Chapter 109

As I moved into the alleyway, I swapped out my Path of Reading - Helenian for the new Path of Shadowing. The loss of steps was small, and though I doubted I would improve much from Shadowing, it was a Path that would be boosted by my Shadow Affinity.

The alley was a small one, with only enough space for a single carriage to move down. On either side of the street were closed wooden gates that seemed to lead into the backyards of the small estates. Scanning the area, I couldn’t see the two people I had been following. My eyes started going to the stone walls as I considered climbing up to see if they had entered into one of the estates. Before I decided which wall to climb, I heard the faint clank of metal followed by a clicking noise.

Creeping forward quietly, my Cloak of Shadows still wrapped tightly around me like a second skin, I approached the source of the noise. The air felt cool against my skin, but that was only because I was sweating — more from worry than exertion.

My leather boots brushed over the stones silently as I moved past one of the closed gates. Just beyond it was a gap that separated two estates, and in that gap were a short set of stairs leading down to a locked wooden door braced with metal bands. The faint smell of sewage wafted towards me from the door as I quickly descended the steps. I pulled gently on the metal handle of the door and immediately found it was locked.

Looking around frantically, I couldn’t see anything that might help me pick a lock. Not that I really knew how to, but I was desperate enough to try anything. Once again, I debated running back to find Blake and Meredith. By now, they would all be back at The Golden Purse. Though for all I knew, Mum or Agnes would have them out walking the streets trying to find Nazim and me. After all, we were supposed to be back before dark. That ship had well and truly sailed.

I quickly took the steps back up to the alley, my mind torn. Should I seek help or try to find a way to follow Nazim’s captors into the sewer? Nazim would have prioritised my safety. I knew that he would want me to go find help. But, he was my friend, a part of my family, and the part of me that prized that above all else said I should follow him to make sure I had time to fetch the others.

When my eyes landed on a small gap in the gutter, my mind snapped to a decision immediately. The adults might need to use the door but I was small enough to force my way into the drain with some effort. I jogged over to the gap, climbing down onto my belly, as I started to shimmy my way into the drain feet first. The stone scraped at my clothes, and I felt them tear as I pushed deeper until the little light from the lanterns at the end of the street vanished entirely.

Beyond the drain, the stone became slimy, and I easily slid down the hole, collecting gunk across me as I went. The smell grew worse with every push until I slid out of the aperture and into the sewers proper. My feet landed on a thin and slippery walkway beside a slowly flowing river of effluent that I could only hear — and smell — rather than see.

The darkness was absolute. I immediately took a moment to cast Nightvision. Beneath my Cloak of Shadows, I didn’t need to hide the casting as my Skill was already doing it for me. When the spell settled, the entire area lit up for me like I was taking a stroll in the afternoon sun. Walkways flanked the sewerage water on either side, leading both left and right before splitting into more tunnels. The entryway that the couple I was following came down was clearly over to my left, and my eyes could see their footprints in the slime leading to where I stood and then beyond me to my right.

Seeing the trail made me consider going to get Blake and Meredith now that I had something for them to follow. I crept back to where the door was to check, only to find that I had made a horrible mistake. The lock on the door stared at me, requiring a key from both sides, it seemed. I was locked down here now and the drain I had shimmied down was far too slimy to climb back up easily. I wasn’t even sure if Controlled Grip would help.

Silently cursing myself, I turned and began creeping through the sewers, following a myriad of footprints pressed into the slime. I moved quickly, trying to make up for some of the time I had lost in my pursuit. I had walked for almost ten minutes when I realised I was right back where I started. My eyes narrowed.

That makes no sense, I thought. The footprints were so obvious that I couldn’t miss them.

The thought made me realise my mistake. These… whatever they were — I was guessing cultists at this point, but I supposed they could just be criminals — had already shown they had more than simple magic at their fingertips. The footprints clearly led in a circle and could be used to throw off anyone who followed them or workers who came down here… for whatever sewerage workers did.

I retraced the path a second time. Every time I reached a point where the footprints turned, I would instead move a little further down the opposing path. The fourth time I did so, I felt something. Another ten metres down the tunnel was a tiny little alcove in the wall. Within the alcove, I could sense something that felt like strings of coiled darkness threaded between the walls. I reached out to touch the back of the alcove, my hand passing through the ‘wall’ as though it wasn’t there.

An illusory wall, I thought.

I paused, waiting for a moment to see if anyone or anything reacted to my hand appearing. When nothing did, I swallowed what little saliva I had in my mouth and then stepped through. My eyes adjusted to the flickering light of a candle flame and I pushed myself against the wall to blend in with the shadows it was casting. No one moved in the area beyond the door, and the stone of the sewers quickly gave way to dirt.

Glancing back the way I had come, I could see the alcove I had passed through. The rocks that made up the edges looked like they had been melted to create the opening. My immediate thought was that magic had been involved, and the area I now found myself in was not a part of the actual sewers. Around the edge of the warped stone were rune plates embedded in the wall, a silver chain connecting them together. I had felt nothing on the other side of the illusion, but from here, I could faintly feel the aether thrumming through the set up. Someone had taken the time and riches needed to create the hidden path while covering their tracks.

My head snapped back around when I heard voices down at the end of the makeshift hallway. With nowhere else to go, I activated Muffled Aura once more and stole forward quickly. Keeping my footsteps light, I hugged the wall until it opened into a dimly lit area that looked an awful lot like a storage room. Wooden crates were stacked around the area with two lit candles the only source of light. Slipping to my left to put some crates between me and whatever lay beyond, I managed to lay eyes on the couple I had followed earlier. The moment I did, a notification appeared in the corner of my vision. I ignored it for now — too busy watching the pair as they sat on wooden stools around one of the candles.

“...what if the kid blabs, Fin?” asked the woman with a tone I thought sounded worried.

“What’s he going to say? We checked the area. He wasn’t there. Probably ran off the moment he was over one of them walls so he didn’t see anything. Besides, Severin will find him. Always does. Creeps me out a little to be honest.”

“You shouldn’t say things like that. We wouldn’t be here without him — we wouldn’t be together. He’s been good to us.”

“Doesn’t change the fact that he’s creepy, Elloise. You worry too much. He couldn’t sacrifice us without our families coming looking, or pay for half of the things we used to create the Rift. So, we’ll use him to get powerful just like he’s using us for the same. When my father sees how much more suited I am than my brother to be heir, your parents will have to approve our match,” Finley replied confidently.

Sacrifice? Rift? I thought with a frown as my heart sank.

I had hoped they were just criminals — then maybe they would have planned to ransom Nazim back to us. Those two words all but confirmed we were dealing with a demonic cult. Worse, the feeling that man — Severin — had given me made far more sense now. It had been years since it happened and I had changed since then, but the feeling of the possessed goblin with its hands around my throat returned. With the memory came the foreboding reminder of what I had felt while I stared into its sickly eyes… the feeling of something else, something other, living beneath its skin.

I watched as Elloise frowned, looking away from Finley. “I still don’t think it’s wise to call him creepy.”

Finley didn’t say anything, waving away her concern. My heart hammered in my chest as I feared for my friend. If they intended to sacrifice Nazim, then they had little reason to keep him around for long. I didn’t know what was involved in a demonic sacrifice, but I hoped there were at least some restrictions on it like Magatha’s rituals.

I looked around the room for anything I could use and found nothing. All there was were the crates scattered around the room — I had yet to see what was inside them, unwilling to move too much.

The thud of footsteps on the hard dirt floor announced the two men that strode into the room from an alcove off to my left. I immediately recognised both of them. The leather armoured mage who had put Nazim to sleep was called Oscar, if I was remembering correctly. He looked like a giant next to the short man beside him. Severin, with his stout stature and oily hair slicked back should have seemed the inferior of the two — but knowing what I felt in the enchanter’s shop made me far more wary of the demon-possessed.

“Lazing about as usual, Finley?” Severin asked with a polite smile that didn’t reach his eyes.

“Just waiting to hear what you want us to do, Severin,” Finley replied coolly.

“Yes, well, I have a dinner to attend to, as my absence will be remarked upon. Oscar is going to go see if he can find out a little about our guest and his charge that got away.”

“And then we’re sacrificing the wolfkin?” Elloise asked in a tone as though she was asking whether they would be drinking wine that evening.

Severin sniffed. “Obviously. Meet back here before midnight. Both Oscar and I will be back before then, and if you’re not here, we’ll conduct the ritual without you. Jemma and Hodge will be remaining to keep an eye on our chained guest, though Oscar is confident he won’t wake before then, anyway.”

“Should last for at least six candles so long as he isn’t disturbed,” Oscar added gruffly.

“Precisely. So, while I appreciate your quick response to my Alert Spell, you’re free for the evening. Be back here before midnight if you wish to participate. Or don’t. More for us if you’re not here,” Severin said with a sneer before heading towards the alcove I had just come down.

As he moved, I shifted further towards the corner, trying to keep us as far apart as possible as I didn’t know whether Cloak of Shadows would conceal me from whatever we sensed in each other. I knew I had succeeded when I felt nothing from him.

“I should check in at home as well,” Finley declared, pushing himself to his feet.

“Yes, my parents will grow worried if we’re out too late. Help me sneak out later?” Elloise asked coyly.

“For you, my love, anything,” Finley whispered, as though he were telling her a secret.

I watched them leave from my hiding spot in the corner of the room.

Alright, I thought. I’ve got maybe five hours to find Nazim, wake him, and somehow escape this Demonic Cult. Easy peasy.

The lie tasted like acid on my tongue, but at least it gave me the confidence to start exploring. Firstly, what the hell was in these crates?