The tallest tower of the Ashen Bazaar was built from the fused spines of things that should never have been that large.
Iron platforms jutted out at uneven intervals. Red fires burned in cages along the outer walls.
A wide bone staircase spiraled up the outside, busy with demons who took one look at the golden light and the massive pit-wyrm hybrid following Levi and immediately found urgent business in the opposite direction.
Lucy walked with one hand on her blade, clearly enjoying the effect. "I could get used to this kind of polite welcome."
Vespera’s voice was dry. "They are not polite. They are calculating how much of themselves they are willing to lose today."
Serakel’s third eye flicked across the upper windows. "Someone is watching from the top floor. Multiple someones. They are armed and arguing."
Isha skipped a step, slime bouncing cheerfully at her wrists. "I hope they choose poorly. I have not thrown anyone off a tower yet."
The Reverend Mother Superior glanced at her. "Please do not make that a goal."
"Too late," Isha said.
Levi started up the bone staircase. The pit-wyrm hybrid followed as far as the base of the tower, then settled on its haunches like a giant scaled guard dog, copper-and-gold eyes tracking anyone who came too close. Demons gave it a very wide berth.
’Smart of them.’
The climb took only a few minutes. Demons flattened themselves against the walls or ducked through doorways as the group passed. Whispers raced ahead of them faster than footsteps.
At the top landing a pair of heavy iron doors stood closed. Two large demons with axe-heads for hands blocked the way. They lasted exactly three seconds. Lucy took the left one at the knee. Vespera froze the right one solid from the neck down. Both hit the platform with matching heavy sounds.
Levi pushed the iron doors open.
The top chamber was wide and circular, lit by a ring of green fire. A long table of black glass dominated the center. Around it sat seven demons of varying shapes and sizes, the current high council of the Ashen Bazaar. Maps, ledgers, and knives covered the table. All seven were already on their feet.
The largest of them, a broad male with brass horns and a coat of living shadows, slammed one fist onto the glass. "You walk into our tower uninvited, mark our street-boss, free our war-beast, and expect us to kneel?"
Levi stopped a few paces inside the room. The five women spread out behind him in a loose arc that covered every angle.
"I do not expect it," Levi said. "I require it."
The brass-horned demon snarled. "Kill them."
Three of the council drew weapons at once. One hurled a spear of solidified scream. Another flicked both hands and sent a wave of cutting shadow across the floor. The third simply charged, body swelling with stolen muscle.
Levi’s golden barrier took the spear and the shadow wave without effort. Lucy met the charging demon in a blur of steel and dropped him with a precise cut across both hamstrings.
He collapsed, roaring. Serakel’s force struck the shadow-caster in the throat and silenced whatever second attack she had been preparing.
Vespera’s cold locked the scream-thrower’s arms mid-motion so thoroughly that the next scream froze inside his mouth as a solid lump.
Isha’s slime shot across the table, wrapped the remaining two lesser council members, and yanked them face-first into the black glass hard enough to crack it.
The Reverend Mother Superior simply looked at the last armed demon. Holy-gold light flared. The demon’s weapons turned to ash in his hands. He stared at his empty claws, then very carefully raised them in surrender.
The brass-horned leader had not moved. His living-shadow coat writhed in agitation.
Levi walked through the wreckage of the brief fight and stopped directly in front of him.
"Name."
The demon’s brass horns flared hot. "Korrak. High Speaker of the Ashen Bazaar. You have no authority here."
Levi’s hand shot out and closed around Korrak’s throat. Gold light poured from his palm.
[Expending 4,000 Aether]
[Sovereign Domain: Direct Claim]
Korrak’s eyes went wide. The living-shadow coat tried to lash at Levi’s arm and burned away on contact. The gold mark sank deep. Korrak’s knees hit the floor hard.
[Target: Korrak, High Speaker of the Ashen Bazaar]
[Desire Level: 0% → 100%]
[Claim Complete]
"Master," Korrak rasped.
Levi released him. "Better. You and every remaining street-boss will present yourselves in the main square before the next dark cycle turns. You will bring your ledgers, your keys, and every contract the bazaar currently holds. The old order is finished. The new one answers only to me."
Korrak bowed until his brass horns nearly scraped the cracked glass table. "It will be done."
Lucy kicked the hamstrung demon lightly with the toe of her boot. "What about the rest of this mess?"
Levi glanced around the chamber. "They live if they kneel. They stop living if they do not. Simple system."
One by one the surviving council members dropped to their knees. Gold light flickered across each of them in turn as the Sovereign Domain accepted the submissions.
Vespera’s voice carried quiet satisfaction. "Efficient."
Serakel’s third eye dimmed. "The towers will fall in line once the High Speaker has. Fear moves quickly here."
Isha reeled her slime back, looking only mildly disappointed that she had not thrown anyone out a window. "Next time."
The Reverend Mother Superior looked at the cracked table, the ash that had once been weapons, and the kneeling demons. "We have been in this city for less than two hours."
Lucy grinned. "Personal best."
Levi turned toward the open iron doors. The gold light of the Sovereign Domain pulsed once, strong enough that every demon in the tower felt it in their bones.
’The bazaar is mine. The war-beast is mine. The council is mine. Next we see how far the rest of the free courts are willing to test the new reality.’
He walked out onto the top landing. The five women followed. Below them the pit-wyrm hybrid lifted its great head and rumbled in recognition. Across the Ashen Bazaar, word was already spreading faster than fire.
The Sovereign of Neverland had taken the city’s heart in a single afternoon, and the underground world was paying very close attention.