When Night Breaks

by Janella Angeles

  With that, he raised his hands to the sky.

  And the devils fell. They rained like dark shooting stars and rose from the ground.

  So many, even Jack stepped back.

  All of a sudden, he felt that distance like a block in his chest. He’d been drawn out so far, far away from everyone else. And now he was surrounded.

  “And there’s more where that came from.” With a snap of his fingers, the devils swarmed Jack, more and more rushing like a wave taking him under, writhing all over him.

  Too many covered him, until he saw nothing but black.

  Nothing but Roth’s back as he walked toward the city.

  46

  There was only so much they could do for the city behind them. Nothing would stop the devils from breaking down the gates into the city and feasting on those with magic. They were drawn to it, and no one inside would be the wiser.

  Kallia tried to concentrate, but the sound of a crash pulled her out of her thoughts.

  She frantically looked for the carriage zooming through the devils, and found it completely tipped over on its side.

  No, no, no. Her heart lurched. The mirror light it blazed with slowly disappeared as more devils began swarming it.

  From behind, Vain snatched Kallia’s hand tightly in hers, stopping her in place.

  “We can’t, we need to get out of here.” Vain’s breath hitched, something inside her breaking. “Hold on.”

  They watched in horror as the carriage disappeared under the pile altogether, before her feet flew off the ground entirely, rising higher and higher.

  As high as Malice’s hoop would take them.

  “Too heavy.” Malice gasped, holding on to Vain’s arm. “Ruth, take Kallia.”

  Vain started to swing Kallia’s arm toward the other hoop next to hers. Ruthless’s hand was outstretched, desperately reaching to grab as Kallia let go.

  Midair, their fingers brushed—

  “Where do you think you’re going?”

  The hand that yanked Kallia’s leg dragged her down to the ground.

  Her vision blacked out from the force against her skull. She had enough lucidity to cover her face, waiting for the devils to trample her like beasts.

  The utter stillness chilled her more, as Roth stood before her.

  “It’s just you and me, my dear. Away from the noise. It’s about to get ugly.”

  When he gazed past her shoulder, Kallia whirled around.

  The city was impossibly far now, a mere blaze of light. She saw the Diamond Rings, holding on to Vain over the surge of devils overtaking the gates of Glorian. They still gathered over the carriage like bugs piling on to each other to feed on a scrap.

  “Where is the mirror, Kallia?”

  His voice was so close to her ear, she shuddered and threw a blast in his face.

  She ran as fast as she could to the city. As fast as her feet could take her.

  “You could run for days, and you still wouldn’t reach them.”

  Roth pulled her back by the scruff of her neck, throwing her to the ground.

  When Kallia pushed herself back up, she saw how far the city still was. As if she hadn’t moved more than a step forward.

  “It didn’t have to come to this. Not even all the magicians in the city could take this on. Your sad bunch of friends are just ants in comparison. Even Jack is rather occupied.”

  Kallia backed away from Roth’s shadow rising over her.

  The monster in her nightmare. The monster all along.

  “Tell me where the mirror is, Kallia,” he said. “And I can call them off the city, off your friends. You can stop this so very simply.”

  She didn’t believe him. Roth lied. He always lied.

  Just as she lied, too.

  “Where is the gate, Kallia?”

  “I don’t know,” she screamed.

  A displeased sigh. “If you’re going to lie to me, at least say the lie to my face.”

  Kallia rose from the ground with a force that straightened her suddenly until she felt the bones down her spine crack in response. She looked down at the ground where her feet hovered above, before Roth forced her to face him.

  The moment he touched her, she threw her hands up and felt the sun blast out of them.

  It pushed Roth back, just a bit. Like an errant wind. A minor inconvenience.

  “I was expecting a lot more from a born magician.” He laughed. “I thought you would at least put up more of a fight.”

  Kallia’s heart sank.

  Her power was her power. Nothing special, nothing huge. Nothing but hers.

  She’d been hoping for something more to come, but this was all she would get.

  Power, but not enough.

  Against him, it was an impossible duel.

  “I was wrong about you. We were wrong,” he seethed in her face. “That power you want … it’s not power. It’s spotlight, it’s applause. Not the kind of power that would put you on top of the world.”

  He watched the tears fall from her eyes. One of his cold fingers followed the track, swiping off the tear. Looked at it curiously.

  “We thought you could be someone great,” he said, flicking the tear away. “You could’ve set us all free, but you’re just another foolish little girl who wants to be a star. Nothing special.”

  “Nothing special.” Her voice trembled. It hurt to give him that, because it was what he wanted to hear. And she had nothing left.

  “You’re right,” she said weakly. “But I still got you exactly where I wanted.”

  She relished the way his smile dropped hard like a brick when that last hold she kept finally released.

  And the mirror appeared beneath their feet.

  Without hesitation, Kallia sent a blast of light downward.

  And closed her eyes to the sound of his screams.

  47

  It was by luck that when the carriage turned over, it was on the other side of the door. That left only one side with the window vulnerable.

  “Demarco.” Herald huffed out a breath beside him. “It won’t hold much longer.”

  When they tipped over, Daron was more than certain he’d twisted something. Herald sported a bloody nose that gushed in the beginning, but there was no time to stop it when the devils began banging on the window.

  The last mirror Herald had packed was a large one, inconveniently so. Not practical enough to use or carry as a shield, but large enough to barricade the other side of the carriage.

  Which was how Herald ended up on the ground with both feet pressed up to the back of a mirror on one side, while Daron’s shoulders supported the other.

  Without a stream of light to refresh the surface, it died.

  Soon, the scratching began to break the mirror.

  And when the frame itself started to crack under the frenzy of movement on the other side, Daron began to panic.

  “It’s going to break. Soon,” Herald said, wincing at a particularly rough shove. His legs were no doubt trembling as much as Daron’s by now. “And when it does—”

  “You have to go,” Daron said. “You have to leave me, because I won’t be able to fight them off.”

  Herald huffed out a warning breath. “Now is really not the time to be a martyr, Demarco.”

  “Just like it’s not the time to be honorable,” Daron bit out. “You know I would only slow you down. Don’t pretend I can fight them like you can.”

  Daron thought the truth would weigh on him more heavily.

  The moment his magic left him completely was like the ropes that had bound him had finally fallen free. In that trap, it was either Eva’s or Daron’s, and the choice was easy. All he could think about was her. And Kallia. And all the power he’d taken without knowing.

  It was no longer his.

  The chance to give it all away was a chance he never thought he’d get, and he’d taken it. No matter how vulnerable it left him.

  Swallowing hard, Herald just gave a shake of his head. “You can
’t ask me to do that. I’m not just going to leave you behind like that.”

  The fact that he sounded so insulted was the most amusing part of all. “You’re a good friend, Herald. I hope you know that.”

  Herald grimaced, his jaw set. “There was never any new job.”

  “What?” It hardly seemed relevant at a time like this.

  “You kept asking, so here’s your answer: I was lying,” he snapped. “After the ball, I just wanted to see what would happen.”

  A splitting pain tore through his chest when he felt a laugh rise from him. Still, there was a special kind of irony to it all, for Daron couldn’t help but think of the card Ira had pulled for him. He’d known the ending for a while, he supposed.

  This place, this other side, was a world for magicians.

  Anyone else who didn’t fit did not belong here.

  Daron felt it in his bones. As if the air he was breathing now was not the air his body needed. Like a fish on land, with the ocean far, far away from him.

  It would’ve been slow, if that were the case. With the devils clawing away at the other side, it might be quick. Merciless, but quick.

  The mirror cracked further, until a dark hand broke through and shattered the glass.

  No more cover. No more shield.

  “Go now!” Daron shouted, throwing himself back at the hands swarming in, shielding his face from the glass. “Please, you need to go—”

  The hands stilled.

  Before they dissolved into smoke.

  Stillness. Silence.

  Herald blinked long and hard when suddenly, a beam of daylight streamed in through the smashed window.

  48

  Somehow, Kallia could see the light even with her eyes closed.

  Every morning in the Glorian she knew, she’d wake up just like this. An early air of silence. The soft light outside, peeking through the curtains to pull her from the dream, coaxing her from sleep.

  For a moment, she wondered if this was just that.

  A dream.

  One so elaborate, she was still standing.

  Open your eyes.

  For the first time, Kallia trusted herself enough to do so.

  Her heart stilled at the sight.

  The sky was as gray-white as a Glorian morning all around her. No clouds or sun, but it was a beautiful shade she knew well. Not a devil in sight, neither above nor below.

  The barren desert surrounding her was utterly still, untouched as soil packed flat.

  And on the ground lay the mirror, reflecting the sky it now faced.

  Kallia didn’t feel the need to hide from it. It was never fear of looking at the mirror, but what the mirror would see in you. It was a part of the story Roth got wrong.

  She wondered what else they’d been wrong about.

  The warmth of seeing no devils, no Roth, no darkness abruptly went cold when she realized Jack was gone.

  The more she waited, the more silence.

  She called his name one last time. Gave one last look behind her.

  Before she beckoned the mirror to follow as she turned around and walked back toward the city of lights.

  * * *

  Daron almost fell to his knees when he saw Kallia walking toward him.

  Please be real.

  When he actually did fall, she ran for him.

  You better tell her, Eva had told him. Not a ghost’s whisper, but an order followed by a punch in the arm.

  How he wanted her to come back with him.

  How he wanted them all to return.

  The others had left him alone, gone into the city to see the aftermath, to give him this moment to tell her himself.

  When Kallia finally made it, she fell to his side. “I can’t believe it.” Her breathing became erratic. The feel of her hands tracing over him, as if to ensure he was all solid and in one piece, was sublime. “What’s wrong?”

  He couldn’t stop looking at her. There was so much he wanted to tell her, so many things he’d thought he’d never get to say to her when he’d been trapped in that carriage with Herald. But it would be selfish to give her those without giving her this first.

  Daron reached out to cup her cheek, noticing the way her eyes closed a second too long, as if she wanted to capture this moment as well.

  “I have to tell you something,” he said, stroking her cheek one last time before letting his hand fall to the ground. “But first, I want to ask if you wish to stay here?”

  “What?” Her brow furrowed. “Why would you ask that?”

  “Because this place … this place is not the trap everyone needs to be rescued from. It’s truly the place for stars to thrive. There’s so much freedom, power, and opportunity. So many things most aren’t afforded back home,” he said, swallowing hard. He would never fault Eva for choosing to stay. For her, this was home, the place where she was most in her element. He would never fault her choice to choose the best for herself. He was not the judge of that; she was. “You’ve always deserved the best, Kallia.”

  “Where is this coming from?” she asked, trying to get them both up. “Come on, I think we should go in—”

  Daron hissed sharply, startling her as she took them both up. The physical pains were one thing, but his insides felt entirely bruised. Kallia looked him up and down, her frown deepening. “Demarco, what is going on?”

  He closed his eyes in a slow, hard blink. “When Eva and I were stuck in one of the devils’ traps, they took it all from me.”

  He didn’t have to elaborate; the silence was all he needed to know she’d gathered his meaning. He was new to this world, but she wasn’t. The devils could take what no one else could. A fear for most, but a relief for others.

  “I’m not a magician anymore, Kallia.” He sighed, too nervous to look at her face. See her reaction. “It wouldn’t be fair to kiss you until you knew that.”

  If she even still wanted that.

  He was not the same, and they would not be the same again even if they tried.

  “That’s what you’re worried about—are you fucking kidding me?”

  He’d never seen so much rage in her eyes. It was confusing as hell when she pulled his face to hers and kissed him hard.

  “You’re an idiot, Demarco,” she said against his lips. “You lose your magic and look like you’re on death’s door, and you worry about what I want?”

  Herald probably would’ve clinked a drink with her over that. He’d tell Daron exactly how melodramatic it all was. And the way she said it like that, it was rather ridiculous.

  Just like the first time he told her about his magic. The first time she realized he was Daron Demarco. Kallia never cared about any of that, and she looked downright insulted that he’d ever imagine her starting now.

  He exhaled deeply. “You deserve so much more. You would never be happy without magic.”

  “That’s different. What magic is to me is not what it is to you.” Kallia took his hand, squeezing tight. “And it doesn’t matter what I think. You need to ask yourself this—without magic, are you happy?”

  Daron blinked. There was certainly relief, but it was still too early to tell. Too soon to know entirely. “I don’t know yet,” he said. “But I think I could be.”

  Her eyes narrowed, as though she could read his thoughts all too well. “If you’re happy, then I’m happy.” She laced her fingers within his. “That’s how this works.”

  This.

  He didn’t understand how a word so simple could fill him with so much light.

  49

  An illusion was always tied to its magician.

  With Roth gone, the city fell.

  Slowly, gently, the way color bled off a soaked painting, leaving glimmers of what once was. A shame, when the devils’ night no longer shadowed the streets.

  The rare brightness overhead exposed the city without its mask of flashing spectacle. Under the light, the world appeared less vibrant, less alive. Music that once roared now pulsed at a softer beat. Building
s and cobblestones carried less of the shine and boldness that marked them apart. No performances occupied the sidewalks and street curbs. The people were much too busy peering up, slack-jawed and mesmerized by their world fading under an unfamiliar sun.

  Kallia darted past every figure, shielding her eyes the entire way. With every step, she felt a heart beating slower. The dream, lifting.

  This city of Glorian, finally going to rest.

  She ran faster. Demarco had insisted he didn’t mind waiting, but she knew better. Without magic, he stood as good a chance of surviving as this city without its magician. And Zarose Gate would not stay forever, however long it would take for the high of the Show of Hands to wear off.

  This was her last chance to find it.

  As Kallia burst through the grand doors of the Alastor Place, her jaw hung instantly at the emptiness on the other side. Colorless walls held framed paintings that dissolved off the canvas. Portraits of figures and idyllic scenes flickered before vanishing completely.

  And there was no one around. No illusions or waitstaff milling about, no herds of headliners in sight. Abandoned as a house without its dolls.

  She hoped she wasn’t too late.

  Adrenaline pumped through her veins as she took the stairs two steps at a time. It was a miracle the ground still held as she reached her room’s level, desolate and changed as the first floor. Until she walked through her door.

  Everything remained right where she had left it. Every shade of red was vibrant as ever. Even her bed was the same rumpled mess from when she’d last slept in it. The only sign of wear was in the lush carpets, slowly losing brilliance. It was subtle enough that Kallia caught herself casually fixing up the blankets and pillows a bit before realizing how silly the effort was. That was not what she had gone back for.

  Inhaling deeply, she reached under her bed. She grasped and stretched before her fingers brushed cold—

  A jolt went through her at the touch on her neck. A whisper, a breeze.

  Kallia jerked up, certain she was alone. When the breeze came again, she hardly completed a turn before stilling in place.