“How do we know you’re not here to betray us?” said the female elf. “Again?”
“We aren’t,” Trix insisted. “Bria never betrayed you the first time around.”
“Lex and Roth are destroying the other Akriths,” I told the elves. “Except for the one they stole from the Elders, that is. I heard their powers don’t work as effectively on the Elders as they do on the rest of us. Is that true?”
The two elves looked at one another. “Yes, but they’ve killed enough of us, and I would not risk the lives of our Elders. If you bring them here, you will face the same punishment as they do.”
“We won’t,” I promised. “But we need your help. Lex and Roth have an army of assassins marching to Elysium right this instant. You promised the Death King you’d be willing to help him in the battle, and the time has come.”
“And where is the King of the Dead?”
“Fighting.” I hoped so, anyway. He’d taken the entire lich army with him, at any rate, and without them, our side looked awfully sparse at the moment. “The war is imminent. The enemy has already targeted the Court of the Dead, and… and the reason the Family destroyed the Akriths is to prevent you from allying with the elves in the Parallel. They’re worried, scared you might get the upper hand, and I’m sure they have the Elders’ Akrith with them out in the open. There won’t be a better chance for us to take it back, but I can’t fight them alone.”
“We’ll pass on your message to Elder Velkis and Elder Datra,” he responded. “They refuse to leave the heart of the forest, understandably. If they do, and those Vetren come back, it would be catastrophic for all of us. They would destroy us entirely.”
“We’ll never allow them to do that,” Trix said. “Would any of you offer your skills on the battlefield, to fight for the future of your realm? If you don’t, I fear they will come here before long, and they will bring the Akrith they stole from the Elders to use against you.”
Unless Adair steals it back first. But the odds of that happening were lower than Lex and Roth turning out to be nice, normal parents.
“We must ask our Elders’ permission before sending anyone to fight outside of our realm,” said the female elf. “If they agree, and if we have the adequate resources to join you, we will do so.”
That would have to do, but until we got the Elders’ Akrith away from Roth, beating them was a tall order. I suspected I’d only got lucky the time I’d set the estate ablaze because they’d been cocky enough not to keep the Elders’ Akrith close at hand, and they hadn’t seen my attack coming.
This time, though? They expected a war, and they had the Elders’ Akrith in their hands to ensure their victory.
“Thank you,” I said. “Tell you what… ask the refugees from the warehouse, too. I’m sure some of them will be more than happy to help us fight against the Family.”
“I will pass on word to them,” he said, turning away.
Trix and I left the elves’ realm, landing in the same spot behind the warehouse we’d left from. We were lucky Lex hadn’t employed an inferno cantrip here, too, though the tree might well be next on her list and we had no backup at hand. I didn’t like to leave it unprotected, but I’d have to hope the Family was under the impression their purge had taken out all useable Akriths and left them with no point in destroying the tree as well.
I led the way back through the node, where we transported ourselves to the Court of the Dead.
Miles ran up to us at the gate. “Any luck?”
“The elves are asking the Elders if they can spare anyone to help us fight,” I said to him. “Not sure if they’ll get here in time if the battle’s already kicking off. I did tell them Roth is likely carrying the Elders’ Akrith, but I have no idea where he is.”
“I do,” said Miles. “At least, I’m pretty sure I know where he is.”
“Wait, you do?” I frowned at him. “What did I miss?”
“They’ve taken Elysium,” said Miles. “The Family is now in charge of all four Houses of the Elements.”
20
Shit. The Family had already taken over Elysium. That must have been where Roth had been while Lex prepared the assassins’ army to join him, having no need to torment the elves any longer now they had a bigger target in their line of sight. “The elves are going to vote on whether to come and help, but if the army is already in Elysium…”
“They’re not fighting,” he said. “The Houses surrendered upfront without fighting back.”
“Seriously?” Damn. “Why?”
“Why else?” said Ryan, approaching with the other Elemental Soldiers behind them. “They got hit so hard by those cantrips last time around that most of them surrendered without even considering putting up a fight. I think they’re a lost cause, to tell you the truth.”
“They can’t be,” I said. “Is the Death King there? I told the elves he was ready for war, but I know he disappeared and so did his army.”
“I haven’t a clue where he is,” said Miles. “He told us to stay behind while he and the liches went after the enemy and brought an end to whatever spell they used on him. I assumed that meant Elysium, but I think I’d have heard if he’d got between the Family and the Houses.”
I shook my head. “We have to do something. There’s got to be someone in Elysium who’s prepared to help us force the Family to relinquish their grip on the Houses.”
“We can look for dissidents who fled the Houses when the Family showed up,” Ryan said. “There’ll be some who’d have refused to join them, but hardly enough for an army, I wouldn’t think.”
“Better some than none,” I said.
“Agreed,” said Cal, to my surprise. “I know a few mages’ hiding spots in the city.”
“And me,” added Felicity. “I was actually making progress with the House of Water before all this happened. I don’t think every one of them would have turned their backs on their own House overnight. Maybe they’re waiting for their chance to strike when the enemy’s back is turned, but there’s got to be some of them ready to fight.”
“That’ll be our next stop, then,” I said. “We can’t do much good from here, especially with the Death King gone.”
“I agree,” said Ryan. “I’m not staying here while our master fights to the death on our behalf and the Family undoes all the progress we made with the Houses. We can’t let them bring back those cursed cantrips, either.”
“No way,” I said. “You’re okay with leaving the castle, though?”
“The Death King didn’t explicitly tell us all to stay here,” they said. “Besides, he’s ready for all-out war and so are we. This is it.”
“Then I think we should raid the Death King’s cantrip stores first,” I said. “In case any of us end up locked in the Houses’ jail like I did last time.”
The last thing I wanted was to get locked in the House of Fire again, but we’d need to prepare for any eventuality. While the others went looking for weapons, Harper accosted me near the doors. “You’re leaving?”
“We have to fight for Elysium,” I said. “Are you—bloody hell, Harper.”
She looked awful, her shadowy form faded around the edges below the illusion of her human face. “What?”
“What’s wrong with you?”
“I don’t know.” Harper’s voice trembled, while her soul amulet dangled from her hand. “Whatever it is, it’s affecting all the liches, including me. I hoped keeping hold of my amulet might help, but it didn’t.”
“Shit.” Was that why the other liches had left? No wonder they’d all followed the Death King in a desperate attempt to find a solution. “Why didn’t you go with the others?”
Her eyes filled with tears which swiftly disappeared as her illusion flickered at the edges. “I don’t want to die in the darkness with a bunch of strangers. If I’m going to die, I’d rather be with my friends.”
Tears stung my own eyes. “I don’t know what’s wrong, but if I can help, I will.”
Mav, Har
per’s pet sprite, flitted into view. “Please help her. I can’t lose her. I can’t.”
“I’ll do my best.” I turned around when Miles walked through the front door of the castle.
He eyed Harper in surprise. “I thought all the liches left.”
“Something’s wrong with her,” I said. “Same as the other liches.”
“Ah, crap.” He handed me some cantrips and a pair of knives, too. “This is all I could get. The other Spirit Agents are with us, too, by the way.”
“We have to leave if we want to stop the Family before they can do any more damage in Elysium,” I said to Harper. “Can you hang on until we get back?”
“I don’t want to die here,” she said. “I’ll come with you.”
An argument rose on my tongue, but poor Harper looked to be at death’s door already, and it wasn’t like battle would be any worse for her. “All right. Let’s go.”
Once our group was fully armed, we made our way to the node and crossed over to Elysium, landing near the Spirit Agents’ old house. The city was quiet enough that you wouldn’t think it was under the enemy’s control, but the Spirit Agents remained on edge as they walked past their old house. I kept a worried eye on Harper’s fading form, a blue glow on her shoulder signalling the presence of her water sprite.
Miles peered over the fence to the Spirit Agents’ house. “Hey… there’s someone in there.”
“Not the Family?” I backtracked to his side, trying to see through the slight gap in the curtains of the living room.
“It won’t be,” said Miles. “I wonder…”
He darted into the garden and approached the house. Before he could reach the door, it flew open, and a man appeared with fire blazing in his hands. “Get out!”
The stranger’s curly hair was unkempt, his tawny skin sprinkled with dirt, and he wore the red-and-black uniform of the House of Fire.
“You’re in my house,” Miles said.
“It’s not your house, or hers,” said the mage, spotting me standing behind him. “Unless the Death King owns this place now.”
“Aren’t you from the House of Fire?” In fact, he was one of Harris’s fellow security guards. What was he doing hiding in the Spirit Agents’ old house?
“Used to be,” said a blond female mage from behind him, who wore the uniform of the House of Water. “We’re hiding from those maniacs who took over the Houses.”
So the others had been right and some of the mages hadn’t taken the Family’s side. That was one piece of good news. The bad news, of course, was that it couldn’t be more obvious that however many people were in this house, they were vastly outnumbered by the mages who’d chosen to surrender to the Family. Only a few dozen people were visible inside the hall and the living room behind them, while judging by their uniforms, they represented all four Houses. Far from an army, though.
“Are there any other places where mages who escaped the Houses might have hidden?” I asked.
“I wish I knew,” said the fire mage. “We all left after the talk of surrender began and grouped together when we realised we weren’t alone. This was the only place in the middle of the city we could think of to shelter in where they wouldn’t think to look for us. If anyone else is left inside the Houses who doesn’t agree with the Family’s take-over, they’re trapped.”
“That’s what I was afraid of,” I said. “We’ve come to see who’ll join us in challenging them, but if this is all we have…”
Miles cleared his throat. “I can think of one place you might find backup.”
I rotated to face him. “Where’s that?”
“Where in the city are there hundreds of mages imprisoned, most of whom are in full possession of their magical talents?” said Miles, an oddly calculating look in his eyes. “Enough people to make a real problem for the Family?”
“You mean criminals?” said the fire mage. “We can’t set them loose in the city.”
Oh. Now I got it… and it wasn’t a bad idea at all.
“I think you and I both know that the majority of mages weren’t jailed for committing anything which would count as a crime if the Houses weren’t in charge of the city,” said Miles. “Besides, don’t you have records of which of them are dangerous murderers and which just made an enemy of the wrong person in the Houses? It shouldn’t be too hard for you to leave the deadliest mages behind bars and free the rest.”
“No,” said the blond water mage from behind him. “It’d undermine everything we’ve achieved since the war.”
“What, jailing innocent people?” I said. “I’m still not clear on what I was locked up for, aside from being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Lex and Roth are escaped criminals, yet the Houses let them take over anyway. Isn’t that a good enough reason to throw the whole system out?”
Several of the mages murmured agreement, but others broke into arguing among themselves. I backed away from the doorstep to face the other Elemental Soldiers. “It’s a valid idea, right?”
“I’m up for it,” said Cal. “I wasn’t locked up for any good reason, either.”
“I’ll help.” Harper was barely visible, a shadowy smudge against the lawn. “The Houses are the reason the Family were able to get away with their crimes for as long as they did. They’re the reason my brother died.”
Yeah. The Family had hurt so many people, directly and indirectly. Their lies had crept among the Houses and ensnared the desperate, and Harper had only been one of their victims. If I had anything to do with it, we’d be the last people they ever hurt.
Miles raised his voice to address the bickering mages. “Look, the Houses are occupied by the enemy. The Family will probably set free anyone who’s willing to fight for them anyway. Why shouldn’t we get there first?”
“Exactly,” I said. “Come on, guys, we can’t waste all day arguing with one another. We have a city to defend, which is supposed to be your job, I might add.”
The fire mage faced me. “Fine. But only if we can find a way to free them which doesn’t involve us all getting killed.”
“I’m sure we can come up with one.”
Time for a mass prison breakout the likes of which had never been seen in the Parallel before.
Once we had a starting point, we broke into four groups to discuss strategies for tackling each of the four Houses. Cal seemed keen enough to take command of the earth mages, while Felicity spoke to the water mages. Ryan did the same with the air mages and Trix was happy enough to join them—which left Miles and me to deal with the House of Fire, along with the fire mage who’d let us into the house, who turned out to be called Xander.
“Don’t forget the larger fortresses which belong to all four Houses collectively,” said Shelley, who’d convinced the Spirit Agents to join our prison break plan. “In fact, the fortresses might even be easier to break into, because they aren’t under the watch of the Family or whoever is acting on their behalf.”
I glanced sideways. Miles’s expression was deceptively calm, but I knew he must be thinking of his own family, imprisoned in the fortress in the north of the city. If we freed his parents along with the others, he’d be reunited with them, but would it really be as simple as that? “How many fortresses are there?”
“Four,” said Ryan, overhearing. “Each of our four groups can go to one fortress before tackling the Houses. Think of it as a practise run.”
“The fortresses have more security than the Houses do,” said Cal.
“But they don’t have the Family hovering outside their doors, do they?” I sais. “Their army will be gathered in the centre of the city, not the outskirts. If we divide into groups based on our magic type and walk in pretending the Houses sent us on behalf of their new leadership, they won’t assume we’re trespassing.”
“Except for the spirit mages.” Xander’s gaze passed over me, Miles, and the other Spirit Agents.
“We can split up and keep watch, then,” Shelley said, undeterred.
“We’ll com
e to the northern fortress.” I nudged Miles, who shook his head.
“They’d recognise my face,” he said. “From the times I showed up asking them to release my parents. It’s been a few years, but I bet their security remembers me.”
“It doesn’t matter,” I said. “The guards at the fortresses won’t actually be in the know about what’s going on in the Houses, will they? They might not even have heard they surrendered to the Family. We can use that against them… or we can pretend to be in league with the Family ourselves. It’s not like they’d know any better.”
He gave a slow nod. “All right.”
While the other three groups departed for the other prisons, our group headed for the northern fortress. Miles and I accompanied several fire mages, along with Harper. She’d managed to hold herself together so far, but worry prickled at me every time I caught sight of her shadowy form, which now appeared as pale as a sunbeam.
“I shouldn’t come inside with you,” she said. “I doubt having a lich with you would do you any favours. I’ll wait outside.”
“Sure,” I said. “Give me a shout if you need me.”
The northern fortress looked surprisingly ordinary from the inside, more like a hotel lobby than a magical prison. The mages had spared no expense, given the polished floors and wide staircases. I walked up to the two armoured mages staffing the long wooden desk which dominated the interior. “Hey, there. We’re here on behalf of the new rulers of the Houses, Roth and Lex. You might know them as the Family.”
“What?” said man on the right, a stocky mage wearing the green-and-black uniform of the House of Air. “You’re lying.”
“She isn’t,” said Miles. “The Family has officially taken command of the Houses of the Elements, and our first order is to free all the mages unlawfully locked up in your cells who haven’t broken any of the major laws of the Parallel.”
“No,” said the second mage, a woman wearing blue-and-black, from the House of Water. “That’s absurd.”
Tower of Fire (Parallel Magic Book 3) Page 20