But the Macazi are magicless…. How could they even?… I shake off the thought and turn my attention back to the fight ahead.

Despite the march being gone, we still press into building sides as we walk. Getting spotted out here isn’t ideal. Kai and I scout before we cross each intersection, then motion for the others to come along. We walk for what feels like miles. The sun has dipped low and the mosquitoes, or blood bugs as Jhamal calls them, have picked up like they do in the evenings in this humid place. The scene is desolate, but random pops of revelry ring in the distance.

“That way.” Kai points east of Yiyo, its peak half caved in. “We must reach it before sunset.”

Bri and I share a look. “What happens when the sun sets?”

“The City is not deserted.” Kai’s steel stare sends gooseprickles up my arms. “It is asleep. Pochalla e’yuna kessi.”

“The cover of darkness is the enemy’s greatest friend,” Zora whispers to me.

I meet her eyes and she smiles, but her gaze falls, craters denting her cheeks. All of Kai’s girls, the Yakanna, have a rigid look about them, but Zora’s eyes are soft and her words gentle. She’s a bit shy, maybe? But the rest of her, pure steel.

Bri rummages through her bag and pulls out some metal gadget. She presses a button on its top and it glows green. Jhamal shoots her a quizzical glance.

“It senses magic harnessed through onyx. If there’s any Patrol or Grays nearby, it should buzz. Look, it’s the best I got.”

“Your tricks are no use,” Kai says. “But for those inside the District, Patrol has almost all gone plain clothed. They’ve renamed themselves and—”

“BEEP! BEEP!”

The light on Bri’s device flashes with a pulsing red. Zora steps in front of me and I almost have to shove her out the way.

“I can handle myself, really.”

If she heard me, I can’t tell. She crouches low, hand on her weapon, watching, waiting.

“You carry the Ancestors’ magic,” Kai says. “She is protecting it more than you.”

“I—”

“BEEP! BEEP!”

Kai rolls her eyes.

“I trust Bri’s gadgets. If it’s beeping, someone is definitely nearby.”

Jhamal nods in agreement.

“Let’s get to higher ground, see what we can see,” I say. “We need to know where the enemy is to run from them.”

Kai hesitates but nods and takes off. Her girls form an octagon, their backs to one another and weapons out. They crouch, gait loose, bouncing ever so slightly.

“You go that way,” I say to Jhamal. His lips are a hard line, but he runs off in the direction I tell him. Bri and I follow the pulsing beeps, they grow louder the closer I get. Her hands are shaking, but her elbows are firm.