Page 62 of A Castle of Broken Memories

Iwoke with a start, skin prickling with the sense of something coming. Lifting my head from Jack’s shoulder, I nudged him awake and nodded toward the cell door. The distinct sound of a boat moving through water filled the dank space.

It’s time.

“Danny.” I ducked my head, whispering in the boy’s ear. “Wake up. The giants are coming back.” He stirred sleepily in my lap before shooting up, eyes wide with alarm. I shushed him before the impending shout could pass his lips. “It’s going to be okay. Just stay behind us, all right?”

He nodded, and Jack and I staggered to our feet, standing shoulder-to-shoulder as the boat’s bow glided into view. I tensed, waiting for the giants to appear, but the figures that did were closer to my size than the mountainous guards we’d dealt with earlier. Their faces were shrouded by dark, hooded cloaks, and the one in front turned slowly in our direction, his arms spreading out in front of him as he sang in a deep, haunting voice,

“The Phaaaaannnnntom of the Opera is there….”

My jaw dropped. “No fucking way.”

The figure threw his hood back with a dramatic flourish, his grin dazzlingly bright in the dim light. “Tell me you haven’t been thinking the same thing all night. I mean, an underground canal? Dark, gloomy atmosphere? How amazing is this?”

A borderline-manic laugh bubbled up in my throat. “Tenebris?” I squinted at the other figure standing in the back holding the pole, and my heart leaped with hope. “Please tell me that’s Calum back there.”

Calum pushed back his hood with a sheepish grin. “In the flesh. Sorry. Tenebris wanted a theatrical entrance, and I couldn’t say no.”

“And why should you?” Tenebris countered. “Our entrance was perfect.”

“If your grand entrance came with a key to this cell,” Jack interjected, “I’ll high-five you myself.”

Tenebris smacked his forehead. “I knew I was forgetting something.”

“If that’s a joke, it’s so not funny,” I warned.

“Not a joke,” Tenebris replied. “But also—not a problem.”

“What do you—” Before I could finish my question, Tenebris snapped his fingers and disappeared into thin air. A second later he reappeared, standing directly beside me, his arm hitched atop my shoulder.

“Nice little place you got here.” He looked around the cell with feigned interest. “Although a bit too plain for my taste. Needs more color, maybe a couple of throw pillows? Cozy it up a bit.”

“You… you just…” I gawked at him, the words so impossible they stuck to my tongue.

“Teleported?” A smug grin crept onto his face. “Sure did.”

I frowned. “Please tell me you’re not giving off evil vibes again, because a castle full of angry giants is bad enough. They do not need to be influenced into even darker moods.”

“He’s clean,” Calum assured me, placing a foot on the narrow ledge outside the cell and grabbing one of the bars as he held the boat steady.

“Well, maybe not that clean.” Tenebris smirked. “He’s leaving out the bit where he accidentally knocked over an entire shelf of potions while I was”—he waggled his eyebrows—“nursing him back to health.”

“Potions? Teleporting?” Jack looked back and forth between us, his face creased in exasperation. “Can someone please tell me what the hell is going on?”

“Tenebris was born a witch with exceptional powers, including the ability to teleport, glamor, and brew various potions,” I explained. “Unfortunately, he was also giving off an aura that influenced several people in the forest to act on their darker urges, myself included. It wasn’t something he could control, and when another witch eventually absorbed his powers, the aura disappeared. Thus my concern that it might come back given his renewed ability to teleport.”

“Okay,” Jack said slowly, still looking somewhat confused. “And he got his power back from a potion here in the castle?”

“Maybe?” Tenebris shrugged. “I’m honestly not sure myself. While I did get hit with a fair amount of potion splashback, it wasn’t until a shock wave knocked us both on our asses and a cloaked giant appeared out of thin air that I felt the first tendrils of power creeping back in. So far it’s just teleportation, though, and only over short distances. Whether or not it’s a permanent return remains to be seen.”

“The room we escaped to ended up being some kind of magic workshop,” Calum added. “Complete with a giant cauldron, enough herbs to set up an apothecary’s shop, and several finished elixirs.”

“Don’t forget the entrails,” Tenebris added. “Jars full of briny bits.”

Calum grimaced. “I’ll never look at pickles the same way again.”

“I think I’m going to be sick,” Danny croaked.

Tenebris craned his neck to get a better look at the boy hiding behind me. “And who’s this little guy?”