Chapters
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Time got weird when you were an animal. Even to a mage like Lyra, who spent days at a time with paws or hooves or wings, the strange attenuation of conscious focus never failed to confuse her. Her cat self was neither interested nor comfortable during the bumpy drive back to the Sanctum, so she was barely awake for it. Her familiar gave her the occasional protective lick, stretching his larger size around her. That kept her heart calm enough that she could bury the urge to find some way to flee.Simply…-
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Lyra almost had it.She’d been stalking this target for hours now, through alleys and dark corners, across one end of the city to the other. Distance and space were malleable things, even more so when she crossed freely between the unseen Shadow and the Material with some regularity.Her hunting partner said nothing of course—words would give away their position, words were the tools of human hunters without access to the supernal weapons they wielded.Capper needed no instructions from her, merely…
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Lyra passed through the cloud, and her clothes soaked through to her skin almost instantly, followed by a fierce wind sucking the heat from her body. She started to sag, but flew on, until finally the clouds parted and she saw the battle she had only heard from above.Black marks charred into the stone here, forming a ritual circle that somehow remained dry despite the pouring rain. Inside it was a single captive—Bonnie, bound tight by her wrists and ankles to a heavy rock. But Lyra saw no blood—her…
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She didn't have far to fly before she saw the first flutters of motion underneath. Lyra blinked, focusing her attention on a single patch of forest distinct from the others. Not just movement, but purpose. She felt the order that came from sapient creatures, imposed on a world that did not always welcome their intrusion.Someone was alive on this mountain. It could be almost anyone, if they weren't in the middle of an awful storm after all the roads and highways out of Canterlot were totally locked down.As…
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Harmony Point remained transformed to Lyra's eyes. Jungle canopy towered over the rocky crags, and the mud of the long thunderstorm transformed to firm, healthy soil. Strange birds filled the air with their songs, unknown yet welcoming. The sun shone bright on her face, defiant of the pouring rain she knew must be there. No lightning flashed, no thunder rolled.“He demanded obedience without understanding. Loyalty without love. He was always wrong.” Not Capper's voice. That was someone else, a speaker…
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“Do you know why you still stand on this mountain, and the others have been swept from off its face?” Tempest advanced through the field of the dead, surrounded by the again-lifeless zombies. She barely even seemed to glance at Bonnie, though she was still there, her wrists and ankles bound by thick cords.She shouldn't be able to see all this magic. This disbelief should've unraveled those zombies. They still fought.That last, strongest protection against the mages Bonnie fought had finally failed her.…
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Lyra crouched low to the ground, watching as the vehicles rolled to a stop opposite the thick line of trees. After Starlight's first attempt to magically stop them, none of the others tried a direct magical attack. The Seers knew how to put up a ward.“We need to get more guns,” Lyra whispered. One hand closed around her magical tool, while the other remained empty. She steadied herself against the mud. That was mostly instinct—she had already enhanced her own reflexes to a nearly Olympian level. Even…
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“I can't believe we're actually doing this.”Lyra wasn't sure how many times she'd said it. Enough times that even her familiar grew sick of listening to her, and rolled his eyes when she spoke. Considering Capper was captive in the hollow of a large tree, that was saying something. The cat sheltered there, keeping his head far back enough that he wouldn't be washed away by the downpour of rain. It helped—she knew from their shared sensations that the cat felt dry while she was totally soaked. Lucky…
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Reagan slipped away a few minutes later, with a clear mission to “retrieve Tabitha.” She was only gone a short time before the two of them reappeared down the steps, clothes damp with rain and looking in various states of disrepair.Lyra jerked upright from her seat, nearly dropping the phone she'd been borrowing. A little of Akiko's computer skills and she was hooked up to the messages forwarded from her device back home—but it made no difference. Bonnie hadn't said anything. Because, of course, she…
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When Lyra stepped out into the impossible clearing, it wasn't naked and muddy or wearing fur. Now she felt like she was dressed for war—a thin, flexible top of metal links, with a skirt to match. Somehow it fit her perfectly without adjustment, or even much struggle to get over her damp skin.It was magic, obviously—the strange, new kind of magic that surrounded her, or rested on her ears as a little wreath. She was still a plain, ordinary human—but the locals didn't stare and point anymore. Most…
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