Arcane Dropout 6

by Edmund Hughes

  “You idiots!” shouted Harper. “Why? Is your goal just to sow pointless chaos?”

  It was a hard accusation to refute, especially since she threw another kick at Lee before he’d had time to properly think about it. He moved with the blow and then pushed forward, grabbing Harper by the shoulders and briefly pinning her against the wall.

  “Tell your mages to stand down,” said Lee through gritted teeth. “We can still resolve this, somehow.”

  He knew the suggestion would fall on deaf ears, and probably for good reason. Several more mages went down to the press of rioting, enraged prisoners. Mira’s lips were scarlet with blood, and she seemed to pick targets at random, fighting anyone who dared draw near her.

  Zoe was engaged in a short-range spell duel against one of the Order mages, though their attention seemed split between continuing the exchange and watching the general situation devolve into madness.

  The panic shifted into a general sense of desperation as the prisoners began to get the upper hand against the mages. Lee pulled back from Harper, dropping his guard and giving her a single shake of the head. She made a face as though she was disappointed and started to move toward where the rest of her men was fighting, but it was already too late.

  Other than Harper, the last Order mage left standing went down under the crush of the enraged prisoners’ fists. Lee saw them eyeing Harper and Zoe with expressions that were hungry and wrong. He made a fist, feeling the prickle in his right hand. They’d made a complete mess of what they’d set out to achieve. What was he supposed to do? Burn through the evidence of their fuck-up with holy fire?

  “Well, now that we’ve gotten our organized enemies out of the way…” said Mira.

  Two tendrils of shadow stabbed through the backs of the nearest prisoners, poking out through their chests like a special effect from a horror movie. Both men grasped feebly at their chests, as though they could undo their own impalements if they put in enough effort.

  Screams of panic came from the rest of the prisoners, followed by screams of horror and pain as Mira turned her attention and attacks onto them. The panic and surprise were her real weapons. A simple spell shield could have blocked her dark magic, but the prisoners died without ever seeming to realize it.

  “Now then,” said Mira. “Shall we leave this place?”

  She stepped over the fallen bodies of Order mages and prisoners alike, her mouth and clothing streaked with blood. Harper was shaking her head, and Lee couldn’t help but share some of her outrage for the pointlessness of the battle that had just taken place.

  “Are you happy?” asked Harper. “Is this what you wanted?”

  She brought her hands up into a casting stance, but Mira was too quick. She punched Harper in the stomach and pinned one of her hands.

  “I kept you alive on purpose,” whispered Mira. “You’d make a great thrall.”

  “Try it and see what happens,” growled Harper.

  “Enough!” shouted Lee. “Let go of her.”

  Mira glanced at him, raising an eyebrow. Lee flexed his hand, letting his holy fire pulse and begin to flicker over his palm as a menacing blue-white flame.

  “Mira…” said Zoe. “It’s okay. We can keep her prisoner without enthralling her.”

  “Are you so sure about that?” asked Harper.

  “We aren’t taking Harper prisoner!” snapped Lee. He was a little surprised by the vehemence he heard in his own voice. “She’s just doing what she believes in, just like we—”

  The entire corridor suddenly bucked underneath his feet, unsteadying him along with everyone else and releasing a cloud of dust from the ceiling. The floor continued to rumble for several seconds, only to be followed by the faint sound of overlapped screams.

  “Oh no…” said Zoe.

  “It wasn’t just us,” said Harper, folding her arms. “The Order was waiting to attack on the other side of the Way Gate.”

  Mira snarled and raised her hand, fingers twisted into a claw. Lee grabbed her arm before she could do anything.

  “Come on,” he said. “We need to get back up while the lift is still working. Can I trust the two of you to resist the temptation to kill each other for the next thirty seconds?”

  Harper and Mira glared at each other.

  “I give them ten seconds at most,” whispered Tess.

  “Generous,” said Lee.

  “But accurate.”

  The lift shook from another above-ground impact soon after they’d loaded on and begun their ascent. Lee had time to picture a detailed horror scenario of the shaft collapsing to trap them in the underground level as they made it the last stretch to the surface.

  The situation was complete pandemonium. The Sahara Base’s wall was on fire in several different places. Members of the House of Shadows were engaged in a battle of spells with the Order mages directly outside the gate in a weird reversal of roles and property.

  “Over here!” shouted Jack. He was crouching behind a small barrier of sandbags, his face set into a dark scowl. “What happened?”

  “The prisoners were… not what we were expecting,” said Zoe. She glanced at Lee and then dropped her gaze.

  “A trap,” said Jack. “I should have seen this coming. The Order has us surrounded. I’m not sure what happened to Shannara and the Melting Pack, and we’re cut off from Ryoko and the oasis.”

  “I didn’t know,” muttered Lee. “The memories I absorbed weren’t clear enough for me to see this.”

  “It doesn’t matter now.” Jack’s eyes narrowed as he turned to look at Harper. “At least we have a hostage.”

  “She’s not a hostage,” said Lee, stepping in front of her.

  “Eldon, it’s alright.” She set a hand on his shoulder. “This might be for the best. There’s been… enough bloodshed for one day already, by far.”

  “Harper, he’s talking about bargaining with your life!” he snapped.

  “As opposed to betting with everyone’s lives?” asked Harper. “Be realistic. Think about how this battle will end if one side doesn’t capitulate.”

  She raised her eyebrows, fixing her gaze on him in a manner he’d seen so many times before, the manner of a master trying to emphasize a point to her apprentice. Her hand felt so warm and familiar on his shoulder. He couldn’t stop himself from putting his own fingers on top of hers, as though he could win her back through that simple, tender gesture.

  “Is Gen in charge of the attack?” he asked.

  Harper nodded. “I made Willow stay behind. I had a feeling this situation would get volatile.”

  “Harper, if Gen is the one in control, there’s no way she’ll ever back down,” he said. “This will only lead to you…”

  “I know.” She glanced over at Jack before stepping in closer to Lee. “I know, Eldon. But if there’s even a small chance of saving lives here, averting any more disaster, this is it.”

  It felt like a cruel joke to have her speaking to him again, treating him like she once had, while preparing for what amounted to a suicidal gesture. Lee was shaking his head, but he could already tell she’d made up her mind. The fighting had died down slightly, and Jack waved a hand at them.

  “If we’re going to do this, it needs to happen now,” he said.

  “I’ll do it,” said Lee.

  “No,” said Jack. “It needs to be me. You can come along, but if Genevieve Laughton is here, I need to see her with my own eyes.”

  There was an edge to his voice that Lee really didn’t like. Gen was the person responsible for the death of Katherine White, Jack’s former girlfriend. He felt his already tiny hope for a bloodless resolution diminish even further.

  “Eldon.” Zoe ran over to Lee and pulled him into a hug. “Don’t get yourself killed.”

  “I won’t,” he said.

  Zoe looked at Tess, and her expression took on a desperate, fearful quality. “Tess. Can you be the voice of reason in his ear?”

  Tess gave a small smile. “I always am. I’ll try
to keep him safe.”

  A brief ceasefire had broken out as each side hurried to drag their wounded across the sand. It was still dark out, but sunrise couldn’t be more than a few minutes away, which only added another complication to their situation. In the morning light, would Mira and Jack even be able to use their powers?

  Gen was on the front lines, dressed in her regal Vice Magister’s robe, red hair pulled back into a simple ponytail. She had a new sword in place of Savoire Solaire, which brought a small wince out of Lee as he hoped he wouldn’t have to explain the loss of the weapon to her presently.

  He walked with one arm on Harper’s shoulder, just behind Jack. He wasn’t anything close to sure about the situation. Harper could have lied about wanting a bloodless ending, merely playing to get closer to Gen and her own people. Gen could dismiss the fact they’d taken a hostage, order them attacked and possibly killed on the spot. There were no guarantees.

  “We have a hostage, as you can see,” boomed Jack as they came within earshot. “We aren’t interested in this fight.”

  Gen stared at the three of them, her expression pensive and blank. The wind blew in a westerly direction, scattering sand and ruffling robes.

  “You aren’t interested?” she called. “Isn’t this what you wanted? The mighty Dealmaker, raising an army in the shadows to strike at the Order of Chaldea…”

  The tone of mockery in her voice did not bode well, at least in Lee’s opinion.

  “Our fight is about freedom!” shouted Jack. “Not pointlessly throwing lives away.”

  “In that same regard, our presence here is a simple matter of upholding the law,” said Gen. “We didn’t enter this battle to massacre our enemy, and similarly, you cannot negotiate your way out of it with a hostage. This is a simple matter of order over chaos.”

  “Your Order is a mockery of the law,” said Jack. “How many innocent people have you imprisoned or killed? How many times have you—”

  “I’m sorry, I have to interrupt.” Gen was smiling and shaking her head. “Really? Does that perspective really apply to what happened here today? Can you truly say that with a straight face?”

  “You knew we would come here,” said Jack. “You wanted this battle even more than we did!”

  Gen shrugged and shifted her gaze. “Harper? Do you have an opinion on where the blame lies in this exceedingly complicated matter?” She waited a beat, furrowing her brow. Silence. “What about you then, Lee Amaranth? What’s your hot take?”

  “Lee…” whispered Tess. “She’s just trying to stir the situation back up. She knows the fight is pointless. She wants an excuse to keep it going.”

  Lee kept his mouth firmly shut, sensing the truth in Tess’s words. A scowl played across Gen’s face, and she pointed a finger at them from across the sand.

  “I now see I placed far too much trust in you,” she said. It wasn’t clear to Lee whether she was speaking to him, Harper, or them both.

  “I know what you are, Genevieve Laughton,” said Jack. “I know what you want, what you crave. As much as I’d love to give it to you, I’m responsible for the lives of my people, just like you.”

  “I find it so amusing that you think you can talk down to me.” Gen let out an exaggerated sigh. “You aren’t wrong, however. My hands are similarly tied. Our rematch may have to wait.”

  The tension seemed to bleed from Lee’s muscles, and he could see similar relief in the posture of the Order mages behind Gen. He felt Tess’s hand against his and glanced over at her, finding her face bunched with worry.

  “This isn’t right,” she whispered.

  “There is no right and wrong in war,” muttered Lee.

  “No,” she hissed. “This doesn’t feel right.”

  He was about to ask what she meant when light suddenly flooded across the desert, illuminating the scene of the two supernatural armies facing off. Lee blinked, noticing first the ominous crimson hue, then the small concentric ripples dancing across the sand, little reflected artifacts of the intense power gathering in the sky.

  Eliza, the Unavowed Queen, floated a hundred feet above the negotiation, wreathed in crimson power bright enough to obscure the fine details of her body. Lee, Jack, and Harper fell into combat stances as the crimson sphere began to descend. Gen looked unnerved, and ecstatic.

  “It’s alright,” she called to her mages. “She’s on our side. Well now, this certainly changes the power dynamic of this situation, wouldn’t you say?”

  “More than you realize.” Eliza’s voice boomed out, amplified by her magic without any need for shouting. The glow faded, and Lee saw she wore the same tight black bodysuit he’d last seen her in and carried a small bag in one hand.

  “This entire operation was her idea,” said Gen. “Ms. Willis has gained an understanding of her power, the nature of it, how best to apply it to maintain order in the world. She’s a credit to Primhaven, and an example that you and yours would have done so well to follow.”

  Eliza flashed a delighted smile, crossing one arm over her chest as her shoulders shook with silent laughs. Gen looked visibly disconcerted but pressed on.

  “Surrender is the only option left for you now,” said Gen. “Tell your forces to come out slowly and make no move to cast any spells.”

  “It’s far too late for that,” said Eliza.

  Gen raised an eyebrow. “I don’t think there’s any need for drastic measures to be taken, given how overwhelming our advantage against them is at this juncture.”

  “Drastic measures have already been taken.” Eliza reached into the bag. “It’s as you said. This entire operation was my idea, and now I have an understanding of my power and how best to apply it.”

  She pulled the contents of the bag loose, and an audible gasp went up from Gen, Harper, and the Order mages. She held the severed head of an older man with gray hair and a long beard out in front of her, turning so she could give a view of the grisly trophy to all present.

  “The Executive Magister…” said Gen in a shaky voice.

  “I have so many apparent enemies now, that I was at a loss for how to gather them all in one place.” Eliza tossed the head down onto the sand. “This little trap has saved me so much time. Of course, I still had to attack the Order Headquarters in New York first. This is clean-up for me, in essence.”

  It was almost as though she hadn’t spoken, as though silence had replaced her words in terms of how everyone assembled was supposed to react to them. Lee was the first to overcome his intimidation of his former friend and make a move.

  “Eliza,” he said. “Walk with me?”

  He held his hand out, smiling as though they were back at Primhaven, about to head off on a date. He saw her then, the real Eliza, the intelligent, shy, emotional girl whose company he’d come to love and cherish.

  “I think not,” she said, as the moment passed. “I still have work to do.”

  She lifted a finger and almost lazily pointed it at the Sahara Base. A blast of crimson energy—powerful enough to knock Lee and the others nearby off their feet merely from passing by—erupted at Eliza’s beckoning.

  It struck the base head-on, turning the already-besieged walls into bits of napalm and scrap. The screams were delayed by a few seconds, though Lee was unsure whether that was due to generated shock or the ringing in his ears.

  “Attack!” screamed Gen. She threw herself forward at Jack, for whatever reason, rather than Eliza.

  The Unavowed Queen smiled and pointed her finger at the Order mages, her next target.

  CHAPTER 32

  True pandemonium is a force of nature, a self-sustaining state of mind and action with its own direction and flow. Panic spread across the desert battlefield like a contagion, one man’s fear infecting others nearby, who ran off to spread the message of fear on to others.

  Lee stayed close to Harper and Tess. His heart was pounding in his chest as blasts of crimson energy continued to strike both sides of the fight at random.

  He needed to
find Zoe. He needed to get his sister and Harper out of there. He needed to confront Eliza, both to snap her out of her insanity and to force her to stop whatever it was she was doing to Tess.

  “Let go of me!” shouted Harper.

  He realized he was still holding her shoulder, keeping her from running off to… wherever it was she’d go, in her semi-panicked state of mind.

  “We have to stick together!” shouted Lee.

  That made sense, as much as anything could in the middle of chaos and destruction. Another blast of crimson struck the ground to their north, launching bits of melted sand and smoke into the air. Eliza was levitating over the battlefield now, dishing out her wrath like one of the gods of old.

  “Where is your sister?” shouted Harper. “We have to get to Zoe!”

  “We have to get to Zoe,” he repeated. She nodded, and he finally let go of her, the two of them falling into as much of a sprint as they could manage across the uneven, shifting sand.

  The remaining members of the House of Shadows and the Melting Pack were moving out of the wreckage of the Sahara Base, as many limping or crawling as walking on both legs. Lee spotted Mira carrying Zoe in her arms, the vampire’s face contorted with confusion and concern.

  “Mira!” He waved her over, gesturing for her to put Zoe down on the sand. Nowhere was safe anymore, so it didn’t seem to matter that they weren’t behind cover. “What happened?”

  “She was knocked against the wall by the first blast,” said Mira. “She’s unconscious but otherwise unharmed. It doesn’t seem like that bad of a wound.”

  There was no blood that Lee could see, and Zoe was still breathing. He squeezed her hand, feeling a chatter run through his teeth from the tremble in his body.

  “We can’t stay here!” shouted Mira. “Where’s Ryoko, and where is Jack?”

  He only had an answer for one of his questions, and it wasn’t the answer any of them wanted. Jack was still in the center of the battlefield. He was facing off against Gen, throwing spells and blows at one another in the most pointless, untimely duel that Lee had ever seen.

  “We can’t leave without him,” said Mira.