Chapter 24
Gladiatrix grabbed hold of the people Milo had lost a grip on, then used her telekinesis to send them all far enough to safely escape. As she descended to the streets with Milo, Wadsworth flew over and immediately went to work on Milo’s arm, neck, and face.
“Damn, dumb kid.” Wadsworth jerked Milo’s arm, twisting it despite Milo’s pained yelps and pleas. “Shut up. I have to examine the infection. That sensory bullshit can have long-term effects. Do you want to be in constant agony for the rest of your life?”
Milo shook his head.
“Then shut the fuck up and let me work.” Wadsworth glowered. “Gladiatrix, can you handle them while I tend to this goddamn idiot? If I don’t deal with these injuries now, they’ll never heal right.”
“Don’t worry about—” Milo groaned when Wadsworth thumped his broken forearm.
“I can handle the top three.” Gladiatrix shifted her stance. “But the others? I’m gonna need help on that one.”
“Cocky,” Wadsworth said. “I know you think they intentionally hold your ranking back, but the top three aren’t to be quarreled with.”
“Oh, I know.” Gladiatrix smirked. “But I also know those devils can only harness about half of our magic while suppressing our consciousness. Plus, they don’t possess any of our trained instincts.”
“They have their own hellish instincts,” Wadsworth said. “But alas, I can’t handle the others. I’d need to take my Infinite State, which would mean no healing Enchanter Dumbass here.”
“Hey,” Milo whined. “I saved your lives. It was all part of my plan. Exorcise you two, hold off the other eight, you come into action, and the day is saved. Sort of. Still, lots of other moving pieces.”
“Like I said, Enchanter Dumbass needs me.” Wadsworth went to work healing Milo.
“That’s okay,” Gladiatrix said. “I brought my own backup.”
“Which I accounted for, too,” Milo insisted, revealing mental musings of the speedy flight plan he booked. “You’re welcome.”
Two masked witches flew from a distance, making their way closer until Gladiatrix had a clear sight of King Liberty and Queen of Jesters.
“You two made it just in time.”
“You wouldn’t believe the amount of demonic energy flowing through this city,” Queen of Jesters said. “You sure you don’t want us in the field with the others?”
It seemed quite a few vigilante witches had hopped the pond and come to aid Chicago.
“Nope.” Gladiatrix nodded to the gathering devils. “I need you two to hold those five back, while I exorcise those three.”
“Love, are those the top three witches in America?” King Liberty asked. “You know, I feel your ranking system is overrated, but that seems reckless.”
“Just watch my back.” Gladiatrix punched a fist into her palm. “While I knock these boys onto theirs.”
With that, Gladiatrix lunged ahead and sprang into combat with the top three Global Guild witches.
Her punches clashed with the devil possessing Enchanter Kingston.
Her movements were erratic and sophisticated all at once, turning the plants Enchanter Stone summoned into the direct path of the ice strikes Enchanter Barlowe used.
The battle turned chaotic and difficult to follow.
Gladiatrix moved at a blurred speed similar to Milo’s, only she never slowed down, making it impossible to track.
Her speed in this battle was nothing like what I’d previously witnessed. It was as if she unleashed her full strength all at once. The occasional snarl from a devil drew my eye, but by the time I glanced in that direction, they’d all vanished yet again.
“You heard the lady.” King Liberty summoned a green shield around himself and a second around Milo and Wadsworth.
Several of the possessed enchanters struck out at King Liberty’s shield. When their magics failed, they slashed with their clawed hands. Two devils even leapt for the barrier protecting Wadsworth as he healed Milo.
I jumped. They were trying to finish off Milo.
The initial panic in me settled. Nothing these devils did would break through King Liberty’s barriers. He held the strongest classified warding magic in the world.
Many speculated King Liberty possessed two of the best warding magics.
A blue barrier specifically designed to shield against mystical properties, and a yellow barrier created to absorb kinetic energy.
Merging the two into the ultimate green shield that could handle all forms of physical or magical threats.
Others proclaimed King Liberty, being of obvious royal blood—since many of the previous wearers of the mask alluded to noble standing, much like the very first incarnation—that this green barrier was an arcane branch.
In either case, King Liberty never confirmed suspicions, much like he never confirmed his identity.
And despite being on the list of approved vigilantes in the UK, he technically didn’t hold a license.
None of the vigilante witches obtained licenses, not when their goal was to buck the system that repressed the masses by labeling, fining, and taxing a person for their inherent magical gifts.
“Do I get to go all out?” Queen of Jesters asked.
King Liberty sighed. “Yes. Have fun.”
Queen of Jesters giggled, slamming her hands down into the broken gravel of the street. The debris clustered together, forming bizarrely shaped arms. The undisturbed part of the road cracked and broke loose, forming a strange torso. Suddenly, the behemoth human form made of concrete stood tall.
“It’s alive,” Queen of Jesters said with a cackle, looking up at her towering creation. “It’s alive!”
“I swear to Christ she does that every time she makes one of those ragdolls,” King Liberty muttered under his breath.
This ragdoll magic clearly allowed Queen of Jesters to manifest living attributes into nonorganic materials. Quite the unique branch. Useful too, as the ragdoll swung swift fists, making it almost impossible for the devils to dodge.
A pulse of psychic magic struck me from out of nowhere. Not nowhere. From me. My core self. The sudden pull snatched me from the battlefield, dragging me through the streets of Chicago and to the Global Guild facility. What the hell had happened here? It was completely destroyed.
Suddenly, the link pulling me back to my core self triggered an onslaught of memories.
Every manifestation yelled at the funneling burst of collective memories.
Our core self revealed the battle he’d endured, breaking apart thousands of psychic traps, and releasing himself from Amara’s wicked telepath chains.
But with his memories came dozens more. Battles against the gigantic skeleton that destroyed the Global Guild facility, Katherine’s strange infiltration, Milo’s war against the top ten witches, Chanelle’s incredible starlit armor, Carter’s amazing rescue, Gael’s brazen solo fight, the attack on Cerberus Guild, and the death of Guild Master Campbell.
Many more memories revealed themselves, showing the attack extended across the city, leaving nearly every enchanter occupied by either fiends, demons, or a witch from the Celestial Coven.
One by one, the manifestations faded until all that remained was our core self.
…
…
…
Now that I’d broken free from Amara’s trap and collected all my stray magic across the city, I knew what I needed to do.
I stumbled to my feet, exhausted from the sheer magnitude of the psychic trap meant to contain me, but I refused to rest. Not until I knew everyone was safe, not until I knew what happened to Caleb, not until I stopped The True Witch once and for all.
I released a few manifestations, imbuing them with an extra burst of magic, so our link wouldn’t be severed this time.
Sending one to Milo, I had to know his recovery went well, and I sent a few others to check on my students.
I didn’t know where to begin with Katherine and Caleb, so I put a blanket search across the city for their minds, hoping one of my manifestations would be close enough to rescue them.
I sent the last manifestation I summoned directly to Whitlock Estate, where I knew Amara would soon find herself. She wanted to take Tara, and that wasn’t going to happen.