The futures shifted. “Caldera!” I shouted. “Behind!”

Caldera turned—too slow. Air imploded, striking with enough force to pulp flesh, and Caldera went down. Slate moved to cover her, dropping his own attacks as he did so.

Vihaela paused. Green-black energy glowed around her; her hair was mussed, but as far as I could tell she hadn’t been scratched. She turned her head to look down the corridor. “I didn’t need the help.”

A man stepped out into view, dressed in grey. A beard covered the lower half of his face, and he wore dark glasses. It was the assassin from two nights ago, Chamois. He inclined his head back very slightly.

“Protecting his investment?” Vihaela said. She shrugged. “Fine.” She turned to leave.

“Hold it!” Slate called.

“Or you’ll do what?” Vihaela said without looking back. She walked away.

Slate half-moved after her. Chamois met his eyes and shook his head very slightly. Slate stopped.

Then Chamois looked at me. He stood studying me for a second, then reached into his pocket, took something out, and tossed it at me. I felt the surge of a minor spell, giving extra force to the throw. As it spun in midair the futures flashed before me—no danger. I caught the thing one-handed, then looked down at what I’d been thrown.

It was a brown cloth pouch. Looking into the futures where I opened it, I saw a condenser. The same one I’d decoyed Chamois away with on the train.

I looked back up to see Chamois watching me. He turned and was gone.

Slate made a move after him. “Don’t,” I said tightly. I hurried to Caldera’s side. She was down on one knee, bleeding from her ears. “Caldera. You okay?”

Caldera looked up at me with a frown and shook her head wordlessly. She hadn’t heard me. “Slate,” I called.

Slate touched Caldera’s shoulder, frowning. “She’s deaf, eardrums busted. Be fine if we can get her to a life mage. We need to go after them—”

“With what?”

Slate clenched his fist. For a moment I saw the flicker of arguments, then he abandoned them. “I’m going to get them.” Slate’s voice was tight and furious. “This isn’t over. Understand?”

I didn’t answer. In the distance, from where Vihaela and Chamois had disappeared, I felt the signature of a gate spell, and I knew they were gone. Slate punched the floor with a sharp crack.

I didn’t move. Caldera shrugged us off and got to her feet, still unsteady. From behind, I could hear shouts and footsteps, and looking into the futures, I saw that they were friendly. The three of us stood in the anteroom, alone with the bodies, and waited for our reinforcements to arrive.

chapter 14

The rest of the battle was mop-up.

Slate, Caldera, and I fell back to rejoin Haken and Trask. I kept us away from the remaining White Rose forces, and we linked up with a Keeper strike force. Haken and Caldera were shipped out to the back lines, and I went with them.