by Mari Dietz
William could only nod. Her kindness made him feel guilty. Julian’s face softened, and she took the laundry with her. She didn’t lock the room from the outside.
He sat on the bench. She’d helped him out with the timing. The clock ticked by slowly, and he waited for over an hour before going to her locker and putting in his combination. It clicked open. Just in case, he left his lock on her locker until he got back.
William’s hand paused over the door leading out. He hadn’t even started yet and he was sweating already. His stomach felt filled with stones. With a shaky hand, he opened the door and glanced around the empty yard. No one in sight. His heart pounded in his ears. He went to the first door and flipped through the keys. There were too many. With each failed key, he glanced behind him. His fingers shook so much that the keys jangled loudly in the empty, darkening night. He gripped them to stop their clattering, which would surely announce his presence to every living being in Verrin.
With a click, the first lock popped open. He quickly entered the next room and shut the door behind him. Most of the keys looked the same, but he tried to remember their position. Now onto the next door.
William didn’t know how much time had passed by the time he finally found himself in the sewers. He wasn’t sure of the order of the keys anymore.
He hoped Vic didn’t worry about him not being home tonight. He shook his head. “Why would she worry?” He’d gotten too attached to her, and she and Kai had something going on. It wasn’t right for him to pine after a person in a relationship, especially with Kai letting him stay in his house. It’s not like Vic liked him. He walked in the tunnel. When he’d first met Vic, he’d basically been his father’s mirror. He flinched as he remembered how he’d acted toward her. At his core, he still thought Verrin shouldn’t depend on magic, but here he was, using magic to help. Even though he hoped it was for the greater good, he recognized the hypocrisy in his actions, and that couldn’t be attractive.
With every step, William didn’t know what to look for. If he got caught down here, there would be no talking himself out of it. Out of kindness, Julian had assumed he was down on his luck. Then he realized Julian would get into trouble since he’d stolen her keys. The guilt ate at him for having abused her kindness.
Dripping water made him jumpy, and he took care to tiptoe in the empty tunnels. Unsure of the passing of time, he took a break in a side tunnel. He should have borrowed more of Kai’s clothes to blend in with the black walls. Vic liked the blue. His face warmed at the thought.
Then he heard voices coming down the tunnel. William’s mind buzzed. He hadn’t thought he would find anything or anyone down here. Now here he sat with no protection and his wand drained. Even if it hadn’t been, he didn’t know how to use it as a weapon.
For now, he would watch. Maybe next time, he could bring backup with him. He carefully peeked out of the side tunnel. Dark-cloaked figures wearing masks entered the tunnel. They opened the wall, and a wide tunnel appeared. The masked figures entered, carrying large bundles on their backs. He’d correctly assumed that the doors would be well hidden in the wall.
Was that food they carried? No, it almost looked like people. Vic had mentioned that the people in the Nyx district who’d disappeared were being turned into mogs. There were too many of them. William punched the stone wall. Pain bloomed in his hand, but he ignored it. This city would kill people before it went without magic. His anger grew into despair as he watched people go to their deaths. Was there something he could do besides watch? That was all he did while everyone else took action. Vic would stop them. Kai would charge in and take them all on. William watched.
The last of them entered the hidden room, and William sat. Shame came over him for having done nothing. He eyed the landmarks in the tunnel, and his shoulder slumped as he headed back to the entrance.
He didn’t pay attention as he went back through all the locked doors and then to the locker room. He put the keys back in Julian’s locker and then placed the correct lock on it. He didn’t want to stay here all night. He dreaded telling Vic how he’d watched helpless people being carried to their deaths, but she needed to know.
The blight swirled in the night sky, and William went to the main doors to see if there was a way out.
A side door seemed hopeful, and he gripped the handle and unlocked it, his mind on the people doomed to be turned. Then a black cloth bag went over his head. Arms gripped him as he struggled, but then a strange smell hit him and he knew no more.
12
Vic
Vic frantically tried to shut one door, but it wouldn’t budge. She hoped they could run down a side tunnel and block it off. “Blight!”
Fear filled Maddox’s eyes. Vic ran, pulling her friend behind her. There were too many mogs for her to take on. Even with Maddox, she wouldn’t want to try to drain one.
Vic tore off her mask and dropped it so she could breathe better. Why were there so many? After weeks of finding only a few at a time, they’d come en masse. Either she or Maddox had to smell amazing, or the bones had worked better than they’d thought. Vic didn’t take the time to turn around, but the sound of the mogs grew louder.
“We should try to make it to Nyx,” Vic gasped as she ran.
Maddox didn’t reply but pumped her legs so she now ran next to Vic. Nothing like fear to give you a boost.
Her lungs burned as they approached the Nyx entrance. The door was wide open. Vic gulped, and they ran up the stairs. All the gates were open, and she tried to push them shut.
“No use, founder. We can’t shut them!” Vic had never thought she’d be thankful to see Landon in all her life. He pulled them up the rest of the stairs. “What happened?”
“Mogs. So many.”
His brows shot up. “Come on.”
They ran through Bomrosy’s workshop, and a group of reapers greeted them outside the door. Landon slammed the door shut behind him.
“Report.”
Vic caught her breath. “They’re right behind us. Over a dozen large mogs came out of the swamp. The grate opened on its own and wouldn’t shut.”
To back up her words, a loud crash sounded in Bomrosy’s workshop.
Landon pointed at Maddox. “Take her to Kai’s office. That’s where Bomrosy is.” He turned his back on them and shouted, “Cover the halls! Once your gicgauge is full, run to empty it if you can. Don’t leave anyone behind. Try to dodge the mog until the other returns to drain it.”
Vic grabbed Maddox’s hand, and they charged up the stairs as Bomrosy’s workshop door burst open. Landon lanced the first mog. They ran to Kai’s office and banged on the door. A wide-eyed Bomrosy opened it.
“Stay here. I need to go back.” Vic pulled Maddox into the room.
“Vic!” Bomrosy grabbed her hand, stopping her.
“What?” Vic tugged her hand free and tapped her fingers at her side.
“Xiona is in my room!” Tears filled Bomrosy’s eyes.
“I don’t know what I can do, but I’ll try.” She gave Maddox a pointed look not to let Bomrosy know about the state of the workroom. There was a chance the mogs would ignore the shut bedroom. The reapers might tempt them more.
Vic shut the door to Kai’s office, barricading them in the room. She practically tumbled down the stairs to get back to the main hall. Shouts and moans echoed in the halls as the mass of mogs poured out of the workshop like a broken water line.
Large mog bones lay in the hallways, and fallen reapers tried to pull themselves out of the way. A large mog crushed a reaper under its bulky form, cutting off the poor soul’s screams. With dismay, Vic knew these were old mogs, and it would take more than one reaper to drain them. Working in their favor, the mogs were so huge that they couldn’t freely move in the Order’s halls. Dozens of reapers fought in the hall, but they weren’t enough to stop the flow of mogs. Three massive mutated mogs rose in the main entrance and swung at the reapers trying to drain them.
She found a group to join, and they
pulled down a large mog. Their blades cut into it. Her scythe burned hot in her hands, and the blade sliced through the flesh, catching on the mog’s bones so it couldn’t shake her off. The mog pulled at the group of reapers, and some of their bodies dangled in the air as they desperately gripped their scythes. The blight drained out of the mog, and the bones fell to the ground, along with some of her comrades. Her gicgauge was almost full from one mog. They all met each other’s eyes. They couldn’t drain another.
“Go drain your gicgauge and come back quickly,” Vic told the one nearest the Order exit.
The reaper nodded and ran off. The rest of them stayed, and now it became a distraction game with the mogs.
A fat mog waddled up to them. Its wide mouth grinned, and it opened its maw to reveal long, sharp teeth good for shredding human flesh. Its size made it slow, but as they cut into its flesh, their gicgauges filled. The mog still had plenty of energy. It used its massive form to push them back. Its teeth chomped as it ignored their useless blades. All four of them stabbed and pushed at the large mog. Vic frantically looked around the room for help. As soon as a reaper got back, their gicgauge filled too fast. They couldn’t hold the mog back.
More mogs came into the entrance of the Order. Even though they’d drained a few, six massive rotted mogs came from the workshop. They used their mass to push back the reapers who could no longer drain them. There weren’t enough reapers left in Nyx to handle this attack.
“Back to the walls!” Kai shouted. “Take a position around the walls!”
The walls were closer to the charging stations around the Order. They needed space to move.
“We need to block the entrance.”
Vic swore. Maddox didn’t have much magic left, but maybe she could do something. The fat mog backed them into the wall, its putrid breath bathing their faces. Soon, it would crush her group. A reaper propped his scythe handle against the wall to hold it back. Vic heard a cracking sound as the wooden handle gave. They exchanged glances, and Vic yelled over the screams, hoping someone would hear her, “Help! We’re pinned. Help!”
The other reapers caught on as they slid down the wall under the fat mog’s weight.
Then the pile of flesh from the mog melted, coating her group in smoking flesh. The bones clattered to the ground, and Vic stumbled from the lack of mog to push against. Two reapers saluted and ran off to find more mogs or to drain their gicgauges. Vic bolted to Kai’s office. On her way, she met Freddie and Ivy. She glanced at them. They had empty gicgauges.
“Come with me!”
Without question, they followed her to Kai’s office. Vic opened the door, and Maddox sat to the side, comforting Bomrosy. Their faces were full of fear until they saw Vic.
“Do you have enough magic to block the door?” Vic yelled.
Maddox started and glanced at her wand. “I don’t know. Maybe a cave-in?”
Bomrosy shot up. “But my room! Xiona!”
Ivy frowned. “Who?”
Vic pursed her lips. “We’re going to the doorway. Can you do it?”
There wasn’t time to worry about the ex-commander while Nyx reapers were dying in battle.
Maddox drew in a shuddering breath. “I can try.”
She left her chair, and her wand arm trembled.
“Cover us while we get to the entrance,” Vic directed her team.
Ivy and Freddie nodded.
“Try not to use up your gicgauge. Mine is already full. Maddox, stay next to me. Freddie, lead.” They only had two reapers to get through, and they couldn’t drain more than one old mog. They didn’t have a say in how fast the gicgauges would fill, but the words gave her some comfort.
They left Bomrosy in the office while they ran downstairs. The reapers retreated to the walls. Only a few remained to push the mogs out into the courtyard. The reapers acted like bait with calls and slashes. Shouts came from outside to attract the mogs’ attention. One false move as bait and they could end up as dinner.
They got to the workshop entrance, and Landon blocked their way. “Get outside. Didn’t you hear Kai’s orders?” He slashed at a mog and hooked it with another reaper. They tried to direct the mogs outside where the other reapers waited. Blood and sweat coated his skin.
“We’re blocking the door.” Vic shoved past him. They didn’t have time for his ego.
Landon snarled, “If you die, fine.”
As the reapers cleared the mogs, they ducked into Bomrosy’s workroom. All her tools were scattered about the room. They could hear the moans of approaching mogs.
Maddox’s wand gem glowed dimly as she glanced at the tunnel’s archway. “I can collapse the tunnel.” Maddox pulled on Vic’s arm.
Freddie and Ivy shoved forward to drain the next mog coming out of the tunnel.
“You have only a minute, Mads!”
Maddox adjusted her wand, and the rock in the tunnel ceiling melted. The sides of the tunnel folded in with the ceiling, making the entrance smaller and smaller. The mog’s bones curled in with the shaping stone, and the next one reached through the wide crack. Then the stone stopped moving, leaving a small window. The mog’s arms stayed stuck inside, twitching as it reached for the food in the workshop.
They all took a breath of dusty air.
“I’m all out.” Maddox leaned on the wall but avoided the mog’s arm that looked like a grotesque wall hanging.
“That will stop more from coming in. Thanks, Mads.”
“I’ll take her back,” Ivy said. “You and Freddie go empty your gicgauges and help clear the rest.” Ivy led Maddox out of the room.
Freddie watched her go, frowning. He didn’t like to leave her alone, even though he knew she could handle herself. They both ran out of the room.
“We shut the passage!” Vic yelled to Landon on her way out. They did their best to help push the mogs out, but they couldn’t drain any more. Vic sliced into a mog with another group, getting it away from a reaper lying prone on the ground.
Too much blood covered them, and Vic swallowed. A pack of reapers fought at the gates, and they let them pass. They ran to the charging station and finally emptied their gicgauges.
Vic ran back to the mogs and drained them again and again. Some reapers fell with a shout, and Freddie would plunge in to pull them out. The last mog fell in a pile of bones.
The reapers remained still as if they didn’t believe what had happened. There was no time to rest. They gathered the injured and the dead. Most had had their limbs torn off by hungry mogs and bled to death. Many could’ve been saved had they gotten to them sooner.
Her mind flashed back to the battle with Dei and how the blood on the courtyard had made her ears ring.
“Are you injured?” Kai asked.
Vic shook her head. She carried another bleeding reaper to the dining hall.
Reapers pushed aside the tables and pulled out the emergency cots. The healers ran around, wrapping up wounds from lost limbs or putting sheets over those who hadn’t made it.
Vic carried the bodies of the dead to the far wall to be cremated. Once again, their numbers had taken a large hit. Why hadn’t the gates closed?
As they brought in the last survivors, Vic helped clean the injured reapers.
She tied her hair back, and the world finally seemed to calm. The other reapers sat along the wall, unwilling to leave their injured comrades.
Then a terrible scream broke the silence. Scythes clicking open echoed in the room.
Landon stormed in, Xiona in his grip. Bomrosy hit his back behind him. He turned and elbowed her in the throat, knocking her back against the wall. She fell with a thud. Vic jumped up to help her friend, but other reapers blocked her path. Though weary, she tried to shove through.
The reapers gasped as Landon held their ex-commander.
“Kai!” Veins popped along Landon’s neck.
“Yes?” Kai remained calm as he left a reaper’s bed.
Landon shoved Xiona forward. Even though she stumbled, she still smil
ed. “Care to explain this?”
All the reapers faced Kai. His shoulders sagged, and he folded his arms. “Xiona got purified in the battle with Dei.”
Everyone but Vic gasped.
“You told us she was dead!” Landon’s voice boomed. His gray eyes were flinty, and spittle flung from his mouth as he spoke.
“I did it to keep up morale. What Xiona did was wrong, and the purification was an accident.” Weariness coated Kai’s voice as he tried to explain, like he knew it was too late for excuses over being dishonest with the reapers under his command.
“We had a right to know!” Landon shoved Xiona aside, and Bomrosy grabbed her to keep her away from Landon. “Who did this? Why are you protecting them? Are you choosing them over your family?”
Vic stopped trying to push forward as angry reapers glared at Kai.
Kai’s face fell, and all strength left him. “They didn’t mean to do it.”
“They broke the law.” Landon searched the crowd until his gaze fell on Vic. “It was her friend, wasn’t it? That radiant was here in the battle.”
“Landon, what’s done is done. Xiona was punished for turning people into mogs.” Vic cringed at the suggestion that Xiona’s purification had been justified.
Landon slammed his hand against the wall. “Then turn her in to the officers! Don’t purify her.”
“I couldn’t!”
“Why?”
“Because GicCorp ordered her to change people!” Kai shouted.
The mood in the room shifted.
Landon raised his brows. “Are you saying GicCorp is taking people and changing them to provide more blight?”
“Yes. That much we do know.” The words filled the room as Kai finally shared the truth with the reapers.
“Why didn’t you tell us?” Landon actually looked hurt.
The room waited for an answer. Kai looked away.
Landon flexed his fist. “Did you think we’d take their side and want to change people for money? Is that all the faith you have in us?” The hurt in Landon’s voice was new to Vic. He was a prat, so she’d forgotten that he loved Nyx, even if he didn’t like her.
