Page 72

“Helping,” he said, his voice heavily distorted by his helmet. And maybe some kind of voice-modulating device.

Meanwhile, his fellow armored angels were reenforcing the bindings holding the bandits.

“Helping?” Eris repeated, incredulous.

He shrugged. “You looked like you needed it.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” she said, then frowned.

I guess the truth magic in the air hadn’t dissipated yet.

The armored angel chuckled. “It’s good to see you, Eris.”

When Eris snapped her fingers, her magic net zipped back into her hands. It transformed into a small metal disc, and she inserted it into an open slot in her wristguard.

“You shouldn’t be here.” She popped her helmet closed, and when she spoke again, her voice was distorted too. “The General won’t like it.”

“The General doesn’t like anything.”

Eris snorted.

The armored angel turned to face the crowd that had gathered around us. “Sorry about the disturbance, folks.”

His friends were wrapping up the bandits’ leader in a big red bow, like a present. Then they hung a tag around his neck. It read ‘for the Iron Wolf’ and was signed ‘your rebellious friends’.

A bunch of supernaturals in the crowd pulled out their phones and started snapping pictures.

“Have a nice day,” the armored angel who’d talked to Eris declared with an elegant bow, then he and his comrades vanished in a cloud of smoke, like ninjas.

The crowd exploded with applause.

“Who were those guys?” I asked Eris.

“Rebels.”

“Rebels?”

“Former Knights who had a difference of opinion with the Government and left the Castle,” she clarified.

“I’ve never heard of them.”

“Of course not. The General wouldn’t want anyone to know he doesn’t have complete control over every single Knight.” Eris extracted a disc from her armor, and it transformed into a phone. “The General calls them Rebels, vigilantes who exist outside the law.”

“These people obviously disagree.” I indicated the chatting, cheering crowd.

She nodded. “Most people here see the Rebels as Robin-Hood-like figures.”

“What do you think?” I asked her.

“I think we’ve lost enough time today already, and we’re behind schedule.” Eris waved her fingers over the phone in her hand, and text appeared on the screen. “The General’s soldiers will be along shortly to collect his…present.”

Kylie giggled.

“In the meantime, we should check on the civilians,” Eris said. “A number of them were knocked over in the skirmish.” She popped another disc out of her armor and it turned into a first-aid kit.

We spent the next ten minutes checking on everyone—and posing for a few photos. By then, the Watchers had arrived. They gathered around the bandits, debating how to extract them from the gigantic red ribbon.

“Are there always so many thieves in the Magic Emporium?” I asked Eris.