Aetherial Annihilation Read Online Free Page A

the nearest Obsidian Arch?"
    "Where are you guys?" Shelton asked.
    "An island off the coast of Thailand," I said.
    "Looking it up." Shelton fiddled with his phone then held it out to show a map. "Bangkok."
    "Are you able to use magic in the way station?" I asked.
    He waggled his hand. "It works, but it's weaker than usual. I think the arches are still working fine because they use silver circles to trap all the ambient magical energy."
    "Makes sense." I looked at Elyssa. "Maybe I'll need that chalk again after all."
    "The reason the portal isn't working well on your end is because it doesn't have enough magical energy to fully materialize." Shelton put a hand on his chin. "Maybe drawing a circle to trap aether would work."
    "I'll try it." I hesitated. "Deactivate the portal first. I don't want my head to end up like the chicken salad sandwich."
    He chuckled. "You got it."
    After the portal vanished, I drew a circle around the spot and willed it to close. Using my incubus vision, I saw clouds of aether slowly accumulating, but it was nowhere near the amount that usually gathered in a circle.
    The portal reopened, but the results were only marginally better. Shelton's voice was a little clearer at first, but the portal slowly reverted to the hazy window of static as it consumed all the aether in the circle.
    "Son of a dirt eater." Shelton slapped his leg. "Looks like you're walking."
    "More like swimming," Elyssa said. "Since we're relying on the nom cell towers for reception, it's likely we'll lose contact until we hit the mainland."
    "Maybe your dad could send a slider," he suggested.
    "I wouldn't want to rely on magical transportation," Elyssa said. "The aether charge wouldn't last, and then it couldn't recharge."
    Shelton threw up his hands. "Why do they have to make everything so difficult?"
    "Commander Borathen called a meeting," Bella said. "He wants to speak with the heads of the Overworld Conclave factions about the magic outage."
    I wrinkled my nose. "How many responded?"
    "The vampires didn't, but most of the other factions will attend." She sighed. "I don't know if the vampires will ever willingly come back into the fold. I've heard rumors the ancients are once again trying to control them."
    A shudder ran through my back. I'd met the ancients. Not only could they fly, but they were far more nimble and powerful than their more modern brethren. "Vampires are intrinsically strong like Daemos, lycans, and so forth. They rely on blood, not aether."
    "Yeah, while Arcanes are left out in the cold." Shelton scowled. "That could really give the vamps a chance to shift the balance of power back into their favor."
    "Hmm." Elyssa tapped a finger on her lips. "What about Serena? She's an Arcane, but she was also Daelissa's top person when it came to mad inventions. These crystals look like something she'd come up with."
    "She escaped the last battle, too." Shelton looked as though he knew where she was going.
    "You think some of the factions who fought for Daelissa are looking for revenge?" I asked.
    Elyssa nodded. "It makes sense."
    "I can tell you right now the battle mages and Arcanes on her side wouldn't go for a plan like this," Shelton said. "Not unless they had a way out."
    Shelton held up a finger. "Remember those aether interdictors they used so we couldn't cast or channel spells when we were in their range? Their Arcanes had those tokens that allowed them to cast spells."
    "Yeah, but those were highly localized," Elyssa replied. "And they didn't remove the aether, they simply rendered it unusable unless a token filtered it."
    Shelton snapped his fingers and shaped them like a gun. "Bingo!"
    "I don't know how a token would put more aether in the air," I said. "This seems a lot different."
    "But troublingly similar." Bella scrunched her forehead. "I don't believe Serena would do this without a way to keep her own power intact."
    "If she's found a way to do it, then we're in big trouble." Shelton rubbed the back of his