Knights of Light (Book 2 of The Conjurors Series)

Chapter 39

Valerie hurried to catch up to Sanguina, her magic lending her legs a speed she had never known she possessed. She caught a glimpse of Sanguina's red hair, and they went to a part of the castle Valerie had never seen. The farther they went, the more the walls around them flickered. Doors appeared and vanished, and even more terrifyingly, when she looked down at herself she could see that she and Sanguina flickered too.

"Hurry. If we're caught in a part of the castle as it disappears, we will go with it—no one knows where," Sanguina said with urgency. At last, she stopped and knelt on the ground by a trapdoor. She shut her eyes in relief. "It's still here."

Valerie threw the trapdoor open and Gideon, followed by his six Knights and Peach, poured in silently.

"Any trouble?" Gideon asked, eyeing her closely.

"None that we couldn't handle."

"Maybe we'll get out of here without much trouble," said one of the Knights, a redheaded man named Hoel who was constantly biting his fingernails.

Valerie didn't reply, but she gave what she hoped was an encouraging nod. Hoel was a little green at the sight of the flickering walls around him.

"Come," Valerie said. She knew she had Sanguina to guide her, but she didn't need it. Instinct and memory reminded Valerie of the route to the dungeon.

She and most of the Knights had crossed the threshold and were already heading down the staircase to the dungeon when a voice from the darkness made her stomach clench.

"The prodigal daughter has returned," Zunya said. Valerie turned and saw that he had grabbed Sanguina's arm. Sanguina winced and pulled her arm roughly out of his grasp. Valerie knew from experience how intensely painful Zunya's touch was, but Sanguina must be somehow protected from it, like she was with Venu's poison, or she would be writhing on the ground.

"I was doing Reaper's bidding; you know that."

"I heard you brought our favorite little plaything with you."

Valerie and the Knights tried to melt into the shadows, and she hoped that somehow Zunya hadn't seen them.

"Come, and I'll show you," Sanguina said, trying to lead him to the isolation chamber.

Zunya raised an eyebrow. "I should probably do something about the intruders you've helped slip past our gates first."

Without any further warning, he reached out and tackled the nearest Knight, Galahad, to the ground. Galahad briefly screamed at the contact, and then went silent. The rest of the Knights drew their weapons to rush Zunya, and the hall blazed with light. Zunya shaded his eyes, and Valerie saw that behind him were fifteen men—boys, really.

Their eyes were completely white, and she could see black stitches across their necks, like they had been clumsily opened and sewn back together. With a sickening twist in her stomach, she realized that they were familiar—it was Jack's former troop of boys who robbed people of their magic.

"Don't kill them!" Valerie shouted to the Knights.

"You!" Zunya shouted.

Valerie drew Pathos, since she had already blown her cover. "You and me. That's the fight you really want, isn't it?"

Her words were too late. The boys were armed with pathetic weapons like pickaxes and knives, but one opened his mouth and a hollow sound came from him. Valerie's magic slipped away. Zunya had somehow turned the boys into weaker versions of himself, so they didn't need a cone to rob Conjurors of their powers.