“Why waste a good thing?” He gestured to someone out of my line of sight. “Bring in the other one.”
I struggled and squirmed but the chair held me captive. “You’re living on borrowed time, Cobb. Keep telling yourself you have the upper hand. It’ll only last until the people upstairs realise what’s going on down here.”
“There is nobody upstairs,” he said. “The council were called out on an urgent meeting, and they assume everything they left behind is in working order. We have already seen to it that the Order is ready for taking.”
That can’t be. It can’t be that easy. Yet if there’d been spirit mages in their forces all along, waiting for their chance to take back the power they believed they’d been denied… maybe it was.
“They won’t allow this,” I said. “The other Order branches will find out.”
“Not before it’s too late for them to do anything about it.” He halted in front of the table, studying me. “They don’t believe we’re a threat. They made the same mistake with the Houses, and even with the Death King, when they punished all of them for the events of the war. Some of us refused to capitulate. We could have been allies, Olivia, if only Alban had trusted me enough to tell me he was training you as his successor.”
His successor? “That wouldn’t have changed the outcome. He’s dead. And you’re nothing.”
His jaw tensed. “Not for long.”
The door opened, and a second man was dragged in and deposited in the chair opposite mine. Cuffs snapped into place on his ankles and wrists. The two men who’d brought him in retreated, and the glass door slid closed.
Three of us remained… Cobb, me, and the stranger in the chair opposite. A man with tan skin, greying hair, wide eyes brimming with fear and pain.
Cobb moved behind his chair and held up a round, gleaming soul amulet. Then, with a cold chill of certainty, I knew what he was going to do.
“Remove her soul,” said Cobb, “and I will take her powers for my own. You know what will happen if you say no.”
The spirit mage’s eyes were wide, his hands bloody where he’d tried to free himself, but he was obviously as trapped as I was. Had he been the Order’s prisoner, before Cobb had freed him?
Cobb smiled. “I would have preferred for Greyson to be the one to do this. It would be much more fitting. But it seems he is less loyal to you than he is to his own subjects. He hasn’t even come to your rescue.”
A chill rose to my skin as he released the cuffs on the spirit mage’s hands, lifted his arms onto the cold metal table, and pressed the round shape of a soul amulet into his palm.
“It shouldn’t take long,” he said. “You won’t feel a thing, Olivia.”
He took the spirit mage’s free hand and pressed it to my shoulder. At once, coldness washed over me like an icy wave, and I found myself dragged out of my body as the soul amulet called me, drawing me into its embrace.
No.
I dug my heels in and resisted with all the strength I possessed. The spirit mage tugged harder, sweat standing out on his face, but I refused to give in.
“If you fail,” Cobb said to him, “you die, and I’ll find someone else to do it. It shouldn’t be too hard.”
Once my soul was in that amulet, it was game over, but the spirit mage would pay with his life if he failed. I needed to stall, but he’d switched off my spirit magic, and my allies were trapped upstairs, surrounded by an army.
The spirit mage’s cold touch brushed against me, and a stream of energy appeared, connecting us. Chilled magic filled me, and my eyes widened. He wasn’t draining me. He was throwing me a lifeline.
This time, when I floated free of my body, I let myself be tugged towards the amulet. Then I spun around, as I’d done when the Death King and I had fought the liches, and thrust my own palm into Cobb’s chest.
Powerless I might be, but I had a damn sight more than Cobb did. Energy flowed from him to me, and his outraged exclamation was lost in the humming sound of the fluorescent lights dying.
Backup had arrived.
“Liv!” yelled a voice from outside the room.
Dex. I reached for his warmth and the sparks of his fire magic appeared in my own hands. The spirit mage let go of the amulet, and when Cobb whirled on him, I directed the fire at his own feet.
His yell of pain was music to my ears.
I floated back into my body, as the other spirit mage leapt from his seat. With his free hands, he reached for one of the unused chairs and hurled it across the room at two former prisoners, who backed out through the glass doors. The spirit mage hobbled across the room and grabbed a key the guard had dropped, using it to free my wrists.
“Thanks.” I took the key from him and undid the cuffs on my ankles, handing him back the key so he could do the same. Outside the room, the sprites flew around the corridor, distracting the former prisoners.
Cobb flew at me with a roar of fury, but Dex’s power was still in my hands, and a jolt of fire blasted from my palms. I shoved him into the chair, and the cuffs snapped into place once again.
“You won’t survive this!” he bellowed, fighting against the restraints.
“You don’t have the Death King’s soul this time around,” I told him. “Now, tell me. What did you do with Devon?”
“Her?” he said. “I told you the truth. She’s at the reunion. Perhaps she’ll still be alive when you get there.”
Shit. He must have sent more of his allies to the reunion—where most of the Order’s employees were, their guard down and their weapons left behind.
The spirit mage and I left the room and shut the door on Cobb, finding the corridor almost deserted. So much for loyalty. It seemed most of the prisoners had made a run for it while they had the chance. I reached the elevator first and caught my breath as we rose towards the lobby.
“How’d they get you?” I asked the other mage. “Were you in the jail?”
“Not for long,” he said. “I was with the Spirit Agents, and the Order caught me when I was on a mission here on Earth. I’m Sean. You’re Liv Cartwright, aren’t you?”
“That’s me,” I said. “Word of warning: there might be more enemies upstairs. Cobb freed all the Order’s prisoners.”
“Fool,” he said. “Some of them were locked up for good reason. I’ll try to hold them off. You should warn the other Order members. I take it you know where they are?”
“Unfortunately.” The elevator ground to a halt and the doors slid open. I walked out, to find Ryan standing over the bodies of several fallen prisoners. The sprites flew out behind me, and Dex soared across the lobby with a loud whooping noise.
Ryan looked up. “Where’s Devon?”
“At the school reunion, apparently,” I said. “Along with more of his allies.”
Cobb’s imprisonment downstairs wouldn’t last forever, but that room was more secure than anywhere else right now. Enough to hold him until I got to Devon and the others.
I just hoped I wasn’t too late.
20
The spirit mage and I parted ways outside the Order. I had a million questions I wanted to ask him, but finding Devon and warning everyone at the reunion had to come first.
“Thanks for saving my neck back there,” he said.
“Likewise,” I said. “Will you be okay? The Spirit Agents… you know how to get to them, right?”
“I know where they are,” he said. ‘Thank you.”
He took off for the node, while I noted Ryan’s raised eyebrows.
“He’s one of the Order’s spirit mage prisoners,” I explained. “Cobb tried to force him to strip out my soul, but it backfired. The other prisoners, though—they ran off.”
“They’re the least of the Order’s problems.” Ryan looked up and down the street. “What did you do with Cobb?”
“Cuffed him to a chair in the Order’s dungeon,” I said. “I can’t be in two places at once, and he saw to it that everyone who might be an ally isn’t there at the Order’s base. Som
ething about an emergency council meeting. As for the reunion, I’m almost certain it’s a trap, but I need to get Devon away from them.”
“I’m more concerned the vampires will catch up to you,” said Ryan. “Do you want to go ahead to the reunion alone? I can find Trix and the other Elemental Soldiers and be ready to fight, if Cobb’s people make a move.”
“And me?” Dex said. “I want to meet all your ex-classmates.”
“Feel free to come, but don’t even think about setting anything on fire,” I said. “Unless I tell you to, that is.”
In other words, if Cobb or his people made an appearance again. The odds of that happening were much higher than I’d like, given his comments about Devon.
Ryan glanced over their shoulder. “I can find my master, but the Order—”
“I know they have a hold over him,” I said. “I should have guessed. And I know I shouldn’t have yelled at him, but I’ll apologise later, if I get out of there alive. I doubt the Order will believe me about Cobb unless I can get someone with authority to vouch for me. Someone who isn’t locked in a cell after attempting to rip out my soul.”
Dex snorted. “If you ask me, he was bluffing. The worst that can happen is that Big-Toothed Dave asks you out.”
“His name is Gap-Toothed Dave, and I hope he doesn’t, given that he’s engaged.” An entirely different kind of dread gripped me at the thought of walking into the school reunion dressed in the Death King’s armour and covered in swamp water and mud, but what choice did I have?
Dex flew alongside me as I walked towards the hotel hosting the event. The thump of old-school nightclub music pounded in the air, while smokers in skimpy dresses and smart suits mingled outside the doors. Yes, I was definitely going to draw attention, but I had my Order ID on me even if I wasn’t exactly dressed up for a special occasion.
The guards on the doors looked at the black mark, then at my face. “Olivia Cartwright.”
“That’s me.” I put on a false smile, biting my tongue so as to avoid asking why there was more security here than at the Order’s base.
The guard eyed my muddy boots and tutted. “Go in, then.”
Dex perched on my shoulder as I walked through the doors. “What a bunch of snobs.”
“Better not say that to their faces.”
I scanned the crowd. Most were people I only vaguely recognised. Practitioners, for the most part, as mages rarely stuck around long enough to graduate. I sidestepped a group of ex-students, suppressing the urge to shout out that Cobb had tricked everyone into letting him escape and now he had the run of the Order’s headquarters while they were drinking champagne. Not that it would do me any good if I did. Short of bringing the man himself with me, I had no proof to speak of.
Dex whispered in my ear, “There she is.”
I spotted Devon talking to Judith French of all people, who wore a red dress which would have looked lovely if her expression didn’t give the impression that a dog had crapped on her shoes. Gritting my teeth, I made my way over.
“Hey,” I said to Devon.
“Oh, it’s you,” said Judith, in tones that suggested I was a slug someone had left on the dance floor. “What’s that outfit supposed to be?”
“I’m surprised you’re not taking advantage of everyone’s absence to gain favour with Cobb.” The words escaped before I could reel them in.
Shock blanked out her disdainful expression. “Cobb?”
Okay. She’s not involved. But someone here must be, and there was no way to tell from outward appearances. “Cobb tried to take over the Order while everyone was here. I locked him up for you. You’re welcome.”
“You’re lying,” she said. “You have a really sick sense of humour, you know that?”
“Feel free to believe whatever you like.” I inched closer to Devon, giving her a what the hell? look. I’d thought she’d rather deal with a marathon session of paperwork than show up here.
Judith turned away from me, muttering something uncomplimentary under her breath, and left.
Devon shook her head. “Please tell me that was just a joke so you could get rid of her.”
“I wish I could say it was,” I murmured. “But someone ensured only Cobb’s allies remained at the Order. He let the prisoners out, too.”
“Olivia Cartwright?” said Mrs Carlisle, halting behind Devon.
Hoping she hadn’t heard me, I fixed on a smile. “That’s me. I’m surprised so many people showed up.”
“Yes, even Greyson is here.”
My heart skipped a beat. “Who?”
“Greyson Beaumont,” she said. “You know him by a different name.”
The Death King stood by the doors, his human face on and his usual dark cloak and armoured clothing replaced by something that resembled a tuxedo. My mouth fell open. What is he doing?
Devon’s nails dug into my arm. “The fuck?”
Mrs Carlisle stepped past me. “Try to behave, won’t you, Olivia?”
I didn’t answer. I could think of a dozen more important things the Death King might be doing rather than walking through a gawking crowd of our former classmates.
“I’ll see what he’s doing here,” I murmured to Devon, then I wove through the crowd towards the Death King.
For a heartbeat I wondered if he’d pretend not to recognise me, but maybe he suspected I’d throw a glass of champagne in his face if he did.
“What are you doing?” I hissed. “Whatever happened to the Fire Element contest?”
“I sent the remaining contenders home,” he said. “The contest is over, and the winner has been selected. I thought I might find you here.”
“What about Lord Blackbourne and the vampires?” I spoke in a low voice, conscious of several nearby heads turning in our direction, and others leaning to whisper to one another. “Are they still looking for me?”
“This doesn’t seem like their scene.” His arm came around my shoulder and I startled, then several cameras flashed. Laughter sounded.
Heat swept up my neck. Someone had taken a photo of me with the King of the Dead when I looked like I’d come back from comic con via an outdoor mosh pit. And I’d thought nearly having my soul ripped out would be the worst part of my night. I wished I could pull off the Death King’s trick and vanish on the spot.
“Do people not know you’re dead?” I whispered. “What planet have they been on?”
“Earth.”
“Hilarious.” Under normal circumstances, I might have reacted differently to him making a joke, but I would have happily traded anything I owned to make the rest of the crowd disappear so I could get a straight answer from him. “I need to talk to you alone.”
Whispers trailed us across the room, but I hardly noticed or cared. As we neared a corner with fewer people standing in it, I leaned closer to him.
“Cobb is locked in a spare room in the Order’s dungeon,” I whispered. “He freed every one of their prisoners, and half the Order answers to him.”
“I’m aware of your dilemma,” he said, his own voice equally quiet. “I’m also aware that there are several assassins concealed among the guests in this very room.”
Shit.
I spun around to look for Devon. Then the ceiling lights went out, and the music ended with a sputter and crash. Exclamations rose from among the crowd, while Dex landed on my shoulder. “What’s happening?”
“Assassins.” Then I shouted, “Everyone out! Now!”
Screams broke out, and the guests surged towards the doors. I looked around for Devon, but the crowd was too thick.
“I warned them of a potential attack,” the Death King said, “but they refused to listen.”
My mouth parted. I didn’t doubt he spoke the truth. His standing with the Order had unravelled, layer by layer, until nothing more remained but Greyson Beaumont, ex-academy student and ally of the dangerous spirit mage, Olivia Cartwright. The Order trusted him no more than they trusted me.
I spotted Devon making her wa
y through the crowd and squeezed past a group of panicking graduates to her side.
“Are you okay?” she said.
“Yes—and no. We have to get out—”
Orange flames flashed in front of the doors, and a fresh wave of screaming swept the crowd. Crap. The survivors from the battle must have come straight here.
The crowd parted as Sledge walked through, surrounded by a rising inferno. And he has his cantrip back. Just great.
He pointed a hand, and the inferno swept towards us. Skin and clothes caught aflame, the stench of burning flesh made me gag—and the three of us vanished at the same instant.
I staggered, reeling, on the swampy floor outside the castle. Devon landed at a crouch, screaming in pain. Her hands were burned red-raw.
“Shit!” I grabbed for my cantrips, but I didn’t know if a simple healing spell could undo that kind of damage.
“Bring her with you—quickly,” ordered the Death King.
I helped Devon to her feet as the Elemental Soldiers moved towards us. With their help, Devon and I made our way through the castle’s back door and into the break room. Devon collapsed onto the sofa with a whimper, and I took a cantrip from my pouch and used it on her hands. The burn marks faded a little and she slumped against the cushions, tears streaming from her eyes.
“This should help with the pain.” Ryan came over with another cantrip. “How did Sledge get out of the jail?”
“He sneaked out when we were fighting the fire mages,” Felicity said from beside the door. “He must have had another cantrip.”
“Or someone helped him,” I muttered, thinking of the other fire mages who’d fled the castle to pick a fight with the Order. How many people had been killed in the attack? “The Order might blame us for this. They’ll see the fire and assume the mages are to blame.”
“There are already rumours about a gas explosion,” said Ryan. “That’s usually what they run with in the event of a fire mage’s magic gone awry.”
“Why’d they attack the Order?” Felicity looked between us. “What the hell is going on over there?”
Trial of Shadows (Order of the Elements Book 3) Page 20