The Silver Mask (Magisterium #4)(17)

The van pulled to a screeching halt. A middle-aged man with close-cropped hair and a backward baseball cap stuck his head out the window. “What’s going on?”

“We’re lost,” Tamara said. She swept the newsboy cap off so her braids fell down, and batted her eyes innocently. With the pastel dress, she looked like someone who’d escaped an Easter egg hunt. “We rowed over to the island to look around, but our boat drifted away when we weren’t looking and the sun went down….” She sniffed. “Can you help us, mister?”

Call thought the mister was laying it on a little thick, but the guy seemed sold.

“Sure,” the man said, looking bewildered. “I guess. Um, hop on up, kids.”

As they approached, he threw out a ropy arm. There was a big black tattoo on his bicep that looked a little like an eye. It seemed weirdly familiar. “Whoa, whoa. What’s that?” He pointed at Havoc.

“It’s my dog,” said Call. “His name’s —”

“I don’t care what his name is,” said the guy. “He’s huge.”

“We really can’t leave him.” Tamara looked at the guy with huge eyes. “Please? He’s really tame.”

Which was how Call found himself, Jasper, and Havoc being loaded into the empty back of the truck, which had no seats, just windowless metal flooring and walls. Hugo (which was the guy’s name) brought Tamara up to sit beside him in the cab. She threw Call and Jasper an apologetic look as Hugo pulled the metal door down, locking them in.

“Betrayed,” said Jasper. “Once again, by a woman.”

The truck started up. Call felt his muscles relax as soon as they were rolling. He might be sitting in pitch-black with Jasper, but he was getting away from Master Joseph and Alex.

“You know,” he said, “that kind of attitude is not going to help you get Celia back.”

A light sparked. It was a slight ember of fire magic, burning in Jasper’s hand. It illuminated the inside of the truck and Jasper’s thoughtful scowl.

“You know,” he said, “it doesn’t smell like flowers in here.”

Now that he mentioned it, Call realized he was right. And there were no stray petals or stems on the floor near their feet. There was an odor in the van, but it was a chemical one — more like formaldehyde.

“I didn’t like the look of that guy,” said Jasper. “Or his tattoo.”

Call suddenly remembered where he’d seen that eye symbol before. Over the gates of the Panopticon. The prison that never slept. His heart thumped. Could the guy be a guard meant to take him back to prison?

In the front of the van, Call heard Tamara say, “No, not that way. No!”

Hugo said something in return. They hit a dirt road and started bumping around, so Call couldn’t quite make out the words.

Then they lurched to a stop. After a moment, the back of the van opened.

Master Joseph stood at the foot, a stern expression on his face. Hugo had brought them back to the Enemy of Death’s stronghold.

“Come along, Callum,” he said. His voice was even and calm, but Call could see that his hands were in fists at his sides. He was furious, even if he didn’t want Hugo to see it. “We must talk. I’d hoped to do this tomorrow and under better circumstances, but I can’t have you wandering around the island.”

Tamara climbed out of the passenger side, looking stricken. Call and Jasper clambered out of the back of the truck, followed by Havoc, who put his nose against the palm of Call’s hand, clearly confused about everything that was happening.

Unfortunately, Call understood all too well. Master Joseph’s prison wasn’t the house — it was the whole island.

“It was an honor to kidnap you, sir,” Hugo said to Callum with a wide grin. “You probably don’t remember me, but I saw you in the Panopticon.” He tapped the tattoo on his arm. “I was there, too, locked up, you know, ever since the war. Lots of us were. But once you came, we knew it was going to be all right. We never stopped believing in you, not even when they said you were dead. If anyone can rise, it’s the Enemy of Death.”

Jasper and Call looked at Tamara, who had her hands over her mouth. The strike on the Panopticon hadn’t just been about freeing Call after all. Master Joseph had used Anastasia to help him get Constantine’s old followers out, too.

“I don’t want to be on this island,” Call said. “Don’t you think that if you’re serving me, you should do what I want?”

“Thank you for bringing them back so swiftly,” Master Joseph said, before Call’s words could have any effect on Hugo.

Hugo grinned again, nodded to Call, and climbed back in his van. “Good luck getting your memories back,” he said. “You’ll remember soon enough why you want to be here.”

With a heavy heart, Call watched the van pull away, taking their escape plan with it.

He was dejected enough to follow Master Joseph back into the house, with Tamara, Havoc, and Jasper behind him. Master Joseph took a key out of his pocket and unlocked a parlor they’d never been in before. It appeared to be unheated, easily as cold as it had been outside. There were double doors on the far side of the room and two couches in the center.

Master Joseph beckoned for them to sit, but remained standing.

“I could strip you of your magic and your life,” Master Joseph said. “I could take your power for myself. Would you prefer that?”