Rebel Magisters by Shanna Swendson Page B

Emma,” he said.
    Colin put on his hat and switched on the lamp in the hatband. “If you’ll follow me.” After a final farewell to Lizzie and Alec, we headed into the tunnels with Colin.
    I’d learned my way through the underground passages well enough to get from some entrances to the station, but I wasn’t familiar with the route Colin used. I was fairly certain he was deliberately trying to keep the magisters disoriented. I tried counting my steps and noticing turns, but it did no good. I was hopelessly lost. As a result, I was surprised when Colin opened a door and we arrived in the theater’s basement.
    “Do you think you can find your own way from here?” he asked. “The doors upstairs will lock behind you when you leave.”
    “I’m sure we’ll manage,” Geoffrey said.
    “Well, then, a good evening to you, gentlemen and Verity.” He vanished back into the darkness, the door closing with a clang behind him.
    “So, Verity, you know the way out?” Henry said.
    “Yes, the stairs are through here.” I led them down the corridor toward the stairs. We were halfway up when I thought I heard something above. I froze and gestured for the others to stop.
    There were definitely voices coming from the auditorium, but whose? Had some of the cast or crew stayed behind? Were Mechanics standing watch? I strained my ears, listening until I could make out words.
    “I don’t see anything,” one of the voices said, his accent suggesting he was from England rather than a native of the colonies. “It still just looks like a theater to me.”
    “You know what the captain said. Search the whole place. I personally think he’s got Mechanics on the brain. But we’ve got to be sure.”
    Alarmed, I motioned for the men to go back down the stairs. The voices sounded like they were moving closer. There weren’t many good reasons for us to be in the theater so long after a show had ended, and even if the magisters disclosed their rank to indimidate the soldiers, it wouldn’t explain what I was doing with them.
    If the soldiers searched the whole theater, surely they’d look in the basement, and that meant we were trapped. I wasn’t confident of being able to find our way back through the tunnels. I did know of one other way out that I’d used before. We’d been escaping from what turned out to be a fake raid, but perhaps the escape route was still valid.
    I steered the men into the room near the foot of the stairs where the dynamo once stood. From there, I didn’t have to tell them my plan. Geoffrey dragged over a chair and climbed up to open the window, then pulled himself up and out before turning back and leaning down. Henry helped me climb onto the chair, and Geoffrey caught my hands to pull me up. Once the other two were out, Geoffrey eased the window closed.
    We were in a dark alley behind the theater. “Where do we go from here?” Philip asked.
    I remembered then that Alec had blindfolded me when we’d escaped that way before. I wasn’t entirely sure where to go. But I knew now exactly where we’d been, and an alley had to lead somewhere. I closed my eyes, trying to remember how it had felt, then opened my eyes and pointed. “That way.”
    We hurried down the alley. I had to resist the urge to look back and see if a light showed through the basement windows. I consoled myself with the thought that the searchers didn’t sound like they were being particularly diligent. They were going through the motions, which made it extremely unlikely that they would go so far as to look out the windows to see if anyone had escaped into the alley.
    When we saw a street ahead, I allowed myself a slight sigh of relief. I wasn’t entirely sure if it was the same street where Alec and I had gone, but I was sure we could figure out where we were easily enough. Henry motioned for us to wait in the alley while he checked out the street. After barely a second, he ducked quickly back into the alley and moved his hand in a