“I’m terribly sorry my report wasn’t accurate enough for you,” said the vampire.
Liv’s eyes narrowed. “Look—you do realise Elysium overlaps with London, aka the site of the next Order meeting?”
“The Order?” I said. “What’s going on with the Order?”
Liv turned to me. “The Order is under the control of the enemy and we’ve just found out that Hawker and his allies have access to a major gathering in London. We think he might be planning to seize power by unleashing a massacre.”
The Order? They’re attacking the Order as well as the Houses? For all I knew, their real target was the ordinary world on the other side of the nodes, but knowing the Family, it might well be both at once.
“Holy shit,” I said. “Why would he do that?”
“The Order is the centre of the magical community on Earth,” Liv replied. “Plus it’s an easy way to cover up a coup. Hawker and his allies already did it once.”
Behind me, Miles gave a low whistle. “Scumbags. The other Spirit Agents are on their way here.”
“Good,” said Liv.
With her no longer blocking my path, I slipped through the gates, followed by Miles and Shelley. I could feel the Death King watching me from behind, but he continued to argue with the vampire, no doubt trying to convince him to lend a hand. I’d have to tell him about my experience in the House of Fire later… not to mention Tay’s escape.
“Not sure the other Spirit Agents will want to help in London,” said Shelley. “They know what they do to spirit mages over there.”
“Not sure they’d be keen on me, either.” The Order, though, wasn’t my priority. The assassins had blocked off the entire centre of Elysium, including the citadel. I knew the Family must be involved, but in order to figure out the extent of it, I needed to talk to my brother first.
“Bria.” Ryan walked across the grounds towards me, dressed in full armour. “Where have you been?”
“Locked up in the House of Fire,” I said. “Didn’t the Death King tell you?”
“He sent Shelley and me after her, but he didn’t know she was locked up,” said Miles. “That, or he didn’t trust the other Elemental Soldiers not to leave her there to rot.”
“That—” Ryan broke off. “Look, Liv didn’t even wake up from the coma she fell into after returning from the citadel until an hour ago, and then she casually dropped the bombshell on us that the Order is hosting a meeting tonight. Which would explain why Hawker left his citadel unattended. He has his eye on bigger things.”
“It isn’t him who’s attacking Elysium,” Miles put in. “The House of Earth is, along with those weird assassins.”
“The Family’s assassins,” I clarified. “Not practitioners, but they’re carrying cantrips which boost their strength and speed. If they’re going to London, no way are the ordinary people prepared to face that shit. Even the Order won’t have seen them before.”
“So they don’t use magic at all?” said Ryan.
“They use cantrips, that’s enough,” I said. “Nasty ones, too.”
Like the ones that killed the jailor and the other guard.
“Sounds familiar,” said Ryan. “At the last event they attacked, they used inferno cantrips to kill and injure Order members when they were off duty. While everyone was distracted, they swooped in and took over Birmingham’s branch of the Order. They’re probably doing the same in London. The only difference is that we’re forewarned this time.”
“Assuming Liv is right,” I added. “Hawker must be sure he has enough people on his side to take on the Houses as well as attacking London at the same time.”
“It’s not just him,” said Ryan. “There are traitors within the Order itself.”
And then there’s the Family, too. No doubt they were waiting in the wings to scoop up whatever was left behind after the dust settled.
Felicity and Cal walked up to join Ryan, also dressed in full armour and armed to the teeth.
“That family of yours is involved in the attacks?” said Cal.
I ignored the jab. “They’re more likely to be watching Elysium. They’ve never shown much interest in Earth.”
“They’re the creators of the inferno cantrips,” said Ryan. “I’m taking a wild guess that they’re interested in seeing how much damage they can cause with them.”
They probably weren’t wrong. The idea of the deadly cantrips being unleashed on unsuspecting humans filled me with revulsion, but I didn’t relish the idea of the Houses being razed to the ground either.
A few more spirit mages entered the grounds, followed by the Death King, and Miles went to talk to them. The vampire, it seemed, had left, and I had words to say to His Deathly Highness before he sneaked off again. I marched over and planted my feet in front of him.
“Thanks for checking up on me after you abandoned us in the wilderness.” Sarcasm dripped from my voice.
“You seem to have made it back in one piece,” he said. “I did send the Spirit Agents to get you away from the House of Fire.”
“Did you expect me to end up getting locked in a cell while a battle broke out among the Houses?” I queried. “Because it would have been nice to have some warning.”
“Unfortunately, I am incapable of being in seven places at once,” he said. “After Olivia was injured upon her return from the abandoned citadel, I had to take care of some trouble here in the castle. I trusted yourself, Ryan and the Spirit Agents to make it back here successfully, and I was right.”
“You trusted us,” I repeated. “Do you trust me, though? You let me run around and do whatever I like, yet it seems like nobody except you ever knows what the hell is going on at any given time.”
“Welcome to my world.” Liv walked over, fighting a smile, for some inexplicable reason.
The Death King addressed Liv. “Can you tell your friend Devon what’s going on? We might be in need of her help.”
Liv returned to the castle, and the Death King faced me again. “I take it you mean to explain exactly how you got yourself arrested by the House of Fire?”
“They blamed me because Tay escaped from jail,” I said. “They assumed I helped her escape, but I didn’t, and frankly, I have no idea where she went. They also accused me of conspiring with the Family against them. Then they were attacked, and I took the opportunity to run.”
“Attacked by whom?”
I had an inkling he already knew, but maybe he’d be able to help me make heads or tails of this mess. “The House of Earth, along with assassins belonging to the Family. They’ve cut off the entire centre of Elysium so nobody can enter on foot. Now Liv tells me they’re after the Order in London, too.”
“I suspect Hawker and his allies decided to attack on multiple fronts,” he said.
“It might not be him who’s behind the attack in Elysium.” I drew in a breath. “The Family… I know where they’re based. They’re hiding in the ruins of their old estate north of Elysium. They tend to like to watch the chaos from a distance, so they probably won’t show up in person unless we hunt them down. But I’m no match for them alone.”
The Death King’s countenance radiated disapproval. “When did you plan to mention this to me?”
“When you showed your face!” I said, exasperated. “As soon as I got back here after finding out, you wanted me and the Spirit Agents to help Liv rescue those sprites and then we wound up stuck in the tower. Maybe I’d have been able to tell you if you hadn’t vanished with Liv and left us behind, but instead you let us fight our way back alone.”
Lex had all but warned me of her plans, but I hadn’t had the chance to pass on her warning to anyone else. I was exhausted, like a candle flame burned down to the base, and I wanted to lie down and sleep, not face off against my depraved family for the second time in the space of a day.
“And that friend of yours… is she with the Family?” he said.
“I don’t know,” I admitted. “I think she killed the jailor because he was co
nspiring with the enemy, based on a letter I found in his office which referenced the Withered Oak and illegal cantrips. But the House of Fire refused to listen to me up until the last possible moment. It doesn’t matter now, anyway. All the Houses are in trouble if the assassins are running around armed with the same cantrips which killed two people while hardly leaving a mark on them… and we know for a fact they have at least one box of them from the supplier.”
“Yeah, slight problem,” Miles said from behind me. “One of my people just got back to me and says the node isn’t working.”
“Which node?” said the Death King.
Tate walked over to join Miles. “We can’t get through to the centre of Elysium anymore. Someone turned off the nodes.”
17
I stared at the two spirit mages for a moment. “Seriously?”
“Seriously,” said Tate. “The whole place is blocked off. I can get through to the edges of Elysium, but we’ll either have to walk to the centre on foot or find another way in. Which would be easy enough if someone hadn’t decided to put barriers on all the streets.”
“Wonderful,” said Shelley. “That’s us screwed then, isn’t it?”
Behind her, the other Elemental Soldiers approached us in a group, facing Miles and the other Spirit Agents.
“Change of plans,” Ryan said to Miles. “The Death King wants you to come to London.”
“What?” said Miles. “He does know the Order has total freedom to arrest us for simply existing over there, doesn’t he? They think spirit mages are the scum of the earth.”
“The liches can’t survive away from the nodes,” said Ryan. “It has to be living people who goes on the mission, and he has exactly four of us at his disposal.”
“That blows,” said Miles. “Not that I’m against a trip to a fancy gathering in London, but I have zero desire to get blown up by an inferno cantrip either.”
“Nor me.” I looked for Liv and spotted her talking to Dex outside the castle, next to Harper. To my surprise, Harper wore an illusion of her old face, which was convincing enough that for a heartbeat, I wondered if she’d managed to get hold of a cantrip which returned her to life after all.
“Hey, Bria,” she said, when I approached her.
“Hey,” I said. “Nice illusion.”
“Thanks,” she said, with a smile which almost looked real. “I’ve been practising. I thought it’d be enough to help me get to London with the others, but apparently wearing an illusion won’t be enough to stop me from falling to pieces if I go too far from the nodes.”
“Why would you want to go to London?” I asked.
“I’m not staying alone in the castle this time,” she said. “I’m sick of being afraid of those bastards.”
“Being wary of falling to pieces is a pretty valid thing to be concerned about,” I reminded her. “There’s no way around that, is there?”
She shook her head. “No, but I just have a bad feeling about everyone leaving the castle at once.”
“Why?” I asked.
“Hawker wants the Death King’s power,” she said. “That’s his aim. This crap he’s doing in London is just a distraction.”
“You sure?” I hadn’t thought of the possibility of the castle being a target, too, but Hawker’s goal was to take the Death King’s soul amulet and his territory along with it. If the Death King insisted on going to London himself, that would leave the path to the castle wide open.
The Death King himself spoke, addressing all of us. “My Elemental Soldiers will stay here at the castle,” he said. “Yes, that includes you, too, Ryan. I know for a fact Hawker wants my soul amulet and I won’t leave it unattended. Bria will go with the Spirit Agents.”
I stared at him for a moment. He wants me to go to London?
“But—” Ryan began.
Liv cut in. “Stay here. Hawker wants the Death King’s power. And even if he doesn’t show up here, Cobb wants the same, and that dude is being suspiciously quiet lately. Trust me, it’s for the best.”
“Fine,” the Air Element ground out. “But I expect you to return promptly or else I’ll be there to collect you in person.”
“And me?” I said. “Whatever happened to us going to Elysium to help the Houses?”
“The nodes in Elysium’s centre have been switched off,” said the Death King. “Or so I am told. London is the enemy’s target. Keep your distance from the gathering, and make sure nobody sees you.”
“The Order will be checking IDs at the door,” said Liv. “Only the Death King and I have invitations. The rest of you will have to wait outside.”
“We’re not signing up to get arrested, trust me,” said Miles.
“Any sign of trouble and we’re out of there,” I added.
Liv and the Death King went through the node first, vanishing in a flash of light. Then the others followed in groups. I joined Miles and the others, and we stepped into the node’s path.
We landed on London’s street, which appeared strange and bright to my eyes even with the sun already sinking in the sky. Exhaustion dragged at my limbs, but I couldn’t rest now. Not with both realms in danger and the people who’d raised me at the heart of it all.
While Liv and the Death King headed towards a fancy hotel which was the designated place for the Order’s gathering, I joined the Spirit Agents and we positioned ourselves next to the node, watching out for trouble. We all had invisibility cantrips at the ready, which eased my fears that the Order would arrest us. Considering the shit storm in Elysium right now, the Order was frankly the least of my concerns.
“How’d they block off the nodes?” I watched the current of light beside us, impatience burning beneath my skin.
“No idea, but they zapped out the nodes in the whole centre of Elysium,” Miles responded. “Using cantrips. No doubt ones they got from our friends at Dawson’s.”
I swore under my breath, recalling how Liv had used a similar cantrip to cut off my escape from the Death King’s castle when she’d thought I was working against him. The only way in or out of the centre of Elysium was to climb over the walls… or tunnel underneath them. Convenient, considering the Family had a group of earth mages on their side.
Damn, we’re in trouble.
I glanced down the darkened street. “Does the Death King know how bad things are in Elysium?”
“I don’t think he cares,” said Miles. “I’m not sure what he’s doing meeting with the Order, either. Personally, I think he just wants to take out Hawker himself.”
“He’s welcome to handle the bastard,” said Shelley. “I don’t give a shit about this Hawker dude. I’m more concerned with whoever locked off half our city.”
“No kidding.” My gaze followed the smartly dressed people heading into the hotel, who looked as though they belonged to another world to the rest of us. Which they did, due in no small part to the Parallel taking the brunt of the backlash of the last war. The Order had sprung up precisely to stop a repeat performance, yet I didn’t know how many among their number were aware that another war stood on the horizon, looming closer by the day.
Two dark-clad figures emerged from a nearby street, hidden amongst the long shadows cast by the streetlamps. Those aren’t guests.
“Guys,” I whispered. “We have company.”
The sight of the gleaming golden cantrips in the assassins’ hands made my heart sink. Looked like my hunch had been right, and the Family’s assassins had found their way to Earth. Despite the nagging worry about the Order’s penchant for targeting mages who stepped out of line, innocent people were here who didn’t deserve to die at the hands of the Family’s assassins. We had to intervene.
“Get rid of those cantrips first,” Miles said. “Don’t touch them.”
Spirit magic blasted from his palms, knocking a cantrip out of the nearest assassin’s hands. The second ran at me, but I threw a fireball at him, causing him to drop the cantrip before it went off. I ran up to the assassin and kicked him in the knee
cap before he could rise to his feet again.
“Why are you attacking people on Earth?” I demanded. “What did they ever do to you?”
He reached for his cantrip, and I kicked it away from him. Blood dripped from his mouth, and a chill raced through me as his body shuddered, eyes rolling back in his skull. His hand fell limp to the ground, and my gaze landed on the cantrip inches from his hand. That wasn’t an inferno cantrip. It was a copy of the one which had killed the jailor.
Don’t touch it, Devon had said. Until it wiped itself clean, it was contagious.
“Don’t touch the cantrips!” I called to the others. “They’re laced with a magical virus.”
The Spirit Agents had brought down three more assassins, all of whom lay on the pavement, inert, their faces flecked with blood.
I ran over to Miles. “Any of them still alive?”
“Doesn’t look that way,” he remarked. “Were they told to take their own lives rather than surrender?”
“That’s usually the instruction they’re given,” I said. “The Family doesn’t tolerate failure.”
“That family of yours is messed up,” Shelley remarked.
“You think I don’t know that?” I said. “But seriously—we need to get rid of those cantrips. Don’t touch them. They’re contagious as hell. The assassins were probably told to drop them here on purpose.”
All eyes went to one of the Spirit Agents, who held a cantrip in his hand. At once, he let it fall from his grip, but the damage was already done. The mage fell to his knees, his face blistering, his body spasming. Horror coursed through me as the others ran over to him, unable to help—and I spotted a lone figure standing near the node.
Tay.
Miles caught my eye, and I gave him a look telling him to stay back. The spirit mage who’d picked up the cantrip had fallen limp, no longer moving. Zade died the same way.
If Tay had come to fight alongside the assassins… but I didn’t think that was why she was here. Still, I kept an eye out for the traps as I walked over to the node and halted in front of her.
House of Fire (Parallel Magic Book 2) Page 17