Elizabeth woke with a start as the cell door slammed shut. "Adam!" She yelled, thinking that he'd been taken away.
"Shhh…I'm right here." He said, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. Elizabeth looked towards the cell door, where Sandry and Daja stood.
"The others are coming behind us. They're leading us here in small groups." Daja said as she and Sandry went to sit by Elizabeth and Adam. Within the half-hour everyone was in the cell (and Dan was fully clothed. Apparently Jordan didn't like him half-naked.) They weren't sure what was going to happen to them, but they were all afraid. Even the two grown dedicates were terrified. Jordan had warned them all not to use their magic against him. He was housing 25 mages and anything they tried to do to him he could have ordered done back to them ten-fold.
The ten occupants of the cell heard the outside door being unlocked. Seconds later they saw the face of Jordan looming before them. He looked half crazy and utterly exhausted. He had an insane smile plastered on his face. "It's done." He said, "I've done it." Looking at them, he elaborated. "We've broken the magical defenses on Winding Circle, and we're going to make it storm. A long, harsh storm, with plenty of rain. You're bowl shaped Temple City will flood. We're going to lock the doors and spell the place. They'll be trapped. They'll drown." He let his words sink in before continuing. "I figured, why stop at Dan and Elizabeth? Not when I can sink most of the world's most powerful mages, drowning them in their 'sacred' city. And when it's over, I'll bring you all to see it. Maybe I'll even show you images of what happened. And then you'll die there too." He got up, laughing, and left.
Minutes later, Sandry stood up. "We have to leave. If we leave, we can warn them. Maybe even do something. Whatever the outcome if we do go, if we don't it will be death. Death for everyone."
"Unless you've forgotten, we're all trapped in a cell. In the middle of nowhere." Briar said.
"I have an idea to get out. Evvy has stone magic, right? Well this whole place is stone. She could open a hole somewhere; create a tunnel. We could get back to the surface of the earth, and out of the castle. The only problem is," Sandry continued, "that Evvy doesn't have that kind of power. That's where we come in. I can weave all our magics together. I've done it before, and I can do it again." She finished.
Briar, ever the realist, jumped in. "Even if you did, we wouldn't know where we are."
"I know." Adam said. Everyone turned to look at him. "I've been here before. I can get us back."
Briar was still a bit hesitant. "But remember what happened last time? Our magics all got tangled, and it really sucked when you had to take them away to untangle them." Sandry's eyes flamed.
"I know enough know to put borders on them. Our magics will still mix, I can't help that, but they won't tangle. Now are you in or out?" Briar hesitated.
"In." He finally agreed. Sandry looked around the cell.
"And all of you?" She asked. They all said "in" as well, until she reached Lark and Rosethorn. They both said "out".
"You won't need us, honey." Lark explained, "And quite frankly, I don't to get 'mixed' with you guys. I like my magic the way it is. Rosie and I are both too old to be having our magic changing on us now." Sandry nodded her understanding and promptly sat down on the ground. Everyone threw her a cord of their power when she asked, and she began to spin their magic the way she had years before. (A/N: I think she had an actual spinning wheel with her before, but she's using a mental one right now. She can do that. I say so.)
When Sandry was done, she looked at Evvy. "Ready?" she asked.
"As ready as I'll ever be." She answered, adding, "Why do I always have to save the day?" the others laughed (except for Briar who just rolled his eyes. Skirts! He thought.) She closed her eyes and concentrated. After what seemed like forever, they saw the rock wall begin to move, and in a little while there was a good-sized hole was in it with a tunnel opening after it. Evvy opened her eyes. "Let's go." She said. Sandry handed Evvy her "night-light" crystal and let her lead the way. Within minutes they reached a broad stair that didn't seem to end. Tris could be heard grumbling, along with Elizabeth after a bit, the whole way up them. When they all finally reached the surface, they had to let their eyes adjust to the light. Once they had, Adam led the way. The ten people trooped back to Winding Circle, praying they'd get there before it was too late.
Author's Note: Do you guys want Jordan to die? I'm not sure if I want to make a sequel with this story or not. Half of me is relieved to be almost done with it, but the other half doesn't want to give it up. I figure if I make a sequel, Jordan would be a good villain. He could try to take revenge or something. But if no one wants one, I already have a death scene handy. Help please!