Page 146 of Twist of Fate

There you are.

Luke reached for the first brace. The air struck him like a fist. He flew backward and hit the platform hard enough to drive the breath from his lungs. Pain tore through his ribs before he could roll onto one side and force air back into his chest.

The buyer stood several feet away, one hand extended. His smaller shield shimmered close to his body. “You have no idea what you’re destroying.”

Luke pushed himself onto one knee. “A tracking system that got Hale killed.”

“A tool that could change the balance of power in the human realm.”

“And you thought you should be the one holding it.”

“I thought it should belong to someone capable of using it.”

That answered more than the buyer probably intended.

Behind him, the masked leader shouted an order. Two warriors broke away from the fight and advanced toward the exposed receiver. The buyer turned enough to strike at them, forcing one behind cover while the other continued forward.

Luke used the distraction to grab the edge of the platform and pull himself upright.

Connal drove his sword against the buyer’s shield. The impact made the magic flare, but the blade did not penetrate.

The buyer threw out his other hand.

Magic struck Connal and hurled him across the roof.

“Connal!”

He hit a ventilation housing and disappeared behind it.

The bond remained present, strained but not broken.

Alive.

Luke stepped off the platform before the buyer could turn his magic on him again. He needed something capable of disrupting the buyer’s shield without requiring magic of his own. His gaze swept across the rooftop. Near the stairwell, a red metal cabinet stood mounted against the concrete access structure. White letters marked the door.

FIRE HOSE.

Luke looked from the cabinet to the exposed receiver, then to the shield flickering around the buyer. An idea took shape.

“Tyson!” Luke pointed toward the red cabinet. “Find the valve.”

Tyson moved immediately. Asterius shifted to cover him, driving back the masked warrior who tried to follow.

Luke reached the cabinet first and tore open the door. A length of heavy hose hung coiled inside, the nozzle secured beside a metal wheel. He pulled the hose free and dragged it toward the receiver.

Connal appeared beside him, blood running from a fresh cut near his temple. His gaze dropped to the hose. “A water demon?”

Despite everything, Luke laughed. “Close enough. Help me hold it.”

Connal caught the hose behind the nozzle and braced his weight against it.

“Ready,” Tyson called.

“Do it.”

Tyson turned the valve.

The hose convulsed in their hands. Water struck the roof before Luke wrestled the nozzle upward and aimed at the buyer. The stream hit his shield with enough force to drive him backward. Magic flashed across the curved surface, white light spreading from the point of impact as he fought to hold his ground.