Camellia reacted slow. She knew she wasn’t hurt. For a moment, she worried about Adalhard, but from the way he pushed her down, she deduced he was uninjured as well.

Camellia searched the ballroom. Lights dimmed, but Camellia could see well in the dark.

Women and some men screamed as they fled from the patio area. While the women and hired dates ran out of the ballroom into the larger capitol building, the soldiers ran towards the patio.

Regle tried to organize the fleeing people, but they slipped by him like water through a sieve. He drew his gun and followed them into the hall, calling Cloch, Corentin and the other officials to help. Considering their wives might be running into danger, they complied quickly. Sounds of fighting in the capitol hall rang through the open doors.

Rooks took command of the ballroom battle. She formed her soldiers into a line, and using the gothic arches for cover, they faced a small army of shadows beyond the garden patio.

Adalhard and Camellia hid on the far side of the patio, away from the attack’s origins. They huddled against a pillar. Adalhard put himself between Camellia and the explosion.

“Adalhard!” She tried to wriggle out from under him. “It’s night. I don’t need this.”

He pushed back but found her too strong for his efforts. “Hold on! You’re not armed.”

Camellia ceased her struggle.

From his belt, Adalhard drew a magic gun.

“When did you get that? Why did you bring it to a ball?” Camellia looked from his gun to his eyes and back again.

“I got it when the cultists tried to elect me high priest.” Adalhard pushed Camellia behind the far pillar and joined her.

He shot into the shadows, and the soldiers’ shots followed. It seemed Rooks’ entire force had come to the ball armed.

“Ah’nee’thit wants you for high priest?” Camellia asked, between shots.

“Apparently, but I’m running against Cernunnos. He’s the other candidate.” Adalhard shot fiery magic into the shadows, lighting up the opponents for a moment.

The sparks fizzled away, not intended to start a real fire. As the embers died, Camellia saw that some of the attackers were made of wood.

“I can’t see Cernunnos winning any election,” she said.

What she thought was, Ah’nee’thit tried a setup too?

Camellia took a brief moment to wallow in the embarrassment. Then, she searched the shadows, and with her vampiric eyes counted two mages, fifteen fighters, and numerous puppets.

Is this everyone? Is this the entire cult? Of course not.

Camellia wished they could end this cult nonsense. She wanted to stand up, go into the garden, and pretend to be their high priestess. Then, she could count their numbers and know everyone. She rose to her knees.

“What are you doing?” Adalhard grabbed her shoulder.

Camellia gestured to the battle. “I could go out there.”

Adalhard narrowed his eyes. “What? No! Don’t you dare.”

“I’m the priestess. I could…”

“I’m the priest. I’m not going.” Adalhard shook his head.

Camellia reluctantly kept her place. He was probably right.

“Hey, you two! Cast something,” Meladee called to the Ferrans.

Inez and Eder waffled between the patio area and the hall. Sounds of battle came from both directions.

Meladee heard Corentin’s summoned beasts in the hall behind them, and she saw the results of her own magic all around. She supposed the Ferrans wanted to escape but found every route cut off.

“Protection?” Eder suggested.

“I already got off a minor protection spell.” Meladee shook her head. “We’ve got a little time till it runs out. Do an enemy location spell. That’s a big one, so...both of you.” Meladee pointed to the siblings.

Then, she focused on a spell of her own: her basan.

She got the spell in her head, so she checked on Inez and Eder’s progress. The Ferrans called into existence a six-ringed circled. The circle took shape on the floor around them, glowing bright and yellow.

With the sound of hundreds of bells chiming at once, the circle dissipated and shot off in all directions to settle as bright rings around each opponent. The spell lit up the enemies.

Meladee’s spell followed. Her basan popped up in the middle of the cultists. It screamed a greeting. Also amid the trees, enemy circles dissipated.

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“Shit! Counter spells.”

Vines materialized and entrapped Rooks and her line of soldiers. Many could still shoot and continued to do so, but an equal number remained trapped. Another spell created a molten moat both behind and in front of the soldiers, preventing retreat or advance.

“You guys undo all their crap,” Meladee ordered. “I’m going to send them some presents.”

She reached for her bell but remembered she hadn’t brought it. She had no toys to help, just her own spells. She conjured her dragon and then, some slippery ice to block the cultists’ path to Rooks and her team.

Inez and Eder divvied up their counter attacks. They took a little long to remove the spells, but once they did, strong anti-magic measures hovered like a pleasant fog around Rooks and her force.

Meladee ran to the patio and kept just behind the soldiers, careful to avoid the anti-magic fog. She searched for the opposing mages.

Meladee! There are two. One by the bench, another behind the big tree, Camellia called telepathically.

Meladee shook her head at the contact but replied in her own mind, with a prim Thank you.

The Ferrans renewed their anti-magic spell, and the fog grew a bit thicker, impeding Meladee’s sight.

Meladee stepped into the anti-magic ward. She could see better through a single layer of wards, and she took a moment to cite both targets. She stepped back out of the anti-magic field, feeling both inconvenienced and grateful to have such an effective spell in place.

Once outside the magic inhibiting field, she pictured her first circle: a ring of icy blue. The ring disappeared, only to appear around the big tree outside. It swirled up and around the trunk in seconds. The ring left behind a winding, frozen icicle and pinned the mage to the tree.

Meladee set off her second spell. A blue box grew around the bench, but the mage had already fled. Meladee growled. She stepped back into the anti-magic field to search the shadows, only to see the beginnings of a complex, trap spell in progress.

Inez and Eder’s magic formed three walls of light around the outer garden, getting ready to keep all of the cultists within its borders. A few smart cultists fled over the borders before the spell took effect.

Out among the cultists, Eva and Sten beat their opponents with branches and rocks. Neither had come armed to the party.

“I should have known better!” Eva said. “I should have brought my staff at the very least.” She whacked a puppet with a strong thick branch, cracking its joints and head.

“There’s no way you could have predicted this, though I do wonder why everyone else has a weapon.” Sten pulled Eva back into the shadows.

They avoided the fire of their own people and retreated deeper into the trees. Sten tripped a puppet on their way. Eva set upon it and tore it apart.

“How...novel. Eva, are these synthetics?”

“Not really. As I understand it, they’re puppets. The Agaric healers use them to do anything that they themselves are too lazy for.” Eva jabbed her stick through the bushes and tripped another puppet on its way to the battle. She beat its head with a rock.

“Very brutal.” Sten stopped and listened. “Did you hear that?”

Eva paused. “No.”

Sten walked forward. “I heard a sound, like a stifled scream.”

Eva followed.

Sten ignored the puppets and cultists. He batted them aside. Of course, he could do that. His creator considered strength one of the more important assets for an android and gave Sten an abundance. Eva’s creator prioritized speed and form.

Sten’s cast off opponents staggered and tripped. Eva tended to them with gusto.

Finally, Sten arrived at a tight stand of trees. He looked inside and found a pair of lovers. “Are you alright?” he asked them.

“Yes,” the man said. “What’s going on?”

“Cultits.” Eva averted her eyes from their naked bodies. “Stay in there. We’re not finished with them.”

The lovers complied, and Eva continued to tear the puppets apart. Sten herded them to her. As they fought, walls of magical light appeared around them.

“Trap spell,” the man said, from inside the small copse of trees. “Ours or theirs?”

He got his answer as several cultists fled over the line.

With feral eyes, Eva watched them go, too preoccupied with her current opponents to chase the escapees down.

A wall of waving light solidified, and Camellia stood. She thought the battle might be over.

Many cultists fled through the wall just before it became active. Those stuck inside became captives, and the trapped puppets became rubbish.

“What were they thinking?” Meladee asked of the ballroom at large. “Who the hell attacks a ball full of soldiers and mages? Idiots if you ask me.” Her voice rang over the messy ballroom.

Rooks called, “Camellia, Eva, Meladee! Come here.”

The three women complied. Camellia walked from her archway to Rooks, and Meladee joined them. Eva strolled in from outside.

Rooks put her hands on her hips. “I’m not so sure they’re idiots. Could they have attacked for a different reason? Perhaps, they wanted to plant a tracker or infect someone discretely. Everyone should be checked.”

Camellia exchanged a look with her friends.

Rooks beckoned the Ferrans, and as they joined her, she ordered, “Meladee, Inez, Eder. Check for any kind of nefarious magic. I’m not sure what to look for, so I leave it to your discretion.” Rooks turned to Eva and gestured for Sten and Alim to come closer. “I need you three to check each person for signs of infection – cultists included.”

Regle and Cloch, as well as the frightened civilians, re-entered from the hall. Many were injured. Cloch approached Rooks.

“Is everyone accounted for?” she asked. “Eva, Sten, and Alim are going to check for signs of infection.”

“We’ve got everyone. We’ve been dealing with infected cultists for the past couple of months. We wouldn’t just let them run off.” Cloch stared with annoyance.

“I’m sorry. I just want to do the job I promised to complete.” Rooks straightened.

Cloch surveyed the ballroom. “You are. But worry more about the monsters. We’ll deal with the cultists.” He crossed his arms. “Now, that was relatively tame for an attack, so I think we should move your takeoff location and your ships secretly, just in case they came for information.”

Rooks nodded. “I agree.”

While Meladee and Eva performed Rooks’ orders, Camellia remained at Rooks’ side. She tuned out the official conversations, keeping an ear open for her own name or information about the Agaric cultists. Camellia wanted sleep not trouble.

“Are you alright?” Adalhard touched her arm. He kept his voice quiet.

Cloch and Rooks took notice and stopped to listen.

Camellia nodded. “Yes, I was just thinking about the Agaric healers and what they’re up to.” It was something of a lie. Camellia had only one Agaric healer on her mind.

Rooks brushed a curl from her face. “Me too. We need to have a talk with Meladee about what the Order is capable of. Overall, I think we did well. So long as everyone can heal in time, we have a solid fighting force.” Rooks looked at Adalhard and Camellia. “Everyone seems to work well together.”

Cloch gave a short nod and held out a hand to Rooks. “I think you have a good chance of killing the Lurrien creature. My skepticism evaporates by the moment.”

Rooks and Cloch shook hands.

Camellia appreciated the display of comradery, but she didn’t smile.

She knit her brow. Did Alastronia escape the obsidian mirror? If Alastronia could do that, could she also accomplish it with no side effects? Camellia was dying to know.

“Are you sure you’re alright?” Adalhard asked.

Rooks and Cloch had left, and Adalhard put his back to them, masking his actions regarding Camellia. He reached for her shoulder.

“I’m fine. Just tired,” she answered.

Adalhard’s touch retreated but only for a moment. Before he made contact, Rooks called for Camellia. Camellia looked at Adalhard’s hand and carefully stepped away, leaving to obey Rooks’ call.