Once a gap in the crowd appeared, I wove through the liches and out of the gates into the swampland. There, I released a breath, scanning the area for any signs of Harper. If it turned out Sledge hadn’t screwed up the signal, he’d be pissed off at me for ditching him, but it was that or end up in a cell of my own.
The Death King and the vampire lord continued to argue at a high volume as I trod through the swamp—where, to my intense relief, I saw Miles hovering near the node. I quickened my pace and turned off the invisibility cantrip when I was close enough to the node not to be spotted by any of the Death King’s people. “Miles? What in hell are you doing here? Where’s Shawn?”
“With any luck, hiding.” He grinned. “Like my diversion?”
“Your what?” Then it hit me. “You called the vampires?”
“Well, yes,” he said. “I figured the one thing that would draw him out of his castle would be the arrival of his biggest rival. Even Shawn can’t take on the vampires and the Death King and his entire lich army at once.”
“Right.” The Death King and the vampires were not friends. “Were you aware that they wanted to arrest Liv for some reason? Also, she thinks I’m the villain, I might add. Things kinda went wrong in there.”
“You’re telling me,” he said. “I never got your signal.”
“That’s because Liv captured Mav and booted her and Harper out of the contest.” I looked around the swampland again. “Have you seen them?”
“Not yet.” He tensed, glancing at the node behind him. “I’ll take care of Liv, too. I don’t know her personally, but I figure she isn’t the villain here.”
“Except where the vampires are concerned.” I turned on the invisibility cantrip again as the node lit up behind him.
“That’s the signal,” he breathed. “The others are coming. We’ll take Liv. You find your friend, and if Shawn shows up…”
“I’ll shove him into the line of fire.” I doubted he’d show his face at this point, though. Ordinarily, I might have been annoyed with Miles for going off script and bringing a group of vampires along with him, but it was more Sledge’s fault than anything for screwing up the signal.
The node ignited and Miles’s friend Shelley appeared, followed by several of his other fellow Spirit Agents. Hoping their presence would distract the liches who weren’t wrapped up in watching the vampires’ argument with their master, I moved across the swamp, looking for Harper. She can’t have gone far, surely.
As I did so, the liches’ attention turned towards the node, and Liv’s brows rose at the sight of the new arrivals.
“I’m not sure I like the idea of your justice,” she told the vampire. “You’re working with a group of murderers and traitors.”
“Murderers?” said Miles. “I wouldn’t say that.”
“Quiet, Miles,” said Shelley.
Lord Blackbourne shot them a disgruntled look. “I would prefer it if you were to stay out of this one.”
So Miles did personally know the vampire lords? I’d have to ask him about that one later. Liv’s hands glowed with spirit magic, and while the vampires and mages had her surrounded, she looked more exasperated than scared.
Two vampires closed in, but Liv got there first, blasting them off their feet into the swamp. Miles laughed. “Damn, she is good.”
Now isn’t the time to underestimate her. She fired off another bolt of spirit magic from her hands, and Miles deflected it. Despite her obvious disadvantage, Liv’s stare was unwavering. “Whoever you are, I’m not coming with you.”
“You don’t have a choice,” he said. “Besides, I’m told we’re not all bad.”
The mages closed in around her, and the glow brightened as the node’s strength bolstered her own. Static power vibrated through the air, making my teeth rattle. Liv was far outnumbered, but if she hurt Miles or his allies, then it wouldn’t do any of us any favours.
Still invisible, I walked around Liv from behind. Then I conjured flames to my hands, switching off the cantrip when they reached their peak and stepping directly in front of Liv. “Hey, there.”
Liv’s eyes bulged at the sight of me. “You.”
I darted out of sight, but the distraction was enough for Miles to get in a hit. Spirit magic shot from several directions at once and blasted Liv clean off her feet. She hit the ground on her back, hard, and didn’t get up.
“Thanks,” Miles said, sounding surprised.
“Anytime you need assistance, ask me.” I eyed Liv’s prone form on the ground. “Where are you taking her?”
“Back to our base,” he responded. “You’d better go find your friend.”
Right… Harper was still missing. “Sure. Let me know if you need me to kidnap anyone else.”
I turned the cantrip back on and left Liv with the Spirit Agents by the node. Invisible, I walked away from the castle, keeping both eyes open for any signs of movement. A flicker above a bush drew my attention to a humanoid figure floating in the air. Mav. She’s okay.
I ran over to her, switching off the invisibility cantrip when I saw Harper hiding in the bushes nearby. “There you are. Don’t worry—Miles and his friends took Liv with them, and Shawn won’t dare attack with the vampires and the liches roaming around the place.”
“I wouldn’t speak too soon,” she murmured.
I rotated on the spot. A flicker of fire stirred in the bushes nearby, and suspicion roared to life inside me. There was a fire mage outside… hidden by an invisibility spell.
“The fuck?” Ignoring Harper’s hiss of alarm, I advanced on the bushes. “Who’s there?”
Several fire mages popped out of the air... including Sledge.
“Someone let you out of your cage, did they?” I said. “Whatever happened to waiting for the signal?”
He bared his teeth. “You bitch. You abandoned us.”
“If you were paying any attention, you’d have seen the reason we had to change tactics.” I folded my arms across my chest. “Besides, you were supposed to set off the signal when you saw Shawn or his friends coming through the node, not randomly yell and blow our cover.”
“There’s been a change of plans,” said Herod, one of the other mages from the contest. “Specifically, a change of leadership.”
There came the flicker of a dozen invisibility cantrips turning off. More mages appeared, surrounding Harper’s hiding spot. Some were fire mages from among the contenders, some were Shawn’s friends… and one was Harper’s brother.
Harper rose to her feet. “Please tell me you didn’t.”
“Sorry, Harper,” he said. “If I were you, I’d duck.”
Water rose from his hands and shot at me, dampening the flames that sprang to my palms. Then came a torrent of fire, blazing to the sky, as Herod and Sledge turned on their cantrips.
Harper shouted in alarm, but Percy grabbed her by her shoulders and yanked her aside. Herod ran at me, his mouth twisted in a grin as the inferno slammed into me like a truck.
The flames were everywhere, ripping through my body until nothing remained but darkness.
16
My eyes flew open to see a shadow blotting out the sky. Cold wetness covered my back where I’d hit the swampy ground, while ashes drifted in the air. The Death King leant over me, and I blinked up at him. “What the hell is going on?”
“I should be asking you the same question,” he said. “I thought you had a plan to stop my castle being overrun by traitors. Now a considerable number of my liches have been burned to a crisp and half my contenders are missing.”
“We hit a snag.” I pushed upright into a sitting position and then got to my feet, brushing dirt off my legs. Swamp water soaked my clothes, but that was the least of my problems. “Half your contenders decided to throw their lot in with Shawn instead.”
I looked around for any signs of Harper, but she’d gone. Her brother had betrayed us both, and the other mages had left me for dead. Had she gone with him? Maybe she’d had no choice.
�
��I’m not surprised,” he said. “Walking away from a situation which endangers one’s loved ones is not a decision taken lightly.”
“Harper’s brother turned against us,” I said. “The bloody fool wanted to protect her, but she’s in even more danger if she goes with him. They’ll know she helped me.”
“I was concerned that would be the result,” he said. “I hoped she might escape in time to avoid that scenario.”
“That’s why you kicked her out,” I said, comprehension dawning. “You knew it was him dampening everyone’s magic today, not Mav. Didn’t you?”
“Harper’s sprite?” He beckoned, and Mav floated out from behind him. “She’s safe.”
“No thanks to you,” I said, momentarily forgetting who I was talking to. “Did you just let Shawn’s allies run off with Harper? Were you too busy arguing with the vampires to notice?”
The vampires, I noted, seemed to have disappeared at some point while I’d been out of commission as well. The two of us stood alone in the swampland, aside from the liches guarding the castle gates.
“If you’re suggesting I ought to have walked into the middle of that young man’s inferno spell, then you have the wrong idea about what advantages being the king of the liches provides,” he said. “I am not, unfortunately, fireproof.”
That was when I saw Herod—or what was left of him. His body had burned to a crisp, ragged clothes hanging off scorched red flesh. Nausea rose in my throat, followed by panic. In the Death King’s eyes, I ought to have looked the same, and I had no reasonable explanation to offer him.
I scrambled for a change of subject. “I’m guessing that’s why the vampires took off, then. Did you and Miles plan to invite them all along, to deter the spirit mages from breaking into your territory?”
“Not hardly,” he said. “Miles informed me of his plan less than an hour before he implemented it. The vampires, unfortunately, were already searching for my spirit mage, so at my request, the Spirit Agents offered to help hide Olivia until the vampires give up their search for her.”
“Wait, Miles came to talk to you in person?” Why hadn’t he told me? Admittedly, we’d been short on time, but it’d have been nice to know the vampires were coming. Though it didn’t seem that the Death King had told Liv he’d arranged for her to be kidnapped by the Spirit Agents, either.
“We go back a long way,” he said, “but you have a problem on your hands.”
“You’re telling me.” I turned to the water sprite. “Did you see where Sledge and the others took Harper?”
Mav let out a sob. “No. They took her through the node… I couldn’t stop them.”
As long as she’s not dead… but why had the other contenders ultimately chosen to believe Shawn over me? Maybe they’d thought they had no choice but to take his side, but Harper had been faced with the exact same dilemma and she’d come out on my side.
“I need to find her,” I told the Death King. “It’s not her fault this happened. The others were supposed to give us a warning if Shawn showed up, so we could team up against him. They weren’t meant to join him again.”
“People often disappoint.”
No kidding. For all I knew, that was precisely why he’d exiled himself to the middle of nowhere with a bunch of liches and wights and undead horses. I didn’t blame him a bit, considering how many of his potential Fire Elements had turned out to be lying bastards.
“I’m pretty sure Liv thinks I’m the bad guy,” I added. “But she got in my way at the worst time.”
“That’s unfortunate,” he said. “Perhaps you will be able to mend your differences later.”
“I doubt it.” Getting my friends back was more important. “I’m going after Shawn and the others. Can I expect backup?”
“You might have noticed I have a considerable number of enemies who have picked this moment to strike,” he said. “I’m sure Miles is aware of your dilemma, and I’ll send him in your direction when he returns from restraining my spirit mage. I take it you know where Shawn and his allies are hiding?”
“They’re in the citadel,” I told him. “In Arcadia. The doors are barred, but that shouldn’t be a problem for you.”
“My skills may be considerable,” he said, “but I lack the ability to be in several places at once, and I have other matters to attend to.”
Great. Shawn and his friends likely didn’t even register as a threat to him. But then again, it wasn’t his loved ones they had captive.
I’m coming, Harper. For all I knew, Tay was with them, too.
“They aren’t alone,” I told him. “Last I saw, they had a giant wyrm tied up in their hideout, and I’d bet they’re preparing to unleash it on the public.”
“Then you’d better stop them before they do.”
Thanks for the help. I could see why Liv had such a contentious approach to working with the Death King, and yet he was off to save her neck right now while the rest of us were in trouble. She and the Death King had a hell of a weird relationship, that was for sure. More to the point, he’d had Shawn and the others figured out from the start, down to the last part of their plan. I could see why he’d maintained control over an army of the dead for so long. Nothing slipped his notice.
Except…
“You didn’t ask how I survived the fire mages’ attack,” I said.
“I didn’t need to.”
And with that, he walked away, leaving me wondering if there was anything the Death King hadn’t already figured out. Including Herod and the others’ betrayal. I wouldn’t deny it, that part stung. I’d really thought I’d got them on my side and convinced them to go with me rather than with Shawn and his dickhead friends.
Nevertheless, I understood why they’d made the choice they had. They’d been downtrodden for so long they couldn’t conceive of having a choice to turn their back on those who threatened them. They thought their destiny was predetermined.
I’d thought that way once. But I’d learned the hard way that even if I felt like someone else was guiding my choices, the consequences would be on me alone.
A flash of red light zipped across my vision, and Dex flew down to my side. “What have you done now?”
I gave him an accusing look. “Your friend Liv screwed up my plans, majorly. On top of that, Harper’s brother turned traitor and his allies took her away with them, and your boss won’t help me find her.”
Miles would be willing to help, true, but how many spirit mages were left on his side? Perhaps enough to help me find Harper, but if that wyrm escaped the citadel, we’d be in a world of trouble.
“Hey, don’t blame me,” said Dex. “I can’t control what Liv does. As for the boss, he relieved me from guard duty, so I’m willing to help you on your ill-advised rescue mission.”
“We’d be grateful if you did.” In truth, we were far outnumbered. Shawn had too many allies, including Harper’s brother and the other ex-contenders—not to mention that wyrm.
On the other hand, I refused to abandon another friend.
With the water sprite and the fire sprite at my side, I headed for the node and travelled through to Arcadia. The instant we landed on the other side, a chorus of screams came from behind us. I wheeled around on the spot, squinting through the node’s glare at the clouds of smoke pouring out from a side street.
The Withered Oak was on fire. Smoke billowed over the rooftops, while the patrons fled into the street. I ran towards the pub, my heart lurching. Did Shawn and the others come here?
I halted outside. Through the window, jets of flame shot in all directions, causing the patrons to flee or duck behind tables to avoid being hit.
“Mav,” I said to the water sprite. “Can you help? Is that magic-boosting spell still in effect?”
“It is.” She flew through the door in a cloud of mist, and the effect was like a sprinkler system on the fire mages below. Water doused some of the flames, but one of the fire mages ducked underneath the sprite, spotting me outside. It seemed Sledge’s fr
iend Bark had found a new hideout.
“You’re that bitch who got me kicked out the contest,” he said accusingly.
Flames leapt to my hands, rivalling his own. “Want to take this outside?”
He met me at the door and aimed a flaming punch, which I ducked with ease, spinning into a kick to the back of his leg which sent him staggering. I didn’t need to hold back. We weren’t in the trials any longer.
“I knew you weren’t human,” he said. “You’re too fast.”
“Maybe you’re just slow.” I kicked his other leg, and as he stumbled, I swung a flaming uppercut into his jaw. He flew back into the doorway. Catching his balance, he dug a hand into his pocket. There came the faint click of a cantrip, and a torrent of fire returned to his hands. Oh, hell.
He leapt to his feet, flames dancing in his eyes, and bared his teeth in a grin. “Beat this, bitch.”
I backed into the street, dodging punches and fireballs one after another. I was more worried for the bystanders than myself, because his entire body was outlined in flames that seemed inches away from devouring him like Herod’s fatal attack back in the swamp.
“You should be burning!” he bellowed. “You’re no ordinary fire mage.”
“Really? I had no idea.” I was done playing games. A flame leapt to my own palms, and I pivoted with inhuman speed, slamming into him from behind. My fire joined his, and the mage recoiled, yelling as his own flames turned against him and burned his hands to a crisp.
He was right. I was no ordinary fire mage. Not by a long shot.
The mage fled down the street, and I lowered my hands. The bar was almost deserted, but I spotted Mav in the hallway. “Anyone upstairs?”
“No, they’re all out,” she said.
“I sent them on the run,” said Dex, with a cackle. “Don’t worry, the fire’s out. Crisis averted.”
Cage of Fire (Parallel Magic Book 1) Page 17
