Bonds of the Mazza

by Blake Blessing

  I walked back to the edge by the ladder. “Jari, go down a few steps. I’m going to get in front of you and go up a little ways.”

  Jari quirked a brow, but stepped down. “Mind telling me why?”

  “Yes, but hold on.” The distance back to the ladder seemed so much farther going this direction. My heart slammed against my rib cage as I leaned out, snagging the bar, then placing my feet on the rungs. The bar was cold and rough in my sweaty hands, but I ignored it.

  I climbed up two steps. Then three more. Then finally two more on top of that, until I was firmly above the other option.

  I waited.

  Sweat started to break out at the edge of my hairline, my stomach clenching in such a tight spasm, pain radiated up my spine.

  “This is the way,” I rasped as I hurried back down and leaped into the tunnel before I psyched myself out.

  “Do you want to explain what just happened?” Jari caught up with me and lit the way with his little ball of lightning.

  “With my Zien powers, I have strong instincts. My instincts were trying to tell me something was wrong before we ran into Rainer, remember? I tried it here and it worked. I don’t know what would have happened, but it would have been bad if we had climbed instead of got off here.” My breath was coming in gasps where I was still settling from the sickness.

  We ran down this tunnel, anxious to get out of the underground and to safety. It was a miracle we didn’t fall and break something. Jari’s light didn’t light the way as much as I’d have liked it to when we were running at this pace.

  I rounded a corner and something in the distance reflected light back to us.

  “You see that?” I squealed. It had to be a door of some kind. What other kind of surface would reflect back that much light?

  I slowed down and Jari followed to keep in line with me. The end of the tunnel was soon close, enough for us to see that it was in fact a metal door. It was completely solid with no windows or patterns, except for a small doorknob placed a little higher than normal.

  I reached out but Jari caught my hand. “Let me do this, Iss. On the rare chance your instincts don’t work all the time and something dangerous is on the other side.”

  I melted in a puddle right where I stood. Jari was my jokester, the lighthearted bond mate. But it was so sexy and endearing to see him concerned for my safety. The way he looked at me, like I was more important to him than his own life, it meant something to me. There was no cold calculation in his gaze that said he was protecting a tool or a weapon. He was seeing me for who I was, as a person.

  It warmed me like a good shot of whiskey on a cold night. I bonded Jari as a means to keep my own choice and not have someone forced on me. Sage was to keep our Lusty Legion safe. We wouldn’t even get into Nato.

  Egan was the only one that I had bonded out of true choice because he wanted me and I longed to be loved. My insecurity about why they wanted to bond to me always forced its way into the back of my mind, but the little things like this gave me a glimpse into their motivation, and was good for my soul.

  I lowered my hand and stepped to the side, allowing him the space needed to swing the door wide.

  Jari adjusted the light in his other hand so it would shine into the open space. He twisted the knob with a careful hesitancy and when it turned all the way to the left, he paused. I thought the night had been full of so many attacks, he expected something on the other side.

  Hell, I did too.

  With a controlled precision he pulled on the door and peeked around it to see what lay beyond.

  There must be something good on the other side because not only did he not tense up, Jari relaxed completely.

  “I know this place. This is one of the temples in the center of the city. It’s closed at night so we should be completely safe to go inside.”

  It crossed my mind that he wouldn’t be able to see enough to really know where we were, but once the door was completely open, I saw for myself that it was indeed unique.

  We walked into the room, the door closing quietly behind us.

  The door opened to the lowest level of some kind of temple. Tall, winding metal pipes wove into the most intricate and beautiful patterns, covered every inch of the walls. Soft light from candles variously placed around the room gleamed over the metal and free-hanging stained glass artwork, giving the appearance of colorful fireflies dancing over the room.

  “This is beautiful, Jari.” Even though my voice was quiet, it carried across the open expanse of the room.

  “Let’s go over here. If I know Yunez, he would want us to hang out here until they could come get us.” Jari laced his fingers through my own and guided me to a small door behind the pulpit. He touched candle wicks as he entered ahead of me, lighting the way.

  “That’s a neat trick, I hope it’s one I’m going to inherit,” I skimmed my fingers over the metal. Like in the dining room at court, this metal is warm.

  “I’m sure you will, I bet you’ll have all of my powers and more.” Jari said.

  He opened a small cabinet and brought out a square, clear decanter with two accompanying glasses.

  “Do you think we should be drinking?” Probably not a good idea until we were properly rescued, but I didn’t want him to think I was lecturing him.

  “This is water. All the whiskeys and bourbons are in the taller bottles.” He uncapped the water and poured each of us a healthy amount of liquid.

  I took it from his hand and chugged the hell out of it. I had done a lot of running since I last had something to drink.

  “Sit down over here, Iss. There’s so much I have to tell you, now that we’re in a safe place.” He pointed a finger at a small couch behind me.

  We took a seat as I examined the space. This must have been the pastor’s personal office. It was much too comfortable to be anything else, especially with the clean but cold beauty in the church.

  Which brought a different question to mind. “Who does Fennina worship? Do you have the same church and beliefs?”

  “We can chat all about that later. First, there are things I need to tell you.” Excitement blazed in his eyes and he gave me the most glorious smile.

  I waited as he vibrated with quiet excitement.

  “What’s the big secret?” I said flippantly and brought my feet under my butt.

  “Sweets, it’s a giant secret! The biggest secret I could never have thought of. Let me start at the beginning. I lost everyone in my family but my great aunt Renna and her brother, my uncle. She took me in for a bit but we didn’t connect.” Jari shrugged like it was no big deal. “I started running the streets all the time to stay out of the house, and that’s where I met Nato and the others.” The way he talked about losing his family was so clinical, not at all like Egan and definitely not like Sage.

  “Is she still alive?” I reached across the space separating us and closed my fingers around his hand. If there was one thing I knew about Jari, it was that he was happy, maybe too happy. Even if he wouldn’t admit he was hurting, because no one ever stopped feeling that kind of loss, I wanted him to know I would be here for him.

  “She is. I stop by and see her from time to time. I’ll take you to meet her someday soon. She’s actually in this city.” He drummed his fingers on the cushion between us, his energy mounting. I knew he wouldn’t be able to hold back the information much longer.

  “Okay, out with it.” I twirled my hand in the air.

  “The reason Yunez took me with him was because my uncle is part of this faction. The Three Suns—” I interrupted him.

  “Yunez mentioned them. He said to tell them hi if I ever ran across anyone with three suns on their clothes.”

  “Yes! My uncle is part of the Three Suns! He was never around when I was growing up, I guess there was some kind of falling out with him and Renna. There’s this whole other aspect to our culture that no one knows about. I have no idea how they kept it secret for so long… I mean I guess I do, but I don’t know why.” He
stared thoughtfully at a candle on the wall.

  “Jari, I’m going to combust from curiosity if you don’t tell me.” His excitement was great and all, but he needed to spit it out. Especially if it was something useful. With our luck, you never knew when a distraction was going to pop up. I crossed my fingers hoping I hadn’t jinxed us.

  He chuckled and bent toward me. “Iss, you aren’t alone. You’re the Mazza, which is rare and there’s never been many of the Mazza, right?” He paused.

  “Of course I remember. Mazzas are a time of great change and all that. How could I forget?”

  “But there are many Mannos. The male version of Mazzas.” His eyes widened comically, as he watched for my response.

  I didn’t give him what he wanted. Instead of big gasps and shouts of surprise, I said, “Huh?”

  A boisterous laugh rocked his body and he scooted closer to me. “There are tons of male Mazzas, or Mannos. They don’t have to bond to come into their powers like you do. They grow into them just like the rest of the Fennin.”

  My face scrunched up in confusion. “Then why would Mazzas be so revered?” That didn’t make any sense. “And why does no one know about these men Mazzas?”

  “Because women, when they’re bonded, are so much more powerful than the men. As to why no one knows, I didn’t get that far when we were with the Three Suns. It took us twice as long to travel there, and Yunez and I spent all of two hours in their presence before heading back. They were following behind us but they couldn’t come right away.”

  I had no thoughts. That was such a mind overload I couldn’t quite process it. First I learn that the Mazza was so rare and sought after, that there was nothing like the Mazza. Now all that was turned on its head and there was in fact a male version called the Manno. There were many more but hidden. I shook my head to get my brain working again.

  “I… I don’t know what to say.” And I really didn’t.

  “Isn’t it the wildest thing? I can’t believe something so vital has escaped our history.”

  Jari threw himself back against the cushion and stared up at the ceiling with an awed look on his face. How was he able to keep this quiet the whole time? Oh yeah, that was right. We had been on the run.

  I bent over in pain as my stomach constricted so tight, I would have thought someone was squeezing my insides in their fist.

  Ah hell, I knew what this means now.

  “Jari,” I squeezed out between clenched teeth.

  He jumped up right as clanging noises reached us. It was like someone was dragging a stick over the metal pipes.

  Sliding his hands under my arms, he helped me to my feet. “We need to get back to the tunnel, that’s the only safe exit. The others are too easily blocked.” His voice was hushed as he swiped a hand by the candles and all the lights went out.

  I shuffled my feet. The pain intensified until we made it passed the threshold and came face to face with a new group of villains.

  Rainer was nowhere to be found, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t close by.

  My stomach immediately released the tension with the danger in sight. I guessed that was handy. It wouldn’t be as big of an asset if I were incapacitated when danger actually arrived. Although a less painful alarm would have been appreciated.

  These men were missing the cloak and instead were dressed in black linen pants and long sleeve shirts. Out of the five men, the one in the center bowed his head.

  “Greetings Mazza. We have searched for you and now that we have found you, we can begin our true quest.” His voice was brittle, like dry leaves rustling in the wind. The words he used were formal, so this must be an insanely old Fennin.

  The younger the Fennin, the more casual the talk. At least in my experience.

  I exchanged a disbelieving look with Jari.

  “I’m sorry, I’m afraid I don’t know who you are.” I edged around Jari toward a cluster of candles to get a better look at these men. I needed to remember them if we got out of here.

  When we get out of here.

  Jari followed me, placing a hand on my hip and sticking to my side.

  “I’m with the Shadow Society. You’ve already met some of the idiots on our fringes, but luckily you have the elite here.” He spread his arm to encompass all of his companions.

  They didn’t look like the friendliest bunch, but at least they weren’t bum rushing us like the men at the pub.

  “I’m flattered, really.” I fisted my hand in Jari’s pants at the thigh and subtly tugged him backward. “I don’t think I’m the one you’re looking for, though.”

  The men walked with us. “Of course you are. The Mazza is a valuable piece on the chessboard. Like the queen. With your combination of powers, you can move anywhere you want. The Shadow Society needs you to achieve the vision we’ve set for Fennina.”

  Another step backward. I was tempted to look behind me to gauge how far the door was, but in case it wasn’t completely obvious we had a plan, I didn’t want to give it away. Maybe they just thought we were mindlessly edging away from them.

  “And if I refuse to help your vision?”

  The leader’s mouth twisted into something evil. “Well then, I’m afraid you won’t be of assistance to anyone’s vision.”

  Oh, shit. Why did I keep asking that question? If I couldn’t be a tool for someone, their trigger reaction was to wipe me off the board completely. But still, the answer always stunned me. Not fun.

  “I don’t think that’s going to work for me. Sorry, not sorry.” A few more shuffled steps backward.

  “You don’t really get to have a say, dearie.” The use of the endearment was mocking.

  Fear ratcheted my heart, the pounding in my ears was so intense, I was afraid I was going to pass out.

  “I do have a say. And I say no.”

  “Grab the Mazza. Grab him too. He might be useful.” The Shadow Society guy ordered the men around him without taking his eyes off of Jari and me.

  “Not fucking again.” Jari groaned in exasperation.

  Hot vibrant heat assaulted my body so fast, I stumbled and moaned. Jari held me up by my shoulders, spinning me around so the men were completely blocked from my vision.

  “Sweets, what’s wrong?” Jari gently shook my shoulders, rattling my head.

  Wave after wave of molten fire rolled over my body, fusing to my cells. It could have been seconds or minutes, I lost track of time in the attack on my body. When it started to settle, the room came back into view and the Shadow Society were creeping closer, almost upon Jari’s back.

  “Jari,” my voice cracked as one of the men raise some kind of object, intent on bashing Jari over the head.

  I threw out my hand in a last ditch effort to warn off these fucking crazy men. Pain crackled through my body, leaving through my hand as the candles behind the men blazed to a raging inferno in the span of one second.

  The man with the object caught Jari on the back of his head anyway, fucker. Jari crumpled to the floor as the fire raced around the edges of the room, climbing the pipes in a haunting pattern.

  I fell to my knees, as fire engulfed two of the men closest to the flames. Their screams sounded like they were down a wind tunnel, far away from me. I must have been in some kind of dream state as I hazily regarded the men as they ran around searching for water or some way out. But I had created a living tomb of fire, and I hadn’t even meant to.

  I combed my fingers through Jari’s hair, smoothing it away from his forehead. Every breath I took brought back more clarity as panic teased my reality. My gaze darted to the wall where the secret entrance had been, but it looked like a smooth iron wall from here.

  “Jari, wake up. I did something and we need to get out of here.” I tapped his cheek, but he didn’t move at all. The man must have clipped him good.

  I tottered to my feet, but the blood rushed to my head and I stumbled sideways.

  “Jari,” I slurred.

  When I glanced at the men, only two remained standing, t
he others were either dead or rolling around on the floor doused in flames. The fire licked at their heels as they ran circles around the room. It was like the fire had a mind of its own and knew these guys were out to get me.

  My head slumped and the darkness was calling me.

  Fuck… I was going to pass out, just like after I gained the Zien powers.

  The wall burst open, revealing the secret door that disappeared on this side, my Lusty Legion ran in. Relief was a cool wash over my body, giving me hope that I hadn’t just fucked the duck and killed everyone, including Jari and me.

  Egan slid on his knees like he was sliding into home base, and crashed into my side.

  “Issy girl, holy shit. We heard the crackling of the fire all the way down the tunnel.” His hands trembled as he checked me over and pulled my head to his chest.

  I had a good view of the room from this position. Rand had a man by the collar as he pummeled his face, looking every bit the part of avenging angel. The second man jumped his back, ripping his shirt right before Nato and Yunez threw the man away from Rand and straight into the fire.

  All three of my men had their backs to me. The orange glow of the fire getting brighter. I squinted my eyes, catching a tattoo on Rand’s back. Three suns of different sizes covered the expanse of his shoulders. At least I thought that was what I saw.

  A cold, clammy hand stroked my hair, then rested over my nape.

  My eyelids were so heavy, like weights were attached. Before I could ask Egan about Rand’s tattoo, I was out.

  Low voices jarred me out of a deep sleep. I pushed to my elbows but my vision was so blurry I couldn’t tell exactly where I was. An aching stiffness throbbed through my whole body and I flopped back down with a groan.

  “Hey, Iss is waking up!” Nato announced.

  The bed dipped from several newcomers and I forced my eyes to open. My fingers swiped over my lashes finding little crusties, ugh.

  A sloppy kiss landed on my cheek and Egan’s wild scent wrapped around me. “Way to scare us, Iss. At least this was half the downtime from when we were called to Court.”