Wicked Challenge (Darkwater Reformatory Book 2) Page 16

  “Wear,” one said in a gravelly voice that sent chills across my skin. She handed me a dark gray, one-piece uniform and dingy undies. “Dress or naked.”

  What a choice.

  With a bag containing three more uniforms in hand, the guards escorted me to another room. They opened a door and shoved me inside, banging the door closed behind me.

  I groaned as I took in the tiny space I’d call home. If I stretched out my arms, I could almost touch the walls. Bunk beds had been attached to the wall on my left. And a stinky toilet did waste duty in the back right corner.

  Wasn’t this awesome?

  “New bait!” My roommate grinned from where she lounged on the top bunk. She sat up and crossed her legs. “I’m Kylie, by the way.”

  “Jacey.” I dropped my bag of uniforms on the floor.

  Kylie pointed toward a cabinet mounted on the right wall. “You can put your things inside there, but be quick about it. Warden makes spot inspections, and she gets pissed off if she finds a mess.”

  “I piss her off by existing.”

  “Maybe.” Kylie frowned. “That’s between you and her. But since we’re roommates, if you make mistakes, I get punished, too.”

  No reason to let that happen. I nudged off the door and took my bag to the closet, where I stacked my clothing inside. “What kind of punishment are we talking about?”

  “She’ll take away our privileges.”

  Turning, I scrunched my face. “Like dessert after dinner?”

  “Food. Water. Sleep.”

  “How will she keep us from sleeping?”

  “She makes you walk in circles for hours. You drop, and she razors you with magic.” Kylie rubbed her thigh as if it still stung. “But stick with me and you’ll settle in fine.”

  I had no interest in settling in, fine or otherwise. “One thing you need to know. I won’t be here long. I’m going to take the Reformatory Challenge.”

  “Huh.” Kylie jumped off the bunk and approached me. Walking around me as if doing an inspection, she flicked her long blonde hair over her shoulders. “Heard you have a boyfriend.”

  “How?”

  Her gaze darted to the spyling nestled high in the corner. Did she somehow have access to the data? No use denying it, however. The moment we met up again, anyone could tell by how we interacted together. I nodded.

  “You, me, him. Seems like the perfect match.”

  I lifted one eyebrow and crossed my arms on my chest. “In what way?”

  She frowned at the spyling, and the light winked out.

  “What…” I shook my head. “Did you disable it?”

  “Only for a sec. To give us time to talk.” Turning on her heel, she climbed the metal rungs to the top bunk and flopped back onto her bed. “You said you wanted into the Reformatory.”

  “How does that involve you?”

  “Only triads can take the test. You, your boyfriend, and me.” Leaning over the side, she grinned. “Seems like perfect triad material to me.”

  The Warden had mentioned I’d need a triad to apply for the test. She’d also made it clear she might not grant me entry. “You want to take the Challenge, too?” Why hadn’t Kylie done it already?

  “I need out of here.”

  Who didn’t?

  “Let me check with my boyfriend,” I said, eager to say yes and make her tell me when we could start, but Rohnan and I would decide together.

  “That’s cool.” She fluffed the coarse blanket that served as a pillow and after dropping her head onto it, stared at the dingy ceiling. “Once you agree, we can solidify the bond and enter the catacombs. Maybe even tomorrow.”

  “Where are the catacombs?” And were they also made up of steel tunnels?

  “There’s a huge network of them below the prison. They’re infused with magic and change whenever a triad enters.” Her chest rose and fell with her sigh. “The test won’t be easy.”

  Nothing came easily at Darkwater Prison.

  “If you’re in, I’ll clear it with the Warden.”

  Which might be the best option. Bixby might not refuse Kylie. “Another detail you might want to know. Bixby wants to kill me and Rohnan.”

  “Join the crowd. Everyone here is on her hit list.”

  “She’s extra eager to kill us.”

  Rolling onto her side, Kylie propped her head up on her elbow and stared down at me. “What did you do to get on her bad side?” Her thumb poked her chest. “I snuck over the yard wall the day after I got here.”

  “And you survived? Heard it’s worse out there than in here.” Returning to the door, I propped my shoulder against it.

  “Debatable. She sent a guard after me. My sister…” Kylie dragged her gaze from mine. “What did you do?”

  “I exist.”

  “So do a lot of us, but no worries. Bixby treats us all the same.”

  Crossing the short space, I sat on the side of the bunk below hers. “Just thought you should know.”

  She leaned over. “When I apply for the Challenge, I won’t tell her who else joined my triad. It’ll be okay. Despite my attempt at escaping, she likes me as much as she likes anyone.”

  We’d see how far that would take us. “You said tomorrow? We can get in that soon?”

  “I have my ways.”

  After dinner in the prison cafeteria, Rohnan and I went to the large open room where inmates mingled when they had nothing else to do and weren’t allowed access into other areas. There was less chance of being overheard by spylings here, because of people coming and going and noisy conversation.

  Grimacing, Rohnan nudged me around until his back faced everyone else. Also as if he could protect me. Sweet, but sad. We wouldn’t be safe until we’d made it through the veil. The odds of which were dropping daily.

  “You trust Kylie?” he asked softly, darting a glance over his shoulder. No one appeared to be looking our way.

  I shrugged. “Not much, but forming a triad with her is an option and a way out of this hellhole. The Warden said we’d need a third to take the Challenge.”

  “Assuming she’ll approve us taking it even if we’re part of a triad.”

  “I mentioned that to Kylie. She seemed to think she can find a way around the problem.”

  “We can’t stay here,” he said. Lifting his arm, he carefully tucked back his sleeve. A row of deep gashes spanned his forearm from his elbow to the tenna secured at his wrist. The cuts had barely started to knit together.

  I gasped. “What happened?”

  “Titan.”

  “The Warden mentioned the shifter.” Warned us against him. Had she sent him after Rohnan?

  Rohnan chuckled. “Dude saw me and started growling, puffing his chest.” He snorted. “As if something like that would make me cower.”

  “How’s he looking now?”

  “Not as pretty as he was before.” He grinned. “Let’s just say his wounds are worse than mine.”

  “I wish I could heal you,” I grumbled, tracing the cuts with my finger, sending out skeitse magic. While I couldn’t do much, some of the redness around the wounds faded. “Damn tennas.”

  He stroked the hair off my face, and his fingers trailed fire down my cheek, spreading heat wherever they touched. “I’m okay. They barely hurt.”

  A complete lie, but I wouldn’t call him on it.

  I hated feeling so helpless.

  “Should we tell your roommate we’re in?” he said.

  I nodded. “Welcome to the triad.”

  In a flash, I fell, smacking against Tria, who cried out from the impact.

  “Hold on!” she said, her hand taking mine.

  Twenty

  Tria

  After bumping into Jacey, I tumbled away.

  And, like a black hole in space was giving birth, I popped out of the muck and fell a short distance. I smacked onto my butt and skidded along a stone surface, gasping and choking.

  Hitting a wall, I spun around and leaned back, spitting out muck while swip
ing my sticky hair off my face. Unable to see through the film coating my eyes, I rubbed them clean.

  Brodin, Jacey, and Akimi bumped into me then shifted to the side and wiped the slime off their faces, too.

  At least we could breathe.

  “Another cave,” Brodin said, sitting up and looking around. “Another test?”

  “Must be,” I said.

  Smaller than the last, this one was only about thirty feet across, though it also arched overhead and had a small hole at the top to let in light. The hole was too high to touch but closer to us than in the first cave. No water or sand in sight, just solid ledge this time. Any creepy sucking shadows hiding in the corner?

  I got to my feet and brushed off my clothing, though I had no idea why I bothered. Coated in slimy muck, all I was doing was smearing it around.

  The other three got to their feet as well.

  “What’s that?” Jacey pointed.

  Something made up of iron bars stood near the far wall. Not wanting to but knowing I had to, I walked toward it.

  “It’s a cage,” I said. About five feet long and only a few feet wide, it rose over my head. “I almost hate to ask, but has something escaped?” The door stood open.

  “No clue,” Brodin said, joining me. He stooped forward and inched through the open door. I almost expected it to bang shut behind him, but it didn’t. Returning to join me, he shrugged. “It looks like an ordinary cage to me.”

  “Except…” I bent down and lifted a padlock off the stone floor. “I assume this goes with it.”

  He traced his fingertip across the metal surface. “Other than us, there’s nothing to lock inside.”

  “Are we supposed to lock ourselves in there or—”

  “This is the next test,” Akimi said. “We must lock something up. I do not assume ourselves, but who knows?” She peered around, frowning. “Wait. I hear…”

  I watched her as she cocked her head and stared forward blankly, placing all of her thoughts into one sense.

  “What do you hear?” Jacey said.

  “A shuffling, oozing sound.” One of her branches pointed toward the opposite wall. “It is coming from over there.”

  I jumped. “Do you see that?” I stumbled backward and banged into the cage. “There’s a blob-like thing tucked low, where the wall meets the floor. It’s not moving but it’s…pulsing.”

  “What’s that smell?” Brodin asked, curling his nose.

  Just to be safe, I checked the bottom of my shoes. I hadn’t stepped in anything, but maybe after the goo-sluice, I’d turned into something others avoided stepping on. On any other day, I’d joke about needing a shower—which I did—but right now, I just wanted to run from this cave and never come back.

  “There’s no way out,” I whispered. “We’re trapped inside this room with whatever it is until we—”

  “Complete this puzzle,” Brodin said. “But how?”

  “That sound is driving me out of my mind,” Akimi shouted, flinging up her branches. She stormed across the cave, pivoted, and stomped back to us, leaving slimy streaks on the ledge as her roots dragged across the surface. “It is so loud!”

  “I don’t hear anything,” Jacey said, looking to me and Brodin for confirmation.

  We all paused, and my shrug was followed by Brodin’s.

  “What exactly do you hear?” I asked Akimi.

  “It’s movement.”

  Talk about creeping me out. “But it isn’t moving. It’s lying there. Ugh. Maybe watching us. What are we supposed to do with it?” I’d march over and grab it and throw it into the cage if I thought this would solve the problem, but it might kill me if I touched it.

  Akimi peered in the direction I pointed. “I don’t see anything but it is so loud it hurts my ears.”

  Brodin and Jacey moved that way until I grabbed onto them and tugged them back. “Don’t get too close.”

  “I don’t see anything,” Jacey said. “Are you sure there’s something there?”

  “It’s not huge, but it’s a flowing, inky black mound of goo,” I said. “Do you think this is the creature I saw in the pool?”

  “I don’t know.” Brodin stomped toward the cage to inspect it again. “I can’t get past that reek.”

  “It has to be us,” Jacey said.

  “You sure?” Brodin asked.

  “Of course,” I said. “We’re covered in black slime and we’ve been on the run, completing one trial after another for what feels like years. The last time I bathed was… Well, I assume I bathed at the castle.” I looked at Brodin. “We did eat and sleep and everything else there, didn’t we? It wasn’t five seconds living a lifetime in our minds, was it?”

  “That sickly sweet drink will never leave my mouth,” Jacey said. She rubbed her hands along her arms. “Anyone else chilly?”

  “I’m sopping wet, but warm enough, I guess,” I said. “It would be nice to get this gook off me, though. I imagine I look horrible.” I couldn’t wait to change my clothes. I kept an eye on the thing on the opposite side of the room. “You guys sure you don’t see it?’

  “I don’t think the smell is us,” Brodin said. He lifted his arm and took a whiff. “Nope. We—I, that is—smell like soil, nothing as horrible as what’s filling my senses.”

  Senses. There was something here, but it couldn’t be that easy, could it?”

  “You know…” Jacey said as if the same thought had just occurred to her.

  “You three are thinking what I am, are you not?” Akimi asked. She whipped her head toward the movement but when she turned back, she frowned. “I still only hear it.”

  “And I see it,” I said.

  “So you’re saying whatever you’re seeing,” Brodin nodded to me, “and what you’re hearing,” his gaze took in Akimi, “is what I’m smelling?” His face cleared. “Senses. Why not? We’ve used music, our minds, tools, and our innate abilities to solve the other tests. Why not our senses for this one?”

  “Guys,” Jacey said. “I’m feeling kind of left out here. No sense for me yet.”

  I peered toward where the next part of the test must wait. Whatever we had to do must involve it and the cage.

  “What role will I play?” Jacey said.

  “There are only a few senses left. You feel like licking it?”

  She snorted. “I’ll pass.”

  “All that’s left then is touch,” I said.

  Her face cleared. “Though I was scared, a part of me did want to touch it in the other cave.”

  “I like this idea. It makes sense,” Brodin said. “How can we use these assigned senses to complete the test?”

  “Maybe I’m looking at this too simply,” I said. “But we’ve got a cage, a creature, and our individualized senses.”

  “I’m going to go out on a limb and say we need to put whatever it is you see inside the cage,” Jacey said. “The big question is how.”

  “Once we lock it up, we may unlock this part of the Challenge.” Akimi pointed toward the lock I still held.

  Jacey glanced over her shoulder. “If my contribution is touch, do I wander around with my hands outstretched, hoping I’ll feel something?”

  I shrugged.

  “Am I supposed to hunt it down with my nose?” Brodin asked with lifted eyebrows.

  “I can hear it,” Akimi said, inching closer to me. “It is creeping nearer.”

  I leaned around her. “She’s right. It’s coming our way.” It oozed across the floor like a lethal ink stain.

  “If it attacks, do we fight back? And how?” Jacey said, worrying her lower lip. “I’m not sure this is going to work.”

  “I’m winging it, myself,” I said, stalking around Brodin. I rushed up to the black, inky creature that looked like a mix between a crocodile—though only about four feet long—and a log since it had no legs. As I got close, its jaws snapped and it snarled. It would chomp off my hand if I extended it. Funny thing, but I didn’t hear or smell it and I sure didn’t feel like touching it. I
was just the Seeker, if only this one last time in my life. “Can you jump on it, Jacey?”

  “If I could see it, maybe?” She crept up and stood beside me, glancing around. “Where is it?”

  “Right there.” I pointed.

  “How will smell help?” Brodin asked, staying right behind me.

  “Or hearing?” Akimi asked.

  As I got closer, the thing split down the middle, creating two. Crap. One slid left while the other went right. “It’s dividing, making it harder to catch it.”

  “If I close my eyes,” Akimi said. “I can pinpoint a location. Two, now.”

  Brodin grunted. “No need to close my eyes. It reeks so bad, I could smell it even if I stood inside the fae kingdom castle.”

  “Which one do I go for?” Jacey said, breathing hard already, though she’d barely taken a few steps. If I had to touch this…thing, I’d be panting, too. “I can’t randomly fling myself at nothing. I need to see what I’m grabbing.”

  “Hey, Brodin,” I said over my shoulder. “Why don’t you and Akimi come closer? It might be best if we all work together on this. I think we’re all going to have to catch one and lock it in the cage.”

  “Two of them to four of us,” Brodin said. “Why do you think we’ll each need to catch one? I’m not unwilling to use this,” he tapped his nose, “to hunt one down, however.”

  “Because it just split again, into four. And they’re growing fast.” If we didn’t catch them and lock them up, would they keep dividing until they smothered us inside the cave? Not a pleasant thought.

  “Four? Fuck,” Brodin said.

  “Everyone grab one before there are eight,” Jacey said, her hands outstretched, her gaze darting around.

  I tossed the lock near the cage door then rushed toward one of the bloblings that pulsed and expanded.

  As my friends used their assigned sense to hunt down the creatures, I honed in on one and leaped. My arms sunk into it and my body followed. Slipping through it, I fell through the air and smacked onto a big flat stone, knocking the wind from my lungs. I lay gasping before rolling over and heaving out a sigh when I looked around. Another freakin’ cave!