Take Back Worlds (Diamond Universe: Sierra Walker #3)

Chapter 10

T he next few hours are a flurry of activity.

With the spirits’ assistance, Destien spearheads coordinating an international effort to repurpose the located repositories for our needs.

Like the funnel spells redirected magic to one local repository, now we’re going to redirect all the magic to one place.

The most experienced battle mages from around the world all converge on Sarenac City.

Some I recognize, and some recognize me in return.

Some nod my way, or wave. One even lets out a whoop and claps me on the shoulder while I stand there in shock for a second and then grin like a fool.

In a way, these are my people.

Of course I feel most at home ready to fight.

It’s a bittersweet thought, until I remember that I feel at home in Nariel’s arms, too.

This is one side of me, but it’s not the only one.

Like we would in an elimination round, we divide up the square footage of the arena, different groups taking responsibility for different sections.

We fought in this arena a lot, for the grand magi’s glory.

Now we’ll fight for our own.

The battleground will now literally be made of the magic of this world.

Nariel and I are at opposite ends, stationed as the strongest line of defense.

Destien is in the center, the most defended spot, because he’ll be the one casting the spell to redirect all the reservoirs of power here. The grand magi refused to let Evram touch their power, but they see Destien as less of a threat, confident they could overcome him, that his spellcraft is not at their level.

More fool them.

We don’t exactly have their agreement to proceed with this, either; Destien just didn’t wait on them before beginning to work with their people, and eventually the grand magi were caught up in the momentum.

They aren’t here, of course. Their job, theoretically, is to defend the rest of the world if the angels try to divide our attention.

Except for Evram, who has a different role to play.

It puts him as the center of attention, a place he’s in theory well suited to.

This may, however, be the one time he’s not happy about it.

But when the grand magus calls for us all to confirm our preparations, and we do, he is, for one shining moment, in his element.

The grand magus of Sarenac City rises high above the middle of the platform, directly above Destien and calls with a voice augmented by magic.

“Citizens of High Earth! We have suffered hard, and unjustly, but today—today, that ends. Today, we reclaim our magic. Today, we make a stand that no one, angel or base spirit, can ignore. Today, we demonstrate our mettle.”

He circles around, expression haughty, eyes blazing, robes billowing. The very picture of a great wizard marshalling forces.

“HIGH EARTH: WE. ARE. READY!”

He does not, of course, ask.

He groups unqualified angels together with “base” spirits, as if spirits have not made this possible, as if they are equivalent.

He positions himself as High Earth’s champion.

But none of it matters, because soaring above the mages, he incites a deafening cheer so loud that he has to augment his voice further to command Destien to begin, sparing few words to acknowledge the service Destien will provide, making him seem like an extension of Evram’s own will.

It’s annoying, but it’s a problem for another day.

Because he’s right about one thing.

Today is when we change the world.

The spell drawing all the magic into the reinforced battle floor activates. Lines of silver billow beneath our feet and the stone under us begins to glow white.

White, like the angels who stole from all of us.

And we wait.

Everyone here is armed with either wand or angelic weapon, a spell already poised to deploy, and the moment hangs in the air.

Bright Earth has to know their spells have been subverted.

Seconds tick by.

The wind blows.

No one moves.

After I deactivated the first funneling spell causing the magical plague, they must know that this is a trap. We’d discussed the fact that angels hadn’t shown up anywhere else in the world when other spells were deactivated to take power while they still had access to it, and Nariel and Destien both had agreed it was because Bright Earth would consider it beneath themselves to chase after scraps. Sneaking was beneath them.

So where are they now?

All of us here are too well-trained to fidget or look around.

But we wait, and we wait, and—at least in me—anger burgeons.

We wait on the angels’ pleasure.

As if he has the same thought, Evram decides we’re not waiting for them any longer.

He draws a spell crystal from his robe, tosses it into the air, and strikes it with a beam of magic as he calls, “Koshiel, representative of Bright Earth! I invite you to High Earth to discuss the new developments in our circumstances.”

That’s uh. One way to put it, for sure. Though I guess since he wants Koshiel to answer being like, “HEY DICKWAD, ME AND MY PEEPS ARE READY TO FUCK YOU UP” might not have the desired effect, even if it’s the correct energy. Alas.

Koshiel is apparently unwilling to be summoned by a High Earther, which is not exactly shocking.

It is beginning to be a problem, though. You can only maintain peak concentration and battle readiness for so long before inevitably your position weakens—sweat drips in your eye, your arm gets tired from holding a weapon up, and only then —

Then, of course, is when the representative from Bright Earth appears.

The sky ripples as Koshiel appears shining in the sky.

And then it keeps rippling as all around her, an angelic host follows. Behind her, and circling all around, surrounding us.

This is... this is a lot of angels.

We outnumber them, barely, but we have maybe fifty people on the ground. That’s who we could fit that’s skilled enough to make a difference without running into each other.

There are about fifty angels in the sky.

That is extremely bad news, because it’s going to take multiple people to take on any given angel.

There are more mages in the “audience,” too, ready with ranged weapons and to step in if someone on the ground falls; teams of special forces are also among the stands in case the angels try to distract us that way.

We’re still at a numbers disadvantage.

Which Evram sizes up the same as we all do and calls out, a reminder to everyone below, “We are on High Earth ground!”

The mages roar in response.

But we’re banking on one night’s preparation being enough to make up the difference.

That, and the force Nariel and I can bring to bear.

When the sound has died down, Koshiel says coolly, “Grand Magus of High Earth. This outright lack of hospitality saddens me. Has Bright Earth not always had your best interests at heart, lo these many years? Would you truly attempt to twist the gifts we’ve given you against us?”

I will never understand how someone with as much as pride as Evram has withstood that level of patronization for so long.

Maybe that’s why he learned to pass it on.

But now Evram says, “High Earth and Bright Earth have long had a special relationship, it’s true. So imagine my shock to see evidence that there may be some among your world who would strike against us without provocation.”

I frown. Evram must think if he can open the door for Koshiel to be like, “oh no, it was rogue angels, we of course would never and this has all been a great misunderstanding,“ that maybe the status quo could still be preserved.

Maybe that’s because he’s old enough to know how much devastation angels can wreak if they’re not bound by polite conventions.

But it’s too late for that.

Koshiel tsks. “Were you not aware that the greatest enemy of our people had escaped, and failed to warn us? We could only assume you would be used against us. As always, we act in the universe’s best interests, mortal. We will spare no cost in maintaining the order of the universe.”

As ever, Koshiel can infuriate me in so many ways in so few words.

Mortal , as if the fact of their being immortal makes them superior.

Failed , as if humans exist only to be used and are too weak to play a role on the stage of the universe.

We and the order and no cost , as if the tyranny they’ve imposed is the natural way of things and anything and anyone else is inconsequential.

Evram doesn’t answer immediately, because what can he say to restore the status quo but not make himself look like an imbecile? Pretend like he’s a victim of a conspiracy of worthless Dark and Low Earthers? “Oh, but what were we to think when we discovered you’d been mass murdering us!” “Is your faith so weak, after all we’ve done for you?” Koshiel might respond, to imply that everything High Earth has comes from their benevolence.

The grand magus stood by in Low Earth and let Koshiel make a fool out of him, and I see now the moment where he feels the weight of the humans below him, watching him, counting on him, against Koshiel’s sanctimony before, caught between a rock and a hard place.

He can’t keep everyone’s faith.

Today, everything changes, even if he doesn’t want it to.

And the winning side doesn’t want him.

Koshiel has made sure he knows it, because Evram declaring High Earth against them will give her the justification to do publicly what until now she’s only been doing in secret.

I wonder if I’m the only one who practically feels the weight of the grand magus’ soul cracking when he says, “High Earth is not yours to destroy. We have repossessed all the magic you have attempted to steal from us, and you cannot take it in this form without destroying yourselves. If an angel sets foot in High Earth from this point forward, we will know. I am sorry to see this once-great chapter together close, but it is your recent actions against us that have forced our hand.”

Koshiel smiles. “You poor, proud fool. We are angels, mortal. We have no need to touch your realm to claim it.”

And then, finally , everything happens at once.

Koshiel launches a spear of power at Evram.

The grand magus may be delusional, but he’s not stupid, and he had the mother of all shields ready before taking to the sky.

The spear pierces through the transparent sphere of the shield but dissipates on impact. As soon as the barrier is down, Evram detonates a spell that sends a wave of power blasting out around him.

The angels all take the hit, defending themselves. It’s a nice opening sally, but even a grand magus can’t overwhelm that many angels in one shot.

When the air clears, Evram is gone.

Moments later a new shield appears below, in the center of the ground, where Evram has dropped to defend Destien and the spell he’s maintaining.

And at the same time, Nariel coalesces behind Koshiel.

Rather than hit her, he holds her with shadows, like he did with the Lances. Koshiel blasts them away, but they’re back again, keeping Koshiel if not exactly still then with limited movement.

Which is long enough for me to catch up and swing my hammer at her skull.

It breaks through Koshiel’s shield.

Koshiel’s eyes go wide as it cracks around her.

But in the split second between when the hammer would have connected with her skull, she teleports away.

Not far—just far enough that she’s not caught in the rush of the many angels closing in on Nariel.

Nariel and I have a second to exchange a look before he dissolves into shadow.

And the angels follow him.

I fly up out of the way and activate a spell just before Koshiel’s next blast reaches me, swinging my hammer into it.

Rather than breaking the blast, it knocks it away, redirecting it.

About twenty feet away, it hits the invisible spell net I’d just had time to cast, momentarily illuminating its lines.

Koshiel’s eyes narrow as she takes in the scope of the many-sided spell I’ve trapped us both in. It won’t hold her if she really puts some effort into it, but putting in that effort will leave her wide open to my attack. She attempts to teleport out and then zaps back into her body in the same place, in time for me to have shot lightning directly at her.

This time, it hits.

Only for an instant, before Koshiel flexes and the power pops away like it was never there.

But I got a hit.

“Clever little mortal,” Koshiel says. “You can’t teleport, so you’ll keep me close to make sure you can hit me. But you can’t keep up with my speed.”

And that is exactly why I came up with the spell that I did.

It doesn’t just keep Koshiel close. The spell uses what we designed to register the presence of angels, so no matter how fast Koshiel moves, I’ll at least be able to sense where she is, without distraction from the many other angels present.

I can’t negate her speed, but this should give me a fighting chance.

While Nariel takes on a huge chunk of the host of angels on his own.

I take a breath. He’s trusting me, and I have to trust him.

Sure enough, Koshiel teleports within the sphere I’ve made for us directly behind me, but I anticipated that and extend my hand straight back to blast lightning at her.

She’s not quite fast enough to teleport away before some of it hits.

And then it’s a dance between us.

I drop down immediately, so when she teleports and fires another blast I’m not there.

I don’t have to be able to dodge blasts in the sky like Nariel can—I just have to keep moving, using my sense of where Koshiel is as my compass.

Suddenly a rush of magic surges through me.

Nariel, killing an angel.

I can use that.

I send a huge burst of lightning out, spinning it around me, but I’m not fast enough to catch Koshiel.

Koshiel tsks. From in front of me, from behind, moving constantly.

I close my eyes, ignoring what I can see, focusing on the blips in my senses.

“And after I was so generous with you,” Koshiel says.

She isn’t solidifying anywhere for longer than a second. I take a breath. I have to wait.

Waiting is not among my strengths.

“You acted solely in your own interest, as you always do,” I say. “I just wasn’t foolish enough to believe otherwise.”

“Foolish enough to establish a bond with a demon,“ Koshiel taunts. “Letting yourself be used by the losing side instead of retaining the favor of the winning one. Tell me, are you overwhelmed by his puny power, mortal?”

The spell unfolds in my mind, ready to deploy.

“Oh, yeah, super overwhelmed. You know mortals. So weak, so predictable. That’s why you’re so worried about us having power.”

“Worried? About you?” Koshiel laughs, darting in and around me, tempting, tempting, tempting.

Wait for it . I will have my moment.

And I will take it.

Koshiel patronizes, “We’ve run your worlds for hundreds of years, and that isn’t going to change any time soon.”

“Only hundreds? Took you long enough.”

I practically feel her react to that.

Koshiel appears behind me with a spell to thrust directly into my back.

It blasts against my shield as I turn to face her, pouring power into my shield, draining through my magic—

And there’s the rush as Nariel takes his cue to finish another angel.

Koshiel keeps firing, even as I clamp my legs around her and detonate the spell I prepared.

Go harder . That’s how I win.

The force takes out both my shield and Koshiel’s blast, blowing both of us back against the net where we bounce back off, sizzling.

I’m tapped out and breathing hard, watching as Koshiel pulls herself together and hoping Nariel can finish another angel soon, because if Koshiel hits me now I’m boned.

So of course Koshiel hits me now.

I reach for the bond for magic, and it comes to me, but it’s like pulling on molasses.

Did I go too hard after all?

I get a small shield up in time to take the hit, but it’s too weak—I shield, the blast breaks through and punches me in the chest, and then I get a shield back up, and it punches through, and over and over and over I take this beating as I increase the shield as much as I can and Koshiel increases her power accordingly.

If Nariel has this little magic to send my way, he’ll be having trouble killing another angel. I need to not die, but I need him to win so that I can do more than that.

And as Koshiel pummels me, an epiphany hits me at the same time.

Yes, I learn fast and use magic inventively and can hold a lot of power for a human, but I still spent most of my life fighting at a disadvantage—people more powerful than me, with more resources, more of everything.

I didn’t make it through all those fights by just shoving power until my opponents were overwhelmed.

Someday, inevitably, you’re not the most powerful person in the room. So what do you do?

Kobayashi Maru, motherfucker.

Change the conditions of the test.

So first—

Koshiel doesn’t let up enough for me to even take a deep breath, so I hold it instead.

I change my shield, focusing on protecting my vital organs and keeping my limbs all connected. As long as they still exist, magic can fix me.

And then the next round I take Koshiel’s hit full on.

The blast blows me back into the net.

My skin is burning, like the white light of magic is the light of the sun against my skin, flaying me alive as I scream.

But I hold onto my puny, everything shield until I can’t scream anymore.

Only then, when my whole body is covered in blood, does Koshiel stop.

And I fall.

The spell holding us in this sphere in the sky is anchored outside of me, which is the only reason the net is there to catch me.

I land on the bottom of it, barely holding onto consciousness, as Koshiel floats above me.

“Ahh, still alive,” Koshiel taunts. “You foolish, foolish child. You humans can’t even keep magic for yourselves. Your own grand magus is stealing the magic for himself, and I will take it easily from him. How did you think you were going to save yourself against me?”

It takes me a few tries before I manage to whisper, “Evram. won’t. take.”

Her smile is cruel. “You don’t think so? You have such faith in your old master?”

“He,” I pant, “is as predictable. as you.”

Koshiel narrows her eyes at me, then glances down.

I assume that will be a second grand magus arriving, the one who gave us the final push to tell the Council of Grand Magi we wouldn’t be reporting to Evram.

Destien’s idea.

I don’t have to have all of them. That’s not my greatest strength, either.

Koshiel snorts, and as much pain as I’m in, prone beneath her, I manage to crack a tiny smile.

I may not be able to control people like an angel, but there are advantages to that.

“You should have arranged for the grand magus to come save you,” Koshiel tells me, landing on my chest so she can grind her heel into my bloody skin as I let out a muffled cry. “Or at least Nariel. I can take her out as easily as I can Evram, or you.”

Nariel has to have noticed my situation by now, and if not, it’s too late.

I don’t have to have all the ideas, but I do have to do what I do best.

“Can’t hear you,” I manage to choke out.

Koshiel kneels on my chest, digging in, and the pain flares brightly.

But pain, I can bear.

And as soon as she’s close enough, I clap my hands on the side of her face.

She jerks back, eyes widening in surprise, but I hang on, grabbing onto her hair like a rein as she shakes me.

My grin is a baring of bloody teeth. “So predictable,” I hiss. “You think if you just wreak enough destruction you can force us all into obedience, weak as we are compared to you. Your pride blinds you, and I will choke you with it .”

With a snarl, Koshiel positions her hand over my heart. “You’re not good enough to beat me, mortal.”

Then the net dissolves beneath me, Nariel absorbing its magic through me and our bond, and all at once I have enough power.

Koshiel feels it and lets out a blast, but not faster than I fry her with lightning from both sides of her skull.

“You know what I do best?” I whisper in her face. “I never quit. And I do not, under any circumstances, give any fucking ground .”

Her blast vanishes under the force and distraction of mine.

Koshiel’s mouth hangs open in a scream, her eyes gone full white as I.

Keep.

Going.

Because ultimately, the reason I always win is that when I plant my feet and draw a line in the sand, I do not budge.

Koshiel is powerful, according to Nariel one of the most powerful angels alive. I haven’t quite killed her yet when I feel other angels closing in and have to let go.

I drop her, shooting up, as other angels catch her, and it takes her a few seconds before she can stare up at me in shocked horror.

“How embarrassing this must be for you,” I say, “needing to be rescued from a single human.”

Koshiel’s beautiful face twists into a snarl as she shoves the arms holding her off and points down at one corner of the ground, where one team is down to two mages.

“Nariel!” I scream.

My battered demon prince whips around from his fight against five angels as the four who caught Koshiel reappear in front of the two mages.

They don’t have a chance.

When the corner of the ground is empty, Koshiel lands on it, and places her hand on the ground of High Earth.

Nariel appears in front of her, and takes out one angel almost instantly.

I and two more teams close in, but we’re going to have to get through them to get to Koshiel.

And once I get close, Koshiel locks her gaze on mine and smiles.

“See you in hell,” she says.

She vanishes.

Every angel vanishes with her.

And so does the battle floor full of High Earth’s magic.