shaede assassin 05 - shadows at midnight by amanda bonilla

me.”
    “No way.” This was my mission. My risk. If anyone should be waiting safely outside, it was Tyler. I looked up at the blade that was buried in the opposite wall, as long as my body and razor sharp. “I’ll be more careful. Let’s keep moving.”
    Tyler gave me one last searching look. He wasn’t any more comfortable with our situation as I was. We needed to find Xander and get the hell out of here.
    “Anybody got a flashlight?” Rather than echo off the surrounding stone walls, Louella’s voice barely carried at all. “My eyesight’s stellar in the dark but this is like…super dark.”
    She was right. None of us should have had any trouble seeing in the dark but this was something different. An impenetrable cloak of midnight.
    “I’ve got one.” A bright swath of LED light cut through the darkness as Julian brought the flashlight up to his face like a kid about to tell a scary story at summer camp. Louella snickered and gravel scratched beneath her boots as she fell back to where Julian waited.
    “My hero,” she said with a playful nudge to his ribs.
    “It’s going to get darker,” Tyler said. He made his way back to the lead of our little formation and took off down the tunnel. “I’m not even sure a flashlight will work once we hit the center of the labyrinth. Everybody stay on your toes. Got it?”
    I had a feeling that last bit was meant for me. I don’t know what it was about hanging out with Asher that turned me into a Chatty Kathy. Under any other circumstances, I’d be the one barking at everyone to be quiet and keep their heads in the game.
    Julian’s flashlight offered a little help in navigating the tunnels but like Ty said, the deeper we went into the maze the more impenetrable the darkness became. The twenty linear feet of light the flashlight had given us when we started now only offered a couple of yards of visibility.
    “Stop.” Tyler held up his hand and our group came to a standstill. My skin prickled and I met Asher’s gaze, his own brow arched curiously. He felt it too. “Back up!” Tyler shifted into reverse, his shuffling steps pushing all of us into retreat. “Go, go!”
    A sound like ocean waves crashing over the rocks echoed in front of us, growing louder with each passing second. I narrowed my eyes and sucked in a breath. Jesus fucking Christ . A wall of water rushed down the tunnel toward us, much too fast for any of us to outrun.
    “Take cover!” I don’t know why I said it. I mean, where in the hell were we going to find shelter? We were in a tunnel for fuck’s sake. One way in. One way out. Once the water crested over us, we’d drown.
    As the churning water reached us, I braced for impact, ducking down as I tucked my head under my arms. I sucked in a deep breath and squeezed my eyes shut. Anticipation shivered down my spine…nothing. I shot upright and opened my eyes. The water was gone.
    “What the fuck was that?” Liam spun full circle, his eyes wide.
    “An illusion.” Hatred thickened my tone. “They’ll all be as real as that.” Goddamn Padma and her games.
    “I thought we were screwed.” Myles let out a shuddering breath. “How are we going to be able to tell the difference between what’s real and what isn’t?”
    “I can tell.” Heads swiveled toward Tyler in unison.
    “How?” I’d suspected that my ring had played a part in helping me keep a tenuous grip on my sanity while in Padma’s custody. But even with that little boost, I’d fallen under her spell. Jinn magic was a mystery. I doubted I’d ever understand the intricacies of it.
    “It takes me a second to recognize it, obviously. Sort of a delayed reaction. I’ll try to give everyone a heads up as best I can.” Ty sidestepped my question with ease. “Let’s keep moving.”
    Asher gave me a wary look but he didn’t say anything. He didn’t have to. He was as suspicious of Ty’s magic as I was. I didn’t doubt that what he could do was limited down here. He never