When Evantra awoke, the pain ringing in her head had disappeared. Her hearing was no longer muted, her ear canals no longer filled with blood from ruptured eardrums. She leaned forwards and realised that her broken bones – wherever they had been – had all been mended.

  Her freedom of movement was impeded for a different reason.

  The only lights in the room in her vision were the glittering pair of ruby eyes before her, along with a pair of crystal blue above them.

  She had no need for [darkvision] to discern who it was she was talking to.

  Blinking, Evantra strained against her gag and bindings, as she watched Elaine and Lancelot regard her with neutral expressions. Neither individual betrayed any modicum of emotion in their features, as if they were waiting for her to cease in her struggle.

  Evantra relented.

  The silence drew on for another minute, until Elaine saw fit to end it.

  “The Veil is a beautiful thing, Mordred.”

  Evantra carefully watched the woman as she leaned forwards, resting her elbows on her legs.

  “For all the despair that it has wrought, it brought miracles. Occult artefacts that defy reason. That make playthings of the laws of nature. They are gifts, Mordred. Gifts that will allow humanity to surpass its limits to grasp at heights yet unclaimed. The Veil…”

  Elaine trailed off, the undertone of reverence clear in her words.

  “Has allowed us to end an era of mediocrity. There are entire worlds at our fingertips that lie unexplored, which the rabble degrade and diminish as ‘Mythic Veilsurges’. Wonders and horrors we have yet to witness. Yet to harness.”

  Elaine paused, her voice softening before she broke out into a genuine laugh. It was perhaps the first that Evantra had ever heard from her lips, so often poised to ridicule her.

  “Or that is what I would say, were I playing the stereotypical villain. Evantra, how do you think humanity has persisted through the apocalypse brought by the Veil? Anything beyond a mundane ghoul already surpasses the average human in raw anatomical potential. Our intelligence and technology were all we had left to leverage, but even the cutting edge of our best tech was insufficient. I’m sure you know as well as I do, where the advances came from,” Elaine said with a slight smile.

  “They came from the Veil. Our greatest advances were derived from the very thing that condemned us to our deaths.”

  Elaine’s voice was soft as she continued, possessing none of the mocking acidity that usually coloured her tone.

  “When we first arrived at Wisptown, we noticed the most curious thing. With our relic, we detected readings coming from within Wisptown for approximately a day or two from our arrival, before they abruptly disappeared. It coincided with the appearance of Mundane Veilsurge in one Carmen Alvarez’s home.”

  Evantra remained silent.

  Elaine continued, her voice was calm and clinical, delivering her words without condescension.

  “We took an interest in you long before you realised it, Mordred. The only reason an artefact would disappear like it did would be if it was abruptly removed from the range of our detection, and any movement would be tracked gradually with the trajectory from our compass. What we observed was a sudden, unexplained disappearance. Still, it was no coincidence when the artefact in the raid disappeared just as conveniently. Magicked away by the very same person that our compass pointed towards upon our initial arrival.”

  Elaine nodded.

  “Do you think I’m upset, Mordred? That I disapprove of your actions?”

  Evantra just calmly stared into the corpo’s ruby eyes unblinkingly as the woman’s lips finally broke out into the slightest smile.

  “I admire ambition. I see a lot of you in myself. Having the courage to lie to the people who trusted you to have their backs, who you had become comrades with, in pursuit of your own goals. There have been many instances where Clark and I have favoured Ghostslayer candidates, but never an instance where we favoured the same individual. You changed that, Evantra Blair.”

  The woman stood to her feet.

  “Forgive the inconvenience. There is much about your abilities that interests us. I have always been fascinated with…”

  Ruby red eyes flashed.

  “Magic. Your heist was impressive. Undetected, barring the slightest moment where you disappeared from sight in the security cameras positioned by the metal detectors, which could easily be chalked up to a stutter in the software. Waltzing straight past our infiltrator, no less, to secure your prize. No… using her to secure an alibi.”

  She felt hands untie her gag, but she remained silent. Evantra watched as Guinevere shimmered into existence, walking out from behind her, the gag in her hands. Bright, green emerald eyes joined the sapphire and ruby of Lancelot’s and Elaine’s in the darkness.

  “You killed him. For your ritual.”

  “Trevor Foster? Yes.”

  “Why.”

  Evantra spat the word with vitriol, her muscles straining against her restraints, as covertly as she could manage. Elaine paused, pondering over her question.

  “It is a phenomenon that you’re familiar with, I’m sure. The poltergeist that you so impressively evaded in the Lost Territories. Do you remember anything peculiar about its territory?”

  When Evantra didn’t reply, Elaine simply continued.

  “It was devoid of Veilcreatures. Both the presence, or even the death of ghosts is exceedingly effective at clearing Veilcreatures from a given location. It is an efficient solution when you’re aiming to carry out a higher risk ritual, where the muddying of human souls with that of the Veil might undermine it. Trevor Foster was simply a means to an end, but he was not an end in itself. Addressing a risk to be managed."

  Elaine leaned forward, ruby eyes twinkling like mocking stars in the dark.

  "You see, ghosts operate on a sliding scale. A spectrum. The stronger the ghost, the more rules they break. In the case of a spirit, the stronger it is, the easier it is for it to possess whoever it wishes. But for weaker spirits to inhibit a body... a link is required. It is easier for a spirit to inhabit the body of one connected in some way to the victims that fuelled its summoning. Often one with an emotional connection, or so my paranormal experts inform me."

  Elaine paused, tilting her head.

  "And Trevor Foster was endearingly passionate about his responsibilities. The perfect locus for this particular spirit. Were you fond of the man? If so, I’m sorry for your loss.”

  The woman paused, continuing to fix her with a neutral expression. Dread welled in Evantra’s gut, knowing exactly why she was waiting.

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  “My family.”

  As if to confirm her suspicions, Elaine Hallewell smiled.

  “It was an excellent plan, really. But I’m afraid no one is leaving Wisptown today.”

  Evantra stared into Elaine’s hypnotic, glowing red eyes, which blinked once, before the woman rose. Evantra hung her head as she heard Elaine walk towards the door of her holding cell, Lancelot and Guinevere trailing in her wake.

  “Now, if you would excuse me. We have a ritual to conduct. I’ll be seeing you soon,” Elaine’s garnet lips curled into a red crescent.

  “Our Magical Girl Ghostslayer.”

  ***

  Evantra’s throat grew coarse from her screams after the first half hour. She continued for another hour, to no avail. She attempted to use [razor claws] to inflict damage on the door to her holding cell, but barring superficial scratches, her efforts amounted to nought.

  Trevor.

  Caliburn fuelled the ritual for Trevor’s possession by the spirit with the souls of the women that they murdered. All to clear the area of the Veilcreatures drawn to Wisptown.

  They’re planning to use the entire town to fuel their second ritual.

  The bombs.

  Evantra slumped against the cold, dark grey walls. Caliburn had ensured that she had received the quality treatment that they could have afforded. Her eardrums that had burst were now healed. The bones she had broken, though she was unaware of which she had, were mended. After learning of her nature, it seemed as if she had become merely another prize for Elaine Hallewell.

  “Fuck.”

  Evantra’s lips twisted into a wry smile as the word escaped her lips.

  “Sorry for breaking my rule, mum and dad.”

  Click

  Evantra leapt to her feet as the door to her cell creaked open. She winced as the light from the corridor outside suddenly entered the room. As she blinked, she was slowly able to make out the silhouette in front of her, before the darkness returned as the door began to close shut.

  [Darkvision]

  Evantra’s body was coiled and ready to lunge out, [razor claws] at the ready, the second the man walked into her periphery.

  If I activate the [ritual of concealment], I could evade someone with cybernet—

  Then she hesitated, seeing the look on the man’s face.

  “Clark?”

  Clark Hallewell softly shut the door behind him. Clark Hallewell strode forwards with slow, soft steps. Guilt was written across his features, which were contorted into an expression of pain. Thick burrows were furrowed, and his large fists were clasped tightly at his side.

  “I’m truly sorry, Evantra. I don’t understand why she locked you up—”

  “Clark. Do you know what Elaine is planning?”

  Clark frowned, shaking his head.

  “Beyond imprisoning you? I only heard from Guinevere when she passed me that Elaine was holding you in a cell—”

  Guinevere?

  “Never mind that. Elaine has planted bombs underneath Wisptown. She plans to sacrifice the town to fuel a ritual that she’s preparing. She killed… my friend, by possessing him with a spirit to clear the Veilcreatures from the town so the ritual maintains its purity.”

  Clark stared at her in horror, his eyes widening in surprise as Evantra rapidly and concisely summarised Elaine’s plan. A look of sheer fury flashed in his eyes, the muscles in his jaw bunching up as he processed Evantra’s words, taking her at her word. It took everything in her to resist the urge to tear past the man and to sprint towards the exit. Even if the answer was written on his expression, she asked it nonetheless.

  “Did you know?”

  For an excruciating minute, the man paused. Evantra expected his expression of shock to twist into one of ridicule, to reveal his true colours and twist the dagger that had already been driven into her chest.

  “No. No,” the gargantuan man’s shoulders fell. “My sister, planning a ritual. No, mass-murder. She has always been ambitious, but I have never seen her so single-mindedly obsessed as I have now.”

  “Clark, there’s no time. Where are Elaine and the other Ghostslayers?”

  Clark’s eyes seemed to widen in recognition.

  “She said she was reserving the multipurpose hall for something, that it would be off limits for a while. That must be where she and the other Ghostslayers are. She ceased drilling operations today, and I assumed they were prepping it for another celebration, or maybe cleaning up after the last. I’m going to put a stop to this madness. Here.”

  They have found the relic they were searching for.

  Elaine must be conducting the ritual any moment now.

  She watched Clark thrust his hand into his pocket, extracting a plain, white keycard which he handed to her.

  “Use my keycard to get off the barge. There are emergency pods past our quarters, on the top floor. Hurry. Leave town once you’re clear of the ship.”

  “Clark… I should go with—”

  “No. She would sooner put a bullet in your head,” Clark’s voice darkened like Evantra had never heard it before. “Worse, implant an explosive microchip at the base of your neck so that she might dictate your every action,” she watched his eyes flash, his cybernetics analysing her. “She must be in a hurry, seeing as she hasn’t done so already. This explains why she’s sent all of our staff surfaceside.”

  Evantra gritted her teeth, her mind whirling as she thought of her possible options. Her eyes widened imperceptibly, and she looked up at Clark.

  “Can you give me your phone? I can think of a few ways to help. Please, we need to hurry.”

  The man hesitated before extracting his phone and passing it to her, telling her his passcode. Evantra’s gaze lingered on the large man. The corpo she had always distrusted as the sibling superior at deception.

  “You’re a good man, Clark.”

  Evantra gave the man a pained smile, which he returned in kind.

  “Thank you. For everything.”

  With that, Evantra rushed out of the room.

  ***

  Ghostslayer Rank: Ghoul (Level 8)

  Catalyst: Darkstalker (level 1)

  · [Razor claws]

  · [Darkvision]

  · [Clot acceleration]

  Catalyst: Ionian Mimic (level 5)

  · [Conceal]

  · [Object mimicry]

  · [Stonerooted]

  Reserve catalysts:

  · Mistheart (Level 8)

  Rituals:

  · [Ritual of consumption]

  · [Ritual of Veilsight]

  · [Ritual of concealment]

  Veilsouls: 1,045

  [Ritual of concealment]

  Veilsouls remaining: 1,035

  Evantra’s eyes momentarily widened when she glimpsed the balance of her Veilsouls, but she quickly returned her attention to the task ahead of her. She had slipped into a deserted side room to make the calls that she needed.

  Before making her first call, Evantra stared at the black display, biting her lip. She let out a long shuddering breath as she gripped her temples, her arms shaking.

  I’m putting them all in danger by just asking.

  I… I have to do this.

  “Cypha? Cypha, are you there?”

  “Preacher? Is that you? This isn’t your number—”

  “Cypha, I need you to listen carefully to what I’m about to tell you. Are you in the junkyard?”

  “Yes, is this about another romp—”

  “Cypha, Caliburn has placed bombs in tunnels that they’ve drilled underneath Wisptown. They’re preparing for a ritual, and they intend to use the town’s souls to fuel it.”

  “Hey, is this a prank—”

  “They killed Trevor Foster today by implanting a ghost into his body. Listen to me now.”

  Evantra heard Cypha fall silent on the other end of the line at her cutting tone. When Evantra heard the techrat’s shaky breathing on the other end, she knew she finally had the girl’s attention.

  “Here’s what I want you to do.”

  ***

  Evantra gripped the phone tightly in her hands before she made her second call.

  “Minh, It’s Evantra. I need your help. Caliburn have set explosives underneath the town in preparation for a Ritual. You heard about Trevor Foster, right? That was them.”

  Minh paused, and Evantra merely heard a gruff grunt on the other end of the phone.

  “Minh… can you help organise an evacuat—”

  “I’m on it.”

  Without another word, Evantra heard the receiver click. Evantra bit her lip, before she let out a shuddering sigh.

  There’s no time. I need to stop this, here and now.

  Evantra exited the room and sprinted down the hall, making her way towards her next destination.

  The armoury.

  ***

  Noelle’s POV

  Noelle looked at Carmen and Lucas, seated next to her on the floor of one of Caliburn’s all-terrain trucks.

  They had established a blockade.

  All vehicles making their way out of Wisptown had been halted, the drivers and passengers impounded in the huge trucks. All around her were a spattering of people from Wisptown who had similarly made the journey. When she had tried to warn Evantra, she realised too late that Caliburn had jammed all signals in the vicinity, ensuring that word couldn’t get back to the town’s residents.

  Any cars that had tried to turn back or swerve around the blockade had been ripped to shreds, from the vehicles resting on either side of the bridge over to the blockade. The moment they were in Caliburn’s sights, they had no choice but to comply with their instructions.

  It was a good thing then that she had taken the necessary precautions.

  She had no doubt that the Nezha drone was flying to its programmed location. Flying low over the ground through Demeteria’s continental greenhouses – far beyond Caliburn’s immediate reach. She had sent it on its way the moment they had left Wisptown’s boundaries, along with a tracker. If Caliburn did have another means of tracking the artefact once they were aware of its theft, its presence would endanger Carmen and Lucas.

  She looked at the woman sitting beside her, leaning against the interior of the gargantuan truck. Carmen Alvarez and little Lucas were bound and gagged just as she was, but she sensed a rage behind the other woman’s hazel eyes. She could see red marks across her wrists, where she had strained against her binds in an attempt to loosen them. Lucas was leaning against his mother’s arm, but in the place of fear was a similar anger which she glimpsed in his mother’s eyes. They had hidden Taco under one of the car’s seats while Caliburn’s soldiers had approached their vehicle.

  All around them were other residents who had made the trip from the town that evening, and more were being shepherded into the all-terrain trucks next to the blockade.

  Evantra…

  Stop them.

  Gunfire erupted around them.