Rune Warrior

by Frank Morin

  “Sarah, do you think people would be willing to loan you a fraction of their strength so you can protect them from global slavery?”

  “Most people would,” she agreed. “If they understood the danger.”

  “We fight evil from the shadows,” Tomas said. “Most of the world never knows what we do, and doesn’t want to know. You can’t tell them, or they’ll think you’re insane, or a witch.”

  “Burning at the stake is not the way I want this life to end,” she agreed.

  “So test another one,” Tomas said. “You have to master this.”

  After a moment’s consideration, she said, “I’m going to mark a cipher on the ground farther down the street. It should create a barrier. Try driving the car through it.”

  “Sounds good.”

  She trotted up the narrow road about a hundred feet. After confirming no one else was around, she crouched over the pavement and called upon her rounon. It flooded through her immediately, and she focused it as she drew her finger across the ground, leaving lightly glowing marks on the stone.

  The sight filled her with a fresh thrill. She was really doing it! Even though she’d immersed herself in ciphers for the past several hours, she still wanted to squeal with glee to see it actually working.

  With forced calm, she completed the cipher and stepped behind it just before it flared to blue-white brilliance. She barely noticed the drain on her strength, and grinned as the cipher activated. To her eyes, the air shimmered with barely-visible energy, forming a wall across the street that rose ten feet into the air. More importantly, she could feel it there, an invisible presence in her mind. She doubted anyone else would see it.

  She waved to Tomas, and he started the car and pulled into the road. He barely accelerated past idling, creeping down the street toward the wall. Sarah held her breath as the car rolled closer, eager to see the barrier hold, but worried it might fail.

  The car slammed to a stop at the cipher, and Tomas rocked forward in his seat, looking surprised. He hadn’t seen the barrier. It still felt whole and undamaged.

  He gave her a thumb’s up, and she said, “Hit it harder.”

  “Stand back,” he called, then reversed a little way up the street.

  Sarah didn’t move, but stood her ground in the street. The barrier would hold, she knew it.

  Tomas gestured for her to move, but she shook her head and motioned him on. With a frown, he accelerated sharply, gunning the engine toward her. The short distance didn’t allow him to get up a lot of speed, but it was enough that her pulse quickened as the car rushed toward her.

  Despite her confidence in the cipher, she tensed to spring out of the way. With so much energy roaring through her, she could easily vault the nearby prison wall.

  The car crashed into the barrier and bounced off. The airbag deployed, and the front bumper crumpled. Sarah felt the barrier vibrate from the impact, but it held. She’d crafted it to continue drawing from the tapped souls as needed, with a max drain of two percent. At the impact, she could feel that drain increase across those souls, but not hit the maximum load.

  Sarah waved her hand, and the cipher faded away. She grinned as she trotted over to check on Tomas. She hadn’t actually thought about how to terminate an active cipher, but had acted on instinct.

  “Are you all right?”

  Tomas popped the airbag with a knife and grinned. “Even the bruises from the airbag have faded already. My enhancements are on fire since that first cipher you activated. I think I’d have to take some serious damage to feel any effect.”

  She leaned in the window and kissed him. “It worked great. I think I’ve done enough for tonight. I know how to activate the ciphers, and I’ve proven the concepts.”

  “Good.” He gestured toward the rear of the little car. “Push me to a parking space. That little crash disabled the engine. I need to call us another ride.”

  After they parked the car and called for a tow, they walked through the shadowed park and followed the Viale della Mura Aurelie north for a few blocks to St. Peter’s Square. They waited near the tall obelisk in the center of the square for a ride, and Sarah leaned against Tomas, staring from the towering dome of the St. Peter’s Basilica to the glowing lights above the turrets of the Castel Sant’Angelo about half a mile away, down the straight shot of the Via della Conciliazione.

  “Thanks for the date tonight,” she said after a comfortable moment of silence.

  Tomas wrapped her in arms that she no longer resented. “That may be the first time I’ve intentionally crashed a car on a date.”

  “Next time, take me to the shooting range outside of town and let me try the GECAL 50,” she said, snuggling closer.

  He laughed. “You’re on.”

  Quentin himself arrive a few minutes later to give them a ride back to the mansion. Sarah sat in the back, considering the results of her cipher test and the thorny question of when to justify taking life force from others to use as she saw fit. There was no easy answer, and no matter what she chose, there would be consequences and the chance that someone would get hurt.

  To defeat Paul, she would take the risk. She’d deal with Alter and his family afterward.

  If any of them survived.

  Chapter Sixty-Seven

  The Colosseum shall stand as the greatest arena the world has ever known. May the gods grant its true purpose is successful. Eirene insists the hated Thracian will not be able to resist the lure of glory and honor my new arena offers. His crimes would sully those glorious sands, but that is a small price to pay to rid the world of him.

  ~Emperor Titus, 81 A.D.

  Sarah slept late the next morning, and was awakened by Tomas, who brought her breakfast on an actual silver platter. The smell of eggs and bacon filled her room, and she rubbed sleep out of her eyes, then gave him a kiss.

  “What’s the occasion?” she asked, happy to feel no tension lingering between them.

  “You’re going to miss the morning’s memory hunt if you don’t get up,” Tomas said with a smile. “And since you’re supposed to play a central role, that would kind of defeat the purpose.”

  “Why didn’t you wake me sooner?” Sarah threw off the covers and leaped out of bed. She rushed toward her closet, pulling off her night shirt as she went.

  “Sarah!” Tomas exclaimed. “I’m still here.”

  He had turned away, his posture stiff, his cheeks actually flushed. It was as cute as it was annoying.

  “You haven’t left yet?” Sarah teased. “Are you the reason the term peeping Tom got started?”

  “I would never,” he said, his voice slipping into a proper affronted British accent.

  “No, I guess you wouldn’t,” she said with a sigh, turning back to her closet.

  “I’ll set up breakfast on the table in your sitting room,” he offered, exiting fast enough to make her worry he’d spill it.

  She dressed quickly and joined him. While she gobbled down some food, she handed Tomas a hair brush and gestured at her unkempt tresses. She expected him to look terrified, but he took the brush, moved behind her chair, and started working her hair like he knew what he was doing.

  “How did you learn to do that?” she asked.

  “Would you like a French braid today?”

  “You couldn’t,” she laughed.

  “Want to bet?”

  She rose and gave him a fierce kiss. “You never cease to amaze me.”

  “I’ll amaze you more later. Come on, we’re late.”

  She snatched up a pair of sausages, then followed. They took a car from Quentin’s extensive underground garage and headed into town to Suntara. The city bustled with life, and Sarah gazed at the locals and tourists they passed. None of them had any idea the dangers that lurked in their midst.

  Part of her envied them, but she realized that she really didn’t want to return to a life of blissful ignorance. Knowing about Paul and heka assassins and plots to overthrow the world might terrify her, but on the other h
and, runes and her newfound abilities filled her with profound joy. She’d embrace the good she found in the secret world of facetakers and master runes, and fight to preserve it against heka assassins and Cui Dashi monsters.

  They were the last two to arrive at the fourth-floor meeting. The main conference room was still under repair, but the smaller room was mostly intact. Gregorios and Eirene sat at the head of the table, with their facetaker children along the left side. The corpulent Harald hunkered over a laptop that seemed far too tiny for his huge hands, and Alter sat a little apart, looking ill at ease.

  “Glad you decided to make it,” Gregorios said, gesturing them to seats near Alter.

  Francesca leaned forward, a mischievous glint in her eyes. “We were starting to wonder if you’d decided to give that new suit a full test drive.”

  “He wears the body of one of my cousins,” Alter growled. Sarah wasn’t sure if he was angrier about the implied dishonor of a family member’s body, or the fact that he wasn’t the one with her.

  “Harriett, give your sister a muffin or something to keep her mouth busy for a while,” Gregorios said, sounding a bit impatient. “We have a lot to cover today.”

  “How did your training go last night?” Eirene asked Sarah.

  “I’m getting the hang of it,” Sarah said.

  “Your abilities are our secret weapon,” Gregorios said.

  “And Alter’s the other one,” Eirene added, giving the hunter a reassuring smile.

  “Paul won’t be expecting what you two can do,” Gregorios agreed. “We’ll leverage that. First, Sarah, I’d like to review your meeting with Paul.”

  As she told them about the Colosseum and Paul’s disgusting offer, Sarah tried to focus on the anger. When she told them about Paul’s reference to his mother, Eirene interrupted.

  “Those were his words exactly?”

  Sarah nodded. “He seemed terrified of her, and said everything he does is to honor her name and to support her objectives. His words.”

  “Mother mentioned you said something about Paul’s mother when you described the experience to her the first time,” Francesca said. “This morning, I asked our captured facetaker about her.”

  “What did you learn?” Gregorios asked.

  “Nothing good,” Francesca said. “There’s definitely a mother out there, but our prisoner seemed more terrified of her than of any torture I might try. She begged me not to mention her again, and she kept glancing at the door, as if expecting someone to burst through and kill us both.”

  “Paul seemed afraid too,” Sarah said. “How can Paul be afraid of anyone?”

  “He’ll be afraid of me when I see him next,” Alter growled.

  “His mother is an unknown quantity,” Gregorios said.

  “And that makes me nervous,” Eirene said. “Paul is almost more than we can hope to handle. We don’t need another powerful player involved.”

  “But what could her objectives be if world conquest is just a supporting role?” Tomas asked.

  When no one offered any suggestions, Gregorios said, “We know about her now. That’s a start. Sarah, when you meet with Paul, try to draw him out on that point.”

  “I’d rather just kill him,” Sarah insisted.

  “I swear upon my life to rip this monster’s heart out and burn it,” Alter exclaimed.

  “I’d appreciate it,” Sarah said.

  “His proposal offers a new angle of attack,” Gregorios added, “It’s not every day a megalomaniac with his sights set on world domination singles a girl out as the woman he’ll use to father a nation of monstrous, soul-stealing near-immortals.”

  “Imagine the personal ad,” Francesca said with a smirk.

  Tomas interrupted before she could suggest one. “It’s not actually funny.”

  “You’re too focused on the fact that it’s your girlfriend he’s targeted as his sex toy.” She gave Sarah an apologetic smile. “No offense. But you have to admire the guy’s audacity.”

  “That is no way to win a lady,” Bastien said, looking disgusted. “It is always better when she comes willingly.”

  Sarah appreciated Francesca’s attempt at keeping the tone light, but she didn’t share the facetaker’s humor. Paul terrified and disgusted her. She wouldn’t feel safe as long as he lived.

  “He’s not the first person who’s dreamed of world conquest,” Gregorios said. “I’ve buried more than I care to remember, but he’s the first who actually has a chance of pulling it off.”

  “That will make his fall that much more satisfying,” Eirene said.

  Their resolve eased a little of Sarah’s worry. She glanced at Tomas and noted the small signs of his growing anger. Unlike Alter, who looked ready to leap onto the table to swear an oath to avenge her, Tomas looked calm, like a coiled spring, who would unleash all his rage in a moment of controlled, deadly assault. She wished somehow they could combine Alter’s Cui Dashi soul powers with Tomas’ experience. Together, they would become an unstoppable force, and Sarah had no doubt they could destroy Paul.

  She wondered if there were runes she could use to facilitate such a thing? Then again, linking the two of them that closely might prove fatal to one of them.

  “One point we haven’t considered yet,” Eirene said. “Is that Paul suggested he could father a generation of Cui Dashi. Either he’s just planning to produce a lot of children, or he actually believes there’s a way to breed Cui Dashi.”

  “Let’s hope he’s just randy,” Francesca said with a shiver. “Breeding Cui Dashi is nasty.”

  “He can’t breed if we make him a eunuch,” Harriett said.

  “Exactly!” Sarah fist-bumped with her.

  “Then we kill him,” Alter said.

  “Well, sharpen your knives,” Gregorios said with an approving smile. “We’re going in today, right after this meeting.”

  “Can we kill him in the memoryscape?” Sarah asked. “He regenerates so fast.”

  “Good,” Francesca said with a wicked grin. “We can castrate him more than once.”

  “They’ll know we mean to target John,” Tomas said. “And they’ll have precautions in place.”

  “Our memory hunt will have several objectives,” Gregorios said. “But it’s unlikely we’ll be able to destroy them solely within the memoryscape. We need to find their hiding place here in Rome, and our hunt needs to lead us in that direction.”

  “How?” Sarah asked. She glanced at Tomas. “Any new leads?”

  “Actually, we caught a glimpse of that heka we trailed into the Colosseum the other day. She was spotted passing the Colosseum again.”

  “That can’t be coincidence,” Sarah said, thinking back to the mark she’d named Rosetta.

  “We’ve stepped up surveillance in that sector,” Tomas said. “It may be the clue we need to get a solid hit.”

  “My family wouldn’t have failed to find a kashaph infestation in their own city for so long.” Alter kept glancing from Sarah to Tomas, and looked unhappy they were getting along again.

  “That’s why they let a heka cell break down the front door and steal the family jewels,” Tomas retorted.

  Alter leaped to his feet, his face red with anger.

  “Calm down,” Eirene said, and her voice carried enough weight with him that he slowly sank back into his seat. She added, “Do you really want more of your family in close proximity with our enforcers, Alter?”

  “No,” he mumbled, without meeting her gaze, and sank lower in his chair.

  Sarah wanted to comfort him, but he’d take it the wrong way. She really cared for him, but she couldn’t let him see it. Getting so close to him had only hurt them both.

  “There are international items to take into account.” Harald spoke for the first time. “I believe they factor into this conflict and cannot be ignored.”

  “Explain,” Gregorios said.

  He pointed at his laptop. “International tensions are still escalating. Israel launched air strikes against the Pal
estinians in retaliation for the recent bombings in Jerusalem.”

  Alter perked up, but Eirene said, “Won’t do any good.”

  “It’ll stir things up,” Gregorios said. “That’s bad enough.”

  “Worse,” Harald continued. “Thailand’s government is in turmoil, and there’s talk of a coup, but the new king is still talking tough against China. China has begun escalating rhetoric in return, and military forces are building in strategic locations.”

  “That doesn’t make any sense,” Tomas said.

  “Not to any sane people,” Gregorios agreed. “But it appears Paul wants the world destabilized.”

  “All the more reason to remove him,” Eirene said.

  “We go in,” Gregorios said. “Paul wants Sarah and he wants a master rune. We’ll tempt him with both. Sarah, keep him talking.”

  “And kick him where it counts,” Francesca urged.

  “We’ll get to that,” Gregorios said. “We want him distracted. We’ll give him a memory he might hope to glimpse a master rune, and we’ll dazzle him with Sarah.”

  “You want me to take another shot at John?” Tomas asked.

  “If you can. That’s a second level of distraction and misdirection.”

  “Then what’s the point?” Sarah asked.

  Eirene leaned forward, her gaze intent.

  “Spartacus.”

  Chapter Sixty-Eight

  We shall see if the Hebrews continue to conceal the hunters. Jerusalem is mine, and their temple is destroyed. What more must I do before the hunters are in turn hunted? Let them try assassinating me again.

  ~Emperor Titus, 70 A.D.

  The inner sanctum of the temple of Summanus materialized around Eirene and she breathed deep the remembered aromas of lingering incense and clean stone. She wore Iltea’s powerful young body again. She left the thick hair red.

  She stood at the base of the grand inner steps up to the propylaeum. It was the perfect place to prepare for confronting Paul.

  Gregorios materialized beside her, dressed like a Roman Centurion, complete with greaves protecting his lower legs. She preferred his legs bare, but even that life he spent in Scotland never cured him of his hatred of kilts. Of course, if she’d ever had her legs bitten off by a shark, she might have the same lingering angst.