Reality Falling (The Book Wielder Saga 2) Read Free Page B

enter the city through a Catacomb portal, any dissenting forces had been scared into submission. ‘Obey or end up skinned alive and fed to murderous puppets’ sent a clear message. Although the PR team had expected to work twice as hard to undo that damage, the people took the display surprisingly well. Winston had noticed a subtle difference in both the humans and the Alts recently. The humans seemed to be slightly moodier and more aggressive, whereas the Alts were becoming increasingly more polite and well spoken. He assumed the merger was affecting both species’ mind sets, and hoped that everything would balance out when he brought the magic back to the world.
    Patience was definitely not one of the Archmage’s strongest virtues. Either by nature or from being so close to his goals, he was determined to take Industria City and Tropica City as soon as possible, regardless of the situation on the continent of Rura. Although the rebels had given up the futile attacks on the Capital they were continually pestering the other towns and cities, raiding military depots, vandalising equipment and causing disruptions where possible. Regardless of their loose hold on the continent, Omniosis was adamant that all that mattered was getting as much manpower over to the Industrian front lines, where Kaine’s Dogs of War and Kat’s Anarchy’s Ascendants were battling over territory with the rebels and rival gangs who had joined them. His order to send more Shadow Circle forces, including Lynette and Kavarne, had not been well received by Lucius, but Omniosis had tried to make amends by offering to perform the wedding ceremony.
    The pre-wedding party was being held in the outside dining section of the Hotel Noir. Winston and Veronica had chosen to do a joint party rather than separate ones, because Veronica had claimed she ‘didn’t want to miss out on the strippers’. Most of the attendees would be members of the Shadow Circle, but the Governor and some MPK Officers, along with the Mayor, DVAF, Mortissa, and several other Alternatives, would also be there. Omniosis had been invited, but he had declined as he wished to monitor the situation on Industria before the wedding ceremony in the morning.
    Winston was still thinking of ways to get into Tropica, seeing as the Omni had little presence there. If Industria was merged soon then they would still struggle to get a foothold on the tropical and jungle covered continent. He checked the time, saw that he was running late, and pushed the thoughts of tactics out of his mind. He began changing into some smart casual clothing, delicately folding his wedding suit for the morning. The night would be about enjoyment, unwinding, relaxing and having a wild time, just like he had done with Veronica before the Archmage had summoned him.
    - - -
    It was a pleasant evening in the Capital of Imperia, although it was hard to tell what time of the day it was with the plate of dark purple and black clouds curdling above the city and its outskirts. The eerily hazy white column of light that emanated from the top of Omniosis’ stone and glass tower at the heart of the city gave some illumination, but even with that it always seemed like the middle of the night. It was only from the horizon that the true weather and time of day could been seen, but within the city’s vast white and grey stone walls, marked consistently with Omniosis’ banner of a plain white masquerade mask on a plain black rectangle, it was difficult to see the normal sky over them. Light purple clouds spread from the plate in strange vein patterns and reached all across Imperia.
    Veronica was waiting by the bar in the hotel’s gardens, casually sipping a glass of blood and vodka. She had chosen to curl her jet black hair slightly so that it dropped in alluring waves down to her bare shoulders, and she had used red glossy lipstick and heavy mascara which contrasted with her pale snow white skin. For the party she had chosen to wear