The Council (Darkness #5)(49)

That stupid smile melted off her face.

“What’s up, lady love? Not used to someone who you can dance with?” I shouted.

An expression of hatred stole her beauty. She fired away more spells. They were all fairly simple with no real flair, and certainly no intricacy. It was obvious Toa was a much better teacher than whoever had trained this girl. I blocked easily, my mind honing in. I was learning and seeing her construction. I noted the different spells and how she worked them. They were simple, yes, but she had a better handle on the principles of magic. She was not as strong as me, but more knowledgeable. She had the theory, but just lacked the application.

“What are you doing?” Jonas shouted, a splatter of blood making his face gruesome. “The Boss is somewhere in this hellhole. We don’t have time to stare.”

Damn it! I wanted to cry in frustration. I needed this woman. I needed her on my side. I needed her to train with me, and learn with me. She could pick up things from words where I couldn’t, and I could show her how to work it better. We’d be a great team.

But she was the enemy, and judging by her absolute aggression, loyal to the cause. I worked the elements and fired them out at her. She tried to unravel, but it was too complex. The first layer of the spell, intended to distract, fell away. The second layer eroded her shield in slashes. The third and most brutal bashed her, knocking her back and exploding in a system of shocks against her skin.

The scream wrenched the air, high-pitched and terrible.

“Cut off her magic and get her out of here!” I yelled at my magic users. “Use as many as you have to. I want her alive.”

“She’s dangerous,” Zeke yelled. “We can’t risk her getting loose.”

“We can talk to her—see if she’ll come around. She’s valuable, damn it!” I swung my most commanding stare Zeke’s way. “She might not know she’s on the wrong side. She might think she’s a good guy. Keep her knocked out if you have to, but keep her alive.”

Zeke grudgingly nodded and directed a few people to retrieve her body while the mayhem went on all around us.

“Hard to think you’re a good guy when you are killing people to make demons.” Jonas directed me forward as our people pushed in.

He had a point, but still. She might not be a bad person—maybe she was just misinformed.

Steel rang around us. Arms and bodies swung out. Teeth and claws tore through flesh. Our side had more bodies and better fighters, both. We pushed the enemy back. We forced through the melee, deeper into the building, following people yelling, “This way!” Or “Mage, through here!”

Jonas or Charles always had a hand on me, monitoring my position with touch. They’d trade off, one stepping forward to cleave someone out of the way, or the other doing it, but one always hanging back with me. The rest of the Watch clustered around the magic users, a shield of bodies, pushing us toward the end zone like a bunch of linebackers.

“Almost there,” Jonas said in an elevated voice so he’d be heard.

We pushed into a huge space, the windows all covered with black material. Gym floor, slick with blood, glistened beneath our feet. I slipped and was immediately steadied by Charles’ strong hand before I could hit the ground.

“Get him out of there before it kills him!” we heard.

My blood ran cold. Images of the masticated bodies I’d seen lying in circles flashed through my head. Stefan’s face imposed on those twisted limbs set my heart to throbbing painfully.

Without another thought, I sprinted, stumbling through bodies and sliding on the slippery gym floor. I shot sparklers into the sky and an explosion off to the right, getting people looking in different directions. I used the distraction to slide between huge warriors of both sides, bloodied and deadly. Near the front I heard it: the high-pitched squeal of what could only be a demon.

Panting and half-terrified, I pushed a wolf out of my way and got the first glimpse of the scene.

Stefan, head lolling, sat tethered to a chair in the middle of a circle. Blood dripped down his hands and onto the floor. His chest and arms were covered in wounds and more blood. One pair of bindings were broken at the base of the legs, but a fresh set put on. At least five stab wounds pumped blood out of his body; some superficial, but at least two fairly deep.

Andris stood at the top of the circle, ignoring the mayhem around him, working on calling something into that circle. Something to take Stefan’s offered soul.

I shot an exploding spell at Andris, only to hit off an intensely strong shield. He was linking with everyone around him; he must be.

Fine.

“Link up. Everyone link up!” I ordered, running forward. My Watch kept up as best they could, fighting around the cluster of magic workers clinging on to each other to stay together.

“Get them out of the battle zone!” Jonas roared. “Get the magic workers out of here. They don’t need to see what they’re doing to use magic.”

“I can’t link with them, Jonas.” I grabbed onto Zeke. “You have to stay with me. Be the focus point. I’ll tell you where to direct the spells and how.”

“I’m sure if you linked with all of us, we could sustain it,” Zeke yelled back, trying to be heard above the roaring of the wind. A small but rampant demon battled a group of shifters off to the right. The fighting thrashed all around us.