“If he keeps this up, the whole tunnel is gonna come crashing down.” I spat out a mouthful of soil, looking for the box of cantrips, but it’d disappeared in a shower of earth.
“Nah, it’s sturdier than that,” said Cal. “Earth mages built this city, in fact.”
“Better hope it holds up.” I sank my fist into one of the mages’ jaws. “Or else it’ll become a mass grave.”
The mage grinned, soil between his teeth. “You’re all dead.”
The ground trembled again, and movement came from near the stairs. Then a gust of wind blasted through the tunnel, knocking all of us off our feet at the same time. I crashed on top of one of the mages in a confusion of limbs, dizzy and bruised. As I raised my head, two figures emerged from the staircase nearby. Ryan and Trix.
“Oh, hello,” said Trix. “What’re you doing down here?”
“Getting attacked by earth mages.” I pulled myself to my feet, treading on the mage’s face in the process.
Cal surfaced, too, covered in dirt. “Took you long enough to show up.”
“You’re welcome,” Ryan said, blasting air magic through the tunnel again and knocking down a fleeing mage. Trix, meanwhile, ran towards the dazed-looking mages and threw a punch at one of them when he tried to rise. I didn’t know why it surprised me that he could fight. Despite their mild temperament, elves were resilient and tougher than they looked, and most spells just bounced off them. Handy to have around in a crisis.
With Trix and Ryan on our team, we made short work of the earth mages and had them piled up on the floor of the tunnel in seconds. Cal, meanwhile, widened the hole in the wall so I could dive in and retrieve the box of cantrips. Breathless and covered in dirt, I displayed my haul for the others to see. Dozens of golden cantrips filled the box, each bearing an all-too familiar mark.
“We should bury them,” said Ryan.
“No,” Cal said. “Any earth mage would be able to dig them up again unless we hid them somewhere which was magic-proofed.”
“Let me see.” Miles strode over, his face dirt-smeared and a growing bruise above his eye. “I’d offer to hide them in the Spirit Agents’ base, but you’re better off handing them over to the authorities.”
“Meaning the vampires?” said Ryan. “They haven’t exactly stepped up to help us.”
“Did none of them come to help at the Withered Oak?” I asked Miles.
“No,” he said. “Their security human said they were asleep and to come back at dusk. Told us to pile up the mages’ bodies on their doorstep.”
“No surprise there,” Ryan said. “We usually can’t count on the vamps to show their faces unless there’s a direct threat to them.”
“If those cantrips had got out into the city, they’d have had a real problem on their hands,” I pointed out. “Tell you what, I think we should give them to Devon. She’ll be able to figure out what they’re designed for. Maybe track where they came from, too.”
“And we’ll get the vampires to lock up these dickheads.” Ryan nudged one of the earth mages with their foot. “Doubt that’s their only haul of illegal cantrips, but at least we shut down their operation in the Withered Oak.”
“More like burned it down.” I grimaced. “I hope the owners had fire insurance.”
Cal scowled at the unconscious mages. “We ought to report them to the Houses. They’ll sort them out.”
“I wouldn’t count on that,” I said. “Haven’t you heard?”
“What?” he said.
“The House of Earth is under the control of the Family,” I said. “Or some of them are. These aren’t the only earth mages I’ve seen carrying illegal cantrips around.”
His expression shuttered. “So that’s why they aren’t answering the Death King’s requests for an audience.”
“Does he not tell you anything?” At least it wasn’t just me he refused to share pertinent information with.
“I haven’t had contact with the House in years,” Cal said. “Not since the Death King bought out my sentence, like he did with Davies. He’s no friend of the Houses, but I rather hoped they’d see the error of their ways.”
He was imprisoned in the House of Earth? And Davies was in the House of Fire? It surprised me a little, though perhaps it shouldn’t have. I hoped for all our sakes that Cal didn’t plan to betray the Death King as well.
“I know,” I said. “He sent me to speak to the House of Fire and it was a disaster. That’s how I found out about those cantrips—someone used one to kill the jailor. Except the jailor himself was allegedly working with the enemy, and I’m pretty sure there’s traitors within all four Houses now.”
Cal gave me an assessing look. “Where are these cantrips coming from, then?”
“I have no idea.”
“You’re lying.” The Earth Element faced me. “I know you used to be imprisoned in the House of Fire, too, and I’m not entirely convinced you shouldn’t have stayed there.”
“Cal,” Ryan said in a warning tone. “Get these bastards aboveground. Someone fetch the vampires, too.”
“It’s a waste of time if there’s still cantrips being passed around behind the scenes,” said Cal. “And Bria knows where they’re being made.”
“I really don’t.” But there was one place we hadn’t checked. Somewhere I hadn’t considered as an option… yet I was all out of better ideas.
Cal scoffed, grabbing one of the fallen mages by the scruff of his neck. “Right. I’m going to fetch the vampires and get them to deal with these scumbags.”
As he dragged the mage’s limp body
