Hailey slammed the bodyguard against the nearest wall with one hand. He crumpled, and didn't try to get up a second time. She heard the engine start up somewhere beneath her, and heard it speed away a few seconds later.
He's getting away!
She didn't hesitate. Ignoring the other guard that had rushed into the room, Hailey ran for the front of the mansion. The front door was locked, but Hailey couldn't be held back by something so small. She hurled a raw wall of force outward, and the door burst open—along with the frame. Another shower of dust, and the building shuddered in response.
I hope everybody listened and got out... Hailey didn't have time to check, as the black sedan streaked down the road, passing a halted SUV in the long driveway as it did. The SUV turned to follow a few seconds later. More guards? How many does this guy have?
Hailey took off, ignoring the groans behind her. She shot down the driveway over the heads of the fleeing staff, following the car as fast as she could—but it was a powerful car, and she couldn't keep up. Her only hope was to get some altitude, and cut it off at the corners in the city.
She started flapping, shattering another tourmaline in her hand to get up faster. The stone around her neck was charred black now, with cracks running all over its surface, and Hailey didn't expect it to last much longer. She was burning through gemstones at a frightening rate, and she still didn't have Malton in her grasp. The supply she'd taken from the Laushires and her own stash weren't going to last forever, no matter how deep Kendra's bag might be.
I can't let him go. I can't just let him get away with this.
Hailey felt her heart racing, the adrenaline still surging through her as she plummeted back into the streets of London, swinging around corners to keep up with Malton's vehicle. The streets were oddly clear, with police blockades set up at regular intervals for reasons passing Hailey's understanding. Malton's car gained distance after every turn, while Hailey lost ground and the SUV behind her gained on her.
He's going to get away, and they're helping him do it. Of course they are. He's rich, he's powerful, he can do whatever he wants. The system will just bail him out, like it always does.
In desperation, Hailey threw a burst of fire at the vehicle, just as Rika had tried. It looked on-target—right until it dissipated into nothing in mid-air. Hailey tried again, with a full stream of fire powered by a ruby from her bag, and she felt it. Somebody was deflecting the flames. The reach of her magic was just far enough that she could feel another aura pressing back, choking out the fire she threw. Hailey switched to air, trying to cut at the tires as she had in Lakewood—and her wind ran into an invisible wall of force.
He's got Viper in there. Malton might even be awakened himself. Viper probably got the Scrap Ryan lost back in Redmond. I'm up against other awakened this time, not just humans with guns. Now it's guys with magic and guns. And he's got more guys behind me. How am I supposed to win?
Hailey felt despair creeping into her. She kept beating her wings, kept flying and kept pace with Malton's car, but a feeling of failure had started to build up in her heart. Malton was going to get away with it. He had the police on his side, he had some awakened on his side, he had the public on his side. Nobody knew who Jessica was, but everybody knew him. Malton could pay off whoever he liked, and he wasn't anywhere near the guys who actually carried out his plans. He'd never get blamed. He was a billionaire. Hailey was just... some girl from Seattle.
Not just some girl. I'm Hailey Aurora Elizabeth Winscombe. I'm the Goddess of Kent. I'm friends with the most powerful person in the world. I'm one of the most powerful people in the world... and he killed my best friend.
Hailey shouted in rage again, as a fresh surge of adrenaline burst through her veins, blocking out the pain in her ribs. She wasn't going to let him get away, no matter what it took, but her current approach wasn't working. She flapped hard and got altitude again. If I can't catch him, I'm going to make him come to me.
She kept flying forward, but as Hailey rose above the skyline, she scanned the roads ahead. Malton only had a few paths he could take, and only one that was cleared out by the police barricades as traffic built up around the other routes. The route twisted around enough that Hailey could beat him to the end, if she hurried.
Keeping the car in her sights, Hailey flew up and out. She crossed over onlooking crowds and people flooded the streets, phones raised in a sea of cameras tracking her every movement. Hailey didn't care anymore. She wanted everybody to see this—to see what happened when somebody came after one of her friends.
She landed near the last turn, a short two-block space where Malton's driver would have the shortest time to react. Hailey didn't have any gemstones for what she wanted to do—she wasn't even sure exactly what branch of magic it fell under—but she knew she had to stop the car. With the memory of golems bursting out of the pavement in her mind, Hailey opened her palms and began to lift, pulling straight up from the ground itself, creating new substance by taking the existing earth and stretching it outward.
Pipes and wiring tore as Hailey pulled straight up, new earth and solid rock forming out of the existing street in a dark imitation of the real thing. A huge wall emerged, four feet tall and spanning the whole length of the road from wall to wall. Hailey felt it pulling at her chest, harder than any magic she ever remembered. She was totally unfamiliar with this... It felt like elemental magic, but it was so much different from the air and fire she usually played with. She stumbled. Pain from the gunshot impact spiked in her ribs. Hailey was losing concentration—and suddenly the spell was loose.
A section of the wall burst outward, chunks flying out at the speed of bullets and striking the walls all around. Hailey felt the magic slipping from her grasp, and desperately tried to cling on as the spell broke free of her control. The earth itself was threatening to swallow her up, the street grabbing at her ankles as it grew around her.
Oh god. I can't get trapped. I can't be stuck on the ground. I... No!
Hailey plunged her hand into her bag, grabbing at every gemstone she could find. She hurled her mind back into the spell, forcing it to calm, shattering rock after rock as she wrestled the flailing energy back into her mind where it belonged. She finished the wall, as she intended it, and shattered the pillar of stone that had begun growing over her feet.
Breathing heavily, clutching at her aching side, she turned back to the street—just in time to see her prey fall right into her clutches.
As Malton's car tore around the corner, Hailey greeted it with a grim smile. The street was curved up into a vertical slope, smashed together and impossible to traverse. She knew it, and the guy behind the wheel knew it too. The car slowed to a halt, only a block away. Hailey stepped over her makeshift barrier and walked forward, a ball of flame bursting to life in her hand almost subconsciously as she did.
The SUV pulled in behind them. Let his guards come. I got this. They can't take me.
Malton got out of the car, and Viper got out of the driver seat. Perfect.
"Hey," she called out. Malton glanced over at her, eyes narrowed. He was a pretty good looking guy, all things considered, but Hailey didn't really notice. All she cared about was that she finally had him.
The SUV's doors popped open. Jeremy got out, along with Cinza and Makoto. Hailey hesitated for just a moment, but her stride didn't waver. If anything, this was a good thing for her. Malton seemed to recognize it too, as he turned to see himself completely trapped. There was nowhere to go.
Viper moved. His arm flew out, a massive burst of fire accompanying it. Hailey rolled her eyes. Attacking me with my own affinity? Seriously?
The aura of the inferno preceded it, like a familiar warmth Hailey knew so intimately it might as well be her own. She caught the flames with her mind, and didn't even bother to dissipate them. She simply spun them back around, letting them join and double-up the strength of the orb still churning in her own palm. The heat on her skin grew tenfold, and sweat began to bead on her arms, but Hailey took it all in. She wanted to feel that pain.
She wanted to feel it, take it in, and give it to them.
"You're Cornelius Malton, right?" Hailey shouted, though of course she knew exactly who he was.
He nodded slowly. "I don't know you," he called back.
Viper was still standing next to the SUV. He had a gun at his hip, and seemed to be debating going for it. Hailey decided to solve the dilemma for him. Still maintaining the growing orb of fire in her hand, she flung out her mind at the pistol—only to find his own mental grip holding it steady. Hailey tugged, but to her surprise, Viper held firm. He couldn't get it out either, but neither of them could lay a real claim to it.
Hailey glanced at him, surprised. "Huh."
Viper shrugged. "Makes two of us. Who the fuck are you?"
Her eyes narrowed. He doesn't know? I mean, I didn't think Malton would... but even the guy running the mission doesn't know me?
"Hailey Winscombe," said Malton. "I didn't think you'd be working for her."
...Do what now? "...For who?"
Malton frowned. "You aren't here for her? To finish me off?"
"I'm here for Jessica Silverdale," said Hailey, finally coming within only a few steps of the pair. She held the ball of flame up to the hood of Malton's car, letting them watch the metal melt from proximity alone. "The girl you murdered in Lakewood."
"I don't even know who that—" Malton started, but Hailey cut him off.
"My best friend," she snapped.
Before Malton could get in another word, she slammed him with a gust of wind, knocking him off his feet. Viper lunged forward, but Hailey held up the churning ball of flame—so superheated now it was like holding a ball of white lava—and the sheer heat drove him back. Only Hailey's shielding of the fire kept her from bursting into flames herself, and in the meantime she was still holding Viper's gun in its holster, and launching another gust of wind at Malton.
I can't hold onto all of this... Something's going to break.
"Hailey!" shouted Cinza. The girl cautiously approached the scene, swathed in her shimmering grey cloak, lit by the setting sun. Hailey looked up at her, with still Malton on the ground at her feet. Somehow, even down, the man still looked dignified. Hailey hated him a little more for that—she wanted him to be humiliated, to cower, feel the weight of what he'd done and show remorse.
"Hailey, back the fuck off!" shouted Jeremy, only a couple steps behind the girl. Makoto was back by the car, watching from a distance—and far behind, Hailey finally noticed the gathering crowd. Cameras, people, helicopters, the works. Everybody was watching. Everyone saw.
She could tell the world.
"No," she replied.
"...No?" asked Jeremy, raising an eyebrow. "Hailey, this isn't the right call. You gotta back down."
"He killed her."
"I don't even know who that is," shouted Malton, surprisingly calm even with his back almost flat on the ground and his clothing fluttering wildly in the gust.
"Hailey... you're expending too much energy," said Cinza. Hailey realized the girl's aura was probing her spells—a light touch at the edge of the fire, the flurry of wind still pressing Malton to the ground, even the ongoing mental war between herself and Viper. "This is moving beyond your control."
"I can take two guys," Hailey shot back.
"That fire you're holding," said Cinza, nodding at her hand. "Why are you still holding it?"
"I..." Hailey trailed off.
Why was she still holding it? She didn't exactly need it to intimidate them... but she couldn't let go of it. It was too much, too hot. The sheer amount of energy gathered there was beyond anything she'd ever conceived... and she didn't have control anymore. It was growing beyond her. She still fed it energy, but only to keep from losing control. It was an inferno threatening to explode with the force of a supernova.
"...I can't," she whispered.
"...The fuck?" asked Jeremy, glancing at Cinza with a worried expression.
"Hailey pushed too much power into it, got distracted and lost the original spell," said Cinza. "She doesn't have control. She's holding it together by the thinnest of nets. If she loses concentration, it will explode."
"And do what?"
"Kill us all, I imagine, and probably everyone within a few blocks," said Cinza, "if not much further. I've no idea how strong it is. My own senses were overwhelmed just looking at it." She tried to sound calm, but even Hailey—as suddenly overwhelmed as she felt—didn't miss the quaver in her echoing voice. Cinza was terrified. Of her.
"But what about the rule?" asked Jeremy. "Whatever-the-fuck... Mason. Mason's Law. She can't hurt us."
Cinza shook her head. "It's no longer her spell. It's raw energy, and far more than should be contained in such a space." She took a step forward, around Malton and toward Hailey. "Hailey..." she said softly.
Oh god... what am I doing? I... I need to... focus.
I need to take him down.
Hailey's eyes locked back on Malton, still stuck on the ground beneath her. He didn't seem so self-assured anymore. "You ordered a mission, right?" she growled.
"W-what?" Malton's eyes drifted to the swirling ball of energy now pulsating in Hailey's hand. It seemed to be getting hotter, if anything, and Hailey was doing everything in her power to keep it under control. She let go of the gust of wind on Malton to conserve some energy, though she still held Viper in check with her other spell.
Hailey raised her voice, so that the whole world could hear her. "Redmond, Washington. You ordered this man—" Hailey jerked her head sideways at Viper, who stood stock-still, glaring at her. "—to try and kidnap an Awakened and bring them back here. To cut them open. Just like you did in Rallsburg."
A faint gasp from the crowd. Hailey had their attention.
"Nonsense," said Malton. "This is ridiculous."
"Hailey, this is a bad idea," said Cinza. "You need to calm down." She took another step forward.
Hailey snapped her head up to meet Cinza's eyes—small, dark brown, with that guarded air that Hailey had never quite liked. "I'm calm," Hailey shot back. "I'm telling the world what he did, so they know why he deserves exactly what's coming to him."
"That's what the fuckin' courts are for," said Jeremy, taking a step forward himself. "Let the motherfucker stand trial."
"And get off easy?" Hailey cried. "You know he won't get linked to a single thing. The courts haven't been worth anything in decades. It'll be a scandal for just a few weeks, and everybody will forget. He'll go back to his normal life as one of the richest people on the whole planet."
"You don't know that," said Jeremy.
"Yeah, I do," said Hailey bitterly. Mom said it, we're in a post-scandal world. Nobody's gonna care. Nobody will remember what he did. Jessica's... oh god. The ball of fire pulsed dangerously in her hand. Everyone winced, but Hailey quickly got it under control. "You know what they told me?" she asked.
"...No?" Jeremy shook his head. "Hailey, what the fuck is going on?"
"They told me to go make a difference," said Hailey. And I screwed it up, but I'm going to make up for it. I've got the real guy here now. "This is the difference. I'm not going to leave it up to the courts to handle crimes they don't understand yet."
"She was shot," Jeremy shouted, anger rising in his own voice. "We know how to fuckin' handle that." He shook his head. "What are you gonna do, Hailey? Kill him? What's that gonna help?" He nodded at the crowd. "The whole world is watchin', girl. You're Hailey-goddamn-Winscombe. If you kill him, that's the game. He wins."
Hailey could hear sirens. The London Police were surrounding the area. She glanced up at the line of onlookers, as the officers and tactical teams fought their way to the front past the sea of cameras. Cinza turned around, and her voice amplified by an order of magnitude. "Stay back!"
The entire crowd halted in its tracks. Every officer froze in place. A few in the rear turned and ran.
...I'm scaring them. "...I can't just let him go," said Hailey finally, looking at Jeremy. "He killed her."
Jeremy nodded. "We ain't gonna. I promise you that."
"Hailey," said Cinza, her voice returned to normal volume, "you've gone too far. You've endangered this entire city. Let me help you."
Hailey coughed. Her throat was beginning to seize up from the strain. Her muscles and bones ached. She nodded slowly. "...Please," she gasped.
Cinza walked forward. Jeremy drew his pistol, training his aim right on Malton's head. Malton looked around. "I haven't done anything," he protested.
"Fuck off," Jeremy growled. He put a foot onto Malton's shoulder and forced him back to the ground, holding him steady. His gun switched to Viper in an instant, before the mercenary could voice a word of protest. "Move a muscle and you're fucked, asshole."
The flames in Hailey's hand were bubbling over, like boiling water trapped and about to burst. She could feel the sheer amount of power packed inside, from her own efforts and the energy she'd taken from Viper's attacks. Visions of backfiring spells flooded her mind: Jenny Wilson and Alex Nelson in the R.V., bisected. Cinza herself, only barely avoiding catastrophe from the magnetic ritual to kill Omega.
Jessica.
Hailey felt real fear now, a quiver through her spine and moisture in her eyes. She held out her left hand, and took Cinza's firmly. The smaller girl's hand was tiny in her own, but Hailey could feel Cinza's essence flooding through the surface of her skin, ready to break free in an instant if only it could find a place to flow.
"Help me," Hailey whispered. Because I couldn't help her. Please.
Cinza nodded. Hailey reached out, and Cinza's aura met her. She let all the energy she could release flow forth, and Cinza took it in. Her eyes closed tight, and her concentration shifted. The aura shifted around, and Hailey felt herself pulled back toward the churning energy. Together, she and Cinza grasped at the edges of it.
Little by little, they drained it away. Hailey couldn't tell where it was going, but Cinza seemed to have a plan, and Hailey simply let her take charge. The heat dissipated, and the orb dimmed, until finally—after several minutes of painstaking work—the flames hissed and sputtered into nothingness.
Jeremy let out a huge sigh of relief. "Fuckin' magic," he muttered.
Cinza smiled, opening her eyes again. "Thank you."
"...For what?" Hailey whispered, while her brain threatened to collapse in on itself. She felt like she'd just run a marathon. Every bone ached, her lungs hurt, her head spun. Her wings refused to do more than tired stretching, not even a flutter. Her magic felt so far away, when only minutes before she was at the height of her power. Wait... "Did you... take it somehow?"
Cinza shook her head. "I don't think that's possible. No, I wanted to thank you for letting me in." She bowed slightly. "It's a true privilege to experience magic such as yours."
To Hailey's relief, she could feel it beginning to recover already—the swirling wind that would grow back into a tornado, little by little. She nodded. "Thanks." As one, the three of them glared back down at Malton. Hailey was the first to speak. "You're going to confess."
"To what?" he asked.
"Kidnappin', conspiracy, murder, whatever fuckin' charges I like," said Jeremy. "Unless you want to get dragged through a trial for the next couple years, which I guar-fuckin'-tee you'll lose."
Malton shook his head. "You can't. I have rights, and I'm the victim here. How do you think it's going to look? Three foreigners—" He paused, eyeing Cinza's silver-grey robes with a raised eyebrow "—assaulting and dragging away one of Her Majesty's subjects in broad daylight? You assaulted my staff and destroyed my home. They won't let this stand. You're mad."
"Three foreigners?" Cinza laughed. "Trust me, Cornelius, every single one of us is more famous and powerful than you are."
Jeremy shook his head. "Fuck no I ain't."
"...More famous, then," Cinza amended. Jeremy shrugged. Cinza continued, her voice dripping with disgust for the man sprawled on the ground beneath them. "Let me demonstrate for you." She nodded to Hailey. "Would you mind?"
Hailey bent down, and with only a little bit of magic to assist her, pulled Malton to his feet. She pushed him along, limping after Cinza toward the wide array of news crews and police watching from the sidelines. Jeremy called Makoto over to keep an eye on Viper after disarming him, then followed the other two in a hurry. He rejoined them just as they reached the line.
Cinza raised her hands for silence. Her ethereal voice could be heard loud and clear across the entire crowd. "My name is Cinza."
With those four words, Cinza had their absolute attention. The whole crowd fell completely silent, hanging onto every word. "I am the author of the so-called Diaries, which were taken from me by Nathaniel Price and sold to the highest bidder. Every word in them is by my hand, but I would have you speak to me rather than hear stolen thoughts borne of greed and betrayal."
She turned, gesturing in a wide stance to Malton, whom Hailey still held tight next to her. "This man, Cornelius Malton, is responsible for the events in Lakewood, Washington. His subordinates carried out orders on his behalf to abduct one of our own, and in doing so, provoked a response from the real threat lurking among us."
Cinza cleared her throat, and nodded at Hailey to step aside while she took the center. Hailey did so, her mind numb, still reeling from what she'd almost done. She couldn't think, couldn't focus. The whole world might as well have been a vague blur around her, except for Cinza's piercing, echoey voice.
"There is a man in the forests near Rallsburg. His name is Brian Hendricks. He has called would-be crusaders to his side in an attempt to slaughter us, to a child. The golems of Tacoma were his. The golems of Lakewood were his. The responsibility for this mess lies with Brian Hendricks, and with Cornelius Malton. I present them to you."
Jeremy was itching forward now, muttering under his breath. "...Cinza, we were goin' to put them on trial," he hissed. "This ain't right."
She turned to him, and her voice didn't drop a single decibel. "This is their trial. These people are the court. I present the facts, and the world may do as they see fit." Cinza turned back to the cameras, but even Hailey felt some misgivings now. This is insane... I mean, I want Malton to be punished but... this is like, mob rule. "I didn't come here to talk to you today. I came here from the Greywood because my sister in magic, Hailey Winscombe, was in pain and needed my help. Her best friend in the whole world was murdered: a young woman named Jessica Silverdale."
Hailey winced at Jessica's name. Cinza... what are you doing?
"Jessica Silverdale," Cinza repeated firmly, while a dozen reporters took notes, cameras flashed, and the whole world waited with baited breath. "Remember her name. Cornelius Malton's men shot her dead in the streets in Lakewood, for the crime of trying to save someone's life. She never harmed a soul, and yet she was murdered in cold blood by ruthless men looking to control magic for their own profit." Cinza spat the final word on the ground, her ire tangible. "Jessica Silverdale. Remember that name, for she was a true hero.
"There is evil in this world, and we will not stand by while thieves in the night and cowards of fortune seek to erase our very existence. Men like Cornelius Malton, men like Brian Hendricks, and any soul who would join the genocidal crusade against my people: take heed. You have seen what we can do. Even a man at the top of your world cannot escape justice if we seek it. If you come, we will defend ourselves."
Cinza turned to the nearest police officer. "Take him," she said, nodding to Malton. "The Greywood relinquishes any claim on his fate. Do what you will with him."
Nobody moved. The officer Cinza had chosen took a nervous step forward. Cinza turned, cloak sweeping wide behind her, and walked away without looking back. Hailey, after some reluctance, let go of Malton and limped after her, while her adrenaline faded and the pain of the gunshot really started to set in. Jeremy caught up a few moments later, Makoto right behind him. A low murmur filled the crowd, but Hailey couldn't tell at all what the reaction was like.
Yet again, in front of the cameras and crowds, Hailey felt like she'd been completely blindsided—only this time, it had come from the girl standing next to her, someone she'd considered a friend.
"Cinza, what the fuck was that?" Jeremy hissed, quietly enough that no one would overhear.
Cinza smiled grimly. "A declaration of war."