Page 91 of Two Who Live On

“Chanelle, are you and the kids okay?”

“Dorian,” she asked aloud then thought, “We’re back at the academy. Where are you? Doesn’t your telepathy have ranged limitations?”

“Yes and no. Newly unlicensed development.”

“Oh. Well I’ll keep it to myself, but it’ll cost you—less than those licensing fees, though.” Chanelle smiled at the students, hiding her fears and burying that the only thing it’d owe me was getting back to the academy safely. She really wanted to turn this moment into a joke but worried it’d be our last.

“I’ll gladly pay up.”

“Are you safe? Last I saw—”

“I’m fine, away from the demons, but—” Milo’s rage spiked, sending a shooting surge of pain up my spine. I dropped to my knees, quelling all telepathy. My pocket buzzed, and I reached for my phone. “Hello?”

“Have I ever told you how needlessly extra you are?” Chanelle asked, releasing a breathy sigh on the phone.

“I’ll be honest. I forgot I had my phone.” We laughed, light and simple and a brief escape from the horror raining on Chicago. “I need you to keep the students at the academy no matter what. If any concerned parents or guardians show up, keep them there, too. There are demons roaming everywhere.”

“Understood,” Chanelle said, her fear spiking almost as profoundly as Milo’s rage a moment ago. My telepathy was quelled, though. Maybe it was nothing. Maybe it was the restlessness in her voice. “Are you really safe?”

“Yes.” I hung up and turned my phone off, searching for Milo. He was in danger, and I wouldn’t let him die because some devil wanted me. I wouldn’t risk his life, this city, or anyone else because ofme.

After resting, I continued tracking Milo. Less so with telepathy since his thoughts still left an obvious direction with the peaks of emotional turmoil. If I synced to his mind, I’d collapse. Instead, I flew along a trail of wreckage in the wake of his battle against the chimera, sticking to empty, destroyed streets, and wincing at the slight emotions Milo released that I couldn’t shield against.

“Bethany,” someone thought frantically.

I froze midair. A man chased after a woman pinned beneath rubble. They needed help. I skirted down an alleyway to a street unscathed by debris from Milo’s fight and found myself surrounded by citizens fleeing three misshapen demons.

The first had countless arms, even its four muscular legs had a handlike appearance and movement. The second had shimmeringgreenish-yellow scales with a serpent’s body and angelic wings flapping to obscure several rattling tails. The final perched upon a lamppost, a feminine physique with winged arms.

Each was easy enough to identify: a hekatonkheires, a basilisk, and a harpy. But recognizing these demons, their abilities, wouldn’t help in stopping their overwhelming force.

“Carver, I can’t move.” Bethany channeled her telekinesis, doing nothing to lift the rubble that’d pinned her leg.

He turned to assist but the basilisk slithered closer. Channeling his banishment, he’d only managed to stall its pursuit—knocking a few feathered wings away—for seconds. Seconds that’d make no difference in the scheme of things. Their untrained magics barely fazed the demons. I gulped. These people needed help. I couldn’t hold my own against a single demon yet here I was contemplating challenging three. There was nothing I could do to stop all the demons and save those being attacked.

I descended to the ground, channeling every ounce of banishment within my ability into my fists already storing telekinesis. I wouldn’t abandon these people. Whether they evaded Milo’s calculations on probability or fell into an inescapable casualty variable—I’d arrived. He’d always intended I remain behind, so perhaps by chance if I didn’t get myself killed, I’d save these people.

“Fucking demons, daring to invade my home.”

I pinched the bridge of my nose at the unsavory mind of Hellrazer invading my thoughts. Milo’s ex and the top-ranked enchanter at Kraken Guild. While he was too far to see, I could feel his explosive presence. His sensory root fixated on every single demon within a ten-block radius, and his mind zipped about to pinpoint their precise location before he unleashed his branch.

Shit.

I reached out with telekinesis to grab Bethany and Carver, but it was too late. Hellrazer’s flames burned bright, casting black andwhite fire. Fiery fury lapped, devouring every ounce of demonic energy in a quarter mile. He’d laced his flames with banishment, purging nearby demons. White fire engulfed demons searing their flesh and forms while the black flames guarded all life and buildings, keeping everyone and everything safe from the hellish fire.

Okay, not to question Milo’s taste in partners, but he really drew the short straw with my floundering magic. Honestly, Enchanter Ortiz and Evergreen would be an unstoppable duo.

Hellrazer’s flames sizzled along my skin, clearing the street of all the wisps as acolytes floated about, securing citizens. I shrugged one off, continuing my pursuit of Milo, who’d apparently accounted for everything—including the desolate and forgotten folks in the wake of combat and evacuation. Of course, he did. This was exactly like the Night of the Fiend Massacre, except this invasion involved actual demons. Still, the minds of enchanters, acolytes, and guild masters boomed above the people they protected. Each guild witch worked on coordinated attacks, preemptive rescues, cleanup, diversion, backup, and a thousand other strategic wonders that kept order alive and well in the streets.

The further I flew down Milo and the chimera’s destructive path, the louder the other enchanters became. So many had grouped together further ahead where Milo pushed the chimera. What was happening?

Milo’s mind rose high in the heat of battle, shaking away the enchanters who stood idle ahead as his predictions, his hopes, all played out according to a difficult plan. Dominos vibrated in Milo’s surface thoughts, falling one by one into each other and leading down hundreds of different pathways—each piece representing a single witch, demon, citizen, opportunity, interaction, and held the possibility of ensuring the best outcome for everyone. The best he could hope for.

The dominos continued clanking into each other. Some paths sounded like zippers while others held a soft chink, and a few were like change tossed together. All these routes eventually ran together leading to one singular path. The same path Milo had led the chimera toward. A huge screen in Milo’s mind. All I saw was static. This wasn’t like his other visions, though. Demonic interference made it as difficult for him to view the variables, the potential, as it did for me.

I flew faster, reaching a locked off collection of buildings that’d been altered by magic. Metal, brick, glass, and concrete from the high skyscrapers had merged, interwoven together, creating an encircled dome. The chimera scanned his surroundings, grating his host’s teeth as the realization sank in. He’d been lured into a trap—a dead end where Milo intended on banishing him, killing him.

Milo’s plan unveiled itself, revealing it’d fallen perfectly in place, leading the chimera into the clutches of more than a hundred enchanters positioned on the ground and in the sky. Each witch channeled magic. The vibrations of their frequencies hummed a familiar note. I’d felt this synchronized sensation many times. Too many.

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