by A. Star
Glamour was a strange sensation that kind of freaked me out a bit, though. It felt so unnatural, like being inside a bubble, and through the murky walls of the practically transparent membrane, I could see Irving on the other side, gaping at me in horror.
I felt my glamour fade away, knowing that I’d fucked up really bad this time.
Irving grabbed my arms. “You’re an illusionist now.”
“A what?”
“An illusionist. A human with magic. The League of the Black Cloud will want you now. They will want to use you, Glory. Against us. Against me. They will make you their weapon. I cannot stop them from coming for you.” He let me go and backed up. “You need to make your last two wishes now and release me back to my kingdom. They will use you to get to me and I cannot let that happen.”
My heart dropped into my shoes. Irving was trying to get rid of me. He didn’t want me to be his master anymore. “Irving,” I said. “Think about what you’re saying.”
“I have made up my mind, Glory. You must release me and hide the Chronolier. I cannot take it back to Shrinelyn with me, but if you wish to protect me and my kind, then please, please, do this for me. Hide it where no one will find it, where they would never think to look. If they ever locate it—” He dragged his hands through his hair, knocking his goggles to the ground. “They must not claim possession of my Chronolier. It will be the end of my kind.”
My mind raced. Irving was desperate and I knew I had to do something to fix this. But I didn’t know what to wish for. I could have wished for anything, but I wanted to help Irving. It was the only way I could express what I was feeling without saying the actual words. If Irving and I never saw one another again, at least I wouldn’t be remembered as a burden and that I’d done everything in my power to help his people.
I thought some more and after a moment, something came to me. I wasn’t sure if it would work, but if it did then it might protect Irving and make it possible for us to see each other again.
I reached into my bag and pulled out Irving’s Chronolier. Here goes nothing. “I wish—”
“Glory! Watch out!” I barely had time to brace myself as Irving tackled me to the ground and rolled us away.
An explosion went off right where we had been standing, leaving a crater-sized hole in the grass.
“What the fuck is that?” I shouted. I glanced at Irving to find that the utter terror I felt was splashed all across Irving’s face.
“It cannot be!” he exclaimed. He scrambled to his feet, pulling me with him.
Even standing at full height, which was incredibly tall, Irving was practically dwarfed by the three plus tons of steel robot that had just tried to obliterate us.
“Oh, fuck me!” I cursed. Irving shot me a look before tossing me aside as the hollow-eyed automaton leapt through the air at us. It swung a massive arm at Irving, intent on crushing him, but the Djinn thwarted the attempt by thrusting his hands up in front of him and conjuring up some sort of invisible shield. The automaton’s steel fist slammed into the shield and bounced off, throwing the bot onto its back. I was sure the impact could be felt all the way to the Earth’s core.
“This way, Glory!” Before I could even wrap my mind around what was happening, Irving was pulling me to my feet, and then we were running, only stopping for Irving to scoop up his goggles.
Irving dragged us behind the nearest dumpster in the small expanse behind the Music building. We fell into crouches and Irving slid his goggles onto his head and over his eyes. Using a tiny lever on the side, he switched out the lenses for the ones that were behind them. I was pretty sure I knew why. Night vision.
“What the fuck is that thing?” I hissed. I was knocked on my ass as the ground shook from the automaton stomping toward us.
“It is something that should not exist,” Irving said, searching his pockets for something. He pulled out a leather glove with a brass gadget attached to it. The gadget hooked over his thumb, index and middle fingers as he slid it onto his right hand. He flipped a few switches and the gadget tightened around his palm and fingers. With that, he was back on his feet.
“Stay here,” he growled down at me.
“Not gonna be a problem,” I said. The area around the dumpster was putrid and gross, but nothing would be more disgusting than getting stomped out by the automaton and ending up as nothing but a sack of skin and crushed bones.
Irving disappeared and reappeared in the path of the robot, intercepting its deadly march. I knew because I stood up to watch. Sure, I was scared, but there was no way I was going to miss this fight and if Irving ever needed my help, I wanted to be ready to do whatever I could.
The automaton was outfitted in antique steel plates and brass bolts that covered its entire frame, from its wide shoulders down to its solid steel feet. Other than the hollow eyes, the steel mask that was its face only had a brass grate where its mouth should have been. It didn’t appear to need a nose and I wasn’t quite how its auditory capabilities worked, only that they did. A steel pack was attached to his back and steam was rising through the brass capped pipe that rose out of the top of it. It was like an engine. Or a battery pack. If it was, I thought it was stupid for the bot’s source of power to be strapped to its back. It was vulnerable that way, though I didn’t underestimate its power and ability to kick major ass.
The automaton attacked first, flying at Irving with a speed that should have been impossible for something that big. With two steel fists extended, it power punched Irving and the two of them went skidding across the grassy commons, ripping up sod and demolishing several tables and benches as though they were made of sand instead of concrete. I screamed because damn, how could anyone survive some shit like that? But they were up and back at it a moment later when Irving lifted the bot above his head and tossed it teddy bear-style, arms and legs spinning like a pinwheel through the air.
The bot crashed into the Art and Sciences building, clearing out an entire classroom and probably a lot more than that. I heard the bot whir as it emerged from the rubble and stomped back out to meet its opponent. Irving was waiting and as soon as the bot appeared, he raised his gloved hand—his thumb, middle and index fingers outstretched—and blasted the steel beast with whatever magic mojo the glove possessed. The bot must have seen it coming because it threw up a steel shield that extended from a plate on its left arm and blocked the blast. With a sharp slice through the air, a three-foot long blade shot out of the wrist guard on its right arm. My eyes widened to the size of baseballs. The bot was about to attempt to gut Irving.
The automaton bent its steel-plated knees, then pushed off, soaring through the air and landing right in front of Irving. Its shield immediately slammed into the Djinn and he flew across the commons. His hard landing left a crater in the ground, but that didn’t even seem to phase Irving. In a puff of smoke, he materialized on the shoulders of the bot and started beating it over the head with his gloved hand. Sparks flew off the bot’s steel helmet as it stumbled about, trying to knock Irving off or skewer him with its blade.
Irving threw a right hook that had the bot reeling sideways. The sudden jolt made Irving lose his balance and he pitched forward, landing halfway over the bot’s shoulder. The bot took advantage of that and grabbed Irving by his duster. It yanked and Irving slammed into the ground. Without pausing, it retracted its blade and rammed its fist into Irving’s body. I heard the bones crunch from across the commons and that’s when I knew I couldn’t watch anymore without doing something.
My good sense fled and I dashed from behind the dumpster, shouting and flailing my arms.
“Hey, asshole!” I screamed. The automaton immediately stopped pounding on Irving and turned to me. I wanted to run back the other way screaming my ass off when those hollow eyes landed on me, but I stood my ground and pointed at him. “That’s my Djinn, jerk-off! And the only one that’s going to be killing him is me!”
“Glory! What the hell are you doing?” Irving shouted. He didn’t sound like he
was in pain, but I’d just watched the bot practically break him in half and knew he couldn’t still be at one hundred percent. It didn’t matter anyway because I now had the automaton’s full attention and it stomped toward me with a vengeance, whirring loudly with every step, steam hissing from its pipe.
“Ah, fuck,” I said. I stumbled back, wanting to run but not wanting to turn my back on the bot. It gained on me fast, so fast, and I froze up like the worthless human I was. All I could do was cower and brace myself for the death blow.
Irving appeared in front of me and threw up his shield just as the bot kicked out to smash me. But the beating Irving had taken had obviously weakened his powers because we both went flying from the force of the kick, landing like two sacks of potatoes almost ten feet away.
Pain burst through my body, but I sucked it up and climbed to my feet. Irving beat me to it, and looking like he’d had enough of the bot, he reached into the pocket of his duster and pulled out a giant bazooka. It looked like a huge brass water gun that sprayed bullets instead of water. The weapon possessed multiple chambers, levers, and gears, all intricately pieced together to give the apparatus a singular mind and purpose: to kill.
“Are you serious? Even your duster is magic?” That was the only explanation for how he could carry a freaking bazooka in his pocket.
Irving smiled, lofted the bazooka onto his shoulder, then pulled the trigger. The blast hit its target dead on and the automaton was blown back a dozen feet. Irving kept blasting the bot again and again, pushing it back further each time. Yet, it still wouldn’t go down. It was like the damn thing was indestructible, though I still suspected that we could take the son of a bitch down if we could get to the pack on its back.
A loud boom! behind me nearly gave me a fucking heart attack. I spun around to find that a black hole had opened in the air. A bad feeling knocked at the door to my intuition and I searched for the source of the black hole. Someone or something had conjured it and I could feel their presence. I could feel them watching us. They were here.
“Glory!” Irving yelled. “Get out of the way!”
I turned just in time to see the bot barreling toward me. With a pretty pathetic scream, I threw myself sideways, hitting the ground like a log for the third time that night. The bot charged on straight for the black hole, kicking up grass and dirt as its steel feet propelled its gigantic body forward.
“No!” Irving shouted. “No!” He ran after the bot like he wanted it to stay and hang out. I figured the automaton must have knocked him in the head one too many times and he was just confused. But despite Irving’s Djinn speed, it wasn’t enough to stop the automaton. It was faster, and before Irving could even get close to it, the automaton leapt through the black hole and was gone.
Irving slid to a stop by my side and we watched with wide eyes as the black hole folded in on itself with five forceful jolts and the world was silent again.
“Two attacks in two days, Irving. I think it’s time we start worrying.”
I couldn’t believe we were alive. We were dirty and we were beat up, but we were alive. The second we’d heard sirens headed our way, Irving had actually summoned a magic freaking carpet and we’d zoomed out of there, straight for my apartment. I would have enjoyed my first carpet ride more if I hadn’t been so freaked out, but for the entire trip I was just waiting to be attacked by another steel automaton or be sucked through a black hole only to suffer a worse fate. However, we made it back to my apartment safely, though I suffered no delusions that we were actually safe.
“I think it is time I requested that audience with the Sultan,” Irving replied, pacing my bedroom.
I threw my filthy hands up in the air. “Well, at least the bot finally knocked some sense into you!”
He tossed me a narrow look but he didn’t respond to the quip. “You were right before. I should have gone to the Sultan right away, but I did not think the threat was this vital.” He looked ashamed, and I couldn’t think of a good reason why I should tell him it wasn’t his fault. It kind of was.
I cradled my arms to my chest as though I was cold. “Hunters?”
Irving shook his head. “No. That steel automaton was a soldier from the Army of Brass and Steel, a long lost military regiment invented by Con Balzar, one of the most powerful Djinn to ever exist. He is a part of the Djinn Order.”
“What’s the Djinn Order?” I questioned.
“It is a faction of Djinn created for the sole purpose of returning peace to our lands when such a time comes where chaos can no longer be avoided.”
I did not like that answer, so I didn’t push for more. “You said the army was a long lost regiment. How was it lost?”
Irving finally stopped pacing. “It was not actually lost. It was supposed to have been destroyed long ago by a Djinn general, but I see now the tales are false. I do not know who could possibly have risen the Army, but it is not the League. They are powerful, indeed, but they do not have the force one would need to control one hundred automatons made of steel and brass. No, there is another enemy who lurks in the shadows. The attack tonight was a message, one they are hoping I deliver to the Sultan.”
A shiver flittered down my spine and I thought about how I had felt like someone else had been on campus with us. Watching. Waiting on the automaton to take us out. But I didn’t bring that up to Irving. “Do you think this mystery villain could at least be in cahoots with the League?”
“It is possible, but in my eyes, much too obvious. If I were this enemy, I would not let the League take credit for raising the most powerful army to ever exist, an army that was supposed to have been destroyed. No, this enemy has been gathering their power for centuries. I know because it would take that long to conjure a force dark enough to equal that of Lord Con Balzar.”
Irving stilled then and seemed to fall into deep thought as his eyes wildly moved around the room. Dread instantly chilled my blood and I knew whatever suspicion had just popped into his head wasn’t going to make me feel any better about what was going on.
“A sorcerer,” he said a moment later. He pushed a hand through his hair. “A sorcerer.”
“A sorcerer? What do you mean?”
Irving looked at me. “It has to be a sorcerer, Glory. Their power thrives off dark magic and if they had enough of it, they could easily raise the Army.”
“Do you know any sorcerers who would want to?” I asked.
“Yes,” he replied. “I know of one.” But the flavor of his words was bitter and I could guess that Irving had already come to a conclusion about who this sorcerer could be.
“So this Con Balzar,” I said. “You knew him?”
“Yes. I was Lord Con’s apprentice.” He took a deep breath. “I helped him build the Army of Brass and Steel.”
My mouth fell open. “You did? Are you telling me we were attacked by your own invention!? And speaking of, how did that thing not break every bone in your body?” Yet one little arrow covered in black ash from Crypt had nearly killed him. I didn’t get it.
“I am a Djinn, Glory. I can take quite a beating as long as black ash is not involved. But that is irrelevant. Lord Con conceived the Army, not I. I only helped him build it. But I can assure you that he did not design the Army to invade and destroy. He created it only to protect Shrinelyn.”
I wasn’t too sure about that. “You said that this sorcerer would have to have spent a really long time conjuring up a force dark enough to equal that of this Con Balzar.”
“Lord Con Balzar, Glory.”
“Okay, yes, Lord Con. Was he a dark Djinn?”
“Not exactly,” Irving said. “He was both. Half dark, half light, the ultimate balance of magic and power. He created the Army of Brass and Steel to protect the Djinn realm from the League and any force that would do us harm, but after Lord Con vanished into the universe never to be seen again, the Army became too much for the Sultan and his soldiers to control. So he had one of his generals destroy it, but I see now that he lied.” And he
sounded very bitter about that.
“So you’re telling me that both the hunters and a sorcerer want your head on a stick?” I asked.
“It appears so.”
“And you’re sure they’re not working together?”
“More sure than I am not. This sorcerer, if he is who I believe he is, prefers to remain just that—seemingly unknown and out of reach. Hunters suffer no such qualms and have always preferred a more personal approach.”
I shook my head. “Are hunters really that ruthless? They just hunt and kill innocent Djinn for no reason?”
“See, that is where the lines are blurred. Hunters do not see the Djinn kind as innocent. They view us as evil and brutish. As conquerors whose true goal is to enslave all of humankind.”
“Why do they think that?” I asked.
Irving reached out and took my still shaking hand. He used it to pull me closer to him, which I wanted and allowed. “There was a time, even before my existence, when hunters outnumbered Djinn, when we were the inferior ones and they ruled over us.”
“Really?”
“Yes. But as is always the case when one kind is in servitude to another, there is unrest. There are always those willing to rise up against the authority of the land and spill blood to gain their freedom. And that is what Parish Amir did.”
I started. “Parish Amir?”
“Yes, my ancestor. He rose up against the League of the Black Cloud, turning thousands of Djinn against them. The result was catastrophic and the hunter population was practically decimated.”
Shit was starting to make even more sense now. “So the hunters know that you’re the descendant of Parish Amir, the Djinn who brought their little dictatorship crashing down. That’s why they’re hunting you.”
He nodded once. “It is true. The uprising is what began the feud between the hunters and my family. But I at least know my foe when it comes to the League and what they hope to accomplish. This new enemy presents new dangers. They have the Army of Brass and Steel, therefore, they mean to start a war. And it will be a war to rival all wars that have been and will ever be.”