We had arrived.
And by arrived, I meant we had walked a perfect circle right back to where we started at the pond.
The daemon holding on to me studied the area but shrugged when he discovered nothing new.
“Don’t let me tip into the water,” I told him, then nudged Colby. “Let’s dial up the juice.”
“Okay.” She jittered with excitement. “I’m ready.”
Before I got my arm lifted, she channeled a flood of white light through me that spat out my wand to fizz and pop on the surface of the pond. I honed my focus, but her power was insistent. We had found them.
Calling upon my will, I broke the connection between Colby and me then staggered back.
“They’re in the pond.” I wiped my sweaty palms on my pants. “There was too much residual energy after the battle for me to sense them, but this is it. The girls are here. They have to be.” I hit my knees in the mud. “I can’t believe…”
A firm hand landed on each of my shoulders as Clay and the daemon comforted me.
Grief roiling through me, I tipped back my head to stare at the night sky and spotted the rusty chain.
“You don’t think…?” I lurched back to my feet and fisted its taut length. “We have to check.”
Until we exhausted all leads, we weren’t going anywhere. I couldn’t face Miss Dotha or the girls’ parents otherwise. The girls couldn’t have survived this long underwater without help, but Taylor was a skilled witch. There were several ways he could have submerged them long-term while keeping them alive to use as bargaining chips, and that would explain where he spent his magic.
“There’s tension on it.” Clay sounded surprised. “The way it hangs into the water makes it hard to tell.”
The thick links made for a sturdy but heavy chain one of the teens must have pilfered from a parent.
“Pull,” the daemon told him, gripping the chain. “For Rue.”
The guys put their backs into hauling the chain out of the murky pond, link by slimy link, while I kept a wary eye on the water for any traps Taylor might have set. Colby peered over my head, helping, though I wanted nothing more than to send her up to a high limb to watch from there or even back to my SUV.
But the familiar was out of the bag now. Good luck stuffing her back in it. I would have to allow Colby to make her own decisions about how—and if—she used her powers. To rob her of choice would make me as bad or worse than the Stag or Taylor.
“It’s stuck.” Clay braced his legs. “There’s definitely something down there bumping the sides.”
“Then I’m going in.” I lifted Colby in the air. “I hope there aren’t leaches.” I shuddered. “Colby, you’re my lookout.” I stripped down to my bra and panties, grateful the daemon saw the floorshow instead of Asa. “Guys, I’m going to lower myself using the chain. Don’t panic if you feel it jerking.” I hesitated. “Actually, do panic if you feel it jerking, but light wiggling is fine.”
“Bad idea,” the daemon grumbled. “New plan.”
“We don’t know what shape the girls are in.” I refused to voice my darkest worries. “I have to do this.”
“She’s right.” Clay looped extra chain around his fist for a better grip. “The time to act is now.”
Taking his advice to heart, I followed the chain into the water, my hand sliding over the slick links. Fear I might drop my wand into the abyss forced me to leave it behind, but I wasn’t happy about it. After murmuring a spell for illumination in the hopes the burning globe would light my way, I filled my lungs with air and let myself sink.
Hand over hand, I hauled myself into the darkness with my eyes slitted against the filth of the water.
The ball of light drifted slowly ahead of me, but visibility was low. I didn’t see the cage until my guide dipped between its wooden bars and bounced off a pale shoulder.
Scooping the light into my palm, I shone it side to side until I located a thick root piercing the enclosure. I braced a hip on the wall, dug my toes into the muck to brace myself, then jiggled until the cage jerked free.
Once I verified it was clear of entanglements, I gave two hard pulls to signal to the guys I was done.
A hard yank knocked me into the opposite wall as the cage shot past me. Shoving off the packed mud, I hooked my fingers into the bottom of the cage and rode it all the way to the surface.
The second air hit my face, the daemon was there, his arm an iron band around my waist as he dragged me to shore.
Coughing and spluttering, I watched Clay secure the chain to hold the cage above the water.