They pinched their fingers into their respective mudras and chanted the spells. Sora’s, Fairy’s, and Broomstick’s took immediately, but Daemon’s spell didn’t. I really wish I could just turn on some wolf magic whenever I wanted it, he thought. Finally, after the fourth attempt, he got the mudra right.

His vision darkened, as if he was looking into an endless cave. But in the distance, flickers of light glowed, and Daemon was drawn to them as if by magnetic pull.

“We’ll meet you at the Citadel wall,” Broomstick said.

He and Fairy dove into the Field of Illusions, spraying sand on Daemon.

“Ready?” Sora asked.

“Ready. Focus on the torchlight.”

It took them thirty minutes to cross, although it felt twice as long. When they finally reached the base of the Citadel gates, Daemon and Sora hurried to where Fairy and Broomstick were pressed against the fortress walls to avoid being seen by guard patrols.

“We have a problem,” Fairy said when Sora joined them. “How do we get in?”

The looming gates were meant to admit only those who were supposed to enter. Which, at the moment, did not include the four apprentices trying to take down everyone behind said ten-story gates.

Daemon looked up, and up. Even with the stone staircase the ryuu had built in their attempt to breach the Citadel during the battle here, there was too much distance left to the top of the fortress. The walls were as slick as if they’d been greased with oil. They couldn’t just cast gecko spells to scale them.

It’d be awfully helpful if he could fly. He squeezed his eyes shut and tried to remember what it was like the moment he’d turned into a wolf, how the magic had coursed through him like rivers of electricity and how he’d hurled himself into the air on instinct and managed to stay there. But try as he might, Daemon couldn’t recall the exact moment of transformation. In fact, he hadn’t even realized he’d changed from human to something else until after he’d rescued Sora from plunging to her death. So it was impossible for him to re-create the feeling now.

At the sound of Sora’s voice, Daemon’s eyes fluttered open.

“Don’t worry, I’ve already thought of how we get in,” she was saying. “With ryuu magic, I can jump the distance from the highest stair to the top of the fortress wall.”

Oh. Right. She didn’t need his help for a mere four-story leap.

“And the rest of us?” Fairy asked.

“I’ll float you over,” Sora said. “I couldn’t risk doing something that conspicuous to get us across the Field of Illusions, but this will be quick. I’ll go first and make sure we’re clear of any ryuu guards, and then I’ll bring you up, one by one. Okay?”