Contractor (58 page)

interference treaty with him."

"A treaty?"

"Summoning them here is dangerous just

by the nature of the fact that we’re something

they could consume for energy, but the treaty

regulates what they can and can’t do while

under our stewardship. It’s about as stable as

anything else in the magical world, but we

have the right to destroy any rogue demons

that don’t obey its edicts. Not that the threat

of death stops all of them."

"So you can just call them here as

servants whenever you want?"

"Not exactly."

"What do they get in exchange?"

Eleanor paused. "Why are you so

interested?"

"Knowledge is half the battle," Daniel

said.

"Has the lord moved?"

"Still where he was. Can’t feel him?"

She looked back ahead. "It feels more

like an oppressive fog than anything I can

pinpoint. Your sight is formidable."

They didn’t speak for a minute, each lost

in their own thoughts. Rachel’s fingers itched

to hold Daniel’s hand. He caught her eye.

His look said everything. They had to keep

their closeness secret. Daniel was in a bad

enough position as it was.

"How have you been hiding from us?"

Rothschild asked.

Daniel gave him a look. "And I should

tell you because…?"

"Daniel," Eleanor warned.

"Didn’t you pry what you needed out of

Jack?"

"He wasn’t talkative," Eleanor said.

"None of the ones we’ve captured have been.

The Dawn doesn’t stoop to torture."

Daniel looked away. "Where is he?"

"Imprisoned in Hell," Rothschild

answered, "where he belongs."

Rachel couldn’t see Daniel’s face, but

she knew how he felt. He’d been hurt by that.

"You were telling us about your

powers?" Eleanor prompted.

"Klide magic," Daniel said. "Part of

Xik’s contract. He told me it’s the major

reason they’ve kept up with the Vorid. I’ll

show you." Daniel frowned in concentration.

"Ok. Try to sense me."

Rachel switched her sight to the blurry

world of her scrying sense. Eleanor and the

rest of the column were bright white outlines

marching down the street, but Daniel was

gone. His spiritual presence had erased

itself.

"Incredible," Eleanor said.

"That would be something worth

harnessing," Rothschild said. "How does it

work?"

Daniel shrugged. "All my powers are

intuitive. I push, and it happens. I push

harder and more happens. That’s it. Hiding’s

the same. I just imagine wrapping myself up.

But it gets harder to use a lot of magic and

stay very hidden at the same time. There are

layers of stealth. It’s like a balancing act."

Daniel glanced between them. "Your magic

seems complicated to me. All the commands

and words and gestures, and the sigils—

forget it. The sigil I make to move around is

the most I can do, and it still gives me a

headache."

"Where would you have learned sigil

magic?" Rothschild asked.

Rachel tensed up, but Daniel was ready

for the question. "I was in Boston for a

while. Hiding made it easy to spy on the real

mages. I tried copying what they did." Daniel

gestured at Eleanor. "That’s why she knows

me. We were at the same college."

"What he says is true," Eleanor said.

Rothschild nodded, satisfied. Rachel

sighed.

They were at the edge of the square. The

black pillars soared up alongside man-made

towers. Far above that sat the fortress, big

enough that it felt like a roof blocking part of

the sky.

Daniel adjusted his helmet with a hand

and hefted his shield. "How long until the

helicopters get here?"

Rothschild placed a finger on his

earpiece. "Under five minutes."

"Alright." Daniel gripped his bat.

They’d offered him the steel mace favored

by some of the Dawn magicians, but

apparently he’d grown fond of his

improvised club. "I’ll try to pin him down

with a big attack, force him to block. That’s

when you attack."

"Understood," Eleanor said.

Daniel walked forward. They followed

him a short while longer, then let him tramp

forward alone. He seemed relaxed. Rachel

didn’t know how he did it. She felt about

ready to scream.

The lord slipped out from behind a

pillar. The five black scythes floated just

behind it. Its head tilted curiously as it

watched Daniel approach.

They all flinched. Daniel stopped and

looked up at the Vorid. Rachel and Eleanor

exchanged a glance. There was only one

thing it could be.

"Was that you?" Daniel called. He was

close enough that they could still hear him.

The voice was pervasive, everywhere at

once, almost as if it was in her head.

was.>

"I didn’t know Vorid knew English."

irrelevant.> The lord drifted down until it

was only a few yards from Daniel.

waited for your return. Let us treat.>

Daniel was balanced on the edge of his

toes. "Treat. Right."

Its lips didn’t move when it spoke. It

had to be some sort of spell.

not given lightly.>

Daniel looked back at them, gave them

all a big wink, then turned back. Rachel tried

not to look mortified. She didn’t think she

did a good job of it, but everyone else

wasn’t doing much better.

"Alright then," Daniel said, "what’s

up?"

so-called allies.> The lord mentioned it as if

eavesdropping on a conversation a mile

away wasn’t anything special.

following your progress throughout this

battle, Daniel Fitzgerald. I have not stopped

you because you did not need to be

stopped.>

"Maybe you thought you couldn’t stop

me," Daniel said.

you know it to be true. But I had another

idea.>

"And what was that?"

the lord said.

indeed, despite consideration that goes far

beyond anything they deserve—your fellows

rebuff and reject you. You are threatened for

the crime of daring to change your life for the

better. For helping your kin, you are an

outcast.> The lord gently waved a hand.

and exile you?>

"I wouldn’t expect you to understand."

the lord said.

Obligation. Your family needs your

protection. I submit to you that they would be

much more safe if you joined me.>

"Run that by me one more time?"

You have single-handedly slaughtered many

of my forces. Amongst my people, this isn’t

something to fear. It is something to be

commended. We do not share the human idea

of mortality. Those you have killed live on

inside of you. In putting that force to good

use, you honor their lives, and make them

that much greater.>

"Is that what you’re doing for the

overseers you just killed?"

made the request, but they answered. They

knew they could not defeat you, so they gave

their souls to me.>

Rachel’s eyes widened. The lord didn’t

take their souls? Were they insane?

The Vorid are not one race. We are a

collective. My own race is but one splinter

of a greater whole spread throughout the

multiverse, and I merely the one chosen to

conduct the invasion of your world. You

shall be the first human Vorid.>

"No thanks. I’m no one’s bitch."

The Vorid lord laughed low and deep.

Rachel’s spine shivered.

me out?>

"You’re full of it. Your king would suck

out my soul in a heartbeat."

the lord

said.

lifetimes distant. For the time being, we must

stay scattered. Warriors such as myself, such

as you, are needed to absorb those worlds. In

the long years until the end, we are

respected. We are rewarded. Your place

would be one of reverence; your powers are

useful and deadly. You wouldn’t be the first

to join the winning side, and certainly not the

last.>

"So I guess my brother just gets sucked

into an extractor then?"

the lord said. Daniel

went very still. Rachel felt a slight

nervousness.

benefits of your favor and protection. You

will live like you’ve never dreamed. In

exchange, you can fight for us. For our

cause.> The lord spread its arms.

you struggle for these dirty streets? These

primitive buildings? Peers that scorn you

even as you save their lives?

multiverse,> the lord continued.

Unification, a rebirth, is the solution of

zealous fools. Yet despite these claims,

they’ve produced no alternative answer.

They cannot stop the black death of entropy.

And even if they could, what would such a

resolution accomplish? They’d rather hold

everything in stasis. They cling to the

present, freezing all that is or could be into a

silent sterility. Is that what life is? Silent?

Unmoving? No. I must cast a spell to

produce my dome of magic, to force life to

become such. On its own, life is growth. Life

is change.

together this universe not out of hatred, nor in

joy, but because it is our sacred duty. All

things must end, but they do not have to end

in darkness. Our souls will bring forward a

light to restart the cycle of worlds. We shall

become the stars of a new multiverse in

years beyond our comprehension. The

explosion of the multiverse ignited the

expansion of every individual universe. It

happened before—and it must happen again.

But it won’t, unless we make it.>

During its long speech, the Vorid had

turned its face up to the sky. It looked back to

Daniel.

Daniel Fitzgerald. But we are still vital cogs

of righteousness powering the machine of the

future. Fight with me for that cause. Do not

live as a warrior cursed by your own people.

Live as a champion lauded by mine. What

say you?>

Daniel jabbed his bat into the ground. It

stuck in the asphalt. He raised his hand.

"High-five on it."

"Human tradition," Daniel said. "Slap

your hand to mine. It’s a symbol of trust. I’ll

join the Vorid."

Rachel’s mind reeled. Daniel, sell them

all out? Betray them? Betray her?

"This is what we get for leniency?!"

Rothschild roared. Flames leapt up around

him.

"Wait," Eleanor said.

"I won’t stand here and -"

"Shut up!" Eleanor shouted. She

watched the scene carefully.

Rachel realized she’d picked up on

something. Daniel had managed to jerk her

chain more than once. A trick? It would be

just like him.

Rothschild opened his mouth to reply,

but closed it again when he saw the lord had

reached Daniel. Their feet were all nailed to

the ground. They stared as the lord raised its

hand. It swept its palm at Daniel’s.

"Psych." Daniel slipped his hand out of

the way. The lord, expecting contact,

wobbled forward, off-balance.

A glowing bar of light swung forward.

A blast of air roared over them. The bat was

slapped flat against the lord’s shield. The

black barrier crackled and began to bend

inward under the force of Daniel’s strike.

But it held.

The swords flew forward. Daniel was

forced to jump away. The five scythes trailed

him as he leapt around the square in a wide

arc.

Rachel couldn’t believe he’d do

something so ridiculously childish to a Vorid

lord. But then, it had probably never high-

fived anyone. She realized she was grinning.

They all heard the helicopters. The fleet

hovered high behind them, 56 in total, armed

to the teeth with a mix of modern firepower

and magic. Several more dragons came in

under the choppers and roosted on the roofs

of the square. The lord was completely

focused on Daniel. He’d certainly made

himself a distraction.

After leading the swords on a chase

around the streets, Daniel dived back toward

the lord. The lord raised both its hands; a

sigil glowed under its feet. The swords

teleported back to its side.