The Red Scrolls of Magic by Clare Cassandra & Chu Wesley
Author:Clare, Cassandra & Chu, Wesley [Clare, Cassandra & Chu, Wesley]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fantasy, Young Adult, Romance, Paranormal
ISBN: 9781481495103
Goodreads: 40539902
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Published: 2019-04-09T07:00:00+00:00
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
* * *
The Red Scrolls of Magic
MAGNUSâS MEMORY WAS CORRECT. A stone staircase descended into darkness in the alley behind the ruined palazzo. Alec kindled a witchlight runestone as they reached the heavy wooden door at the bottom of the steps. Shinyun caused a beam of light to shine from her index finger, which she pointed around like a flashlight.
Inside the door (unlocked by Alec with an Open rune), damp packed-earth walls held empty barrels and ancient rags, nothing more exciting. They turned a corner, then another and another, and then came upon a much nicer door, smooth and polished, with an image of a winged lion carved into it.
Once through the door, Magnus and Shinyun exclaimed in excitement, but Alec sighed in disappointment. âIâve been here,â he said. âI remember this little statue of Bacchus.â
Magnus regarded it. âFor the god of wine and revelry,â he said, âI always thought Bacchus was dressed much too plainly in his statues.â
Shinyun was poking at the walls of the chamber, looking for a secret panel or catch. Magnus was drawn to the statue on its plinth.
âI always thought,â he continued slowly, âthat if it had been up to me, the statues of the gods would dress a little more . . . fun.â
As he finished the sentence, he reached out to touch the statue of Bacchus. Blue sparks flew from his fingers, and color and texture began to appear along the togaâs folds, his magic sifting away the plain white stone as though the marble had been dust that now fell away to reveal the more vivid, decorated statue underneath.
With a grinding noise, the section of wall beside the statue slid open to reveal a narrow staircase.
âA colorful solution,â said Shinyun. âGood work.â She sounded amused. Alec, however, was giving Magnus a strange, thoughtful look.
Magnus started down the stairs, Alec following just behind. Magnus almost wished that he was not there. He could not conquer his dread of what they might find, and what Alec might think of him when they did. The Bacchus statue had been a jokeâone that no longer struck him as in the least bit funny.
The staircase leveled out into a long stone corridor that ended in darkness. âHow is this all not underwater?â said Alec. âWeâre in Venice.â
âOne of the cultâs warlocks must have put up barriers against water coming in,â Magnus said. âLike Mori Shu.â Or me, he did not add.
At the end the corridor suddenly opened up to a large, high-ceilinged chamber that had been built for storage or cellaring food. Alec waved his witchlight around, revealing rows of unlit candles all over the room.
âWell, thatâs easy enough,â said Magnus, and with a snap of his fingers all the candles kindled, bringing bright warm light into the room.
This was definitely a former cellar. On the far end was a shoddy, rickety altar that cavemen might have erected to worship a fire god. Two wooden columns flanked a large stone block cut into a perfect cube on a raised platform.
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