Chapter 18
A cold chill snapped the tether holding me to my core self. The surge of psychic energy across the city indicated that all the manifestations of myself wandering through Chicago had been cut off from our core self. That could only mean I’d stepped into some type of trap.
Still, before the complete cutoff, my core self sent me intel on the Celestial Coven.
I could only presume all the currently summoned manifestations in the area received the same update.
But why give us information on the Celestial Coven and not an answer on why our core self had been so suddenly isolated?
It could only mean that the Celestial Coven was making their move.
Were they attacking the Global Guild station? I needed to rally the other manifestations and find our way to our core self before something dangerous happened.
“The next time I see Katherine, I’m going to gouge out that bitch’s eyes.” Layla fumed, pressing her hand to the red welt across her face. The contempt fueling her stole my attention.
“It’s not that bad,” Amani lied.
Jennifer trailed closely, hiding a smile behind her carefully pursed black lips.
While she found the slap Katherine gave Layla completely justified, it didn’t fit her friend’s emotional wavelength.
Jennifer had a good gauge for emotional outbursts when the levees broke and people acted out of character.
Katherine’s emotions were bubbly moments before they turned blank.
Jennifer couldn’t pinpoint it, but there was a total disconnect.
No malice, sadness, or hatred when she smacked Layla.
Not that Layla didn’t have it coming. She shouted at Katherine, telling her off for messing something up, and stood in Katherine’s way.
It wasn’t blank. There was a slight spike in irritation as Layla inconvenienced Katherine, but then she just grabbed her grimoire and left.
I quirked a brow. That was bizarre behavior for Katherine, but right now, I needed to leave Cerberus Guild and find my way back to my core self over at the Global Guild station.
Layla and all the interns—excluding Katherine—stepped into Guild Master Campbell’s office as she took another meeting with Cassidy Gardner.
Campbell did a headcount on her five interns and crinkled her nose with frustration for the missing intern.
Apparently, Cassidy held intrigue for Katherine and Tia, always ready to exploit enchantment witches.
With nothing urgent surfacing in Campbell’s thoughts, I realized whatever had happened hadn’t become widespread yet. As a top-tier guild master, she’d be one of the first to receive urgent updates.
I floated toward the window, preparing to take my leave, when an explosion of demonic energy surged through the building. It was suffocating. In this psychic state, the bombardment of toxic auras from fiends lashed out at my mind.
“What the fuck?” Campbell checked the alerts on her large screen monitor, revealing fiends of all sizes running through Cerberus.
She had cameras on every floor, some blotted out with tar, some struck with magic by enchanters defending themselves against the sudden onslaught.
“Secure yourselves, banish these fiends, and cleanse the building,” Campbell said into a microphone. “We’re going into full lockdown.”
Shit.
Metallic barriers began to seal each window in Campbell’s office. The wards on her walls glowed.
“The audacity of attacking my guild head-on.” Campbell glowered, quickly coordinating her enchanters and acolytes in the building. “Less than half our forces are here, but I can clear this building myself if need be.”
As the last window closed, a shadowy figure burst through the glass, and a behemoth of a man stood at the edge of the office.
His magic hit in waves. Few witches who channeled gave off such radiant power. He must’ve been one of the Celestial Coven witches. I searched my thoughts, the new ones thrown at me from my core self.
Jagged diamond slivers held the broken window open, preventing a full lockdown on Cerberus Guild.
I recognized that magic.
“Can’t believe I’m stuck dealing with all the little girls, when there are real witches to fight against.”
“You all need to be incredibly careful,” I linked my thoughts to Campbell and all her interns. It took nearly every ounce of magic in my manifestation to project what intel I had on this member of the Celestial Coven.
Name: James Bardot
Branch: Primal (Diamond)
Not only did Bardot possess a powerful primal magic, but physically, he stood at 6’7 with a frame twice that of Enchanter Diaz. In fact, Bardot resembled Diaz’s bear familiar more than a human with his huge muscles.
“Frost?” Campbell raised a brow; contempt covered her face and filled her thoughts, but when it settled, she saw my eavesdropping nature as something adventitious. “Link us all and we’ll strategize around this arrogant ass.”
“I could do that,” I thought with a sigh. “If I weren’t a manifestation of myself. My original is otherwise occupied at the moment.”
I only hoped my core self would break loose from the trap the coven had set soon enough. With all my psychic energy restored, I could help in the field of combat.
“Typical men,” Campbell said with a light laugh. “Utterly useless after three seconds.”
Did she just make an impotence joke about me?
“I’ll show you useless.” Bardot hurled a pulse of telekinesis at Campbell, which she blocked with a subtle flick of her wrist.
Her fingers twirled and sent pink mist to intercept the telekinesis. Despite the invisible pulse of energy, Campbell locked onto the beats and used her branch to devour the strike.
Name: Amelia Campbell
Branch: Rejuvenation (Pink Mist)
“Like I said.” Campbell waved her hand and sent more pink mist chasing after Bardot, who did nothing to evade or escape the attack.
The pink swirls formed a human shape, coiling tightly around every inch of Bardot’s body. After a minute of containment, Campbell released her magic.
“We neutralize here, girls, not kill,” Campbell said with a smirk. “When we can avoid it. The paperwork’s a bitch.”
“Just like you.” Bardot laughed, revealing his body coated in a layer of diamond protection.
The shiny stones shifted and migrated until they’d formed a proper suit of armor, like something a knight would’ve worn.
“Your little smoke trick clearly can’t compare to my indomitable diamond form.”
“And here I thought a diamond was a girl’s best friend.”
“Because you’re all materialistic bitches.”
“And I’ve had enough of you and your tragically transparent misogyny.” Campbell threw a ball of telekinetic energy. “Mommy not hug you enough?”
“Shut your mouth!”
Her strike collided with a counter of telekinesis from Bardot, but with her added emotional jab, she managed to overpower him and knock him back a bit.
In a matter of seconds, the pair hurled waves of magic at one another.
Campbell slipped in her pink mist when she could, forcing Bardot to pivot and add another buffer of telekinesis.
All the same, when Campbell did break past the witch’s walls of protection, his diamond armor proved invulnerable.
Her strikes, which should’ve been enough to throw the man through her tenth-story window, barely pelted him.
“If you’re going to throw your branch into the mix, I should add mine, too.” Bardot flung jagged diamonds meant to impale targets.
Fuck.
He wasn’t aiming for Campbell. She saw the glimmer of light each diamond gave off as their trajectory tilted just enough to hit her interns.
“Look out.” Campbell threw a wave of telekinesis to knock the diamonds off course.
“Predictable.” Bardot hit Jennifer, Tia, and Olivia with a pulse of telekinesis.
The girls slammed against the office wall, and their thoughts went silent. Each of their minds sank into unconsciousness.
With another pulse of telekinesis, he attempted to strike down Layla and Amani, but the pair flew through the air, cartwheeling to the ceiling. Using their advanced levitation control, they stayed grounded above with telekinesis at the ready.
“Cloak them and move out,” Campbell said with a snap of her fingers that pointed to Jennifer, Tia, and Olivia.
Name: Amani Williams
Branch: Psychic (Glamour)
Amani cast her glamours over herself and Layla, then the other girls, before quickly evacuating them.
“Shit,” Layla thought, slamming the door shut. “I need to clear away the fiends before you step out there.”
“Understood,” Amani whispered, still remaining concealed with her illusions.
Campbell scowled, but didn’t have many options. The girls weren’t safe outside the office until Layla banished the fiends on the floor. That said, it limited Campbell’s combat maneuvers. She couldn’t go too wild with bystanders.
“So, are you going to just sit there on your ass, or do you plan on helping?” Campbell asked Cassidy, who continued lounging at the table with her tea.
“You know my license doesn’t cover combat,” she said with a chuckle. “The fees—so expensive. But I suppose if you’re willing to overlook it, I can lend a hand.”
Campbell rolled her eyes.
“Fine, fine.” Cassidy stood, straightening her bright yellow dress and adjusting the flourish of ruffles around her neckline. “You know, handsome, with a branch like that, I could make you a star.”
“The undercity bitch.” Bardot scoffed. “I was instructed to handle your lot after clearing out the guilds.”
“Oh, sweetie, you think you can destroy all the guilds?” Campbell smiled. “You won’t even make it out of my office.”
Based on the horde of fiends unleashed throughout the building and the chaos of whirling minds outside, I suspected other members of the Celestial Coven struck other top-tier guilds across Chicago.
“Let’s see how flawless those carats are.” Cassidy leapt forward and swung a fist dead center in Bardot’s chest.
Name: Cassidy Gardner
Branch: Alteration (Enhanced Strength)