Merrick glanced over Lachlan’s shoulder. “They can’t be. I think we’d feel the power coming off them even from here if they were gods.”
“Are they more of those messengers?” Trace asked. “Like the ones who came to Magic Blessed just before the preliminary competition?”
“Probably.” I peered over Lachlan’s shoulder, his whiskey and ginger scent tickling my nostrils as I leaned close to him to get a good look at the city in the distance. “It makes sense. We already know that mages live in the realm and serve the gods.”
Trace shook his head, wrinkling his nose. “I heard they’re more than just messengers. They do everything. They’re servants, concubines, and house staff. They pretty much take care of everything in the city while the gods rule everything from the main palace building.”
Lachlan sat back, wiping the dirt off his hands. “We’re goin’ to have to go in disguised. From the looks of it, there are only two choices here. We either go in as gods, or we go in as servants.”
I shook my head. “There’s no way we’re gonna pass as gods. I’m sure they can sense it or something. It would be much safer if we went in as servants. We just have to figure out how to get our hands on their uniforms.”
Slowly, we began to make our way around the city, scoping out the gate that surrounded it and the activity inside. After about thirty minutes of walking through the brush in a low crouch, Merrick held up a hand to stop us. Then he jerked his chin toward the city of the gods.
“There. That gate up ahead—there are no guards there. It seems to be some sort of private servant entrance and exit.”
Biting my bottom lip, I peered through the leaves and branches, staring down at the gate he had indicated. It was much smaller than the larger gate we had seen earlier, which I’d assumed was the main entrance to the city. The guys all gathered close, and we watched as mages, all dressed in similar uniforms, walked in and out of the city through the small gate. They wore long, dark blue cloaks with gold emblems on the front and the hoods shading their faces. I could barely see any of their bodies.
Merrick pointed down at the group. “Those are the servants of the gods. Their messengers, like the ones they sent to visit the academy. They’re the ones that are closest to the gods themselves. I think that’s definitely what we need to take aim at.”
The other two men agreed, and so did I.
“Well, it’s pretty early in the day,” I whispered. “We can either take our chances and spend the night here, or we can try to intercept some of the messengers as they head out of the city and steal ourselves some mage robes. What do you guys think?”
The three of them looked at each other, then Merrick nodded. “I say we do it. There’s no reason to wait any longer.”
Trace dipped his chin in agreement, and Lachlan shot me a slightly feral look. “So how are we doin’ this? Are we usin’ magic to disable them, or are we goin’ to smash some heads?”
I laughed softly, sliding my pack off my shoulders and hiding it underneath a bush so that if we actually made it back out of the gods’ city, I would be able to find it. Merrick did the same, setting his pack next to mine.
“I think we should use magic,” I told the burly Irishman. “I’m pretty sure smashing skulls is going to catch the notice of at least one or two guards.”
Lachlan looked highly disappointed, and I patted his shoulder as we began to make our way down the hill, sticking to the cover of the bushes as we headed toward the city. “Don’t worry, big man. I have a feeling there’ll still be plenty of chances to fight.”
I just hope we can win those fights.
I shoved down the worry that tightened my stomach. We were all powerful and good in a fight, but there was no doubt in my mind that the gods were stronger than all of us. But there was no point dwelling on that or letting fear paralyze me.
After we reached the bottom of the hill, we waited for several long minutes, barely daring to breathe. Finally, a group of four mages emerged from the servant door and walked along a small path that would bring them close to the shrubs we hid behind. We were out of view of the guards posted at the main entrance, so this would be the best chance we’d get.
Trace whispered a spell as he held his hand out, palm up, and blew on it. A burst of sparkling magic fluttered from his hand and up around the mages’ faces. One of them let out a low grunt of surprise, but before they could do anything more than that, all four of us leapt on them. Trace’s spell had slowed and disoriented them, and it gave us the opening we needed to gain the upper hand. I managed to wrestle my target to the ground, wrapping my legs around his neck in a chokehold and squeezing with my thighs until I felt his body go limp. I let magic pour out of me as well, wrapping around him and binding him tight.
By the time I was sure he was out, the men had taken care of their mages as well. Just like the ones who had come to the school, the four messengers we had disabled practically oozed magic. If we hadn’t taken them by surprise, I wasn’t sure we would’ve been able to take them out at all.
That was a good sign though. It meant that perhaps the gods’ city wouldn’t be too closely guarded. They clearly considered themselves safe from any threat in their own realm. The messengers had been relaxed, not on alert.
I grabbed the man’s ankles and pulled his body into the bushes. The men did the same with their targets, and we began to take their robes. We needed to move quickly, before they woke up.
Once we’d removed their garments and slipped them on, all four of us combined our magic to create bindings to hold them. I was sure it wouldn’t immobilize them for too long, but it was the best we could do.
Straightening the stolen robes, which were just a little too big on me, I looked around at each of the men. “Alright, let’s go. If we get separated and can’t find each other, we meet back at the hill crest where we first saw the city. Whoever doesn’t show up, we’ll come back for you.”
All three men nodded. Their gazes burned intensely, and I could practically feel their muscles bunching and shifting beneath their robes. I could tell they were on guard, and I didn’t blame them. My body vibrated with a fight-or-flight impulse too.
We had come all that way though, and I wasn’t turning back without answers.
Decked out in our robes, pulling the hoods as far forward as possible to shield our faces, we rose from the bushes and headed back toward the city. No guards stopped us, and no other mages seemed to question our presence as we passed through the servants’ city gate. We didn’t speak to each other, just walked in formation, doing our best to keep our heads down and blend in. It was hard not to look at the city though. The place was unlike anything I had ever seen before.
The buildings appeared even more enormous from the ground, and everything looked spotless, as if they polished each stone every single day. We turned the corner onto the main thoroughfare leading to the large palace. As we did, the men slowed, and I glanced around at them.
Merrick leaned toward me, whispering. “Look ahead and to your right.”
Keeping my head tilted down, I shifted my gaze up and to the right and saw two men, taller than everyone else, draped in golden robes in an opulence that rivaled the city around them.
Gods.