“A nice thought,” I said, “but the King of the Dead will be on the lookout for spies. He rarely opens his Court, so I’m pretty sure he’ll see right through my act. Besides, how am I supposed to get from here all the way to the Court of the Dead in time for these trials?”
“Slight problem,” Miles said. “The trials already started this morning. You’re late.”
I swore. “Then why bother mentioning it?”
“Latecomers aren’t disqualified,” he said. “As for getting to the Court of the Dead, that’s the tricky part. His castle is designed to keep out everyone, even spirit mages. There’s a single node inside the castle for the Death King’s own personal use. All other nodes are out of range.”
“So?” Nodes covered the whole Parallel. It made sense that the Death King would have one for his own use, though rumour had it the guy could appear out of thin air without needing any external magic source. Didn’t change the fact that most of us couldn’t astral project miles away, let alone travel through the magic-proofed fences surrounding his territory. “How do you plan to get around that, then?”
“Because I have this.” Shawn held up a gleaming disc engraved with runes. A cantrip. “Custom-made. This transporter will allow you to bypass the node’s defences and get into the Death King’s territory.”
“Without ripping any of my limbs off?” As a rogue fire mage, caution was ranked low on my list of priorities, but that didn’t mean this was a smart idea. I didn’t even know who these guys were, much less trusted them with my safety. I’d never used a custom magical transporter, either. In my experience, experimental magic was a great way to lose an arm.
“If it bothers you, I’ll go with you,” Miles said in what sounded like it was supposed to be a soothing tone. “The transporter won’t hurt you.”
I bristled. “Yeah, no thanks. I’m going to find Tay, and I’ll thank you not to get in my way this time.”
I sidestepped Miles and the others, heading through the alley. Hell if I knew where I’d be able to lie low, but anything had to be better than risking my life on behalf of those mages.
The image of the transporter appeared in my mind’s eye. The thing must have cost a fortune. Anyone with those resources at their disposal must have others. Including, perhaps, spells for finding a missing person.
Shawn sighed behind my back. “Told you she wouldn’t go for it.”
“What did you expect?” said Shelley. “She worked for Striker.”
I spun around. “And just what is that supposed to mean?”
“People like Striker are known for hiring the desperate,” she went on. “People who wouldn’t take a hand offered to them if they were hanging from a cliff.”
Miles cleared his throat. “Not helping, Shelley.”
“You aren’t offering me a hand, you’re offering me a cage of velociraptors,” I said.
Miles grinned. “Or vampire chickens.”
“I might be inclined to take you up on your offer if you can sort out the shitfest you left behind,” I said. “Besides, you don’t know anything about me.”
“I know you served time in the House of Fire,” said Miles. “Your friend has a similar history… and there’s only one outcome if they catch you.”
Two, actually. Spending the rest of my life in the House of Fire’s jail was the least unpleasant of the two possible options. The second was much worse. It involved my family, and if they had Tay… both of us were utterly screwed.
“There’s only one outcome if the Death King catches me, too,” I said. “Doesn’t he rip out the souls of anyone who pisses him off and conscript them into his undead lich army?”
“Well… yes,” Miles admitted. “But you won’t get caught. If you’ve gone this long without anyone figuring out who you are, you must have some serious stealth skills.”
Not really. It wasn’t hard to burn bridges if you were a fire mage. “Not sure I’d say that.”
The sound of raised voices came from a neighbouring street. The police were back.
“Bugger.” I ran around the corner, pursued by the three spirit mages. “You know, I could turn the three of you in if you don’t agree to fix this mess.”
“Shit, she has a point,” said Shawn. “Go on, give her the transporter. It’s up to her whether to use it to get to the Court of the Dead or not.”
“Does it even work?” I swore under my breath, hearing the thunder of footsteps drawing closer.
Miles pressed the disc-shaped transporter into my hand. “It does, but you need to be standing on top of a node in order to use it.”
A node gleamed around the corner—at this point, my only way out. Maybe seeking refuge with the King of the Dead wasn’t such a bad idea after all. I was already on the run, and I didn’t have to commit to participating in this contest of his. All I had to do was gather allies, keep an eye out for Tay, and lie low in a place where my family would never find me. And if I actually did get the position of the Death King’s official Fire Element, I’d have an army of liches at my back.
If Tay survived that long.
My hands clenched. If the enemy hadn’t taken her for her own sake—and I doubted they had, because I was the real prize—they wanted to lure me in.
I’d give them what they wanted… and come with an army.
I met Miles’s eyes. “If you’re up for bargaining with me, then I don’t come cheap.”
Relief flared in his expression. “My side of the bargain? Go and compete in the trials. You can win, or you can deliberately lose at the last minute, it’s all the same to me. Just keep an eye out and report back to me. What did you want in return?”
“Tay,” I said. “If you know where she is and how to get her out, I want to know as soon as you do. If not, then help me find her. That’s my condition.”
“I don’t know where she is,” he said. “I would have told you if I did. I’ll do my best to track her down.”
“Miles,” warned Shawn. “They’re close.”
“Another thing,” I added. “I also want a guarantee that if anyone—Striker, the House of Fire, or anyone else—wants to know where I am, you won’t give me away to them.”
“Done.” Miles stepped in behind me. “Shawn, Shelley, can you cause a diversion somewhere? I’ll get her to the node.”
I opened my mouth to argue, but the footsteps grew louder by the second. As the other two spirit mages hurried off, Miles and I approached the unbroken current of streaming energy, like sunlight spilling from an open door. I held out the transporter spell, eyeing the gleaming switch on the side. “And you’re sure this won’t blow my head off?”
“Ninety-nine percent.”
Hmm.
Rule Two for living in the Parallel: do whatever is necessary to survive.
I stepped into the node’s path. Then I flicked the switch on the transporter and pictured the Death King’s castle in my mind’s eye. I’d only seen it once before, but it was enough.
The world faded in a flash of blinding whiteness.
3
Pain splintered my limbs, ripples of agony spreading up my arms and legs and all over my body as though I’d trodden on an open plug socket. Light bloomed around me, then faded, and I landed in a muddy field.
“Ow!” I dropped to my knees, reeling. “Elements, that hurt.”
“Nice going.” Miles hovered behind me. He’d left his body behind, sparing himself the pain of the transporter. “You’re in.”
Water soaked my knees. I looked up through the node’s glowing light to see swampland extending around me. A blocky building a few metres away hid me from sight, while the towering shape of the Death King’s castle overlooked the swamplands, dark bricks standing out against the overcast sky. Bleak as hell, but less so than my future if I didn’t get to the other contenders without anyone spotting me… living or dead.
A chill breeze swept through the swamp, bringing the sound of dozens of voices interspersed with the faint crackle of flames. Or rather, fire ma
gic. I might have made it in, but my next task would be to compete against dozens of highly trained fire mages for a position at the side of the King of the Dead’s side—aka the most feared entity in the Parallel by a long mile.
Definitely having second thoughts, I crept from one bush to the next, following the sound of shouting. Earthen walls enclosed an arena at the foot of a set of stone stairs leading to the castle itself. Around the arena, the ground was totally exposed aside from a few bushes which had seen better days and scrawny trees which wouldn’t hide my presence from any onlookers.
The other three Elemental Soldiers stood at intervals around the arena. So that’s them. Each wore armoured clothing along with a cloak embossed with the Death King’s symbol—a skull surrounded by the symbols of fire, earth, water and air. Not the fifth element, spirit. Even here, it seemed the other mages had hard feelings about old events.
The Air Element in particular looked quite capable of tossing someone through a window without the use of air magic, with broad shoulders and hair shaved to stubble. The Water Element, tall and dark-skinned with long curly hair and a blue-lined cape, looked almost as impressive. The Earth Element, skinny and Asian, looked the weakest of the three, but only earth magic could have created the arena itself.
That’s when I noticed the other guards, dark shapes drifting around the swampland. Liches. Undead, invincible and faceless, they were as tall as humans but less substantial than an astral projecting spirit mage. Chills raced down my spine at the proximity of their lethal magic, capable of severing someone’s soul with a touch. They’d definitely see me if I appeared now. I remained absolutely still, waiting for my moment and seriously regretting hiding myself in the bushes. The transporter was still clenched in my hand. After a moment’s pause, I carefully slid open the stone attached to my pendant and slipped the disc inside it. Better to keep it hidden and safe in case I needed it again in the future.
I prepared to straighten upright as the liches passed out of sight, but a fourth person stepped in and joined the other three. Human, not a lich, with shoulder-length brown hair, pale skin, and a similar uniform to the Elemental Soldiers. One of the Death King’s soldiers, perhaps, but not a contender. She must be a mage, to be allowed in here, but she wore no obvious signs which indicated her magic type.
Her gaze passed over my hiding spot and landed on the node. Was Miles still there? I couldn’t see, and I didn’t dare move in case she spotted me. Worse, she was walking this way. Fast. She reached the node, and a torrent of energy erupted into her face. I ducked my head as she flew backwards, skidding through the swampy mud. A second hit knocked her onto her back. Serve her right for sticking her nose where it didn’t belong, if you asked me.
Unfortunately, the blast of light had drawn the liches’ attention. They swarmed closer, a mass of shadows shaped like people, and the one at the centre turned my blood to ice.
The Death King.
He couldn’t be anyone else. Despite wearing the same shadowy guise as the other liches, armoured clothing covered his body, a black cloak across his shoulders. An equally dark mask filled the gap where his face should be. More than his forbidding appearance, though, was the pure hostility which radiated from him as he surveyed the node in search of the intruder.
The woman climbed to her feet. “Hang on. Don’t you want to find out who it is before you kill them?”
“There’s no need. The attacker has gone.”
Well, that’s something. Miles had scarpered, and I was stuck in the bushes in hostile territory, trying hard not to breathe. My legs cramped, my back ached, and my feet and legs were soaked with swamp water. I hoped the arena was water-free, or else I’d be hard-pressed to access my fire magic. That would put a dampener on my plan. Ha, ha.
“Who was that?” asked the woman. “Was it a lich?”
“No,” said the Death King. “It was a spirit mage.”
Miles was nowhere to be seen. Worse, it seemed that the Spirit Agents had not asked the Death King’s permission before sending me to spy on their behalf.
My one consolation? Dying here would be marginally better than being beaten to death by Striker’s bodyguards or handed back over to the House of Fire.
A cold breeze ruffled the bushes, and a new group of transparent creatures appeared nearby. Phantoms. The liches’ less intelligent cousins. Bloody hell.
The phantoms drifted past my hiding spot, approaching the arena. Behind the earthen wall, someone screamed. Go on, I thought at the woman. Move away from the bushes so I can get out of here.
As bursts of flame rose from behind the arena’s low earthen walls, the woman and the Death King walked in that direction. The knot in my chest loosened a fraction. Not that I was particularly keen to walk into the arena while everyone was being attacked by phantoms, but they provided a handy distraction to hide my entrance. The Death King swept up the stairs towards the castle, approached the oak doors, and then vanished within.
As I prepared to leave my hiding spot, the woman turned, her eyes narrowed. Then, as the wind rustled in the leaves, she raised a palm, blasting energy into the bush that sent me flying a good five feet backwards. I skidded into a crouch in the mud. She’s a spirit mage?
I met her gaze with as much defiance as I could muster, my heart sinking in my chest.
“Who are you?” she demanded.
“Whoa,” I said. “I just got here. What’s the problem?”
“Someone tried to assassinate the Death King,” said the woman. “You don’t happen to know anything about that, do you?”
“No, I told you.” Did she mean Miles? Was that really what she thought was going on? “I’m here for the contest.”
“Is that why you’re avoiding the arena?” she said. “Paying a visit to someone in jail, were you?”
“No, I overslept and I was running late.” She had nothing on me whatsoever. We were miles from Elysium, and nobody would know about the vampire chickens here. It seemed the large blocky building which hid the node from view must be the Death King’s jail, which might be useful to remember later. “I’m not breaking any rules.”
“We’ll see what the Elemental Soldiers have to say to that,” she said. “Are you even a fire mage?”
In answer, I conjured up a flame between my palms. At least I didn’t have to lie about that part.
“Broken rules or not, you clearly have a death wish,” she told me.
“I wouldn’t be applying to work here if I was afraid of death.” I followed her gaze to the arena as I climbed to my feet. “That’s where the action is, right?”
“Yes, but you’re too late,” she said. “You can’t just walk into the middle of—”
I did exactly that, cutting her off mid-sentence and heading to the arena. Nobody had mentioned the Death King hired spirit mages, but I wasn’t about to let her hand me over to the guards. Not when I’d been through so much trouble to get myself in here. If I didn’t play along with the contest, I was dead.
The woman spoke to the Air Element, who then addressed the other Elemental Soldiers. “Claims she’s here for the contest, but she was hiding over there.”
“Hiding, was she?” said the Earth Element. “Kick her out.”
“There’s no rule against latecomers being allowed in,” responded the Water Element. “She’s a fire mage, and we’ve already expelled more contenders than we’d expected to at this stage.”
“How’d you get in?” asked the Air Element.
“I walked.”
The Earth Element scowled. “Thinks she’s funny, this one does.”
“She has a name,” I said. “It’s Bria. I was running late. Can you give me the chance to prove myself? If I don’t get through the first day, I’ll be going home anyway.”
“She has a point,” said the Water Element. “Let her give it a try. She’s not the first to show up late.”
“But she’ll be the last,” said the Air Element in decisive tones.
A phantom drifted past, beari
ng down on a younger contender who looked barely out of his teens. Fire licked my palms and I shot a handful of flames at the phantom. It recoiled, hissing, its scrawny form flailing in mid-air.
“Good shot,” said the Water Element. “Go on, Ryan, let her in. If she makes it to the end of the day, we can have a vote on it then.”
I grinned. I was in. “Where do I leave my bag?”
“Right here.” The Water Element indicated the ground beside her, and I dropped the bag there. “Also, take off that pendant. It might get damaged.”
Damn. I casually looped the pendant around my neck, trying not to show my unease at the idea of leaving it behind. While its effects would remain active on me even if I wasn’t touching it, it also held the transporter spell, my only way out of here.
I tucked the pendant into the inner pocket of my rucksack and entered the arena through the gap in the earthen walls. Inside, phantoms surrounded the terrified contenders. Wisps of smoke formed semi-transparent creatures with grasping, shadowy hands, and several drifted my way when they noticed my presence.
I conjured a flame to each hand. “Come on, then.”
The phantoms hissed and recoiled from the flames, allowing me to make my way forward. I’d dealt with phantoms on a regular basis back home, but some of the contenders had plainly never seen them before. One girl curled up in a ball in the arena’s corner, whimpering. A heavyset guy with a mullet shoved another contender into the nearest phantom’s path.
“Hey, cut that out!” I headed his way, flames leaping from my palms. “Use your fire. It’s not rocket science.”
Flames flickered among the contenders, and gradually, the phantoms retreated, leaving us singed and bedraggled. At least the heat had dried the swamp water off my clothes.
The heavyset guy from earlier eyed me suspiciously. “You’re new.”
“As of about five minutes ago,” I said. “I was running late. I’m Bria.”
Cage of Fire (Parallel Magic Book 1) Page 3
