Author's Preface
The ground raced toward Felix. Only one way to make it through this uninjured. He sucked in a deep breath and let his body melt into water.
The landing was disorienting. Felix hit the floor and was dimly aware of confused shouting around him. His panic brought him back together. He reassembled himself and shifted back into a person.
“Felix?” Kendra burst forward, shoving Guardians aside as she ran toward him. “What are you doing here? What—?”
Arisa was flung through the air next. Felix looked up and frantically racked his brain, trying to figure out which ability he could use to save her—
Threads of pure black reached out from shadows around the room to form a net beneath Arisa. She was lowered safely to the ground, and Hana emerged from the crowd to grab her.
Kendra glanced back. “I have to get back to Hana. I was relaying everything that happened to her—”
Mason crashed into a table of food nearby, snapping it in half.
“Mason!” Felix rushed to the table.
Mason staggered to his feet. “I’m fine,” he muttered, brushing crumbs of food off his sweatshirt. “Focus on Ernest!”
Ernest, still on the walkway above, raised the Ironwood Wand. “You’ve had eight years to prepare for this, and what have you done? Keep to the same old regime and hope we wouldn’t try again?”
“It doesn’t matter how powerful that wand is,” Sadia said. “You’re outnumbered.”
“I’m not as outnumbered as you think,” Ernest replied. “We’re almost evenly split into Guardians and the Moonlit Army.” He paused. “Or, we would be, if it weren’t for the demons on my side.”
Something dropped from the shadows beneath the high ceiling. The figure that had been perched on one of the horizontal beams overhead hit the railing and used it to launch themselves at Ernest. Light glinted off a blade as it swung through the air.
And hit a barrier.
Archer bounced off the invisible wall. He flipped backwards and managed a surprisingly graceful landing on the railing.
Demons appeared at either side of the walkway. Ernest lifted a hand to stop them. “Not yet.”
A few hissed and snarled, but they stayed put.
“You think I wouldn’t cast a shield, Archer?” Ernest asked.
Archer’s eyes narrowed. “You figured out how to use a witch’s wand rather quickly.”
“I taught myself some basics. Enough to handle a bunch of magicians.”
“Not satisfied with your own ability?”
“It serves me well enough.” Ernest pointed the wand at Archer. “But why settle?”
Archer jumped. The railing shattered beneath him. He landed on top of the barrier shielding Abernathy, raised his sword, and brought the tip down to a point in the air above Ernest. The invisible barrier apparently burst, allowing Archer to drop to the ground behind Ernest.
“Whatever magical energy that wand uses, I can sense its weak points.” Archer lifted his sword in front of Ernest’s neck. The blade grazed his skin. But one of the demons shot hellfire at Archer, forcing him to jump out of the way. More demons inched forward, eager to fight.
Archer lifted his sword to try again. Ernest pointed the wand his way, flinging him backwards through the air. Archer went over the railing, twisted himself in the air, and dropped onto the top of a display cabinet on the first floor.
Arisa ran to where Felix and Mason stood.
“What do we do?” Felix asked.
Mason started running. “Get the damn wand!”
Felix and Arisa followed. They made it ten feet. A whip of light cut through the air and slammed into all three of them, knocking them to the ground.
“Sorry, kids, but I think you should sit this one out.” Sebastian rose into the air, carried by the light energy under his shoes. He folded his arms. “Really, Ernest? I thought maybe you’d stolen the wand as some kind of trophy, like all those stuffed animals you keep around. Why the hell are you joining the Uprising?”
“The Brightland Era is coming to an end,” Ernest said plainly. “Most of the family’s died off. More and more Guardians are leaving active duty. They’re losing faith in their council to make the right decisions.” A thin smile touched his lips. “I would think you of all people would understand that.”
Sebastian laughed. “Sure, but I don’t exactly like your methods. Or should I say Mira’s methods? Is following her orders really better for you than following the king’s?”
“At Bright Castle, I’m just another Guardian. On the other side, I command an army of my own. And with the Ironwood Wand, I’ll wield even more power. Perhaps as much as Mira herself.”
“What, because you can cast a few masking spells?” Sebastian raised an eyebrow. “That won’t do you any good in a real battle.”
“War isn’t only won through battles,” Ernest said. “How many Guardians have died on recent missions, walking into my death traps?”
Sebastian’s expression shifted. Became cold. “You’re responsible for every masking spell cast over the past few weeks, then?”
“Of course. Who else could have done it?”
“That means you almost got those kids killed multiple times.” Sebastian lifted an arm and pointed a finger at Ernest. “So now, I’m going to kill you.” A glowing orb formed at his fingertips.
“He needs to stand trial!” Archer shouted.
“Fine.” Sebastian’s mouth turned up in a cold smile. “I’ll just rough him up a bit, then.”
Ernest flicked the wand. The entire first floor of the mansion plunged into darkness. Even Sebastian’s light went out.
Ernest’s voice cut through the black. “Your days are numbered, Sebastian. You made your decision years ago, and Mira’s not one for forgiveness.”
After a moment of darkness and gasps and murmurs, a small orb of light appeared in the air, illuminating Sebastian’s face and throwing rainbows across his hair. “Come on, Ernest, you know I can generate my own light.” He pushed the light forward so that Ernest was visible, too.
“I also know you only have so much energy saved up,” Ernest said. “Sooner or later, you’ll run out. I just have to keep you from accessing any other light sources, and then I’ll kill you.”
“Hmm.” Sebastian rubbed his chin. “You’d have to catch me first. You know, I think that would be a very interesting fight. Might even be a challenge! But I don’t think I’ll bother. Hana Tamura is here, after all.”
“Tamura?” Ernest’s voice was incredulous. “She spends her days in the library, not on missions. She may be able to manipulate darkness, but I’d hardly consider her a threat.”
“Would you like to say that to her face?” Sebastian asked. “Because I think you’re about to get your chance.”
“Huh?”
Hana appeared at the edge of the light on the walkway. A staff of pure black took shape in her hands. She swung, sending it cracking against Ernest’s skull.
Ernest staggered sideways, a hand pressed to the side of his head. Blood trickled down the side of his face. He lifted his other hand and snapped his fingers. “It’s time!”
That was all the demons needed. They surged forward and scrambled over the railing, more than happy to throw themselves into battle against the Guardians below.
Sebastian dropped to the ground next to Felix, Mason, and Arisa. The orb hovering above his palm cast cold light over their faces. “Follow me.”
“What? Where are we going?” Arisa asked.
“Outside.”
“But the demons—” Felix started.
“The other Guardians will handle them.”
“But the wand—” Mason tried.
“Leave that to us, too. It’s too dangerous for you in here.” Sebastian squinted at them. “How are you here in the first place?”
“Long story,” Felix said. “Adrienne helped us.”
“You met Adrienne Farrow?”
A demon launched itself at Sebastian’s face. He obliterated it with a beam of light in the blink of an eye. “You three hold hands,” he ordered. “It’ll be safest if we keep ourselves in the dark for now.”
Mason opened his mouth to protest, but Arisa grabbed his hand. She grabbed Felix with her other. Sebastian extinguished his light.
Now, the only thing visible in the dark was colorful blasts of hellfire.
Sebastian grabbed Felix’s arm and pulled him forward. Arisa and Mason trailed behind. Felix tried to figure out which way they were going, but he’d lost all sense of direction. They left the battle behind and entered quieter hallways.
Occasionally, Sebastian would fire off a beam of light at a demon that got too close. Other than that, the four were completely in the dark. Whatever spell Ernest had cast on the first floor prevented light from even breaching the windows.
A door opened ahead, and they stumbled into the night air and the light of the moon and stars. Felix breathed a sigh of relief before he realized they hadn’t actually left the house. They were in a courtyard.
“Seriously? He has a courtyard?” Mason exclaimed.
Arisa frowned as she let go of Felix and Mason’s hands. “How are we not outside?”
“Sorry. My sense of direction is terrible,” Sebastian said. “I’ll just fly up and figure out the fastest way out—”
A figure slammed into him, sending him flying. He landed on his feet and slid backwards across the concrete, carving out the ground and sending a spray of rubble into the air. As he rose to his full height, the light faded from the bottom of his shoes. “Not saying that wasn’t deserved, but what was that for, exactly?”
Archer drew his sword and pointed it at Sebastian. “What are those three doing here?”
“I’d like to know the same thing.”
“You expect me to believe you’re not responsible?” Archer flew forward with surprising speed. Sebastian stepped back to dodge the sword, but Archer switched directions and wound up on the other side of Sebastian with his blade in front of his neck. “I know you wanted them at that office building with the demons.”
Sebastian looked rather calm for someone with a blade to their throat. “I would never put them in a situation I didn’t think they could handle.”
“You’re not exactly denying it.”
Annoyance flickered across Sebastian’s face. “May I remind you that said building wasn’t supposed to be full of demons?” He lifted his hands. “Archer, I care about these kids. I never would have let them walk into that if I’d known about the masking spell.”
“And Sebastian’s not responsible for us being here now,” Felix added, taking a step forward. “Adrienne Farrow is the one who sent us here.”
Archer slowly lowered the blade. “Why would she do that?”
“She would have come herself, but she was injured. Someone summoned poltergeists around the castle property,” Felix quickly explained. “And she wasn’t sure who to trust inside the castle.”
Sebastian’s eyes narrowed. His gaze shifted to his left, toward a window leading inside. “Do you think Ernest wanted them here?”
“He does want them dead,” Archer replied.
“He didn’t have to kill them here, though.”
A crash came from the other side of a nearby wall. Sebastian sighed. “We have bigger problems to deal with right now,” he said. “The battle is spreading across the house. Let’s get the kids out of here and—”
A glass door shattered above them. Ernest stepped onto a balcony, looking worse for wear than he had earlier. He wordlessly held up the wand. The courtyard plunged into darkness.
A hand grabbed Felix’s wrist. “Now’s our chance,” Mason whispered. “Ernest can’t see under a darkness spell, either.”
“Felix? Mason?” Arisa’s voice came from Felix’s left. Felix reached out blindly and found her arm. The three stumbled together toward the door on the other side of the courtyard.
A light orb appeared nearby, not quite bright enough to reach them. “Kids?” Sebastian called.
“Better not make yourself a target, Sebastian!” Ernest shouted. “I’ve got ten demons that’ll be on you in seconds.”
Felix slowed and threw a glance back over his shoulder.
Sebastian sighed. With a flick of his wrist, he expanded the orb enough to illuminate a large circle around him and Archer. “All right, I’ve got some time before I run out of light. Let’s do this.”
Archer lifted his sword. “Can you keep up?”
“What kind of question is that?” Sebastian asked.
“I did get a blade in front of your throat.”
“Maybe I let you.” Sebastian lifted an eyebrow. Archer rolled his eyes.
Mason grabbed Felix’s arm and pulled him forward. “Come on,” he said, his voice low.
“We should help—” Felix started.
“They can handle demons. We need to get the wand,” Mason said. “That’s the fastest way to end this.”