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Nadine turned her gaze to Verla. “How did you do that? A blast that big should’ve killed you.”
“I had to stop them…” Verla took a step forward, but it was shaky. All at once, the blood drained from her face, and she collapsed.
Nadine and I were at her side in an instant. I quickly flipped Verla over and rested her head in my lap.
“Stay with us,” I demanded.
Verla winced as she tried to get up. “We need to keep moving. Marcus needs us.”
“No, Clarice,” Nadine pressed. “Your magic is completely drained. If you cast one more spell, even a small one, it could take the rest of your energy and kill you. You can’t fight anymore. You and Warren need to get out of here. You need medical attention.”
“But Marcus…” Verla rasped.
“We’ll bring him home,” I promised. “Onyx, can you help?”
Onyx stepped forward. “I’ll take them to the hospital and make sure they get the medical care they need.”
“You’ll need help supporting Warren on the way out,” Miles said. “I’ll help.”
“Take Mandy and Wykoff, too,” I added.
“I’ll stay,” Professor Wykoff offered. “I’m prepared to fight.”
She was still banged up from what the priestesses had done to her, but the confidence in her eyes told me she wouldn’t leave even if I made her.
“All right,” I agreed. “Onyx, Miles, get Mandy, Verla, and Warren out of here.”
Verla slumped in my arms, and I realized she’d slipped into unconsciousness. Mandy hurried over to lift her up, and Onyx helped. They started carrying her toward the stairs, carefully maneuvering around the fissure.
Miles hurried in front of them. “Hold on, Professor Warren! I’m on my way.”
I picked up my scythe and subconjured it, then turned back to those who had remained—Nadine, Grant, Talia, Chloe, and Professor Wykoff.
I gritted my teeth. “The priestesses are going to get sick of playing this game sooner or later. It’s time we found them and put an end to this.”
Grant smashed his fist into his opposite palm. “They’re going to be sorry they ever messed with the Shield Squad.”
Chloe eyed Grant. “You’re not going to give that up, are you? I guess the Shield Squad it is.”
Talia lifted her chin high and repeated what we’d said before we’d jumped into the hell pits. “To hell and back?”
“Even if it kills us,” Nadine and I confirmed in unison.
The Shield Squad was getting our son back… no matter what.
My hands curled into fists, and I was ready to give the priestesses exactly what was coming to them. “Tal, now that Magnus’s fae amulet isn’t blocking your powers, can you see where the priestesses went?”
Talia closed her eyes and ran her fingers over the wall. “I see them coming down this hall before we arrived. Marcus is with them, and Priestess Margaret is saying, We’ll go through the tunnel and wait out the nuckelavee where it’s safe, until all but the Curse Breaker are destroyed.”
“What tunnel?” I demanded.
Talia shook her head. “I’m not sure, but I can use my visions to follow them. If we’re fast, we might still be able to catch up with them before they realize we’ve killed all the nuckelavee. Follow me.”
We raced behind her. Talia led us down the stairwell, until we reached the basement of the building. Verla’s explosion hadn’t reached this far down, and the ceiling appeared stable above us.
Talia ran her fingers along the walls and paused at the end of corridors to assess her visions. We turned a corner, and I figured we’d reached the front of the building by now. I thought for sure we were going to hit a dead end. But instead, a long, dark hall stretched in front of us. It looked like it traveled under the street and appeared long enough to reach the courthouse.
“They went this way!” Talia cried. “Let’s keep moving!”
