“Took you long enough, Mocks,” said Paul, lounging in a seat at the front of the creperie.

“You know how slippery this one can be,” I replied. “Ah, Sister Shrike, how lovely to see you! I’m glad you could make it.” I had to force the cheer into my voice; it’s damn awkward meeting somebody you stabbed in the back without them realizing it.

My Brotherhood cell, minus Rei, had commandeered one of the outdoor tables and a stock of bottled drinks. Brother Frettchen stood off to the side, watching over the still-unconscious Rose and Yukiko. He was watching them perhaps a little too intently for my taste…

My putative leader nodded, nervously playing with a strand of her fiery hair. “We would have been here sooner, but Sister Macaw insisted on coming along.”

I frowned. “Wait, you left Rei all alone with the Headmaster?’

Mrs. Perera scoffed. “If she can’t handle a twice-crippled tub of lard like Yosuke, then she isn’t worth her salt.”

“How long have you been waiting to call him that?” I asked.

She shot me a cheeky smirk. “Since he hired me.”

She glanced over at Brothers Ratte and Maus, who were discussing something near the mundane soldiers out of earshot. “While we have a little privacy, how in God’s name did these three get in here? Brother Ratte didn’t say anything useful. He just wanted to be snide about my leadership.”

“I’m not sure myself,” I said. “We must have just missed them. They say them were looking for me.”

“I guess there is such a thing as being too popular,” said Paul with a wink.

I set Kiyo down as gently as I could. She was light enough that I had almost forgotten she was there. She didn’t so much as budge when I set her down. A terrifying thought came to mind. My demonic Electrify spell had always been terrific at knocking out humans. I had put Haru in a coma with my Bloody Lance; what if I was doing long-term damage with each use of my trump card?

No time to worry about that. They had more immediate threats to their health. “Well, we clearly have to let them go.”

“Is that what happened to Ms. Yamada? She wasn’t in the club room when Sister Shoebill checked.” Maggie stopped her fidgeting and met my gaze. “Is she running around the Tower right now?”

“No, she’s…” I trailed off, detecting a dangerous edge in Maggie’s voice. “She’s dealt with.”

“Permanently?” she asked with a note of surprise.

“No, but she took a Hell of a blow to the head. She isn’t going anywhere.”

“You know she has to die, right?” demanded Maggie, shooting out of her seat.

Paul spat out the water he had been drinking. “Wait, what? I thought she was a prisoner.”

“She was a prisoner. Now she’s on the loose, and she knows too much to be allowed to live.” Maggie ran a hand along Paul’s arm. “Don’t tell me you’re going cold feet, Brother Eagle.”

“We used to date,” said Paul. “It was pretty serious. Well… she was pretty serious.”

“She’s a serious stick in the mud, is what she is,” spat Mrs. Perera. It seemed that all of her filters were off. Which was a surprise, since if you had asked me, I would have said the old coot had no filters to start with.

“I won’t make you do the deed, Brother Eagle,” replied Maggie. “It’s Brother Mockingbird’s mess to clean up, after all.”

“I can’t,” I blurted out.

“Never say you can’t,” she said in her teacherly persona. It was an odd combination, her Brotherhood armor with that treacly tone of voice. “It’s always you can’t yet. And if it’s you or her, I know you’ll make the right choice.”

“So true,” I said. It was best to play along; once I had these three girls safely away, I could go back to my plan to smuggle Mariko out via my escape car. I would have to hurry, though. The clock was ticking ever closer to our deadline. “I suppose she isn’t part of our deal. These three are, though.”

Maggie nodded slowly. “Yes, the agreement you changed at the last minute.”

I shrugged. “What can I say? I’m a tough negotiator.” I quickly chugged down the contents of a water bottle. Spellcasting is thirsty work, and it gave me a chance to think. The trouble was, I couldn’t shuttle Mariko out of the Tower without risking the lives of the others. Maggie was likely to demand proof of death, but as long as I could control what she saw and heard, there was a chance.

“I’ll accompany the boy,” said Brother Frettchen.

Hellfire and damnation!

Maggie rolled her eyes. “Of course, you would volunteer. Sure, that way I know the job will get done. Just don’t make too much of a mess.”

“Why Sister Shrike, you don’t trust me?” I asked, putting as much hurt into my voice as I could. It kept the panic out of it.

“Not anymore,” she said. “You have a soft spot for these girls. It’s enough to make me jealous. Go prove who’s your favorite.”

Paul had been glaring at me since the talk had turned to assassinating Mariko. I didn’t blame him. Still, he stayed quiet. Paul had shown his bravery before, but he was as trapped as I. He was more stuck, really; he didn’t have half the gadgets I did.

Once Brother Frettchen had reported back to his other cell members, it was a short elevator ride down to the batting cages. We ended up on the opposite side from where I had left Mariko, with the sorry state of the elevator Yukiko had smashed.

“You don’t seem eager,” said Brother Frettchen, looking down at me with sympathetic eyes. “I take it you’re close with our target?”

“You might say that,” I said as we left the elevator. I didn’t let him out of my sight. There was something unsettling about Frettchen, almost demonic, and I knew not to let devils know you care for something. “You’re awfully nonchalant about hunting down a pacifist who’s no threat to anyone.” I hadn’t meant to be so candid, but I was too out of sorts to keep up the facade.

He shrugged. “A demonkin is a threat simply by existing. They spread their poison with words and deeds, even if they seem peaceful. We do humanity a favor when we eliminate them, just like with any virus.” He was so matter-of-fact about it. A devil would have at least sounded gleeful at the chance to enact some violence. Still, the ghost of a smile tugged at his lips.

I wiped beads of perspiration from my forehead. I hoped Maggie hadn’t let him in on my supposed backstory.

I was relieved and panicked all at once when we arrived at the opposite end of the floor where I had left Mariko. The only signs of her passing were a few flecks of blood on the carpet.

“Are you sure this is where you left her?” asked Brother Frettchen.

“Of course. Her skull was half-cracked when I left her behind.” She couldn’t have recovered, could she? The Trivial Heal I’d cast on her had been a friendly gesture, not nearly enough to make a difference.

“Then you left the job half done. Demonkin are sneaky like that.” Brother Frettchen smirked, unsheathing a curved sword from his belt. “This will be more satisfying anyway. It’s more fun when there’s some fight in them.”

“You’d best hope that Takehara doesn’t hear that…” I trailed off. I’d said far less to Mariko, and Hiro had heard from his spot in the batting cages. Why wasn’t he calling for help again?

My Mimic Sight gave me a split second to react. “Svalinn’s Wrath!” I reinforced the glittering sword as much as I could. I didn’t trust the school’s blade to stand up to Immortal Form.

I wasn’t a moment too soon. Hiro smashed through the wall foot first, wielding a katana wreathed in the shimmering bubble of the Peace Bond. His scowl was the stuff nightmares are made of.

What saved me was that he couldn’t use Immortal Form all over his body. At least, not unless he wanted a one-way ticket to Wizard’s Desolation. He had concentrated his magical energy into his legs to make the leap, so I was just able to block the wide sweep of his sword. I didn’t dare take my eyes off of him, but I swore I heard my improvised weapon crack.

“I didn’t believe it was you,” he snarled, “but that’s Magpie’s spell.”

“We all do our duty, Hiro,” I said.

Before we could continue our banter, Brother Frettchen waded into the fray, his magic flowing down the sword as he jabbed it at Hiro.

Takehara pivoted, perfectly redirecting the thrust. If it had been a normal exchange, Frettchen’s blade would have slid along Hiro’s, throwing the Holy Brother off balance.

Instead, all of the force of Frettchen’s attack dissipated at once, and the full force of the strike was redirected into Hiro’s sword. Fabricata ward or no, Peace Bond or no, the concentrated impact snapped the doubly protected blade clean in half.

“I was told we were hunting Mariko Yamada,” said Brother Frettchen. “You don’t look like a Mariko.”

Hiro gaped at his broken blade for a moment before stepping back, tossing it aside. “That’s because I’m not.” He jabbed his thumb into his chest. “I’m Hiro Takehara, first year wizarding student, and you’ll be lucky to see a jail cell tonight.”

“Aren’t we confident?” asked Brother Frettchen.

Hiro’s shrugged. “I’ve beaten you Holy Brothers twice, and we were outnumbered then, too.” He talked tough, but I’d played enough cards with him to know his tells. He was understandably rattled, but he’d never let it stop him. He was so annoyingly noble like that.

“Oh, are you that Hiro?” Brother Frettchen finally let the smile he’d been suppressing come out. I couldn’t stand looking at it. “Brother Mockingbird didn’t tell me there were actual fighters here! I’ll have to get a trophy from you. Maybe a finger?”

“Takehara, you’d best surrender,” I said, putting a villainous swagger into my voice. “You’re unarmed and outnumbered. We promise to be gentle.”

A meaty hand tapped me on the shoulder. An instant later, an unnatural force slammed me into a wall hard enough to rattle my teeth.

“I promise no such thing,” chided Brother Frettchen, tossing his sword aside. He raised his fists. “Let’s dance, Hiro.”