“The bane are feeding,” Cassandra explained, showing us heat maps on their tablet. “Not enough to kill, but enough to sustain themselves while they build strength for something bigger.”
“Something bigger like what?” I asked.
“That’s what we’re going to find out.”
As our convoy entered the city, I could feel it immediately, that wrongness in the air, the subtle distortion of reality that accompanied bane activity. My serpent tattoos tingled, the magic in them responding to the proximity of dark matter.
“Those are infused, aren’t they?” Cassandra asked, nodding to my arm tattoo visible after I’d pushed up my sleeves in the heat of the car.
I nodded. “They’re made of dark matter crystal infused into the ink.” All eyes went to the tattoos, especially Nightfall. “I got them the year I manifested. They help temper my magic, but not by much. They come in handy for detecting the bane though.”
“Good. That’ll help us today. The city’s saturated. Multiple small incursions rather than one large one. It’s an unusual pattern.”
We parked near Rittenhouse Square, a busy area full of shops and restaurants. People walked by, going about their Saturday activities, completely unaware of the invisible threat lurking among them.
“First incursion point is two blocks east,” she said, checking her device. “We’ll approach on foot, standard formation. Nightfall, you shadow us exactly. No heroics, no deviations from protocol.”
Percy nodded stiffly, clearly not used to taking orders from someone else.
As we moved through the crowds, I watched the humans around us. They couldn’t see us for what we were, thanks to the perception spells all zodiacs had in their blood naturally, but some of them shivered as we passed, their bodies registering a change in the energy field even if their minds couldn’t process it.
If humans truly knew that beings from other galaxies, integrated into society for thousands of years right under their noses inhabited this world, there would be civil unrest in the streets, and utter chaos and panic.
“There,” Cassandra pointed subtly toward a narrow alley between two upscale boutiques.
I saw it immediately, a ripple in the air, like heat rising from pavement but with an oily, unnatural quality. A small bane incursion point, barely the size of a dinner plate, but actively pulsing with dark energy.
“Level two, maybe three,” Eris assessed quietly.
“Good eye,” one of the red-haired twins approved. “I’m Maya, by the way. That’s Lenore.” She nodded to her sister.
Cassandra stepped forward, eyes glowing gold as she extended her magic toward the incursion point. “It’s fresh, less than six hours old. Small but still too stable. More could come through at any moment.”
But something felt off.
“Wait,” I said, stepping forward before I could stop myself. “There’s something coming.”
Lenore shot me a sharp look. “You’re supposed to observe only, Black.”
“No, she’s right,” Cassandra said. She stepped back, golden light fading. “Jupiter, what do you feel?”
I approached the ripple cautiously, my own magic rising to the surface. I called on my Ophis power, letting it flow throughme and into my tattoos for focus. The serpents writhed against my skin, responding to the proximity of the bane.
I felt it before I saw it. There was a sudden surge of dark energy that made my tattoos burn against my skin. The ripple in reality expanded violently, tearing open like a gash mid-air.
“Get back!” I shouted, but it was too late.
The portal exploded outward, and dozens of bane poured through. Not the small ones we’d been expecting, but full-sized nightmares with too many limbs and gaping maws, talons, and teeth. They moved like ink through water, their forms shifting and stretching as they flowed into our reality.
“All teams, converge on Rittenhouse Square!” Cassandra’s voice cut through the chaos, her fingers already flying to her comm unit. “Multiple level five entities, repeat, multiple level fives!”
My mind snapped into combat mode as the first bane lunged toward me. I dodged, rolling to the side as its claws gouged the concrete where I’d been standing.
Percy’s voice filled my head through our bond.Defensive formation, now!
We moved as one unit, the weeks of training instantly paying off. Aiden and Percy took point positions, their blades and magic flaring to life. Eris and Draco flanked them, creating a diamond formation with me at the center.
More!Draco warned through the bond, his purple magic already forming protective barriers around us.
