Pinned

The hole in the ground didn't extend past the building's walls, but it was about as deep as a basement. At the bottom was a massive magic circle carved into a slab of stone. 

"Hold on." Koji snapped a photo with his new camera, magic lighting up the room with stark shadows for a single moment. "That sure is something. Can you feel it?" 

Strangely, Miyori thought she could—like radiating heat, or a faint thrumming—only instead of pushing her away, it was pulling her towards it. 

"Be careful," Sayaka said. "I'll need to get a closer look, but that symbology doesn't look standard. It must be developed in-house." 

"I think I recognize parts of it," Koji said, stepping forward. "Looks like fae stuff. I'm not really an expert on our spellcraft, though." 

They all wended their way down, coming to rough dirt at the bottom of the hole. 

"What do you think it's for?" Koji asked Sayaka.

"Some sort of control interface," Sayaka said. "And a powerful one, if it needs to be all the way down here. But what are they using it for...?" 

Koji stepped up to the design, tracing it with his eyes. He took a few closer-up shots. 

Miyori joined him. The smell from the ocean was stronger than before down here, pressing against her nostrils—brine and something oddly earthy. "Do you think they chose this place because it's near the ocean?" she asked. 

"Maybe…oh." 

Koji looked down at Sayaka. "Oh?" 

"This." She pointed at the center of the circle, tracing over it in midair. "This looks like…oh dear." 

"What is it?" Miyori asked, leaing around to get a better look. 

"It's for gathering energy, all right," Sayaka said. "All kinds of energy." She pointed to one section of the circle. "That's a constrained combustion spell. That's a symbol for industrial waste. That's a warding against residual effects of spells. And that…that's for dissolving things. Waste disposal."

Koji blinked. "It's a recycler?" 

"Yes and no." Sayaka shook her head. "There are rules about using magic for trash disposal. Magic carries residuals—you're supposed to release spells after using them, and disperse the energy from man-made things. This looks like they're just—just draining things of magic and then chopping up whatever's left and...and dumping it somewhere out in the bay—" She paused, eyes going wide as she took several quick steps back.

Koji stepped closer. "Sayaka. What is it?"

"You said there's symbols for blood magic in here, too," Sayaka said. "Do you know how many missing person's reports there have been in the past few months? Nobody's reporting it, and they would only let me get a glimpse at the records, but…" 

Miyori stared at the circle. "You think they're feeding people into this?" 

"Bodies, at least," Sayaka said. "I'm not sure. It's just a possibility. But…I can feel the energy coming off this, and it's…not right." 

"It's a possibility, unfortunately." Koji frowned. "I'd hoped we might be able to experiment a bit, but if that's what this is for, we really shouldn't touch it—"

He cut himself off, whipping around. A moment later, Miyori heard what he had—a long, moaning creak. 

"Someone's here," Sayaka hissed. "Quick, there's too much light. Over here." 

They moved to one side, pressing against the side of the dirt wall. 

Overhead she could hear voices—people speaking fast. 

"I'm reporting to the boss and calling for reinforcements," said one that Miyori thought was a woman. "You, strengthen the wards around here, and—" 

"Wards are down," said a man's voice. 

"What?" 

"And the side door's unlocked," called a third voice. "Either those guys weren't working alone, or someone's got real rotten timing." 

There were footsteps overhead. 

Sayaka leaned forward. In the light from the circle, Miyori could see her mouth the words: They're coming. 

"Transform and get clear," Koji murmured to Miyori. "Wait for us at the station if we get separated. Sayaka…I'll make an opening, so get ready to run." 

Miyori shrank even as Koji crept forward, climbing towards the edge of the pit. She gained altitude slowly, continuing until she could make out the people up above. 

A woman's head appeared at the top of the pit, and Koji didn't waste any time. His spell was silent and ruthless, slapping her across the face and knocking her to the ground. 

Miyori shot skyward, looking for a dark corner. Below she heard a rough, "Found 'em," and then spells started flying. 

She'd seen magical fights before—everything from formally-enhanced boxing and kendo to reenactments of ancient duels—but she'd never seen anything like this. 

Blasts of light flew from styluses and fists alike, ripping through the air and leaving ripples of sound and air in their wake. Koji ducked, rolled, and was up again, taking on three people at a time. 

He'd talked a good game, and he seemed like a skilled fighter, but he was at a disadvantage: Sayaka had to get out of the pit before she could run anywhere. 

Small, Miyori was hard to hit, and she could use her full magic. She concentrated and willed up a small forest of sparks in the eyes of the two others converging on the pit. It wasn't much, but in the dimness, it would hopefully distract them—and make them wonder if they were surrounded. 

Koji had drawn a knife from somewhere on his person, and had clambered halfway out of the pit, swiping at the people above him. Meanwhile, Sayaka was holding back to one side, trying to stay unnoticed. 

The woman backed off, circling around the pit towards the ledge on the far side. Koji made it to the top of the path and lunged after her, ignoring the men closing in from either side. 

Miyori zoomed in, knocking one man off the edge to slide down into the pit. 

Below them, Sayaka stood up and began to run. 

Koji closed with the woman, who swore and whipped out a spell that burned bright purple—and bounced off Koji's glowing hand. It lit his feral smile from beneath as he wrapped his hands around her throat and lifted her bodily. 

"You two," he barked. "Stand down or this gets ugly." 

The woman he was holding tried to kick him, but he just tossed her aloft, where she stayed, magic tightening around her throat. 

Everyone in the room came to a halt—even Sayaka, staring up at Koji with an expression that might have been awe or horror. 

The stalemate was broken by the door Miyori had unlocked slamming open. 

A voice called, "Well, well—" 

The man in the pit lunged—not at Koji, but at Sayaka. She shrieked and tried to get away, but he got hold of her elbow. 

Koji looked away from the woman he was holding overhead, and she gestured wildly, breaking the spell and dropping into the pit with a heavy thud. 

The man holding Sayaka looked between his boss in the pit and Koji, then grinned. He picked up Sayaka and threw her as hard as he could back down to the pit's bottom. 

Sayaka fell and hit the edge of the circle, which lit up—not a dim purple, but a bright, virulent green. She was dragged against it, flat on her back, an unholy scream leaving her mouth. 

Then she started to sink into it.

Koji turned to run for her—and took a hit to the jaw from the last man outside the pit, who'd finally reached him. He wavered on the pit's edge. 

Miyori looked on in horror, wondering who to go to first, or whether it was time for her to run—

And then a sound echoed through the room. It sounded like a footfall, but it was too loud for that. It reverberated, shaking through Miyori's bones. 

The light in the pit died. Sayaka fell, silently, back to earth. 

"Thanks, love." A man stepped forward, cracking his knuckles. "As I was about to say, it was very rude of you three to leave before we could finish our conversation..."