Reality Falling (The Book Wielder Saga 2) by Sean Davies

and return to safety.”
    “Tut, tut, tut.” A dock worker wearing baggy clothing, a bright orange hard hat, and a hi-vis jacket came out of the shadows and shook his finger at them disapprovingly. “You’re not supposed to be here.”
    “Move along,” Alice said sternly, “we’re on Inquisition business.”
    “Inquisition business, you say?” the dock worker said in an amused voice. “You hear that, gang?”
    Shrill and horrid laughter echoed through the docks, as more dockworkers crept out of the shadows or peeked out over the edges of stacked up containers. They held hammers, crowbars, bolt cutters and other tools brandished menacingly.
    A shiver crept down Alice’s spine. “Freaks...”
    Silvario took a deep breath and held his hands out towards the Auton containers. “Deal with them quickly,” he ordered as he began sending the wisps of magic flowing into the machines.
    Alice sent a duel barrage of fiery blue plasma bolts from her wrist lasers into the face of the first Alt, melting the puppet’s orange helmet and igniting its fabric, and then the others charged. She quickly drew her more powerful submachine gun from its holster and fired wildly into their ranks.
    The two Inquisitors fired a prolonged lance of plasma energy from their rifles across the charging Alternatives. Many were cut in half and set ablaze in blue fire, but after Alice’s initials shots they were ready, and so those not caught in the sweeping beams dodged expertly out of the way with graceful acts of acrobatic mastery. With their guns overheating, the Inquisitors’ advanced black rifles switched to regular ammunition, and the Alternatives took the opportunity to advance quicker.
    Alternatives began leaping from the tops of the containers. One dropped directly onto the back of the male Inquisitor and scratched at his face with its elongated pointed fingers, so Alice quickly rushed to help and swung her hammer at the foul creature. The spell-forged hammer smashed into the Alt’s side, and in a flash of white light it was torn asunder and sent flying. Bits of grey stuffing floated in the air like snowflakes as Alice helped him up and swung her hammer at another assailant.
    Silvario kept his attention focused on the Autons within the containers, sending the greenish blue wisps of magic into their complex circuitry. He had used a great deal of power opening the portals, and he was ashamed at how much the ancient magic was draining him. His old master from the Mage’s tower of Desem had taught him well in the ancient ways of animation and translocation magic, but Silvario’s greatest and strongest talents had always been that of his cunning and diplomatic manner.
    Alternatives kept trying to close in on Silvario before he could bring the Autons to life, but Jonathan sent them flying with waves of force magic, impacting them into the sides of containers with so much force that they exploded in a puff of padding and material.
    The two Inquisitors were managing to hold out against the tide of assailants with the help of Alice and her spell-forged hammer, as an array of wrenches, crowbars and hammers flew at them from random directions. Even thrown with supernatural force the missiles could only dent their power armour, but one caught the female Inquisitor on the side of her face and knocked her to the ground. The male Inquisitor, with blood still streaming down his face, unleashed another lance of plasma energy from his rifle until it overheated once again. With another swath of bright blue plasma fire the Alt’s numbers were thinning drastically, but the group worried how many more were on the way.
    “I’m done,” Silvario wheezed.
    “Alice, quick!” Jonathan yelled, throwing more waves of clear force magic into the disguised Alts.
    Alice ran over to the containers and yelled, “Autons, help us!”
    The armoured robots clambered and leapt out of the rectangular containers, and they immediately clashed with their foes from the