“Lu!”
He wraps me in his arms, then I turn and look at the men in the room. “I wish Wes were here…”
“Yeah, yeah. If you give a mouse a cookie,” Cosmo drawls.
I swirl around and poke my finger on his chest. “Cut. It. Out.”
Surprisingly, Cosmo grins. “Just calling it like I see it.”
Fair enough. Maybe it’s not so far from the truth.
“Alright, let’s get going,” Alexis says, but I can tell by his tone that he’s amused. After trekking the tunnels for ten minutes, we meet up with Willow and Duncan. I give both of them huge hugs.
Settling into the meeting room, Willow clears her throat. “So, er, I’ve something to announce.”
“Whatcha got, Bloomhower?” Donovan asks, throwing a paper dart at her like we’re in middle school.
Willow grins. “Well, you are looking at the newest Elite heading to Electus Tower.”
“Shit, yes!” I leap towards her and squeeze her tight again, then turn back to look at Alexis. “Thank you, thank you.”
“It was your idea,pulu. Crankshawe told me she didn’t want any details, just a valid reason to promote her, so there we have it.”
“You and Watson will still have to get crafty,” Max winks.
“Actually,” Alexis says, his tone amused. “I’ve assigned Willow and Naomi adjoining rooms.”
Her eyes grow wide. “I’d kiss you, but I don’t think Theo would like it.”
“Yeah, I’d not like it either,” he says, looking a little uncomfortable. “But we should move on. We’ve only a week to perfect our plan.”
A week until Cosmo’s engagement party, then one day later?
The Dunamis Pulse.
The atmosphere instantly changes.
Alexis and I move to the front of the room. I let him speak first.
“So, we all know Janine Hart is filled with dark energy. Traditional spells, no matter how powerful, will not work against her. Furthermore, she is now protected against non-magical attacks.”
Cosmo nods. “The Conclave have perfected bullet and blade repulsion casts. No one is going to shoot that bitch dead.”
“What about my arrows?” Donovan says, looking smug. “I’ll just ‘William Tell’ her ass.”
“Really?” Alexis asks. “Do you want to tell everyone what happened when you tried shooting against the building site wards? Your arrows didn't just miss; they were physically pushed away.”
Donovan slumps. “Fine, that wasn't a success, but I can work harder, shoot harder.”
Somehow, I don’t think the problem is strength.
“The wards don’t register shifted forms when you pass through them. Why do they defend against Dono’s arrows?” I ask.
“It’s the intent,pulu. An arrow is an attack that the wards register. Just traveling through them doesn’t register as offensive. It doesn’t alert the wards at all.”
Shit. “So the ascended Elite are protected from anything that has an intent to attack them?”
“That’s what I’d surmise."
