“Or it could just be a pack of some type of animal,” Francisco said. “I see no reason to jump to dire conclusions immediately.”
Magnus got to his feet and gripped his sword hilt. “Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst.”
Sephi turned to Francico. “Brother, can you send that creepy-ass bird of yours to take a look?”
“Um, she has a name,” he said.
“Fucking hell,” she said. “Can Lenore go see what it is?”
“And how would she do that?” Francisco asked. “Maybe you haven’t noticed, but she doesn’t have any eyes to see with, Persephone. And even if she did, how would she tell us what she saw?”
Echo tapped a finger to her lips. “Maybe I can work on that.”
Francisco’s eyes lit up as he looked at the Green. “Do you think so?”
Echo bobbed her head back and forth. “I mean, given enough time—”
“Hey, nerds,” Sephi said, snapping her fingers. “Can we focus please? How far are we from the entrance to the canyon?”
Magnus gazed ahead of them with a pinched expression. The arid landscape stretched in front of them, flat and featureless until it sloped toward a passage between two craggy cliffs. No obstacles would impede their progress, but the terrain provided no cover either. “Maybe an hour,” he said.
“You think we can make it there before we run into whatever the hell is coming our way?” she asked.
“It’ll be close,” he said. “That cloud looks like it’s moving fast.”
“Then we have to go faster,” she said, hopping back down into the driver’s seat. “Hold on to something!”
She snapped the reins, and Princess took off into a sprint. The trio in the back landed in a heap on the cart’s floor, cursing at Sephi. They could curse her out all they wanted as long as they got away from whatever fresh hell awaited them in that cloud.
Princess moved her scaly ass for all she was worth, but within minutes, it became clear that whatever was heading their way would beat them to the canyon entrance.
“Is this the only way in?” she asked over her shoulder.
Magnus pulled himself onto the seat next to her. “There are other ways in and out, but they’re far away. Going around would add several hours to our journey.”
“And we’re in a hurry, right?”
He nodded. “Time is of the essence.”
“Well, we’ll just have to go through it,” she said. “Assuming, of course, they’re looking for us.”
He stared off at the approaching dust. “Odds are, this isn’t a random encounter. We haven’t seen anyone or anything else out in these wastelands.”
“Who else knows we’re out here?” she asked.
“Just the Council,” he said. “Although information has a way of traveling.”
As they neared the towering sandstone cliffs, the dust cloud stopped right in front of the pass into the canyon. She could just make out a group of large figures through the haze. “Tell the others to get ready for a fight.”
Fifty yards from the waiting enemies, Sephi reined Princess in, approaching the rest of the way slowly. Eight men sat atop huge lions bigger than their cart.
“Manticores,” Magnus spat. “I’ve fought them before. Mind their tails.”
Sephi noticed each beast had a scorpion-like tail curled up behind it, and at the end of each tail, a long curved barb longer than her dagger gleamed evilly in the light. She had studied these creatures in Fisher’s Bestiaries, and she searched her memory for any information that might help if things got violent.
“I’m more worried about their riders,” Sephi said. “Anyone who can tame a beast like that, I don’t want to mess with.”
“Your instincts serve you well,” Magnus said. “Manticores often fight alongside Cyclops armies, but the only people crazy enough to ride them are the Occultum.”
That little fact hadn’t been in her books. She turned to look at him. “You might have led with that info.”
He shrugged. “Why aren’t they attacking?”
Two of the riders dismounted and approached. Sephi pulled the cart to a stop and hopped down, too. They needed the wagon to travel, and she couldn’t risk it getting damaged in a battle. Two of them could maybe ride on Princess, but not all of them, and without their supplies, the elements would kill them out here. Better to meet the enemy on foot than lose their means of transport.
Magnus fell in beside her. His tall, fully armored presence gave her a boost of confidence. She added a bit of swagger to her step, refusing to show the slightest sign of fear, even though her insides were swirling with terror.
The taller of the two approaching men wore a black sleeveless tunic. Swirling black flames danced just beneath the skin on his wrists, evidence of the dark magic’s corruption. These men were definitely with the Occultum.
The shorter of the pair had a graying goatee, and he struggled to keep pace with the other man’s strides. When they were about ten feet away, Sephi stopped.
“Hey, asshole,” she called.
The goateed man jutted his chin out to her. “What?”
The taller warlock pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a long suffering sigh. “Why would you answer to that, Grim?”
Sephi laughed. “Yeah, Grim. Nice first impression.” She looked at the taller man. “And who the fuck are you?”
He nodded in greeting. “Ekks Tenori.”
“Oh,” she said, her brow furrowing. “You say that like I should have heard of you.”
The man flashed her a cruel smile. “No, most people who hear my name don’t live to speak of it.”
“Lovely,” she said. “Listen, we’re kind of in a hurry. Would you mind getting the fuck out of our way?”
Ekks looked at her with something like approval in his eyes. “You’ve got guts, kid.”
Grim stared at her tits and sucked in air between his teeth. “And she’s pretty hot, too.”
“Damn it, Grim,” Ekks said, looking at his partner. “You know what? Just go back with the others. I’ll handle this.”
With Ekks looking away, Sephi quickly sketched out an invisible symbol with her hand and sent it at Grim, where it fastened to his chest. He wiped at the front of his shirt like waving off a bug, but otherwise, he seemed to have no idea she’d marked him.
If things got ugly, she would activate the spell.
Grim stomped away, cursing. Ekks turned back toward Sephi. “I apologize for him.”
She crossed her arms over her chest. “Are you always so polite to people you plan to kill?”
He shrugged. “No harm in civility. Besides, nobody has to die today. Not if you cooperate.”
“Okay, so is there something we can help you with?” she asked.
“Yes, you can come with us and show us where the Heretic is,” he said.
Sephi put on an innocent expression. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. We’re just simple merchants, looking to sell rugs of woven monkey fur to—”
“Save it,” Ekks interrupted. “I know who you are Persephone Blue. And Magnus Red. I know that’s Echo Green hiding in the back of that wagon with the Night Brother.”
“Well, shit,” she said. “You’re very well informed. Mind telling me your source? I mean, if you’re just going to kill us anyway.”
“Nice try, but no. Look, I’m giving you a chance here. My boss would prefer if I didn’t hurt you, although I prefer more forceful methods of persuasion. You’re going to help us one way or another. You’re outnumbered and outmatched. So what do you say? You want to do this the easy way or the hard way?”
She looked at Magnus. “Kill this asshole.”
Magnus had his sword out in the blink of an eye, and he swung the glowing blade at Ekks’s head. The warlock raised his arm, and the blow thudded against a translucent magical barrier, sending the Red reeling backward.
Sephi snapped her fingers, activating the spell she’d planted on Grim. She just prayed it would work. She
had never smelled manticore pheromones, thankfully, but the spell had more of a general effect, which she hoped would be sufficient.
It worked like a charm. All eight of the beasts reacted at once. The ones with warlocks still on their backs bucked the riders off, and they tumbled to the ground. Then the manticores surged toward Grim with romantic intent.
Grim spun in a circle, firing off spells in an effort to stave off their amorous advances.
Ekks seemed to ignore the chaos igniting behind him. He pulled a dagger from his belt, but instead of lunging at Sephi, he slit a long, ugly gash in his forearm.
Confused, Sephi watched great gouts of the warlock’s blood splatter to the dusty soil. The black corruption swirled in the red liquid like black ink. The blood coalesced into two vicious looking dog-like creatures, one black and one gray.
Ekks pointed at Sephi. “Do the roar!”
The blood hounds opened their jaws, and a horrible red light glowed from their throats. Sephi worked a quick spell, summoning duplicate versions of herself to appear while she went invisible. Red beams of energy erupted from the dogs’ mouths, but they aimed at the illusions while Sephi tumbled nimbly out of harm’s way.
The other warlocks, except for poor Grim, charged in her direction now, casting bolts of lightning and summoning ethereal fire from the sky. Magnus was back on his feet, and he walked steadily forward into the chaos with his sword leveled before him.
Sephi had no idea what he was thinking. Sure, he had pulled the enemies’ attention toward him, keeping his friends from being targets, but he would be killed instantly.
Magnus’s deep voice carried over the noise in a rhythmic, haunting battle chant. The sound struck a deep chord of fear inside her, even though the Red was on her side. She could only imagine the effect it had on their enemies.
The warlocks’ magical attacks arced at the warrior with deadly accuracy, but their spells bounced harmlessly off a transparent shield, which only became visible when the magic collided with it. Sephi realized his chant was also a protective spell, keeping him safe. It was an impressive trick, but she knew it must take huge amounts of magic to power the shield. It couldn’t last forever.
Magnus charged at the enemy with supernatural speed, closing the distance in seconds. The warlocks doubled down on their assault. Pillars of flame scorched the earth around the Red, and conjured-up bolts shot in his direction, trailing spectral green flame behind them. None of it penetrated his shield.
One of the warlocks panicked and ran, and Magnus seized the opening. He cut the dark mage down with a swing of his blade, severing his head from his neck. Magnus stepped over the dead man’s corpse, focusing on his next target.
Behind him, the dead warlock’s blood bubbled and churned on the sand. Sephi watched in horror as the crimson liquid coalesced into a small humanoid creature with red and black mottled skin. The thing glared at Magnus, flexing its sharp claws and baring its teeth.
Even in death, these warlocks were full of surprises.
The imp sprang onto Magnus’s back, swiping at his unprotected neck with its glistening claws and cutting a deep groove in his flesh. Apparently, his protection spell didn’t ward off physical attacks.
Sephi was there in a flash, stabbing the creature through the back. Her attack broke her invisibility illusion, but it was a small price to pay for saving the Red from further harm.
Magnus nodded at her in thanks. He glanced down at the dead creature. “Fucking hemogoblin,” he said before charging forward again, unfazed by his wound.
A bolt of energy sizzled past Sephi’s head, and she flinched away, wrinkling her nose at the smell of burnt hair. She turned to see Ekks and his blood hounds rushing at her.
Suddenly, three skeletons blocked their advance. Francisco had joined the fight. He stood beside the cart, weaving his magic gracefully. Echo stood on the wagon’s seat, whirling her leather sling around her head, and she launched bombs into the ranks of oncoming warlocks.
The distractions allowed Sephi to turn invisible again. She popped up behind a dark mage and plunged her dagger into the base of his skull. This time, she was ready for the hemogoblin to appear, and she pierced its black heart before it could fully form.
The dark mage’s corpse sprang to its feet, and Sephi stumbled back, unprepared for this new bit of magic. But the corpse launched itself at a nearby warlock and wrestled him to the ground. She glanced over at the Night Brother, and he shot her an excited smile, along with a quick thumbs-up.
Every fallen enemy became a new ally with his magic. Even so, the five remaining warlocks were getting stronger too. They used the shed blood of their fallen brothers to fuel devastating magical attacks. When they leached power from the blood, it dried up and cracked into rusty flakes, drained of its life force.
Dark bolts of energy swarmed through the air, and spectral chains appeared around Magnus to bind him, although they couldn’t break through his protective shield. The barrier appeared to be weakening, though. It flickered with every hit like it was barely holding together.
Magnus was buying time for his friends, but that time was quickly running out. Sephi knew they had to do something soon. Something big.
She went invisible and rushed back to where Echo lobbed bombs from the wagon.
“Echo,” she said, still hidden from sight.
The Green jumped. “Fuck, I hate when you do that.”
“No time for banter,” she replied. “We need to get out of here. Do you think you can launch one of those bombs far enough to hit the manticores?”
The beasts were off to one side of the canyon’s entrance, clustered around a cowering Grim. He was only alive because the creatures were fighting each other for dominance to see who got to claim the warlock next.
Echo nodded. “I should just be able to reach them.”
“Good. Hit them with everything you got. If we can take out the Occultum’s mounts, we can skirt past them, and they won’t be able to follow.”
Echo smiled. “I’ve got just the thing. I’ve been saving this baby for a special occasion.”
“Atta girl,” Sephi said before darting over to Francisco. “Gather up your dead and get in the cart. We’re leaving soon.”
Her being invisible didn’t seem to bother him in the least. “Fine by me. Should I bring my new friends?”
It took her a second to realize he meant the dead warlocks. “Absolutely not.”
He nodded. “In that case…”
He clenched his fists together and jerked his wrists like he was breaking a twig. The warlocks’ corpses exploded in a shower of gore and blood, sending bone shrapnel tearing through the other dark mages. They fell to the ground, stunned.
“Goddamn, dude,” Sephi said.
He grinned. “I know, right?”
She shook her head. “Why didn’t you do that in the first place?”
“Are you crazy?” he asked. “You don’t throw away your sword in the middle of a fight.”
“Still,” she muttered. Then she ran over to Magnus. “Back to the cart, big fella. It’s time to go.”
He nodded wearily and hurried back, with Sephi at his side. As they approached the wagon, Echo let fly a blue orb that crackled with energy. Her aim was true, and it landed dead center in the cluster of manticores.
Electricity exploded in a forty-foot radius, stunning the beasts where they stood.
“Well, that’s kind of impressive, I guess,” Sephi said.
“Wait for it,” Echo said. A green mist engulfed the beasts.
“Poison?” Sephi asked.
Echo shook her head. “Acid.”
The cloud dissolved the flesh from the stunned creatures’ bones.
Sephi nodded. “Okay, that’s better.”
“Wait for it,” Echo said. A fifty-foot cyclone of fire burst in the air, sucking the manticores into the flaming vortex. What the acid hadn’t destroyed, the fire consumed, leaving nothing but ash.
“There it is,” Echo said proudly
.
“Holy fuck,” Sephi said. “Why didn’t you start with that one?”
Echo shrugged. “It took almost a year to make. I wasn’t going to waste it.”
Sephi hopped up on the wagon seat. “Fair enough.”
The others clambered into the back, and Sephi got Princess moving toward the pass between the cliffs.
“What the hell do you call that bomb?” she asked.
“I call it My Stepmom because she’s the meanest cunt of them all.”
Chapter 13
The cart clattered into the canyon, leaving the few surviving warlocks behind. Sephi was confident that they wouldn’t be able to catch up with them on foot. At least, not before she talked to the Heretic and got the information they needed.
Sephi’s shoulders slumped with fatigue as she guided the wagon through narrow arroyos. Staying invisible didn’t drain much magic, but popping in and out did. As tired as she felt, Magnus looked spent. He all but collapsed in the back of the cart when he got in, and his eyelids drooped heavily.
Echo sat beside him, dabbing at the claw marks on his neck. “Let me just clean this up before I let Francisco heal you. We don’t want it to get infected.”
“Thank you,” he said quietly. “That was some bomb. How do you create something like that?”
“It’s just enchanting,” she said, although Sephi detected a hint of pride in her voice.
“Right, but spells of that magnitude? Even Minerva couldn’t conjure up magic like that, and her destructive magic is unparalleled.”
“Well, like I said, it took me almost a year to make,” she said. “Almost every day, I infused the bomb with my magical power, storing it up, making it stronger. When it finally went off, it’s like casting a year’s worth of spells at once.”
He shook his head. “I had no idea enchanters were capable of such power.”
“You might be surprised what I’m capable of,” she said.
Sephi glanced back at her friend, and Echo blushed. She wondered if some of the pheromones had rubbed off on Magnus. Or maybe all the adrenaline from the battle had Echo’s dander up. Either way, she worried about Echo’s little crush on Magnus. Theoretically, they were on a quest to save his betrothed. She didn’t want Echo’s heart to get broken in the process.
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