by NAK Baldron
"Won't matter, unless you find out where the footage is going," Blake said. "If it's an online stream, we're fucked."
"Affirmative," Lance said.
"Follow the plan," he told Kandice.
A quick flash of light in the next room told them it was a bathroom.
They opened the third door, and Lance clicked on his light again. It was a much larger bedroom, with the bed unmade.
"Mayor's room?" Kandice asked.
They moved in together and did a quick search of the room. The first door they opened inside the room was the closest to the door they came in, and it led to the master bathroom. Lance searched, while Kandice stayed in the bedroom, to open the other closed door. It led to a walk-in closet. Aside from an unbelievable number of suits, there was nothing of note.
Lance walked back into the bedroom. "All clear."
"Office," Kandice said.
They turned their lights off and made their way down the walkway. When they got to the office door, it wouldn't open.
Before they could bust open the door, a light shone against the wall of the stairs. A quick look over the ledge showed two figures were down below.
As the figures moved up the stairs—one was an Aether Walker, and the other was a normal man—Lance prepared for a fight.
"You take the man!" Lance jumped over the ledge, landing on the Aether Walker.
She took a moment to react, but followed. She jumped over the guardrail and landed just behind the human on the stairs.
He didn't stand a chance.
Before he had time to respond to the two of them falling down upon him, Kandice punched him in the side of the head. The force was enough to knock him up two steps, and he crumpled on the landing of the stairs.
Kandice threw his gun down the stairs, toward the front door. It almost hit Lance in the back of the head as he spun behind the Aether Walker.
The Aether Walker was the smallest Kandice had seen. She only came to Lance's shoulder—less than half the size of Kandice—but her speed was unbelievable.
Every time Lance slashed, she moved out of the way.
Kandice jumped down the stairs, taking four steps at a time. She brought her claws down in an arc—right as Lance slashed—and caught the Aether Walker in the back, ripping through her flesh like it was butter. Purple blood flew as the lights in the house came on.
"What's happening?" Blake asked over the walkie talkie.
"Seven minutes," Slava said. "Do I need to move in?"
Kandice and Lance moved as one, weeks of training paying off. They each knew what the other wanted to do before it happened. They pinned the Aether Walker, and Kandice pushed all her weight onto the woman's body.
The Aether Walker wasn't going anywhere.
"We're fine," Lance said over the walkie talkie. "Stick to the plan."
"Where's the mayor?" Kandice demanded.
The Aether Walker spat in Kandice's face, and Lance punched her in what would have been a nose.
"Where is he?" Lance asked.
"Fuck you," the Aether Walker said.
Lance shrugged and jabbed his claws into the neck of the Aether Walker. The purple blood splattered all over Kandice, some of which landed in her mouth—hitting the back of her tonsils.
She spat out as much as possible, but the taste of rotten eggs wouldn't leave her mouth.
Lance clicked on his walkie talkie. "We need a concealment seal."
"Affirmative," Slava said. "Six minutes. Still nothing on the scanner."
"Affirmative."
"Let's go," he said to Kandice.
They ran back up the stairs to the office door.
"Ready?" Lance whispered.
Kandice nodded.
Right as they busted the door open, the mayor fired. Lance tried to push Kandice out of the way, but missed.
The bullet caught her in the left arm and lodged itself halfway in.
Kandice groaned in pain, and Lance shot off toward the mayor. He was slower than Lance, but twice the size of Kandice.
His first punch knocked Lance to the floor, and he slid to the middle of the room. The mayor walked over his desk, toward them.
Kandice had to act. The pain in her arm was blinding, but the giant form that was the mayor was obvious.
She darted toward Lance, lunging at the mayor and sinking her teeth into his arm. Vile blood poured into her mouth, and she fought down the urge to vomit.
Lance got back to his feet and joined the fight.
There was a flurry of limbs as Lance and Kandice both clawed and bit at the mayor. His fists struck them both several times, each time knocking them to the ground.
When he knocked Kandice off, she took a chunk of flesh with her. Blood from the mayor's arm was pouring onto the floor.
"Two minutes," Slava said. "Open the gate."
Lance lunged forward from the floor and sank his teeth into the mayor's leg.
"Affirmative," Blake said.
Kandice blocked a punch inches from Lance's head. The mayor roared and flung Lance off his leg, and in an instant he vanished.
"Fuck!" Lance screamed and ripped off his seal. "Take your seal off!"
Kandice did so and sank to the ground. Her arm was bleeding.
Blood pooled on the floor below her.
Lance took a bandage from the pack on his hip and wrapped Kandice's arm.
"We'll take care of this better when we're gone," he said.
He walked behind the mayor's desk and clicked on his walkie talkie. "I found the camera footage. It's on the computer."
"I'm coming in," Blake said.
They heard Blake open the front door, then the sound of the alarm. Lance hadn't given the signal, and Blake hadn't cut the wire.
"Get out," Slava said. "I will set the concealment seal."
"We have to take care of the footage," Lance said over the walkie talkie.
Blake came into the room and stopped when he saw Kandice on the floor.
"I'll be fine," she said. "Take care of the footage."
Blake closed his eyes for a moment and then walked over to Lance, behind the desk.
Blake clicked away on the computer. "I can't be sure, but I think the footage only feeds into here."
"Polistsiya are coming," Slava said. "We have to go."
Blake dropped to the floor and pulled wires under the desk. When he stood back up, he was carrying the desktop.
"We'll take it with us," Blake said. "Only option."
"Fine," Lance said.
Blake tried to hand Lance the computer, but Lance waved him off.
"You go," he said. "I've got Kandice."
Lance helped Kandice to her feet. Blake was already out the door.
The gunshot made Kandice freeze in place. She pushed herself forward, away from Lance. Blake lay crumpled on the landing of the stairs, his blood already flowing on the carpet.
"No!" she screamed.
Blake didn't move.
Kandice pulled out a new seal from her pocket with her good arm. Lance tried to catch her, but she was too fast. The seal was on her stomach and she jumped over the ledge before the shift completed.
As she fell, a second bullet hit Blake.
Kandice landed in front of the guard, shifted and furious.
Before he could aim his gun at her she ripped his arm clean off, and the gun fired into the wall. She slashed at his stomach with her claws. As his guts tumbled out she pulled his head off, removing it with one clean jerk of his neck.
Blood was everywhere.
It was impossible to tell where the red of her scales began and the crimson of the guard's blood ended.
She was panting hard—holding the guard's head in her hands—and staring in his dead eyes.
Lance's arm reached around her body and pulled the seal off.
The next moment, she was looking up at the ceiling.
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
Amethyst Nation, Fencura
The process to become a sorcerer wasn'
t living up to Ren's expectations. He'd always envisioned the halls of the Amethyst Nation to be bustling with young students and wise old wizards. Instead, he found himself sequestered into a tiny wing with access to three places: the apprentices' dining hall, the apprentices' courtyard, and the apprentices' library.
Damn print books made it hard for Ren to read fast enough to keep up with the others. The one bright side to the whole thing, was he spent hours in close proximity to Shaya. Though Abaze kept trying to butt in anytime they were alone.
Today they'd been rained out, and instead of Shaya for company he was alone with Goban. A nice enough kid, but not someone he wanted to share his failures with. His search for Mental Clarity in Battle came up short, and his temper grew hot from failure.
Ren crossed through a study alcove to search the other halls of shelves, only to find that Goban had already found a copy. He was rapidly reading the book—each page taking him no more than a minute as his finger steadily slid down the bound sheet. What had been frustration at his own failure, grew to envy of Goban's abilities. At that moment, Ren would have killed to make his portable tablet work again.
Goban looked up from the book as he turned the page. "Couldn't find a copy?"
"No," Ren said through clenched teeth.
The damn library made no sense, and compared to the central database back home, the organization was nonexistent.
"Want to share? We can read the pages together."
"No thanks."
The last thing Ren needed was for this kid to know just how much he was struggling to keep up with their book lists. The second list that arrived last night made it hard for him to sleep, knowing he was now five books behind everyone else.
Mental Clarity in Battle
Becoming One with your Mind
Mindful Techniques for Beginners
"Well I'm nearly done with the mandatory sections. If you don't find a copy, I'll give you this one."
"Thank you," Ren said over his shoulder as he continued his search. As much for the book as a reason to get away from Goban.
It was nearly time for dinner when Ren returned to find Goban packing up to leave.
"Did you ever find a copy?"
"No, but I found other books to read." Another lie.
Ren had spent his afternoon hiding to avoid his peers discovering his handicap.
"Well, you can have this one. I finished it."
"Thanks."
"Are you coming to dinner?"
"Not yet." Ren picked up the copy of Mental Clarity in Battle. "I need to get started on this. I'll see you there though."
"Okay." Goban handed Ren a sheet of paper. "Those are my basic notes. It lists out the pages I think are most important. Maybe it can help you read faster?"
Does he know?
The last thing Ren needed was for Shaya to find out he wasn't able to read the required material fast enough to keep up with the group. She'd regret allowing him to join her clan, and he'd truly be alone again. It was nice having a surrogate family. Shaya and Akio had become the closest thing he'd ever had to actual kin.
"I'll let you know."
"See you soon." Goban slipped his final pen back in place inside his bag and flung the strap over his shoulder. He waved a final goodbye to Ren as he turned a corner in the hall of shelves on his way to the dining hall.
Food sounded amazing to Ren, but there was no time to waste. If he didn't absorb the material he'd fall further behind. Nadia was already losing her patience with him—if she had any to begin with. It was curious that the Amethyst Nation would place her in charge of instructing the new apprentices. She seemed to have zero patience, and used any opportunity to get away from them. How wrong he'd been about her.
The first thirty pages of the book were a dull preface written by the chronicler. Who'd updated the text with notes and references in the back. Ren skimmed the first three pages before skipping to the main text, where the author had written a long introduction on why mental clarity was paramount to magical performance. Ren looked at Goban's notes and saw the first page he marked was 113.
113 pages of fluff?
Ren skipped ahead to the second chapter.
"Duels are a battle of wits, not might. A young child could defeat the Archamethyst, if the child were focused, and the Archamethyst distracted. Thus, mental clarity is the root of great power, not age and wisdom."
The text went on for some time, repeating hypothetical scenarios in which mental clarity would prove sufficient to win a battle. Ren found his eyes crossing and he was forced to read the same paragraph four times in a row without remembering what he'd just read. Pushing through wasn't going to help. He needed food.
Leaving the book on the table with a spare strip of paper inside to mark his spot, Ren gathered up his bag and Goban's notes. For himself, Ren had only written one sheet of notes, all of which were direct quotes from the text.
The dining hall was empty. He'd been in the library far longer than he'd realized. There was still a single menu, no doubt left for him. By the other apprentices or the staff Ren didn't know. Ren quickly glanced at the menu before ordering roast beef, extra roasted veggies, and coffee, even though coffee wasn't listed. Sure enough, the food arrived with a mug of coffee and a spare pot. Whoever was in charge of the food, must understand that if an apprentice ordered coffee with dinner, it could only mean one thing—a long night of studying.
Ren practically inhaled the first cup, ignoring the heat by using the technique he'd learned from Shaya and Akio when eating fresh fish stew. He barely chewed his food between each swallow, aided by the fact the meat was fork-tender, and the veggies were crispy on the outside, but smooth as butter inside. If Ren hadn't been in such a rush, he would have noted the seasoning was excellent. Each vegetable had its own unique spice to bring out the natural flavors hidden inside each plant.
With his stomach filled just under the point of painful. Ren hung his bag crossed over his chest, and carried half a mug of coffee in his right hand, while he held the pot in his left. No one had told them the rules about taking food or drinks out of the dining hall, and Ren was desperate to catch up. He needed the coffee if he was going to have any hope of pulling an all-nighter. Needing to read Mental Clarity in Battle, which had to be the dullest thing Ren had ever had the misfortune to read. Late nights were nothing new, he'd been doing them all month, but tonight called for foregoing sleep entirely.
Ren carefully crossed the threshold from the stairwell into the library, almost expecting the coffee to vanish.
It didn't.
Ren was in the clear, and picked up the pace as he walked to the table, a small spring in his step. The book was waiting for him, with the small piece of paper sticking out. The table was large enough for four students, so Ren had no issue finding space for the pot of coffee well out of reach. No reason to risk spilling it on the books, though he kept the cup close to his right hand. He spent the entire night skimming through the book, referencing Goban's notes of the key pages to read, speeding up the grueling process. If reading hadn't been so painful, and required Ren's undivided attention, he would have noticed the coffee pot maintained itself at half full. No matter how many times he filled his cup.
* * *
Ren poured himself another cup of coffee, only to discover the pot was empty.
Shit!
Checking Goban's notes revealed he only had three more pages left. He'd done it! Or nearly. With a final burst of energy that had nothing to do with coffee. Ren managed to speed read the last three pages, mostly filled with sketches of the correct poses a caster should take. Each designed to channel the mind, and clear the sorcerer's thoughts by focusing their body into a form that caused pain in an isolated part. By creating pain in one part of the body, the mind was able to focus on less of its container. The sorcerer then only had one distraction to avoid, rather than the sea of distractions the body usually produced.
One pose stood out in particular to Ren. It was nearly identical to
the one Akio had taken when he threatened to kill Goruden-Tanken Hiroshi's men. He made a quick mental note to ask Shaya about it, and closed the book. Ren didn't know where Goban had found the copy, and realizing his stomach was hungry again, decided to leave it on the table. He gathered up the sheets of paper filled with notes from the long night of reading, but when he looked back for his mug and pot, finding they'd disappeared. Magic was far more interesting than he'd given it credit for.
He was just about to head downstairs when a thought occurred to him.
"Done reading," Ren said to the library.
A purple glow surrounded the book, and then it was gone. His hunch had proven correct.
Feeling rather proud of himself, Ren made his way down to the dining hall. The others were already there, minus Abaze. Adaku sat by herself, waiting for his arrival.
Goban waved to him as he walked toward their table. "Good Morning. Late night in the library?" he asked as Ren sat.
"Yes."
"Wait." Shaya looked intensely at his face. "Did you spend the whole night in the library?"
"Well . . ." Ren didn't know what to say. He didn't want to admit his issues reading, but he couldn't bring himself to lie either.
"Eat," she said. "You look like you need it."
Relief pulsed through his body, and he forgot his intent to ask her about the form he'd discovered. Sleep deprivation had corrupted his mind. He ordered an egg platter and extra coffee. But no amount of coffee would counter the slow deterioration of his mental capacities. At best it would mask them until he collapsed from exhaustion. Ren yawned, but didn't realize it as his mind took a micro-nap. When he awoke, two seconds later, his food was before him, and a fresh cup of coffee with an accompanying pot.
* * *
The morning training became a blur as Ren fought the need to sleep. He distinctly remembered the look of disappointment on Nadia and Shaya's face, as he failed to control two magic orbs, yet again. Instead of lunch, Ren decided to sleep and found a new list of mandatory reading waiting for him on top of his trunk. Pushing aside his guilt, Ren crawled into bed and fell into a deep sleep. The kind usually reserved for small children.
