The sensation was akin to a mountain deciding to move.
Faysal flared with light. He stood, he approached, and the imps were driven back.
The lawyers, even, reacted, retreating.
“Do you want a war, Faysal!?” Lewis asked. “You’re outgunned!”
Faysal spoke, and his voice carried well. “Let’s put an end to this. Maintaining a good working relationship has to be better than this.”
Everything had gone still.
“You’re right,” Ms. Lewis said, relaxing. “You’re very right.”
“Good. Let’s settle this with words,” Faysal said. On four legs, he advanced, putting himself between Rose’s side and the lawyers.
In the stillness, a faint tune filled the air.
Faysal froze.
With every passing second, it grew louder, more nuanced.
“No,” Faysal said.
Light flashed around him, then died.
Diagrams around the lawyers and tools they held each glowed with an intensity that suggested they’d taken the light. Prepared in advance.
It was the last word he spoke.
Mr. Levin approached from the edge of the crater.
By his side was Johannes, holding pipes to his mouth with one hand.
Dogs, rats, and children.
Johannes moved with an eerie, lurching sort of ungracefulness. The large pair of shears he dragged with him were part of it. The damage and corruption to his body were another.
Rose felt utter despair take her.
“Well,” Ms. Lewis said. She didn’t look happy. She opened her mouth to speak, but she was the one who didn’t get a chance, this time.
The explosion struck in the middle of the collected group of lawyers.
“Ellie!” Evan said, cheerful. “And rocket launcher witch hunter man!”
“Run!” Rose shouted, though the words were useless, redundant. Everyone was already moving. For the love of everything, run!
16.02
They didn’t run to Andy and Ellie’s location. Those two were to the northwest of the lawyer’s contingent, and Rose’s group was to the south.
Everyone, the lawyers and demons excluded, headed west, deeper into a sleeping, frozen Jacob’s Bell. Evan and Isadora flew, the rest walked.
“Where can we go?” the Elder Sister asked.
“Uncle Laird’s house,” Alister said. “He has protections against demons.”
“Given the local color, I’d think everyone would,” the Astrologer said.
“Everyone does,” the High Priest said. “To some degree, anyway.”
“He has protections against demons that were taught to him by the local diabolist,” Alister clarified, between pants for breath. “Including a protection against the thing that took over Johannes.”
“Johannes is the piper, sorcerer of the north end of this city” the High Priest clarified. “Previously the leading contender for Lord of Jacob’s Bell.”
Rose felt a chill, and it was mirrored in a way by a near-simultaneous sensation from the spirit that dwelt within her. The two sensations were just different enough for it to feel uncomfortable.
“He could be a contender again,” she voiced the thought aloud.
There were only the sounds of running footsteps, as everyone present digested the idea. A demon-possessed individual taking over Lordship.
It wouldn’t be a long reign, Rose thought, but that might only mean more suffering in a shorter span of time.
It wouldn’t have to be a long reign, whatever happened.
To Rose’s right, the Elder Sister directed the Eye at a car.
The rag-wrapped elemental touched one car. Smoke billowed from under the hood, then froze in time as the Eye backed away. The elemental lagged behind the group, not fast enough to catch up after the momentary pause.
If they were going to get attacked from behind, Rose judged, better that it be the elemental than them.
“Oh!” Evan piped up. He was flying closer “Oh! Elder Sister! You’re the person to ask! I’ve got this idea-”
“No!” Tiff, Ty, and Rose all said, together.
Blake stirred within her, and she could feel his restlessness. There was so little he could do in this situation, and as her recent encounter with Surbas had indicated, she wasn’t well suited for an outright fight.
If there were battle lines, time to plan, she might have found her niche. But running and fighting on the fly like this wasn’t that niche.
Could Blake provide that? Maybe, but it seemed too monumental. If he did give her something of that scale, what would the damage be? Would she be recognizable? Would he?
She vaguely recognized Laird’s home, but the memories were fuzzy. Her first inclination was to think it was because of damage Blake had done…
Which it was, quite possibly. Just not so much his fault. It was a consequence of him being who he was and her being who she was, at the time. She’d been in the mirror world then.