Page 89 of Magic Hunted

“It’s magically dark. Just to torment us more. You can light the sconces if you dare. That will help, but brace yourselves for the horrors of this chamber,” the man’s voice said.

Ashir hefted the sconce from the holder outside the door and moved deeper into the room, sending me a grim look. Ashir followed the wall, kissing the burning flames into the sconces as he walked.

I almost wished he hadn’t.

Almost wished I could unsee the horrors slowly revealed.

He stopped lighting the sconces, his feet stopping as gut-wrenching dismay weighed our bond as his arm lowered the torch he held to the ground.

“Gods.” I could only breathe when Savvas came behind me and put his arms around my shoulders, lending me his strength. I took what he could give, wishing there was more until a need greater than comfort made me stagger toward the bars that lined the back half of a dungeon I’d never been aware of and the gaunt male kneeling on the floor watching me with eyes too large for his face.

The male’s dirty fingers curled around the bar. His nails were broken, his knuckles bloodied. Bruises marred his thin, frail arms. The tunic he wore was little more than rags that draped across a body that was mostly bones. His cheeks were sunken as deeply as his eyes. His hair was a stringy, matted mass that reached past his shoulders. His beard was filthy, but didn’t hide skin so pale it was almost translucent.

The people behind him had fared no better. The haunted looks on their faces told me enough. They were dirty, filthy, and holding themselves as though they were hurt. They’d suffered down here. Horrible, unspeakable suffering.

Why hadn’t I known these people were here? I’d passed them whilst helping others escape.

I covered his hands with mine, gently because his bones might break if I pressed too hard. They were as cold as the bars he clutched. Tears stung my eyes, but I wouldn’t cry. He didn’t need that. None of them did. I would respect them enough not to weep for them.

The man sighed, his eyes fluttering closed. “That’s the first touch anyone has given me that hasn’t caused pain.”

I could do more than just my touch. This was why my magic had surged. Perhaps it worked with a sense I’d yet to master, but that was for another time. I let it soak into him. Warmth left my hands and sank into the man, lending him energy to start the healing process. He’d need more than what I gave him. It would probably take years.

He gasped, his eyes rolling open. He took his hand away from mine, holding it against his chest. “You have magic?”

“Peace. It’s not Titan’s magic but my own,” I said.

He looked over his shoulder at the female who knelt next to him. Even though her hair was dark and limp with dirt and gods-knew what else, there was a dignity about her in her straight shoulders and upturned chin. She put her hand on his shoulders.

“Are you harmed?” she asked the man.

The male shook his head, his gaze sliding back to me. “No. She…she helped me. I…feel stronger with one touch.”

Her sunken gaze latched onto mine, her flat eyes showing more death than life. “There was only one other who could heal with her magic. We kept it a secret from the guards. They never found out. Her secret was safe with us.”

Savvas knelt on the ground next to me. “Where is this female?”

The woman’s mouth slackened as though she was grappling for words. I thought she’d keep her secrets, lost to her mind before she spoke. “She disappeared. With some of the others. One moment here, gone the next.”

“When was that?” Ashir spoke quietly, holding himself back so he didn’t pose a threat to these abused people. He crouched behind us, his shoulders rounding. I knew he was working out how he was going to get these people out while not hurting them more than they already were.

“It’s hard to tell in the darkness. But not that long. Three, maybe four times I’ve slept. One meal ago. Perhaps,” the male rasped.

It had been a week since the shockwave. Hells, that meant they’d only been fed once in a week.How were they still alive?

“You must find her. She was special. He knew she was. He just couldn’t work out how,” the woman said. Then her eyes burned with a light that hadn’t been there before, bordering on the cusp of determination and madness.

“Who ishe?” I asked, dread swirling oil in my stomach.

She crawled to me, both hands strangling the bars, and pressed her face between the iron. “She was like you. Her magic was her own. Natural magic, but there was something more to her. Something bigger. Locked inside her. I felt it. We all did. That’s why we’re here. Christian thought we all had magic, but she was the only one who really did. Locked us all away he did. Right under Titan’s nose. You have to find her. She’s gone, and now the world will suffer.”

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