The Bronze Key (Magisterium #3)- Holly Black Page 0,23

two at a time.

Call wanted to protest that one of them being awake, taking watch, was unnecessary, but no one was going to listen to him anyway. He got up with a sigh and followed Tamara and Aaron back to their rooms.

Halfway there, though, he straightened up with a jolt. “I know who’d be able to get to those elementals,” Call said. “Warren!”

The little lizard was a fire elemental, after all, and while he couldn’t entirely be trusted, he knew the layout of the Magisterium better than probably anyone or anything else. He’d led them through its labyrinthine corridors before — admittedly, bringing them to the attention of a more powerful and sinister elemental — but still, nothing that bad had happened.

And besides, last year they’d saved Warren’s life. Master Rufus had set up a test of Aaron’s chaos magic in which Aaron had been supposed to send the lizard into the void. Call wasn’t sure what happened to things that got sucked into the void, but he was pretty sure they wouldn’t survive. He’d helped Aaron to do some tricky magic so the lizard could escape. As far as Call was concerned, Warren owed them.

“Come on,” he said, then about-faced in the middle of the hall. “This way.”

The longer the spy was around, the longer his friends were going to hover over him like there was something wrong. He hated it. He didn’t want them to be awake when he was asleep. He didn’t want them in danger. If there was something to be done, he wanted to do it now.

“Where are we going?” Tamara protested as they headed back the way they’d come. “Back to the library?”

The corridor split in half. Call veered to the left. He remembered when he’d first come to the Magisterium how he’d thought he’d never learn the tunnels, the maze-like corridors that ran under and through the mountain. But he had, and now the paths through the upper levels of the Magisterium were as familiar to him as the streets of his hometown.

“Are we going to the river?” Aaron asked in a half whisper. The air of the tunnels was getting damper. They’d passed several of the rooms of other apprentice groups, only darkness showing under the doors. The Magisterium was asleep.

The rivers that ran through the school were its transportation artery. They carried students from classrooms to gates that led outside, to the Refectory and back to their rooms. Small boats moved on the rivers, powered by magic and assisted by water elementals. As Call, Aaron, and Tamara approached the water, the cave air grew colder, and Call could hear the rushing sound of the river.

Aaron and Tamara were muttering about whether Call was dragging them off to take a boat. The corridor opened out onto a pebbled underground beach. Phosphorescent moss clung to the walls and roof, lighting the space. Eyeless fish swam around under the water’s surface.

“Warren!” Call called. “Warren!”

Aaron and Tamara exchanged a look. It was clear they thought Call had lost his mind.

“Maybe he needs sleep,” said Tamara.

“Maybe he needs food,” said Aaron.

“Warren!” Call shouted again. “‘The end is closer than you think!’”

“Lizards don’t come when you call them,” Tamara said. “Let’s get out of here, Call —”

Something scrambled down from the rocky overhang above them. There was a flash of fire, light on scales. Red eyes gleamed in the dimness. What looked like a tiny Komodo dragon with a beard and back ridge made out of fire crawled toward them across the rocks.

“Warren?” said Call.

“He really did come.” Aaron sounded impressed. “Awesome, Call.”

“Sneaking.” Warren looked annoyed. “Sneaking and bothering Warren. What do you want, mage students?”

“We want you to take us to the sleeping elementals. The ones bound by the Magisterium,” Call said.

“Right now?” Tamara demanded, whirling on Call. “I thought we were going to sleep!”

“Yes, sleep. Sneaking too dangerous,” Warren said. “Tunnels too deep.”

“You owe us, Warren,” Call said. “We saved your life. Don’t you remember?”

“I pay you back already,” Warren muttered. “I warn you. Ultima Forsan.”

“That’s not help,” Call said. He knew what Ultima Forsan was: a Latin phrase that had been carved over the Enemy of Death’s resting-place. It meant the end is closer than you think. He just didn’t see how it was a warning in any useful way. “Taking us to the elementals, that would be helpful.”

“Maybe you don’t know how to get there,” Aaron taunted the little lizard. Although he was the one who’d yawned back at the library, now his