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might jog a memory of an elemental, griffin, and void working together, but I came up with nothing. There was more here than taking hostages just so they could get me here to kill me, I was certain of it.
    Unfortunately, I now had a new problem. If I went after the griffin first—and I had no idea of his exact whereabouts—it would leave me vulnerable if the void decided to get involved. It would also leave the hostages vulnerable. But going after the void first would almost certainly draw the attention of the griffin . I couldn’t walk in with magic, or guns, blazing; I doubted very much that the griffin cared even a small bit about collateral damage .
    To be honest, it wasn’t even a contest, and I was soon at the front of the shop searching the outside to make sure it was clear of griffins, before I figured out the best route to the hostages.
    I took a step forward as an almighty crash sounded from inside the clothes shop, and a display stand flew out the front of the store, crashing into a kiosk. I ducked back into the stationery store, but no griffins surfaced, so I quickly ran the across the concourse and into a perfume shop. After trying not to cough from the almost visible fog of scents that still lingered, I climbed up onto a display case and back up into the ceiling.
    As before, the space ran the length of several shops, with a small amount of light peeking up through the cracks in the ceiling tiles. Even so, I activated my night vision, making the spider-like walk I needed to perform a little more bearable.
    After a few meters I heard muffled crying from beneath me. I used a cushion of air to ensure I didn’t make any noise as I lay prone and slowly lifted one of the tiles an inch. The void was three feet to my left, with his back toward me. I could drop down and take him before he knew what hit him. But there were four people right below me who probably wouldn’t appreciate me falling on top of them.
    I lowered the tile and released my magic, creeping slowly another few feet, going through the whole rigmarole of lifting a different tile, and finding myself directly above the void.
    The cushion of air that was holding me above the ceiling vanished . I fell only a few inches but it was enough to dislodge the tiles, and I crashed through the ceiling, landing with a resounding, and unpleasant, thud on the hard floor.
    The void kicked me in the side of the head, and I rolled with the blow, trying to put distance between us, but the scared, huddled people got in the way. The void took full advantage and kicked me in the ribs, before trying to stomp on my head. I grabbed his leg just above the ankle and dragged him to one side, causing him to lose his balance and fall onto several people sitting beside us.
    My magic remained switched off, which meant he was still capable of using his powers and fighting. That wasn’t the best news I’d had. He shoved and flailed at the people, swearing at them as he got back to his feet, while I got back to mine. Once upright, he turned to face me and received a punch in the jaw that snapped his head aside with ferocity. He staggered back, but remained upright and put himself into a fighter’s stance.
    I didn’t have time for a drawn-out fight, the griffin had probably already heard the commotion and would be on his way over to investigate, but from the look in the void’s eyes, he wasn’t going down easy.
    He glanced to the side and I saw that when he’d fallen, his gun had come out of its holster. It was an identical piece to the Sig his friend carried, which he clearly recognized when he found me pointing it at him.
    “Anyone who doesn’t want to see this, turn away,” I said.
    “You’re not going to kill me, not here.”
    I shot him in the shoulder, and he crashed back into a nearby display, bringing the glass cabinet and contents of jewels and watches down on top of his head, with more noise than I’d made when I’d come through the ceiling.
    I walked over to the