Page 14 of Suspicions on the Stage
Liam shakes his head, his eyes dark as he shoots a few magical wisps of smoke and glitter from his palms. “We are not at war, Slash. At least, not yet. I’m unwilling to allow shadowy villains to cause mass casualties on planes neither of us hail from. Imaginewhat that would cause… diplomatic sanctions neither of our parents’ courts would appreciate.”
Slash grunts, but I think he’s on board. He seems like the type of guy to toe the line and if his Prince told him to help us, he will. “This was planned carefully.”
That gets Iggy’s attention and he scratches his chin as we carefully move through the rubble looking for places the Autumn dignitaries might be hiding. “I agree. Tracer said these are called a month or so in advance, and invitations to the leaders go out first, then to each level of supernatural based on need for their presence. That means as quickly as the Fae built this little territory and theSonsbuilt theirs, those who set up this ambush worked just as quickly to do something that should have been impossible.”
“Fuck, that’s bad,” Liam sighs as he rakes his hand through his hair. “In so many ways, it reinforces our theory that there are rebel groups across the realms suddenly working together to cause chaos all over the globe. To what end, we don’t know, but they are using the built-in protocols all species have for gathering in large numbers.”
Slash stops, turning around to face us, his expression grim. “For the first time in millennia, the demons have reinstated the Caliphate Games.”
I have no idea what that is and Ignatius looks similarly confused. The prince, however, curses liberally in English then another language I don’t recognize. Walking over to him, I put a hand on his shoulder as I ask, “What is that and why does your reaction make me want to find a spaceship?”
“It’s not optimal.”
Rolling my eyes at the short spoken demon, I wait for Liam to give us a bit more context. He scrubs his palms over his face then turns to look at me and the mage. “They were held every year until the current royal families were in them at the end of their tenure at Discordia University. They were the first team to ever play together and they used their victory to start a war—which led to their takeover of Hell. That was the last time they played. All royal heirs, no matter the species, learn a bit about the worst rebellions of the other species. I suppose they hope we’ll gain insight to prevent wars in our own realms.”
This time, I snort. “War isn’t preventable even with all the information in the known universe. There’s always bad apples in the bin and they’ll act with no regard for anything, but their own desires. It doesn’t matter if it’s demons or humans or whatever else.”
They all look at me with pleased expressions, even the shark and I shrug as a flush rises up my neck. Liam leans in and places his forehead against mine, smiling. “You’ve done well today,mathan óg. Morgana will be pleased as well when she’s done helping Kaspar and His Highness save the day.”
“Interesting.”
“Dude, you make statues seem talkative.” I grin at the demon and he just shakes his head before going back to searching the rubble. “Speaking of statues—sort of— does anyone have a clue how we’re going to get these fiery folk to stop burning? They’re out, but who knows for how long. We need to find the diplomats or whatever, but we also definitely need to get the zombie Fae taken care of.”
“Iggy, can you make a run for the shops and see if you can find anything to whip up a spell? I’m thinking maybe somethingalong the lines of removing control or clearing minds might work. If we work together, wemightbe able to reverse it.”
“If not, the armorers have solutions.”
My jaw drops as I look at Slash. “Dude, we’re not killing all these people. There are kids and shit.”
“Don’t be daft. They also have restraints.”
Oh.
Iggy steps between us before I have to apologize, his hands up. “I’ll go search for ingredients but um… the restraints won’t be necessary.”
The demon arches a brow as he tosses aside a broken table. “Why not?”
“Because I can handle them,” the soft voice says as Slade approaches in the bubble our professor must have been holding him in. “I’d prefer not to use my powers if possible because we don’t have protective gear for the demons, but if I must, I can supersede this spell. Though… I don’t know for how long.”
“Slade, buddy, you can definitely do it,” I say as he steps out of the magical force field to join us. “Hell, sirens are banned in some states because they’re so fucking good at that shit.”
He turns red and shrugs, looking embarrassed. “Sirens like my mother are why that law is in place. I’m not as flexible when it comes to my morals. But… speaking of them, do you think this attack was focused only on the Fae territory or are people battling shit out in the other areas?”
Slash’s eyes widen and his gaze darts up to the dragons and our gargoyle in the sky. “Shit.”
“Worried about the demon mafia, big guy?” I ask with a grin. “If it makes you feel better, we saw those snarky twins earlier, so your lands are probably okay. They had Fae and a phoenix and a lion with them—and their new mate seems like she wouldn’t put up with anyone’s shit.”
“New mates?” The huge hybrid sighs heavily and pinches the bridge of his nose as he goes quiet again. After a moment or a two, he frowns. “I am inclined to agree with Prince Liam now. There is something more to this situation and I do not like it.”
Well, no shit, Sherlock.
highway to hell
MORGANA
The guys on the ground seem to clear away the mess in the left tent, but who knows what’s going on in the other one. It’s still covered, and I saw the magic demons head for it when the two groups split. Winging a hopeful thought to the sky, I turn my attention back to our three-pronged attack on the enormous orc.
Kaspar is shocking the shit out of the thing, which is slowing it down, but I’m not sure what the Prince is going to do. He’s distracting the thing by swooping around in some pretty impressive flying moves—but I’m still not sure what kind of dragon or demon he is, so I don’t know what powers he’s going to unleash. We don’t have time to wonder, though, and I know what I need to do to contribute.
