He noticed Cristescu holding Tegan and walked over, running his hand softly over her face. “Ah, you survived, little one. I knew you would,” he murmured.
Cristescu’s eyes cut to the sorcerer. “You were with her?”
“I was. I got caught up chasing Theodore, and Tegan was left with the witch …”
“Enough,” Cristescu cut him off, quietly fuming. “We don’t have time for this. Theodore is releasing his chaos onto the city in only an hour. I expect you’re ready to cast your spell?”
“Absolutely. But I will need to release Emilia.”
“So, release her. Just get it done.”
He finally left carrying Tegan. Alora followed behind him with the First Aid kit tucked under her arm. Fifteen minutes later, I was standing in a circle with Gabriel, Alvie, Delilah, Ira, Cristescu, and Emilia. Roman transported us all to Campion Row, where it was now jam-packed with humans gathered for the rally.
The avenue was just how it had been in Alora’s vision. Dread filled my gut as I remembered how the chaos entered the bodies of the humans, killing them on the spot. If Roman wasn’t successful here, then the vast majority of us were as good as dead, including me.
When I looked at Roman, I saw he was holding a huge ball of shimmering red string, energy humming from it. He handed one end of it to Emilia and began instructing everyone else to take hold. When it was my turn, I noticed how he wasn’t just giving me the string, he was magically fusing my hand to it.
“This is a very rare and potently magical material. We are going to use it to create a vein of magic that will run through the gathered crowd. Think of it like an electrical wire. In this case, the ends are the most important parts, and therefore the strongest casters need to be holding them. Those two people are Emilia and me. Be as inconspicuous as you can; we cannot afford for Theodore to figure out what’s happening.
“Emilia will walk to the lower end of the avenue, and I will walk to the top. Once the spell has been cast and Theodore has released his chaos, believing all the humans to be dead, that will be our moment to strike. I will be closest to him, so I will be the one to catch him. Make no mistake, he will have many tricks up his sleeve to get away. That’s why it’s going to take all of us to kill him. I will cut off his head, and young Gabriel here will douse him with petrol. Mr Roe, I will allow you the honour of setting his body alight.”
“I can do that.”
Addressing Cristescu, he said, “You will have to restrain the daughter. She could prove troublesome, and you are the only one with the physical strength to outmatch her magic. Get her hands first. If you can keep her from moving them, then she won’t be able to use magic against you. You will be beside me in the line.” He paused and looked at each of us in turn. “Once I summon the magic, only those holding the string will be able to see it. Any questions?”
We all shook our heads. I was surprised Emilia hadn’t put up a fight since she was basically being forced into taking part. Instead, she remained stoically silent. Maybe she was sane enough to realise this was all for the best.
“Very good. Please ensure there is at least thirty yards between you and the person next in line. We need to cover as much ground as possible.”
I found myself being the second last person in line next to Emilia. She started to walk swiftly down the street, and I waited a minute or two before following her. I wasn’t entirely clear on the details of what Roman planned to do here. I was guessing he simplified it for us just now, but I put my blind faith in him.
With so little time left, we didn’t exactly have any other options.
By the time we were all lined up and camouflaged into the gathered crowd, Theodore had stepped out onto the temporary stage that had been set up at the top of the avenue. He stood in front of a microphone and coughed to clear his throat. People cheered when they saw him, shouting praise and declarations of faith. Some even held up banners proclaiming him as their savior.
They’d all been drinking some serious amounts of sorcerer Kool-Aid.
I spotted Rita standing off to the side of the stage wearing a long, flower print dress, her hair in two short pigtails.
The string in my hand started to pulsate.
“Thank you all for coming today,” Theodore said, his voice booming through several speakers that had been set up around the area. “As some of you might be aware, I have taken the liberty of putting together a foundation to fight against the vampires. You are all welcome to join, and there will be sign-up sheets circulated at the end of the rally. Now, before we get down to business, I would like to observe a one-minute silence as a mark of respect to those we have lost in recent weeks. Please, take hold of the hand of the person beside you to signify your solidarity.”
There were hushed whispers of approval among the gathered crowds before they all began to take each other’s hands. I realised Roman had glamoured us all to be invisible because nobody looked at me or tried to take my hand. A ripple vibrated through the string and zipped into my body. I heard Roman chanting in my head now, even though he was halfway up the street. He wasn’t speaking in any language I could understand, but his tone struck a chord. A deep-down part of me sensed that something miraculous was about to happen.
He stood close to the stage, but Theodore couldn’t even see him. If ever there was a case for choosing good over evil, then this was it. Theodore was at least twice Roman’s age, and yet Roman’s magic was potent enough to render himself invisible to the ancient sorcerer.
“Close your eyes, hold your neighbour’s hand, and think of all the lives that have been lost and all the lives that will be saved because of your dedication to this cause.”
The crowds fell silent, and now I could hear Roman’s chanting even louder in my head. My pulse sped up, and it felt like there was electricity shooting from the string and into my body. I felt it intensely, rushing through my system. The red of the string started to glow, and I saw little glittering veins spreading out from it and into the crowd, connecting one person to the next.
Once a person got connected to the string, a bright red glow formulated around their body. This was amazing. My mouth was gaping open as I watched.
My amazement was cut short when the bright morning sky began to darken. I glanced overhead and into the distance to see a black chaos cloud approaching. Everyone in the crowds had their eyes shut, so they had no clue what was coming their way.
I reminded myself that Roman’s string was going to protect them all from dying. They’d go to sleep and wake up at the next sunrise. Turning my head to the stage I saw that Theodore was no longer closing his eyes and faking like he was observing a minute of silence. Now he was staring at the people before him with a sick, twisted smile on his face.
His entire body practically hummed with anticipation. He was getting a kick out of this. He wanted to watch the chaos kill all these people. Soon the mist had blocked out all the light, and I could barely see a thing. It might as well have been the middle of the night. The only way I could see anything at all was because of the glow from the string and the magical veins that connected each person to the one standing next to them.
Just like when I’d been inside Alora’s vision, the chaos descended from the sky and invaded the bodies of the humans, slipping into any opening—mouths, ears, eyes. Seconds later, there was a sound I hoped to never hear again. The sound of thousands of bodies dropping lifelessly to the ground.