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    The Order of Merlin
    The Order of Merlin
    The Order of Merlin
    Ebook461 pages

    The Order of Merlin

    By Thomas K. Carpenter

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    Destiny calls when you least expect.

    After five harrowing years in the Hundred Halls surviving dangerous supernatural threats, our group of young mages have each taken their own paths away from the university. But the recently returned Head Patron, Invictus, has need of their skills. Brought together under the banner of The Order of Merlin, these mages must survive everything their teacher throws at them—and each other—to become the team the world needs. Otherwise they don't stand a chance against the imminent demonic invasion.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherThomas Carpenter
    Release dateJan 17, 2023
    ISBN9781005379438
    Author

    Thomas K. Carpenter

    Thomas K. Carpenter resides in Colorado with his wife Rachel. When he’s not busy writing his next book, he's out hiking or skiing or getting beat by his wife at cards. Visit him online at www.thomaskcarpenter.com, or sign up for his newsletter at https://www.subscribepage.com/trialsofmagic.

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      Book preview

      The Order of Merlin - Thomas K. Carpenter

      The Order of Merlin

      Book One in The Order of Merlin

      By

      Thomas K. Carpenter

      Copyright Information

      The Order of Merlin

      Book One in The Order of Merlin

      A Hundred Halls Universe Series

      Copyright © 2022 by Thomas K. Carpenter

      Published by Black Moon Books

      www.blackmoonbooks.com

      Cover Design 2022 by Ravven.com

      Discover other titles by this author at:

      www.thomaskcarpenter.com

      This is a novel work of fiction. All characters, places, and incidents described in this publication are used fictitiously, or are entirely fictional.

      No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted, in any form, or by any means, except by an authorized retailer, or with written permission of the publisher. Inquiries may be addressed via email at [email protected]

      CONTENTS

      The Order of Merlin

      Infernal Alliances Sample

      About the Author

      Special Thanks

      Hundred Halls Background

      Hundred Halls Books

      Other Works

      Copyright

      Start Reading Now

      The Order of Merlin

      Arcanium loves books

      Coterie adores power

      Assassins will kill you

      Stone Singers has a stone flower

      Animalians is a zoo

      Alchemists, you'll devour

      Tinkers loves gadgets

      Protectors makes you cower

      Aura Healers wants to fix you

      Blue Flame has a tower

      Dramatics loves the spectacle

      Oculus has grown sour

      One Hundred Halls

      Each with their own magic

      The Patrons protect

      Because faez madness is tragic

      In the city of sorcery

      Invictus is the Head

      His students are many

      But the foolish end up dead

      A Children's Rhyme

      Chapter One

      The ambush was going to be a strategic masterpiece or a complete train wreck. Beckett Dreadmarsh didn't know which. As stated by the eternally wise Professor Kingsley at Coterie of Mages, using magic in the heat of battle was like a frog trying to balance on a razor blade; sometimes the little green amphibian managed the dangerous feat like a tightrope walker, and other times the poor frog slipped and had his balls sliced right off.

      Becks checked his watch. Another twenty minutes. He clicked the walkie-talkie.

      Everything in place?

      Two replies crackled through the plastic speaker in quick succession.

      Good as gold.

      Finger on the trigger, here. Then a moment later, Signs?

      I'll let you know when I see them. Becks out.

      He let the walkie-talkie drop to his side. The cheap plastic communicators made him feel like he was playing a game and not planning a deadly ambush, but he hadn't wanted to use more magic than necessary. Hiding the enchantments for the trap had been his biggest worry. The targets might be some of the best mages to graduate from the Hundred Halls in the last fifty years, and as far as he understood, they'd survived some pretty heinous stuff during their time in school. Caution was warranted.

      The roof of the refurbished warehouse in the eleventh ward had a good sight line of the two cross streets. The area had seen something of a revival in the last five years. Becks could see a silver-and-black Rolls Royce Archmage and a cherry red Maserati Fireball sitting in front of Lilith's, a trendy restaurant that served delicacies from other realms. Becks had heard the speckled locanath was a culinary delight. There were a few other restaurants, high-end shops, and late-night dance clubs that wouldn't open until after midnight. He would have preferred to set the ambush in an area that was completely uninhabited, but none of the buildings he'd scouted had the reinforced walls or mage-hardened floors necessary. The warehouse was normally a logistical transfer point for alchemical elixirs with dangerous natures: exothermic, pathogen carrying, or organically transformational. The features of the warehouse that helped protect the surrounding area from leaks would also mute the noise from the ambush.

      Becks turned his head to the west. The sun was due to set soon. A low bank of clouds had been blocking it, but the orange-red glow burst through the gap, reflecting off the windows in the area, making them look like burning embers or demon eyes.

      A strange light at the center of the city had Becks looking to the northeast. The city of Invictus was a huge metropolis of three million people living in thirteen wards. At the center was an enormous tower called the Spire that was twice as tall as any other building in the world. It was the administrative center for the Hundred Halls, as well as the home of the school's head patron, Invictus, for whom the city was named. The lower two-thirds of the windows on the Spire reflected the setting sun, while the upper third, was jet-black. Moments before, the upper section had been pulsing with an eldritch light that his mind thought was a deep blue, but he'd read that everyone saw the colors differently. The strange lights had been going on for the last year, a couple times a week, sometimes twice in the same day. No one knew why the lights were happening, or for what purpose. The head patron had always been an enigmatic figure, even more so after his long absence, and those unknowable lights reflected his personality.

      Most thought he was performing experiments based on what he'd learned while he was missing. Becks thought Invictus was purely a showman who liked to keep people guessing, reminding them why he was the most famous person in the world, making them believe he was important. The whole thing smacked of bullshit. Invictus had probably been in one of the other realms, drinking their version of mai tais and having sex with the locals, while the various halls of his school had turned on each other, making them more vulnerable to outside threats. Some in Becks' circle even thought Invictus might be behind the infernal warnings they'd been receiving, but even he wasn't so sure of that level of corruption. The more likely explanation was that Invictus was an old man who'd grown tired of running his school and had only come back when the complaints of the patrons had grown too loud.

      Becks pulled a tiny stone no bigger than a diamond from his pocket. The angled milky surface looked like condensed smoke. No one knew what it was or why it'd come out of Byron's mouth during the ritual, only that the words that had followed had struck fear in everyone at the ceremony. He squeezed his fist around the stone. If they were successful in the ambush, the threat that had been revealed during the Convergence might be safely squelched before it could grow from embers to flame.

      The sun slipped behind the clouds, and the blinding orange-red reflections on the windows turned black like obsidian. A dark blue Toyota Charmer turned the corner with its lights on. Becks' heart jumped in his chest. They were here.

      Target acquired, he said into the walkie-talkie before jogging away from the edge. He threw the device onto the roof before heading to the stairs that would take him to the main floor of the warehouse. Becks rubbed his sweaty hands on his pants, reminding himself that the two women about to enter the warehouse were going to cause—whether knowingly or unknowingly—the destruction of the city and possibly their entire world from an infernal invasion. As head of Chroma and Key, and in a way all the secret societies, it was his charge to protect the Hundred Halls from this threat. If he didn't stand up, then no one would. Becks just wished it hadn't happened on his watch.

      The smooth floor of the empty warehouse echoed his footsteps. Becks found his mark at the halfway point and checked to make sure the bracelet was clasped around his wrist. If everything went as planned, he'd be safe as long as he stayed on that mark, then once the initial barrage was over, the bracelet would allow him to retreat to the back rooms, where they could be finished off from a safe location. Assuming they weren't dead already, but given their reputations, Becks wasn't going to take them lightly.

      He inhaled deeply through his nose. It smelled like cleaning chemicals. No sign of faez—the raw stuff of magic—that would give away the ambush. Nothing that suggested the entire area was blanketed in wards and enchantments, ready to trigger at the right moment.

      He knocked his dark brown hair out of his face and prepared the kind of smile that had always charmed his professors and dates, letting them know that he was just a regular guy. Not a member of the famous Dreadmarsh family. Nor the mage that had scored highest on the Merlins in the last thirty years, earning him a spot in Coterie of Mages, the only school that mattered in the Hundred Halls.

      Smile, dammit, he told himself. You're only here to kill them and save the world.

      Chapter Two

      Aurelia Aurie Silverthorne turned the corner in her Toyota Charmer, heading into the eleventh ward at the moment her sister, Pythia, let out a chainsaw snore. She glanced over to see her curled in her seat, mouth open and tongue hanging out, hair shorn except for a pointed ridge in front. The position reminded Aurie of when they were kids, traveling with their parents, usually to take their mother to the airport for a research trip. Back when she was alive. When they both were.

      There'd been a time when she wanted the pain of missing her parents to go away. She'd thought that grief was something to be choked down like a bitter drink, washed away into the rivers of the past, but now she wore it as a mantle of legacy. As long as she carried on their name, and their positions within the Order, they were never truly dead.

      Pi, she said, pushing her sister's shoulder. Wake up. We're almost here.

      "The ten marks the eye of the hurricane," said Pi in a voice that was not her own.

      Aurie punched her sister in the shoulder as they passed the Enochian district. She could see the huge dragon statue at the center of the square. If they'd had more time, she might have stopped for a trip down memory lane, but she didn't want to make them late for their meeting with the head of Chroma and Key.

      Pi, wake up. Seeing that her sister was deep in slumber, she added, Invictus wants you in the Eternal City, pronto.

      What? asked Pi, startling awake, hands in fists as if she were going to throw punches. Tell that bastard I'm all out of shits to give. Her sister wrinkled her forehead as she checked her surroundings. Oh, that was cruel. I thought I was back at his place.

      Aurie turned the wheel, heading into the newer area of the eleventh ward.

      You were talking in your sleep again.

      Pi knuckled away the sleep in the corner of her eyes, yawning as she said, Which one?

      Don't know, said Aurie, lifting a single shoulder, sounded like mumbo jumbo. The ten marks the eye of the hurricane.

      Pi slapped her own cheeks lightly. Doesn't ring a bell. She pressed her face to the window. Where in the realms are we? None of this looks familiar.

      Eleventh ward. It's seen some changes, I guess.

      A Juju Juice? You've got to be kidding me. There's no soul left here. This place has clearly gone to shit. Look at that Maserati over there, probably a bunch of stick-up-the-butt Coterie bought up the cheap real estate and drove up the prices. Pi threw herself back into her seat. This is all your fault, you know.

      You were a member of Coterie, said Aurie as she pulled into an empty spot further up the street, across from a restaurant called Lilith's. A waiter with a white towel over his arm was pouring wine for a couple by the window.

      Pi tapped on her temple. Still am.

      You know what I mean.

      They climbed out of the sedan. A chill wind breezed through the area, leaving Aurie rubbing her arms. It'd been a warm February day, but now that the sun had gone down, it was cold.

      Halfway up the block, almost to the warehouse, Pi paused. Do you see that?

      An empty street that hasn't yet been gentrified?

      No, said Pi, hands on her hips. Her sister wore a Garbage Kings T-shirt with the sleeves cut off and shredded black jeans. She looked like she was headed to a punk show. We're near the twelfth. I can see the old warehouse from here.

      Aurie stretched her neck. An abandoned building covered in ivy with the upper windows knocked out stood at the end of the street. Six years ago her sister had summoned a demon to earn a sponsorship into Coterie of Mages, a task they'd later learned had been given under false pretenses. The demon Pazuzu had nearly escaped and would have caused havoc in the city.

      Any regrets?

      You're kidding, right? asked Pi as she rolled her eyes. Come on, let's get this over with. Old Iron Balls needs me to renew the realm barrier when we get back.

      Aurie let a smile get caught in her teeth. You know he hates when you call him that.

      If I don't, then he reverts to that pompous know-it-all that no one can stand. It's hard enough to take when he barks at us like children and expects us to scurry off, scraping and bowing along the way.

      He has a dozen centuries on us, said Aurie. Or more. But I understand what you mean. Sometimes I regret freeing him from his stasis.

      Pi paused in the middle of the street as a car approached with its lights on. She slapped both hands on her cheeks in faux surprise. The great and eminently perfect Aurelia Maximus Silverthorne regrets being a hero? You're crumbling my fabric of reality over here.

      The vehicle stopped a few feet from Pi and honked. She turned and gave them double fingers before slapping the hood and continuing on to the sidewalk.

      "Dooset daram."

      Pi stuck her tongue out playfully. Now who is this we're meeting again and why? I know, I know. I fell asleep when you were explaining earlier, but I haven't slept in three days.

      You hardly ever sleep.

      I know, but three days is a bit much even for me. The gang in my head wouldn't shut up about the trip to Caer Corsydd. You'd think they'd never been to a fae realm, even a backwater one like that.

      Aurie smiled. In the nearly two years since they'd freed Invictus from his failed trip into the demonic realm, the head patron had been sending them to the other realms for information that might help them prevent an invasion. He told them he was too busy with his research to take the trip himself, but Aurie suspected it was because he'd alienated a lot of people over the centuries. Appearing as his representative often came with a lot of baggage, and more than once being greeted with weapons drawn.

      Beckett Dreadmarsh. Fifth year Coterie of Mages, and head of Chroma and Key, the secret society charged with protecting the realms from demons. We're talking to him because the societies do some ceremony every so often, but something happened and they did one early, resulting in some weird shit. Old Iron Balls thinks it might be important.

      Secret societies? Why weren't we invited to join one? asked Pi.

      Aurie didn't bother answering. Their time had been rife with intrigue between the original Halls. Those battles for control of the school were over now that Invictus had returned, but lingering suspicions remained. Aurie opened the door for her sister.

      Weird place for a meeting, muttered Pi as she eyed their surroundings.

      Didn't want anyone to know we were here, said Aurie.

      Still...

      Yeah, stay on your toes.

      The interior of the warehouse was entirely empty except for the occasional steel girder holding up the high roof. Faint runes could be seen on the smooth concrete slab walls. The enchantments appeared to be for a loss of containment of the dangerous chemicals and elixirs normally stored in the warehouse, but given the lack of materials, the runes weren't a current danger.

      Aurie spotted Beckett near the center with his hands behind his back. He looked like every member of Coterie she'd met in the past, like he should have been lounging on a yacht with a drink in his hand, musing about the ups and downs of the stock market.

      Do you ever wonder if they give you that perfect hair when you get into Coterie or you can't be invited without it? asked Pi.

      Aurie shushed her sister, chuckling, before smoothing away her mirth and putting on a more formal expression as they neared Beckett.

      Aurie, Pi, it's nice to finally meet you, said Beckett, stepping forward and offering his hand.

      Finally? asked Pi.

      Come on, now, you're both legends, he said.

      It's nice to meet you, Beckett, said Aurie.

      Please, call me Becks.

      He was handsome and had a nice smile. She detected a hint of nervousness in the way he held his shoulders, but it was to be expected, since he might be giving them information that he was supposed to protect.

      A Dreadmarsh, huh? asked Pi after shaking his hand. Shouldn't you have a butler here or something?

      Becks cleared his throat. I'm a second cousin off the main branch. Not to say that we aren't wealthy, but there are levels.

      He clearly didn't know what to make of Pi, screwing up his face as he studied her clothing and her youthful expression. He glanced between them. More than one person had underestimated her based on looks, or hadn't realized they were sisters. Aurie was darker complected like their Iranian mother, Nahid, while Pi tended more towards their father, Kieran, and his pale Irish roots.

      Yeah, sure, said Pi, seemingly distracted by something on the floor.

      Thank you for meeting with us, said Aurie, getting Becks' attention.

      Of course, he said, smiling. Anything for the sisters that brought back Invictus. Though I have to admit that I'm disappointed that you never revealed how that came about.

      We weren't interested in glory, said Aurie, trying not to be distracted by her sister's ambivalence. And there were a lot of others that made it happen. We didn't want to take credit for something that required a team. She cleared her throat. I'm sure you're busy, just like we are, so can we get right to the point? We heard there was an interesting development at the Convergence ceremony. We weren't in the societies, but we understand that it's used to gauge the danger that the demonic realm poses to ours, and this time, the warning was both severe and immediate.

      Yeah, said Becks, swallowing while staring at Pi. His boyish smile had disappeared beneath a pale exterior. A bead of sweat had formed on his forehead, which seemed strange to Aurie, given how chilly the empty warehouse was. The Shaytan'asrar brought grave news...

      Pi was muttering to herself as she stared at Becks' feet. Aurie couldn't tell what she was saying until she looked over. The ten marks the eye of the hurricane?

      Aurie looked to where Pi had been staring. There was a tiny X in paint marker on the floor between Becks' feet. The answer hit her like a smack to the forehead.

      Ten. An X.

      They were both lifting their hands for spells when Beckett yelled, "Dimittis!"

      Aurie managed to place a shield over them, expecting her sister to go after Beckett, only to hear the same spell repeated. A double shimmering dome formed over their heads at the moment an explosion of fiery pellets rained down.

      At the same time the flaming projectiles ricocheted off their shield, she heard the overwhelming hiss of a thousand steam vents, and the air filled with a faint webbing of mist. Aurie had been in the middle of forming a new spell, one that would knock Beckett off his feet as he fled, but her movements were slowed by the enchantment field and she lost the rhythm of her magic.

      Fu...! cried Pi, the curse coming out at half speed. The slow field was interfering with their spell casting, which required precise movements, sounds, and the proper application of faez—the raw stuff of magic—to achieve the desired effect.

      The runes on the walls were glowing with ever more intensity. She sensed they were not unlike the protections of a kill room where dangerous magics could be practiced because the runes would annihilate anything in the space should something go terribly wrong. But given the more commercial nature of the warehouse, the runes were set to go off after a delay, giving them a chance to escape, which was why Beckett had created the slow field to keep them from moving too fast.

      A secondary explosion blew a greenish gas into the warehouse from the southern wall. The billowing cloud crackled with electricity as it moved towards them like an oncoming storm. Three more explosions followed, each from the other three walls, trapping them at the center of the warehouse. Another complication to keep them occupied so they couldn't escape before the runes went off, destroying everything in the room, including them.

      Chapter Three

      The soul fragments in Pi's head shouted ideas on how to escape in a cacophony of information, the messages coming through in a garbled mess as four dark clouds striated with electricity roiled towards their location at the center of the warehouse.

      Shut up!

      Pi hadn't meant to say it out loud. Aurie gave her a strange look, but they were in too great a danger to stop and talk about her personal problems. When Pi had to ingest the soul fragments many years ago, she'd done so to save them, only to find out they'd given her the knowledge that those students had acquired during their time in the Hundred Halls.

      She'd thought she'd absorb them, but they existed in her head like tiny soap bubbles of knowledge. There were nine soul fragments remaining in her mind, and each one had a competing idea. Most of them were focused on the shocking clouds. Disperse or counter them, but time wasn't on their side. The runes on the walls were intensifying. Any moment they were going to trigger and annihilate everything in the warehouse.

      The problem was the slow field made escape nearly impossible as it acted on their bodies. Even if they had the supernatural speed of the Assassins' Hall, it wouldn't matter as the field created a maximum speed that couldn't be exceeded by self-propulsion.

      But maybe they could escape by being pulled out of the path of the shock clouds.

      A steel girder was a few feet from their location. Pi placed her hand on the quarter-inch-thick steel and drew faez from the base of her skull at the same time she spoke the spell that came from Metallum Nocturne—the Hall that had tasked itself with the magic of modern blacksmithing. The steel beneath her fingers glowed dull orange, then turned brighter until it was red hot. Pi squeezed, ripping the chunk of hot metal from the girder. A piece the size of an envelope quickly cooled in her hands.

      Hold onto me, said Pi, in her slow-motion voice.

      Aurie had finished a wind spell that had barely dented the closest cloud. The roiling green and black gases were within a dozen feet. The hair on Pi's arms and the back of her neck stood at attention. A crackle of electricity jumped from cloud to cloud, snapping and popping as it crisped the air.

      Her sister wrapped her arms around Pi, who was in the middle of chanting a second spell, this one to create an unnaturally strong magnetic attraction between the piece of steel in her hand and the girder near the door that led to the interior offices of the warehouse.

      The spell completed as the danger closed in on their location. They were propelled across the warehouse, right through the gap in the clouds, the excitement of electrons leaving their hair standing tall.

      Pi released the chunk of metal before slamming into the steel girder and tumbling to the ground. Aurie released her arms and slammed into the office wall. The runes in the warehouse were at peak intensity. Pi could feel them about to trigger.

      The door resisted Pi's attempt to enter, and there was no time for a spell, but Aurie shouted, Unlocked!—a trick of mendancy, lying magic that convinced the door that it wasn't really locked—and the barrier no longer blocked their way.

      They threw themselves inside at the moment a high-pitched keening formed in the warehouse. After the door slammed shut, they heard the sound reach a peak frequency and then dissipate like a train whistle after it'd passed.

      Too close, said Pi, enjoying the normal pace of speaking now that they were out of the slow field.

      The room had a pair of desks with computers and a row of filing cabinets. Another door led deeper into the offices, where their attacker had fled.

      Where is that shit-weasel, Becks? said Pi, heading towards the door.

      Careful, might be more traps ahead, said Aurie, always the cautious one.

      Doubtful, said Pi. He probably thought his ambush was going to do the job.

      She threw the door wide at the same time a wave of flame rushed down the hallway. Suddenly she was flung across the room to slam into a desk as the mass of searing energy slammed into the opposite wall, igniting the nearby papers.

      Aurie was lying on top of her. The reason she wasn't in front of the door became clear. Her sister had tackled her.

      Don't be so smug about being right, said Pi as she climbed to her feet, helping her sister along the way.

      Out, Aurie told the fire as if she were reprimanding an unruly canine. The spreading flames reduced until they winked out, leaving charred bits of black paper floating through the room.

      I don't think I want to go down that hallway, said Pi, knocking the crisped edges of her burnt hair. Can we get to the second floor?

      Aurie hopped onto a desk, kicking the computer off. She knocked away the ceiling tiles to reveal a steel-and-concrete floor blocking their path.

      Ideas?

      Besides bringing this whole structure down on his head?

      Without us in it, said Aurie, frowning. I wish I knew what he was doing. I feel exposed down here.

      If I had some copper wire, said Pi, opening the drawers, or maybe a paper clip. She nodded towards her sister. Keep an eye on the door.

      Pi found a paper clip in the desk and uncurled it as she knelt by an electrical socket. After a quick charm to insulate the wire, she shoved it into the prong holes. A tiny shock shot out, but the charm kept the paper clip from conducting the electricity.

      Pi pulled a piece of gum from her pocket, quickly chewed it, then used it to hold the clip in the socket. She pulled her earbuds out, and after stripping the connecting wire, wrapped it around the clip. A brief spell later, Pi placed the buds in her ears, hearing faint static. She wiggled the clip until voices came into focus.

      ...trapped in the entry room...yeah, I don't know how they got out in time, but it happened, and now we have to deal with it...

      There are more than one. Becks is talking to someone else, but I don't think they're in the same room, she told Aurie.

      ...the warehouse is a no go for another few minutes. Once the death field has gone away, then you can hit them from that side when I distract them...

      A snap, followed by the hiss of melting plastic, had Pi yanking the buds out of her ears. The gum she'd used was too wet and had created a connection, melting the cover.

      We have a few minutes before they're going to hit us from both sides. Pi kicked the wall, putting out the small fire. We have to get to Becks. I can't wait to kill that sonofabitch.

      Pi, said Aurie in a way that was three parts their parents, two parts sisterly admonishment, and one part moral guidance, we need his information, and even if we didn't, we shouldn't kill him.

      Pi grumbled. He tried to kill us first.

      Even so...

      Fine, said Pi, feeling like every time she made the wrong decision she had to be reminded of all her past transgressions. Can we focus on surviving this shit show?

      Aurie nodded. He has a defensible position at the end of the hall. Her ponytail had come partially undone, leaving wisps of black hair around her forehead, some stuck with sweat.

      I can blow through the ceiling, but then he'll know we're coming, said Pi.

      I wish I could jump through the Veil like Zayn, said Aurie with her arms crossed.

      Hell, if he was here, that asswipe down the hall would already be dead. Pi rolled her eyes when Aurie frowned. You miss him, don't you?

      We don't have time for this...and yes, but he has his responsibilities, just like we have ours.

      Under different circumstances, Pi would have called her sister on her bullshit. Aurie was still mad at Zayn for leaving with only a note as a goodbye.

      We need to get down that hallway, said Aurie.

      Yeah, yeah, I'm thinking.

      The soul fragments had been quiet, but that wasn't unusual. Once things started to go sideways, they got pushed to the back in the frenzy of magic and action, and Pi had to reach out to get them to cooperate.

      I have an idea, or I should say Lydia does.

      Daring Maids?

      Yeah, said Pi. I'm going to form a one-woman shield wall and march down that hall while douche-nugget throws everything he can at me, and then when I get us there, you're going to take care of him.

      Are you sure that will hold? He's fifth-year Coterie and one of the top mages in the Halls right now, said Aurie.

      Just be ready when we get there, said Pi.

      Pi formed the ghostly shield before she stepped into the hallway. The translucent barrier protected her from head to toe, but it wouldn't be enough against a powerful Coterie mage. She tapped into the soul fragments, repeating the shield spell, but tying the anchor to each one of them, rather than herself. The Daring Maids tasked themselves with protecting the innocent, which meant heading into war-torn areas. Their spell worked best in concert with others, forming a shield wall like the Viking shield maidens of old. Pi was only one person, but using the soul fragments she could make a facsimile of the shield wall.

      When the overlapping shimmering ovals were complete, Pi stepped into the doorway. A wave of flame roiled down at her like fire from the throat of a dragon. She girded herself for the impact, which hit the shield wall, energy exploding outward.

      She'd survived the first impact, but Becks would double his efforts. The next spell wouldn't be as easy.

      At its core, all magic was made up of the five elements: fire, water, earth, wind, and force. Her force shields were a good counter for fire, but she knew he'd likely switch to air, which would make her shields less effective.

      As expected, a hurricane whipped down the hallway, but Pi infused the shields with a twist of earth. The ghostly overlapping ovals intensified with grit and rocks. The impact slammed into the shields, increasing the air pressure and making her ears pop, but the barrier held.

      Pi smirked to herself as she hurried down the hallway. Becks might be a powerful mage in his own right, but she'd survived countless dangers and learned new tricks along the way. Two more blasts—water and earth—followed, but Pi was ready for both. When the Coterie mage went for a last strike, full-on force, Pi tuned her shields to deflect the impact.

      Like two speeding trains slamming into each other, the force waves exploded outward, ripping through the walls and shattering the glass of the nearby offices. Pi was knocked off her feet and the wind blasted from her lungs.

      As she struggled to sit up, Aurie leapt over to stop Becks from further spellcasting, but she slowed to a walk, her footsteps crunching on broken glass. Pi found she could breathe again, and she saw why her sister no longer moved with urgency.

      The blowback had exploded the surrounding windows. Becks' body was littered with shards, blood leaking from countless wounds. He was gasping for air like a fish out of water, his breath coming slower.

      Why did you try to kill us? asked Aurie.

      His gaze darted between them. You...you'll be the death of us all.

      It hurt to speak, but Pi managed. Bullshit. We've done more for the city than anyone else. Why? Why did you try?

      Becks reached out his hand, which was shaking like a leaf. Please...

      Can you do anything for him? asked Aurie.

      Pi shook her head. I know a few Aura Healer tricks, but nothing that would fix this.

      Come on.

      She threw her hands up. I'm serious. He's way beyond my knowledge. I'm not trying to get my revenge. Really. Pi looked to Becks, whose breath was coming both rapidly and shallowly. You need to make him talk before he passes.

      It was hard to look at him. The fear was in his eyes. Naked, raw fear. The reflection of death went right through Pi.

      Pi, you know it'll make it go quicker.

      Aurie, now.

      Her sister nodded, understanding the need. As a member of Arcanium, the hall that dedicated itself to the pursuit of knowledge and truth, Aurie could perform minor miracles with only a few words.

      Beckett Dreadmarsh. Tell us why you tried to kill us and what was said at the Convergence.

      Aurie's words were imbued with a singular force. Even standing next to her, Pi felt the reverberation, as if a divine being had spoken, not her older

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