by Holly Hook
But there was one huge difference with this room.
There was an hourglass-shaped pillar of semi-solid lava on the other side of the portal, stretching from the ceiling to the floor. An orange glow came from cracks inside. The lava oozed slowly up and down, with molten tentacles grasping a one-foot-wide glass ball in the center. A dark, thick liquid filled it.
Blood.
We had found where Thoreau stored his contracts.
"Block the door!" Allunna shouted at Xavier. "I can't use Leon's magic right now. He is too weak."
I watched as Xavier faced the double doors. He focused as the footfalls grew so loud that I was sure the castle was going to come down.
But just as the first imps appeared in the stairwell, guns ready, a magenta barrier filled the doorway. It shimmered with War Magic, and Xavier trembled to hold it together. More sweat beaded on his forehead. It must be just as hot up here as in the rest of the Infernal. A wave of dizziness swept over me. He couldn't last much longer.
The imps gathered on the other side of the barrier, piling up and brandishing their guns. They cursed at us in the demon language. Xavier was lucky he couldn't understand what they were saying.
"Unlock the Orb!" Allunna shouted at me. She nodded to the lava pillar.
Time was wasting. Even when we got through the portal, we'd still have followers. I faced the lava hourglass with no clue on what to do. I was just about to shout at Allunna when I spotted a slot just underneath the Orb just big enough to fit a man's forearm. The lava glowed brighter inside of it. Every instinct warned me not to put my hand in there, but I knew that the lava wouldn't hurt me.
I took a breath, rolled up my leather sleeve, and reached into the slot.
The lava closed around my forearm, entombing it. Panic rose through me. It felt like lukewarm bath water, but I was trapped. I tried to pull my arm back. No use. I wasn't strong enough to break through rock.
Something sharp stabbed into my trapped palm.
I seethed and faced the Orb, trying not to focus on the pain. Whatever had stabbed me retracted, and my palm began to tingle as it healed.
The lava tendrils around the Orb receded.
I pulled my hand out of the pillar, freed. More imps shouted obscenities at us as they pounded on Xavier's barrier. Another wave of dizziness came over me. The tendrils retracted all the way. I grabbed the glass Orb and pulled it out of the pillar. The blood sloshed inside. If Thoreau had taken only one drop from each person he Bound, there must be tens of thousands inside of this thing.
"I've got it!" I shouted, tucking the Orb under my arm. "I've--"
Xavier wobbled. His barrier faded a bit. The imps on the other side pressed against the wall, leering at us. Now I knew where Thoreau had gotten the inspiration for the door carvings.
"We have to go," Allunna said, drawing out her knife. She held her palm over the portal. "Don't open the Orb here. Thoreau will recollect the blood. Take it far away!"
A low rumble sounded. Allunna sliced her palm and held it over the portal. Her black blood rose from her skin, but before she could squeeze any blood into the pool, the wall to the right of us melted.
That was the best word I had for it. The black stone flashed to a fiery orange and lava flowed down onto the floor, close to where Xavier was standing. He jumped out of the way but miraculously, kept the barrier up. The imps continued to press against it, but it was who was coming through the wall that concerned me.
Thoreau had come up through a narrow, hidden stairway and melted the wall. He stood in the new doorway and surveyed the room. His gaze shot from Xavier to Allunna and finally, to me.
I expected some snide comment out of him, something about how I had inherited his good looks, but he only stared at the Orb under my arm and then at me. The fire in his eyes sputtered with what I guessed was fear.
"Alyssa," he said. "Drop that."
I drew my sword. The imps continued to pound on the barrier. Allunna waited next to the portal. Her blood dripped into it, turning it darker. She muttered something, and the top floor of the ATC building appeared on the other end of it. It wouldn't do us much good. When we went through, Thoreau would be right behind us.
I had to slow him down.
But in my desperation, I made the first move. I stabbed at Thoreau, but the baron dodged out of the way and seized my arm.
And with a single flick, he threw me back.
I came off my feet and sailed across the room. I struck one of the pillars, and a torch wobbled in its mount. Thoreau had never fought like this before. Maybe Allunna was right that until now, he'd been holding back.
But amazingly, I still held the Orb.
I tried to blink away the pain. Thoreau advanced. "That does not belong to you!"
Allunna reached for me, desperation in her dark eyes. Xavier's barrier sputtered again. Thoreau would take the Orb back, and he would have me captured. The world would end at midnight tomorrow.
He needed to die again. I could take no risks. Thoreau held one arm in front of him, ready to block my blows. He was ready this time. When I stabbed, he might deflect my sword.
Allunna moved in front of me, blocking Thoreau's way. I knew why.
My sword glowed with an eerie green as if Death were lending me her assistance.
I got up and stabbed Allunna in the back.
She gasped. Both she and Thoreau stopped in mid-stride. She faced me with those green eyes. A green glow filled them once again. I hoped that Leon was still strong enough to influence the demon baron. It was my only hope.
Thoreau's eyes, too, contained a hint of green. He staggered back into a pillar. Allunna fell to her knees. My Death Magic worked faster on her now that I had stabbed her directly.
The three of them were still linked.
I withdrew the sword, and Allunna fell to the floor. Xavier groaned as he held up the barrier. The imps had gone silent.
Thoreau gagged and did likewise, falling onto his face. I watched his red hands begin to shrivel. Once again, he was dying.
And once again, he would come back.
Xavier turned and faced me, mouth falling open. My sword dripped with Allunna's blood. I held the Orb between my body and my other arm. The portal remained open. We had to go.
"Hold my hand," Xavier shouted, reaching for me while the shocked imps looked on.
I did.
And together, we jumped.
Chapter Fourteen
We landed together on marble identical to the floor in Thoreau's castle. I kicked, and my boot splashed water. I pushed myself up, careful not to drop the Orb.
Outside, the evening sun shone on the ATC building. The glass windows looked out on the City of Cumberland. The sky was fiery and dotted with dark clouds. We had returned. I had all of Thoreau's contracts under my arm, sloshing around.
"Get away from the portal," Xavier said, pulling my arm.
I stood. The weight on my back remained. I held my hand up for a second. It was still red and ugly. Coming back hadn't cured me.
I swallowed down the panic and looked around the room, then at the portal that still displayed the Infernal version of this office. I could see no one inside. Not Thoreau or Allunna. People never showed up inside of portals.
But that didn't mean no one else would come through it.
"We have a few minutes," Xavier said. "The portal's fading. I don't think the imps will come through without their master alive. If they do, you should be able to command them."
I hoped that Xavier was right. I looked around. We were alone on the upper level. The wooden doors to Thoreau's office remained closed.
"Liliana!" I shouted. She might be here. Where else would the mayor want to keep her?
The portal dimmed and turned black. The water began to return to normal, leaving only blue.
"Thoreau won't come back for maybe ten or fifteen minutes. It was about how long it took last time. It might be longer if Death takes time to go from dimension to dimension." He turned, in sear
ch of his sister. "I think we got into the building without tripping the wards."
"I hope," I said, backing further away from the pool. It was starting to...reflect things.
"Why did you stab Allunna?" Xavier asked. "She was trying to help us."
"Because it was the only safe way to slow Thoreau down," I said. I felt no remorse. I knew that before my transformation, I would have felt plenty, even for her. It was almost a welcome relief. "She said that it didn't matter if she died. She's just going to come back. What's the deal?"
Xavier drew close to me. "You have to stop acting like this, Alyssa," he said. "Don't let this affect you on the inside. You're better than that."
"Well, it's a little hard to control." He wasn't the one who had endured a life of getting called a monster.
Xavier grabbed both sides of my face and kissed me before I could react.
He kissed me passionately.
It was a brave thing to do.
The darkness fled, and I was the old Alyssa again, the one who cared about people. I pulled Xavier close to me. Stabbing Allunna was rotten. I loved Xavier, but I didn't understand why he wanted to kiss something like me.
We separated. We didn't have time to waste. Xavier turned away. He ran up to Thoreau's doors and pounded on them. "Liliana! Are you in there?"
His sister.
We had to get her out of here.
Xavier backed up. He was doing better now that he was out of the Infernal Dimension. He raised both hands and threw a magenta charge at the double doors, which broke and swung inward.
It was our first view of Thoreau's office.
Liliana was not inside, but there were an ordinary desk and a laptop. There were newspaper clippings all over the walls about the ATC and Thoreau's election. Maybe he had to keep the place looking normal in case he had to answer some video calls. The only strange thing was a rack of sunglasses on the wall and a few bottles of spray cologne on his desk.
"She's not here," Xavier said. He snatched a few pairs of sunglasses off the rack and grabbed a bottle of cologne as well.
"What are you doing?" I asked. "We have to leave." I eyed the portal, glad that I was far enough from it to avoid having my reflection show up.
Xavier shot me a grave look. "You have a problem."
"Well, duh." I tried to sound funny, but in reality, I could barely hold down the terror.
Leaving the Infernal Dimension hadn't helped me.
I was still...I was still...
I might be for the rest of my life.
Something buzzed in the mayor's office. "Thoreau," the receptionist lady said from a speaker inside. "Your dinner speech begins in ten minutes. All members have seated themselves."
Xavier paled. "I forgot."
"About what?" I asked.
"You need to figure out the glamour thing," he said. "I didn't think it would be a problem for us, but there's a big ATC dinner happening here tonight. It was on the news."
"A what?" I asked.
"Hundreds of ATC personnel got invited," Xavier said. "Thoreau is supposed to do a victory speech or something."
"That's great," I said. I looked at my hands. They were still as horrible as they had been in the Infernal. "I don't know how to do this glamour stuff!"
Xavier took my arm. "You need to figure it out. We might have to search every floor for my sister."
"At least Thoreau won't be doing his victory speech," I said.
"On time," Xavier said. "It might help us. He still has to keep up an image for one more day."
I doubted Thoreau would choose the speech over keeping all his contracts, but we had to try. We couldn't leave without Liliana.
We descended the steps to the level below, which was an empty, circular room with more pillars and torches. There were no windows here. The steel double doors stayed shut, but Xavier threw another War Magic charge at them, and the lock broke. He was doing much better since getting out of the Infernal. His blisters had healed, but his hair still looked as if it had lost a fight with a lighter.
We ran down the hallway. I closed my eyes and begged whatever glamour I had to work. I felt nothing, and the weight of my wings remained. Xavier didn't slow down. I had to do something before we reached the young intern's desk or he was going to--
"What are you--oh my--"
I opened my eyes to see a War Magic charge collide with the young, timid receptionist who worked on this floor. The guy flew off his chair and into the wall right behind him. The intern groaned and slumped, stunned. Xavier let go of me and stood over the guy. "Where is my sister?" he asked. He wasn't holding back. "Liliana Lovelli. Tell me where she is!"
But the receptionist's terrified stare landed on me, not the War Mage who was threatening him. He was shaking. Why was I bothering him? He knew what kinds of things went on behind those steel doors. I was pretty sure this guy served Thoreau just like the lady who worked in the downstairs lobby.
"Your sister?" the guy asked. His glasses slid down his nose.
"My sister. Liliana. Tell us where she is." Xavier lifted his hands again and another charge formed around them. He wasn't messing around. I had never seen him so threatening before. The look on his face must rival my own.
I stepped up as well, glaring down at the guy. I might as well use my new horrible looks to my advantage. I smiled. "You'd better tell us, sir."
He kicked his legs and scooted up closer to the wall if that was even possible. "Liliana's at the dinner," he said. "They're guarding her at the ATC dinner."
Xavier looked at me. "Are you kidding?"
"I believe it," I said. "How are we going to rescue Liliana from that?"
I didn't want to say what the real problem was: me. I couldn't walk into a room full of ATC agents like this. Even if I figured out the glamour thing, I was still in trouble. I was Alyssa Choy, the most wanted Abnormal in all of Cumberland. I would be until tomorrow night at the earliest.
"How many agents are there?" I asked.
The receptionist gulped. "About two hundred, plus their families. Please don't hurt me."
I stepped a little closer. "Which floor?"
"The fifth floor. It's the conference level. Please don't kill me!"
"We have to tie him up," Xavier said.
"That might work," I said. The intern would rat us out as soon as we left and then the security system would activate. Transposing didn't work inside the ATC building due to all the magical wards. Our best shot was to grab Liliana, get out, and then Transpose. "Do you see anything we can use?"
Xavier opened the drawers to the desk. We were wasting time. Thoreau would get resurrected and come this way in minutes. He still had a speech downstairs, and our chances of saving Liliana would get slimmer if he got there first. I closed my eyes and begged whatever glamour I had to work. Nothing. I opened my eyes, and my hands were still messed up.
I could do this. I had to.
"There's nothing here," Xavier said.
I drew my sword. "Then I'm going to take care of this."
The receptionist tried to stand, but not before I hit him over the head with the handle of my sword. He let out a gasp and slid down the wall, eyes unfocused at first. He was stunned. Then he closed his eyes and breathed as if he were in a deep sleep.
"Alyssa!" Xavier shouted, grabbing my arm.
"We have to find your sister," I said. "He was going to get in the way. Hide him."
Xavier opened his mouth to say something else but didn't. I was right. It wasn't like I had killed the guy. Besides, why did he care?
We dragged the guy behind his desk and into a storage closet. I closed the door and faced the elevator. Floor Nineteen was barren and a fake treatment center for captured Abnormals. "Floor Five," I said.
"Not without glamour," Xavier said.
"I'll figure it out in the elevator," I said. I felt zero remorse for the receptionist, even though I knew he was probably Bound and had no choice but to work up here. It was liberating.
But it was
wrong.
I was losing my morality.
Xavier grabbed my hand again and the darkness cleared for a moment. I knew that he could sense the conflict within me.
I needed to care. Xavier had conquered his family history. I could do the same.
We boarded the elevator and the doors closed. I wondered if we could cut the cables to slow the mayor down. Thoreau couldn't Transpose. But there were stairs. A broken elevator would slow down no one.
"Glamour," Xavier reminded me.
"You just can't stand looking at me," I said.
"I told you. You're still Alyssa. There has to be something that can help this." He hesitated over the elevator buttons. "We'll go back to the ruins and search that library again."
It gave me a little bit of hope. I closed my eyes, imagining the skin of my hands returning to normal or at least masking the horrible change. I had to hide. I thought of my old form wrapping around me like a curtain, keeping me safe from Xavier's disgust.
A brief tingle washed over me, and the weight dropped off my back. The tingle turned into a quick zap that rushed through me.
"Whoa," Xavier said.
"Did I do it?" I asked.
"You did," he said.
I opened my eyes and looked down at my hands. They looked like they had before: pale, almost creamy. I reached up and felt my face next, relieved to feel the familiar contours of my bones and my smooth forehead. I looked at Xavier. He managed a smile.
"It worked," I said. Incredible relief coursed through me. I backed against the wall to make sure the wings were gone. They were. I wondered if Xavier's jacket had repaired itself. I reached back there to find smooth leather. It appeared to have. Now I knew why Thoreau didn't worry about ruining so many suits.
"I knew you could do it," he said, pressing the button for the fifth floor. "I wish I could glamour, too."
