by K. F. Breene
“Gross. You just spit on carpet.” Magic flared inside me. I took a deep breath and fought the wave of power.
“Let’s go, bitch human. I need to rearrange your face.”
I rolled my eyes and thought about the spells I wanted to do, because obviously I wasn’t going to physically fight a behemoth. “The rules of engagement? Rearrange my face? Let me guess, you’re a fan of cheesy war movies.”
I felt behind me for Charles’ leg, and then applied pressure, telling him to back off. I was aiming for harm, not to maim and certainly not kill, but the spell was volatile at best and not directional—everyone would get a blast.
“All right, then,” Charles said, pulling Jonas back and then further away.
The leader grinned. “It’s not going to take that much space to have this bitch human weeping for mercy.”
“God you’re tough to listen to.” Wasting no time, I mixed the elements and formed a large red ball. Its sides nearly touched the walls. To get around it, he’d have to crawl under it on his belly. No way was this guy doing that.
Of course, it was red. He’d probably try to disentangle it like a common, low-level spell.
Toa tried that once. But only once. Inverted magic was a tricky, unstable thing.
The ball glowed pale red as it hovered, non-threateningly, in the middle of the hallway. I backed away slowly, careful not to turn my back lest anyone think I was running away. Back with Charles and Jonas, I erected a strong shield, tied off the spell, and waited. Butterflies ate away at my stomach. If I failed at this, it would set a precedent for the rest of my stay here.
I could not fail at this.
“That’s it, human?” the guy laughed. His feet strolled from one side, to the other, underneath the floating orb. “Red? They’re trying to make you mage with red power?”
“No red could do a ball like that,” Charles muttered. “This male is about as sharp as a bowl of jello.”
“What is it, a PR stunt?” the guy continued. His feet stepped backwards. Next he’d try to unravel that spell. I hoped. “Those bleeding hearts that think we treat humans like crap are trying to make a point with you, is that it? Excited you fucking useless bastards can scrape up to a measly red?”
“Wow, you have a lot of hate. You seeing somebody for that?” I called.
“I’d heard she was a black,” someone on the other end of my spell pronounced.
“Looks like you heard wrong. Probably is a PR stunt.” The leader’s feet shifted. Pale orange encased my spell.
“Pale orange?” Charles snickered. “He’s nearly a red himself.”
“Can’t work his magic, neither,” Jonas muttered, losing his patience. “How long does it take to work at that spell?”
“Oh, like you could do it, bro?” Charles shot back. “You know which spell that is? It’s that floating death one that Toa loves. I can’t make one of those… Well, I can’t make one and have it work properly.”
“That’s because you have your head up your ass most of the time.”
“Shut up you guys, here we go,” I chastised softly.
The pale orange started to sizzle, an interesting approach to unweaving a spell. His version of magic hit my opposite version of magic. Like a detonator, the orb exploded.
A blast of magical fire flayed my shield. I stepped back, pumping more energy into the shield so it held. The guys at the other end of the hall hadn’t made the same preparations. And even if they did, it wouldn’t have helped. The magic scoured the three, blistering their skin. Gashes tore their flesh, an assault of razor blades all over their bodies. Girlish shrieks drowned the hallway as the men staggered backward. One fell, screaming. The others tripped over him, stumbling backward, scrubbing at their faces.
“Fucking bitch!” the leader shouted, smashing into a wall with a thud.
The wave of magic rolled over them and disintegrated, leaving three bloody, whimpering men in its wake. As one they got up and staggered back the way they’d come, gingerly touching their skin and moaning.
“This one’s over, right?” I clarified. “This challenge is done?”
“The Boss would be proud.” Jonas lifted his chin and puffed out his chest. He gave me a solid pat on the back that had me staggering forward.
“He might be proud, but I’m a little terrified. That was way worse than what she did to Toa.” Charles stared at the backs of the three guys.
“I added a little twist of awful. Toa got blasted with paper cuts. These guys got a razor blast.” I let my shield fall away.
Charles shivered.
“How many more tricks like that you got up your sleeve, human?” Jonas asked, his own shield winking out. Apparently he hadn’t trusted mine.
“Ones that only hurt? Probably not enough.” I sighed and continued up the hall. “Probably not nearly enough. Toa got creative and nasty with what he taught me. I think he’s trying to make a statement through me. I don’t know what I find worse—Toa needing to make a statement, or the fact that I am his vehicle. I can’t imagine the heat it’ll bring on us.”
“Whatever it is, we’ll handle it.” Jonas rolled his shoulders as his muscles flexed.
I really hoped he was right.
After a quiet walk through busy halls in which absolutely everyone stared at me, I finally arrived at Tim’s door. I nearly cried as I knocked, so thankful there was a crowd of shifters who would fight right beside us. My crew was grossly outnumbered in this place, and worse, they hated me because I was human. I was the gross insect they weren’t allowed to step on. I could see it in their sneers.
“You’re probably good for tonight,” Jonas reflected. “You got the first challenge, you answered, and now they’re going to take a lesson and find someone to come at you harder. You tore those guys up. I bet you just stepped up the competition.”
“Good and bad though, right?” I leaned against the doorjamb. “It’s going to get harder that much quicker. I should’ve hit that guy with something lighter. Like a shock or something.”
“No. You gotta play this hard and fast, human. You gotta match the Boss, because that male is going to take this place down. You have to show you deserve him.”
“Not much of a pep talk, Jonas,” I muttered.
“It’d be way more fun if we could join in.” Charles picked at the doorjamb in irritation. “Knock harder, Sasha. What are they, running around with four legs in there? They don’t have hands to open the door? What’s taking so long?”
I knocked harder.
“It’s a sad day when we have to turn to the mongrels for aid,” Jonas grumbled.
“You protect a human, Jonas. One you tried to off once. Isn’t every day a sad day in your book?” I asked in a dry voice.
He stared down the hall and ignored me, his way of saying, “Touché.”
The door opened slowly, the space filled with the stocky and robust body of John, a shifter I had met at their forest compound. He beckoned me in immediately as his gaze scanned who I was with. “This it?”
“This is it.” I walked into the spacious room. Ann and four other shifters were spread around the room. Hard gazes in wary expressions surveyed me. No one gave a sign of greeting.
“Hey, guys, you okay?” I edged toward the couch in the center of the greeting area where Ann rested, her hair a vibrant blue. “Kind of keyed up, huh?”
Ann grimaced at me as I sat, but didn’t say anything, which wasn’t like her.
“Got your hair done, huh?” I asked, uncomfortable with the vibe in the room.
“Everyone’s nervous about where we stand in this place,” Ann said quietly. “We didn’t exactly get a warm welcome when we were being escorted to our rooms. I think Tim thought it’d be different. It’s put everyone on edge.”
Before I could say anything, I heard “Sasha.”
Tim emerged from a bedroom in the back, a six-foot block of solid and steadfast muscle. Angry red gashes marred his neck and upper arms where the demon gouged and scored him from
the last battle. He’d nearly died, but being as stubborn as they came, he was in the process of making a full recovery. “In the process” being the operative phrase.
“How’d it go?” he asked, his smooth and sure step crossing the room and taking a seat on the coffee table in front of me. His soft brown eyes delved into mine. “Are you still mage?”
Suddenly I just felt tired. “Yeah. I have black, I have talent, and I am incredibly naïve and untaught. Oh, and apparently my form of magic tends to kill most wielders like me, so I’m all set.”
“Pity party, huh?” Ann asked, flicking me in the head. “What’s up with your hunk of man? How is he fairing?”
“I don’t know.” I rubbed my eyes, remembered I’d put makeup on, and then froze. “Did I just smear my makeup all over my face?”
Ann stopped in the middle of making fun of me and leaned forward to look. She shook her head and continued, “He hasn’t had to save you yet, huh?”
“They won’t let him save her. Not here,” Tim said softly, gaze still on my face. “As a leader, he has to stand on his own. As a mage, she does as well. They have to each earn their respective positions.”
“What do you know about it, mongrel?” Jonas growled.
Tim spared him a glance. Then looked back at me. He didn’t plan to comment.
I helped him out. “Obviously what he just said, Jonas. He just told you what he knows about it. Comments like that make you sound dumb.”
“Look who’s talking.” Jonas wandered away toward the window.
A smile curved Ann’s lips as she watched him. “Since when does Jonas use a Charles-ism…?”
Jonas stiffened as an indignant expression crossed Charles’ face.
“Focus.” Tim’s firm voice, even though still soft, had every shifter shutting their mouths in a click. To me, he said “They’re going to call me in. We don’t know when yet, though. They wouldn’t say more than ‘follow me’. From what I understand from Dominicous, however, is that the Council wants to welcome me and mine into the fold. Make a pact with me. I want you to come, as a friend of the pack. I want us shown as one entity. I think that will look better for you now; and down the road, better for us.”
“You’re a marketing ploy,” Jonas said as he glanced out at the starless night. “You don’t matter any more than humans do. You’re animals in this place. That’s it.”
Tim’s body stiffened. Heat crept into his gaze. He turned toward Jonas.
I leaned forward and put a restraining hand on his leg. “He’s not being a dick this time. Well, I mean, not on purpose. He knows what he’s talking about with this stuff.”
Jonas half-turned. To the wall he said, “You are numbers for their army, that’s all. You can help them go against the European Council who’s talking about asserting themselves back into human society. Who are also just waiting for an in to extend their reach back into this council. They used to control this place, and if they try to retake it with force, the Council needs someone for the front line.
“And we have Andris now. With torture, Andris will give up secrets—he’s worked with the European Council, this Council—he’s well connected in the underbelly. Trek, too. That guy’s an idiot, but he’ll know a bunch. You are soldiers. You think you got a partnership, and that you’re dying for a cause… but it won’t be your cause. And probably not an important cause. You’re expendable, and with the façade of unity, you’re easy to control.”
“So you’re saying we shouldn’t waste our time?” Tim shot back, his hand braced on his knee.
“I’m saying you should go in with your eyes open. They don’t care about your best interests. You’d be even stupider than you look if you trusted what they told you.”
“But yet, you’re asking me to trust you. What makes you different?”
Jonas turned back to the window. “I’d just as soon have you fuck off. I don’t need you trusting me. But you have a good plan as it concerns Sasha. She needs some power in her corner. You can provide it. I don’t want you screwing it up with your head in your ass.”
I raised my eyebrows. It was a fair point.
Tim must’ve thought so too, because his gaze traveled to the floor in contemplation.
“So, I got challenged,” I announced. I figured I might as well get it out there. As expected, all shifter eyes found me immediately. I started the story without delay. If they were in my boat, they had to be warned.
Chapter 4
“I’m sorry, but I just can’t take the chance so early in the game,” said Kallias, Dominicous’ backer and the fourth-most influential Council member. He spread his hands in front of him apologetically. “You are not mated, and even if you were, what does that mean? The connection with you can be easily broken.”
Kallias, Dominicous, and Stefan all sat at the end of an absurdly large conference room table in an even bigger room. Apparently this was Kallias’ personal meeting room where he held important tête-à-têtes. Today, though, Stefan had every belief the aging Council member was trying to make a statement of his rank and importance. A statement that he probably hoped would gall when he withheld his help for Stefan and Sasha.
Dominicous leaned forward. He insisted on this meeting in the hope that Kallias would see reason. While that would certainly be great, Stefan had never been, nor was he now, under any false pretenses. Power players wanted to know their assets before they put their neck out. Stefan was an unknown and Sasha was a human. Dominicous was just being hopeful. “She is my daughter. She has chosen Stefan as her mate. She is his mage. She is marked by him, has marked him, and has a blood link with him. How much more connected can two people be? That kind of connection will not be broken. They are a power team, and the best move would be to snatch them up now before someone else does.”
“Those connections will be cut loose with my death,” Stefan stated. He leaned back in his chair and crossed an ankle over his knee. “I’m a liability.”
Kallias’ eyes sparkled. “You’re smart. And correct. Take it as a compliment. Were you a weak male, easily ruled and manipulated, this wouldn’t be an issue. Anyone would love to tether you up and reel her in through you. But, alas, you must enter the ring like everyone else. True strength will shine. Faults and weaknesses will be preyed upon. This is how it has always been done.”
“Except, in this situation, his disappearing would free up a sought-after mage,” Dominicous said with an edge to his voice.
Kallias rumpled his eyebrows, not denying it. “And you, Dominicous, of all males would know what that is like. I recall having this very conversation with you all those years ago. And look where we are today.” His steel-blue eyes hit Stefan. “The best bet for you? Sever ties with the human. Fight your own battles, win, and claim a title better than the one you possess. We have many mages here. The human is the reason you will find your time here hard going. And, to speak frankly, she is the reason you may not… make it back to your leadership role. It is her they want, and they will go through you to get her.”
Stefan let the pause linger while he continued his flat stare at this conniving Council member. He could walk away, sure. And if it would help Sasha even a little bit, he would. He would walk away and never look back, even though to lose her would be to lose everything. But if he did that, he’d leave her completely vulnerable. She’d be wide open to this arena of festering, cruel power games. In the best case, she’d blow this whole place up to defend herself and die in the process. In the worst case, she’d become a slave through more than one blood link in an oppressive culture.
His leaving would be the worst thing for her. He’d sacrifice his life if need be, but he’d see her safe one way or the other.
“She cannot link unless she has Stefan,” Dominicous said in a contemplative voice. He leaned back to match Stefan’s relaxed pose. His eyes were no less flat. “Her power fries anyone but Stefan who tries. This knowledge came from Toa, so you are assured it is accurate. She is not a pack follower, she’s willful, and
she will run head-first into battle to protect those she cares about. Plus, she is human, through and through. She hasn’t rolled over and accepted our… morality differences. She fights it. She would be a hard addition to an already-established hierarchy. Her love for Stefan, and her absolute trust in him, skirts all of those issues. With him, she is a valuable addition to any team. Without him; constant problems.”
Kallias smiled condescendingly. “This coming from her surrogate father who wants to protect her. Forgive me, Dominicous, but you forget that those of us who have been around for hundreds of years know something of underlings falling in line.”
“I have not forgotten, Kallias. And yes, her welfare is my concern now.” Dominicous minutely shook his head. “Well, we are at an impasse, then. That’s a shame—I had wanted to give you first pick.”
“Ah,” Kallias jabbed the air with his pointer finger. “But you are giving me first pick with the leader. I wish first pick with the mage. It is her you have not offered up.”
A grin spread across Dominicous’ face. “Still trying to replace Mage Phillip, hmm? First Toa turned you down, and now you are after Sasha? I can’t imagine Mage Phillip has much love for you.”
“Bah.” Kallias waved his hand through the air. “He should work harder to be better rather than spend his time plotting.”
Kallias rubbed his thumb across his chin in contemplation. “The human element is a decided drawback, yes, as is her inexperience, but the Clutch is intensely interested. She has something. I want it.” His eyes hit Stefan’s, the shining light of a cunning plan burning within them. “You will forgive me, but this is a game of cutthroats. Her uniqueness has drawn my eye.”
Stefan kept his face impassive, but his heart sank. If she drew Kallias’ eye, she would draw a great many others. He knew they’d be a sure target, but hearing that spoken aloud made it real.
He got up before he knew what he was doing. Dominicous stood a second later.
“I apologize.” Stefan offered Kallias a half-bow. “But I think we are done here.”
Kallias rose. “Of course. I really do apologize. And who knows, maybe we can pair up after all.”
