The Silver Mask (Magisterium #4)(52)

Kimiya disappeared inside. Alex grinned at Call, who barely restrained himself from lunging at Alex and strangling him. Alex cut him off, though, by moving up beside him and grabbing him by the back of the shirt with the hand that wasn’t enveloped by the Alkahest. Hugo, beside him, seized Aaron.

“Loyal followers!” Alex shouted, and Call and Aaron were shoved forward and down the steps, into the center of a bright spotlight that was being cast by several mages. “Here they are! Callum Hunt, the reincarnation of Constantine Madden, and his greatest accomplishment — Aaron Stewart, raised from the dead!”

A cheer went up. Call heard people shouting Aaron’s name. He felt dizzy. It was so much like the time Aaron had been declared the Makar, the hero of the Magisterium, and yet it was nothing like that.

“And now —” Alex began. But Hugo interrupted him.

“Master Strike,” he said. “Look. The other side is waving a flag of parlay.”

“They surrender?” Alex sounded disappointed. “Already?”

Hugo shook his head. “It means they want to talk before the battle.”

“They sent us a message. They do want to talk.” Anastasia strode up, her expression taut. “But only to Call.”

“No,” Alex said. “I forbid it.”

Aaron looked ready to argue on his behalf, but Call put a hand on his arm.

“Good,” he said to Alex. “They’d probably grab me, figuring that the army would be useless without me.”

“I am leading this army,” Alex said fiercely.

Call smirked. “I’m still the Enemy of Death.”

Alex turned to Anastasia. He looked petulant enough to stamp a foot. “Why do they want to talk to Callum?”

Kimiya had reappeared from the house, holding an axe made of stone. It bore numerous air and earth symbols carved into it, which Call suspected made it light enough to hold. “It was Tamara’s idea,” she said. “Tamara persuaded our parents he could be trusted. That his word would be good.” She shook her head. “Really, I think she wants to say good-bye one more time.”

A cruel smirk grew on Alex’s face. “I didn’t know you and Tamara had something going on, Callum.”

“It’s not like that.” The whine in Call’s voice sounded ridiculous, ridiculous enough that Aaron raised his eyebrows. He could tell that Call was faking.

“I was wrong. You are going, Callum Hunt,” Alex said with a laugh, clearly believing he was upsetting Call. “You’re going to go and say exactly what I want you to say. You will bring my words to the mages of the Assembly and they will learn who the real leader of this army is.”

Call tried to look sullen, but his guts were churning. Here was his chance to help the Assembly. But help them how?

He took a deep breath. He needed to give them an idea of the forces they were going to be up against. A rough head count of elementals and Chaos-ridden and mages. They were going to want that. And they’d want to know that Master Joseph was dead.

“Don’t come back,” Aaron whispered to him.

Call shook his head. “And leave you here? No.”

Aaron said nothing more. He didn’t insist, didn’t explain.

“I heard that,” Alex said. He looked like a dark bird of prey, wrapped in black, glaring with hooded eyes at the mages of the Assembly. “I will be watching to see if you run to them, Call. If you try to turn traitor. And if you do, then I will command every one of the Chaos-ridden to attack and not stop until they kill you.”

Kimiya gave a little gasp. Call turned to see that a fiery line was spreading from the line of the Assembly mages across the empty grass, toward Alex’s forces.

The grass didn’t burn — the fire seemed to sail over it, expanding as it flew. Alex narrowed his eyes. “They’re coming for us,” he said. “Call, help me order the Chaos-ridden —”

“No.” Kimiya put her hand on Alex’s wrist. “It’s Ravan.”

“She’s attacking!” Alex’s voice rose to a screech, but Ravan had already reached them. She had become a column of blaze and fire, rising from the grass, gray smoke streaked with orange lines of flame.

The smoke coalesced. It became more and more solid, until a gray girl stood in front of them. She was solid and real-seeming. The folds of a gray smoke dress blew around her. Her hair was long, and had once been black. Now it gleamed dusty silver. Her face reminded Call of Tamara, and he felt a twisting deep inside.

Three of the mages sent up an icy shield between her and Alex’s forces but she only laughed.

“I will escort Callum Hunt to the site of parlay,” she said. “I am peaceable now, but if you strike me I will burn the earth for a mile around.”

Could she really do that? Call wondered. How bad was this magical battle going to get?

“Monster,” said Kimiya in a revolted voice.

Ravan gave a little, tilted smile. “Sister,” she said to Kimiya, and reached out a hand to gesture Call to walk in front of her. “Callum. We must hurry.”

Call gave Aaron a look that said that he would come back, before he walked around the ice shield and followed Tamara’s sister across the grass.

Everything was eerily quiet. There was hardly even any wind as they moved across the grass, allowing Ravan to keep her human shape. As they grew closer to the other side, Call saw that three figures were waiting for him. Master Rufus’s dark skin stood out in contrast to his dark olive Assembly robes. Beside him was Tamara, in her school uniform, her hair very black against the white. And next to Tamara was Jasper. His face was blank and angry as he watched Call approach.