Under normal circumstances, Eli would have taken the time to appreciate the spectacle laid out in front of him.

  He stood at the northernmost end of an enormous plaza – one that seemed to stretch out for a mile in each direction. The stone-floored plaza itself was ringed by a road that was busy even at this time of night, behind which there stood a set of historic buildings housing various governmental offices, hotels, and shops targeted towards tourists.

  La Plaza de la Constitución. Eli thought to himself. Mexico City.

  Instead of taking in the sights of the massive historical monument, Eli’s magical eyes darted across the crowd of pedestrians as he searched for any signs of mana. Finding none he shook his head and cut off the spell before closing his eyes and leaning against the waist-high fence behind him that separated the plaza from the road. He exhaled slowly into the night air before he felt a soft hand on his arm.

  “It’s still early.” Vespera said, her voice barely audible over the ambient sounds of the night.

  “I know.” Eli replied, opening his eyes again. “The waiting is the hardest part.”

  “Should we drop the book off now?” Sira asked over the radio, her voice coming through a discreet device in their ears.

  “No.” Eli replied. “Let’s wait until it’s time. I wouldn’t even cast your mirage spell yet – there’s still another 15 minutes until the thief was supposed to make the drop, and I don’t want you to waste your mana.”

  “Very well.” Ziran said from his hiding spot next to Sira nearby. “We will remain where we are until the allotted time.”

  What if the person who picks this book up is just another intermediary? Eli thought to himself. I guess we’ll just follow them back to whoever hired them, but I get the feeling that whoever’s behind this is hiding behind layers of paid help.

  Sensing his unease as he checked his watch for what felt like the thousandth time that evening, Vespera slid close to him and put one arm around his waist, slipping it underneath his brown leather jacket. “Relax. Tell me something.”

  “What would you like to know?” Eli asked in response.

  “I don’t know. Anything. Something to pass the time.” She responded, tucking a stray strand of black hair behind one human-like ear as she did. “Tell me: what book are we actually dropping off?”

  Eli couldn’t help but grin in response. “A translated dark elven cookbook – 101 ways to cook a stalker toad.”

  “Really?” Vespera’s eyes went wide.

  He took her in for a moment. Despite wearing a magical earring that helped her appear as a human, she was still stunningly beautiful. She wore a blue sundress over her now golden-brown skin. Her horns were gone, but she’d retained her long black hair and model’s physique. Her grey eyes were currently wide with surprise, her perfectly-sculpted eyebrows arched in a way that accentuated the makeup she was wearing.

  In that moment, Eli realized how much the look reminded him of the one on Minerva’s face when they’d returned to Purgatory with a digital copy of the book about Royal Bloods. It was almost instantly followed by a look of frustration when Eli said that she couldn’t get started translating from whatever esoteric language it was written in yet – instead, she had to hold off long enough to help them create a reasonable-looking fake version that would pass a cursory inspection while conveying no useful information.

  “No.” Eli said, his mind returning to the present. “But I had you going there, didn’t I?”

  Vespera laughed, then hip-checked him. “Very funny. I want to know though – what gibberish did you ask Minerva to fill that book with?”

  “She found a book written in a similar dialect in Aratessa’s library – a collection of fables written for dwarven children, if you can believe it. She took off the cover and replaced it with one that the library staff whipped up for her – one that looks similar enough to the real one.”

  “Minerva defaced a book?!” Vespera said incredulously.

  “I told her she wasn’t allowed to translate the real one until we had the fake one ready to go.” Eli explained.

  “And they call demons sadistic.” Vespera teased.

  “In my defense, nobody knows ancient books like Minerva – I needed her to do this. And I knew if she started translating the real version she’d shut herself in her room until she was done. We were working on a timeline – we couldn’t afford to miss this drop.”

  “Fair point.” Vespera admitted. “It worked too - I don’t think I’ve ever seen her work so quickly.”

  “I’m not going to make a habit of doing that.” Eli promised. “And I’m going to make it up to her when we get home.”

  “Oh?” Vespera said, her teasing voice returning. “And how do you plan on doing that? Maybe some intense ‘hand-holding’? Some light kisses? Some over-the-clothes action? If you give her anything more intense than that, she might burst – even if she is wearing sexier underwear now.”

  “Eli, it’s time.” Sira said over the radio, interrupting Eli’s retort.

  Eli pushed off the fence and began leading Vespera into the crowd before replying. “Do it.”

  “Casting our mirages now.” Ziran informed him.

  Trusting them to carry out their part of the plan Eli continued to meander into the crowd, slowly moving closer to the drop-off point. He fought his own instincts the entire way, doing his best not to look towards the food truck parked at the side of the plaza. Instead he kept his gait casual, blending in perfectly with the rest of the tourists around him.

  To her credit, when things got serious Vespera knew how to focus. Sure, her arm never left his waist as they meandered through the crowd, but her gentle pushes and pulls in different directions helped ensure that Eli wasn’t making an obvious beeline for the drop point – something he probably would have done if not for her guidance. Gradually though, they moved close enough to the food truck that they could smell the fresh churros being made.

  “Babe, I’m hungry.” Vespera complained loudly, her acting skills on full display. “How long until dinner? Can we get a snack before then?”

  Eli glanced at his watch for a moment before nodding and responding a little louder than he normally would. “Sure, why not? Let’s get in line.”

  The pair stepped into the lineup in front of the ordering window while surreptitiously casting glances underneath the white truck’s rear wheel. When they’d made it about halfway through the line a brown leather bag appeared there – one he knew had been deposited by Sira. He made meaningful eye contact with Vespera for a moment before slowly looking around, trying to catch a glimpse of the twins’ mirages as they retreated to a safe distance.

  “Cuantas quieren?” The overworked attendant asked as they reached the front.

  “Dos, por favor.” Eli answered before handing him a few bills. “Quédese con el cambio.”

  “Gracias.” The man said before reaching back and handing them two sticks of warm, fried, sugary dough in a paper bag.

  Taking the bag, Eli led Vespera a few feet away before opening it and handing one to her. She smiled genuinely and took a bite before groaning softly. Her eyes closed for a moment as she savoured the taste before she took another, much larger, bite.

  “Good?” Eli chuckled.

  “Mmmf.” She answered, her mouth full.

  “I’m glad you like it.”

  When she finally chewed and swallowed the food she replied. “I’m definitely asking Anette to make some of these when we get home.”

  Before he could respond, Eli saw motion out of the corner of his eye. A large, tanned, muscular man walked towards the bag, bending over just long enough to pick it up. He made no effort to disguise the movement, instead seeming to abandon all pretense of stealth in favor of speed.

  “Got him.” Eli muttered into the radio. “Male, white shirt, blue pants, gold chain. Bald. He’s got the bag.”

  “We see him.” Ziran replied. “We dropped our mirages, but our disguises should let us follow at a distance.”

  “Good.” Eli whispered before speaking loudly to Vespera. “Come on, I think the restaurant is this way.”

  “Let’s go!” Vespera shouted happily.

  As they casually followed the man deeper into the crowd, it became clear that he wasn’t concerned about anything except for taking the book to wherever he was heading. He was approached twice by vendors hocking their goods only to physically push them away without a second thought, continuing his power-walk to the south side of the plaza.

  Leaving enough distance between them and their target that he was sure he wouldn’t be seen, Eli tapped into his magic and cast a spell.

  “Qoy’ chaw’ qulSar!”

  As his irises glowed gold, Eli perceived the world in a different light. While the spell improved his night vision significantly, it also cast the non-magical human beings around him in a grey hue – almost as if to make them boring and uninteresting. By contrast, the target ahead of him pulsed with otherworldly purples and reds that writhed like a tentacled beast.

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  “What the fuck?” Eli said softly.

  “What is it?” Vespera asked.

  “This guy’s magic is seriously messed up.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “It’s purple and red, and…moving. Writhing.”

  “Are you sure? That’s not just whatever enchantments he’s using as part of his disguise?”

  Eli narrowed his eyes before shaking his head. “No. If I really focus I can see the greenish hue around the necklace he’s wearing – that’s his disguise. The magic coming out of this guy is completely different.”

  “Have you seen anything like this before?”

  Eli wracked his brain for a moment before shuddering as he realized he had. “Yes. The Wrathful Warrior’s administrator in the pocket dimension.”

  “Fuck.” Vespera swore.

  “What does that mean?” Sira asked over the radio.

  “It means we think he’s made a deal with some sort of eldritch being.” Eli replied. “And that we’ve got no idea what he’s capable of.”

  “It looks like he’s starting to jog.” Ziran said, also over the radio. “Should we try to subdue him? If I move quickly enough I believe I could strike him from behind and-”

  “No.” Eli cut him off, recalling the ‘incident’ in Denver. “Ziran, I’ve got complete confidence in your abilities, but we’re in uncharted territory here. If we engage and can’t take him down quickly, we’re going to put a lot of civilians at risk. Besides, we’re not sure if this is the one who is in charge of this operation, or just another paid helper – like the cat burglar.”

  “What do you want to do?” Vespera asked. “It’s your decision.”

  Eli grit his teeth for a moment before nodding and breaking into a jog. “Come on – everyone pick up the pace and follow him. Keep your distance though.”

  “He might see us.” Sira cautioned.

  “I don’t think he would care even if he did.” Eli replied, his eyes locked on his target. “Look at him go – he’s far too focused on getting wherever he’s going to notice what’s going on around him.”

  As they followed their quarry away from the crowds and into increasingly deserted streets, Eli’s anxieties began to lessen. While there were still far too many witnesses to risk intervening, the fact that there were fewer people around meant that if this encounter ended as explosively as the one in Denver did, at least there’d be fewer innocent lives lost. It was only when Vespera slowed as they passed from one alleyway to another that Eli realized something else might be wrong.

  “This is the way we came.” She said hesitantly.

  Eli took a moment to glance around, catching his bearings after being too caught up in the chase. “You’re right.” He said, speeding up again to make sure they didn’t lose the mysterious figure. “This is the route we took from the waystation.”

  “You don’t think he’s heading to the portal, do you?” She asked as she caught up to him.

  Eli considered it for a moment. “Maybe. It’d be pretty ballsy of them to try to use an official waystation to escape.” He paused before speaking into his radio. “Ziran. Call the waystation, just in case. Give them our target’s description. If he tries to leave, tell them to delay – but be subtle about it. I don’t want this guy exploding on us.”

  “Understood.” Ziran replied curtly.

  Over the next few minutes, Vespera’s hunch proved correct. The eldritch minion practically made a beeline for the official portal waystation for Mexico City, often choosing to walk directly through the lobbies of office buildings in order to take the shortest route possible. Once it became obvious where they were going Eli gave the order to slow down, choosing instead to gather outside the entrance to the nondescript office building to give themselves a moment to catch their collective breaths and prepare.

  “Waystation guards say that they’ve got an elf asking for a portal.” Ziran reported as he stuffed his radio into his leather jacket.

  “An elf?” Vespera questioned.

  Ziran shrugged as he looked at Eli. “They’re saying he even has all the proper paperwork – passport, travel documents, all of it.”

  Eli nodded before glancing upwards at the 20-story building with tinted glass window walls. Having arrived via this portal, he knew that the waystation was concealed on the 3rd floor of the building behind glass security doors and the veneer of a dull corporate facade. With the memory of a green explosion fresh in his mind he shuddered, thinking about what that kind of blast would do to the rest of the building – much of which housed offices for human employees who were blissfully ignorant of the magic in their midst.

  “Don’t engage.” He ordered finally, shaking his head. “Wherever he’s going, we’ll go with him. Once we get clear of the portal on the other side we can decide – either take him there, or follow him back home.”

  “Understood.” Sira nodded.

  Taking a moment to glance at Ziran and Vespera, Eli moved forward to the glass doors and pushed inside. He was met by a monotonous beige lobby with bare walls. Ahead of them a bank of elevators was guarded by a lone security guard – one that nodded to them respectfully.

  “Go ahead.” He waved them through. “You’re expected.”

  Without pausing, the group of them jogged into the steel elevators beyond. At this hour of the night there were thankfully few people still working, meaning they didn’t have to wait long before one opened for them. They hopped on and pressed the button for the 3rd floor before the doors slid shut smoothly.

  “You should change forms.” Vespera said, looking at Eli. “You’re too recognizable in your human form.”

  “Sure.” Eli agreed. “What do you think? Desert elf? Dactyl?”

  “I was thinking orc, just in case things go poorly.” She paused. “And because I wouldn’t mind seeing those big green muscles of yours.”

  Eli chuckled as the doors slid open. “At least you’re honest about it.”

  The quartet stepped out, then turned right and walked towards a set of frosted glass doors with the Hightower family logo on it. When they reached it a camera clicked from overhead and a green light flashed from a security panel next to the doors, indicating they were unlocked. They moved through before closing it behind them, each of them triggering a transformation as soon as it was shut.

  For Vespera, Ziran, and Sira the transformations were surface-level: they each removed a piece of enchanted jewelry, dispelling their magical disguises and returning them to their natural forms. For Eli the transformation was more involved –his clothes tore, leaving him mostly naked covered by only scraps of fabric. His skin turned green before bulging outwards with thick layers of additional muscle, and the floor seemed to move away from him as he gained several feet of height. Tusks sprouted from his bottom lip and his blonde hair turned jet black, completing the transformation.

  He rolled his shoulders experimentally and grinned before nodding towards the portal room he knew was ahead. “Let’s go.”

  Not wanting to give their target a chance to escape, they rushed past the mundane office cubicles that dominated this floor towards a second security door – this one guarded by a pair of elves in disguise. Each of them wore dark blue suits, and even in the relatively dim room Eli could make out the bulges of concealed weapons beneath their outfits. Seeing their approach they tensed before touching their earpieces and relaxing visibly as they opened the door for them.

  With a quick nod they slipped inside the secure room only to be met with a shimmering blue light. Ahead of them, two high elves held a portal open while another elf stood stoically in front of them. Eli took several steps towards the enchanted stone ring before Vespera put a hand on his arm, shook her head slightly, and stepped to the side of the strange elf.

  “Hi there!” She said brightly. “Where are you off to today?”

  The elf stared ahead blankly for a moment before blinking several times and looking at her. He had a build that was typical for elves: tall, thin, and graceful – a far cry from his tanned and muscular disguised form. His blonde hair and blue eyes marked him as a high elf, but beyond that Eli couldn’t ascertain much about him.

  “What?” He responded finally.

  “I said: where are you off to today?”

  “The…wild elven realm.” The elf said before turning his head back towards the portal.

  “Wow! What a coincidence! We’re heading there too!” Vespera replied with a cheery smile.

  Seemingly unwilling to continue the conversation the elf ignored her comment, instead stepping forward towards the portal. Several guards in the room tensed as if to stop him, but Eli shook his head subtly to indicate that they should stand down. He grit his teeth at their jumpiness, hoping that it hadn’t just given away the fact that they’d been following him.

  Thankfully, the elf seemed completely unaware. He stepped into the portal without incident, whisking him away to a new realm. Exhaling slightly Eli felt Vespera intertwine her red fingers with his before the two of them followed.