Except, it appeared, for today.
“I can….” She pushed her magic harder. “I feel the wall you feel. Just wait....”
‘Nathaniel,’ she called out to him, trying to find another route into his mind. There was no second call with Nathaniel; he never left her waiting when she called out to him.
“Sienna…” Desmond put a hand at her back, just in case.
“Mmm,” she grunted, her eyes still closed. The wall was dark, and she felt fear in the pit of her stomach. She knew he was there, but he wasn't answering. It wasn't just that he was asleep or unconscious. He was physically blocking her from getting in. However, Sienna's main skill was mind reading–reaching for words that people couldn't bring themselves to say.
With another push, she broke through the wall. The images that came into her mind then shocked her.
She saw a flash of someone's hand, heard a grunt, and then she felt pain across her face. Her hands flew to her nose, and she stumbled back against Desmond, seeing stars.
He caught her quickly, used to her falling, and lowered his knees in case she dipped farther.
She broke the connection, and the pain disappeared almost instantly. Her eyes flew open, and she knew the pain that she had felt was not her own.
“Desmond!” she said, as he helped her into a chair. The others gathered around, worriedly.
“I know,” he said. “I saw it, too. Something has happened.”
“Show me.” Sybil held out her hand. “Kierry and I have been exploring this area for months now. If something has happened, I might be able to recognize where he is.”
Sienna put her hand out, but Desmond brushed it aside, offering his own instead. Devon took her hand instead as Desmond transmitted the information to Sybil. It wasn't as good as seeing it from the firsthand magical supply, but Sienna knew she had already overextended herself.
“Do you want something?” Devon asked her, as he crouched down to be at her level.
“No,” she replied, content with just his touch. “Just stay.”
“I will.” He focused on her eyes, and Laura did not miss their look.
‘What are you doing?’ She asked her young Tiro, who didn't break his gaze from Sienna.
‘Living,’ Devon answered, and it almost broke Laura's heart to hear such an answer.
“I know where that is,” Sybil said suddenly, breaking all their concentration as her eyes flew open. “Do you remember, Kierry? That's the warehouse where they keep the contraband collected from the docks.”
“Yes,” Kierry answered. “But how? Why?”
“I highly doubt they will tell us those things,” Sybil said with a half grin. She was trying to keep a light heart. “We have to go to him. He's all right?”
“If Sienna could get through, he's all right,” Desmond answered. “I don't know why he's blocking us, though. Nathaniel has blocked me a few times in his life, mostly because of his temper, but he's never blocked Sienna's thoughts.”
“Is it possible that he is not doing it on purpose?” Laura asked. “I know I've been hit on the head a few times, and it's confused my thought process.”
“Nathaniel is a trained warrior,” Desmond pointed out. “He's used to being hit on the head.”
“Which explains so much,” Sybil couldn't help but throw in. “Sorry, old habits die hard. Shall we launch a team? What's our plan? I'm sure he's fine; he's Nathaniel.”
“Multiple entrances?” Desmond asked, and Sybil nodded. “Then we launch in teams. Each team takes an entrance, and we crowd them into the middle. Whoever they are. Is it possible that it's Reynolds' team?”
“It's possible...,” Sybil screwed up her face. “Technically. But I mean, this isn't their style. Reynolds' rebellion is not being led by force and violence. He knows he will get better loyalty if they come willingly to him.”
Desmond felt like someone had struck him upon hearing that explanation. It was exactly the type of thing that he used to tell Reynolds. He hadn't been talking about leaving the witches, of course, but he had been talking about running a government–a system, inspiring loyalty in soldiers.
In a lot of ways, he realized, Reynolds hadn't failed him. He had become a leader, a warrior, and he was strong. His name was known.
It was just for all the wrong reasons.
“So, someone else has him,” Laura spoke up, breaking Desmond out of his thoughts “Sybil?”
“No idea,” she said. “Suit up, Kierry. Let's go find out.”
Witches didn't often use weapons that weren't magic, but it appeared that Sybil and Kierry had created quite a storehouse. They had laser guns and enough ammunition to last them for days, if they had to. Which, Desmond thought, might be a reality if they were found out.
“Do you know how to use one of these?” Devon asked Sienna, who shook her head.
“I'll just stay behind Desmond,” she said.
Devon put one in her hand. “You're smart, you can figure it out,” he said, and she smiled. He had faith in her strength, and she hadn't had many people do that. Her Maestros kept her quietly behind them, and she didn't think much about what she could do to help. They had always made it clear they would ask. Otherwise, she would be taken care of.
“Thank you,” she said, as the rest of them grabbed what they needed. Devon winked at her as Sybil ushered them out.
“There are any number of rebel forces in this city,” she said. “The government is badly run, and I imagine they are going to stage a coup any day now. There is a black market, a blacker black market…essentially, everything is corrupt. Anyone could have him, and they could have him because they know who he is, or they don't.”
“So, that leaves things open,” Desmond said, his face set. “Really, we have no idea what we are up against.”
“Three Tiro-Maestro teams?” Sybil answered. “It doesn't matter what we are up against.”
As they continued to walk, Sienna attempted to reach out to Nathaniel again and again. But without breaking through the wall that had almost made her faint, she couldn't find anything useful. Desmond put a hand on her shoulder.
“Stop,” he said. “That will do no good.”
“But why would he block us out?” she protested. “It's not like him. He always finds a way to connect, even if it's through a back route. Somebody must have control of his mind.”
“No,” Desmond said. “You would be able to feel that when you went in.”
She was silent for a moment, and then looked up to him. “This is normal life,” she said, and he looked confused.
“What?”
“This,” she said. “Assignments, battles, death. This is normal life.”
“And what do you think of that?” he asked, trying to get the point she was making. “Do you want it to be normal life?”
“I don't know,” she answered truthfully. “I don't know where I fit.”
He slung an arm around her gently in an unusual display of affection. Perhaps it was the situation – the fact that two of his former Tiros were nearby and both were potentially in danger.
“You fit here,” he assured her, and she smiled at him. Even if she didn't believe the words that he said, she felt comforted by the fact that he believed them.
It wasn't long before they found the warehouse. Sienna had watched as the area became more run-down, and the people surrounding the buildings started to size them up.
“That's it,” she said to Sybil, trying not to point.
“Right. East, North, South,” Sybil said assigning the teams. “I don't know if I can reach out to all of you, but I can try.”
“I can do it,” Sienna spoke up, wanting to feel useful. “I can reach out to everyone's mind to coordinate our attacks.”
“Sienna…” Desmond said, and she looked up to him.
“Please. It's the only thing I can do. And it's Nathaniel.”
“Nathaniel, may I point out, will not let you do this,” Desmond answered. “But all right. Don't push hard, though
. All we need is a countdown.”
“Yes,” she agreed, although she knew she would likely have to push harder than she let on. The teams split up, and Desmond and Sienna took the south entrance. Their keen ears could hear voices inside, and her heart began to pound. She had been calm until they got here, trusting that Nathaniel could watch out for himself. She trusted that her younger Maestro had a plan about what was going to happen. Now, she wasn't so sure.
Desmond leaned up against the door, listening. He was waiting for a moment where they quieted down enough to distinguish through footsteps and sounds how many were inside. He didn't want to reach out with magic in case they were witches, who would surely sense in ping.
Sienna waited for what felt like an eternity. Finally, her Maestro caught her eye and nodded.
“Now,” he said, and Sienna reached out to the others quickly.
‘Go!’
Everyone slammed through the doors, their magic working quickly to unhinge locks and push open bolts.
The team inside looked completely surprised to see them. Sienna had a sense of pride for a moment; they had tricked them; they had succeeded.
That is, until she saw her Maestro, strung up against the wall, his hands chained. His nose was broken, which was the pain that she had felt initially. His eyes were bruised nearly closed, but they forced themselves open.
His eyes widened when he saw her, and his gagged mouth tried to speak.
‘Get out,’ his thoughts pushed into her. ‘Get out.’
Sienna froze, and then she heard the thoughts he pushed to both of them.
‘It's Sienna they want.’
Desmond spun into action right away, grabbing her arm, and pushing her in between Sybil and himself. His hands were out, the magic springing from them as three brown aliens began to approach, a delighted look in their eyes.
“Sienna,” one said, his voice like scratching wallpaper. “The witch with everything.”
“The witch they will pay high prices for.”
“The witch we can't ignore.”
“We knew you'd come.”
“NOT TODAY!” Sybil was the one who shot first, a powerful blast of magic coming from her hands. Sienna watched in awe as Kierry fired as well, her magic intertwining her Maestro's in a perfectly timed attack.
Sienna could never do that without feeling it for days. She knew that Maestros and Tiros could, of course, but she had rarely seen it in practice.
The aliens flew back with a scream. Clearly, they hadn't planned their attack very well. They had thought, perhaps, that only Sienna would come for Nathaniel. Three against one was hard, but three against six wasn't even a notch on someone's belt.
Before they could even retaliate, they were nothing but corpses, falling to the ground.
Chapter 10
Sienna ran toward Nathaniel, oblivious to his injuries as Desmond disconnected the chains. His feet touched the ground, and his knees buckled, but he managed to right himself as Sienna threw her arms around him.
“You all right?” Desmond asked gruffly.
Nathaniel snorted. “Oh yeah, fine,” he said, as Sienna squeezed him. “Little one, it's all right,” he said in alarm at her sudden rush of emotions. “I'm fine. We're together.”
“But you could have not been!” she cried. “You could have been gone.”
“I'm not,” Nathaniel blocked out the rest of the world to look her in the eye. Desmond was impressed with his focus through his injuries. He could feel Nathaniel's heart rate was skyrocketing, but his former Tiro's every thought was calming his own Tiro. “I'm here.”
“Wow,” Sybil said softly, standing beside Desmond. He knew exactly what she was referring to.
“She's never been apart from him,” he answered. “Especially not like this.”
Sybil smiled. “Well, it's nice to see, at last.” She raised her voice. “Are you all right, oh classmate of mine in constant messes?”
“I'm fine,” Nathaniel finally answered, displaying more strength as he tried to straighten up.
“What happened?” Desmond asked, and Nathaniel shook his head.
“I don't even know. One moment, I was making my way through the streets and the next, it was blackness.”
“Magical?” Desmond asked, and Nathaniel shook his head.
“I don't know. I think it was chemical, so someone should probably run my blood. But when I woke up here, all they could talk about was….” He didn't need to finish the thought.
“Why do they want me?” Sienna filled in for him, still unwilling to leave his side. “What did I do?”
“It's not what you did,” Desmond tried to assure her. “It's what you can do.”
She glanced to the floor. “I can't do anything,” she said. “Not well.”
“You are capable of so much more,” Desmond reminded her. “And it's not a surprise that more than just the Academy knows about you.”
“We should tag their bodies,” Sybil said. “Bring them back. I can ask around on the streets to see if anyone knows them.”
“This isn't Reynolds' work?” Kierry spoke up.
“No,” Sybil was quick to recognize that. “It certainly is not. These aliens…I've never seen them around. I suspect there's another force at work here, one that we don't recognize yet.”
“Wait!” Devon, ever observant, neared them. He recognized a symbol tattooed on their arms, all of the marks identical on their right shoulders. “Look, Laura.”
She tore her eyes away from Nathaniel long enough to glance at her Tiro. Her eyes narrowed. “That's Black Caesar's mark.”
“What?” Sybil went over right away. Nathaniel wavered, and Sienna gasped. Desmond moved forward, wrapping his arm around his former Tiro's waist.
“Fine, eh?”
“Black Caesar is dead,” Nathaniel said, his voice cracking. He cleared it, watching intently. “There's no way people still work for him. That was one-hundred years ago.”
“And yet, that is his mark,” Devon crouched by one of their bodies. “Without a doubt. We learned about it a few years ago. Kierry, you should have just taken that course?”
“Oh yeah,” Kierry replied as she looked closer.
“Who’s Black Caesar?” Sienna asked, a stark reminder of the school she wasn't attending.
“He's a bounty hunter,” Desmond spoke up. “One of the most famous, and the most...interesting. He believed that witches were the scum of the universe and that he was cleaning up the planet by getting rid of them, starting with the most powerful. He was funded by groups who believed similar things.”
“They killed witches just for the sake of it?”
“Because they had beliefs of a universe that is obviously very different from ours,” Desmond reminded her, forever trying to teach her a world without evil. “But he is most certainly dead. And Reynolds' beliefs are very different from Black Caesar's, so I don't think for a moment that they would be working together, if Black Caesar was even alive.”
“Well, things just got more complicated,” Sybil answered. “Come on, Nathaniel. Let's get you some help.”
“Uh huh,” Nathaniel said, and Desmond raised his eyebrow.
“I may carry Sienna here and again, but you're a bit big, my Tiro.”
“I was hoping for old times' sake,” Nathaniel answered, but he managed the steps by himself.
“Can you make it?” Sybil teased him as they got back, opening the door.
“Getting lazy in my old age?” Nathaniel answered, as Sybil went to get the medical kit.
“Are you all right?” Devon asked Sienna quietly as they drew back from the chaos.
“Me?” she asked in surprise.
“Well, if I found out I was being hunted by a team of international bounty hunters, I'd probably be pretty shaken up. It'd also be an ego boost,” Devon tried to smile.
She shrugged. “I just….” She sighed. “I'm used to things like that. Not bounty hunters, but being different. Being studied. Being watched and looked
at.”
“Of course, you're used to being looked at,” Devon's voice was so low that no one else could hear it. “You're beautiful.”
Her head swiveled toward his, and he smiled, squeezing her hand. She let him keep her fingers wrapped in his, and her mind whirled.
That night, when she was supposed to be sleeping, she crept into Devon's room, closing the door with a click.
He jerked up with a start, his eyes flying open.
“What the…? Sienna?” he said. “Are you all right?” He was stunned that she had escaped the watchful gaze of her Maestros. The one that was supposed to be watching her at night, Devon realized, was likely out cold.
“This is my fault, though,” she said, and he paused.
“What is your fault?”
“Nathaniel being captured. They wanted me. He was bait. It's my fault.”
“Oh, Sienna,” Devon said as he sat up. “They want you for something you can't control. That's not your fault. And Nathaniel knew exactly what he was doing when he took you on.”
“Except, he didn't,” she sat at the edge of his bed. “Desmond made him.”
Devon reached out to brush her hair back. “Everything you are saying is true,” he replied. “But that doesn't make it your fault. It makes you amazing–so amazing and so strong. Creator, if I had a tenth of the power you have….”
“It doesn't make it better,” she answered. “It won't make you better.”
“No,” he managed a smile. “But I would have so much fun while I had it.”
She smirked at that. “You always make me smile.”
“The greatest reward,” he said, as he reached for a sweater. “Are you tired?”
“No,” she said, watching him. “Why?”
“You can see the stars here like no other place,” he replied. “It's like the planet is positioned perfectly. It's beautiful; you should see it.”
“Right now?” she asked, in surprise. “Outside?”
“Usually the place where you see the stars,” Devon answered sarcastically as his feet hit the floor. “Come on.”
“Devon, Nathaniel just got kidnapped, and they are after me. And Reynolds–”
“Sienna,” he grabbed her hand, “all those things are true as well. But you and I…we don't have a lot of time to wait for the safe moments, do we?”
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