“Move aside, Tobi!” Avery propelled himself from the wall, his arm a mass of molten rock and flame.
The Town Hall’s upper floor exploded, glass, steel, wood flew in all directions. Caine leapt backwards out the blown-out window, Tobi followed just as fast. His hands gleamed as Industria formed into a shroud around his fists, a pastiche of a wolf’s jaw.
Wolf Fang Storm!
A barrage of punches missed Caine, shattering concrete, breaking steel. Another blow slipped right into a portal, and Tobi gouged out his own flesh. Yanking his hand back in shock, he didn’t catch the other portal opening just under his chest. Caine’s kick slammed into his unprotected belly, sending him to his knees.
He felt the air expand behind them, then the searing heat as a wall of flame roared over his head.
Flame King’s Blowtorch!
A portal in mid-air send the flames right back at Avery, forcing him to evade his own attack.
Another fireball was lobbed, but Caine was already airborne, leaping off buildings and forcing them to give chase. He channelled industria through his feet, propelling himself almost hundred meters at a time. Tobi and Avery did the same, knowing it was almost certainly a trap. Their only hope was to overcome whatever the trap was and crush Caine.
Caine suddenly dipped, the Centurions leapt after him, the wind and cold night air massaging their wounded bodies. Avery recognised it as one of Avel’s properties — the real one. It had been purchased years ago, but had fallen into disrepair, only being giving the most perfunctory attention. Or so he had thought. Caine stopped in the large hallway, still refusing to face them. The Centurions did as well, uncertain.
“Do you know how I nearly destroyed The Four Towns?” Caine began pacing around them, “Oh I’m sure your scientists have looked into it and come up with some nonsense. But you don’t know. Otherwise you’d know about the location of this building, how the masks play into that, and what this all means.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” Avery clenched his fist.
“Weren’t you the least bit curious about how we go the masks on anyone? The beast masks you used to work on were solid, full formed, and can be worn by anyone. But surely we didn’t just trick everyone into putting on masks somehow, there has to be some trick behind it….some secret method to our madness,” Caine said, “And you’d be right. The thing is, we had worked on the beast masks for years and refined them. A particular breed of beast masks, like the ones we worked on, could be broken up into bits and pieces and passed around through the water system. After enough time, a year or two, enough beast mask residue can accumulate inside a person to be activated by a spell. They won’t become a pure animal, but it’s enough to turn a human rabid.”
“And the beast mask would consume the industria and body of the individual to make itself whole…” The next few words were heavy on Avery’s lips, the implications quickly becoming clear,“And for others, it would make them mad as their minds collapsed. The perfect biological murder weapon.”
“Perfect? You may yet evaluate it for yourself.” Caine replied, “I hope you didn’t drink too much water though.”
Tobi and Avery grimaced, they could feel waves of Industria emanating from Caine, and the building itself. Avery now more fully took in the building, reflecting on its location, the shape of the walls. It was a center, a location were industria had been prepared. He kicked himself for not recognizing it before, it was a sigil — an old fashioned way for casting spells. All it needed was an infusion of Industira to activate, which Caine had just provided. Both Centurions felt it immediately. White matter began to ooze out from their bodies,rushing towards their faces., threatening to consume their consciousness. They would not be Centurions if they could not withstand it. Avery erupted into flame, charring the material into ash. Tobi simply pulsed his industria repeatedly, shattering it.
Their attention was once again on Caine, who clapped.
“Lovey performance guys. That impressed me,” Caine said, “Now, for your next challenge. Unweave the spell embedded in this building, lest Draekeor descend into a bloody evening. Or come after me, you may yet win. But do you want to gamble it? I anticipate an ever closing window before it truly takes effect.”
“So you’ll give up Draekeor just to escape?” Avery replied.
“That depends on whether you stop my spell or not.” Caine said, “There’s nothing to be gained by fighting you. Not yet.”
“You bastard,” Tobi snarled, “You’ll never get away with this.”
“The cry of the incompetent law man. Please devote your energy to defusing that spell.” Caine reached into the air, opening a portal. “The air’s getting so thick with industria, I can barely breathe.”
Avery remained silent. If only he could make eye contact with the man, then he could hypnotise him into an illusion. Caine never once looked at his face, focusing only on Tobi.
“We have no choice, Tobi.” Avery had already begun preparing spells to unravel Caine’s spell. Tobi soon joined him, both countering the spell’s industria with their own. It was a strange dance, separating the industria from the sigil, containing it within the building, actively negating the spell, if they failed at even one step, Draekeor would run red with blood.
“Well then, I’ll leave you to it.” Caine said, as he stepped into the portal.
* * *
Aiden had slipped into the central library hours ago. As he had promised, he intended to dive into the paper documents in the archive before Caine could have a chance to get rid of them. It had taken him over four hours to sort through thep paper files and glean what he wanted. The library had grown steadily emptier, until it was just him, and the surly Edward who had grown increasingly irritated at his presence and what it implied. Suspicion. Aiden smirked. He wanted to tell him that he was cleared, but it was more fun watching him sweat. For now he focused in the data he had obtained from the planning department.
In their review of The Four Cities Massacre, Aiden had noticed a sudden rush to renovate the pipes linking them and Draekeor in the past few years after Avel has become Mayor. There was nothing wrong with them, but the Mayor had pushed for it, claiming it was future proofing. If Mayor Avel was Caine, and capable of casting mind altering illusions in his office, then it followed that there was a chance that he needed the pipes to be part of his plan.
Mass shipments of material had come in. Contractors from places that looked legitimate, but couldn’t be pinned down. He cross-checked it on his tablet, jotting notes in a loose leaf notebook as he went through it. Masquerade had no need to place the beast masks on everyone, just seed enough material that they could activate it remotely. Once the masks were active, that was that. They would drain industria of those who couldn’t handle it until they would literally shrivel up and be absorbed into material for the mask itself. Or they would rampage until they died of exhaustion, and then were absorbed by the mask anyway.
Clever. Sickening. But clever. He checked the clock. He was late now. Deidre and Bart would be waiting for him back at the hotel, where they had laid a trap for the others. Jotting down the last of his thoughts, he made to close his notebook, then he paused. He pulled out his tablet, did one more search, and added an additional note. A hostile throat cleared in the periphery.
“Still digging around there?” Edward came up to him, his irritation was clear. “You still suspect us of something, don’t you?”
“Not now.” Aiden regarded him the way the one might an incalcitrant child. “I have more important things to do than get into a dick measuring contest. Besides, I wouldn’t dream of accusing you of intelligence.”
“He thinks he’s too good for us.” Edward sneered at him, “It’s a good thing Matthew spotted you sneaking around here. Isn’t that right, Matt?”
A domino fell. Matthew Corrran. The missing link. Aiden started. He had no records of him travelling away from WestScarlet for an extended period. However, he had organised the renovation of the pipes a
s one of Avel’s aides. It wouldn’t have been flagged up earlier…but from the way Matthew was now staring at Aiden. It was clear. The masks were no longer necessary.
“So, Mr Sabre. What have you discovered.” Matthew began walking towards them. “Still think Edward’s guilty of something?”
“Get behind me Edward,” Aiden shifted his stance, gesturing frantically.
“What about me?” Corran’s sinister grin filled Aiden with dread.
“Huh?” Edward felt the sudden shift in the air as the mood turned more hostile than it had been a second ago. If they had been staring daggers at each other, those small knives had transformed into spears and glaives.
The shelves shuddered, and a loud vibration drew everyone’s attention.
A loud bang from above drew all their attention, and then Matthew looked at Edward and Aiden. There was no longer any need to be coy.
“What was that?” Edward asked, as cracks appeared in the ceiling.
“The Centurions have started acting. We’re moving against Caine — Mayor Avel — now!” Aiden shoved Edward behind him, “You get behind me!”
“What tipped you off?” The now unmasked villain asked.
“You aren’t half as clever as you think.” Aiden replied. “Matthew Corran, as a member of Masquerade, I suppose you’re under arrest.”
Edward let out a small gasp as he too began to put two and two together. “No…you mean…no…what?”
“Sorry Edward, it’s just as he said. We’ve been working to undermine Draekeor and WestScarlet for years. We caused the Four Cities Massacre.” Matthew replied, “I have to hand it to you, that little drunk show nearly reeled me in. You were the noisiest of all, never knowing when to stop. In another life, Masquerade could use someone smart, someone like you who sees through the lies.”
“I’m not sure really you need someone like that. Your shitty ideas wouldn’t hold up to scrutiny otherwise.”
“Working for Masquerade has shown me just how arrogant you really are,” Matthew’s retort came, “If you were good at your jobs, we wouldn’t have been able to kill so many people.”
“And your point is? Our society relies on everyone trying to do their best to work together and move forward. We are human, we aren’t perfect. You only serve to prove that point. You say you want to show us how inadequate we are, but you aren’t bolstering up defenses, you aren’t helping people gain powers and use their esoterica, you aren’t teaching them self defense, you’re using them as tools, draining all their industria and tossing away their empty corpses. What kind of self justifying monsters are you?”
Aiden’s rage was palpable as he now advanced towards Matthew where he had once cowered. The shadows in the room shifted and shrank away as if in response to his will.
“Monsters?” Matthew shook his head. “No. We’re messiahs. Whatever happens to this old world doesn’t matter, a new world where nothing but good exists will come about when we’re done.”
“What are you even talking about?”
“Nothing,” Matthew’s mask slowly manifested. “The time for talk is over. You can take the mystery to your grave.”
“Edward! Get to my team at the hotel,” He yelled, “They’ll know what to do with that!”
“Got you.” The librarian grasped his notepad and took off for the stairs as fast as his legs could carry him.
A roar chilled his blood. Yet, he kept going. He wasn’t going to turn back, afraid at what he would see. Had he done so, perhaps the sight of Matthew running on four legs on the walls of the library might have frozen him solid. Maybe even that of his former friend leaping towards him, claws outstretched.
Another bang behind him, and Edward cleared the exit, slamming the door behind him. He wasn’t going to look back. Not now. Not ever.
Flowing Shadow Tendrils.
Matthew shook the debris off himself. He had been struck by what appeared to be a tentacle formed from darkness given weight. Aiden blocked the door, shadows forming a wall of moving solid, black behind him.
“So you aren’t just a bookworm.” Matthew scoffed, “How much time do you think you can buy here?”
“I’m not buying time. I am going to subdue you, or I am going to kill you. That’s just how it’s goin to go.”
Saliva dripped from Matthew’s fangs.
“Oh really?”
“Get ready.”
A gesture, and then more tendrils lanced out towards Matthew.
* * *
Draekeor.
Team Tobi’s Hotel Room.
While the battles had begun to break out around town. Bart and Deidre had remained in their hotel room. Aiden was to return and meet them, and then they would join the other members of their team to raid the Warehouse district. It was when Bart spied an unexpected visitor that he knew things would not go as they had planned. The two that had helped them move in and set up their accomodation, Paul and Louise, strode purposefully into the hotel. Minutes later, they were at their door, knocking expectantly.
“Shit.” Bart swore, “They weren’t supposed to be here yet.”
“Aiden isn’t here either.” Deidre noted, “— however, there are only two of them.”
“A change of plans?”
“We’ll have to improvise.” She said, going to the door.
Sorry, Tyrone, Eva, Lionel. It looks like our battle is about to begin.
“We’re so sorry to see you going.” Louise launched into a prepared spiel immediately as Deidre opened the door. “We do hope your stay here was pleasant, as short as it was.”
“Actually, we decided to stay.” Deidre made space for them to move past her, locking the door behind her. “We’re about to wrap up the case.”
“Oh?” Paul sat down on one of the chairs. Louise stood beside him, a fake smile pasted on her face. “Have you managed to suss out any leads?”
Bart and Deidre shared a look. Then an explosion rocked the Mayor’s office, drawing everyone’s attention to the window.
“What was that?“ Louise’s fake smile had dropped, showing genuine concern. “It’s coming from the town hall…”
“The Mayor’s Office specifically.” Paul was standing now. “He thought you’d have retreated to come back with reinforcements. We came to stop that from happening.”
“So you already knew,” Deidre said.
“You three were the easiest to predict. Corran knew that Aiden would rush to the library to tie up some loose ends. He stayed with him day and night. He was predictable.” Louse said, “You two were just as obvious. The other three will attempt to raid the warehouses without you. A welcoming party has already been prepared.”
“You shouldn’t have bared your fangs against us.” Paul raised a hand, his bones rattled as Bart’s kick slammed into it. An industria hardened bone exterior coated his leg. The Saber yanked his leg back, dropping to the ground. Behind him, his partner pointed a sword at Paul. Glass shards hovered in the air, then one by one savage;ly tore towards Paul. His eyes widened in surprise as he raised his hands to defend himself, he needn’t have bothered. The shards were deflected. Bart moved to strike again, he was intercepted and repelled towards Deidre. Louse stepped to the side of her partner.
“Time for a change of scenery,” She ordered.
Without delay, he replied.
“Roger.”
In the blink of an eye, Paul’s body exploded into a maze of black spines. Leather, wood, cotton, concrete, the spines tore through everything.
Deidre leapt in front of Bart before the first spike could impale him, a defense spell was launched. Industria warping into a sphere around them.
Art of Defense: Hexagonal Shield.
Despite that barrier, the duo were still blown through the window and to the street below. Spikes rained down around them, tering into concrete. As abruptly as the attack had begun, it was now over. The now masked Paul peered down at them from inside the destroyed hotel room. Upon seeing they were still alive, he shook his head.
“If they have any sense — they’ll scurry away like the rats they are.”
“Well, we can’t say they don’t have teamwork.” Bart shook broken glass off himself. “Got any plans, D?”
Paul and Louise descended towards them.
“Just one. Win.”
Chapter 29 - Their Bastion
Juniper’s beating had yielded up one more piece of the puzzle. Draekeor’s Warehouse District, with its 26 large warehouses, had been revealed as Masquerade’s base. One of the Warehouses would hide the beast masks, that one they had to secure before they could be whisked away. One of the Warehouses would hide the beast masks, that one they had to secure before they could be whisked away.
Tyrone, Eva and Lionel were tasked with scouting out the district and dealing with anyone who popped up there.
The trio were already well on their way when Eva noticed the messages and alerts coming in from over town. The mayor’s office had gone up in flames. A battle had broken out on the streets. People were going insane as random beast mask attacks shot up, with over twenty maulings reported.
“We’re too late.” Eva said, showing the others her pager. “Masquerade has moved on us, we’re in the endgame now.”
“I don’t think so.” Tyrone said, “We haven’t had any reports of Beth Peach. Neither Jack nor Rocky have shown up. The warehouse district is their last bastion, they will defend it with their lives.”
“Then we’ll take everything from them.” Lionel set his brow. “We’ve given those bastards enough leeway to do as they please.”
Tyrone turned to look back at his partner, his gaze was skillfully avoided. Eva shook her head, her industria pooling under her feet into a platform that would carry them wherever they needed to go. Glancing back at her partners, she urged them on. There was no time to waste.
They flew towards the their destination, with any lingering doubt having been cleared up. No more investigations, no more files, no more cloak and dagger. It was time for the Sabres to cut down their enemies where they stood.
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