“What would you do without me?” he’d asked one day several years ago when he’d spotted a grunt from a rival gang about to mug her in an alley off Lyra Avenue. Aina, only fourteen and still getting used to her training, hadn’t seen the boy, but Kohl had found him almost instantly.
“I don’t know,” she’d muttered, unable to say why it had frustrated her so much at the time. Even then, she’d known agreeing with him was the safest choice.
She wished she could go back in time and change her answer, tell him she’d never needed him at all. If that boy had mugged her, she would have dealt with the consequences. If Kohl had never brought her into the Dom, she would have found her own path. She wouldn’t have starved to death or suffocated on glue, alone in a back alley of Kosín.
She tried to convince herself of that now, but every time she came close to finding him, he vanished. Every time she had a clue, it proved fruitless.
Kohl had money, an entire gang working for him, and plenty of skill and weapons. She had all of that too, and they would continue running for each other’s throats and just missing until one of them had something that would give them the upper hand.
Something to put her a step ahead of him, something Kohl himself had never even dared to do. Something to give her power that the rich, like Bautix, hated simply because it wasn’t money and steel. Something the people of this city had always turned to when they had nothing else.
Her parents had used it to heal. She would use it to kill. She would beat Kohl at his own game.
Once they’d met with Tannis and Lill and retreated to an alley nearby, Aina looked around at them all and voiced what everyone had feared since the civil war.
“I want to learn to use blood magic,” she said, her voice a whisper yet freezing all of them in place. “To fight.”
4
“You what?” Lill asked. “Are you even an Inosen?”
Their alley was empty, lit only by moonlight streaming in from the main road. Water dripped from a pipe into a puddle near the mouth of the alley, and a rat dug through garbage with tiny, jerking movements. No other sounds broke the quiet night, but the hair on the back of Aina’s neck still rose. Anyone could be listening in Kosín.
But part of her no longer cared. Kohl and Bautix feared nothing, and neither would she.
“My parents were Inosen, and I used to be,” she said in a harsh tone. “I know the magic is risky, but—”
“Yeah, anyone seen using it gets instantly killed by the Diamond Guards,” Lill said, tossing her hands in the air.
“You think I can’t handle any Diamond Guards who come after me?” Aina asked flatly, one hand gripping a knife out of frustration—and if Lill didn’t shut up, she might use it on her. “I want to use the magic to fight, but even a tracking spell would be useful at this point. I can’t kill anyone if I don’t know where they are.”
“I asked my aunt June about doing a tracking spell to find Bautix,” Raurie said, crossing her arms, an uncomfortable look on her face. “She doesn’t want to get involved in anything to do with this mess, and none of the Sacoren will agree to bless us to use magic—even for nonviolent reasons. They know we’re angry enough to fight with it, if it came down to it.”
“And you have every right to be angry,” Ryuu said immediately. Lill narrowed her eyes at him, like she thought he might be acting nice as some sort of elaborate ruse.
“The magic puts a target on your back no matter what you’re using it for,” Teo spoke up, not bothering to lower his voice; it seemed to echo off the concrete walls around them. “But we walk around with targets on us every day; this is no different. And we need as many weapons as we can get to stand up to them. It’s a good plan.”
Raurie’s gaze trailed northward then, and even with buildings blocking the view, Aina could tell Raurie was looking toward the Tower of Steel—the seat of all government and economics in the country of Sumerand, led by the four governors who comprised the Sentinel. Though none of them could see it from here, its presence always hung over the city like a shroud.
“They’re also hoping the Sentinel will lift the ban on our religion, since Bautix isn’t there anymore,” Raurie said, the silver moon adding a soft glow to the brown skin of her cheeks. “But when has the Sentinel ever helped us?”
“Never,” Aina agreed. “And if Bautix takes back the Tower, it won’t matter what the rest of the Sentinel thinks. He’ll kill them to rule on his own, and we won’t stand a chance. If I can find a way to learn the magic, would you want to join?”
Silence fell on the group as everyone pondered the question, but Aina’s determination only grew. She had no clue where to find a Sacoren—a priest for Inosen, like June’s aunt, who could bless others with the ability to use blood magic—but she’d worry about that later.
After a long minute, Ryuu spoke up first. “I will.”
Lill’s eyes cut to him sharply, as if she couldn’t believe what he’d said. “Why would you? You’re not an Inosen, and it’s not like Bautix would ever have a reason to fight you at your pretty mansion in Amethyst Hill. When was the last time you were punished for your beliefs, Steel boy?”
“When I lost my parents for them daring to help the people who shared their faith. I’ll do whatever I can to help.” He brushed back the black bangs that had fallen in front of his face and met Aina’s eyes. Her heart ached for him—she remembered how they’d met, how they’d learned to trust each other while coming from completely different lives—and now she couldn’t imagine not being friends with him. She couldn’t blame Lill for doubting a Steel by default. But Ryuu had more than proved himself.
“Ryuu lost his whole family because of Bautix and Kohl,” she said softly to Lill. “If there’s any Steel we can trust, it’s him.”
Lill didn’t reply, but her cheeks reddened a little as she backed down. Then she cleared her throat and said, “I’ll do it. I want to fight the Jackals and Bautix.”
“I’m sick of hiding and playing it safe,” Raurie said, tearing her eyes away from the Tower and looking out at the streets around them. “My aunt is scared of what will happen if we fight back, but it’s better than sitting and waiting for an attack, or hoping for the Sentinel to do anything for us. We have to help ourselves. I’m in.”
They split up soon after that—Teo to his apartment north of Center, Ryuu to Amethyst Hill, and Raurie and Lill to the safe house, while Aina and Tannis walked back to the Dom together. They kept quiet as they walked, and Aina noticed Tannis hadn’t said a word since Aina suggested learning blood magic. Her expression gave away nothing now either; her eyes were fixed on the horizon ahead, as if she were searching for the Dom.
The streets narrowed as they walked deeper into the Stacks, where slanted metal and cardboard homes stood so close together on the steep hills that it looked like they were stacked on top of one another. Though it was the place Aina felt most comfortable, her senses heightened now. All her life, she’d never seen it so quiet, so empty of life. The only people outside were those who had nowhere else to go. She began to count down the blocks toward reaching the Dom, a ritual she now did every night. In her dreams, it always disappeared in a puff of smoke, a mirage that had never really been there.