Akari led her team across the city, crossing rooftops and balconies along the way. Rain struck her cheeks as she ran, and the wind bit through the gaps in her armor, digging its teeth into her skin.

Their destination was more than three miles from the penthouse, but her portals made quick work of the journey. Even when they crossed a busy street, Elise’s dream mana kept them safe. This almost felt like cheating, and a part of her itched to help the people they passed. Her teammates all felt the same way; she saw it in their eyes, and they way they tensed their muscles.

The mana spawn looked like blue vapor and liquid against the darkness, but they took on the forms of dangerous predators. Some had claws that slashed the air like ten-inch razor blades. Others had wings like dragons, skin like stone, or jaws that could sever a person’s arm.

To her left, a teenage boy lay on the sidewalk while a fanged spawn ate a hole through his stomach. His gray t-shirt lay in tatters except for the red parts that clung to his skin.

To her right, a woman ran from a winged spawn, but she barely made it ten paces before the creature drove its stinger between her shoulder blades.

Akari tried not to look as they jogged down Espirian Avenue. She’d given her team a big speech before they left, reminding them how they couldn’t save everyone. She and Kalden had to advance first, then they could approach these battles from a place of strength.

But that was before, in the safety of Arturo’s penthouse where logic reigned supreme. Down here, in the thick of things, she couldn’t help but wonder . . . was it worth it? How was she supposed to sleep tonight, knowing she’d crept through the shadows while people died all around here? What if one Missile could save them?

But no . . . Storm’s Eye would find her team if they revealed themselves. His spawn worked in a hive mind, and the spirit could see the world through their eyes. What’s more, Valeria Antano was obviously in league with the spirit. One blast of her fire, and they’d all turn to ash and dust.

Movies never showed this part of a battle. They always cut away from the casualties just in time, and the cameras focused on the actual fighting. The cool parts, where the heroes saved people and made a difference. And they were right to do that. No one would root for a hero who followed the plan rather than her own conscience.

Finally, her team arrived at Emperor’s Cross, the terminal that connected all the city’s trains and subways. The building filled an entire city block, with a brown brick facade and a glass dome on its roof. An old clock tower loomed over the doorway, surrounded by half a dozen marble statues. Each one depicted mana artists in various states of undress.

Akari turned her gaze to the street below where several real mana artists held off the advancing spawn. They seemed to have things under control, so she saved her portals and led her team through the courtyard on foot.

“There you are,” a woman’s voice called out from the station’s entrance. She was Cadrian, middle-aged, with her hair pulled back in a long braid. “I’m Lena Cavaco,” she said. “We’ve met before.”

“Oh,” Akari said. “That’s right.” She’d seen Lena on the airship when they’d first left Creta. The woman had also stopped by the house several times to help Relia with her Aeon training.

Lena gestured them through a stone archway into the station’s vestibule. She surveyed the team, then her lips parted in concern. “Where’s Sozen?”

A short silence followed, and it was Relia who answered. “He didn’t make it.”

She blinked. “Are you sure?”

Akari nodded, then she shot a glance at Kalden. “It was Valeria Antano. She . . . burned him alive. Storm’s Eye destroyed the house before that. Glim wasn’t at her full strength.”

“I’m sorry,” Lena said to the group in general. “We should have sent more protection. We expected some trouble, but not this.” She gestured back outside to where the others fought back the approaching spawn.

A short silence followed while someone stepped over and spoke with Lena—probably another cultist. Akari took the opportunity to drink some liquid mana. She’d drained a quarter of her reserves to get over here, and they might need to fight again soon.

Lena turned back to face them, and Akari swallowed. She didn’t want to sound rude, but she had to know her team’s next move. “The Solidors—are they still coming?”

“They are.” Lena gestured toward the main chamber where a pair of space artists wove their mana into an elaborate Construct. Other mana artists stood guard around them, while hundreds of civilians huddled around the room’s perimeter. People generally despised the Cult of Solidor, but they clearly wouldn’t turn down their protection.

“We’re making a portal to the Abyss,” Lena continued. “It should be ready in another ten minutes.”

Akari had heard of the Abyss, but she didn’t know you could just make a portal there. She tried to get a better look at the technique, but it was impossibly complex, like looking at computer code in a language she’d never learned.

“In the meantime,” Lena said. “We could use your team out front.”

“Right,” Akari said with a quick nod. Her teammates had been itching to fight as much as her, so there was no need for a vote. “We’re ready now.”

Lena nodded as she pushed open the door and led them back into the courtyard. Here, four streets converged from different angles, with most of the spawn coming from the northeast. The streets were narrower around the terminal itself, with ten-story parking garages looming overhead. The cultists had set up Constructs in these gaps to guard their flanks. They also had barriers on Polygon Street and Bridge Street, with small gaps to let in more civilians.

The cultists had a mix of Artisans and Apprentices among their ranks, but they were clearly spread too thin. Storm’s Eye’s spawn closed in by the hundreds, and they showed no signs of stopping. If anything, the fighting seemed thicker on this side of town.

They know, Akari realized. The Sons of Talek weren’t just after her. They wanted to destroy all their enemies in a single day. Her heart beat faster as she thought of Elend and Irina, but she couldn’t help them right now. Better to stay focused.

Lena led them to where an Artisan stood on top of parked semi-truck. He was an Espirian man in his late thirties, with thick brown hair and a matching beard. His Missiles soared like darts from his outstretched hands, knocking the flyers from the sky. What sort of aspect was that? Probably destruction mana with a knowledge component for accuracy.

“Corbin,” Lena hollered over the chaos. “I brought you another squad.

The Artisan—Corbin—glanced over his shoulder. “Perfect.” He pressed his left hand to his ear while his right hand kept shooting Missiles” “Molina, move your squad over to Bridge Street.” He removed his hand and met Akari’s eyes. “You kids take Espirian Avenue.”

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Akari nodded as she glanced down the street. She and her team were no strangers to real-life combat, but she’d never had this much responsibility before. “Anything else we should know?”

He chuckled as he fired another Missile into the sky. “Don’t let the spawn through. Don’t get killed.”

Well, at least things would be simple for once. Akari turned to face Arturo. “Set up on the roof with those other snipers. The rest of you are with me.” Arturo nodded as he jogged back inside the terminal, then Akari led the others toward Espirian Avenue, the same street where they’d arrived.

“Report in,” she said into her comm device. This wasn’t a standard practice in school games, but they’d started doing it when they trained with Glim. Tech never malfunctioned in arenas, but the real world wasn’t so kind.

“Zukan, reporting in.”

“Arturo’s here. Halfway to the roof.”

“Kalden’s here.”

“Elise is here.”

“Relia’s here. Let’s do this!”

No sooner had they taken their positions than a swarm of mana spawn approached. Talek. How many was that? A hundred? Two hundred? As always, their forms shone bright blue against the gray city streets. Some resembled giant insects, while others looked more like mammals or dragons. She even spotted some aquatic forms slithering through the air, defying all logic and reason.

Kalden stepped up on Akari’s right and formed a mental link between them. He’d been quiet this past hour, but she wasn’t worried. Kalden knew how to focus when it mattered most. He’d been doing that his whole life, long before they’d even met.

The swarm drew closer, and Akari shifted her boots on the asphalt. Her hands flew across her body, double-checking all her weapons. She had a wrist launcher on each arm, loaded with six darts—two darts for her, and two for each of her teammates. She also carried three Artisan-level daggers, one strapped to each hip, and one tucked in the small of her back.

Her eyes surveyed the field itself, from the concrete sidewalks to the skyscrapers that loomed on either side. Then Kalden cycled his battle mana, and she saw the same world through a different lens.

Kalden didn’t just see a battlefield. He saw the ideal outcome in his mind’s eye: their team standing victorious over their enemies. He also saw a web of possibilities that could take them there. No path was a perfect guarantee—there were no guarantees in war—but this was a start.

Akari kept her own mind blank as the rush of information flowed between them. Finally, the plan formed from their combined thoughts, and she spoke into her comm.

“Zukan, Relia—I’m sending you behind the swarm. Elise, make a tunnel, then join Kalden in a pincer. You’ll go left, he’ll go right.” These orders would all be nonsense if not for the last few weeks of training. Fortunately, Glim had access to the mana spawn simulations, and they’d fought plenty of mock battles in the backyard.

The spawn drew closer, and Akari stretched out her arms. She clenched her hands into fists and aimed her wrist launchers above the horde. Pure mana flowed through her channels, triggering the sigils on two specific darts.

The darts flew in an upward path over the battlefield, and her spacetime mana extended in a web around her. Two Missiles followed the darts behind the enemy line, while another two sought out the beacons in her teammates’ armor.

One minute, Zukan and Relia were standing on her left. Then Akari made the swap, and the pair vanished from thin air, appearing behind the spawn. Akari cycled more mana to the wrist launchers, and the darts flew back to their proper spots.

At the same time, Elise conjured a dream Construct on either side of the horde. This forced them to see obstacles that didn’t exist, and they all bunched together until they were running in single file.

Kalden conjured six violet blades around his body, striking the column from the right. Elise closed in on the left with a volley of pure Missiles.

Akari forced herself to stand still as the horde approached head-on. She threw her left hand toward the sky, forming a half-portal above the battlefield. A few heartbeats passed as they closed in for the kill.

Three . . . two . . . one.

She formed another portal in front of herself, ten feet in diameter.

Dozens of spawn rushed through, unable to slow their own momentum. Her teammates struck from all sides, clashing with the enemy’s hulking forms. Techniques of orange, violet, and green sprouted up among the sea of blue, and the spawn screamed as they died.

Akari looked up to where the spawn emerged from the floating portal. She formed another two portals to catch them as they fell, then a second pair further up. This caught several dozen spawn in a loop, and they fell endlessly from one portal to the other.

This would have been impossible a month ago, but Kalden’s mana flowed in a constant stream between Akari and his Second Brain. Her father’s revelation guided her like a battle trance, and she fought more like a Master than an Apprentice.

“Grenade!” Arturo shouted as a rocket flew toward the nearest loop. An explosion sounded a second later, followed by the screams of dying spawn. Broken limbs and liquid mana rained from the sky as they fell.

Akari extended a hand and pulled on the empty loop. One portal swooped down on the street like a massive hand, catching six more spawn in its path. They emerged near the structure above, and the portal’s momentum hurled them through the glass windows.

‘On your left,’ Kalden thought to her.

Akari glanced down the street where two spawn closed in. One was an Artisan in the form of a ten-foot-long serpent. The other was a gorilla-shaped Apprentice, twice as big as Zukan.

The gorilla reached her first, striking from above with a boulder-sized fist. Akari caught the fist in a portal, then she opened another portal in the creature’s solar plexus. It staggered forward as it punched itself in the gut. Akari stepped to the side, drew her blade, and plunged the weapon deep into its right eye. Liquid mana sprayed out from the wound, dying her hand a rich shade of blue.

The serpent pulled apart its massive jaws as it closed in. Akari took cover behind the gorilla’s corpse and shot a spacetime Missile straight down the serpent’s gullet. A second portal formed around her blade, covering it like a sheath. She twisted the weapon with all her might, and it sliced through the serpent’s throat.

Her eyes darted around the battlefield, where her teammates engaged the survivors. Akari’s brain could never process so much at once, but Kalden’s could. Where she saw chaos, he saw a web of possibilities and dozens of pivot points where they could turn things to their favor. Their thoughts spun together like two partners in a dance, and the way forward was clear.

Five spawn swarmed on Zukan’s position. He wasn’t surrounded yet, but he would be soon. To make matters worse, he was too close to Kalden, and he couldn’t use his flame techniques in earnest.

“Zukan,” Akari said through her comm. “Dive.” No sooner had the words left her mouth than she shot his dart over another group of enemies. Zukan appeared above their heads an instant later, unleashing a storm of molten flame.

Two Artisans closed in on Relia, but Akari couldn’t extract her. If she did, then Elise would be in the Artisan’ line of fire. Maybe Arturo could—

A glass window shattered behind Akari, and more enemies emerged from the opening. Akari fired a dart on pure instinct, and space warped around her as she escaped. Her father was right—this was far faster than a portal.

But what about Relia? Akari’s dart had taken her behind a pile of crashed cars, and she couldn’t see anything from this vantage.

“Arturo,” Kalden’s voice echoed in her comm. “Relia needs cover fire now.”

“Roger that, shoko.”

That’s right. Telepathy worked both ways. Not only had Kalden seen the danger through Akari’s eyes, but he’d known her exact thoughts and intentions.

The battle wound down over the next few seconds. Akari formed several more portals on the street, trapping clusters of spawn in endless loops. Arturo finished these with his propelled grenades. Elise lured the others into traps, Relia hurled her mana like tiny needles, and Zukan and Kalden slashed with their blade techniques.

Silence followed as the last few spawn died, then Corbin let out a deep belly laugh from somewhere behind them. “That was beautiful!” he shouted from his perch on the semi-truck. “Where were you guys ten minutes ago?”

Akari wanted to laugh as well, but she knew better than to tempt fate like that. Still . . . she was proud of her team and the progress they’d made. Back in Garriland, they’d lost to a small group of their peers. Now they’d killed hundreds of spawn in a matter of minutes. No one had even advanced in that time. This was all training and teamwork.

“Anyone hurt?” Relia asked over the comm channel.

“One of them bit my leg,” Kalden said, “But I just took a—”

A screeching roar cut off his words, and the ground shook beneath their boots. Akari covered her ears as a beam of bright light cut through the sky. It was brighter than the sun, and wider than this entire road. The ground shook again as several buildings toppled over to the east.

“What the hell was that?” Akari asked. It looked like another one of Storm’s Eye’s techniques. She just hoped she was wrong.

“I’m picking up chatter from all over,” Arturo said. “They’re saying . . . oh, shit.”

“What?” Akari pressed.

There was a long pause before he spoke again. “The prime minister’s dead. So are the other two Mystics.”