“What was the last thing you remember?” she asked.
“Uncle said my father may still be alive,” I said. “Is that true?”
“Your turn,” she said, looking at Sebastian, and got up. She walked to the kitchen to put some more tea on the stove.
I saw bandages covering his hand and parts of his face. He got up and limped to the stairs.
“Come with me,” he said and went upstairs. “I need to ask you some questions.”
The third floor of the dojo was a traditional sitting room and meditation space. Sensei never let anyone go up there. It was her private area. I hesitated on the first step as my uncle navigated the stairs.
“Sensei doesn’t like anyone going up there,” I said and looked back to where she was in the kitchen. I felt certain that at any moment she would come over and give me ‘‘the look’ for even thinking of going into her space.
“You need to come up here,” he said. “I’m pretty sure she will make an exception today.”
He opened the door and a cool breeze greeted us. The space was as large as the dojo on the floor beneath us. The center of the floor had been converted into a Zen garden. Sand covered a large rectangle. Designs had been raked around some of the larger stones that sat in the rectangle. Stone benches framed every side of the garden and Uncle sat in the one closest to us.
I walked around the garden and sat on the bench opposite him. For a few minutes, he sat with his eyes closed and breathed. I didn’t interrupt, and thought he had fallen asleep, but he finally spoke.
“Why didn’t you use your fire ability in Nezu?”
“What does this have to do with my father?” I asked, not understanding the question.
“Everything,” he said with his eyes still closed. “Please answer the question.”
“There was no way I could use any ability,” I said. “The shrine was tearing itself apart and we were in a null flow-state. Didn’’t you feel it?”
“You had access to power, probably more power than all of us combined in that place,” he said. “Aren’t you wearing a Black Heart?”
“Yes,” I whispered and looked down at the sand before me.
“Your Black Heart stores latent energy.”
It was a statement, not a question.
“I was scared, okay?” I said in a rush as the tears formed in my eyes. “I saw and felt his power and I froze. He’s too strong. I can’t face him, none of us can. He’s going to kill us all.”
He nodded in my direction. “It’s possible we will perish,” he said. “Raise your hands, palms out.”
I lifted my hands in a gesture of surrender.
“I felt…I feel helpless,” I said. “His power was overwhelming.””
“You realize you have two symbols, one on each hand, yes?” he asked, and I looked at my hands. “Do you understand the significance of this?””
“It means I can develop more than one power or ability,” I answered. “It’s starting already.”
“No, that is not what it means,” he said. “It means you can become an Arch Mystic like your father.”
“Excuse me?” I said in disbelief. “My father was a what?”
“Yes, and you can become the same if you don’t give in to the fear,” he said. “Kaze wants power to control the Kurokami, but that is a short-term goal. If he becomes an Arch Mystic, he will begin destroying the Enclaves.”
“You can stop him,” I said. “Once you heal, you can face him.”
“No, he is too powerful for me now,” he replied. “He absorbed the abilities of the mystics he killed and surpasses my power. He is headed this way even as we speak.””
He got up from the bench and started walking to the stairs.
“You are clinging to life and letting fear control you,” he said. “If he kills another fire mystic and comes for me, what then? Will you stand by and watch as he strips me of my essence?”
“But if he is too powerful for you, how can I stop him?” I asked, confused. “I’m not that strong.”
“I did not say he was more powerful than you,” he said and descended the stairs as he closed the door. “Something for you to ponder. Stay here a moment. This is a special place and will help you sort your thoughts.
He never answered the question about my father.
Then I realized he had. I felt a tug at my leg and looked down into the face of Arashi. His nudged my hand with his large head. I rubbed his head and looked at the sand. I took a deep breath and let my power flow from me.
In moments, my vision blurred and I saw the five mystic symbols interlocked on the surface of the sand. I felt my power shift as the symbols floated off the sand and whirled slowly around the garden. I heard Arashi rumble as the power washed over us.
The symbols spread out and then rushed together, forming a column. It solidified, forming a pillar in the center of the sand. Covered in symbols, it rotated slowly before rising several feet from the garden. The rumble from Arashi grew. The power increased around us as a wave of energy crashed into me, showering the bench with sand. When I got up to shake it off, the sand disappeared. When I looked, the surface of the garden was smooth again, except for a faint impression of my triquetra.
“I know what I have to do, boy,” I said and rubbed his head. He sat still and let me rub as his tail thumped the floor. “I just don’’t know if I will survive it.”
TWENTY-SEVEN
I WENT DOWNSTAIRS with Arashi trailing behind me.
“I still have more questions,” I said as I approached them. “But they will have to wait.”
I pulled out my phone and called Franco.
“Matt Franco,” he said when he answered. “How can I help you?”
“Franco, I need a favor,” I said. “I’ll turn myself in but only to you.”
“You are not in a position to bargain or request anything, Ava,” he said. “Japan wants your head and I’m inclined to give it to them. Canus has issued an SOS on you. Do you know what that means?”
“Shoot on sight,” I said. “I’m familiar with the order.””
“I saw the footage of the Nezu massacre,” he said, his voice rising.
The anger strained his voice as he maintained his composure.
“Why’d you do it?” he asked. “Why did you go dark?””
“It needed to be done,” I said. “Are you coming or do I need to call Pitbull directly?”
“Just tell me where, you bitch,” he whispered. “I promise you won’t see another sunrise.”
“Big words,” I said and gave him the address to a warehouse several blocks over. “You’d better make sure you bring enough nulls, since I would hate for the PTF to end up losing good people like in Japan.”
I hung up the phone on a string of curses.
“Are you insane?” Sensei said. “They will come here with a battalion of PTF and Enforcers.”
“I hope so,” I said. “Uncle, you ready?”
He nodded at me and grabbed his coat. Sensei picked up a long blade and prepared as well.
“Where are you going?” Sebastian asked. “You can’t face Kaze.””
“I can and I will,” she said. “He must be stopped.”
“You can’t fight your blood,” he said. “The Kurokami will retaliate.””
“I should just watch, then, as he kills the both of you?” she said, her voice steel. “I am coming unless you think you can stop me.””
Sebastian raised his hands in surrender and shook his head.
“I wouldn’t even think of trying that,” he said.
“Smart man,” I heard Sensei say under her breath.
I made another call, this time to Ross.
“Tell me you are in the farthest reaches of the South or North Pole,” he said. “Just tell me you are not in the city.”
“Bad news, worse news,” I said.
“Bad news,” he said.
“I’m in the city, and Franco—with most of the PTF—is converging on my location
as we speak.”
“What could be worse than that?”
“Kaze is coming to kill me and my uncle,” I said.
“That is worse,” he said. “What do you need?”
“Anyone void in the MID who can run interference?”
“Only one I can think of is the boss—Moira,” he said. “Want to ask her?”
I hesitated. I didn’t think Moira would be willing to risk her life for me. I was still thinking when I heard him punch in the code connecting the call to her line.
“Ross, unless you have a location for me, get the hell off my phone,” she said. “PTF is scrambling to some location in Brooklyn, so you’’d better get on it.”
“Hello, Moira,” I said.
“Ava, I swear you are going to give me a seizure,” she said. “Are you the reason the PTF is having kittens? Franco called here losing his mind.””
“Yes, Kaze is coming to kill me and my uncle,” I said. “I need another Void Mystic on my side. My uncle is injured.”
I told her my plan.
“Shit, give me the address,” she said. “I think it’s imperative MID be on the scene for this arrest. Don’t you agree, Ross?”
“Absolutely,” Ross said. “See you in twenty.”
I hung up. I had one more call to make. We left the dojo and walked the several blocks to the training warehouse Sensei used for our dark dojo exercises. The warehouse had no power, and once night fell it was difficult to see more than several feet in any direction. Sensei and I used to practice dealing with surprise attacks in that urban environment. It was a perfect location. More importantly for now, it wasn’t a place of power. I dialed Titus.
“I hope you took my advice and fled the country,” he said. “Word is the Kurokami are headed to New York en masse.”
“I’m not running,” I said. “I’’m going to stop him.”
“Your funeral. I will make sure to place flowers on your grave.”
I gave him the address of the warehouse.
“That’s where it will happen in case you wanted to make sure Codyac didn’t die in vain.”
There was a silence and then he spoke.
“I don’t deal in lost causes,” he said. “Goodbye, Ava.””
He ended the call.
The three of us stood in the warehouse. I let my power flow into the Black Heart as freely as possible. I also stopped the masking. I wanted them to find me tonight.
“So we are bait?” my uncle asked. “How will you keep them alive once he arrives?”
“You are bait,” I said. “I’m the hook.””
“You must unleash your power, Ava,” Sensei said. “Kaze will not show mercy.”
I thought back to the time in Nezu and the overwhelming fear I felt in his presence.
“I’m not dying here tonight,” I said, and let my power flow. Flames surrounded my body. “Let them come.”
TWENTY-EIGHT
THE KUROKAMI ARRIVED first. I felt the waves of power cascade through the warehouse. Kaze was near.
“He is close,” Sensei said. “He will send his followers first to—”
She deflected several knives with a gust of air. I turned and sent a stream of fire in the direction they had come from. The screams let me know I had hit my mark. More Kurokami appeared on the fringes of the warehouse and then I felt the null flow-state.
My flames snuffed out immediately and I let them remain that way. Sirens and blue lights converged on the street outside. The PTF had made good time. With my hearing wide, I could hear Franco barking orders. He wasn’t taking any chances. They were coming in loaded for bear and ready to take me down. I was actually flattered.
I felt the other null flow-states converge on the warehouse and I hoped my plan would work.
“He’s here,” whispered my uncle. “Prepare.””
I removed my sticks and slowed my breathing. The fear threatened to overcome me and I realized it was Kaze’s doing. A figure emerged from the shadows.
“You die tonight, Sebu,” he said and extended his hand.
Nothing happened as I had hoped. Sebastian gave me a look of surprise as I closed the distance on Kaze.
Sensei and my uncle split up and retreated to the shadows. Both were accomplished fighters. I knew they could hold their own against Kaze’s followers.
“Too many nulls in one place,” I said. “Your power won’t work unless you go dark, Kaze.”
“Ava,” Sensei said warily, “what are you doing?”
“What I have to,” I said. “Keep his followers off me.”
“If he goes dark he will lose control,” she said.
I’m counting on it.
“He wants to kill Uncle,” I said. “He is going to have to kill me first.”
I entered a defensive stance with the sticks covering my vital targets.
“You face me devoid of power?” he said. “I am Kurokami. I trained to be victorious long before you were born, child.”
“Come kill me, then,” I said.
“With pleasure,” he said as he stepped close.
He wasn’t wearing robes this time. He had opted for the Kurokami metallic armor and two short knives. I knew he wouldn’t rely on conventional weapons for long. He was too reliant on his abilities from what I had seen at Nezu.
Even now I could hear the fighting outside as the Kurokami targeted the nulls. I focused on his movements as he weaved around me. The wards on his face told me he was trying to access his power but couldn’t…not yet.
“It’s only a matter of time before the nulls are gone,” he said and lunged at me. “Then you will have nowhere to go. You will die here alone.”
“Everything I need is right here,” I said and avoided a double horizontal slash. “I’m not alone as long as I have them.”
“You can die with them tonight as well,” he said. “You cannot defeat me. None of you can.”
He slashed downward and reversed direction at the last second. I jumped back and avoided the knives. In his current state, he was right. I needed him to get close before I could push him over the edge.
“You will never lead the Kurokami,” I said as I reached inside my coat. “I heard you were always inferior to my uncle. They called you the mystic pretender.””
Rage transformed his face into a mask of hatred.
Seems like I hit a sore spot.
“I will kill you with my bare hands,” he said as he tossed the knives and rushed at me.
I pulled out the void inhibitors as he grabbed my throat and pulled me close. I locked them around his wrists and he squeezed. A violet wave washed over his body as the inhibitors kicked in.
“You think this will stop me?” he said into my ear. “I will squeeze the life out of you, and then I will erase your precious uncle.”
My vision began to tunnel in as I brought a stick up between his arms and twisted, breaking his grip and smashing him across the face. I rolled away as an explosion of light filled the warehouse.
He held his face and screamed as he tapped into his life force and shattered the inhibitors. He had gone dark. It was what I wanted, and it was the last thing I wanted to face. The fear returned and grabbed me like a vise in its grip. I felt my knees go weak and I almost collapsed to the ground.
No, I’m not dying here, not tonight.
The Eye of Reversal around his neck flared to life and filled with color. He raised his hand and the floor buckled and dropped me on my back. He brought a section of the wall into my side and knocked the wind from my lungs.
I flew across the floor from the impact. When I looked back, what I saw threatened to paralyze me. In his hand, he held a flame sword.
“I was going to spare you,” he said. “At least until Sebu was absorbed. Now I will destroy you for daring to stand in my way.””
He walked toward me. He sliced a Kurokami who had stepped into his path in two. The two halves burst into ash and fell lightly to the floor as he closed the distance between us. I scrambled t
o my feet. I didn’t dare use my ability with the Eye active. That was when I heard the bolt action of a rifle behind me. I sheathed my sticks and pulled my guns.
“Bullets, even void ones, will not work against me,” he said and smiled at me. “Accept your fate and die.”
I aimed low and fired. He did what I expected. He superheated the air in front of the bullets and warped them before they could reach him. By aiming low, I kept his focus on me. I heard a rifle shot and saw the Eye shatter in the next second. I dropped my empty guns, grabbed my sticks, and ran at him.
Thank you, Titus.
I tapped into the crystal and let my power flow. Kaze laughed. The crystal didn’t hold much, but I took it all in and focused. Flames enveloped me.
“Have you gone dark?” he asked. “What do you think you can do against me?”
He brought the sword around and I blocked the slash with my sticks. The heat was intense, but I welcomed it. I pushed the sword back and let my flames shoot out. He held a flame sword, but he wasn’t a Fire Mystic. That was a mistake. He stepped back and away from the flames, holding the sword in front of him.
“You may have trained to be victorious,” I said, “but my uncle trained me to stay alive.”
I slid under another slash and pressed my hand into his face. The flames burned his unwarded side and blinded him in one eye. His screams filled the warehouse as he clutched his face. I twisted away from an upward cut and rotated behind him. I placed my hand on his back and let go of all the power I held. A whirlwind of air surrounded us as a fireball punched its way through his body. He turned and looked at me with a mixture of shock and disbelief. He reached out to grab me one last time and missed. The next moment, he collapsed to the floor in a heap, dead.
Outside, the fighting continued. I fell to one knee and used a stick to prop myself up. My body was spent. I just wanted to lie down on the floor and sleep for a week. I heard Sensei speak in rapid Japanese and the Kurokami stopped their attack. With the Kurokami stopped, some of the nulls withdrew their flow-states. Null energy still buffeted me, but it wasn’t as oppressive as a few moments earlier.
What did she say?
Franco’s voice came over a loudspeaker.
A Dream of Ashes: An Ava James Mystery (Chronicles of the Modern Mystics Book 1) Page 14
