The first hunter swipes his key card and shoulders his way into the prison, pushing the door slightly wider for his coworker. JJ barely manages to squeeze in behind them, and he holds his breath until the locks reengage with a final-soundingwhirr.“Ez? Obie?”
Obie’s voice is low. “Right behind you.”
JJ lets out a soft sigh of relief. “Good. Can either of you sense Cass from here?”
“They have spell work in place to prevent that.” There’s an edge to Ez’s voice. “Actually, there’s more spell work here than I expected. I can maintain our invisibility and soundproofing spells without too much trouble, and I can probably manage some basic offensive and defensive strikes, but beyond that…” She trails off. “It’s like my magic is handcuffed.”
JJ’s stomach lurches. Ez and Obie are powerful demons in their own rights, of course, but Ez’s spellcasting was one of the best weapons in their arsenal. “How about you, Obie?”
“My memory powers aren’t affected,” he says tightly, “but they’re not exactly honed for combat, either.”
“So we’ll just have to fight our way out,” Ez says grimly. “But we’ll worry about that after we find Cass. Jackson, lead the way.”
Silently, JJ complies. He edges slowly down the hallways, pressing himself against the wall whenever interrogators pass too close, checking each cell’s window as they walk by?—
No Cass. Either he’s in one of the cells farther down, or he’s being interrogated already. JJ’s skin crawls at the thought. “There’s a central break area with access to all the interrogation rooms,” he whispers. “It might be more crowded, so just stay sharp.”
“Always are.”
Another door that requires a key card. They don’t have to wait long before an interrogator swipes her way inside, and JJ, Ez, and Obie slip in just behind her. The interrogator strides directly down the rightmost hallway, and JJ pauses in the middle of the room, turning in a slow circle to get his bearings. There are eight identical halls leading away from here, each of them housing a handful of interrogation rooms.
Without knowing where Cass is, they’ll have to check them one at a time. JJ takes a deep breath, skirts down the leftmost hallway?—
And collides directly with someone leaving the first room on the right—a collision that’s followed by a very familiar gasp.“What?—?”
JJ has just enough time to realize that the person is Chester before slamming a hand over his mouth, grabbing the back of his neck with his other hand, and forcing him back into the room. “Ez, expand the soundproofing spell!” he hisses, and he prays that she listened before shoving Chester against the nearest wall.
Chester fights back immediately, his long-honed instincts taking over. A punch to JJ’s ribs that nearly knocks the wind out of him, a hook to the jaw that he barely manages to dodge in time?—
Abruptly, Chester’s wrists snap back against the wall, like an invisible force is holding them there. His eyes widen with fear.
Guilt swims through JJ. “Ez, let me talk to him,” he says quietly.
The faintest tingling sensation sweeps over his skin as the invisibility and soundproofing spells release their hold on him. Chester goes utterly still. “JJ?” he mumbles against JJ’s palm.
JJ’s heart twists. “Hey, Chester,” he says, and he loosens his grip the slightest bit. “We’re not here to hurt anyone, okay? We just want Cassius Chin. Where is he?”
Chester’s eyes flicker down to the hand over his mouth. Reluctantly, JJ releases him, relieved when Chester’s voice is more of a hiss than a shout. “JJ, what thehellare you doing?”
“I’m getting Cass back,” JJ says, keeping his voice low. “Tell me where he is.”
There’s something like heartbreak in Chester’s eyes. Heartbreak, or maybe pity. “How badly did they get in your head?”
JJ’s stomach roils. “They didn’t. They just helped to undo all the damage the Sanctum did to me—tous.”He leans forward. “They ruined our lives, Chester. You know that.”
Chester sets his jaw. Doesn’t answer.
“Chester—”
“Not for nothing, Jackson,” Ez cuts in, “but right now really isn’t the time to try and save your old buddy.”
Chester jerks towards her voice, eyes widening.“What?—?”
In a flash, Ez and Obie appear on either side of Chester, still pinning his wrists to the wall. “Listen to me very carefully,” Ez says, leaning in. “You’re going to tell us where Cass is, or Obie and I are going to hurt youreallybadly, and JJ isn’t going to be quick enough to stop us.”
Chester looks terrified, but he doesn’t say a word. Not trained to be in the field, but still trained to withstand torture. JJ’s chest aches.
“Don’t say I didn’t warn you,” Ez says, and she lifts her left hand, sparking and glowing with power.
