As they drove up to the prison, Dylan’s heart beat so loud he was sure everyone in the van could hear it. He’d always known the prison was out here on the edge of town, but he’d never been this close. If the other wardens found out he’d let Morgan out of Faery, this is where he’d end up.
From the outside it looked like some of the prisons he’d seen on TV shows and movies: a tall outer wall topped with barbed wire and in the center a gray concrete building. It was two stories tall, but Dylan knew there were several levels belowground as well, each floor more secure in order to hold those with powerful magic.
I’d be on the lowest floor. Maybe never see the sun again.
“You okay?” Aiden asked. He wasn’t happy about this situation either, but it was part of warden training. Some of them might have shifts here when they graduated.
“Not a place I ever wanted to go.” And definitely not the way Dylan wanted to spend his Saturday. The night was bitterly cold, the van’s heater struggling to warm the interior, but Dylan was sweating. He wiped his damp palms on his pants as they pulled up to the guard station at the front gate.
“Just remember you’re on the right side of the bars,” Warden Nichols said.
Thank God Warden Bully wasn’t going on the tour with them. This was already more than Dylan could stand.
The driver spoke briefly with the guard before the guard pressed a button and the gate rolled open. Then they were pulling into Shadow Valley Prison.
Spotlights scanned the yard. It was sectioned off, chain-link fences everywhere. The tingle of magic was like a constant hum, wards everywhere to keep prisoners from using spells to break out. Two tall guard towers loomed over the yard—one against the outer wall and one up against the prison itself.
Even though Dylan knew he’d be coming out again, driving up to the entrance of the prison felt like going to his doom.
Aiden nudged him to get is attention. When Dylan turned, Aiden gave him a look that said, I’m here for you. Everything will be fine.
It was almost funny to have Aiden be the strong one. It wasn’t the first time though. They leaned on each other, and remembering that made Dylan’s anxiety drop a few notches.
The van went through another gate to a small parking lot, and everyone got out. One of the guards came out to greet them and acted as tour guide, rattling off a bunch of facts about the prison.
“We currently have three hundred and forty-nine prisoners, which is the largest population we’ve had in over thirty years.” The guard’s face pinched. “Due to the attack last year, we’re overpopulated and understaffed.”
The guard led them through part of the first floor where there were offices, locker rooms for the guards, and a kitchen. They didn’t go into the area where the actual cells were, which was a relief. Dylan’s actions had placed some of those prisoners behind bars, and he didn’t want to face them.
Dylan caught the guard giving him lingering looks. Was he wondering why Dylan was here? Thinking about what a danger he was, how he’d given that speech at the protest? Or was he thinking about the part he’d played in saving people at city hall?
Words repeated in his head like a mantra: If they knew what I’d done. If they knew what I’d done…
The group split up to take the elevator down to the lower floors. As Dylan squeezed in next to Aiden, he almost lost it. The smell of his own fear filled his nose, and Dylan hated that he was being weak in front of all these people.
“Claustrophobic?” one of the recruits asked.
“Nah, he’s thinking about being locked up down here,” another said. “I can’t believe they’d even consider letting him be a warden.”
“Hey!” Nichols snapped. “Shut your mouth.”
Mr. Johnson must have given her a talk, because she went out of her way to prove she was on Dylan’s side.
The doors opened up, and Dylan’s group joined the people who had gone down before them. “This is the deepest floor of the prison, containing our highest-risk prisoners.”
The long white hallway practically buzzed with wards, symbols glowing all over the walls, floor, and ceiling. A guard sat at a desk in front of a door.
The tour guide gestured toward it. “There are two doors between here and the cells. The cells themselves are heavily reinforced by both magical and mundane means.”
“Has anyone broken out of here?” someone asked.
“Of maximum security specifically?”
The recruit nodded.
The guide cleared his throat. “There have been over six hundred escape attempts from maximum security since the prison was built. Only two were successful.”
Those were not good odds. Although Dylan really shouldn’t be thinking as if he’d end up here. Once he became a warden, he’d be sending people to this prison.
“Due to safety restrictions, we won’t be going into the actual cellblock, but we wanted to show you the outer area at least.” The tour guide described some of the security measures that kept the highest-risk prisoners locked up. Each cell had wards tailored to the type of magic the prisoner used, and the protections were checked and refreshed on a regular basis.
The most dangerous times were when the inmates were taken out: for exercise, showers, to have their cells cleaned. That was when many of the escape attempts were made.
As the guide went on, Dylan couldn’t help thinking of how he would get out if he got locked up down here. Five floors underground. He’d be lucky if he got an hour of fresh air a day. With the wardens understaffed, the maximum-security inmates were only being let out for exercise once a week.
“We’ll be out of here soon,” Aiden whispered. His friend didn’t look happy to be down here either.
Dylan nodded, wishing the tour guide would shut up so they could leave.
A blaring alarm almost made Dylan jump out of his skin. The recruits instinctively covered their ears. A robotic female voice repeated, “Security breach. Security breach.”
Nichols pulled her gun. So did the guard behind the desk and the warden acting as their tour guide.
The guard’s radio crackled. “Multiple people attacking the front gate. We need every available warden on the main floor.” The guard’s eyes widened. After a pause, the voice went on. “They’ve taken out one of the guard towers and blown open the gate. They’re charging the building. We need everyone here now—” The voice cut off with a burst of static.
“Stay with them. I’m going up to help,” the tour guide said.
Nichols looked like she was going to argue, but she glanced around at their group and nodded.
“Who’s attacking?” someone asked.
That’s what Dylan wanted to know. Who would break into a prison? Unless they were trying to break someone out?
“Oh God.” Aiden’s voice shook.
“Everyone, just stay calm,” Nichols said. “We’re in the most secure section of the building, so we’ll just sit tight until the other wardens get this under control.”
The tour guide got into the elevator, lips pressing tight just before the doors closed.
“They’re inside. Several guards are down.” It was hard to tell, but it sounded like a different voice on the radio now.
“No reception.” Aiden had his phone out, staring at it helplessly. Of course they wouldn’t get a signal this far down.
A third voice, high and panicked: “They have several dark fae with them. They’re ripping through the wards like they’re nothing. We need everyone over here now!”
Dylan’s stomach dropped. Aiden looked at him with wide, terrified eyes. His friend’s heart pounded. Everyone’s heart was pounding, and the smell of fear filled the hall.
Morgan, or at least his buddies. It seemed the fae hadn’t been lying when he said he planned to kill all the wardens. Lucky him, the extremists had already done much of the work for him.
A few years ago Dylan would have been eager to rush into the fight, but facing opponents that overpowered him had taught him to be wary. One dark fae had almost killed him and Aiden, and there were several out there now.
“Is Mor—” Aiden caught himself. “Are they coming to get us?”
Dylan remembered what the dark fae they’d killed had said: “Others will come.”
Had he meant come to Shadow Valley, or specifically to get Dylan and Aiden?
“They’re coming to get whoever is down here,” one of the recruits said.
Which made sense. If Morgan was after Dylan or Aiden, why not wait until they were out in the open?
“Damn it, you’re right.” Nichols turned to the guard. “Open the doors. We should get the recruits into one of the empty cells and hope the dark fae don’t notice—”
The elevator dinged.
The doors slid open. A face Dylan still saw in his nightmares grinned at them.
“Ah, a welcoming committee,” Morgan said.