Collision: The Alliance Series Book Three (5 page)

Everyone shifted uncertainly, but nobody spoke. Ms Weston was in full-on manic mode, and no one dared argue with her.

“One quick one,” said Raj. “Is someone watching the magic levels? Is there a pattern? Because if there is, it might help to predict when it’ll happen next.”

“Yes,” said Ms Weston. “The trackers work to an extent, but we’ll certainly put the tech team on the case.”

“Are all the incidents being reported, then?” I asked. “I think the Alliance ought to make an official statement, and quickly, before the rumours get out of hand.”

“And before our reputation takes another hit,” Raj added. “Is that the council’s plan?”

“Naturally, it is,” said Ms Weston. “The last thing we need is more bad publicity, both on Earth and offworld. The newspapers have had quite a day with stories of griffins and flying cars.”

“And unicorns,” added Ada.

Ms Weston gave her a stern look. “Yes, and unicorns. Kay, Raj, Iriel, go to the main Passage. Carl and Ada, gather your patrol in the entrance hall. Pick reliable people who are used to dealing with magic and won’t panic if things go bad. And take stunners–more than one each.”

Ada nodded, her face set. For all we knew, the disturbance might have come from the Passages themselves. They certainly contained a crap-ton of dispersed magical energy. But it didn’t come from nowhere. Something
must
have happened on another world. For all the ridiculous headlines, no way could the actual cause of the event be on Earth itself and not get picked up by the Alliance. But why an offworld event had had such an effect on Earth was a mystery.

The group parted in the entrance hall, Carl and Ada heading to the guard office. I fought down the urge to remind Ada to be careful. She knew already, of course. But like me, she was linked to magic, and it had almost killed her before. She’d been scared half to death she’d accidentally hurt someone–a fear I knew too well, because up until recently, I’d thought magic turned you into a lightning rod, striking down anyone who got too close. But that was only true in unstable magic zones like the Passages. In worlds where magic was commonplace, it could be controlled. In a way, that made it even more dangerous, because if something went wrong, it
really
went wrong. Like Ada’s homeworld, Enzar, where the nonmages had exploited magic-wielders, or magebloods, until they’d rebelled and tore the world to pieces in magical warfare. That world was too far out of reach to have a major effect on the Balance.
I think.

What if one of those distant worlds
had
caused the ripple effect? It was far from impossible, even though if the doorways were kept closed, none of the raging magic could reach the Passages. Ada had said the Enzarian refugees reached the Passages via a transition point far from the actual war zone.

Still…

Raj, Iriel and I made for the doors. No flying cars greeted us outside, but the distant sounds of singing and shouting drifted from the direction of London Bridge.
Tourists.
I spotted a crowd gathering outside the front gates, but guards stopped them getting into the car park. As for the back gates, guards stood at both ends of the back street to stop over-curious people wandering over here. Central had had enough media attention already. West Office, in the heart of London, was more well-hidden, but Central was like a beacon. Add in the war that had almost erupted on our doorstep and it didn’t surprise me that the souvenir-toting stalls from the centre of London had migrated over here like they expected a West End show.

Inside, the Passages were louder than usual. The noise grew as we followed the route to the main corridor, where chaos greeted us. Usually, the twin rows of doors to the various worlds were open, though guarded, and the space between filled with people travelling between the worlds. Now, however, the normal crowd became a panicked crush. People–humans and non-humans–jostled and shouted and trampled each other in an effort to cross from one door to another.

“Hey!” I called to the nearest guard, who I recognised as one of the group who usually stood outside Valeria’s door. “What’s going on?”

“You Earth people should get out,” said the Valerian guard. “Magic’s going crazy in here.”

“It’s happening on Earth, too,” I said. “Level’s way higher than it should be, and fluctuating. We’ve been dealing with issues all day. How’s it on Valeria?”

“Heightened. No accidents yet, but there’s a lot of contention in the offworlder communities.”

At that moment, a bolt of red lightning shot over our heads, making every nerve in my body respond as though I’d handled an electric switch.

People with an internal magic source will be in real trouble
.

“I can imagine,” I said, peering over the crowd. No way to tell where the bolt came from, but the panic level climbed. The crowd jostled one another and a green-skinned guy had started a fight with dude who had a coat of real feathers growing from his arms. Punches flew left and right and several people staggered back, away from the magic bolts sizzling from the green guy’s skin.

“Stop that!” I shouted. “If you use magic in here, you’ll knock off the Balance even more.”

“What’s it to you?”

Ignoring caution, I edged my way between them. Behind me, Raj sighed with exasperation. The green-skinned guy glared at me, magic flaring from his hands. Klathican. They’d recently patented magic-based implants for super-speed and whatever other enhancements people wanted, and the black market had got hold of ones with questionable effects almost immediately. Idiots. I’d worked with Raj and Iriel to get them shut down, but some of the people who’d bought the temporary boosts illegally must have gone offworld.

I had to deal with this fast.

The feathered guy glared at me, too. “Move it. This is none of your business, Alliance guard.”

“Ambassador, actually,” I said, “which makes it my business.”

The noise around had quieted as people saw the action and realised they were about to get some free entertainment. Great.

“You watch it.”

The feathered guy threw a punch, which I blocked with my forearm, stunner already in hand. I fired a shot at the green-skinned guy as he crept up behind me. He collapsed, swearing, and two metal-armed Klathican Alliance guards dived on top of him. Blocking a second hit from the feathered guy, I zapped him with the stunner, too.

By now, more Alliance guards had gathered, and the second guy crawled away as he saw he was far outnumbered. Klathican Alliance guards locked both guys up in cuffs. I didn’t take my eyes off them until I was sure they were secured. Technically, with an internal magic source, both had the power to blast the corridor to bits. Lucky most people didn’t know that.

“He shouldn’t have been able to do that,” said the Alliance guard holding the green-skinned guy, to his partner, in Klathican. “Those implants don’t work offworld, even the dodgy ones.”

“Clearly, they do,” I said, also in Klathican. “I’d put a ban on people with them coming out here until this mess is sorted.”

“That’s the plan. You’re Earth, right?”

“London, yeah. We’ve offworld devices acting up worldwide. I don’t suppose anyone knows where the disturbance came from?”

“No. Our Alliance team’s looking into it.”

“Same with ours.” I glanced around for the others and saw Iriel speaking to several people with blue-tinted skin and webbed hands–must be pure-blooded Zanthan. At least the crowd had dispersed somewhat, as the Alliance representatives from various worlds got things under control. And all the doors were closed.
Good.

Raj joined me as I went over to Iriel. “Do you have a death wish? That guy could have had anything implanted in him. Bloke in here a minute ago knocked three people out cold with a super-strength booster.”

“I had the stunners,” I reminded him. “They work twice as well on magic-wielders with implants like they had.”

“Still.” He shook his head. “I don’t like this. Never been something on this scale before, unless you count the ruckus at Central.”

Yeah, and at the time, it had taken days for the other worlds to get the details on what exactly caused the disturbance. But it had mainly been contained on Earth.

A jolt went through me, making me look up sharply.
That was almost second level.
Several people jumped, and someone screamed. A group of tourists from Alvienne fell to the ground, writhing in pain.

Shit.
If not for the magicproof uniform, I’d have been hit by the same thing. As it was, my hands tingled so much I could barely keep them steady on my stunner.

“What was that?”

An Alliance guard ran into view at the corridor’s end. Carl. “There’s a rogue magic-creature upstairs!” he shouted.

Ada had been with him. I moved quickly, ignoring Raj’s protest. “What happened?”

“Kay, we need backup.” Carl punched the communicator touch screen. “I’m putting a call through. We’ve seven of our people up there already. I’ll give you three authorisation. We need as many magic-wielders as possible.”

“Got it,” I said, drawing my stunner.

“Right.” Carl tapped his communicator. “Use your stunners–they’re the only weapon that’ll work. Second stair on the left!” he shouted after me as I ran, Iriel and Raj on my heels.

The second floor meant nothing good. It meant volatile worlds like Enzar.

A wave of magic slammed into us, throwing everyone off their feet. The stunner dropped from my hand as the magic surged through it, the skin of my palm searing like it was on fire. I came upright to see a bolt of lightning fly overhead, bouncing off the walls.

“Stay down!” I shouted.

Behind me, Raj swore. “That’s third level!”

Third level. Someone was aiming to kill.

CHAPTER THREE

ADA

The moment we entered the Passages, I knew we were in trouble. Magic surged around me, making the hairs on my arms stand on end. It had climbed at least one level since I’d last been in here, and I hoped I wouldn’t have to use the stunner. The Alliance’s magic-based weapons overreacted when I used them at the best of times. Even though I knew I
could
control magic, it seemed too much like tempting fate to use it in the Passages under normal circumstances, let alone now. Our patrol moved closer together as we veered away from the path to the main Passage–the sounds of a commotion echoed from that direction, but Carl shook his head.

“We need to make sure nothing’s happening around the second level.”

My heart dropped. The second level was reached via hidden staircases, but only elite guards were allowed to patrol up there. I’d not worked at Central long at all, but I guessed the circumstances called for it, seeing as there were so few magic-wielders. I’d known magic was a rarity, but when I’d seen the small group of us gathered in one room, it really hit me.
There must be magic-wielders at other Alliance branches
. Surely.

And Carl didn’t know–no one at Central knew, except Kay and perhaps Ms Weston–that I could feel magic levels when they rose in intensity, and if I fired the stunner, I might well lose control of it.

The tunnel-like staircase ended, and the second floor’s blue-lit corridor appeared deserted. The Passages blocked all natural sunlight anyway, but this level felt like all warmth had been leached from the air. I’d been here too many times to count, to meet with Delta and help refugees sneak through to the hidden Passage on the first level behind another concealed stair. But I’d never sensed magic this strong around here before.

A noise ahead. I tensed, and Carl held a hand out, indicating we slow down and keep quiet. Our padded shoes made no sound on the polished floor, and as we crept around a corner, a blurred reflection passed by in the wall, too quick to make out what it was.

I pulled out my dagger, heart beating faster. The stunner vibrated in my pocket.
Crap.
I didn’t dare use it, not with the magic level this unpredictable.

The shape passed by again. At first, I expected the shadow of a chalder vox or another Cethraxian creature. But they didn’t normally venture near the upper level.

Smoke gathered in front of us, bringing the group to a halt. Shadowy reddish smoke formed the outline of a lion-sized beast.
Pure magic,
I thought, with a shiver. Then:
oh, shit.
Regular weapons didn’t work on these creatures. Like the gigantic kimaros from Aglaia. But to beat that, I’d needed stable magic. And there wasn’t any here.

Heart in my throat, I pulled the stunner. Sparks immediately shot from the end, and I winced.

Carl struck at the creature with his stunner. An electric jolt split the smoke and the creature yelped. A creeping feeling curled around my spine, and I turned in time to dodge a second pair of insubstantial fangs as they snapped inches from my head.

I aimed the stunner at the beast and fired, a jet of red-purple lightning sparking off the walls. The creature screamed, but a louder noise overlaid it: a tremendous roar from ahead.