Page 57 of The Malevolent Seven

I’d not explained the concept of breach dross to her, which was another sign I was doing a terrible job of preparing her for her new life as a wonderist. Well, never too late to start. ‘Magic is a violation of natural laws,’ I told her. ‘Casting a spell involves someone attuned to the laws of a different plane of reality creating a momentary fissure between their own plane and another. Usually the physics governing the human realm closes those fractures off quickly enough that nature can reassert itself and life goes on as before. However, if too many mages start firing off too many spells too close together, eventually something breaks, and when that happens, the soil, the water, the air– the fundamentals of life itself– get desecrated in a way that can’t be repaired.’

‘Then why wasn’t there any produced by the battles you fought for Ascendant Lucien against the other wonderists?’

‘There probably was some,’ Corrigan said, still wiping his hands on his trousers. It’s unwise to let breach dross touch your skin for too long. ‘Mostly we’re killing each other off in small numbers, so there isn’t enough breach dross produced to have a noticeable impact on the terrain. But a century or two ago, two covens of war ma—’

‘Armies, you idiot,’ Alice corrected him. ‘There were nearly a thousand wonderists on each side.’

‘Fine, twoarmiesof war mages decided to have it out. They set to, kicking the shit out of each other so one side could rule the continent without the other getting in their way. The problem was, they were too evenly matched, which no doubt made for an exciting six-year-long spectacle, but pretty much permanently devastated this part of the world.’

‘Which is an excellent reason not to dilly-dally,’ Tenebris said. He pointed to the left, deeper into the desolation. ‘The picturesque little town of Mages’ Grave is just a few miles ahead. If you don’t waste the night sitting around explaining long-past historical conflicts to each other, you can get there by morning.’

‘What’s the catch?’ I asked.

‘Catch?’ Tenebris shook his head mournfully. ‘Cade, buddy. Can’t a friend do another friend a favour without getting repaid in dirty looks?’

I would have commented on the nature of good deeds and demons, but I realised I rather urgently needed to walk around a bit to settle my stomach; going from canal barge to the Infernal demesne to a completely different part of the continent had left my guts decidedly uneasy.

Corrigan caught my eye. He didn’t look any more pleased by our location than I was. Galass, noticing our scowls, asked, ‘But isn’t this a good thing? We don’t need to travel nearly as far now, or buy horses or—’

‘A deal is a deal,’ Alice said. Her eerie silver eyes, like bottled moonlight, never left Tenebris. I was beginning to think she hated him even more than she hated me, although I couldn’t think why. ‘But a bargain isnevera bargain.’

It was the first thing she’d said that I agreed with. Hazidan always had loved a good axiom.

‘We’re still one short, aren’t we?’ Aradeus asked. His gloved finger counted us off one by one. ‘Corrigan, our thunderer. Galass, our blood mage. The angelic Lady Sha—’

‘Shame is sufficient,’ she said.

He flashed that gallant smile of his. ‘Never to me, my lady.’ His finger moved to Alice. ‘A demoniac justiciar, our esotericist Cade, and me for rat magic. That’s six.’ He turned to Corrigan. ‘Where is our seventh?’

Corrigan stretched an arm southwards. ‘About eight days’ ride back that way, waiting for us on the Jalbraith Canal and no doubt wondering why we haven’t shown up at the meeting point.’

‘No problem,’ I said, standing in front of Tenebris. ‘My agent here, in the spirit of his new-found generosity, will be happy to do us the favour of taking us back through the Infernal Lands to where we need to go.’

The diabolic shook his head. ‘Sorry, Cade. The deal was for a one-way trip. How would it look to the bosses if I went around doing favours for clients?’

I smiled in that way I knew Tenebris would recognise as a sign I’d reached the limit of my amiable disposition. ‘Fair enough. Just stick to the original agreement and return us to the riverbank where we left.Thatwas the deal, remember?’

‘You’re being stupid,’ he snapped, avoiding my gaze. ‘I’ve brought you closer to the job. You should be grateful!’

‘And yet here I am,’ I countered, sticking my face up to the portal until we were nose to nose with only the faintest shimmer in the air between us, ‘ready to be more ungrateful than you can possibly imagine.’

Tenebris backed up a step. ‘Cade, you’re getting upset over nothing. Besides, there’s really no point in you going back to find whichever lame hack the big purple-haired brute was planning to hire for the job.’

‘Why not?’ Aradeus asked. He was looking a little snippy himself, perhaps wondering if the derisive view Tenebris held of Corrigan’s choice of recruits included him too.

‘Because time works differently in the Infernal demesne, rat boy. We’re not all caught up in temporal coherency like you lot are. Some planes move slower, others faster. The path we took. . . well, let’s just say I’d be willing to bet your guy’s not waiting for you any more.’

‘Oh, you son of a bitch,’ I swore, reaching for the bag of spell-sand I keep in my pocket for just such occasions– only to find it was gone.

Tenebris dangled the pouch from his side of the portal. ‘Looking for this?’

And here’s a lesson worth remembering: when a diabolic hugs you and tells you they love you? Maybe check your pockets immediately afterwards.

‘Oh, don’t get your tentacles in a twist,’ the diabolic said. I was pretty sure he meant testicles. ‘You’ve only been off the Mortal plane for a month or so.’

‘Which means half the wonderists on the continent have probably beaten us here to take the job away from us,’ Corrigan roared, the first sparks of a Tempestoral spell erupting from his clenched right fist. More worryingly, sparks were dancing along his front teeth. ‘Andwe’re still missing our seventh—’

‘Is that all?’ Tenebris asked, backing up from his side of the portal. Tempestoral magic is unpredictable– sometimes it can pass through other realms. ‘Guys, it’s all taken care of, I promise. Head on over to Mages’ Grave, get yourselves some breakfast, and your last recruit will appear’– Tenebris brought his clawed fingers together then flicked them apart– ‘poof!Like magic!’

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