Devilish Game (Shadow Guild: The Rebel 4)

Cordelia's tiny hand tugged at my leg. I looked down.

If the prisoners hold me up to their lock, I can pick it. She held up two tiny pieces of metal.

I raised my brows. “That’s handy.”

Very.

I looked up at Beth. “How do you feel about raccoons?”

“Fantastic.” She said. “Is Cordelia here?”

I nodded and explained about the locks and her skills.

She nodded. “All right. I’ll tell the other prisoners not to freak out when a raccoon appears in their cell.”

Cordelia scoffed. Freak out? Rude.

I rubbed her head. “You’ve got this, pal. Thanks.”

She nodded, and I left her to it. Coraline joined me, and I gave her one of my two daggers. “Just in case.”

“Thanks.” She grinned and gripped it tight.

We hurried down the hall, passing the cells. The prisoners watched us silently from behind their tiny cell windows. Some of them had heard the exchange with Beth, and whispers were traveling down the hall as each person alerted the room next to them.

“Good luck,” one woman said, and a new wave of fear clutched me.

What if we were too slow? What if we couldn’t find the lever. If we failed these people . . .

I shook the thought away.

We reached the end of the hall, and Coraline gestured to the left. “This way. Guard quarters to the right.”

I followed her left, and we slipped down another hallway. Immediately, I felt the spell that had suppressed my magic fade.

Coraline sighed softly, moving her shoulders in a stretch. “That’s feels good. I hated that spell.”

“Let’s work our way methodically through the temple. We have to find the lever eventually.”

“We can do that. It’s roughly rectangular, I think. We’ll work our way around counter-clockwise.”

“How do you know your way around?”

“We’re taken out occasionally for ‘training’.” She put air quotes around the word. “They’re trying to brainwash us to perform some horrible ritual, but it’s not working.”

“That’s good, at least.”

She shook her head. “For now, maybe. But I think they’re trying to come up with a potion that will force us to do their bidding.”

I grimaced. Shit. “Doesn’t matter. We’re getting out of here tonight and putting an end to all of this.”

She nodd

ed. “I’m going to kill every bastard I see.”

We crossed through a large room that was filled with a shallow pool. Torches gleamed along the walls, shedding a warm, golden light on the glittering water. Golden fish swam over the pale blue tiles. Benches surrounded the pool, and I couldn’t believe how big this place was. “It’s a maze.”

“It’s enormous. I’ve already seen so many rooms, I can’t keep track.”