Chapter Thirty-Two
I flew through the streets, weaving past fraught thoughts from people who I had to believe would be fine.
Minds throughout Chicago buzzed at the horror of demons released everywhere and attacking everyone.
Milo had thoroughly readied for this day.
This event. This attack on the devil and his demons.
What I didn’t know, what consumed me as I sped faster, was if he’d survive this.
Linking my telepathy to Milo strained my roots because his chaotic thoughts cycled too quickly to fathom.
I needed more insight on where he was, where he was going, and what he had planned.
“ He’s got a few enchanters hounding my demons, but this mortal can’t possibly believe he can face me on his own. Even Enchanter Evergreen can’t be that arrogant. ”
I buried the chimera’s seething hatred and sought Milo’s mind. Dread. Rage. Desperation. Each cycled from every zigging direction, so I amplified my telepathy, quelling everyone else out.
…
…
…
Milo panted, struggling to dodge an onslaught from dozens of branches cast in tandem.
Blurred images of explosive fire, whipping shadows, conjured elementals, phantom hounds, and branches I’d never seen before all lunged at Enchanter Evergreen.
Each one created a frenzy in Milo’s mind.
This was more erratic and barbaric and methodic than any of his other battles, making it impossible to latch on and maintain the link. I needed to reach him.
Moving on instinct, I chased him. The same instinct that guided his counters and evasion during his pursuit of the chimera devil possessing Jamie Novak.
Snippets of Milo’s composed thoughts escaped, creating something concrete to follow.
Wrapping my telepathy around the knowledge he had for the branches aimed at him helped paint the street where he targeted the devil.
State Street
He’d gotten so far in only a few minutes.
Milo’s battle ripped the road apart, unleashing tremendous amounts of telekinetic bursts. Each missed the chimera who shattered windows to buildings barely weathering the assault of countless branch magics.
I wheezed, struggling to reach them. Wind whipped at my face, forcing me to squint. In truth, I followed the sight Milo’s thoughts provided then they vanished behind a veil of visions as he likely sorted the probability of each attack.
The terrain became foggy, so I lessened my link, following a trail of destruction.
Remnants of the chimera’s casting lingered on empty streets.
Had the people fled? No. There wasn’t a single destroyed vehicle.
Not one nearby thought. Milo had evacuated this path.
He’d cleared it, had it cleared, in anticipation of the carnage they’d unleash in the midst of hundreds of demons attacking.
“ The only thing that’ll end this is a perfect banishment precisely timed by… ” Milo’s thoughts disappeared into his damn clairvoyance.
I dropped onto the street, gathering my strength.
He wouldn’t… This perfect banishment wouldn’t involve the only person either of us had ever seen cast a perfect branch.
My heart thumped, dreading the way Milo planned a hundred moves ahead with countless contingencies.
Did he work to save Caleb because he needed him drawn into this battle?
No. Demons eluded his psychic branch. He wasn’t aware of their reality, their potential, until they’d snuck up on him.
Still, I needed to know my students were safe.
Milo had said as much, but he’d also said this would be fine knowing the danger he threw himself into.
I stretched my telepathy well beyond its limitations. Zigging and zagging around thoughts ranging from frightened, confused, panicked, aloof, carefree, bewildered, enraged, deathly, and a million others in between. Searching for the one person who could answer my question, I pushed ahead.
“ 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 of me .
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 shimmering greenish-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 and white 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?