“Um,” I said.
“Blood…and Ruin,” Considine slowly repeated.
The oracle let us go and backed up, wiping her tears off on the palms of her hands. “Yes. Blood,” she pointed to me. “And Ruin,” she moved her finger to point at Considine.
Considine and I blinked at each other.
It took only two seconds before Considine swapped to a confident and smug smirk. “See, I knew we were the perfect partners.”
I turned back to the oracle, scanning her for any injuries. She didn’t have anything visible, and she didn’t seem to be holding herself in a way that suggested she was in pain. However, staring at her head-on, I realized how I knew her. “Iris Delphini?”
The oracle exhaled. “Yes.”
“The missing human the police are looking for?” Considine murmured to me.
I gave him a small nod, but focused on Iris. “We’re going to get you out of here, but I’m afraid we’ll have to fight our way out.”
“That’s fine. I know you two are capable.” Iris stared hard at my hand.
Does she want me to offer it?
I knew friends sometimes patted each other’s hands or squeezed them. Maybe she needed reassurance.
I slowly held out my hand.
She immediately took it with both hands. Her hold on me secured, I could feel she was trembling, and my fury threatened to overtake me again.
I was distracted, however, by a tremendous thud.
The entire house shook—the lights shook and dust fell from the floor beams overhead. The cement floor rumbled beneath my feet—it felt like the ground was moving.
Considine moved to stabilize me, his hands on my arms. “What—”
I watched, open-mouthed, as some of the cinderblocks folded away, revealing a storm door made of tempered glass.
We could see through the door, to the outside, where a set of stone stairs led out to the House’s front lawn.
“That door has never been there,” I said, confident in this knowledge.
“Don’t question the House’s decision, just be grateful.” Considine crossed the basement in a few steep steps and opened the door—it wasn’t even locked.
He went up the stairs first, blinking in the light of dawn.
I helped Iris—holding her hand for reassurance.
She clutched her sleeping bag to her, and exhaled her relief when we stepped out into the cold morning air.
Some snow covered the stairway, so I hovered protectively at her elbow as she climbed the stairs, relaxing only when her feet touched the snow-covered lawn.
Sarge and Captain Reese stood straighter at their spots on the front sidewalk—I could tell they saw us walk along the side of the House, but they were refraining from drawing attention to us.
“Wizards of House Tellier,” Captain Reese cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted—likely in a bid to distract any wizards from noticing us. “This is your last warning. If you do not exit your House, we will breach the premises!”
“Are you okay?” I asked Iris—she had her eyes closed and her face pointed toward the weak morning sun.
“I’m fine,” she breathed. “Everything is going to be fine, now.”
“Submit now,” Sarge shouted—taking his turn to try to distract the wizards. “Or your House will face steeper consequences.”
