Infernal Alliances

By Thomas K. Carpenter

Allies can be found in unlikely places.

The threat against the Hundred Halls grows clearer by the day—the barrier between Invictus and the demonic realm is breaking down. In hopes of stopping the invasion before it begins, the Order of Merlin must court alliances with powerful beings who have their own suspect motives. The mages will also have to come to terms with the demons of their own pasts, solve the conflicts within the Hundred Halls, and put themselves and their futures at risk if there is any hope of surviving.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Thomas Carpenter
• Release date: Feb 21, 2023
• ISBN: 9780463725689

Thomas K. Carpenter

Thomas K. Carpenter resides in Colorado with his wife Rachel. When he’s not busy writing his next book, he's out hiking or skiing or getting beat by his wife at cards. Visit him online at www.thomaskcarpenter.com, or sign up for his newsletter at https://www.subscribepage.com/trialsofmagic.

Book preview

Chapter One

The air was thick with power and golden light. Invictus held out his aged hand as if he were catching snowflakes, not the infinitesimal particles of faez. A tiny glimmering dot descended onto—and then through—his palm, bringing a brief creasing of his eyes.

Invictus reached into his gray robes to make sure the package was still resting in the inner pocket. The clothes were a bit cliché, but he enjoyed the mystery that they presented. He'd thought about shifting his look to a nice, tailored suit, but feared that he wouldn't inspire the same fear and adoration that he did in the traditional robes of his craft.

A great whooshing sound echoed through the cavern. His chest tightened as he assessed the glowing runed wall. Flame the color of an oil slick danced across the surface of the outer shell. The well of earth had vented excess faez. Invictus could feel the pressure on his skin. It was familiar—refreshing, bringing old memories to the forefront, the labors of centuries. Yet, there was darkness too. He couldn't look at the well without feeling an ache in his heart. Not tired. He was that too, but this was the feeling of standing on the edge of an abyss, toes jutting over, the endless expanse tugging him forward.

A marvel of magic and pure will, said a voice coming up from behind.

Invictus had heard him five minutes ago, traversing the tunnels, cursing at each stumble.

Thank you for coming, Malden.

Invictus turned in time to see the shimmering field around the head of Coterie of Mages dissipate, either by the action of its owner or the instability of the faez-rich air. Gray hair tainted the edges of his usually dark hair. The mottled scaled flesh on his jaw looked cracked and painful, as did his right eye, blotched with crimson. Malden squeezed the bandage on his arm as if it was causing issues.

Are you well, my friend? asked Invictus.

Malden took a spot by his side and stared at the metal casing that kept the well from exploding from the constant buildup of faez. He touched the gray hair at his temple.

I'm not Celesse. I don't have time for vanity, especially when I already look like this.

Does it hurt?

Now more than ever, said Malden with a sigh. It feels awake.

If it causes you more discomfort, come see me, and I'll make a poultice.

Thank you. Malden arched an eyebrow. But we didn't come here to swap healing advice like a couple of old midwives.

How is your Hall?

More frowns. I feel like I'm presiding over a yacht club. The unbound scholarship of the past is...well, that...a thing of the past. Half my students come with no intention of using what they learn, only to use that badge as a key to unlock the doors of wealth. The other half are too timid, or ill-prepared for the rigors of high arcana. I have half a mind to knock the whole thing down and start over.

I'm sure you recall when half of Adele's students could be considered domestic terrorists, the way they went after the zoos and private collectors with a certain amount of intensity.

Malden chuckled, which brought a brief grimace of pain. Intensity? They killed dozens, and then more died when the creatures they set loose went after unsuspecting humans.

Adjustments were made and now her Hall is functioning as she intended, said Invictus.

You didn’t bring me down here for a lecture on running my Hall. You've never cared about that.

No, said Invictus, staring into the prismatic lights exploding from the steel casing. I haven't. It's been of secondary importance.

He didn't need to look over to feel the naked apprehension radiating from his companion.

It's time, isn't it?

Without looking over, Invictus nodded. It's time.

I fear what's to come.

As do I.

Is that why we're here? asked Malden.

No. Not yet. Not here, anyway. I don't believe.

Malden turned to face him. You never have doubts.

On the contrary, I'm filled with them, said Invictus. But as a crotchety old man I've made more mistakes than all the patrons of the Halls combined, so I tend not to look so self-flagellating about them, even when some of them have been quite horrific.

Malden nodded as if he understood, and as one of the oldest patrons, he had more knowledge than most. Invictus assumed he'd probably researched his past, which meant he knew the extent of his crimes.

I'm inspecting the wells, said Invictus.

Malden said nothing. There was no need to.

I need a favor.

The head of Coterie nodded once. His eyes shifted to the well and then back.

I need you to deliver a message.

A message? asked Malden apprehensively. "There's only one reason you would ask me to deliver a message."

You are correct, my friend.

Invictus handed over the package. The thin metal box was covered in ancient runes, an intricate interlocking design that few human eyes had seen. Malden hesitated before grabbing it.

Are you sure?

Promises were made and now is the time. I'm certain.

Malden stared at it as if it were a ticking bomb. It will cause unrest.

I know.

The elder patron looked away to the well of earth, so Invictus joined him. Coming down to the well had always been like watching an eclipse, or a volcano erupting. It evoked a primal fear in Invictus that felt like homecoming.

May I ask what it says?

Invictus nodded thoughtfully.

It's time to come over.

Chapter Two

The smell of fresh dirt and flowers filled Pi with unimaginable dread. The concrete pathway echoed with their footsteps, surrounded by a meticulously kept lawn. A line of black cars passed while other somber guests strolled through the endless sea of headstones.

Why am I here?

Aurie tugged on her dark gray overcoat. I wanted to visit them.

"But why am I here? asked Pi, hating the tension in her voice. We'll be back here in a week for the funeral. I hate these places."

It won't be here, said Aurie.

You know what I mean.

Aurie glanced sideways. Thanks for dressing up.

It's the one place I'd rather not stick out, said Pi. The last thing I want to do is piss off the dead.

Her sister led them off the winding path. Pi was careful not to step on the graves. She wished the voices in her head would help distract her, but since she'd woken up that morning, they'd been quiet as, well, a funeral.

Here.

Pi frowned at her sister. It wasn't like she didn't know they'd stopped at their parents' gravestones. The verbal reminder was unnecessary. And annoying. She almost walked away. Take a lap around the cemetery while her sister communed with the dead, but she knew the stoic exterior was a front for a cauldron of emotions.

Nahid Silverthorne. Kieran Conor Silverthorne.

The headstones bore their hall badges. Book on gear. Caduceus. Nothing about the Order for their mother. They'd both died nearly anonymous as far as the world was concerned, when they should have been celebrated as fallen heroes.

And those that call her friend ignore the seeds of the past, said Aurie with a heavy sigh. She knelt forward and set the bouquets of flowers on their graves. Purple thistles for Kieran. Water lilies for Nahid.

That's why we're here?

It just seemed the right place.

Pi sucked air through her teeth. We're not going to do a séance or anything weird like that, because I'm out.

Aurie chuckled lightly. I would if I could.

I know. You've always wanted answers. To know the truth, as if that's a thing you can know.

I don't know if that makes you more or less suited for Arcanium. When I joined, I thought it would help me reckon with their deaths. If only I could know whether or not I had caused it.

Every kid plays Five Elements, said Pi. You just got unlucky that there was a gas leak.

Aurie frowned, hanging her head. "Whenever I repeat that line of the prophecy, ignore the seeds of the past, my brain tries to convince me that it's ignore the sins of the past. This is the first thing I think of."

How would it change anything if you knew the truth?

It probably wouldn't.

Yet here we are.

Aurie fiddled with the buttons on her coat. I thought I'd gotten over it, but that prophecy brought up so many questions.

You are aware that it probably came from Elosian and is a bunch of bullshit designed to distract us, said Pi.

Absolutely, said Aurie, but as skilled a liar as Elosian is, designing such a thing requires hewing close to the truth so that the true falsehoods are disguised.

True falsehoods?

I can't explain it, said Aurie. It's like how I know when people are lying. I think that's why my brain can't get over that line. He made a mistake by putting it in there.

Or it's another trap.

Aurie nodded. Or it's another trap.

For the record, I trust your instincts, but I gotta bust your balls. Pi lifted her foot to adjust the fit on her high heels. I hate these things. I don't know why I agreed to wear them.

They'll be more broken in for Ares' funeral.

Yeah, said Pi. What a fucking bad break. The guy survives an encounter with Elosian himself a few years ago, along with other messed-up shit, and then gets murdered in what should be a safe place by some vagrant with a gun.

They don't know it's a vagrant.

They said the guy smelled like he'd shit himself, said Pi. And he was living in the Undercity. That's the very definition of vagrant.

Shame they didn't catch him.

Totally.

Do you think...?

Elosian? Of course, said Pi. Moriganne was about to go back to Thailand. If what they say is true about that tattoo, then she might be the key to this whole thing.

Which makes us assholes for convincing her to come back, said Aurie.

Wouldn't be the first time.

Aurie put a fist in front of her mouth.

Seeds of the past, said Pi.

From their death until I joined Arcanium, I thought I was the cause. Aurie pressed her hands together as if she were kneading dough. And then after our first year, it became a binary idea. Either I killed them by using the Five Elements when I wasn't supposed to, or it was Professor Trebleton. But now there's a third possibility.

A third? I don't understand.

Aurie faced her. Emotion had drained from her face. Dread bubbled up in Pi's chest, making her swallow.

Our parents were trying to find the Rod of Dominion so they could heal Invictus once they brought him out of stasis. It was the only way, they thought, that they could save him. Trebleton never admitted to killing them, and in retrospect, I believe him. But there was someone who wanted Invictus dead more than anyone else. If he could remove him from the equation, then he'd have a much easier time without the head patron's opposition.

The weight of her words pushed Pi down. She felt like she was sinking in mud.

Elosian.

Aurie looked out over the cemetery. I wonder if they knew. Or if he was a voice in the shadows during their time?

There's something I've been meaning to tell you, said Pi, a tightness around her chest making it hard to breathe.

Aurie raised an eyebrow.

When I passed out at the barrier. The last time I tried to renew it. I had another vision.

A memory fragment from Invictus?

Pi bit her lower lip. I don't know. It was different.

Her sister put a hand on her upper arm and gave a squeeze. Three times isn't coincidence. Twice at the barrier and once in the Verum Locus.

Tell me about it, said Pi, exhaling slowly. "The first vision was clearly from Invictus. A memory left over from the stasis after being trapped for seventeen years. The second time it was only Elosian. He called my name. He knew me. The last time was much worse."

Elosian?

I was standing by his side in the Spire. I held the Rod of Dominion in my fist. The city lay in ruins. He was praising me. I felt sick to my stomach. It felt like it was my fault. The invasion. Everything.

Aurie grabbed both shoulders. He's messing with you. Trying to get into your head.

He's doing a good job of it. But why me?

I don't know. Maybe the old connection between you and Pazuzu is still there. He knows you once sought power, thinks he can turn you to his side.

Pi closed her eyes. Rocked on her heels. It felt so good. Power coursed through my veins. I was like a god. When I woke up, I felt like a junky looking for their next hit. I craved power.

That's not you, said Aurie.

But it is, said Pi. It's why I went to Coterie rather than Arcanium. I wanted to make sure no one could ever do to us what they did to our parents. It's why I took the soul fragments. Sure, I was saving them, but I was also making myself more powerful. There were times when we were following the Wizard's Rainbow that I dreamed about being the head patron. Desired it.

But didn't you hear me? Elosian might have killed our parents. More than might. It seems highly likely, said Aurie.

You just want that because it's easier than knowing you were the cause.

I can't believe you'd say that, said Aurie.

Even if you were, it doesn't matter. It was an awful accident. Gas, magic, explosion. It's not too hard to understand. It's not like every other kid who could use magic didn't play with the Five Elements.

You don't think it was Elosian?

No, I do think it was him. Pi took a step away from her sister. She found herself on her mother's grave and stared at the headstone. I didn't tell you the most disturbing part. When I looked down to the city, I could see every detail. The battles, the fires. Everything. But most of all I could see Invictus. He stood at the head of a vast army.

That's great, said Aurie. He was going to strike back against Elosian. Send him back to the infernal realms.

No, said Pi. He stood at the head of an army of gigantes, and the Rod of Dominion was no longer in my hand, but in Invictus'.

Chapter Three

The bridge tattoo ached, either in memory of Ares' passing, or surrounded by the demonic runes of his scholarship. There were dozens of notebooks filled with his writings. Notes. Drawings. He'd spent the last few years writing as if he was running out of time. He was.

Do you think he knew he was going to die? asked Moriganne as she peeled back the front of a green notebook. A formula for some kind of potion was on the inside, but it included mercury, so it couldn't be for human consumption.

Kitty was seated at his desk, reading through some documents on his computer. Ares had been kind enough to leave his password in an easy to find location, unlike Solstice after her passing.

We're all gonna die.

You know what I mean.

Kitty spun on the chair halfway. It wasn't an accident.

Don't believe some homeless guy from the Undercity killed him?

Not for a second.

Moriganne hugged her arms to her chest. Neither do I. She wandered around the interior of the main floor. The second floor was his residence, and the upper one was mostly storage. Reagents for elixirs. Warding salt. And so on. From the old plates covered in crumbs, it appeared Ares spent most of his time on this level.

Where did he get all these books? Some of them are in languages I don't recognize. Moriganne ran her fingertips across a shelf of tomes. I ran away while he stayed to prepare for what he knew was to come.

There's still time to stop it, said Kitty without looking away from the computer screen.

I'm beginning to feel like that's less of a possibility. I thought I made the right choice in moving to Thailand, keeping the sigil out of the city, but now, here I am, right back in the thick of things and Ares is dead.

This would be a lot easier if you were helping, said Kitty.

Right. Moriganne pulled up a chair to the former kitchen table, which was covered in books. What am I looking for?

Anything that helps us find his killer.

Why aren't we headed to the benehajar?

Kitty looked back. We're headed there tonight. But I wanted to scour this stuff before we left.

It'll take us years to read through all this. She lowered her voice. I wish Andy was here.

She'll be back for the funeral. She didn't want to miss the Toronto shows, said Kitty.

I don't blame her, said Moriganne. After being captive and nearly dying, I understand her choice, I just wish she was here.

Me too.

She opened her mouth but Kitty cleared her throat loudly. Moriganne took the hint to get to work. She started skimming the notebooks and tomes, categorizing them into six piles: Montanhas, Elosian, warding runes, prophecies, faez levels around the wells of power, and the topics that didn't fit into any of those.

After Ares had nearly brought about the apocalypse by helping Victor, he'd thrown himself into preparing for the prevention of it. Moriganne hated the idea that he wouldn't be around after all that work, but life was never fair. If it was fair, then she'd have had the glorious professional singing career that she thought she was on track for and the family that she'd always wanted.

Moriganne turned her head and smiled at Kitty's back. She didn't get the family she thought she'd have when she was younger, but she did find one eventually.

Most of the material she read through made her eyes glaze over. Either she didn't have the vocabulary to understand the finer points like when Ares got into naming the anatomy of a dead mantic he'd rescued from the pit near the well of fire, or it was so obscure, like his theories on how ancient human languages had some relation to the Montas alphabet, that she lacked the scholarship to understand.

A notebook that did interest her was a summary of the faez levels at the four wells of power. As she'd learned when she found the machines beneath Stone Singers, the faez levels in the Undercity had been increasing steadily for decades. But unlike the past, there were now seismic rumblings to match the spikes. Much like Montanhas had been before the barrier collapsed, creating the disaster that they'd barely survived.

But Ares didn't think the levels were comparable. There was a lot of technical jargon she didn't understand, but she got the gist of his argument: the faez levels in the Undercity, while higher than in Montanhas, were not bad enough to overcome the barrier between realms. In the margins of his notes and in some of the tomes, she found his handwriting.

—How?

It was written frequently enough that she knew it was the underlying question of his investigation. The barrier between the realms was thin, but couldn't be broken without additional help. Even in Montanhas, the ability to pass through had been brief. No portal had been opened. A couple dozen gigantes, some scorpics, and a winged shadowy creature had entered the Lifestone plant through the barrier. Even then it wasn't like there'd been a tunnel. The initial scorpics that had entered had been in a strange egg covered in faez crystals. Ares speculated about the presence of the tiny, hardened pieces of raw magic, and referenced conversations with Ivan, but neither of them had come to any conclusion about them. Were they a byproduct of the transit or a necessary part of pushing through the barrier? Evidence of faez crystals had been found in the deep pits in the Undercity, especially around the well of fire.

The work went late into the night. Around two in the morning, they gave up and headed to the fourth ward. The Korean grocery store was closed, but that didn't mean anything to Kitty, who barely leaned down to tickle the locks before opening the door.

She wasn't sure where Kitty had gotten the codes for the elevator and didn’t care. The long ride down was met with silence. The society headquarters was different than she remembered, but that had been a day of unusualness and conflict. She wasn't surprised that her memories weren't clear. Kitty did a quick sweep of the facility before they entered the summoning chamber.

It's kind of ridiculous when you think about it, said Moriganne. They turned an organization for protecting the city into a drinking club.

It happened back in the 80s, said Kitty as she stared at the center of the summoning circle where they understood Ares had died after being shot.

There was no police tape and the surface had been scrubbed of the blood. No evidence of the murder remained. Invictus PD had been notified, but since they had no jurisdiction in the Undercity, they only recorded the facts given and confirmed the cause of death.

Why was he here? asked Kitty, face wracked with grief. Why come here? It had to be important.

Maybe he wanted to understand why Beckett performed the ceremony at the wrong time, said Moriganne, disagreeing with her own suggestion as soon as she was finished speaking.

Kitty crouched at the center of the circle. She scraped the floor with a fingernail, coming up with a fleck of blood that she flicked away.

Whoever did this, I'm gonna kill so slow they'll wish they'd never stepped foot in this city, said Kitty.

The smoldering fury made Moriganne hesitate. You said no more killing.

This is different. Kitty shook her head. It wasn't an accident. There are no accidents down here. Vagrants don't just wander in.

Moriganne didn't know how to argue otherwise.

Come on, said Kitty, striding toward a hallway. He was supposed to have gotten in back here.

The entire facility was supposed to be blocked off from the Undercity, but the report they'd been given was that a hole had been knocked through the concrete blocking one of the passages.

They found the entrance at the end of a natural cavern. Chunks of concrete lay around the narrow gap.

He couldn't have been big, said Moriganne.

On the other side, Kitty sniffed around the hole, touching the broken wall and heading up the passage. To Moriganne's untrained eye, the breaking of the wall looked fresh. Impact dust lay around the hole, though any chance of prints had been trampled when it'd been first discovered.

A minute later, Kitty came back with a convenience store jerky wrapper held by a pair of tweezers.

"I found this way up the passage. Whoever killed Ares tried