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Deirdre? The woman who disappeared? It wasn’t Thea after all, then. I felt a swelling mix of relief, and disappointment. Her being out of the picture meant that these cultists were nowhere nearly as dangerous or insane as I’d expected, but it also meant that we were nowhere nearer to bringing her and her madness to justice.
“We aren’t here to harm you,” Carver said. Something about his demeanor was so changed, the aura of menace about him discarded as readily as a paper mask. I couldn’t tell if it was more illusory magic, or just his charisma at work. “My name is Carver.”
The boy watched him warily, eyes flitting across each of our faces. He swallowed, then spoke. “Asher. My name is Asher.”
Carver nodded. “These men are my colleagues. The hairy one is Gil. The spindly one is Dustin.” I looked down at myself, wondering whether to be flattered or insulted. “And the one with all the teeth is Sterling.”
“Pleasure,” Sterling mumbled, finally releasing his death-grip on Asher’s shirt.
“Will you come with us? Somewhere more interesting. I can promise you safety.” Carver gestured around the room. “And windows.”
Carver offered his hand, and Asher reached out and took it. Something passed between them, like an unseen, unheard agreement had been made, a contract signed, and what made it all the more resonant was my recognition of the scene. This was almost exactly how Carver had gotten me to agree to work with him.
It was fascinating to watch it from the outside, and whatever else Carver was, he took care of us. We were fed, watered, and sheltered, and the kid’s – Asher’s living conditions would certainly be far better compared to this.
“Quickly now,” Carver said, hurrying Asher along as he gathered up the few objects that counted as his belongings. Asher collected some books, a few clothes, and a notebook. He stuffed them all in a duffle bag, then we filed out of the dilapidated bedroom and down the stairs.
A sense of urgency permeated the air, and I shouldn’t have wondered why. We’d expended magic in many different ways in such a small span of time, and anyone who cared to be listening or watching the ethers closely enough would have caught a whiff of the action. The last thing we needed was a gang of Wings from the Lorica pouncing on our asses, with maybe a few Hands thrown in for good measure.
We busted out onto the lawn, the air gone surprisingly cooler because of the darkness. Asher shut his eyes and breathed in deeply, taking in the smell of the garden and the outside world. I felt a stab of pity for the poor kid. But his eyes flickered open, and he looked around himself.
“Wait. Isn’t it supposed to be like two in the afternoon? What’s going on?”
“Dustin,” Carver said. “The mirror. Return the sun. I’ll work on sending us home.” He gestured with his fingers and began to incant.
“Check,” I said, reaching into my pocket for Amaterasu’s mirror. But a change came over the sky, or somewhere closer still. There was a strange quality to the air, a visual shift that looked like – wait. Was that the gleam
of glass?
“Oh, fuck,” I shouted. “Look out!”
Too late. We missed the signs, and another force field had already been dropped around us. We were locked into another one of these infernal domes.
The pale flames that had gathered around Carver’s feet as he prepared the sending spell vanished, and he cursed. “Someone – something is stopping us from leaving.”
“The Lorica,” I said. “They’re here.”
Sterling groaned. “Not this shit again.”
Gil, to my surprise, hardly looked shaken. Maybe he even seemed excited. He ran a hand through his hair and smoothed the creases out of his jacket. When our eyes met, he looked away and coughed.
Sterling flew off his feet before anyone had a chance to react, not that we could even tell where the attack was coming from. The air whistled as he rocketed across the lawn and slammed headlong into the force field. There was a crack. Several cracks, actually.
“Holy shit,” Asher cried. He ducked behind Carver. Smart move.
“Fuuuck,” Sterling groaned, a twitching puddle of torn muscle and broken bone. “Not this shit again.”
“Did you miss me?” Bastion’s voice trilled as he appeared from around the side of the house. “I got you good, didn’t I, you bloodsucking piece of shit.”
Sterling twitched. “Gimme a minute and I’ll tear your balls out through your throat. Just gimme a – ”
He screamed again, the sound of it cut off by the cacophonous screech and clank of metal as a car dropped on top of him. An entire fucking car. Bastion wasn’t playing around.
“Jesus Christ,” Asher screamed. “You killed him.”
“And those are the good guys,” Carver said. “Or so they claim.”
A blue glow emanated from the other side of the house. So Prudence was here. How many did they bring? Surely she wasn’t brazen enough to show up with just Bastion. Then again, they’d already disabled one of us. I looked over at the car. Check that. Maybe Sterling was even dead. Oh, shit.
