Chapter Eight
"What a bastard," Calder spat. "What a bastard!"
"What are we going to do?" Alejandro asked, running his fingers frantically along the side of his head. "How do we get back inside?"
"I should have thought of it," Calder added, starting to pace in his agitation. "I mean, where else would they be, really? And I just went and gave him his information. Of course he didn't want to go first."
"Perhaps if we alert the authorities," Alejandro suggested, half to himself. "After all, it is a prisoner situation, they must be able to gain access…"
"Emily would never let me come back," Calder said. "Death threats aside."
"It's my wife!" Alejandro shouted back.
Which was a fair point.
"Hey guys?" Martha said. She was leaning against one of the walls, which was covered in a yellowing foliage. She was toying with the compact mirror that she had brought. "Just thinking out loud here, but… What if we followed him to the Tower?"
"My wife," Alejandro repeated.
"Is locked up," Martha said. "Which isn't fun, I know, too well," she paused and frowned at that before she continued, "but so long as they aren't being slowly lowered into boiling oil, they're fine. We fix the actual problem and then the rest of it just...sorts itself out, right?"
Alejandro frowned, looking like he was trying to find the argument. After a moment, he found one. "How do we know they're not being slowly lowered into boiling oil? That's a vampire establishment."
Martha looked at Calder. "Am I misunderstanding the situation?"
Slowly, Calder shook his head. "It'd be hard to get off if you're not around to hear your victim's screams," he said logically. "I think Martha's right," he added to Alejandro. "I think they're probably safe until he gets back." Putting his hands on his hips, Calder gazed down the alley that Angelus had disappeared down. "I don't love the idea of leaving them here, either, but that fae Ivy has the soul and she's doing something with it, like, now. I say we stop that first."
"I want them back as much as you," Martha told Alejandro in a soft, reassuring voice. "Sometimes we just need to go in the opposite direction to get there."
Alejandro looked pale with worry but he didn't take too long to make his decision. He nodded. "Back to my car, then," he said.
Roscam Round Tower had been standing at the water's shore at the southeast edge of the city for well over 1,000 years, but hardly anyone knew its original purpose or who had built it. Almost everyone in the mystical community knew of its uses though. It could channel some of the most powerful magics and the nearby graveyard provided enough negative energy to satisfy the most demanding sorcerer.
Or so Martha was learning. There wasn't much else to do from the backseat of a car except wait while you hurtled toward the crisis; but there was one very important thing you could do: gather information. So she'd asked about this tower, and between Calder the Champion and Alejandro the Academic/Amateur Practitioner, they knew a lot.
On an important night like this, they said, it wasn't exactly surprising that Round Tower was in use; it was more a matter of who had been strong enough to claim the location for the night. And apparently - if the fae at Decade were to be believed (and Calder said he had no reason to think they weren't) - this Ivy changeling was the winner tonight.
"Which is kind of weird, to be honest. I mean, it's not like changelings are that powerful," Calder was saying as Alejandro sped through the dark streets.
"Think she had help?" Martha asked.
"Almost certainly," Alejandro said. "Changelings are amongst the lower tiers of the fae world." "Well, she's causing us enough problems," Martha said.
"Yeah, humans aren't considered powerful either," Calder said, "But that's never stopped us."
"Here, here!" Alejandro said. "But let's assume she has some assistance."
"Or at least minions," Calder said. "There's usually minions." "There are!" Martha agreed. "Where do you apply for minions anyway? Is there a union?"
"Actually," Alejando said, "I think there are in some cities."
"You're kidding," Martha said.
"Demon's got to eat," Calder said with a shrug.
They swerved and skidded a little onto the gravel drive leading up to the Tower, which loomed ahead in the darkness, faintly glowing for some (probably not-good) reason. It was a short driveway and on the other side of the low, ancient stone wall, a sleek black car was parked haphazardly. Bright light flashed near the base of the tower.
"How much time do we have?" Alejandro asked.
Calder checked the time on his Palm ring. "Seven minutes until the confluence," he replied.
Martha asked, "No idea what we're walking into?"
"Probably a spell of some kind," Alejandro said. "Which doesn't exactly narrow it down much." "Let's assume if it needs souls to power it, it's bad," Calder said.
Alejandro brought the car skidding to a stop close to the black car (Martha was going to assume it was Angel's) and they all jumped out. Martha reached back into the car at the last second to grab her mirror as Calder unsheathed his sword and Alejandro pulled a small black sachet out of his coat pocket.
There were several dark figures at the base of the ancient tower scurrying around the lawn like a fight was already well underway. Pinpricks of blue glowing lights spiraled all the way up the four-ish-story tower.
"I think we found the souls," Calder said as they hurried across the grass, pointing.
"Really?" Martha asked, trying to make sense of what she was seeing. The light seemed to be showing outward from the tower. Were they floating? Were there windows?
"Of course," Alejandro breathed. "The energy from the confluence is channeled through the tower and amplified by the souls inside. The spell workings must be inside the tower. Or at the top."
"So we grab the souls?" Martha said. "No more power amplification? Take out the batteries?"
"Si, that should do it," Alejandro replied.
"Can we get to them from inside?" Martha asked. "Are they in windows or what?"
"Not windows per se," Alejendro replied. "But small holes, yes. There is a staircase that runs around the inside that takes you to the top of the tower; that's typically where the spells are performed from. Occasionally a spell might require you to be at the ground, but those are quite dangerous, with the energies channeling all the way down the tower and gathering power. I certainly wouldn't attempt-"
"I don't need the full chapter, thanks, just the cliffnotes," Martha interrupted. "So we're looking for a magician at the top of the tower."
"A sorcerer, but-" Alejandro caught himself. "Fine, yes. A magician."
"Okay, and I'll watch your backs," Calder said, twirling the sword once.
Something large and heavy flew through the air toward them and landed with a very gross thud not more than a meter in front of them. Skidding in the grass to a stop, Martha was the first to realize what it was.
"A person," she said, shocked. She hurried over and knelt down next to the figure, feeling for vitals. Her heart fell immediately. "He's dead," she said. "His neck is broken."
Calder swore softly. "Henchman aren't usually human," he said. "Not for important things like this. This is weird. Lowly humans working for a lowly changeling won the Tower for a major confluence?"
"It doesn't make sense," Alejandro agreed. "But we don't have time. We need to- What are you doing?" he asked as Calder sheathed his sword behind his back.
"I'm not slicing open a bunch of humans, even if they're working for the bad guy," Calder said. He raised his clenched fists. "I know where to hit to knock them out. Or, you know, aim a kick." He mimed kicking between an invisible henchman's legs.
Martha's respect for Calder immediately rose and she could hear the Doctor's voice in her head going, Oh, Calder, I like you!
"Good lad," Alejandro agreed. "Let's go, then."
Calder pushed to the front of the group, his fists up and ready. He didn't look less prepared for having put the sword on his back again. Martha briefly wondered if she could ask for the sword, but she didn't want to hurt anyone either. She clutched the mirror in her hand instead.
"So we get inside," she said mostly to herself. "Figure out what's happening. Stop it." It was a vague list to be sure, but she had a list. Lists were what got her through med school.
"I think I can assist with that," Alejandro said as they followed behind Calder. He lifted the sachet he had pulled out of his pocket, preparing to throw it. "I'll create a barrier to our right-" (Oh good, Martha thought, because Angelus was in the middle of the biggest piece of action to the right), "-Calder, focus on the left and we may be able to get inside."
"Got it," Calder said. His attention focused on one of the moving figures on their left.
Now that they were closer, Martha could make out the shape of another human man. He looked muscled and was wearing what she would have pegged for a gym outfit. Had she been expecting cloaks to go with the fairies and magic? Yes, but she had been learning that it took all sorts. He certainly looked determined enough as his attention fixed on Calder and his fists clenched into balls.
"Hey, buddy," Calder said, in a casual, "what's up?"
The man didn't answer and both of them swung their fists at each other. At the same time, Alejandro threw his pouch to their right. It spiraled through the air and landed at the feet of a tall woman and the air shimmered like a hot summer day, energy rippling up into an impression of a wall that shot up twenty feet and outward until it intersected the stone tower wall.
Alejandro swore. "That's bigger than I was expecting," he said.
"Great for us, come on," Martha said as she grabbed his arm and sprinted for the tower. She could see the individual ancient stones and make out the shapes of the holes where the blue light shone out. It was hard to tell if the holes were intentional (murder holes, maybe? Did this used to be a castle?) or just the consequence of the structure being around for a thousand years.
"The magic is already amplifying," Alejandro said. "Whatever the spell is, it's powerful."
Martha ran faster. There was a doorway at the base of the tower and she headed for it. She heard the thud of fists meeting muscle and grunts to her left. The shield to her right crashed as a body hit it. She briefly looked at the sound and spotted Angelus standing over a limp body, his face twisted and wrinkled and fangs bared in a snarl. They briefly met eyes as Martha and Alejandro reached the door. Martha was very grateful for the barrier between herself and that monster.
That is, until Angelus took a few slow steps back, his gaze slowly rising to the top of the rippling energy. Martha remembered the leap he had taken in the alleyway. "In," she said, shoving at Alejandro's back. "In. In. In."
They tumbled through the door into an old stone room as Angelus took the two running steps. Martha slammed the door before she saw the jump, leaning her back against the door. Alejandro joined her, fumbling at his pockets.
"Do you have another one of those barrier things?" Martha asked.
"Yes, I-"
Something hit the door with a terrible crunch, impacting so hard Martha felt it rattle through her skull.
She and Alejandro weren't going to be able to keep Angelus out. Martha pulled Alejandro away from the door and toward the back of the circular room just as there was another impact against the door and a louder crunch as the frame broke and it wobbled limply open, Angelus's dark form filling the doorway.
A hiss sounded from the stairs and both parties looked over to see Ivy descending the ancient stone steps. She was dressed in an emerald robe, her eyes glowing an unearthly green, her teeth elongated into sharp points, and woody vines twisted in her hair.
"You have something of mine," Angelus growled, his yellow eyes flashing with anger.
Ivy hissed again; her skin looked more and more like bark, veins forming into ridges on her arms. She lifted a hand and whispered a few words, but before she could finish the spell, Angelus drew a knife from inside his jacket and threw it at her face. Ivy released the spell early, deflecting the knife with a flash of light and a gust of wind so it clattered against the wall and spun across the stone floor, spinning to a stop in the center of the room.
Angelus snarled and jumped for the changeling, who ducked, rolling across the floor and tumbling back up to her feet, her fingers lengthening like a timelapse of growing branches. With thorns for nails.
Alejandro pulled Martha's arm as Angelus leapt for the changeling again. The stairway was open.
They fled from the fight, both monsters locked in an exchange of magic and fangs.
As Martha ran up the stairs, the air seemed to grow thick and the hair on her arms stood up like she was standing near live wires. The staircase was narrow and didn't have a railing; Martha kept one hand on the stones to her right for a sense of balance as they raced higher.
"Wait, wait!" Martha said to Alejandro as they passed a small opening in the wall. On the small ledge floated was one of the glowing cylinders, suspended in what looked like containerless, floating water, wobbling amorphously in the space.
The Doctor would have been able to explain it. Not in a way that made sense to Martha, probably, but with confidence that yes, this could also fit in a rational world. Like witches. And starships.
But he wasn't here and so some part of Martha just had to grapple with the idea that the water and the cylinder and the soul were all held up by magic.
"Is that it? His soul?" she asked. "We could see at least a dozen from outside."
"I don't know," Alejandro said after a moment of thought. "Don't touch it: the spell has clearly started and the energy is powerful enough to burn our skin off. Here-" he crouched on the stair, sweeping his fingers over the stone ledge until he gathered a small pile of dust. He whispered a few words and tossed the dust in the air. It moved unnaturally, like it was drawn by some pull and clung to an invisible, pulsing line that ran from the soul to something high up in the tower. As they watched, the dust seemed to multiply and branch off, illuminating other lines from other souls up to the top of the tower. "There," Alejandro said, his voice and accent soft - Martha noticed it was becoming less high-British and more Spanish. "That's the connection."
"What happens if we break it?" Martha asked.
"Depends on the spell."
"Best case?"
"The spell ends."
"Okay, worst case?"
"We sink Ireland."
Martha took a deep breath. "So...figure out what the spell is."
"We'd better," Alejandro agreed with a nod.
They heard a crash below them and a shriek that was so animalistic that Martha wasn't sure who was winning the fight. "Quickly," she said.
Scrambling up the stairs, Martha followed Alejandro's movements as he ducked and twisted around the dust-channels so that they didn't walk right through the energy lines. They circled two more times before they could hear movement and the swish of heavy robes along with a low baritone chant.
Slowing to a creep, they climbed the last curl of stairs with soft footsteps until they could finally catch a glimpse of a hooded figure holding a small book, walking across a wooden platform dotted with smoking candles. The sky above glittered with stars. The wood platform seemed oddly new, but Martha supposed it made sense: if this tower was often used by local sorcerers for magic spells, they'd have to maintain the ancient tower to some degree. The smoke from the candles curled thickly through the air, gathering behind the robed man.
Alejandro took in the scene with wide eyes while Martha listened to another crash below. Light flashed up the center of the tower. "Well?" she whispered. "Do we break it or rewire it or...push him in? Does that smoke look extra swirly to you?"
Alejandro swallowed. He waved Martha back down a few stairs, out of sight of the sorcerer, following her closely. "I think it's a portal," Alejandro said softly.
"To where?"
Alejandro shrugged. "Could be any number of places, but given the changeling and the location and the timing...I would guess the Fey Wilds. Or...somewhere in that realm."
"How bad is that?"
Alejandro looked at a loss. "It's...not technically hell," he said.
"Hell was an option?"
Alejandro shrugged again.
"How bad?" Martha asked again.
"Bad. I think they have dragons."
Martha thought that sounded kind of cool, but appreciated the idea of dragons and the reality of a giant, fire-breathing lizard that wanted to eat you left a wide gap to be filled with a lot of destruction.
"How do we stop it?" Martha asked.
"We-" Alejandro looked around. "In theory...the energy from the souls is amplified by the tower." Martha nodded. "Okay, we have a lot of energy. And it's going to be...gathered upstairs with the right words at the right time and open a door to another world?"
"Well, yes, actually," Alejandro said, looking impressed.
"I think I've done this before," Martha said. "Only with Shakespeare. And witches. And the souls weren't there. Can we trap him in one of these soul-jar-water bubbles?"
Alejandro looked less impressed and more like Martha had grown a second head. "How would we do that?"
"Magic?"
"With what spell?" Alejando said in a pinched whisper.
"I don't know!" Martha said, frustrated. "I thought magic was your thing!"
"Well I study it, yes," Alejandro replied, exasperated, "but practicing is another thing entirely. It's quite dangerous."
Martha pointed up the stairs toward the guy that was currently practicing intense magics. "So you're saying that guy isn't any less dangerous than those two?" She pointed down toward the vampire and the changeling, who by the sounds of it were using the tower walls as weapons.
"Exactly," Alejandro replied.
"Exactly," a baritone voice said. The cloaked sorcerer stepped into view at the top of the stairs. "I see you got past Ivy." His accent was also upper class English, but it sounded more innate than Alejandro's accent did. Also, he was wearing a quite expensive-looking suit underneath his heavy cloak. It was like this guy was Alejandro if Alejandro had actually decided to practice magic rather than study it.
Alejandro drew himself up, taking a deep breath and squaring his shoulders.
"That's right, we did," Martha told the sorcerer, figuring it helped their image if he thought they had made it past Ivy with skill rather than luck. "And we're not going to let you open a door to another world," she added.
The sorcerer had a greying goatee and it twitched as his mouth curled into a sneer. "You. A..." his head moved slightly as he looked her up and down. Martha thought she could make out the glint of blue light reflecting off of his eyes. The rest of his face, however, was shrouded in the shadow of the hood.
"A doctor," Martha told him.
"Ah," the sorcerer's head nodded. He looked at Alejandro. "And this stage magician."
Alejandro bristled, his hand curling around the sachet he'd pulled from his pocket earlier. His mouth moved, but some deeper impulse held back any retort.
"We won't let you do this," Martha repeated. "And we're taking Angel's soul back." She fumbled for exactly how they would stop him… But they would.
"I'm afraid once the portal is open, most of the souls will be completely drained," the sorcerer said. "You can't make an omelet without breaking a few eggs, as they say." He lifted two fingers and a force hit Martha like she'd been hit with a car. She hit the stone wall, pain running down her arm and she crumpled onto the stairs. Her vision blurred and just managed to lift her head to see Alejandro open his fingers, the protection spell dropping to the floor at his feet.
Energy erupted from the spell, amplified even more in the tower, and it knocked both the sorcerer and Alejandro back against the walls behind them, the sorcerer letting out an undignified shout. Half of the protective barrier cut down through the tower stairs and the other half shot up through the tower roof. One of the dust-highlighted energy lines reflected off of the shield and quickly burned a hole through the roof of the tower.
"Martha!" Alejandro grabbed her arm and tried to haul her to her feet. Martha was still having a hard time finding her balance. "Come along. That won't hold him for long."
Sure enough, the sorcerer righted himself and threw what looked like a glass bottle at the shield. The bottle broke on impact and started to eat away at the shield like acid, the energies sparking and fizzing in the thick air.
"Carajo," Alejandro spat. He pulled harder, dragging Martha down a few stairs before he skidded to a stop.
Martha shifted her attention from the melting shield to the stairs ahead and then saw why they had stopped, her protest dying in her throat: Angelus stood half a level down on the stairs, raw red cuts running across his neck and another from his forehead up into his hairline. Both oozed blood thickly. He was dragging the limp body of Ivy up the stairs.
Alejandro continued to swear in Spanish.
"Now who," Angelus growled through his fangs, "is going to tell me which of these fucking blue lights is mine?"
The sorcerer peered down from his higher perch on the steps toward Angelus. "Ivy," he said.
It wasn't much, but Angelus grinned like a shark smelling blood. He lifted the changeling by the wrist and shook her limp, half-tree body, which might just tumble off the edge of the stairs if he let go. "Spunky," he said. "I think she's still breathing. Interested?"
The sorcerer took a step forward, but then his hood shifted up, like his attention was pulled upstairs. Without seeing his expression, Martha wasn't quite sure what was going through the man's head. She wasn't sure of a lot right now. The dust from the damaged walls and stairs floated through the air, Alejandro's dust spell still making it cling to the lines of energy, all pulsating upwards toward the site of the spell and - presumably - where the portal was supposed to open.
Martha wished the Doctor were here. She wished she knew how magic worked. All she had now was herself. And Alejandro, who seemed just as out of his depth as Martha felt.
And a mirror. Matha had managed to cling to the mirror the whole time, trusting the weirdness of the note and the coincidence (if that was what it was) of Angel giving it to her before everything started to fall apart. The different pieces of information she'd been gathering were starting to pull together. The energy beams could be deflected. She'd seen it with Alejandro's spell. With the sorcerer above her and Angelus below, they were distracted. But they wouldn't stay that way.
She thought of Shakespeare. The right words in the right place. On the wooden floor the candles had been arranged in a particular way around the forming portal, their smoke was what was giving it form.
"Put her down, you filthy animal," the sorcerer said, low and calm.
"Give me my soul," Angelus insisted. "Unless this is going to destroy it. Then," he shrugged, "I don't care so much."
Martha adjusted the mirror in her hand and slowly reached up until it interrupted the nearest beam of energy. It took a few seconds to get the angle just so until- There. The beam hit the wooden floor and quickly began burning a hole right where she remembered the candles generally were.
"The spell will drain all of the-stop that!" the sorcerer spotted Martha. Martha resisted the urge to jump, directing the burning energy in a circle as best she could before she was knocked over by another wave of magic. Martha crashed into Alejandro and they both tumbled down the stairs toward Angelus and Ivy, stopping close. Within killing distance. There was a dull clatter as one of the candles fell through the burnt-out hole in the wood and rolled down the stone stairs below.
And then the spell broke. Martha had hoped she'd know when it happened, but she hadn't expected the wave of energy that rippled down through the tower, white noise blocking any sound, but she could see Alejandro throw his arm over her, a thin shield of magic covering them.
The sorcerer had started to run back up the stairs toward his spellcasting, but when the spell broke he immediately lifted his own hands, a pool of water gathering above him.
A second wave came. Alejandro's shield shimmered and then popped as the pressure washed past. The sorcerer remained standing, his magical barrier glowing brightly with absorbed energy.
Angelus and Ivy were crushed to the ground.
Silence fell for a few moments as everyone seemed to take stock of themselves. Martha's ears popped with the changing pressure and her head felt fuzzy from being thrown around.
"You, you wretched, worthless, interfering little-" the sorcerer's voice pitched up as he stepped down a few stairs toward Martha, Alejandro, Angelus, and Ivy, the glowing, liquid energy still held above his head.
"Whoa, whoa," Angelus pushed himself up against the stone wall. He was so close. Only Ivy's still-limp body was between them. Martha and Alejandro needed to move; even just a few steps up, out of the firing line between the vampire and the sorcerer. She nudged him and they painfully pulled themselves together enough to climb up a few steps.
Angelus pointed at Martha and Alejandro and said, "Kill them, sure, but I assume the souls are not destroyed? Just point me in a direction and I'll leave you to it."
There was a soft, pained moan as Ivy stirred on the steps. One of her legs dangled off the edge of the stairs and her rough, bark-like skin made a deep scraping noise against the stone as she pulled it back up.
The sorcerer hesitated and Martha hadn't pictured herself being grateful to Angelus, but he could make people pause.
"Ivy?" the sorcerer said. "Come here."
It seemed a big ask to Martha after having gone nine rounds with a murderous vampire.
Ivy's arm reached up the stairs, apparently ready to try to climb back up them.
Angelus lifted his leg over Ivy and placed his foot on her hand. "My. Soul," he said over Ivy's whimper. "You're a sick bastard and I respect it. Let's both walk away with the salvage."
Martha tried turning her neck to look at the souls in the tiny windows. Could she spot the correct one before the deal went through? If they grabbed one of the other souls and put it in the vampire, would that be an acceptable alternative? Surely a wrong soul was better than no soul, right? Angelus didn't seem to think so. Maybe there was soul compatibility. Like blood types. Or bone marrow.
"Give her to me," the sorcerer said. His hands moved and the liquid energy shifted and morphed, forming a staircase across the gap between himself and Angelus, bypassing Martha and Alejandro.
Angelus gave the staircase a skeptical look. "Show me my soul first," he demanded. "Not that I'm worried about walking up a glowing water staircase or anything, but a guy's just got to be sure."
The sorcerer slipped a hand into his cloak and pulled out another round glass bottle. He whispered a few words and the closest blue light shot from the window into the bottle, the water it had been suspended in breaking and splashing onto the stone.
"Right-" Angelus started, but then another light shot up the stairs. And another and another. "Wait, that's-" "I don't know which one belongs to you," the sorcerer said as the last of the souls shot into the bottle. A cap floated out from his cloak and stoppered the bottle. "The things aren't labeled. Take them all and give me Ivy."
Angelus muttered an incredulous, "Fucking bastard…" but he removed his foot from Ivy's hand and placed it more securely on the stone so that he could bend and pick up the still mostly-limp body of the changeling. He heaved her across his shoulder and with another skeptical glance at the watery stairs, put one foot onto the first one. Once he was sure it would bear his weight, he continued the rest of the way up toward the sorcerer.
A terrible idea was forming in Martha's head and she turned to Alejandro and whispered, "You don't have anymore of those shield-things, do you?"
Alejandro shook his head, looking exhausted and more fearful than he had yet this evening. "Why?"
Martha sighed with disappointment and jerked her head toward Angelus. "Thought I'd chuck one at him."
"I can hear you," Angelus spat back at them.
"Doesn't matter, does it?" Martha spat back, annoyed.
"Mr. Renato?" Calder's voice called from the bottom of the tower. "Martha?"
"Up here!" Martha called, glad for the backup. She wasn't sure if she should chase after the souls or run down the tower while the chance was available. They weren't in a position to fight...anyone. Not Angelus, who could physically overpower them, or the sorcerer who was making walking on water a thing at the moment. Calder's footsteps sounded on the stairs far below.
Angelus reached the top of the stairs and stepped off onto the stone stairs just below the sorcerer. He adjusted Ivy on his shoulder slightly, looking at the jar of souls in the sorcerer's hand. "Okay, so on three we'll both throw. Ready? One-"
"Set her down," the sorcerer said.
"With distance!"
"I'll keep these and sell them to the highest bidder," the sorcerer countered.
"I'll toss her off the stairs," Angelus countered back.
"Oh good grief," Martha muttered.
Hearing her and glaring in her direction, Angelus said, "Up on the platform, then."
"Done."
Martha cursed herself. But they were just so ridiculous.
Calder rounded the stairs, huffing, but his sword drawn. "I'm...here," he managed.
"Good lad," Alejandro told him.
"It's a weird group of blokes down there," Calder said. "I think I just beat up an accountant." He pointed the sword at Angelus and the sorcerer as they moved their trade up to the remains of the platform. "Are they getting away?"
"Si, but I think we should, as well," Alejandro replied.
"Oh?" Calder said, looking at Martha.
"Uh," Martha looked up, "I think that bloke was about to magically...you know, I don't know what you do with glowing magic water bubbles, but it didn't look friendly."
"He's absorbed all of the energy from when the spell broke," Alejandro said. "I think your assessment is correct, miss."
Calder looked up the stairs, where there was a loud thump that was probably Ivy's body hitting the wood floor. "Magic Bubble Guy and Angelus." He adjusted his grip on the sword. "I could take one," he said with a nod to himself. "What have you got?"
"I have used all of my prepared magics," Alejandro said.
"My mirror broke," Martha admitted.
"See? People say swords are archaic, but they don't run out of ammo," Calder said.
"Pleasure doing business," Angelus said.
The sorcerer didn't respond, but a moment later, there was a sound of breaking glass and the glowing staircase wobbled and turned into normal water, dropping down the middle of the tower and splashing at the bottom.
"That's my cue!" Calder said. He hefted his sword and charged up the stairs, Martha and Alejandro pressing against the wall out of his way. "Angel! Get down here and let us fix you!"
"Hard pass," Angelus' voice called back, sounding like he was on the other side of the tower. Martha hurried after Calder and she could hear Alejandro close behind.
Just as her feet hit the wooden platform, she spotted the outline of Angelus, his face lit by the glow of souls and hair blowing slightly in the breeze as he stood on the edge of the platform. He gave them a grin, saluted Calder, and then stepped backward into the air and dropped out of sight.
"Damn!" Calder said, running up to look over the edge. "You'd better run!" he shouted down to the grass far below. "I was totally going to kick your ass, old man!" He turned back to Martha and Alejandro and lifted his shoulders. "Regroup? We can chase him, but...uh, he taught me everything I know. But he's got, like, hundreds of years of practice on me."
Alejandro was looking pale. "Si," he agreed, "but in the car. He's going back to the nightclub, surely."
"Then so are we," Martha said.