Miles and the Spirit Agents set about kicking mud over the cantrips and burying them beside the bodies of the fallen assassins. Not ideal, but it was that or carry them with us and risk falling victim to their lethal magic. Shelley carried the body of the Spirit Agent who’d touched the cantrip, a bleak expression on her face. “Who the fuck created a cantrip which can kill at a touch?”
“Same person who created the infernos.” I scanned the rooftops, spotting movement above. “The assassins in London came from here. We need to find shelter before more of them come back.”
The ground trembled underfoot, and a sudden piercing pillar of light appeared in the corner of my eye. I rotated on my heel and saw the citadel light up from top to bottom as though plugged into a live wire.
“What the hell is that?” I said.
“Let’s find out.” Miles took a step closer, shielding his eyes. From here, the citadel looked like a giant node in its own right, the obsidian exterior smothered in vibrant whiteness. That’s new.
“I think,” I said, “the enemy just announced where they’re hiding.”
With the nodes switched off and barriers blocking the middle of the city, we had no way in. Except… “If we used one of the other transporters, we might be able to get into the citadel.”
“Why would you want to get in?” Shelley said.
“Because I bet that’s where the enemy is hiding,” I said. “And I don’t know about you, but I’m not so sure the Death King will be coming to help us.”
The Family, though? They were gleefully watching from afar as their cantrips wrought havoc in two cities, and the Houses fought to the death. Someone had to bring them crashing down.
“The other Elemental Soldiers are back at the castle, right?” said Miles.
“Yeah, good point.” I backed up to the node again, which looked like a pale imitation of the giant pillar of light emanating from the citadel. “I bet if we go into Arcadia’s citadel, their transporter will still be working. We can get in that way.”
“Right.” Miles eyed the others. “Anyone coming with us?”
“Shit, why not,” said Shelley. “If the Houses are falling to bits, it’s only a matter of time before the fight reaches our base.”
“Precisely my thinking.” I didn’t see Tay anywhere, but she must have transported herself elsewhere. She didn’t seem to have any intention of helping, but she hadn’t stopped us either. At this point, that was the best we’d get.
“We’ll take the body back to our base,” Tate told his sister, indicating the dead Spirit Agent. “The Death King…”
“He was in the hotel when the blast went off,” said Shelley. “I don’t know about you, but I think we’re on our own.”
“He’s pretty much indestructible, though, right?” said Tate.
“Let’s hope so,” Miles said. “Come on.”
A small group of us made for the node, where we stepped into its light and reappeared in the swampland. There, we found Ryan pacing in front of the castle gates. They zeroed in on me immediately. “Problems?”
“You might say that,” I said. “The Family’s assassins attacked the meeting in London, and we had to run back to Elysium before we were blamed.”
“Where’s the Death King?”
“Presumably still in London,” said Miles, rightly thinking that now was not the time to insinuate that the King of the Dead had perished in the blast. Besides, he had a few remaining tricks up his sleeve, I had no doubt. “Elysium is fucked, though. I think the enemy is using the citadel as a base and they turned on the transporter again.”
“While the middle of the city is cut off and the Houses are warring with one another,” I added. “Oh, and those contagious cantrips are everywhere. If you want to come with us, we’re going to Arcadia’s citadel. If their transporter is still working, then we can get into Elysium that way and find out what the hell is going on over there.”
If I blew up their transporter again, it would at least slow them down, but that wouldn’t take care of the fact that the enemy had staged an open attack on Earth of all places. Not to mention the fact that they’d shut down half of Elysium’s nodes and turned the middle of the city into a death trap. I might not live there anymore, but Elysium had been the first home I’d had after leaving the Family’s house. I wasn’t about to let them trample it flat.
“All right,” said Ryan. “I’ll come with you to Arcadia, but we might have a hard time getting into the citadel without the Death King.”
“I can help.” Harper glided over to us, still wearing her human face. “I can get us into the citadel, no problem.”
“Thanks,” I said, relief sweeping over me. “Okay, let’s move.”
Miles led the way through the node, and this time we landed in the street near Arcadia’s citadel. The city was deceptively quiet, but tension sat heavy on my shoulders, along with the memory of the chaos we’d left behind.
Harper approached the citadel first, and the door opened at her touch. The room within was empty, the spiralling staircase bare of any foes. Harper glided into the lead up the stairs, and we followed close behind her. In the upstairs room, the machinery was as pristine as ever, not at all as though I’d blown it up a few weeks prior.
“Careful,” I murmured to the others. “We don’t know what we’ll find on the other side.”
“Bring it,” said Ryan.
Harper floated over to the machinery and its buttons lit up in response to her spirit magic, while the rest of us climbed onto the platform in the
