“Suffer doesn’t even come close to describing it,” Doc says.
The ferocious heat of their energy crashes through me, so powerful it almost brings me to my knees. Pushing my way through it, I step out from behind their wall of overprotective man-muscle and raise my Sword, pointing it right at Agent Seen-Some-Shit.
“Sorry, dickhead,” I say. “I really, really like this thing. So no, you can’t have it. Or me, for that matter. Care to make a better offer?”
Eastman doesn’t laugh maniacally or sling back a sharp retort. He merely shakes his head and sighs, as if he’s greatly disappointed in our response.
Did he seriously think we’d just give up so easily? That the guys would just hand me over?
“It didn’t have to be this way,” he says matter-of-factly. Behind him, the hands of his mages still crackle with magick, sparks of black and indigo racing over their skin. I get the sense they’re charging up for something, but other than our demise, I can’t imagine what else they’re planning.
“I was searching for a way to eradicatemagick,” Eastman says, “not its unfortunate practitioners.”
“You say that as if you’re not one of us,” I say. “All of you. You’re nothing but hypocrites.”
“Oh, I’m very much one of you, Starla Milan. As are all the mages marching with me today. Our absolution will come through the purging of magick from this realm, if absolution comes at all. And if it doesn’t? Well, that’s the great sacrifice one must be prepared make when undertaking such important work.”
A dark, bitter laugh erupts from Kirin’s mouth. “You think you can kill and torture witches and mages—living, breathing human beings—and bypass your one-way trip to hell?”
“That remains to be seen, doesn’t it?”
“You won’t survive to see your grand vision come to fruition,traitor,” I hiss. “You won’t survive the night—thatis a promise.”
Eastman offers a casual shrug. The mages behind him remain unmoving, their ominous presence at complete odds with the beautiful meadow beyond.
“Survival is not a necessary outcome,” he says. “I’m but one man in an army of righteousness. Death is an honor for the Soldiers of Light.”
Beside me, I sense my mages inching backward, probably looking for an escape. Their intent is clear—retreat into the caves, find another way out. But while we might be able to lose Eastman’s mages in the darkness, there’s an equally good chance we’ll get trapped in there, making it even easier for them to hunt us down and roast us.
Still, Eastman seems to be fixated on me for the moment. Maybe I can buy the guys a bit of time to figure something out. I just need to keep the asshole talking.
“Soldiers ofLight?” I call out. “You twisted fucks let the government—the entireworld—believe witches and mages committed acts of terror, knowing all along it was the Dark Arcana. You got into bed with the Magician, helped him commit murder, then fed false information to the authorities just to fan the flames of rage against your own kind. Against people who worked for you. Who trusted you. Goddess, that’s fuckingmental,Eastman!”
“We no more got in bed with the Magician than we did with the government, Starla. The goals of all three of our organizations happen to dovetail nicely. The Soldiers of Light want magick gone from our realm, the Dark Arcana want to reclaim it for their own, and the government is happy to put down dangerous criminals. Furthermore, we claimed responsibility for the purging—or, as you call it, the act of terrorism. The fact that your government assumed the Academy was at the heart of it only proves my point—magick and all who wield it are a danger to civilized society and do not belong in this realm. If they did, the authorities would not be so eager to put them down. It’s that simple.”
My composure is chipping away. This man has utterly no capacity for remorse, for compassion, for even a shred of anything human. He’s also woefully misinformed about the authorities—unsurprising, given the level of his ignorance.
I point the Sword at him again, still trying to keep his attention on me and not on the guys. “You’re so deep in the Dark Magician’s pockets, you may as well be eating out of his asshole.”
“Your crudeness is only a sign of how badly magick has weakened your mind,” he says, again with the disappointed sigh. Then, holding out a hand and gesturing me forward, “Come with us, Starla. Free the ones you claim to care about from the burden of your presence.”
“Stevie!” Baz calls from behind. “Now!”
Without hesitation, I spin on my heel and charge back into the cave after my men.
We make it less than ten feet before a new threat emerges from the mist.
In a blur of fire and rage, the Black Sun barrels into Baz, punching him in the mouth and sending the Wand clattering to the ground. Kirin tries to dive for it, but he’s too late.
Another assailant has already claimed it.
Baz scrambles to his feet, but he’s as powerless against our attackers as the rest of us.
“Unworthy,” comes the hiss from the shadows. “All who are deemed unworthy shall burn.”
Judgment steps forth, the Wand glowing in his hands like a hot poker. He flicks his wrist, and a wall of invisible heat slams into us, forcing us back out into the light.
We’re trapped. On one side, we’ve got Judgment and his Black Sun. On the other, Eastman and his cult brigade. At this point, I don’t know what’s worse.
