"Yeah," he said blankly. "He's an asshole."
"I promise to behave. I'm worried about my sister."
He nodded absently. "Of course you are. I wish I had a sister. I'm sure it must be nice."
Sunil pulled out a length of chalk, crumbled it to pieces, and sprinkled it over the gummy material that was turning her fingers purple. The springy stuff grew rigid. She tensed her hands and it turned to powder, releasing her hands.
With her enhanced hearing, she knew that Angela and the other Protectors were entering the parking garage.
Sunil was staring at her strangely, as if he couldn't understand why he'd released her hands. Before he could immobilize them again, Pi scooped up a pinch of chalk and flicked it at him. The puff of dust flew into his mouth and down his throat. She twisted her hand and Sunil seized up, arching forward as if he wanted to puke but couldn't muster enough fluid. His fingers clawed at his throat.
Pi broke the wire and ran to her sister. The blood pooled around her head was larger than she first thought. The head wound was bleeding profusely. Pi used a quick spell to stop it, before lifting Aurie up and throwing her on her shoulder.
Angela and the other Protectors were making their way through the tarps. There wasn't much time left.
Sunil was bright purple. His eyes pleaded with her to release the spell. Spittle formed at his lips as he beat against his neck, trying to dislodge the chalk that she'd cemented inside his throat.
"You fucked with my sister."
Before she left, Pi pocketed Sunil's cell phone.
A force bolt whizzed by her shoulder the moment the tarp was pulled down. Pi ran through the lower level with Aurie bouncing on her shoulder. The potion was wearing off, straining Pi's thighs.
She leapt over an orange plastic fence, landing on the sidewalk outside the parking garage. The crenellations of the Tower of Letters on the south side of Arcanium peaked above the windowed office building, giving her a rough idea of her location. She only had a block and a half to make it.
Pi ran full out, dodging across the street between speeding cars to avoid the force bolts. A Chevy got drilled in the rear, spinning it into the opposite lane, causing a pile up.
This didn't slow down the Protectors, who had earlier abandoned their runed armor, and were chasing unaided. But Pi's potion was nearly spent and Aurie's unconscious body was like hauling a sack of wet concrete up a ladder.
The last half block, her legs turned to mush. Aurie's weight grew on her shoulder. The Protectors had almost caught up. They weren't even trying to blast her with a force bolt. The magic-dampening manacles dangled from Angela's fist, bouncing along her side as she ran.
The drawbridge into Arcanium was another half a block up the street. The Protectors had her cut off.
So Pi did the only thing she could do. She leapt into the moat. The fall was brief. Water shot up her nose. Aurie slipped off her shoulder.
Pi grabbed her sister by the hair, dragged her to the side, clung to the mossy rocks, and was able to pull Aurie far enough out of the water that her mouth was clear. The Protectors stood above her on the sidewalk, but none dared to descend into the water. The tentacled creature that lived in Semyon's pool beneath the waterfall had access to the moat, and though no one had ever seen it, she was comfortable that it wouldn't hurt her. That was the hope, anyway.
After catching her breath, Pi edged along the wall towards the drawbridge where there was a set of stairs on the Arcanium side. She was bone-tired by the time she made it. Deshawn and Isabella were waiting for her, and they helped drag her sister onto the landing.
"We were so worry about you," said Isabella in her thick Latin accent.
With water dripping into her eyes, Pi healed her sister, who woke to coughing. Her eyes were red.
"I've got you, sis," said Pi, gasping.
She collapsed onto her side, muscles quivering, cramps forming with the potion having run its course.
"What happened?" asked Aurie, putting a hand to her head as she grimaced.
"An ambush," said Pi, kneading her legs. "Nearly got me too."
They helped Aurie to her feet. She had to be held up, and Pi let Deshawn and Isabella do the honors, since her limbs were old spaghetti.
"Leaving Arcanium was a bad idea," said Deshawn, shaking his head.
"Sorry, guys. I wasn't expecting that," said Pi, then remembered that she'd jumped into the moat with her phone in her pocket. "Shit."
"What?" asked Deshawn.
"Nothing. Just thought I might have gotten some answers," said Pi.
Isabella said, "You should go rest, Pythia. We'll take your sister to Professor Mali."
Aurie groaned. "If I don't throw up first."
"Hey Pi," said Deshawn, looking over his shoulder as he helped Aurie down the hallway.
"Yeah?"
"You against four fully runed Protectors? That was legend," he said, grin stretched to his ears.
A well of pride filled her. "I guess it was, but it would have been better if nobody'd gotten hurt."
Pi lay on the wet concrete until her legs could be convinced to stand. She was a wobbly foal, and she had to lean on the wall to make it up the stairs, which for all intents and purposes were torture devices.
Back in her room, she took the soaked cell phone out and set it on the dresser for later. Then she grabbed her shower kit so she could wash off the moat water, but had to stop every two steps and let her legs shake uncontrollably. She'd pushed them past their limits, and as inviting as the bed was, she wanted a shower.
"Merlin's tits."
She dug through her cabinet for the remainder of the chalky liquid and gulped it down. The shakes continued their tremors until the potion took hold and her aches disappeared like smoke.
In the shower, the extent of what had happened hit her fully. She'd nearly gotten her friends, and her sister, killed. They had no business being out without magic to protect them. Before, Aurie would have whipped Sunil like butter cream, but now she was worse off than before she joined the Halls. At least before, if she used her magic too freely, the only danger was her own madness. Now, Aurie could kill herself and everyone else in Arcanium if she used it.
It'd been difficult to see Aurie like that. Unconscious. Helpless. She'd always been the older sister, watching out for her. Aurie had always been the more powerful mage with an access to faez that rivaled a patron's.
As the steaming water bounced off Pi's shoulders, she vowed that she wouldn't put her sister or her friends in any more danger. In fact, she'd find a way to get back at the Protectors, make them pay for what they'd done.
Hair dripping against her face with a thick towel wrapped around her midsection, Pi crawled onto her bed, thoughts turning to the battle with the Protectors. That earlier pride came surging upward, making her giddy.
Deshawn had called her battle legendary. She had to agree. And not only that, she felt like she'd barely tapped the potential of what those soul fragments could do for her. The next time she met the Cabal on the streets, she'd be more prepared. They wouldn't know what hit them.
Chapter Two
The waterfall beneath Arcanium thundered against the pool, mist forming on the surface of the water. Aurie strode across the invisible path, boots kicking up spray, barely paying attention to where her feet landed as she worked through the arguments she'd practiced in her head.
The door to Semyon's quarters was open. Aurie bypassed his office, glancing at his bookshelves. There was a little guilt, too, since she'd pilfered information from his books a few years ago, but that evaporated the moment she entered the room he was convalescing in.
She'd never imagined her fourth year would begin like this, with her patron unconscious and soul-torn. This was supposed to be a year of celebration as an upperclassman. She hadn't even ridden a gondola yet, and classes had started a week ago. Not that that meant much in Arcanium. Their classes were a farce. It felt like they were doing charades rather than magic, and the hall library was c
onstantly filled because the professors were assigning loads of research rather than practical practice.
Semyon's private sitting room smelled like rich coffee dosed with vanilla. It was a circular room with thick carpet that made her feel like she was treading on a sea of marshmallows. A hospital bed had been set up in the center of the room, and Semyon was stretched upon it, stiff with a hollowed-out expression. Wires disappeared into black boxes that beeped faintly as if they were far away. Semyon was alive, but not alive. His skin looked wooden, and Aurie could only imagine that if she held a mirror before his lips a fog would not stir. He was in a sort of suspended animation like a computer waiting for the program to download.
Professor Mali fidgeted from her wheelchair, thumb rubbing the palm of her hand as she worried over their patron. When she wasn't in class, she was down here. He was never left alone, and while there were plenty of people willing to watch him, Professor Mali took the largest share.
"Professor."
Dark eyes flitted up to Aurie, as if she hadn't noticed that she'd entered the room. The professor's steel gray hair was lined with white streaks, and her gaze was haunted by the demands of her position.
"Aurelia. You didn't have to come. I'm perfectly fine watching him tonight."
"I didn't come to take a turn."
The professor studied Aurie's face. She couldn't hide the seriousness of her intentions, and Mali frowned as if she knew she wouldn't like the impending discussion.
"How are you feeling?" asked the professor, clearly trying to delay the inevitable.
"The attack was weeks ago," said Aurie. "I'm fine."
Her lips drew a thin line, motherly, dismissive. "I know you're physically well, I watched as the healer mended you. I mean your state of self. That Protector took you down hard, and that can be damaging, especially under our current situation."
"It's not the first time I've been that vulnerable," said Aurie.
The professor flinched. She'd told the professor most of what had happened last year, especially the parts with Bannon and what they'd endured in Protector HQ.
Aurie stood across the bed from the professor, putting her hand near Semyon's leg, but not daring to touch him.
"Is he getting better?"
Professor Mali tightened, as if her spring had been turned again. "If he is, he's competing with the passage of the seasons or the rising of the seas for slowness. He needs time to heal—we just don't know how much."
"We need to do something," said Aurie. "We can't hide in Arcanium forever. Some of the younger students have been sneaking out. Eventually someone's going to get caught, and they'll trick them into using magic."
"If you're worried about yourself, I think you're strong enough, should that happen," said the professor.
"I'm not worried about me. If they break Semyon, many of my friends will die or go mad."
The professor banged her fist against her leg. "Don't you think I know that?" She looked away, embarrassed by her loss of control. "We'll have to double our guards, keep the younger ones from leaving. I thought after you got attacked they'd stop asking."
"We're young, we believe we're invincible. I'm sure you did once."
It was a low blow. The professor glared back at Aurie. She took a deep breath.
"Have you thought about—"
"No," said the professor. "I will not, cannot. Semyon is our patron. I cannot replace him."
"Then many will die," said Aurie.
"Breaking the links and transferring them to me would kill him. I cannot abide that."
"You don't know that it'd kill him," said Aurie. "You're saying that so you don't have to consider it, and I wouldn't ask if I thought that would happen. There are plenty of examples of patrons transferring their charges."
The professor responded as if each word was a blunt jab. "Not this large of a hall, nor one of the original five patrons. If I were one of the first five, sure, I could do it. But I've only been a mage for thirty years. In the big scheme of things, I'm a pup. We don't know, Aurelia. It's all conjecture at this point."
"Of course, there's a chance it could go wrong," said Aurie. "But it's better than what might happen. Arcanium is scared. I don't think anyone sleeps anymore. I don't want to lose my friends. They're my family now. I don't have anyone else."
Mali tried to soften her expression. Under different circumstances it would have been comical as her facial muscles seemed to resist the desire to be relaxed.
Eventually, she gave up with an exasperated sigh. "I'm not even sure the Hall charter would allow it."
"It doesn't specifically deny the possibility, and legal documents must be explicit in the rights they grant," said Aurie.
"You should have been an arcane legal scholar."
"I had to be one last year," said Aurie.
Mali winced. "I'm sorry. I forget your experiences in the Hundred Halls have been rather abnormal. Have you no desire to live a normal life?"
"Do you?"
"No."
Aurie shrugged. "Me neither."
"I'm sorry, Aurelia. No matter what your argument is, I'm not taking over Arcanium."
"What about one of the other professors?" she asked.
"None of them are strong enough either. Maybe Professor Chopra, he's been here longer than anyone, but he would never do it. He's a firm believer in the rules, almost to the point of fault. He wouldn't be able to handle it anyway."
Aurie paused, gathering herself. She hadn't expected the professor to agree. She'd only pressured her so she might allow what Aurie really wanted to do.
"What about other options?" asked Aurie cautiously.
The corners of Mali's eyes crinkled with suspicion. "What other options?"
"You said it before," said Aurie. "He needs time to heal. What if we could give him more time? Or more appropriately, speed up the passage of his time?"
Understanding grew on the professor's face, until she realized what Aurie was asking, then her expression closed like a door. "Absolutely not. I'm not even sure how you—never mind, it doesn't matter how you learned about it, but no, and no way."
"The Engine of Temporal Manipulation could be the solution to our problem."
Professor Mali barked back. "It might be a solution to this problem, but the new problems it would create would dwarf the current predicament. And even so, I would not ask for it, and the guardian would not hand it over, even if Invictus himself returned this morning and asked. There's no use bothering, even if it would work."
"It's worth the risk, both of failure and of being refused. We need to fix Semyon." She glanced down at him, feeling guilty for talking about him while he was suspended in his quasi-death. She wondered if he dreamt, or was even producing memories anymore. "If he dies, it's bigger than Arcanium."
"It's not worth it."
"Without him the Cabal can reform the Hundred Halls with Bannon or Malden at the head. Do you really want that? You might as well give them the title of Emperor of the World if that happens," said Aurie, heart thrashing away in her chest.
The professor looked away. "I am aware."
Frustration filled Aurie until she couldn't take it. "You are? Because it doesn't look like it. It looks to me like you're giving up."
The professor rose up in her wheelchair, thrusting her finger out accusingly. Aurie almost expected a spell to come zinging out.
"I am not giving up. You get the hell out of here. You don't have the right to say those things. Not now, and not ever. Forget about the artifact. Forget about me taking over as patron, and figure out how to keep your fellow students safe. Am I understood?"
Aurie bit back her anger. "Yes, ma'am."
The professor went back to staring at Semyon. Aurie thought about continuing the argument, then realized it was no use. She left through the waterfall, wondering how long it would be until the Cabal raided Arcanium, forcing them to use magic. There'd be no one left in the aftermath.
Chapter Three
A rainstorm h
ad left the city that morning, leaving wet pavement and a musty, industrial smell as the water pushed the oil in the concrete to the surface. Pi's boots clicked along the sidewalk as she made her way to the Church of the Sprawl in the eighth ward.
She'd left her magical leather jacket in her room, along with every other trinket. She wore a black frilly skirt and a Hundred Halls T-shirt, the ones they sold at the university stores. Isabella had one as a lark, and she'd borrowed it as her disguise, along with a bad Elsa wig that she'd dyed black.
Pi had taken three different trains, crisscrossing the city, to lose anyone following her. She'd been sure there were at least two mages when she left Arcanium, a blonde girl she thought was from Coterie and an Asian-American kid who wasn't subtle about his spells when she passed him in the Green Line train station.
The tracking spells had been easy to scrub. And she'd been wearing different clothes when she left Arcanium, ones with minor enchantments on them, to fool her followers into tracking those. She'd left her spell-laden clothes in the bathroom on the Blue Line that circled the city, replacing them with the touristy fashionable ones.
The Church of the Sprawl looked nothing like a church. It was an internet cafe squeezed between a bakery and a coffee shop, which was about the best place possible for all-night gaming binges. She paused before she went in, regretting her choice of disguise. The wig could easily be slipped off, but her hair had gotten sweaty underneath, and once she pulled it away, she'd have to spend the next ten minutes scratching her scalp.
Pi found the guy she was looking for in the back playing an immersive VR shooter. Dustin Davies. He wore a big heavy helmet with wires that went into a black box with lights inside that rotated between red, blue, and green. What he was seeing inside the viewscreen was being displayed on a desk-sized monitor on the wall. He was standing inside a ring to keep him from falling over, and he kept bumping into the sides as he spun around shooting.
As he fired, he screamed things like: "Eat my cock, you chode-monster!" and "Die, casuals!" and "You lame!"
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