I’m not sure about this.”

  Bangs from behind told me we needed to decide fast.

  A whooshing sound rose from the pit, followed by things slithering.

  I’d never enjoyed things that slithered.

  An endless stream of bugs scrambled up from below, their stubby wings fluttering as they clung to the walls. Many took flight and shot toward us. They snatched at our hair and clawed at our faces.

  “Back the other way,” I shouted, waving my arms and ripping the creatures off my skin. I crushed them, but more kept coming.

  “We’ve got to go forward!” Rohnan ripped off his shirt and draped it over my head, protecting me from the insects. “Follow me.”

  He rushed to the right. Once he could go no farther, he sprang up and dug his fingers into the tiny holes. “Follow me.” He inched to his left, making room for me to join him.

  Leaping, I clawed at the surface, but the holes were beyond my reach.

  “Ah!” Unable to break my fall, I slid down toward the pit.

  Rohnan grabbed my arm. “Gotcha.” He pulled me up until my fingers could find purchase. “Got it?”

  I nodded, unable to speak. It was all I could do not to blubber. I’d been too close to dropping forever.

  Without holes for our feet, our bodies dangled.

  Stretching, I snagged the next nub, following Rohnan across the smooth surface. My fingers burned, not used to supporting my weight, but they’d have to deal.

  “Only a few more feet,” he said, his voice coming out choppy. The strain showed on him, too. While my healing spells still worked their magic inside him, he had to ache all over. I hadn’t been able to fix everything, just the injuries that would kill him.

  And me? I still carried the burden of his pain. It ate away inside me like a plague.

  Bugs smacked into my back and dug through my skin. They bit, injecting poison. Somewhat protected by Rohnan’s shirt, I flinched, knowing he took the full onslaught with his bare skin. I clamped my lips together to keep from screaming.

  He lunged sideways and landed on the ground beyond the pit.

  “Let go,” he said, holding out his arms. “I’ll catch ‘ya.”

  Without a speck of uncertainty, I leaped his way.

  His shirt slid from my head and floated down into the pit. I tried to grab it but missed.

  Rohnan’s arms wrapped around me, and he held me a second before he lowered my feet to the ground.

  Bang!

  “Go,” I said, taking his hand.

  We raced deeper into the tunnel, leaving the bugs behind.

  I sent out sketar magic, but couldn’t sense anything ahead of us.

  We passed a channel that sloped upward. Gloomy, I only caught an impression of walls with deep grooves, as if multiple sharp objects had been dragged through it.

  Not a good sign.

  We continued running, but our steps were slowing. Tiring, we couldn’t keep going like this forever. We had to find a way out.

  A new, higher-pitched, mechanical growl erupted behind us. I swore it came from the channel we’d passed.

  “What’s after us now?” I asked, sending out magical feelers that returned to me with nothing.

  “Not living. Warden must know my skapti.” Which was suppressed by his tennas but, like me, he’d work around the devices with the skeitse tricks I’d taught him.

  Coming to a four-way intersection, we paused.

  “Where to?” Rohnan asked. Pain creased into his face, and I’d noticed but hadn’t commented on his limp. While he’d throw his body in front of mine to protect me, I doubted he could continue at this pace much farther.

  Closing my eyes, I sent feelers in the other three directions while the grinding growl grew louder behind us.

  “I’ll go back and see what we’re dealing with,” he said. “Maybe I can…”

  While he took off, I sought…anything. But I learned nothing. Maybe this part of
the challenge had to be solved with my other senses.

  I darted into each of the tunnels and found grooves cut into the rounded walls, just like in the channel we’d come from. Bloodstains spattered each tunnel, telling me death lay in all four directions.

  How could we escape when it appeared everyone had died in the passages?

  More blood and grooves on the floor in the center hub told me we’d face our end here if I didn’t figure this out.

  I paced the tiny intersection while waiting for Rohnan to return.

  “We can’t go right,” I whispered. “Or left. Or back. Or straight. And staying here isn’t an option.”

  Steel covered the ceiling, with no seams showing a hidden door.

  While stomping back and forth, I stubbed my toe on something. Dropping to my knees, I scraped away the dirt covering the surface and revealed a recessed panel with a clear cover. When I flipped it open, I found a row of four buttons.

  Rohnan returned, panting. He leaned forward and braced his palms on his thighs. A lock of his deep chestnut hair fell across his forehead, and he jerked his head to flip it out of his eyes. “We can’t… It’s…”

  “What?” I studied the buttons. What would happen if I pressed them?

  “It’s some sort of machine-creature hybrid.” His wheezes told me the cracks in his ribs made it a challenge to breathe. I hadn’t been able to do more than fuse the fractures together; they’d need time to finish healing. “It’s moving fast. Claws and teeth and it fills the entire passage.”

  I studied the buttons. Which to press?

  “It didn’t respond to my magic.” He lifted his wrists. “Could be these or maybe…”

  “Maybe it’s too much mechanical and not enough creature.”

  “Yeah.” He straightened. “Where to?” The expression in his eyes said he’d follow me in whichever direction I selected. I loved that he trusted me but at this point, I didn’t trust myself.

  I had no choice. Taking a deep breath, I pressed the first button, and the walls on the tunnel to our right closed in, leaving only seamless metal behind.

  When I pushed button two, the tunnel to our left disappeared.

  “This isn’t working!” I said. “What am I missing?”

  “What’s that?” Rohnan pointed to the wall.

  “It must have appeared when I opened the panel.”

  Rohnan read the fae rhyme.

  One, two, three, and four.

  Each one closes another door.

  Choose one and two and three.

  But after that, there are no more.

  “I’m only allowed to press three,” I said, gulping. “Crap. I’ve already used two of our chances.” One more incorrectly pressed button would trap us here, and our blood would join the stains on the walls.

  “Which one?” I squinted up at Rohnan, looking for answers he couldn’t give.

  “Your choice.” He dropped his hand on my shoulder and squeezed. “No matter what, we stand together.” In other words, no blame if I made the final mistake.

  I couldn’t do it.

  Three or four. Three or four!

  Three tunnels. Blood coating the walls. The floor, too, more blood left behind by those who’d chosen wrong.

  Nothing to show a fourth opening, except… I pressed the fourth button.

  Rumbling erupted beneath us, and I toppled backward, falling onto my butt. Rohnan braced himself on the wall, remaining upright. His hand stretched toward me and, when I grabbed it, he pulled me up and wrapped his arms around me.

  A grinding sound echoed through the air. Was this it? Would the final tunnel close and leave us here to wait for the creature?

  “Love you,” I said, burying my face in his chest.

  He kissed the top of my head, and his arms tightened around me.

  The shaking stopped, leaving us with the beast churning closer. Plus a hole in the floor where the panel of buttons used to be. Rickety stairs disappeared into the gloom below.

  “Go,” Rohnan said.

  I dropped my feet over the edge and onto the first step.

  The creature churned into the view, a gleaming, clawing, chewing thing that would rip us to shreds within seconds.

  I scrambled down the stairs with Rohnan right behind me.

  The second his head dropped beneath the surface, the panel snapped back into place, blocking us off from the creature above. Wails loud enough to pierce my eardrums told me we’d made it through this part of the challenge. The beast was hungry, but it would have to wait for another day to feed.

  “You’re awesome,” Rohnan said with a grin.

  “We’re not out of here yet.” But I couldn’t hold back my answering smile.

  At the bottom of the stairs, we entered a single steel passage that ended at a new pit. Beyond that, another tunnel.

  Beneath us, the floor shook. While we tipped and held our balance with our arms outstretched, fissures formed in the floor and chunks dropped away.

  “We’ve got to get to the other side,” Rohnan shouted.

  No hand or footholds in the smooth wall this time.

  “There isn’t a way across,” I said, trying to maintain a shred of hope.

  Extending his arms out, Rohnan frowned down at his hands, and the tips of his fingers morphed into suction cups.

  Only I knew Rohnan’s secret, that he was part beast himself. Not a shifter but a being able to turn himself into anything.

  He leaped up onto the wall, and his fingers stuck to the surface.

  “Jump onto my back,” he yelled. “I’ll get us to the other side.”

  “I dropped your shirt. What am I supposed to cling to?”

  Around me, the floor continued to crumble. Soon, I’d fall with it.

  Despite the danger, he grinned. “Cling to whatever your little heart desires, sweetheart.”

  No time for sexy. But my boyfriend had muscles standing out in sharp definition as he clung to the wall. His pants had slid low on his hips.

  Could my poor “little” heart beat any faster?

  “Jacey?” he said with urgency.

  My gaze flew to his. Humor shone there. And heat.

  I liked heat.

  “Jump!” he said.

  Leaping, I grabbed onto his shoulders. “Gotcha.”

  He laughed. “Always.” He moved sideways, releasing then re-sticking his fingers to the wall.

  “A piggyback ride.”

  “Wish we were lounging in deep grass instead.” Sorrow came through in his voice.

  “We will again.”

  “Someday.”

  With care, he worked his way across the wall.

  The drop below me seemed to suck me down.

  Ahead, the floor started crumbling like the one we’d left behind. Soon, there would be nothing left to stand on.

  “Go faster,” I said. My lungs ached, and I bit back my scream.

  “Tryin’.”

  His body shifted left, swinging me along with it. I wrapped my legs around his waist and clung, but my arms slipped. I tumbled backward into the pit.

  Hell, no.

  As I slid, I snagged Rohnan’s pants and jerked to a stop. My teeth jarred together.

  “Jacey!” Rohnan said. “You okay?”

  “Been better,” I panted out.

  My feet hung inside the pit, and warmth swirled around them.

  I sent my senses exploring and, instead of following the crumbling tunnel, they spiraled downward.

  Whoa.

  “Let go,” I shouted.

  “I’m never letting you go,” he said fiercely. Releasing the wall with one hand, he snagged the back of my shirt. “Don’t say that. We’ll get through this together.”

  I peered up at him. “I meant you. Let go of the wall.”

  Confusion tightened across his brow. But the creases smoothed, and he yanked his other hand off the metal.

  As we tumbled down, we wrapped our arms around each other.

  We smacked onto the ground.r />
  And found ourselves back in the Darkwater Prison foyer. Guards grabbed and held us while Warden Bixby sauntered closer…

  Thirteen

  Tria

  I stared at the ice crystal formed from Akimi’s tears. How was this possible?

  “We must climb,” Akimi said, her voice bursting from her. “We do not have time.”

  I blinked at her then stared upward. “You’re saying your tears will lead us to the next trial?”

  “They must.” She avoided my gaze, staring back in the direction we’d come from.

  “I take it your tears don’t usually turn into icicles,” I said.

  “This is a first.”

  “Brodin?” I said. “Akimi thinks we need to climb the icicle. Jacey?” She didn’t respond, so I trooped down through the snow to the base of the hill and touched her arm.

  She jumped and turned blank eyes my way. “We have to run. She’s…” Her entire body shook, and her eyes cleared. “Tria.”

  “I’m here. Are you okay?”

  “Yes.” Head turning, she stared into the wall of snow swirling around us. “I was lost for a moment.”

  Chills wracked through me, but I took her hand and squeezed it. “I’ve got you. We’re going to get through this.”

  “Will we?” A world of sadness creased her face. Where had she gone while I talked with the others?

  “Akimi says we need to climb, and I think she’s right.”

  “Okay.” Jacey’s spine stiffened. “I’m all right. I can do this.”

  “You can.”

  I led her up the hill and we joined Brodin and Akimi at the base of one of the spikes about three feet across.

  Kai crept over and leaned into my side. I stroked his head as we talked.

  My hands shook. The driving snow made it impossible to see the top. But if it wasn’t normal for Akimi’s tears to solidify and grow, this had to be the start of the next test. I doubted we were expected to find our way through a snowstorm since we’d already done that.

  “Fear will be our strength,” Akimi said, one of her branches rubbing my shoulder. “As it has been for me my entire life.”

  Kai peered behind me, and a low growl rumbled in his chest. He turned frantic eyes my way. Leaping up, he pushed me toward the icicle.