A Shade of Vampire 82 A Circle of Nine - Bella Forrest Page 0,76
universe Tristan had so often mentioned might, in fact, be on our side for once. Dad would’ve called it a gut feeling. Whatever it was, I latched on to it. It was sorely needed.
Amal
A lot was happening at once.
I held my sister’s hand as we kept our eyes on the sky. Esme and Tristan disabled the invisibility cloak as soon as the shuttle reached the imperial city’s center. Its sudden appearance was enough to get countless alarms blaring from different watchtowers. Soon the angry rumbling of airships joined in on the fun.
We watched our shuttle dart in a crisscrossing pattern across the city’s airspace, teasing the airships that lacked its maneuverability. What they lacked in agility they made up for in speed, however. “Their only shot at not getting caught is if they stick to sudden turns,” I said, concern bearing down on my shoulders and thickening my voice. “In a straight line, the airships might overtake them.”
Sofia used the comms channel to share this observation with Tristan, who took it under advisement. Almost immediately, I could see our shuttle flying in what looked like an erratic pattern, and it was enough to confuse the Aeternae pilots, whose airships scrambled and struggled to keep up.
“Reinforcements are coming,” Sofia muttered. More aircraft flew in from the northwest. They looked like more slender models of the other airships, with shorter wings and double the propulsion power. The engines boomed whenever they swerved.
“They’ve brought out the big toys,” Trev said, though he didn’t look concerned. “Whenever you’re ready, just let me know, and I’ll have the fireworks launched.”
“How will you make them go up simultaneously?” Amane asked.
Trev put on his usual demonic grin. “The rich Aeternae aren’t the only ones who can swing a little mazir. I’m no high priestess, but I can arrange for things to be set on fire from afar if I need to.”
“That would’ve come in handy back at my house when my mother tried to take us down,” Kalon replied, stifling a smirk.
Valaine stepped forward, checking the sky with a worried expression on her face. Esme and Tristan were remarkable pilots, and it was obvious from the way they maneuvered the shuttle against two types of airships. I counted thirty from the Aeternae versus our one, and even I found myself gasping at how gracefully the shuttle danced across the sky above the imperial city.
“I wonder what Danika’s thinking about all this,” Sofia said.
“She got the airships to go after them,” Valaine replied. “But they’re not firing their cannons, so I’m guessing they don’t have a kill order yet.”
Trev shook his head. “Definitely not. They’re trying to wear the shuttle out. I guess they’re looking to bring it down with minimal casualties.”
“Well, they’re in for a nasty surprise, because that shuttle can go on for days before its serium batteries are depleted.” I chuckled.
“Ridan is about to breach the atmosphere,” Sofia announced, pressing a button on her earpiece. “I think it’s time to break out the fireworks.”
“Say no more,” Trev replied.
He walked farther ahead, putting some distance between us and him. Whispering, he brought his hands up to his sides and drew an invisible circle around himself. Tiny threads of light formed as his fingers moved, and the circle became visible, glowing brighter with every moment.
“It’s a beacon,” Kalon said. “His signal to the Rimian kids, so they will detonate the charges.”
I nodded slowly, watching the light as it danced around Trev. There was beauty in mazir, I realized. Even if it was basically a watered-down version of death magic that didn’t require a scythe, it was still complex and aesthetically pleasing. The circle thickened as he uttered the last verse of the spell—in that sense, mazir reminded me more of swamp witch magic than of death magic. It made me wonder how connected the different types of magic might actually be. From the white witches to the swamp witches and the Reapers… what was the common thread that bound them together on a universal scale?
Magic was, at its core, the manipulation of matter. From healing potions to Reaper spells, it went against the otherwise natural order and rhythm of things. When used for good, it saved lives and nurtured entire worlds. When used for evil, it destroyed lives and souls—it upset the natural balance. I found it interesting that the universe had allowed its development into so many forms.
A beam of light exploded from the circle around Trev. It shot into the sky, visible to anyone who