by S. E. Weir
Yet another part of her brain said that changing the serum was the answer. That her problems would be solved if she changed the nanocytes.
How could both be right?
If there was one thing Faith knew for sure, it was that Phina was in danger and had to be protected.
Her brain began hurting as she started thinking harder about why it was right to change the serum. An agonizing pain shot through her brain, causing her to clutch her head and collapse on the bed.
A cool, impersonal voice spoke from above. “Faith Rochelle.”
She stopped trying to think more and lay there for a moment. Her brain ached, but it wasn’t the sharp pain of a moment ago.
“Yes?” She finally asked.
“You requested to be made aware when there was another attempt on Seraphina Waters’ life. Fifty-two assassins have attacked the wedding where Phina is in attendance.”
Faith jolted upward in shock. “What! That’s so many!”
“Plans have been made and defenses are in place. Phina has proven herself capable. There are others there to help.”
Shaking her head, Faith stood up and staggered but felt fine after a moment. She clutched her drab clothes in worry and fear. “Meredith, please! I know I harmed Phina, but I didn’t mean to. I feel like I’ve been in a fog and nothing makes sense. I need Phina to be okay! Please, let me go help? I need to do something to help make up for hurting her!”
Faith almost forgot to breathe. Would Phina even be alive? She couldn’t be dead. She couldn’t die. It wasn’t right. Nothing about this was right.
Faith almost gave up hope until she heard, “Request approved. Your implant has been reactivated. I will open the doors for you, notify the guards, and give you directions through the implant.”
She exhaled in relief, then ran the few steps to the door and saw it open.
“Thank you! Oh, thank you, Meredith!”
Faith raced down the hall as fast as she was able, seeing the guards frowning but letting her through. As she reached the front door, Faith almost staggered in shock when she heard Meredith’s response over the implant.
“Thank the Empress. She gave the permission.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
QBBS Meredith Reynolds, Horizons
Phina threw her dagger into an assassin in front of her, then gripped her staff with two hands and thrust it behind her into the chest of a second assassin. A crunch that hopefully meant broken bones reached her ears while she twirled the staff in one hand into the head of the third assassin on her right.
She leaned forward to grab her dagger as the first assassin fell, slicing to the side as she pulled it out and extended her left arm to stab the assassin on her left.
She ignored the number of cuts that marked her body, both partially and mostly healed, trying to move faster and to think smarter so she had economy of movement with a hit in every strike. She had been training with Braeden every day since she had received her staff, and that had helped her figure out the best moves to use with her height and strength.
However, Phina needed to focus on learning how to manage her Etheric energy flow while she was fighting. She had a feeling being able to use the influx of Etheric more effectively would make fighting easier, if not less bloody and painful, if she could heal faster or read their minds at the same time as she fought them or something else equally miraculous-seeming at the moment.
Right now, she focused on the next five steps and added more as she went along.
Todd, Maxim, Pete, Craig, Drk-vaen, and Sis’tael were fighting around her, pulling off the assassins when they surrounded her two deep. Others were spread out, fighting beyond them. They’d discovered in their sparring the day before that since Phina hadn’t learned how to fight in tandem with others against multiple opponents. It would be easier for her to fight as she could, and everyone else would help keep them from overwhelming her should there be more than one assassin.
They had thought maybe five or ten would show up if they decided to take advantage of her being in a public place. They hadn’t counted on over fifty.
Whoops and shouts sounded around the room as they whittled the assassins down. There were sixty-three guests, and non-combatants comprised almost half of those, so the combatants were outnumbered. Since some were guarding those who weren’t fighting, including Ron, the ratio was more than two to one.
In their planning meeting after the sparring session, the Wechselbalg had decided that they would stay in human form if possible to minimize damages to the restaurant, so that limited their effectiveness as well. However, since the tricky thing about these opponents was the extra arms with accompanying weapons, that wasn’t too bad.
“Die, abomination!” an assassin growled as he thrust his knife toward Phina’s belly. She dodged it and swiped his legs with her staff, causing him to fall.
“The goddess demands your death!” another green assassin snarled, swinging four knives at once. Eyes widening, she quickly slid underneath and thrust her knife into his gut, then rolled away as she saw another Qendrok come in close, rising to sweep his knees.
Peter chuckled as he blocked a stroke of a knife from an assassin, then feinted in before striking. “Hell, Phina. You’ve got them all riled up with their melodrama.”
“It’s my effusive and charming personality, no doubt,” she replied with no inflection before lifting a leg to launch off one assassin over to attack another, wincing as she received another slice on her arm.
Todd shook his head in amusement as he prevented the assassin that she had gut-stabbed from swiping at her side before stabbing him in the heart. “And they clean up after themselves too.”
Phina glanced over and watched his assassin disappear before using her staff to stabilize her in an aerial over a downed assassin, who groped for his wrist, to meet another attack. She wished there was a way to tell the assassins apart, but except for slight facial differences they looked and dressed the same, from their black banded amulets to their clothing wraps and bare feet.
She glanced around the room and realized that they were down to around a dozen of the assassins left, and those were spread out. Alina still stood by the wall with Mister Prez. The other non-combatants were huddled on the edges of the room or under tables, and the guys were beginning to ratchet the tension down with jokes and banter since the odds were now in their favor. Phina breathed a sigh of relief that they would get through this with no casualties when she heard a loud voice right behind her.
“For the goddess!” She whirled to see an assassin charging toward her while the remaining assassins returned the yell, “For the goddess!” as they left those they were fighting to run straight for her again.
The guys stopped in surprise as the assassins began converging on her, then chased after them.
Lifting her weapons, she pulled on her determination and her Etheric connection to increase her speed and strength.
Phina heard an anguished wail that she didn’t have time to worry about since she couldn’t see anything but green skin, red wraps, and the glint of knives, causing her to feel enclosed. The assassins were bigger than her, taller than her, and had more arms and weapons than her. But she’d be damned before she would let them intimidate her or give up before she had tried everything.
So, she gave it everything as she channeled her fear and anger, whirling, kicking, stabbing, leaping, and twirling her staff to gain momentum to strike.
Just when she thought it wouldn’t be enough, she realized that there weren’t as many assassins around her as there had been. The guys appeared in her vision wearing grim expressions as they flung the assassins away and applied appropriate measures to show their displeasure.
She kicked the last assassin away with a sigh of relief, causing him to trip over a couple of bodies and land on the floor.
He looked around and seemed to realize everyone else had either done their disappearing act or lay dead on the floor. He turned to Phina, who staggered due to her fres
hly inflicted and healing wounds.
She raised her knife-wielding hand again in case he attacked and gave him her fiercest glare, sending the mental message. Go. Tell Qartan we are coming to finish what he started, and not even his goddess will be able to save him.
Phina was relieved to see that instead of attacking, he grabbed his wrist and did a disappearing act of his own.
It wasn’t until she couldn’t see him anymore that she looked around, her eyes snagging on one of the bodies the assassin had tripped over. It wasn’t a large green body, but a smaller one with dark hair, lying crumpled on the floor. Instead of the formal wear of the wedding, the clothes this person wore were plain white…like those she had last seen Aunt Faith wearing.
But that couldn’t be. Aunt Faith should have been in the holding area.
Her heart thudding, Phina dashed over and knelt beside the body, dropping her weapons before turning the body over to see who it was.
It was Aunt Faith.
Phina gasped, suddenly finding it hard to breathe. Was her aunt gone, or just badly injured? Could they save her?
“Aunt Faith?” Phina whispered.
Seeing her eyelashes flutter, Phina quickly and unwisely let her shields down to focus on her aunt’s thoughts. The influx of information from everyone around her, extending far beyond the restaurant, caused her brain to throb and overwhelm her.
What are you doing? Has everything I have taught you been in vain? Get your shields up, you foolish female!
Sundancer’s words cut through the confusion, reminding her that she shouldn’t just be reacting. She closed her shields and did it right this time, using the filter she needed.
Sorry, Sundancer. Thank you.
Thankfully, it didn’t take long and she mentally reached her aunt.
Aunt Faith? What happened?
She searched for a wound. What had happened? Blood pooled around her aunt and the body of an assassin next to her, causing Phina no small amount of worry.
She continued patting her aunt’s body, registering but not paying attention to the others that crowded around to see what was happening, when she heard a weak response to her mental inquiry.
Phina? Did I save you?
Phina frowned at the nature of the question before her fingers found a wound from a knife in her aunt’s back. Other hands also probed, but she ignored them to gently scan her aunt’s mind to see what had happened.
Her aunt had entered the restaurant as the assassins converged on Phina. She had emitted the cry of anguish Phina had heard earlier and ran after them using the abilities she had gained from the serum to move faster. Aunt Faith had reached them in time to slip between Phina as she faced another assassin and the assassin whose body she lay beside. This assassin’s knife had stabbed her. She had pulled the knife out and plunged it into the surprised assassins’ chest before her strength gave out, and she fell before the assassin did.
Tears shimmered in Phina’s eyes when she realized that Aunt Faith hadn’t cared if she died. She’d only been thinking about protecting Phina.
Yeah, Aunt Faith, she answered softly with her mind as she reached for one of her aunt’s hands, squeezing gently and holding it carefully. You saved me. Just hold on, and we’ll get you into a Pod-doc.
Phina sensed someone putting a bandage on the wound, trying to keep the compression on it so that could happen. She felt a slight squeeze of her aunt’s hand as she tried to open her eyes. No… It’s too late. I’m so tired. You’re safe. It’s all that matters. Sorry… I’m so sorry. Things are…wrong. I wanted…to help make…it…right.
No, we can help you! You took the serum. It should help save you.
Even though her aunt wasn’t moving, Phina got the sense she was shaking her head, though her mental voice was weaker. My choice. Simon. Chris. Miss them. Proud…of…you.
Phina’s tears overflowed as she heard the one phrase she hadn’t heard from her aunt since her parents had died. I love you too, Aunt Faith.
Silence answered.
Aunt Faith?
A quiet voice spoke next to her. “She’s gone, Phina.” Todd. He had been the one to put the bandage on and feel her heartbeat.
Phina’s shoulders slumped as her tears streamed down her face. She shook her head as two sets of arms reached around her to give her hugs. Alina and Todd.
“How was she here?” Phina looked up to see Todd looking at her aunt regretfully from where he knelt beside her. She felt very aware of both Alina and Todd’s arms around her.
He sighed, then turned to Phina as he spoke. “When I talked to her, she asked to be notified when you were in danger. I thought there was no harm in approving the request since she is your family and expressed concern for you. Meredith told me that when she informed your aunt earlier, she asked to be let out so she could help.”
He glanced at Aunt Faith’s body with a mixture of regret and approval, adding, “She told Meredith she wanted to do something to make up for hurting you. Meredith sent the request to ADAM, who got approval from the Empress. They let her out so she could come.” He hesitated then continued while gently squeezing her hand and looking apologetic. “There’s more I should talk to you about later, but I’m sorry that I played a role that ended with her death.”
Phina shook her head, not able to stop the tears, and squeezed his hand before turning to her aunt’s body. “It was her choice, and she told me that. Aunt Faith said she missed my dad and Uncle Simon and wanted to see them.”
She sagged as she realized that she had no other living family now. She was alone. Closing her eyes in sorrow, she felt herself withdrawing inside until a warm mental touch nudged her with a small sniff.
Hardly alone. Have you forgotten that you chose these people as your family? They are strange ones, but they care about you.
Phina took a deep breath then nodded. Thank you, Sundancer. I did forget for a moment.
Alina squeezed Phina, reminding her that it was Alina’s wedding day. Her head and eyes popped as she turned to Alina in concern.
“Oh, no! I’m sorry, Alina. I was hoping they wouldn’t attack during your wedding, and if they did that, no one would die, so you only have happy memories.”
Alina shook her head with a small wobbly smile and tear tracks down her cheeks. “I was hoping no one would die too, and I’m sorry it was your aunt, Phina. She could be a witch, but I know you still cared about her.”
She hugged Phina tightly. Todd’s and Maxim’s arms went around them, and the hands of others offered comfort.
Phina felt warm inside. Part of her was sad that her family of origin was gone. However, she was happy her chosen family cared about her and was sad with her. That they were here to give comfort.
She leaned her head against Alina’s with a sigh as she patted Maxim’s shoulder then reached down to squeeze Todd’s hand again, giving him a small smile. “I’m happy I have all of you.”
Alina mused from her position on her shoulder as murmured conversation rose around them. “It’s part of life. You know Mrs. Jameson always talked about the circle of life being births, weddings, and deaths or funerals. They are the markers of being alive and living life.”
Phina made a small noise of interest at the memory she had forgotten of Will’s mom. She gestured as she spoke. “We had your wedding, and Aunt Faith’s dead. That just leaves a birth, but the only one I know of who is pregnant is…”
She turned her head to look for Mal and found her standing on the edge of the gathered group, holding her belly and looking down with an intent gaze. Her eyes widened in panic and excitement. “Uh, James? Mom? Dad? I think…I think the baby is coming.”
Mal spoke loud enough to cut through the conversations in the room before Mister Prez and a man Phina hadn’t met before, but she presumed was Mal’s husband, rushed up to fuss over her and direct Mal to the nearest medical facility. An elegant black woman followed at a more sedate pace, putting her arm around Mal and leading her to the door.
Phina tur
ned to Alina, who had been watching with a mixture of amusement and resignation, and turned to Phina just a beat behind and shrugged. “Well, you did say that the day was a success no matter what happened as long as we were married by the end of the day. And we got married.”
She flipped her hand up to show off her two rings as she gave Maxim a full smile of love leaning toward adoration.
Phina looked around the room, which had taken some knocks during the fighting. The decorations and place settings were in shambles, and chairs had been knocked over. Thankfully, the fighting had been contained to the center of the room. She didn’t want to know how much it would have cost to replace one of the special screens. The guests had begun to congregate in small groups, discussing the wedding, the fight, and…other things, she realized as she saw couples speaking quietly and standing close to each other.
She shook her head, glancing at Aunt Faith before lifting her eyes to Mal, who was waddling out of the door with plenty of help.
“Essentially, yes, but this wasn’t what I had in mind.”
Maxim looked around the room and sighed. “It’s going to take time to clean things up. I guess we won’t be having the reception now.”
“Oh?” Phina raised an eyebrow. “I thought the reception was kickass.”
They laughed, and Alina nudged her with a grin before accepting Maxim’s help to get up. “Come on, Phina. You know we couldn’t do anything normal and boring.”
Phina looked up at her best friend with faint amusement. “Well, we could try. It might eventually happen.”
“Normal is overrated,” Alina declared with a sassy pose, totally ignoring her crazy hair and that her raised veil hung by a few strands on the back of her head.
“Hmm…” Phina glanced around, wanting to comment that normal might mean that no one would die or maybe that everyone would be safe in the first place. Perhaps things would happen expectedly rather than unexpectedly. However, she sensed that Alina was trying to cheer her up, or at least put on a positive face, and Phina couldn’t stand it if she made Maxim and Alina’s day any worse, so she nodded sagely and quietly agreed. “Normal is too tame for our sensibilities.”
