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“So what are we supposed to do?” Cain growled.
“I don’t know.” Nova shrugged helplessly. She rubbed her temples. “This is unprecedented.”
“Um, there is one thing we can try,” Mizuki hesitantly interjected. “The spell of recall.”
“What’s that supposed to do?” Cain asked.
“It repeats the last spell cast.” Mizuki offered a succinct explanation.
“How does that help?” This time it was Vance who questioned.
Nova’s eyes shot open. “Because the last spell cast on the dais opened a portal to where the demons went.”
“Wouldn’t the last spell be the one that brought us back?” Cain’s brow wrinkled.
“No, because that spell is a long-standing one. Built into the dais. But the daemessorum had to create a large doorway, one that would hold open long enough to bring the legion through.” Nova snapped her fingers. “Mizuki, you know what to bring?”
“Yes, Regina.”
“Good. Gather the items while I hit my room for a focus object. I’m going to have to be careful casting. The spell of recall is finicky.” Nova glanced at him and Vance. “Be ready with the reapers. I don’t know how long I’ll be able to hold open the doorway if I can manage to recreate it.”
“Hitting the armory now,” Vance declared, trotting off, whereas Cain visited Devika in her apothecary. Most likely they’d be going somewhere dark, and so he brought spheres of light. Glass balls that when smashed would provide illumination.
With his pockets full of magic, Cain joined Vance and a good number of reapers by the dais. Lined up in pairs, they would start running into the portal the moment it opened. The plan was to have one of them mark the location and return so that Nova could then use it to open a portal for those without a talisman.
The witch sat cross-legged on the edge of the dais, a brazier with a blue flame bubbling something in a small brass pot. Nova’s lips moved, but he couldn’t hear the words, just felt the effect as the air grew charged as if a storm approached.
Only instead of dark clouds and thunder, the space over the dais darkened, a hazy spot forming and growing, the edges of it rippling.
Nova’s head tilted back, and her lips continued to move as the ominous hole in space widened. She whispered, “Now. Quickly.”
Cain and Vance didn’t hesitate. They dove through and found themselves in an underground sewer that reeked with the scent of demon. Cain smashed a light ball to illuminate the area, a dangerous thing that would broadcast their arrival, but there was no choice. They couldn’t see in the dark.
Reapers popped out from the portal, a pair at a time. Six groups plus an apprentice made it through before the doorway closed.
Immediately, the young Herbert activated his talisman to report back to Nova, leaving a dozen against the legion and a demon wizard at least until reinforcements arrived.
Cain didn’t care about the odds. This was what he’d signed up for. He glanced at Vance. “Ready to kick some demon ass?”
“Try and keep up, old man.”
“We’re the same age, asshole.”
“Some of us have better genetics than others, I guess,” Vance taunted.
“You wish.”
“I know.” The banter flowed and helped ease some of the trepidation about being so far underground with far fewer reapers than he’d hoped for.
Cain eyed the reapers, their faces grim but their courage unwavering. “Let’s take back this city.”
With that, they went hunting.
18
Kidnapped by demons. It had to be the worst thing ever. Followed by the smell. Jesus fucking Christ, the stench burned the eyes. A mixture of fermented shit and piss along with rot. Most likely from the half-eaten bodies strewn around the chamber. Not the most encouraging sight.
Despite being below ground in what appeared to be a sewer system, I could see. Blame the glowing rats. No joke. At least a half-dozen oversized rodents with blazing red eyes and luminous orange bodies provided a hellish illumination that only served to highlight the horrifying nature of my predicament.
