“You’ve been mindswiped, you cranky old bastard,” Rafael said, holding Gan in place. “It’s only a matter of time before you forget who Sepia even is. Is that how you plan on helping her? You plan on approaching her as a drooling, doddering old fool who’s lost his mind?”
“I can get to her before the effects kick in,” Gan said, struggling against Rafael. “Now remove your hand.”
“You’re not thinking straight,” Rafael answered quietly. “When could I ever hold you in place against your will…ever?”
“You can’t,” Gan said as he stopped struggling. “Bloody hell, the mindswipe. How far along am I?”
“It was bad when I found you,” Rafael said. “The recall team is prepped. Once you get out of the procedure, we will find Sepia and help her, but first I have to help you. Let me help you, old friend. I’ve already set my plan in motion; I have the best in place.”
“I want your word,” Gan said. “No matter what happens to me, you—not Regional, you—will find her and help her. Say it.”
“No matter what happens, I give you my word I will find and help her.”
A team of nurses began entering the room.
“Do you even have an idea of where she may be?” Gan asked. “Or Velos?”
“Velos has gone to ground, but he will resurface,” Rafael answered. “Sepia has gone totally off the grid, but we will try the Keep first.”
“Be careful at the Keep,” Gan said as they started prepping him. “If she’s there, the Unholy will be there, too.”
“I’ve sent one of the best to investigate.”
“You sent one person, alone to the Park?” Gan asked incredulous. “Are you trying to have this person killed?”
“I’m not worried about her,” Rafael said as he walked beside Gan’s bed, which was being wheeled away. “I’m more concerned about how much of the Park will be left after she’s done.”
“Who did you send?” Gan asked. “Tell me you left the Order out of this.”
“Pira,” Rafael said. “She will get me the information I need.”
“Pira?” Gan asked, looking up from the bed. “You sent Black Pira, the Shadow?”
“She doesn’t go by that name any longer,” Rafael said. “These days she prefers just Pira.”
“Renaming a viper doesn’t make it any less lethal,” Gan said. “What were you thinking? Tell me you sent her in with backup—not that she needs it. Did you send her in alone?”
“Of course not,” Rafael said. “Do you think I’m that unfeeling? She has her second.”
“You’re joking,” Gan said. “Are you trying to depopulate the Park? Those two are nearly unstoppable.”
“I’m thinking this is deeper than we are aware, and I need actionable information,” Rafael told him. “Pira will provide that information.”
Gan shook his head.
“Are you sure you weren’t the one who was mindswiped? She’ll tear the Park and the Unholy apart, and he’ll clean up the mess.”
“I told you, I have the best in place,” Rafael answered. “Let me do what I need to do…you let the recall team do their work. Once they’re done, we will deal with that which can’t be named.”
Gan stared at Rafael and nodded.
“Find her.”
“I will, old friend,” Rafael said as Gan was wheeled away.
ELEVEN
Pira stood at the southernmost entrance to the Park.
Behind her, Columbus Circle was empty of pedestrians and vehicles. This happened every night, all of the properties surrounding the Park emptied as the sun set, creating a small pocket of emptiness in a vast city teeming with life.
No one wanted to be too close to the Park at night. Even with the wards, the Unholy were known to disappear the unwary or those too foolish to heed the warnings.
Beside her, crouched and working with a small pack, was Destin. He was the opposite of Pira: short where she was tall, stocky where she was thin, and dark where she was fair. The one thing they did share made them one of the most feared assassin teams in all of the Order.
They both wore warded combat armor with several blades situated strategically along their thighs and forearms. It would stop most of the Unholy attacks with the exception of a direct strike from some of the stronger inhabitants of the Park.
Individually, each of them were dangerous Regional assets, tasked with the elimination of the enemies of the Order.
Together, Pira and Destin—who were known as Task Force Reaper—shared an incredible propensity for lethality. Even though Pira operated as an Assistant Director in her present capacity, Rafael made sure she and Destin received regular dark operations to keep their skills honed. Officially, Task Force Reaper had been retired years ago; unofficially, they operated regularly in the shadow of Regional activities.
Those dark operations, however, never included excursions into the Park…at night.
“Minimal footprint, Des,” Pira said as she looked into the park. “This is strictly a recon assignment.”
“Roger that,” Destin answered, still rifling through the bag. “A recon mission into the Park at night when the Unholy are nice and awake. Perfect for a minimal footprint assignment. I think I forgot my tactical nuke—damn.”
“Too difficult?” Pira asked with a slight smile. “Let me know if you’re getting too old for this kind of work. I’m sure I can get you reassigned to a desk somewhere boring and safe.”
“I don’t do desks, boring or safe,” Destin replied before closing the pack and slinging it onto his back. “You know that. You get me a desk job, may as well shoot me now.”
“Target is a Hunter by the name of Sepia Blue,” Pira said, still looking into the Park. “She may be exhibiting extranormal abilities.”
“I thought all Hunters exhibited extranormal abilities?” Destin asked. “What are we facing here? What the hell kind of name is Sepia Blue?”
“She wields a dark blade which may or may not possess additional defensive attributes,” Pira answered. “May possess the ability to transform.”
“Transform? Transform into what?” Destin asked. “I thought Hunters wield light blades. What happened? Someone gave her the wrong blade?”
“Doesn’t matter. We aren’t here to confront her, just to find out if she’s here.”
“She sounds like she’s more Unholy than Hunter,” Destin said. “You sure about this?”
“Absolutely. We are eyes and ears only,” Pira said, advancing into the park with Destin behind her. “We are not to engage, just report on location.”
“What about the Unholy that will be between us from here to the Keep?”
Pira smiled.
“Up to our discretion. You still know how to be subtle?”
“Subtle? Hell, subtle is my middle name.”
“I seem to recall your middle name being death and destruction.”
“Those are my other middle names,” Destin said with a smile. “My first middle name is definitely subtle.”
“Right,” Pira said. “We encounter Unholy, it’s case by case. If we can avoid conflict—”
“With the Unholy? Sure. I keep forgetting how friendly they are, right before ripping out your intestines.”
“If we can avoid conflict,” Pira repeated, “then we will do so. If not, we take whatever measures necessary to make sure we walk out of this hellhole.”
“You say hellhole like it’s a bad thing,” Destin quipped. “Usual route to the Keep?”
“No,” Pira said. “If she is there, the Director says she’ll be a magnet. We take the scenic route to avoid any Unholy.”
They had been walking for several minutes when Destin tapped Pira on the shoulder.
“This scenic route,” Destin began as he scanned the area. “Does it include a visit from Dreadwolves?”
“Shit,” Pira said, drawing two blades from her thigh sheathes. “How many?”
“One, maybe two.”
“Dreadwolves?” Pira asked as she scan
ned the night. “Scouts?”
“Packs,” Destin said, drawing a sword. “One or two packs. So much for conflict avoidance.”
TWELVE
Wake peered down on the street below.
She glanced over at Jas, who fidgeted as they kept watch. Anna had told her about Velos, a Hunter going around killing other Hunters with a sword that turned into a black cloud. She didn’t entirely understand what Anna was explaining to her, but after what she had seen with Sepia, a sword turning into a black cloud of death wasn’t the strangest thing she’d heard of in the last few days.
“Why can’t I go see her?” Jas asked as she leaned over the edge of the roof. Wake pulled her back. “Calisto put those things on her wrists, it should be safe.”
“It would be,” Wake said, “if she weren’t situated in the center of the Park. The Keep is barely safe enough to travel to during the day, and it’s suicide to try and go there at night—or have you grown tired of breathing?”
“No, I haven’t, I just wanted to see how she was doing,” Jas answered. “The last time we saw her, she was in that crazy Demon mode. I want to make sure she’s okay.”
“Sepia isn’t your responsibility,” Wake said. “She can handle herself.”
“She’s a Sister,” Jas replied. “At least she was.”
“Listen, the restraints Calisto used are effective, but Anna doesn’t want you—or me for that matter—staying at the Keep, Sister or not. That place isn’t for us.”
“Why not?”
“It’s called the Hunter’s Keep for a reason,” Wake answered with a sigh. “We aren’t Hunters. Besides we have more important things to worry about tonight.”
“Sepia saved my life.”
“She’s also some kind of demon creature right now,” Wake said. “She’s not a Sister any longer, at least not in any conventional sense.”
“Do you think Anna will kick her out?”
“I don’t know,” Wake answered pensively as she looked down on the street. “It’s not like we have an abundance of Sisters right now. I don’t think we can afford to lose the few we have left, even if they turn into monsters.”
“Sepia isn’t a monster,” Jas protested. “She’s my friend.”
“The Sepia you know may be gone,” Wake said. “You saw what Fuma did. It changed her. She wasn’t exactly acting friendly before Calisto put those restraints on her.”
“Yeah, the scales and claws were different,” Jas said. “If Calisto hadn’t—”
“We wouldn’t be here tonight,” Wake finished. “Let’s focus. There’s a Hunter out there hunting other Hunters with a dark blade.”
“Is Anna sure about this?” Jas asked. “Why would they give him a dark blade?”
“An excellent question,” Wake replied, “but one we will not be asking anytime soon. Our job is locate and report on his location—not to engage. I don’t want to face a Hunter tonight, do you?”
“Not really, no.”
“Good, then this should be easy,” Wake said. “Last report said this area was the last place he was seen.”
“He? A male Hunter?” Jas asked. “Since when?”
“Since Regional thought it was a good idea to give him a dark blade, I’m guessing.”
“That sounds crazy,” Jas said. “On top of that, they gave him a dark blade? Like Sepia’s?”
“Worse, but yes. A dark blade,” Wake answered. “This blade has extreme defensive capabilities according to the report.”
“Defensive capabilities? Like?”
“This Hunter can form and manipulate a black cloud of energy that protects him from attack,” Wake explained. “It has both defensive and offensive properties.”
“A black cloud?” Jas asked, pointing to the street below. “You mean like that one over there?”
Below them, and several blocks away, one street was filled with what looked like black fog. In the center of the fog, untouched but surrounded by it, stood a man.
“Exactly like that one,” Wake said grimly. “I’ve never seen a sword do that.”
“Maybe the dark blades are special?” Jas said. “Like super blades?”
“Special or not, this ‘Hunter’ is a threat.”
“Is he like the Black Hunters that attacked us?”
“I don’t know,” Wake said. “This feels different.”
“What do we do now?”Jas asked. “We know where he is, now what?”
“We need to get closer,” Wake said. “Follow me and remain silent.”
Wake looked across the gap to the closest building. She stepped to the edge and jumped across, landed in a roll, then began moving fast in a silent run. Jas followed, landing with less practiced grace, but remaining mostly quiet.
“You’re too loud,” Wake said as they moved. “Sisters are invisible until they want to be seen. You sound like a herd of angry rhinos stomping across the plains.”
“Hey,” Jas said, “I’m still a Sister-in-training, you know.”
“You were,” Wake clarified, crossing another roof effortlessly. “You can’t afford to be in training forever. That’s a good way to get dead.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” Jas replied, crossing the roof and making less noise. “I’ll make sure to practice.”
“That way,” Wake said pointing across. “We approach at an angle.”
They crossed several roofs in the same manner until they were above the black nimbus of energy on the street below. Standing well out of the reach of the cloud stood a lone woman holding a sword.
A Hunter.
She was dressed in black leathers with white accents. Each of her forearms held sheaths with short blades. In her hand, she held a white, gleaming sword that seemed to keep the black energy cloud away.
“I’m looking for a gunman,” Velos said as the black energy swirled around him. “Maybe you’ve heard of him? His name is Cade.”
“Never heard of him,” the woman said. “You, on the other hand, are Velos, yes?”
Velos raised an eyebrow.
“Guilty as charged,” Velos said with a mock bow. “How did you get that information?”
“We are not without our resources,” the woman said. “Rumor has it Regional unleashed you with that—a named dark blade. Is this true?”
“I wonder how she heard about him?” Wake said, keeping her voice low. “Anna had to go through several backchannels to get that information. This is no ordinary Hunter.”
“Who are you?” Velos asked, curious. “At least do me the courtesy of knowing who I’m killing tonight.”
“Someone tasked with keeping the night safe—like all Hunters,” she answered. “Safe from all threats, even human ones.”
“Keeping the night safe?” Velos scoffed. “Hunters are the greatest threat on the streets. Even more so than the Unholy. At least they remain in the Park. Hunters roam freely.”
“You sound like one of them—the Unholy.”
“Do you blame them?” Velos asked. “The Unholy are persecuted and killed, and those that escape are confined.”
“When they were free, they killed and attacked us,” the Hunter answered. “Containment in the Park saved humanity in this city.”
“Containment and assassination.”
“The pact is clear,” the Hunter said. “Any Unholy found outside of the Park is a threat to be terminated on sight. We cannot and will not coexist. It’s been tried and led to the war.”
“Killing is not always the solution.”
“And yet you’re the one killing Hunters and taking their named blades.”
“Yes,” Velos answered with a nod. “There are, of course, exceptions. Eradicating Hunters is my purpose. Your named blades have outlived their usefulness. What is your blade’s name?”
“Yuki told me about what you can do with your smoke,” the woman said, glancing at the cloud around Velos. “You didn’t get her sword. What happened?”
“An error that will be rectified in time, I assure you,” Velos sa
id, allowing some of the smoke to solidify in his hand as he formed Retribution. “I will hold her Justice soon enough. This”—he motioned to his blade—“is Retribution.”
“What do you hold in the scabbard?” the Hunter asked.
Velos tapped the scabbard holding Nameless across his back, gently.
“This holds my future,” Velos said. “The end of the Order and the world as you know it.”
“You couldn’t beat Yuki, even with a dark blade,” the Hunter said with a short laugh. “What makes you think you can take me? I’m not Cesca, Red Jen, or Yuki.”
“All of you will fall before me,” Velos said as the nimbus of black energy spread out into the night around him. “It’s inevitable.”
Several shots rang out in the night, and tendrils of black energy formed in front of Velos, stopping the bullets.
“Don’t waste ammo, Misha,” the woman said into the night. “That black smoke protects him. Keep your eyes open in case he has friends.”
“Got it,” Misha said over her coms. “Be careful, Lina. That sword is dangerous.”
“Lina,” Velos said with a nod. “It will be my pleasure to end your life this evening.”
“You have excellent hearing,” Lina said raising an eyebrow. “Are you certain you’re human?”
“Mostly,” Velos said with a smile. “I’ve bonded to my blade. It provides me with certain ‘skill sets’ your blades lack.”
“There’s a reason dark blades were removed from the streets,” Lina answered. “They drove every Hunter who used them mad. Mostly the weak men who succumbed to the power they held.”
“I am neither weak nor a Hunter,” Velos said. “I am the solution to the problem posed by your group. The Hunters are finished. I’m just here to deliver the message.”
“He heard her name over the coms?” Wake asked. “I think proximity to that cloud may amplify some of his senses.”
“That sounds like a bad thing,” Jas said. “That thing is bad enough—now it gives him heightened senses?”
“Something like that,” Wake said. “I’ll have to do more research on the dark blades. That information is not readily available and we’ve been somewhat pressed for time as of late.”
Sepia Blue- Nameless: A Sepia Blue Novel- Book 4 Page 6
