The Last Spell 43.1

Leilan instinctively held a hand in front of Autumn, keeping her behind him and Kasumi as Pia stepped forward, tossing the fireball from hand to hand. Cold panic shot through his veins. He’d rarely felt defenseless— even on this ongoing chain of chaotic heist after heist, he’d had help he trusted in, or he felt equipped to carry out his part of the plan. But just him and Kasumi against one of Sparrow’s mages?

It was a hopeless fight. One they had to figure out how to run from.

“Cute,” Pia said. “Do you even know the kid? Not sure whether it’s brave or stupid to die for a stranger. Guess we’ll see.”

Autumn shrank even further behind Leilan, letting out another sniffle.

“Pia,” Leilan called out, gritting his teeth. “It’s Pia, right?”

“My reputation goes ahead of me.” Pia seemed pleased.

“You don’t have to do this,” Leilan cautioned, but his heart was racing with fear. “I don’t know what you or Sparrow wants with her, but if you attack two members of the Houses at their own party, I guarantee it’s not going to be pretty.”

Pia tilted her head curiously as she looked the two of them up and down, realization lighting up her sneer.

“Silver and gold,” she mused. “You are with the Houses. I should’ve known it takes a special kind of rich brat to make a power grab for something like the First Spell.”

“Yeah, well, it takes a special kind of heartless bitch to kidnap a kid,” Kasumi snapped.

Leilan wondered what it said about him that even now, he had to resist the urge to put his hands over Autumn’s ears.

Pia let out a cackled laugh. “You know what? I’ll take it.”

The spell came flying. Leilan saw Kasumi’s eyes widen as she dropped, the flames scalding her hair as the Flare barely missed her and hit the wooden door behind them instead. It instantly caught fire, bathing their hallway in sickly gold light.

“Autumn, stay back!” Leilan shouted.

He didn’t get to see whether the kid was listening or not before he charged.

Pia was halfway through weaving a spell when he slammed into her, and he heard her heave a grunt as they went tumbling. Leilan lunged for the spell, but she snatched it back, sending an elbow flying towards his face. It hit him in the eye, and he yelped as he recoiled, already feeling his eye begin to water. The blow to his side that followed was less severe, but he knew he’d have a bruise there soon.

Pia was on her feet by the time he looked up again, but before she could hit him again or go back to casting, Kasumi’s heeled foot struck the back of her knee. Pia staggered, reaching for a revolver strapped to her belt. Leilan’s heart just about stopped, but Kasumi’s hand shot out, smacking it out of Pia’s grip before she had a chance to properly hold it. She looked just as surprised as him that she’d managed it as the gun flew and went skidding over the floor in the direction of the stairs.

“Grab her hands!” Leilan shouted, grabbing Pia from behind and pulling her down again. “She can’t cast if her hands are busy!”

If they kept this to a brawl rather than a spell fight, there was a chance they might win this.

Kasumi must’ve heeded his words, because she lunged for Pia’s wrist. She wrapped her fingers around it tightly, but they were unevenly matched in terms of strength. Pia resisted, trying to pull her hand back, and Leilan knew she was going to make it before much longer. With a grunt, he squeezed his arm around Pia’s neck in a headlock while straining to reach her spell hand with the other. But he couldn’t reach that far.

Pia heaved a wheezy gasp for air as she pulled her other hand free from Kasumi, completing another twist of the weaving with a flick of her fingers. Out of the corner of his eye, Leilan saw a burst of motion dashing their way. Autumn was trying to join them and help.

“Autumn, no—”

He didn’t get to finish.

The ground was beneath him no longer. Leilan felt a shockwave ripple through his bones as he was tossed into the air, the Force spell sending him flying several feet. He barely realized he was in flight before he wasn’t anymore. His back came crashing against the stone wall with a violence that sparked stars in his vision, and he sank to the floor.

Gasping, Leilan put a palm to the ground, forcing his head to look up.

The fire had engulfed the door, spitting sparks over the scene of destruction. Autumn had slumped against the wall, eyes closed and arms limp by her sides. Kasumi was several body lengths away from where she’d been, lying prone on the hallway floor. Blood streamed from a gash on her forehead. Dread gripped his heart, even when he saw the rise and fall of their chests that showed they were both still breathing.

A hand grabbed his shoulder, shoving him against the wall again, and something sharp poked at his collarbone. He ached too much to fight back.

Pia’s grin filled his vision as she kneeled before him, holding a knife over his heart teasingly. The lights sputtered back to life, but he barely registered it as he froze completely, holding his breath. She clucked her tongue thoughtfully.

“Not your lucky day,” she said with mocking pity. “You’re the only one left conscious to have fun with.”

“Fun?” Leilan spat, feeling breathless from that one word. “This is all fun to you?”

“Very much so.” Pia laughed. “Oh, don’t clutch your pearls like that. Don’t you get a kick out of accepting some oligarch’s money in exchange for ignoring the world’s problems?”

“I do not.” Leilan winced as the point of the dagger poked deeper. A red dot of blood started to swell from under his dress shirt. “I’ve never done that.”

“A House member with integrity? Thought they all died out.” Pia’s grin spread wider. “Don’t worry, you’ll be joining them—”

Without warning, she slashed the knife across his chest. Leilan let out a cry of pain and shock as the blade tore through his skin, a wake of blood staining through the white fabric behind it. The glee on her face never wavered.

“But I think I’ll take my time with it,” she purred.

Leilan’s heart stuttered with panic. But even through his realization that this was it, all he could think about was how somewhere in this palace, his friends were at work, oblivious and possibly facing threats of their own. He hoped with everything he had that they’d make it out alive— they had to. The only thing he could take comfort in was knowing that at least they wouldn’t be dealing with Pia.

As the blade started digging into his side, he flinched— not just from the pain, but at the sound of breaking glass. Stunned, he looked up to see none other than the astronaut crashing through the palace window.

He wasn’t wearing a helmet anymore, and for the first time, Leilan could see his appearance. He was tall and probably from the West, with dark curls of hair, deep brown skin and a resolved expression on a handsome face. Twin blooms of blood stained the front of his orange spacesuit. The astronaut’s dark eyes were fixed on Pia as he rose to his feet.

Pia momentarily froze, just as shocked as Leilan, but she must’ve understood him to be a threat. She stood and reached into her MagicBox, flinging a hasty spell, one Leilan thought was Force designed to immobilize him. But the astronaut simply raised his hand, and it was Pia who was thrown back and tossed to the wall. She sputtered with disbelief, thrashing against the coil of magic that bound her there.

With wide eyes, Leilan watched as Pia struggled to cast a new spell. Strangely, the astronaut did nothing to stop her, examining her impassively. The moment she finished it, however, the spell lit up and activated before she could move, let alone snap her fingers. Leilan shouted and curled up protectively as the wall cracked into a spiderweb, bursting apart from the power of what had to be Tremor. Dust filled the air and his back got pelted with stone debris, and he was certain that at any moment, the ceiling would be next. There was no rational thought to hold onto. Only primal terror.

He heard the sounds of what might have been Pia hitting the ground with a shout, then the scuffle of hasty footsteps over rubble. Leilan managed to peek in time to see her running for the same window the astronaut had smashed through, leaping into the gaping hole without a look back. The astronaut’s eyes narrowed, and for a moment, Leilan thought he might give chase. His fingers twitched near a gun attached to his spacesuit. But he must’ve thought better of it, because he turned away from the window, and the rumbling of the hallway went silent.

Leilan remembered to breathe and managed to sit upright again, but he couldn’t do anything about the pounding of his heart. He was all too conscious of the crater in the wall next to him and the stickiness of blood on his skin. None of this made any sense.

He froze when the astronaut moved to stand in front of him, knowing that after that incomprehensible display of power, he’d be helpless against him. But all the astronaut did was look him up and down, his gaze lingering a little longer on his bloodstained shirt, and Leilan understood his goal wasn’t to hurt him.

“You’re not supposed to be here,” the astronaut said. Definitely from the West, with an accent just like Leilan’s.

Leilan coughed, waving dust away from his face. “Could say the same about you.”

The astronaut hummed. “That’s where you’re wrong.”

Leilan struggled to come out of survival mode as the astronaut took a moment to examine Kasumi and Autumn, who were still lying silent and unconscious. A shiver traveled down his spine.

"Who are you?” he whispered, stomaching the pain the words gave him.

“A friend of a friend, maybe,” the astronaut said simply, taking a step back.

“Maybe?” Leilan didn’t like the way he said that. “What are you doing here?”

Instead of answering, the astronaut pointed to Autumn’s still form. “Are you with her?” he asked.

Leilan nodded tightly. “Yes.”

“Alright.”

And before Leilan could move, the same spell that had bound Pia materialized around him, trapping him against the wall with barely any room to breathe.