by MJ Fletcher
I lifted my hand and the cocoon of red energy vanished. My tattoos hummed with power and my fear of them was quickly being matched by my curiosity. What else could these things do, and why did I keep hearing voices and whispers? There was a whole hell of a lot more to this Artifact than I had ever considered.
“Are you alright?” Ronan asked as he approached me.
My clothes were covered in blood and skin. I went to wipe it away and realized my hands were black with soot and blood. I gritted my teeth and took one last look at Slade’s broken and burnt body.
“No, I am very fucking far from alright. Tell me right now who the hell you are and what you know.” Ronan had shown up at the perfect moment and seemed to know what was coming. I was damn sure going to find out how he knew—one way or another.
“I’m sorry about Slade,” he said.
“That doesn’t answer my question,” I said and crossed my arms over my chest.
“As I said, my name is Ronan Sparrow. I’m a member of the Skeleton Key Guild and I’m here to help you.”
“Good timing on your part and help me with what exactly?”
“That is why I wanted you to get off the street. There are people who have issues with you.”
The image of the woman in the distance came to mind and I turned and headed off to where she had been standing. I’d seen her drop something, though from where I stood, I had no idea what it had been.
I left Ronan standing alone and walked down the street where I had last seen her. I pushed through the people who were gathering to ogle the destruction that had been wrought. As I grew closer, I saw a flower lying on the street where she had been. I knelt down beside the cone shaped purple flower. I reached out and held it up looking it over.
“Bugger,” Ronan said behind me.
I hadn’t noticed him following me, but he obviously knew what this meant.
“What the hell is this about?” I asked holding up the flower for him to see.
“It’s what I was trying to warn you about,” he said.
“Tell me.”
“Someone has taken an interest in you and it isn’t good.”
“Who?”
“Her name is Nyla Foxglove,” Ronan said.
I shook my head, glancing at the foxglove flower in my hand. “She isn’t subtle is she?”
“No, apparently not, and she is very much after you.”
“How do you know so much?” I asked.
Ronan might be a good looking man, but that didn’t mean he had my trust, yet. It seemed too convenient that he had shown up at the exact moment I needed help.
“It’s my job to know about threats to the Guild and their members.”
“Your job?”
“Yes,” Ronan said with some pride.
“Funny, I haven’t heard of you.”
“You wouldn’t. We tend to keep ourselves a secret.”
“We?”
“The League of Skull & Bones.”
Chapter 9
“Bullshit,” I said.
“Not at all, I work for the League and was tasked with keeping an eye on you.”
The League of Skull & Bones is legendary among the Skeleton Key Guild. It is an order made up of the best and brightest the Guild has to offer. They are extremely secretive and used for some of the most dangerous missions. They are also known for being a hit squad for problems the Guild wishes to keep quiet. I didn’t know if I should be honored or worried that the League had an interest in me.
“Why should I believe you?”
“If someone were going around claiming to be a member of the League they wouldn’t last very long. So if I’m lying I’ll be dead pretty quickly and if that isn’t good enough for you, you can always ask your grandmother.”
There it was. My grandmother was the leader of the Quorum that ruled the Skeleton Key Guild and also the head of the Council of the Old Kind. Everyone in the Guild knows that, but she would easily be able to tell me if he was a liar.
“Fair enough, but why is the League interested in me?”
“You have certain skills the League finds,” —his eyes glanced over my sleeve covered arms— “interesting.”
“The Artifact,” I said bluntly.
“That is one of many reasons,” Ronan said.
“The others?”
“Your reputation is growing, Jess.”
And so the other shoe dropped. During and since the war, I had become very efficient at dispatching people, which earned me a reputation. My name alone could put fear in people. If the League was anything like the legends implied, then why wouldn’t they be interested in someone who could kill as efficiently as me?
“Because I’m a killer?” I said.
“We like to think of you as a problem solver.”
“Nice euphemism.”
“The world is a harsh place, Jess, and it needs certain people to help keep things orderly.”
Ronan pulled at the remains of his once attractive tie, yanked it off and, rolling it into a ball, he slipped it into his pants pocket. He unbuttoned his sleeves and folded, what remained of them up his arms. It was obvious he liked order, and his appearance to always be just right.
I’d been like that once, until everything had changed and I found myself fighting for my life. That perfect look didn’t hold the same thrall for me anymore, not that it didn’t look good on Ronan.
“Tell me about Nyla Foxglove and her issue with me.”
Ronan’s eyes shifted as he looked around us, then he stepped in closer. Too close. I could feel the warmth of his body drift over me and see the gentle rise and fall of his impressive chest. His scent even enticed, though how after having been in a fight he could smell good was beyond me, but he did.
“Perhaps we should find somewhere more private to talk.”
“This will do for now,” I said.
Ronan looked into my eyes and knew I wasn’t going to budge. I was still doing my best to figure him out, and what his angle was concerning me, which meant I wasn’t going off anyplace private with this guy.
“Nyla Foxglove was top of her class at Paladin Academy and made a name for herself in the Guild as soon as she left school. As the war began, she dropped from sight, intelligence having pegged her as either killed or captured. But that proved wrong as she resurfaced several months ago. She is running her own group of disaffected Guild members.”
“Like a cult?”
“A cult of personality, they follow Nyla as though she is the Messiah. She seeks to gain a foothold in taking over the Guild as far as we can gather. Since she has popped back up, the one thing she has focused on is any information regarding you.”
“Why?”
“Your grandmother is the leader of the Guild,”—he shook his head, and then glanced at my arms once again— “not to mention the Artifact.”
Nyla could be the one who had gotten the Timelock from Merric. If she was after me or information about me, I hadn’t been secretive of my desire to find a Timelock. But that didn’t explain the list of items Merric had given me that only an Impossible Engineer would be able to use. I could ask Ronan if she was working with any Engineers, but I still wasn’t sure about him or his motives. Until I was, I needed to keep information to myself.
It made me think about Merric and all his secrets. Maybe I was more like him than I wanted to admit.
“What else?”
“You need to be careful, Jess. I’ve been tracking her for some time, and she is getting bolder. She’s also made it known that she intends to do something with you, and what that something is I’m not sure.”
“Thanks for the Intel,” I said as I walked away, leaving him standing alone in the middle of the street.
“Thanks? That’s all I get?” he called out after me.
I turned and tossed him the foxglove flower. “Something to remember me by.”
“I don’t need a flower for that,” he said with a smile.
Chapter 10
I avoid
ed the first punch, but the second came in directly behind it, catching me on the chin and rocking me. I stumbled, attempting to keep my balance as I backed away from the attack.
How I had not seen that coming?
I circled to my left, keeping my hands up and trying to regain the bounce in my step. My opponent moved with me, his hands shooting out and testing my resolve. I swatted the blows away with ease. They were only meant to probe my defenses anyway, and I knew it.
He shifted his weight as he moved in and his hands became a blur of motion as he infused them with energy, and attacked.
I didn’t create a shield defense. It would require too much power and the whole point was to try and not use my abilities to their maximum. Instead I pushed the pulsating energy into my hands and countered each blow. Our hands struck like small lightning storms with crimson light shooting off from each counter attack.
“Much better.” DeAndre smiled and took a step back.
Once I had bonded with the Artifact, our sessions had changed to him teaching me how to contain my abilities. Hence, the fighting skills I was learning and putting to good use.
He nodded in approval, his long dreadlocked hair bobbing up and down. He was wearing no shirt and showing off a heavily muscled frame that was covered in sweat from our training session.
“Not so good that you didn’t catch me,” I countered as I rubbed my fingers over my chin where he had landed a punch earlier.
“A tap is all, and besides you’ve experienced much worse.” He waved off my concern, and I knew he was right. I was wearing long work out pants, a form fitting black top and sports bra, and my tattoos and scars clearly visible. DeAndre was one of the few people I would let see me this way.
My loft in the center of Paris was being used as our workout area for the time being. DeAndre knew I didn’t like going to the gym where people would stare or ask me where I had gotten my scars. Here it was only the two of us.
The area underneath the metal stairs is where we held our exercise routines. I’d hung a heavy bag and laid heavy mattes for when we grappled. I’d also purchased some workout equipment to use.
“You’re getting better at using a minimum of power. If we keep practicing, I think we’ll make some great progress,” DeAndre said.
He pulled at the wraps on his hands, unraveling them and dropping them on the small metal table in the corner. He grabbed a water bottle from the cooler and tossed it to me. I caught it in midflight, and he reached for another one and drank deeply.
“I can feel the Artifact pushing me to access it fully. The power is intoxicating.”
I hadn’t mentioned how I felt the Artifact was changing or attempting to communicate with me. Every time I heard those small whispers, I had a feeling it was the Artifact trying to talk with me in some way.
“Pushing you how?” he asked.
“I don’t know. It’s almost as if it’s aware and trying to tell me something. Does that sound crazy?” I asked putting the water bottle down and jabbing at the heavy bag.
DeAndre walked over, placing his hands on the sides of the bag and holding it steady as I worked it over.
“No, not crazy, but concerning. Let me do some more research and see what I can come up with.”
I nodded and kept hitting the bag. I knew what he would find, nothing. The same as I had since I had been researching this frustrating Artifact since the day I got it. It scared me and recently had become more a part of me than I had ever thought possible. It had even protected me during the explosion that injured Slade.
“How is Slade doing?” he asked.
“Good, the Fixers think he’ll make a full recovery. Though his hand and arm will need to be partially replaced and, knowing Slade, he’ll probably enjoy making a new body for himself.” I chuckled at the idea, but I was still angry about what had happened to him.
“What exactly did Merric give you?” he asked.
“A list of Impossible Engineer equipment.”
“But nothing on the Timelock?” he said.
“No.”
“For all you know, he is sending you on a wild goose chase,” DeAndre said.
The thought of Merric sent a shiver up my spine. Something about that man had an effect on me in a way that surprised me. Even with all his secrets and mysteries, I felt that Merric was still being honest with me, at least as honest as he was willing to be.
“I don’t think so,” I said.
“Merric has his own plans, Jess. He can’t be trusted.”
“Maybe,” I said with a shrug. I didn’t believe that or maybe I didn’t want to believe it. I didn’t know what it was about him, though maybe it had something to do with the way his abilities had calmed me. But something deep inside me told me that Merric was trying to help me.
“So this list he gave you is why you and Slade were at the Diesel Factories?”
“Yes, we went to see one of Slade’s contacts.”
“Then you were attacked,” he said.
He was leading me toward something. DeAndre wasn’t one to let anything slide, and I had a feeling I knew what it was that he wanted to actually talk about.
“That’s right,” I said.
“Tell me about Ronan Sparrow.”
There it was. He had heard about Ronan being there during the attack. Nothing stayed secret among the Guild for very long, especially when it happened in plain view at the Diesel Factories.
An image of Ronan standing with his shirt torn and his messy chestnut hair made me smile. I couldn’t help but smirk and hit the bag harder.
“You worried about my love life, DeAndre?” I said.
“Is he involved in your love life?”
“Maybe,” I said surprised at my own answer.
“Not a good idea.”
“I didn’t know you cared.”
My fist slammed into the heavy bag, pushing it and him backwards. I brought a knee up and jammed it into the lower half of the bag and continued the combination, keeping him off balance.
“Jess, this is serious. Do you know who Ronan is?”
“He said he works for the League.”
“He told you that?”
“Yeah, so what’s the big problem?”
“The League is not exactly warm and fuzzy. You can bet if they are reaching out to you, they have a reason.”
“I think I’m wearing the reason on my arms.”
“It’s more than that, Jess, and you need to be aware. The people involved at that level are all playing a very dangerous game.”
“So I’ve heard. What do you know about Ronan?” I concentrated on hitting the bag, trying my best to sound uninterested in him.
“Ronan has advanced quickly in the Guild. He joined the League as soon as his apprenticeship was done and has become one of their most valuable assets.”
“Do you know him?”
“Yes, I’ve met him several times.”
DeAndre didn’t say more and that concerned me. Did he know more than he wanted to say or was there something else he was hiding?
“Do you trust him?”
“Jess, that’s a loaded question.” DeAndre stepped away from the heavy bag, letting it sway back and forth under my flurry of punches. I stopped hitting it and stared at him. “How so? It is a straight forward question.”
DeAndre walked past the metal stairs and into the kitchenette, grabbing a towel laying on the countertop and began wiping himself down. I walked after him not wanting to let the conversation end.
“Answer me,” I said.
“Things aren’t as straightforward as you think.”
“How so?”
“The Guild is in flux, and there are many people attempting to gain power or at least the appearance of it. The Artifact you contain is true power and people will want to use you to get to it or to help themselves. You need to consider everyone’s motives.”
“Even yours?”
“No, I’ve known you’re pain in the ass since before you got that damn Art
ifact. You’re stuck with me.” He chuckled and dragged a clean shirt over his head.
I waited until his face popped through and said, “Ronan gave me the name of someone he said is after me.”
DeAndre stopped pulling down his shirt and dropped back against the wall. “Who?”
“Nyla Foxglove.”
DeAndre shook his head and pushed out a long breath. “I should have known she would cause trouble.”
“What do you mean?”
“Nyla was a few years ahead of you at the academy. She was sent to me for training after she finished at Paladin. She had talent and the ego to go along with it. Never wanted to learn, only do it her way. I had a feeling she would cause the Guild trouble someday.”
“Seems like it’s me she wants to cause trouble,” I said.
“One more person you’re going to have to keep an eye on,” he cautioned.
I was glad I had DeAndre. He was a hell of a teacher and an even better friend. He’d been here for me over the last year whenever I needed him. Maybe he was right. Maybe I needed to think about why anyone was suddenly trying to cozy up to me. Ronan interested me, but I wanted to be careful about getting close to anyone right now.
I wanted to make sure that the people around me were there for the right reasons and not because of the tattoos on my arms. It was all about trust. My mind wandered to steel grey eyes and as I thought about Merric, I knew for a fact that he wasn’t interested in me for the Artifact or anything for that matter. I also realized that I knew next to nothing about him, except, of course, that he’d once been in possession of the device I had been hunting for all this time.
“What’s the deal between you and Merric?”
“Don’t get me started on that son of a bitch,” DeAndre said quickly.
“That bad?”
“I told you already.”
“Not everything,” I said. It was obvious that there was more to it than he had told me. But it didn’t seem like he was going to share, so I let it drop.
“Do yourself a favor and stay as far away from Merric Vale as much as you possibly can. He’s poison.”
I nodded and began unwrapping the straps from around my hands. The one problem I wanted to figure out was how Merric had been able to calm me with nothing more than a simple touch. And I was sure as hell going to find out.
