Kai, smudged with soot, held his katana casually, his dark hair windswept and streaks of rain cutting through the blood running down his face.
And Ezra, a short sword in each hand, eyes burning with readiness. Of the three mages, he alone was unscathed.
As I sprinted to them, I yanked at my belt buckle. It gave way, and I shoved my brass knuckles into it. My remaining three crystals went into a pouch, then I tossed it. Ezra caught it out of the air.
“We’re going after Xanthe and Xever,” I yelled over the pandemonium, wasting no time on a tearful reunion. “I’ll clear a path. Follow behind me as close as you can.”
Whirling toward the horrific battle ahead, I flipped the Carapace open and swept it over my shoulders.
Chapter Twenty-Six
“Tori, take this.”
Numbness washed over my body, deadening my limbs, and it took me a second to look up.
Kai stood beside me, holding his shorter katana with the hilt extended toward me. I grasped the fabric-wrapped handle. He released the blade and hefted his long katana.
Ezra joined me on my other side, my combat belt hooked on an empty sword sheath at his hip. “Xanthe and Xever will be at the back, out of danger.”
I nodded. “I think Darius is going for them too. We—”
Crimson magic exploded. Nazhivēr roared, silhouetted against the eerie glow with his wings spread.
The dark form of the mysterious man in black flew backward, thrown by the blast. He landed in a handstand and flipped neatly onto his feet. Sinking into a crouch, he set his feet and launched back toward his opponent, faster than any human. Red magic crawled over his arms, sparking off his shoulders.
Aaron’s and Kai’s jaws hung open. “Is that—”
“Yep. Leave Nazhivēr to them.” I reached for the Carapace’s hood. “Stick with me.”
Three pairs of eyes locked on mine.
“We’ll be with you,” Ezra said.
I pulled the hood up and the world went quiet.
The cessation of sound pressed against my ears. With all my senses but vision muted, I faced the battle. My numbed limbs wouldn’t stop me, nor the chill spreading through my core as the Carapace’s magic sucked at my human body, attempting to drain my magic.
Except I had no magic. I was as human as could be, and the Carapace, instead of being a dangerous liability, was my best weapon.
As long as I wore it, I was impervious to any attack, physical or magical. I would clear the path.
I launched forward, and the three mages ran after me. The overwhelming violence of the battle hit hard as I closed in on it—silent explosions of magic and fire, flashes of light, writhing men, struggling enemies, brutal demons. Shattered concrete and flying debris.
And bodies. Unmoving bodies scattered over the ground.
The silence in my ears softened the effect, and I scanned for the best path. Seven demons still moved. Four demon mages. Dozens of men, and I couldn’t tell friend and foe apart.
But there—where the south street met the intersection. Xanthe and Xever stood side by side, surrounded by three cultists, three wolves, and two vampires.
They were our goal.
Speeding up, I leaped across the crevice that divided the intersection in two. The cloak fluttered, clinging to my arms as the ends floated outward. I reached the edge of the melee.
Mythics whipped toward me. Shock, disbelief. Then a sorcerer hurled a spell in my direction.
The green light dissolved into sparkles, which the Carapace devoured. I swiped clumsily with Kai’s katana and the man stumbled back. I shot past him—and orange light flared as Aaron dealt with the enemy.
All around me, magic dissolved and sucked into the fae cloak. Men jumped away, no idea what I was or what the cloak was doing. I plowed through, the guys right behind me, drawing ever closer to the cult leaders.
Then the demon mages noticed us.
Three of them peeled away from their opponents. Crimson magic blazed up over their hands, spells taking form. Terror weakened my knees as I flung my arms out. Ezra, Aaron, and Kai ducked behind the Carapace’s outstretched fabric.
The demon mages’ spells exploded from their hands. Screaming red power blasted toward me—and dissolved. The Carapace absorbed it all with a soft ripple of amethyst fabric.
As the demon mages’ lips curled into furious sneers, the middlemost one jolted.
A flicker of movement, of light. For an instant, Darius appeared behind the demon mage, his dagger sliding smoothly into the man’s jugular. The assassin pulled his blade free, and the demon mage clutched his throat, magma eyes blazing as the demon within realized his host was dying.
The luminamage vanished again, bending the light around his body.
I launched forward, brandishing my sword as the cloak billowed. The demon mages darted uncertainly away—and Ezra shot past my left side.
A blast of wind to throw a demon mage back. A slash of his sword, a blade of air. Blood sprayed. The demon mage flung out a fist and Ezra caught it with a boom of wind. His other sword plunged into the cultist’s gut.
I whirled toward the last demon mage—just as the man erupted into flame. His mouth opened in a scream I couldn’t hear. Then Kai pointed with his sword, and a thick bolt of electricity leaped for the man’s chest. He arched, then buckled limply.
Aaron’s lips moved with soundless words. Go, Tori.
I ran. They sprinted after me, the Carapace absorbing every attack that flew our way. Enemies fell back.
Then we broke free of the chaos and into the open space between the battle and its generals. I pushed the cloak’s hood off as the mages spread out on my left. Three cultists, three werewolves, and two vampires to kill before we could reach the Court’s leaders. And there was Xanthe’s power to worry about.
Her cruel smile spread as she focused on Aaron.
“Darius!” I yelled at the top of my lungs. “Blind her!”
The GM didn’t appear, but Xanthe started. She flung
