Tez, they aren’t going to willingly go with us.
I know, Rumor. Have Kallon open a portal and then use your enhancement to widen it. You don’t have to portal all of them. Just enough to makea path for everyone to run through. Have the air users put up shields, making an archway so the remaining humans can’t get past it and fight you as you make your way across the field. It’s the only way I can see you guys getting into the castle without spilling their blood or yours. If you do it fast enough, the air users shouldn’t use up too much of their reserves.
And where are we sending the humans?I asked.We can’t put them back in mortal territory while they’re compelled and all holding weapons.
Send them to the hut. Kal has a portal there and it’s far enough that they won’t be able to find their way back to the castle in time. Let the serum run out of their systems, and we’ll help them once this is all over.
I quickly told them all Tezya’s plan.
“It might work,” Kallon said, “and it would use less of our reserves than portaling everyone inside. I’ll check with the air users to see if they can make an arch.”
Once Kallon left, Sie turned toward Savannah. “I thought Dravenburg gave you orders to not fight.”
“He also tried to stop you from fighting today, but here you are. You have more of a target on your back than me.”
Sie shrugged just as Kallon came back with five air users. “Okay, Scottie. You ready?”
I nodded then turned to look at the humans.
“Make us invisible,” Kallon ordered. “We need to get inside the crowd. Sav, go get the rest of the group and make sure they’re ready to run on my command.”
Kallon grabbed my hand just as we both turned invisible.
We were slowly making our way to the middle of the clearing, but it was hard to navigate without accidentally touching anyone.
I felt her squeeze my hand once before she dropped it, indicating that she was going to make her portal. My enhancement so familiar with her now, it felt like second nature. I was getting better at connecting to all different kinds of powers, learning the telltale signs of each ability.
Once Kallon was done, she tapped my forearm, and Iwidened it, consuming and expanding the portal to make a long pathway from here to the castle.
We didn’t have time to process the human’s reaction as we forced them through the portal, because the moment our feet sank into the sand, Kallon grabbed me and took us back to the clearing. We were no longer invisible. The air users couldn’t maintain their connection inside her portal.
For one long moment, Kallon and I were standing in the middle of the field. The remaining humans looked at us in a daze for a split second before they started charging.
“Now,” Kallon screamed at the same time the air users put up their shields, forming a tunnel around us. Savannah must have said something to our wave because everyone immediately started sprinting toward the castle.
I stood in shock, staring at the humans charging into the invisible shield. Most had expressions of abhorrence, and I knew the feeling. They had no idea why they were doing what they were doing. No idea why the weapons were glued to their hands, why they kept running into an invisible wall with thoughts of murder.
I saw some of them collapse, some bleeding from the carelessness of their blades, some with broken bones from the force at which they were throwing themselves into the shield. It was barbaric.
Kallon wrapped her hand around my arm. “Come on, Scottie. We have to go. They can’t keep the shield up long.”
I nodded, trying to push my thoughts away from the helpless humans, and followed Kallon and the others as we ran toward the castle.
All I could think about was how much I hated the King. I hated what he was doing and how he used people as nothing more than objects at his disposal.
I wanted him dead.
I just prayed it wouldn’t be at the cost of Tezya’s life.
SEVENTY-ONE
SCOTLIND
It was a bloodbath.
I thought the battle in Tennebris was bad, but it was child’s play compared to this. The Lux King was prepared. More than prepared. We were lucky Wells and Arcane made us masks. The amount of vapor Alluse, and potentially mass compulsion serum, he still had was overwhelming. Whatever Dovelyn and Tezya managed to blow up barely made a dent in the King’s supplies.
Any chance the soldiers got, they’d try to swipe our masks off. Some Luxians even burned them, some went too far and burned our faces in the process, and I hoped Vallie didn’t see what was happening. I prayed she was safe, that everyone was still alive, but people were dying left and right.
