“We should move soon,” Viv said.

Dez grunted in agreement. “Get them before they realize they can overwhelm us with numbers.”

“Like those Thundershells tried,” Ned said. “Fat load of good it did them.”

“It’s more than that. They know we’re here, but I don’t think they’re expecting an attack on them, if they’re even intelligent enough to expect anything. That’s what we need to capitalize on.”

Viv was looking at him shrewdly. “The element of surprise.”

They decided to return to the pharmacy to figure out a plan of attack.

It turned out that splitting into two groups would be best. According to Evelyn’s knowledge, the people in the bank were likely holed up near the vault on the third floor. That meant some of them needed to serve as distraction while the rest of them rescued the people still trapped inside.

“As long as they’re alive,” Evelyn whispered.

Viv pressed her shoulder. “We’ll find them, don’t worry, Evy.”

Rory and the others offered their own words of encouragement as well. He hoped they’d find her family in there, still okay, but he wasn’t about to start thinking of the chances of that.

They decided the group that was going to provide a distraction would just be Dez, Viv, and Miles. Rory gave the Sigil of the Unrestrained to Dez to help him better evade any attacks coming at him.

Ideally, Evelyn would have gone with them to provide some much-needed healing. But one, she couldn’t protect herself just yet, and for another, her healing still needed her to be close to her subject. They needed a Sigil that let her heal at a distance. Until then, the applications were limited.

“Your new Sigils should help with staying alive some more,” Rory said.

He imagined the Sigil of the Unrestrained Dez had gotten and the Sigil of Smoky Stealth Viv had absorbed would both up their evading capabilities. Besides which, they had also received stat Sigils that would help with recovery.

“I’ve got a Sigil of Vigour,” Viv said. “It’s a weird mix of energy and health rolled into one, and yeah, there’s a regen attached to it.”

“Just like my Sigil of Health,” Miles said.

“Yes, exactly.”

Dez stared at the back of his hand, though there wasn’t any Sigil’s image glowing there. “I got… a Sigil of Power. Supposedly helps me with my damage output.”

“Makes sense,” Rory said. “You already have a defensive one with Endurance.”

“Yeah, and it’s got regen too.”

“Least you didn’t get Navigation,” Ned muttered.

Allen laughed, which quickly turned into a frown. His voice was quiet when he said, “Or Charisma.”

Rory wasn’t even going to start wondering what all that could mean. He turned to the new guys. “Mikey, Jerome. What Sigils did you get?”

“Uh.” Mikey checked the back of his hand, where a Sigil revealed an image of shimmering palm. “The Sigil of Ghostly Reach. I think it lets me reach stuff far away.”

“Huh. Interesting.

“Your very own grabber claw,” Miles said.

“I got the Sigil of Haste,” Jerome said. “It’s a stat Sigil, I think. When I look at my [Status], it shows up at the top, under the stats.”

Rory wasn’t sure what to make of those either. Dawn was finally starting to come up, the eastern horizon displaying a faint blush. Their time for planning was drawing to a close.

“It’s best if they stick with your group,” Viv said to Rory. “Maybe once they’ve figured out what they can do with their Sigils, they can play a greater part in things.”

Sue cleared her throat. She looked uncomfortable for a moment, then she steeled herself. “Good luck to you all, but I don’t think rushing into that bank full of monsters is the right thing for May. I… I can’t do it. I can’t risk it. I need to protect May.”

They all rounded on her, too surprised to reply immediately. Trish found her voice first.

“What are you even going to do?” she asked. “Just abandon us like that?”

She grimaced. “I’ll keep May safe in the pharmacy. My Sigil of Barricade should do the trick. But in case it gets bad, we can always use the van.”

Trish looked mad, and several of them echoed her. Dez was trying to stifle a betrayed expression and a disapproving frown had clouded Viv’s brow. Even Rory’s heart sank at the loss to their team. But of course, they couldn’t very well force her to come with them.

“It’s fine,” Rory said, despite not exactly feeling it. “Maybe Mikey and Jerome can stay too.”

“I can fight, no worries,” Mikey said.

Jerome punched him in the shoulder. “No you can’t, you idiot. You were looking at the wrong hand when you tried to call your Sigil or whatever it was.”

“Shut up!”

“There really is no telling what might be waiting inside,” Allen said.

He hadn’t been paying much attention to the conversation, instead looking past the corner to the bank. Rory didn’t like how fearful he sounded.

“We can’t make contact, can we?” Ned asked.

Evelyn shook her head a little, downcast face staring at her lap. “Trust me, I’ve tried so much. There’s no signal at all.”

“I really want to know what’s interfering with the network one of these days. I doubt that they pulled down all our towers.”

Rory cleared his throat to bring the conversation back on topic. “We’ll worry about what’s inside when we’re inside. Besides, we’re taking Trish with us. You’ll protect us, right Trish?”

“Of course!” she said. “If there’s anything that takes even one step at any of us with bad intentions, they can kiss the rest of their life goodbye.”

Viv grinned at her. “That’s the spirit!”

“Well, if they’re straying back, Jerky can remain behind too.” Miles deposited the yipping, unwilling dog into Sue’s hand, who looked a little flummoxed at having acquired a shih tzu. “Take care of her for me.”

Sue nodded. “I’ll look after her.”

Jerky growled and squirmed in protest, but eventually quietened after Miles’s soothing.

“It’s settled, then,” Rory said. “Let’s head out.”

The others began getting ready, sharing their Mana around. Most of them had discarded any makeshift weapons in favour of using their Sigils, but some like Allen and Ned who didn’t have any proper offensive Sigils, still kept things like baseball bats and hockey sticks at hand. Useful, those.

Rory should have looked to getting himself one of those, but he was too busy leaning against the nearby wall and recovering. He was no longer as spry as he used to be. It seemed even standing around too long tired him, especially after the recent bouts of forced, rapid healing he’d undergone. His body’s stores of energy were fast depleting.

“You alright?” Viv asked quietly, approaching and leaning against him. “You haven’t looked well since the moment I first saw you. Even now…”

“I’ll be fine.” Rory tried for an encouraging smile. “Don’t worry, Viv. We’ll get Evy’s husband and kid, and then we’ll find someplace safe. Then I can finally rest.”

Viv’s frown didn’t leave. “You look too tired. Here, take my Sigil.”

The image of her Sigil of Prime came to life on the back of her hand. It showed a red pyramid, the peak glinting like a star. Rory was surprised to see it was Argent VIII. That was real high.

“No, Viv.” Rory smiled at her. “I can’t use it. I filled up all five of my slots.”

“Then replace one. You need it, Rory.”

“You need it more. And besides, you can't just take it out whenever you want. The only way to remove Sigils is by replacing them with other Sigils, which I think destroys the original Sigil. I’ll make it, don’t worry.”

She sighed. “What rot. There has to be some way you can take it anyway. I don’t want to see you like this.”

“No. I’ll be fine. It’s just my injury, and the exhaustion. I just need some good rest later.”

“Rory.”

“Viv.”

They stared at each other, unwilling to concede ground but also unwilling to push too hard. Such strangeness occurred when two stubborn people had learned to compromise and settle over the course of their life and their relationship.

Finally, Viv looked away, watching Ned piling some bottles full off pills into his backpack. “You know, I’m really proud of the way you took charge of matters. These kids all trust you a lot, and for good reason.” She smirked at him. “You’re the most dependable person I know.”

Rory felt tingles shooting within him, as it did every time Viv looked at him like that, as though she was staring at the best thing that could have ever happened. “Well, I just tried my best to help and take care of everyone.”

“And you’ve done fantastically.”

Rory flushed.

Dez walked up then. “Think we’re all ready here. Time to get going.”

Rory nodded, still buoyed by Viv’s words. “Alright. Let’s go.”

They left in their two groups quickly. Dez, Viv, and Miles went first. Rory and the others waited in the corner. Dawn had come on properly, throwing up the first light of the day into the world.

“Be careful, dear,” Rory called after Viv.

She raised a hand in farewell as she followed Dez, Miles just behind her. “Have faith in me, dear. You’ve seen me in action.”

“Yeah, don’t worry, gramps,” Miles said. “I’ve got her back.”

Rory pressed his lips tightly. He couldn’t stave off his worries fully, but he wasn’t about to act on them. Viv was right. They both needed to have faith.

The fight began with vicious intensity. They’d found that Dez’s flames could clear the smoke. He threw his Abyssal Inferno every which way, setting Emberteeth and the flying monsters—called Detonetals, according to Rory’s Sigil of Knowledge—aflame.

They retaliated in kind. The Emberteeth belched gouts of fire, now no longer afraid to defend themselves with all the numbers backing them. From the air, the Detonetals threw their explosives. Luckily, Dez’s black flames acted well as a defensive wall, stopping the Emberteeth’s plainer fires and the Detonetals’ exploding seed bombs.

With Dez making himself the centre of attention, Viv and Miles attacked from the flanks. Viv threw slashes everywhere, killing Emberteeth and Detonetals with every blow, while Miles threw up his own firestorm. Both their main Sigils had grown stronger, and it was easy to see the increased intensity of their powers.

But as the smoke shifted, more monsters poured into the raging battlefield. Chaos descended as Viv, Dez, and Miles were forced to defend themselves instead of working together.

“Not looking good,” Allen said.

Rory swallowed down his worries with the lump in his throat. “But the coast is clear. Let’s go.”

Trish started following just behind Rory. “I can’t wait to show these car-eating trash what it’s like to face cold, hard steel.”

“Let’s hope we don’t need it,” Allen said, voicing Rory’s thoughts.

They took the road that wrapped around the side of the bank to lead to its back, sticking close to the side of the road and as far from the monsters as possible. Good thing the fight had drawn them all away.

They reached the back without trouble. Where the front of the bank had looked fancy from the front with its white classical columns, the back was less impressive. A hodgepodge of balconies, old-fashioned windows, and run-down A/C units rose floor after floor, the façade a dirty brown instead of the stark white in front.

Rory used his Weaving on the lock and opened the door to the fire exit. The entrance to the underground was nearby, a dark maw that led into deeper gloom.

“You think there are monsters in there?” Allen asked.

“I sure hope not,” Ned said.

Evelyn now took the lead. They entered the building proper and took more stairways, rising quickly.

“How do you know the way so well,” Rory asked.

“You’d be surprised at all the places people can get hurt,” she said, stepping forward past Rory. “I was taking care of business once when a security guard sprained his ankle coming down the stairs. It was a few years ago but it’s all coming back to me.”

They stopped climbing at the third floor. Rory was glad to be able to stop. His old body was already starting to feel weary.

Evelyn led them through white-tiled corridors, bypassing any doors they came across in favour of her destination. Rory followed her without hesitation, though his unease was starting to grow faster than his fatigue. It was too quiet inside the bank, and far, far too cold.

“The power’s out,” Ned said, voice hushed as though unwilling to disturb anything inside. “So it can’t be the AC making it this cold.”

“The vault’s this way,” Evelyn said, opening a door into a long hallway.

They went through crips white corridors made of marble, past abandoned offices with minimalist dark furniture, and finally came to a stop at a lobby. Trish was trying to control her shivering, while little puffs were blowing out with each of Allen’s breaths. Rory was struggling with his fear as much as the chill. This wasn’t natural.

At some point, they passed by windows. The battle outside was still raging. Unfortunately, they moved on too fast for Rory to see what was going on.

“What in the name of all things holy…” Ned muttered.

A ghost was floating towards them. The translucent silver figure was that of a child, mussy hair and overlong shirt flapping in an invisible breeze. His eyes landed on them, expression twisting just a tiny bit as though he was puzzled by their presence. Rory swallowed as the ghost approached.

His heart trembled in alarm at a muffled cry. He turned to see Evelyn falling to her knees, wide eyes turning red and tearful, the back of her hand pressed to her mouth. She was trying not to cry out.

Then Rory stared at the ghost of the oncoming kid again. His heart shattered.

This had to be the apparition of Evelyn’s son.

“Someone please tell me what’s going on over here,” Allen squeaked.

Rory followed his gaze to take in the rest of the lobby. There were a few more ghosts, all of them ignoring Rory’s group. A tall man’s apparition was standing petrified before the water filter, while another woman was waving mechanically in front of a window.

Pushing aside his sorrow for Evelyn and telling the others to wait, Rory approached the end of the lobby with halting steps. It was growing colder and colder. His breath started catching in his throat, and his exhales plumed before his face. He noticed that there was hoarfrost at the end of the lobby.

When Rory was close enough to observe through the connecting corridor, he stopped.

Across the short hallway, in a large office that must have belonged to the bank’s manager or some other high official, a monster sat in a high-backed chair behind a mahogany desk. A skeletal monster with frozen crown, ice-lined armour, and—

That was all Rory took in before he pulled himself back.

“Did you see that thing?” Ned hissed.

Rory scowled at him. “Didn’t I tell you to stay back.”

“Rory, forget about staying back and all that. We have bigger priorities. That thing in the chair… that’s a lich.”