Page 78 of Arcane Entanglement

Evander’s chest heaved as he stood there, his expression glassy with disbelief.

“We need to go after them!” Viggo was already moving towards the door at the side of the church. “They can’t have gone far!”

Evander shuddered and grabbed his wrist. “We can’t.” He met Viggo’s confused gaze and shook his head, frustration thickening his voice. “We need to stop the fire from spreading!”

The screams and shouts rising from outside finally registered in Viggo’s hearing. His heart sank.

He followed Evander as the mage moved swiftly towards the main exit.

The magical fire in the building had started to abate. Evander created a tunnel of wind for their safe passage nonetheless.

Viggo’s throat closed up when they emerged from the church.

His worse fears had come to pass.

The blaze had spread and was engulfing the surrounding area. Flames leapt from building to building, fed by dry wood and thatch and fuelled by dark magic.

Viggo spotted Finn where he stood in a bucket chain at the bottom of the hill, his red hair bright against the billowing smoke and his face covered in soot as he and the volunteer brigade that formed the fire squad in this part of the slums shouted directions at the petrified locals. Solomon joined him, the thrall having slipped out of the side of the church to avoid the Met officers inside.

Evander’s face set in grim lines at the sight of the chaos gripping the ghetto.

“I have to stop this fire. Or this entire neighbourhood will burn!”

Viggo’s heart thundered against his ribs, all thoughts of pursuing the escaping mages gone from his mind in the face of the destruction being wreaked around them.

“Canyou stop it?”

Evander clenched his jaw at the question before starting down the hill.

“I have to try at least. It’ll be too late by the time the Phoenix Brigade and the Salamander Corps get here.”

In contrast to the Soot Squads of the East End, the Phoenix Brigade and the Salamander Corps were elite fire services that employed highly trained mages and utilised advanced magical artefacts, the Salamander Corps specialising in magical and alchemical fires.

Viggo had often expressed his disgust at the irony of those two squads mainly serving the richer suburbs of the capital. The chances of a large-scale fire breaking out was higher in the slums, where non-magical means of lighting and heating were still extensively used.

He curbed his bleak thoughts and fell in step beside Evander.

“What do you need?”

Gratitude flashed in Evander’s eyes as he glanced his way.

“Just…stay close.”

Emotion tightened Viggo’s chest. That Evander was calling on him for support made him incredibly happy despite the awful circumstances.

To his surprise, Evander stopped halfway down the slope. He took a deep breath and widened his stance.

Viggo realised he needed the vantage point to see where to direct his magic.

The air around them grew heavy with power as the mage raised his hands.

Water coalesced out of thin air above the burning buildings, forming swirling streams that danced at Evander’s command. He guided them to the flames, dousing fire after fire from the furthermost blazes and working his way inward.

Goosebumps broke out across Viggo’s skin as he watched him work.

Thiswas what it truly meant to be a mage. Not just raw power, but the ability to shape the very elements to one’s will.

He could see the toll it was taking on Evander however. Perspiration began beading the mage’s brow and his breathing grew increasingly laboured as he fought to control the massive amounts of water he was conjuring.