Ouch. That hurt on multiple levels. And I doubted he meant physically breaking free, too.
“You’re right,” I said gently, looking toward Clay. “Some things are hard to break free of.”
“Especially when you don’t want to,” Ian whispered, the anger dissipating from him.
“Ian,” I started to say, but was interrupted.
“Ms. Misu,” a tall fighter walked up to me. Ian stepped in front of me, Glitter behind me. I sighed, and gently placed my hand on Ian’s shoulder to push him aside. He relented a bit, but stayed slightly in front of me regardless.
A second fighter joined the first. A shock of blue hair stuck up at the top of his head. I’d fought this one before. He was good. I’d gotten better since last we’d fought. A rematch might prove interesting.
“The leaders would like a word with you,” the taller of the two fighters said. I spotted a name badge embroidered on his brown jacket. Oh. That was useful.
“The leaders, Jon?” I said. “I’m sorry?”
He didn’t seem bothered by me knowing his name. I was reviewing my conception of the fighters’ league as just barbaric. I mean, name badges were just nice ice breakers.
Plus, I respected the name Jon without an “h.”
“Including the Guild of Shadows,” he said, nodding to Ian.
“Okay,” I said, “Jon without an h. I’m sorry, am I saying your name right?”
“It’s said the same, yes.”
“It’s just you’re missing an h, and I want to make sure I’m not being unnecessarily insulting. I do like the name badges.”
“Ms. Misu,” Jon said, sounding exasperated. I glanced at the second blue-haired warrior. He didn’t have a name badge.
“You’re just not friendly ever, are you?”
He shrugged, but I could see his grin through the fabric of his mask.
“Last time, you almost killed him,” I said, indicating Ian with my head.
“I didn’t realize who you were,” he said, apologetically. “Obviously.”
“Obviously,” Ian agreed, though his voice was anything but friendly. “Why do they want to see Tira? And you say Sonsil is among them?”
“Yes,” Jon said. “We’re reviewing the footage of the attack to understand the creature. We saw some interesting battle techniques on the part of Ms. Misu.”
Ian raised an eyebrow but didn’t fully turn to look at me.
“We go because Sonsil asks, for no one else,” Ian said softly. “Is that clear?” He glared at the warrior, who met his eyes but seemed uncomfortable.
Ian turned to me. I gave a slight shrug. Clay joined us, glaring at Ian. Ian didn’t even bother glaring back, which made me feel worse. Had he given up on me? On me ever being able to break free from Clay to become a full-fledged operative of the Guild of Shadows? What happened if I didn’t? It’s not like they could fire me and send me out into the streets, could they?
Glitter stepped beside me, taking hold of my arm to indicate that he didn’t intend to be left behind.
“You’ll be fine,” Clay told me, his voice loud enough for Ian to hear. I doubted the words were for me. “The Wolf Pack isn’t a bunch of killers like some other guilds, after all.”
“Let’s just get this over with,” I said, annoyed at Clay. And Ian. And myself. I walked past Ian and Clay to follow the two fighters.
Glitter followed along quietly, and his glowing green eyes were the most comforting thing about this entire group.
#
We passed through several corridors and up another flight of stairs that I hadn’t even known existed. Turned out what I’d seen of the league so far was just a front to a much bigger, more opulent side. Where sad offices lined the main floor, all full of dust and crappy carpeting, this part of the league had been recently renovated.
Floors and walls mimicked the look of ancient castle walls, great stones buttressing our walk. Light sconces lined the wall like torches, every third one a different colour, reflecting off the strange coating on the rocks to make it seem like we were under water.
Or at a rave?
I’d never been in either, so I wasn’t sure. But it was definitely mind-bending.
It didn’t feel like we were in an old shitty office building anymore. The place felt rich, warm, and slightly psychedelic.
I loved it and turned to grin at Clay. He kept looking forward morosely. I turned with my grin to Ian. Same.
Glitter’s eyes shifted as he examined his surroundings. I couldn’t tell if it was with awe, but I was glad to see that at least one other person seemed to be impressed and not moping. The day had been terrible – might as well enjoy some nice sights.
We went up a carpeted (red!) stairway, into another, wider corridor. The adjoining rooms didn’t have doors, but great stone archways instead. I glanced into the first to see racks brimming with weapons, like a great medieval armory.
“Shit, that’s cool,” I mumbled to no one in particular. Only Glitter nodded as he kept looking around.
The second room featured more modern weapons. Hell, very modern – some of them I didn’t even recognize, including types of guns that I had no clue what they did.
But they looked cool! I badly wanted to head in there and maybe take a grenade or two. Glitter’s idea about making the creature show itself had been solid, and I’d used my shadows to make it happen. But I had to compromise my own invisibility to do so, and if I could avoid that in the future…well, that would be more than okay.
Some of those grenades could be adapted or might already be adapted. Not every combat here was to the death, after all.
And Clay complained that my Guild was all murdery. At least we didn’t kill each other for sport!
Our guards abruptly stopped in front of us.
“Don’t draw weapons in the presence of the Boss,” Jon said. “Those are the rules. If you do, you will be killed.”
“Fine,” I said, when Clay and Ian didn’t answer. The hanger hung at my belt, but I somehow doubted those were the kinds of weapons they referred to. “But, just to be clear, is that the only scenario that will get us killed?”
“No,” Jon walked forward.
My hand twitched to reach for my hanger and just leave, but Ian gently placed his hand on my wrist, without bothering to look over, as though reminding me to behave.
I sighed and nodded. His hand moved away.
Two large, thick wooden double doors, engraved with guild symbols, opened dramatically before us. Guards from the Wolf Pack League stood beyond them.
The light changed in quality – now purple and shimmery. I recognized some of this. It looked a bit like the ripple of my shadows, though it did something with the light, instead.
I glanced down, then sideways, between the stones still lining the corridors around us, to the wall behind the guards…“they’re hiding the shadows.”
“Don’t go invisible now, please,” Ian said, almost at the same time as Clay said: “Don’t vanish.”
The two glared at each other, even though they’d both offered the exact same advice. I ignored them and analyzed the light further.
It seemed pretty ridiculous, hiding my shadows now. Unless they thought their defenses might also reveal the creature? But the creature used light to hide itself, as far as I could tell, like the refractions used for some camouflage gear.
I wished they’d turn this light off, whatever it was. Or at least have them explain it to me. I hated things that broke my shadows, but maybe if I understood them more, I could at least respect them.
We walked into the large room and I looked up in surprise. The ceiling tripled in height, leading to a large, finely decorated dome. Gold leaf trimmed stonework, intricate painted murals were book-ended by pastel lit glasswork, the entire ceiling a chandelier for the room.
All of it casting that strange light that ripped away the shadows.
The shadows that had just saved me. Hell,
saved all of us. Even though Glitter had managed to get the creature moving, it hardly meant that it wouldn’t return. And, without my shadows to see it by, he might not have been able to stop it.
I wondered how powerful Glitter truly was, under his wrappings and glowing eyes.
“Tira Misu of the Guild of Shadows, please step forward,” a voice boomed. I’d been so busy looking at the light and ceiling that I’d forgotten that people would be here.
Turned out that I much preferred shadow-stealing light to this many people.
The Boss, skin tightly wrapped around fine bone structure, white hair swept up, dark eyes permanently narrowed in disgust, sat in a large, gilded chair. Her dress seemed simple enough, but the drape of the fabric led me to think it was probably worth a gazillion dollars. Several rings, bracelets and necklaces picked up the purple of the light and shone perfectly.
I wondered if she selected her jewelry based on the light. That would be pretty smart.
Surrounding her were guild leaders, all standing. I spotted Sonsil, who looked more annoyed than I’d ever seen him. His dark skin and bald head seemed to shun the purple light, as though he had better things to do than be whimsical.
Which, as far as I could tell, was Sonsil’s modus operandis.
He glanced my way and gave a slight nod, and then focused on Ian. I figured the two were having an entire conversation made entirely of minute facial movements, and I wasn’t privy to any of it.
Clay squeezed my arm and stepped back. He dragged Glitter with him, though Glitter looked like he wanted to stay with me.
Ian, however, stayed by my side. He looked at me encouragingly, though I could see the grimness still clinging to his eyes. He took a step back, leaving me at the forefront. This was apparently Guild of Shadows spotlight time.
Which was ridiculous. What the hell didn’t people get about the Guild of Shadows? Come on! It wasn’t that hard!
I stopped a ways off from the Boss. I endeavored to ignore the assembled leaders and tried desperately to keep my tail from swishing from side-to-side.
I felt so very purple right now. My horns probably shone purple, even though they were usually black and could fit in with my hair. I wondered if they’d be more hidden if I did an updo like the Boss. Maybe she’d give me hair tips.
I looked at her perma-scowl.
Maybe not. Besides, she’d already insulted me once today. Probably best not to give her further ammunition.
“We’ve been reviewing footage of the attack,” the Boss said. She lifted her hand, and the footage began playing to her left. I couldn’t even see the screen, like the projection happened midair.
I had definitely underestimated the technological coolness of the Wolf Pack League.
There was no sound, but I could see the creature and my shadows intermix. I cringed again at the sight of Clay collapsing. I spotted Glitter, crouched in a corner, as though he struggled between running away and standing up for his friends.
He decided just before I was about to get cut in two, apparently frozen in place.
Well, that was embarrassing. I hadn’t been frozen, per se. Just out of ideas. Maybe I could offer that addendum.
The projection stopped, the strange purple lights flooding the room again. As a distraction, I tried pulling a few shadows, but the second I found them in the tiniest of cracks, they vanished in the weird light. So, I stopped seeking them out, feeling bad they kept flickering out of existence.
Ian placed his hand on my elbow, a tiniest brush, and I realized that no one was talking. I focused back on the people around me (so many people) and realized that they were all looking at me.
Too many people.
I struggled against calling the shadows to me, knowing it wouldn’t work. My next instinct was to run, but Ian’s hand on my elbow left me to believe that this gentle touch would turn to a vice grip if I even tried.
I could probably take Ian.
But then, he could turn into a bear and squeeze me.
Yeah, he’d win.
Shit.
Sweat dripped down my back. I’d been fine for the whole battle with the creature, but this was different. This was shittier, and I hated being the center of attention.
Hated it with an ever-growing passion.
“How did you do that, Ms. Misu,” the Boss said, her voice crisp as always. I wondered if she always sounded like she was threatening someone. Pass the salt, or die.
“I used my shadows?” I offered. Ian’s hand didn’t change or shift in its pressure. Okay. I guess I was doing okay, or at least not completely terrible.
“You revealed the creature to us,” the Boss said, and the leaders all moved with interest.
“I don’t think we should call it a creature anymore,” I said. Ian groaned softly beside me. “I mean, it’s a Traded, right? And we know it’s a woman, or I’m going to guess anyway, because she was so cool. So maybe we should give her a name. Like Annie?”
The Boss glared at me. My nerves churned my words to life.
“Not Annie,” I said. “You pick.”
“I don’t care how we address this monster,” the Boss said. I was pretty sure at least she was human, but not positive. She was definitely cranky, though. “How did you make it show itself?”
“If you turn off your weird lights, I’ll show you,” I offered.
“Our full-spectrum lights reveal the creature’s blood,” one of the guards said. “It’s the only way we have of revealing its presence.”
“Well, they didn’t stop it from entering, did they?” I said, now annoyed. “So obviously it can do other stuff. And, besides, Glitter is the one who got the creature to back off of me, so you might want to talk to him?”
Glitter shrivelled beside Clay, and I felt bad for shifting the spotlight to him.
“We’re aware of what the researcher can do,” the Boss said.
“I filled in a form,” Glitter offered.
“There’s a form?” I mumbled. “Look, I can’t show you if I can’t draw the shadows,” I shrugged my shoulders.
The Boss’s eyes caught mine, and she seemed to be weighing the fiber I was made of. She’d already seen me in her arena, against my will. She’d seen me grieve Clay, when I thought him dead. But she sought something else.
Would I betray her?
I held her gaze. No, I wouldn’t betray her. Because Clay’s life was hers to do with as she wished. She seemed to make up her mind and nodded to the guard.
The quality of the light changed, becoming less purple, and less all-invasive. I didn’t know which spectrums “full-spectrum lights” targeted, but they did seem fairly comprehensive.
I called the shadows to me. Ian tightened his grasp on my elbow.
Damn it, Ian. I just wanted to slip out. I folded the shadows around me and him, and turned to him, frowning.
He shook his head. We could still be heard, after all. I debated stabbing Ian with my barrette, releasing the sleeping agent in it into his blood stream, so he’d snooze off my escape.
But I suspected that Ian was immune to it. Plus, he could easily track me down.
I rolled my eyes at him and dropped my shadows.
The light changed again and became all-invasive.
“Can I go, now?” I said. I’d been so comfortable in my shadows, that now the light felt like it burned. Ian sucked in his breath.
Well, it’s not like I could tell them more. And I certainly couldn’t tell them what Glitter had told me, about being after the “portal material,” aka the canister the Guild of Shadows had stolen from the Wolf Pack League. I didn’t know if they suspected it had been us, but probably best not to shine a light on that particular detail.
The Boss flicked her wrist, indicating I was dismissed.
I glanced at Ian, and gave him a look that I hope meant “be careful” and not just “good luck, I’m getting the hell out.” I quickly stepped outside, walking until the shadows grew pl
entiful and welcoming.
Clay and Glitter trailed me, but I didn’t care.
Right now, I just wanted to be with my shadows. Hidden and safe.
“Tira,” Clay said, catching up to me before I could vanish. Glitter stayed near, but a bit back, giving us at least a semblance of privacy.
“Thanks for patching me up,” he said, holding up his arm, where the bandage was now crooked and covered in blood.
“Pretty sure I should do that again.”
“That’s okay,” he said. “I can visit one of the healers.”
“Oh. Of course.” This wasn’t like the old days. We didn’t have to sneak around and not get caught. We weren’t just two in the whole world, looking out for each other when everyone else wanted us dead… “This is weird,” I said.
“Agreed. I mean, it’s not bad though. Is it?” he looked sideways at me. I sighed and stopped, motioning for Glitter to stay a bit away. He folded in on himself but did as asked.
“Are we still friends?” my voice was calm, which surprised me. I thought my heart would tear in two just a few months ago when we had to join different guilds. Now? He was home. I had my own home. And we had healers and different friends.
Well, he did, at least.
“Of course we are!” he said. Then he took a deep breath. “Look, I’m still mad at you for taking the canister,” he said, then looked up and down the corridor to make sure we were alone. Glitter mimicked his movement, then grinned and nodded to us, moving a tad closer. He’d be our lookout.
We knew they had cameras. But they didn’t seem to have sound on them, or at least the playback earlier hadn’t had any. It wouldn’t hurt to be quieter. Clay lowered his voice.
“I’d never betray you, Tira. I didn’t just now, did I? And I know you took the canister because you were forced to. That guild is no good, Tira.”
“Clay, your guild is the one that made us steal it in the first place! How is it any different than the Guild of Shadows?”
“Because your guild did it to tear us apart!” Clay spat out. I took a step back, surprised by his intensity. He seemed just as surprised, but pushed on. This was different for Clay. He usually sulked and didn’t share much. “That’s the difference with your guild. You break stuff. You hurt others. You work in the background and no one really knows what you do!”
Hell Bent Page 9
