“Yeah,” Jamius said. “The South Side has tons of fiends. Might even find some cases there.”
“Yeah, right.” Melanie rolled her eyes, making the typical assumption that folks on the South Side couldn’t afford to hire a guild. She wasn’t wrong, but mocking poverty wasn’t a great look on her.
“Technically speaking, guilds take cases from anywhere in the city that we’re hired; however, there are specific locations that the city pays us to protect on a regular basis,” Enchanter Ortiz explained. “See, Kraken has always been active on the West side. We don’t patrol the whole area—far too many guilds fighting for turf—but we run the suburbs, and trust me, they’re grateful for our many hands always tending to their protection.”
His mind fluttered with the imagery of an actual kraken’s ten tentacles shielding the city. Even though an actual kraken wouldprobably attempt to destroy the city because they were a gigantic and threatening demon.
He wasn’t wrong about the city employing guilds to monitor specific regions within their jurisdiction. It was a difficult balance because they didn’t want guilds to overstep on police protocol, but they didn’t want to risk citizens when guild interference would be beneficial. They also didn’t want to pay exorbitant guild fees for exceptional acts of labor, so guilds only intervened in high-tier cases when the city offered proper compensation or a wealthy client stepped in to handle the costs. Money was the only real way to handle any problem. Magic was just an added bonus of assistance.
My students followed Ortiz for another hour as he lured fiends into more direct view of people, then allowed his interns the opportunity to banish them for small praise.
“Oooooh.” Ortiz came to an abrupt stop, showing his beeping phone. “Might have a case for you yet. The ole guild master only ever calls when we’ve got an emergency gig.”
Ortiz answered his call, revealing a video that had over fifty members, according to the small notification bubble in the corner.
“I need all enchanters near Humboldt Park to assist,” the guild master said. “There’s a massive disturbance, and authorities are being overwhelmed. Likely a warlock threat, but suspect fiend interference being drawn to the high volume of magical casting.”
“We’ll handle it,” Ortiz responded. “I’m eight blocks away.”
“Be cautious,” the guild master said. “By all reports, our enchanters on the scene have already been struck down. Stay vigilant. I’ll be sending teams to secure the scene soon.”
My mind buzzed with thoughts of enchanters from multiple guilds throughout Chicago being contacted by their guild master. The leader of Kraken Guild wasn’t kidding about backup. Considering Kraken was notorious for being glory hogs, it was surprising to see them reaching out for assistance. Milo’s influence, no doubt. He pushed for collaboration nonstop. It was nice to see the fruits of his labor paying off.
“Looks like you kiddos will finally get some action,” Ortiz said with a wicked smirk. “Remember the rules. You don’t interfere. You’re support roles unless the situation demands otherwise. But?”
“But it won’t because you’re a legend,” Yaritza, Jamius, and Melanie all said in unison. Even their eyerolls were synced. They found it frustrating that he coddled them—if one could call it that—but I was grateful his bravado wouldn’t risk their lives.
“Scope the terrain, take out low-level fiends, help stragglers evacuate the area, and have a comprehensive report to offer any other enchanters reporting to the scene.”
With that, Ortiz bolted down the block. He used his black flames to enhance his flight, turning the corner in a flash. My students barely had a chance to get off the ground before Ortiz’s mind had reached the scene. Whatever he spotted stirred through him uncomfortably, but I remained latched to my students’ minds as they flew toward the incident.
By the time Yaritza, Jamius, and Melanie arrived at the scene, there were black and white flames raging everywhere. Black fire clung to citizens, shielding them from flying debris, while white fire burned gigantic arms that continued swinging erratically through buildings, the asphalt of the road, and everything else in their path.
“Fuck me.” Yaritza’s fear latched onto my mind, making it difficult to focus.
Towering above her, above most of the buildings on the street, was a huge witch.
“What is that?” Jamius asked.
“Giant magic.” Melanie gulped.
She wasn’t entirely wrong. They had the answer. They’d each studied the various branches in my class. They’d learned the names of thousands of known branch magics. All they needed was a little push, a little guidance. It was rare, but we’d covered this magic.
“This is an alteration branch,” Yaritza said, recalling the type with a little suggestive whisper on my end. “Like Jamius’ magic.”
“This is nothing like mine,” he added. “This is sizemorphic.”
Sizemorphic magic allowed individuals to alter their bodies into larger or smaller proportions. The question was, did this witch have access to both capabilities or merely the enlargement portion?
“These damn flames,” the witch roared.
His bellowing shout lessened as his body shrank, and much to my surprise, so did his clothing. His outfit must’ve been enchanted, which meant he wasn’t some random criminal on a spree, but someone with funds. Someone with enough training to quickly compose himself and dodge nearby enchanters that swooped in to attack him in his smaller stature. It didn’t work. Soon, he stood barely taller than Enchanter Ortiz, who didn’t relent with his flames.
“Just because the target is smaller doesn’t mean I’ll be letting up.” Ortiz waved his hands, hurling the massive array of white fire at the sizemorphic witch. It was enough to engulf the entireblock, yet Ortiz honed the flames to strike the witch alone. “I’m about to show you why they call me Hellrazer!”
Part of me wondered if he planned to char the witch to cinders when I remembered Enchanter Ortiz’s black and white flames had unique qualities he could manipulate. Likely, he’d use the white fire to conjure a prison that’d hold the sizemorphic witch in place, preventing his escape.
“You dare challenge the Celestial Coven.” The sizemorphic witch seethed a venomous breath.
