Possibly. One can never tell what will happen. Fly close to the tree line.
I continued working on the illusion, pulling faster now, wiping away the trees first. The ground began to shift into a flat, sandy surface. I watched over Archion’s shoulder for any stray unicorns that might have been revealed, but they’d all made it out. Most of the boats had docked, but a couple of them lingered in the murky water, their rowers pulling for all they were worth. They wouldn’t make it.
Can you handle the boats? I thought, seeing Darius lead the charge through the quickly disappearing trees. I skipped ahead in my thread pulling, working at the edge of the swamp where boats had docked. The illusion started to falter as Archion pumped his wings and gained speed. He swooped low, opening his maw and spewing fire across the boats still headed toward shore.
Magic blasted us from behind as flames enveloped the rowers, all of them stopping and throwing their hands up to ward off Archion’s wrath. Then they stopped moving, not able to combat fire. Good news for us.
Magic slapped us, then crushed. Archion faltered, tilting dangerously toward the right.
I turned toward the onslaught and found two elves standing side by side with their hands up. Saphira was right behind us, though, just cresting through the unraveling trees, and she didn’t hesitate to act. Her flame washed over them, catching them unaware. They spasmed and tried to turn, but it was too late. In moments, they were incinerated.
More and more trees cleared, leaving squatting elves caught with their pants down, so to speak, looking around wildly for cover that no longer existed. Coppelia slammed them with fire next, dipping low to get good and close. She wasn’t as powerful as Saphira or Archion, but it made her no less eager to join the battle. She charred the sandy ground and set fire to any trees that hadn’t yet cleared away.
I don’t like elf magic, Archion thought, gaining altitude now that the other dragons had handled the immediate threat. It makes me very angry.
He didn’t sound angry in his thoughts, and I had a suspicion this type of anger was cold and calculated. He was about to go on a killing spree. I was game.
Fire at will, I thought, watching Darius in his monster form zoom into the vicinity of the elves. He caught them as they turned to look up at the dragons, probably intending to combine their might against them. They were likely better at magical cooperation than old-school mages, but not the mages Penny and Emery were training up at the Guild, who would hopefully be meeting us at Roger’s shifter compound. Hopefully because Vlad had a way of infiltrating people you thought were loyal and turning them to his cause. It would be very interesting to see which sides people chose in all of this.
Myself included.
Can you protect your friends? Archion thought, swooping low again.
Yes. Burn the shit out of those bastards.
He roared, using his special brand of magic to freeze up everyone but Penny, who was behind Cahal one moment and in front of him the next. She’d become amazing at the mind over matter side of things.
As we neared, I covered Darius with ice magic. Archion blew fire, scorching elves and the ground alike. The elves on the periphery managed to jump to safety, but Darius was on them a moment later, slashing his claws through their middles or stopping to wrench off their heads.
Pick me up in a minute. I pushed up to standing and then jumped, allowing myself to free-fall for a moment, until I got below the oncoming dragons. Fire slashed into the exposed ground to my right, charring elves and sand, while I covered a spell-slinging Penny, and then Coppelia breathed fire to my left, and I shifted my protection to Cahal and Emery.
A shock of magic slammed into my back, knocking the breath out of me. Pain trickled through my middle and twisted, like it would snap my spine.
I’d felt this magic before. It would not, in fact, break my spine. They’d had to bring in a higher-powered elf to even make me scream, and when that wasn’t enough, they’d resorted to breaking my fingers and other bones by hand or using weapons. This pain was nothing compared to what had come later in those dungeons. I could ignore it easily.
The elf crouched in the few bushes that my magic had not yet eaten away.
Another burst of magic came at me, but I pushed back, free-falling for another moment to get into range before shifting to a hover and blasting the creature with hellfire. It seared through the illusion and the elf both, cutting a line through its chest and unraveling the bush. Whoever did up this illusion had done a bang-up job, but wasn’t trying to protect it from magic like mine.
Archion flew at me, and I turned around.
Now, he said, because Penny and Lucifer had both made us look like amateurs when they’d done this, and Penny was an amateur. We clearly had to practice with vocal cues for the time being.
I dropped onto his shoulder and nearly bounced off. He tilted to keep me on, and I grappled for a better hold.
You need to line up better, I told him.
You need to hold your hover a little stiller, he barked back.
It was clear neither of us planned to accept responsibility for that nearly failed attempt.
A spell swept a line of running elves. It sliced through them at an angle, killing a few of them immediately, and severing limbs on a couple of others. An arm blew off. One flew backward, sans right leg, and into the murky water. A wormlike creature with fins and little legs exploded out of the surface, chomping the body with its sharp-toothed maw before rolling onto its side and falling back into the water with a splash.
Archion pumped his wings to gain a bit of altitude and keep away from the water’s surface. I just stared for a moment with wide eyes. That would not be a fun way to go.
Of course, neither would facing Penny and Emery when you’d wronged them in the past.
One of the elves was trying to crawl away to God knew where, but Emery stalked toward it, his face closed down into a terrifying mask of rage.
Cahal waited behind him, his sword out and dripping. Three elves popped up from behind an unraveling group of bushes near him and ran for it, but Cahal caught up with them easily, whipping his sword around and cleaving them with a few skillful slashes. Darius went after a few others, jumping and landing on their backs, ripping and tearing.
I think they got this, I said, looking over the island. There were still a few spots of vegetation to the south, the west, and the east, where Vlad should be fighting. Beyond, no boats filled the swamp and nothing walked the paths.
Let’s go check on the other group.
We flew that way, and I realized just how much three dragons could tip the scales in a battle.
Vlad had a dozen or so upper-middle-tier vampires. They were strong and fast and experienced, and yet their battle hadn’t ended. They still fought a dozen or so elves, Vlad moving incredibly fast—swiping at one, turning and sticking a second in the chest, and launching at a third, teeth ripping at the jugular.
A band of elves had broken off, racing for the path.
They are probably the track-and-report squad, I said as Archion sped after them. Or else they thought they might intend to do some damage to the unicorns and the vampires already on the way.
I guess we’ll never know.
He bore down on them, offering them no way to dodge or scoot around the outside. His flames rolled over them, blistering in intensity.
It’s almost too easy, I thought as he made a loop around.
Half of the demons in the Underworld won’t be bothered by fire, and I can’t kill with Glaciem magic. Not to mention that they have dragons as well. Very experienced dragons. If we are battling them, it won’t be easy at all.
I blew out a breath. There was that. And also the fact that the more powerful elves might be able to knock him out of the sky with their magic. We’d have to cross that bridge when we came to it.
Vlad and the vampires were too close to the enemy, all of them spread out, so I wouldn’t be able to shield them if Archion did a fly-by flaming.
I’m
headed down, I thought. Kill whoever you can, however you can.
The vampires, too?
I laughed. Tempting, but no.
I leapt off and free-fell a good ways before putting on the air brakes. My feet touched down, and then I was running, throwing air knives at the nearest elves. The first knife sliced an elf in the neck, dropping it to a knee. The second missed, and I disintegrated it in midair.
When I reached the kneeling elf, I kicked it in the face and lit it on fire before running toward Vlad, smashing the second elf between two bursts of air.
“Push them away,” I yelled, grabbing one with magic and tossing it into the air. Archion swooped down just in time, like a dog after a ball, and cracked bones between his teeth. We might not be great at midair landings, but that move had to earn us some style points. “Or crowd together, and I can cover you with ice.”
Vlad stuck an elf in the middle with his claws and ripped upward. He flung the creature off and grabbed another to fling, apparently for me. I lit it on fire. Easy-peasy.
He darted toward the others, barking a few words I didn’t understand, and they broke away from their fights. Once they were close enough, I covered us all with ice and stuck up a thumb for Archion to go scorched earth. Or…scorched Realm, I guess.
“Dragons are quite the asset,” Vlad said, in his human form again. He stood naked and slightly disheveled beside me, blood leaking down his arm. “You have…three, correct?”
“We don’t have any of them. We work with three of them. How many do you work with?”
His gaze was cool as fire coated the group, flaying the elves on the outside of my spell.
“You made quite the impression on Lucifer when you were down there,” he said as Archion passed. The vampires rushed forward, killing the elves while they were down.
“Yes, I did,” I replied, stepping farther away. “Take a hint.”
The island’s illusion continued to unravel, but no enemies remained standing. The elves lay in twisted, blackened messes along the charred sand.
Silence settled around us, the vampires catching their breath. One zoomed away as a few changed back into their human forms, and I assumed he was going for clothes. Vlad wouldn’t be so stupid as to pick a fight with us right now.
He put out his hand, indicating the barren ground. “Thank you,” he said, his voice smooth and silky, his stupid face unbearably handsome. It was very disconcerting, like appreciating the look of a lion. Dazzled one minute, dead the next.
Archion landed not far away with a rumble in his throat and smoke coming out of his nostrils. It was a warning for Vlad.
“For helping us protect the unicorns,” Vlad continued. “I know that you hoped to win them, or some of them, to your side. And you might’ve, but now they are beyond your reach.”
There it was—there was the dig.
“The elves are clearly starting to play dirty,” I responded, ignoring it. “And I don’t have a side. Apparently I’ll be standing in the middle.”
Darius ran into the area, slowing when he saw us. The dragons sailed lazily overhead, Penny and Emery on Saphira and Cahal on Coppelia.
“The elves are starting to play dirty, yes,” Vlad said, glancing at Darius. “From reports I’ve received, their…foul play won’t be relegated to the Realm. If you truly plan to stand in the middle, you might watch yourself.”
Darius tilted his head down a bit, coming to a stop next to me.
“One last thing.” Vlad shifted his weight a bit, his gaze on Darius now. “Who led the other vampire group into the Underworld?”
Darius’s arm came around my waist. “Someone who isn’t to be trifled with. Someone who doesn’t have a side in this conflict but is pretending to choose ours at present.”
Vlad’s eyes sparkled, and I bet that he knew it had been Ja. I mean, who else could it be? Ever since Penny had awakened the extreme elder from her old-age fugue, she’d been sticking her fingers in everyone’s affairs.
“We should go,” Darius murmured to me.
Before I turned, I looked Vlad straight in the eye and said, “I didn’t tear down the whole illusion. But the elves might do so on the battlefield.” I looked up at the sky, then back down at him. “Choose my father if you want to, but I guarantee he won’t protect you if the sun makes an appearance. Not if he doesn’t have to. I, on the other hand, will give my life to protect Darius. If you stand next to me, you will stand in shade. Either way, you will never sit on the throne.”
Ten
Charity stood at the front of the gathering and looked at the assembled troops. Shifters in animal form waited in a horizontal line of ten, facing the portal within the shifter compound. Two lines of warrior fae stood beyond them. After that stood a row of grim-faced mages, the Bankses included. They wouldn’t be kept away, no matter their age…or sweat suit clothing choices.
This crew wasn’t their full arsenal by a long shot, but these individuals had been handpicked for their experience, power, and determination under fire. They didn’t need many right now—they needed a quick, hard punch to create an opening, and then intense cover while Reagan and the others made the journey into the Brink.
Roger stood halfway between their people and the portal, nude and waiting for word. He faced the two constantly arguing Seers, who stood to Charity’s right. Romulus stood beside Roger with a composed though expectant expression on his face.
“We need time to get them through the portal,” Karen shouted at the Red Prophet.
A battle scene flickered through Charity’s mind, but she squinted to clear it, not letting it materialize. Her visions were coming often, always changing, like a TV on the fritz. It was not normal for their kind, and given she was only half fae, she’d heard whispers questioning whether she could be trusted at all.
Short answer: no. Not when it came to predicting the future. Though the Red Prophet had said the frequency of the visions indicated the battle would likely be coming soon.
Well, no shit.
“Hey,” she said to Roger and Romulus as she approached.
“It is a fine line between enough time…and too much time.” The Red Prophet looked at the sky. “We have made a huge boon today, though only one will have realized it, and he ain’t talking.”
Karen slammed her hand down on the TV tray propped up in the dirt. Her crystal ball jumped. A few tarot cards fluttered in the breeze. The left side of her folding chair dug into a soft patch. “I don’t care about what happened earlier; I care about what will happen in ten to twenty minutes. My child is approaching this portal from the other side with her merry band of idiots, and I need to get her help so that she can make it through. Focus.”
“Yes. I can see how this might be a troubling time for you,” Red Prophet said slowly, as if she was trying to calm Karen down. The two were like cats and dogs, the rabid variety.
“Hello,” Romulus said, his eyes crinkling at the corners. He was always happy to see her, which was miraculous, since nobody else was happy at all. The other warrior fae weren’t just questioning her visions but the whole enterprise. Apparently they’d forgotten the elves’ mistreatment and their trespasses against both Charity and Romulus.
Of course, since most of them had been hiding in the Flush, they’d only heard about those things secondhand. They probably thought Romulus had made it up to support her.
Whatever the case, her people were shaken up, but there wasn’t much she could do about it at this point but stay the course. This had to be done for the good of all.
“How are you?” her father asked, which meant she’d at least mastered the fae art of appearing not to give a shit. She was getting very, very good at hiding her extreme anxiety and turmoil over what was to come.
“Great.” And she’d gotten very good at lying, too. “Everyone is primed and ready. It doesn’t sound like they have an exact time—”
“Five minutes,” the Red Prophet yelled, and put out her hands before bending to the side and windmilling her arms.
She went all in with the dramatics when she did this stuff. It was tough to take after a while.
Karen’s lips pressed into a hard line, and it came as little surprise when she started shuffling her deck. Wind whirled up from the flat ground, bringing the smell of cultivated lands and the distant cows. This was a working ranch in some respects, but thankfully there was so much acreage that the shifter predators could move about freely—or congregate around the portal—without disturbing the livestock.
With a sudden movement, Karen slapped a few cards down, her gaze straight ahead. Her eyes flicked downward and then shifted back and forth, reading her cards. She nodded with a sigh. “Five minutes. From…”
“Now!” the Red Prophet called.
“N—” Karen scowled at her. She clearly couldn’t be rid of the fae Seer soon enough. They’d probably both retire after this.
Romulus looked at the waiting force before stepping away and gracefully pulling his sword. Roger’s skin bubbled and boiled as he reduced down into a large wolf, much bigger than his natural counterpart. Charity felt the song of battle pick up on the breeze. She looked through her people to find Devon just behind, a big black wolf working his way up the ranks. He wasn’t ranked highly enough to be standing up here with them yet, but she knew it wouldn’t be long.
His yellow-eyed gaze bored into hers, and excitement and anticipation washed through their magical link, fueling her adrenaline and strengthening her resolve. Her answering confidence swayed back to him. She didn’t know about the visions, and she couldn’t help what her people thought of her, but fighting and battle had always made sense in a way that required no description. It was in her blood. Before long, her people would realize that. The shifters already had.
She turned to face the portal, on the other side of Roger from her father, and drew her sword. The song of battle increased. A vision flickered through her mind, but she cut it off and chased it away. Not now.
“Three minutes…” Karen called, staring at her watch. Her muscles were tight and her eyes hard.
“The elves are turning one by one, hurrah, hurrah,” the Red Prophet sang softly, still bent over but her outstretched arms still now. Lines formed around her eyes, squeezed shut. “The elves are spooking one by one, hurrah, hurrah. The elves are prancing one by one, the heir will come and cut their fun, and we’ll all go marching down, to the field, to chop out their hearts.”
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