“That blows,” said Miles. “Not that I’m against a trip to a fancy gathering in London, but I have zero desire to get blown up by an inferno cantrip either.”
“Nor me.” I looked for Liv and spotted her talking to Dex outside the castle, next to Harper. To my surprise, Harper wore an illusion of her old face, which was convincing enough that for a heartbeat, I wondered if she’d managed to get hold of a cantrip which returned her to life after all.
“Hey, Bria,” she said, when I approached her.
“Hey,” I said. “Nice illusion.”
“Thanks,” she said, with a smile which almost looked real. “I’ve been practising. I thought it’d be enough to help me get to London with the others, but apparently wearing an illusion won’t be enough to stop me from falling to pieces if I go too far from the nodes.”
“Why would you want to go to London?” I asked.
“I’m not staying alone in the castle this time,” she said. “I’m sick of being afraid of those bastards.”
“Being wary of falling to pieces is a pretty valid thing to be concerned about,” I reminded her. “There’s no way around that, is there?”
She shook her head. “No, but I just have a bad feeling about everyone leaving the castle at once.”
“Why?” I asked.
“Hawker wants the Death King’s power,” she said. “That’s his aim. This crap he’s doing in London is just a distraction.”
“You sure?” I hadn’t thought of the possibility of the castle being a target, too, but Hawker’s goal was to take the Death King’s soul amulet and his territory along with it. If the Death King insisted on going to London himself, that would leave the path to the castle wide open.
The Death King himself spoke, addressing all of us. “My Elemental Soldiers will stay here at the castle,” he said. “Yes, that includes you, too, Ryan. I know for a fact Hawker wants my soul amulet and I won’t leave it unattended. Bria will go with the Spirit Agents.”
I stared at him for a moment. He wants me to go to London?
“But—” Ryan began.
Liv cut in. “Stay here. Hawker wants the Death King’s power. And even if he doesn’t show up here, Cobb wants the same, and that dude is being suspiciously quiet lately. Trust me, it’s for the best.”
“Fine,” the Air Element ground out. “But I expect you to return promptly or else I’ll be there to collect you in person.”
“And me?” I said. “Whatever happened to us going to Elysium to help the Houses?”
“The nodes in Elysium’s centre have been switched off,” said the Death King. “Or so I am told. London is the enemy’s target. Keep your distance from the gathering, and make sure nobody sees you.”
“The Order will be checking IDs at the door,” said Liv. “Only the Death King and I have invitations. The rest of you will have to wait outside.”
“We’re not signing up to get arrested, trust me,” said Miles.
“Any sign of trouble and we’re out of there,” I added.
Liv and the Death King went through the node first, vanishing in a flash of light. Then the others followed in groups. I joined Miles and the others, and we stepped into the node’s path.
We landed on London’s street, which appeared strange and bright to my eyes even with the sun already sinking in the sky. Exhaustion dragged at my limbs, but I couldn’t rest now. Not with both realms in danger and the people who’d raised me at the heart of it all.
While Liv and the Death King headed towards a fancy hotel which was the designated place for the Order’s gathering, I joined the Spirit Agents and we positioned ourselves next to the node, watching out for trouble. We all had invisibility cantrips at the ready, which eased my fears that the Order would arrest us. Considering the shit storm in Elysium right now, the Order was frankly the least of my concerns.
“How’d they block off the nodes?” I watched the current of light beside us, impatience burning beneath my skin.
“No idea, but they zapped out the nodes in the whole centre of Elysium,” Miles responded. “Using cantrips. No doubt ones they got from our friends at Dawson’s.”
I swore under my breath, recalling how Liv had used a similar cantrip to cut off my escape from the Death King’s castle when she’d thought I was working against him. The only way in or out of the centre of Elysium was to climb over the walls… or tunnel underneath them. Convenient, considering the Family had a group of earth mages on their side.
Damn, we’re in trouble.
I glanced down the darkened street. “Does the Death King know how bad things are in Elysium?”
“I don’t think he cares,” said Miles. “I’m not sure what he’s doing meeting with the Order, either. Personally, I think he just wants to take out Hawker himself.”
“He’s welcome to handle the bastard,” said Shelley. “I don’t give a shit about this Hawker dude. I’m more concerned with whoever locked off half our city.”
“No kidding.” My gaze followed the smartly dressed people heading into the hotel, who looked as though they belonged to another world to the rest of us. Which they did, due in no small part to the Parallel taking the brunt of the backlash of the last war. The Order had sprung up precisely to stop a repeat performance, yet I didn’t know how many among their number were aware that another war stood on the horizon, looming closer by the day.
Two dark-clad figures emerged from a nearby street, hidden amongst the long shadows cast by the streetlamps. Those aren’t guests.
“Guys,” I whispered. “We have company.”
The sight of the gleaming golden cantrips in the assassins’ hands made my heart sink. Looked like my hunch had been right, and the Family’s assassins had found their way to Earth. Despite the nagging worry about the Order’s penchant for targeting mages who stepped out
