Page 206 of Scarlet Wars
We slowed to a stop as the trees around us began to thin.
The forest opened into a wide, snow-blanketed clearing: eerily still, surrounded by skeletal birch trees that creaked faintly in the wind. The air was cold, and the sky above hung low and gray, like a lid over the world.
Faint tracks crisscrossed the snow, then vanished, like something had passed through and been erased.
“So, what is it you need me for exactly?” I asked, scanning the emptiness.
“You need to cast your untraceable haze into the clearing,” Caden said, his breath fogging the air. He turned to face me. “As far as you can. See if there’s anything cloaked. If our intel is correct, there should be a hidden building here.”
Easy enough.
I lifted my hand and sent my invisible red haze sweeping out in a wide arc. It rippled across the snow like light caught in fog, curling around tree trunks and sinking into shadows.
Then—suddenly—it hit something.
Not a wall. More like a presence. Cold, metallic, humming faintly beneath the surface.
My eyes snapped toward the far edge of the clearing, to the east.
“Something’s definitely over there,” I muttered.
I stepped toward the far edge of the clearing, where my haze had stopped, where something cloaked and pulsing sat right beneath the snow. But both men shot out their arms, stopping me in my tracks.
“Not so fast,” Caden said. “Can you break through the cloaking?”
I nodded slowly. “I can try. Cloaking’s basically a network of mirrors. If I shatter them, I might be able to see what’s behind.”
Without waiting for a response, I extended my haze again, this time focused on tearing through the magic and exposing whatever was hidden underneath.
The building revealed itself slowly, materializing piece by piece, and something about it unsettled me. This decaying shell, sitting there in the middle of the godsforsaken woods, felt too quiet. Too intentional.
“Bold of them to cloak this shit out here in the Human World,” James muttered. “Not exactly sure how Sisu’s LiaPrism didn’t pick up on it.”
“Maybe it did,” Caden mumbled, already working through the implications in his head. “Maybe Rachel’s right and Sisu’s working with the Collabs.”
“You think Collabs are operating from places like these?” I asked.
“Possibly. But why in the Human World?” James replied. “It’s where they’re most traceable.”
Caden shrugged. “When I was in Monaco, I killed humans who were experimenting on magi out in the open. No magic involved. Who says their experiments even need translation anymore?”
I rubbed my hands together and blew into them once. “Could be. But cloaking still requires translation either way.” I glanced between them. “So how did Sisu not pick up on this?”
The two of them went still before James turned to Caden. “Either their LiaPrism isn’t working properly…”
“Or they’re involved,” Caden finished, then shook his head.
“We need to move,” James commanded, his tone even. “If this is Sisu, the three of us won’t hold against all their Offensives if they show up.”
Caden and I exchanged a brief look, then nodded, having reached the same conclusion.
With the building now fully visible, the three of us approached it in silence. The structure loomed ahead, its silhouette slicing into the afternoon light. Even in broad daylight, with the sun high above, it felt like a dark chapter ripped straight out of a horror movie.
The windows were boarded up, splinters of wood jutting out like broken teeth. The walls were weathered and stained, the brickwork dark with grime and age.
Caden’s hand brushed the small of my back, guiding me toward the entrance. The rusted door stood slightly ajar, creaking as it shifted in the cold breeze. A low hum pressed against my ears, subtle but persistent, a vibration deep beneath the surface of my skin.
“This place feels…”
