Kono nodded and created a portal behind her. “You can help stop him or you can wait here for your death,” she said. “The choice is yours.” She stepped back and disappeared into the portal.
Raquel and Franca holstered their guns.
“I never did like waiting for someone to kill me,” said Franca. “Even with advance notice.”
“I still have some things to take care of in the hub,” said Raquel. “Especially with the Council.”
“I’ll get Snipe and Rico,” said Hiram. “Franca, can you—?”
“I’ll send the word, but no guarantees,” she said. “Most of them won’t come, even for Cross’s daughter.”
“But some will, won’t they?” asked Hiram his voice hopeful.
“Yes, some will,” said Franca, nodding her head. “The Deadeyes may have some life left in them after all.”
TWENTY-FOUR
KAL SAT CROSS-legged and calmed her breath. She let her awareness expand until she was at her limit. Next to her sat one of the Gray. They were in a large clearing surrounded by immense trees and large stones that peppered the area around them. The clear blue sky was devoid of clouds and the sun shone brightly upon her, warming her face. A cool breeze rustled through the leaves and she could smell the distant sea carried on it. She sensed the Gray, the trees and the stones. She felt connected to everything around her. In the distance, she even felt Zen. Once her awareness settled on Zen, emotions flooded her and she felt the strength of their bond and love. A smiled crossed her face as she thought of him.
The next moment, a whistling filled the air and she rolled to one side to avoid the downward slash of the sword intent on slicing her in two. A large man easily twice her height shimmered into view. Thick black hair covered his arms. Scars too numerous to count lined his face. He smiled as he pulled his hair back out of his face. He was dressed in black combat gear and his dark eyes shone with mischief. The Gray sat watching the scene unfold, giving no indication of concern. The man moved with a grace that indicated years of training and combat. He circled around, looking for an opening.
“Goddammit, Bear,” said Kal as she circled around him. “I can’t get a moment’s peace around here?”
“Not my fault,” he said, cocking his head at the impassive Gray. “Orders.”
Kal looked at the huge RahVen, who sat motionless.
“Really?” she said, exasperated. “It wasn’t even five minutes.”
“It was the sweet, sweet scent of your undying love that caught my attention,” said Bear as he dodged several dagger strikes from Kal. “Really, it was touching. I’m surprised you aren’t covered in honey.” He laughed as he leaped to one side and parried several daggers away.
Kal looked at him darkly and brandished several more daggers.
“I’ve been meaning to ask you,” he said. “Where do you keep all those blades? It’s as if you have a never-ending supply. You can’t possibly have that many pockets.”
He ducked as three daggers buried themselves in the tree behind him.
“Why don’t you stand still and I will show you exactly where I keep them?” answered Kal.
“Tempting, but no thanks—sounds painful,” said Bear as he shimmered and disappeared. “I’ll see you later, furious one. Keep your guard up.”
She walked over to the Gray, who looked down at her. Its bright yellow eyes gleamed with an inner light. She saw the intelligence behind them, took a breath and calmed down.
“Why the ambush?” she asked. “It’s not like I couldn’t smell him a mile away. He reeks.”
The Gray looked down at her and then shimmered into a human form. Before her stood a tall woman dressed in gray body armor. The armor covered her body from her neck down with reinforced sections around the neck and other vital areas. Several parts of the armor were covered with daggers. A thick leather cloak covered the rest of her attire. Her face appeared young, but her eyes, which remained a glowing yellow, exuded wisdom beyond her youthful appearance. Her blond hair was cut short. It gave her a boyish appearance as she stood with her hands on her waist in front of Kal.
“You let yourself get distracted,” said the Gray. “Every time you focus on Zen in your meditations, you lose yourself. You let your emotions control you.”
“My emotions do not control me,” said Kal, looking away. “I just…I can’t lose him, Ji.”
“And if you did?” asked Ji. “What then? Will you lay waste to all around you?”
Kal remained silent as the muscles of her jaw danced.
“You are angry,” said Ji. “This is what I mean, Kalysta. You cannot let your emotions rule you. It will be your undoing.”
“He is my everything,” said Kal quietly.
“No, he isn’t,” replied Ji. “You only believe that, but that is not truth, not reality.”
“Didn’t you say belief shapes reality?”
I said perception shapes reality,” answered Ji. “Your belief limits your reality to thinking that your entire life is based around another. This is false.”
“I disagree,” said Kal. “That belief and my love for Zen is what gives me singular purpose. Are you saying my love for Zen is a weakness?”
“When combined with your emotions, yes,” replied Ji. “It diffuses your focus and scatters your energies, making it impossible for you access your true strength.”
“The love we share is my true strength,” answered Kal. “Can we agree to disagree?”
“Of course,” said Ji. “Right after we practice your belief regarding the sharpness of my daggers.”
This…is going to hurt, thought Kal.
Ji withdrew several daggers from her thigh sheaths. The glow from her eyes grew in intensity as she smiled at Kal. She shimmered and disappeared from view. Kal back-flipped and dodged a dagger aimed for her chest. She landed in a crouch and rolled to the side and right into a kick that Ji launched at her ribs. Blindsided by the pain, she fell back against a tree and tried to catch her breath.
“You have to remove emotion from the equation,” said Ji. Her disembodied voice floated among the trees. “Emotion will cloud your judgment. It will cause you to make mistakes.”
“Emotion is also what gives me strength,” said Kal as she bladed her body and missed being impaled by a fraction of an inch as two daggers appeared in the tree beside her. A right cross connected with the side of her head and sent her reeling. She recovered and crouched in a fighting stance. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and listened.
“You’re distracted, angry, and frustrated,” said Ji. “This makes you an easy target.”
“I’m not Gray,” said Kal. “I can’t disconnect my emotions like you. And, yes, I’m angry—angry that I let you tag me twice.”
Kal shimmered and disappeared. Moments later she reappeared and two more daggers came her way.
Found you.
She parried the daggers away with one of her own as she leaped in the air past Ji and threw the dagger behind her, aiming at Ji’s back. Before she landed, she twisted and threw another two daggers that appeared to miss as they hit a tree instead. Ji materialized and sheathed her daggers. Kal walked over to the last daggers she had thrown.
“You lost your focus,” said Ji as she approached Kal. “You are a formidable warrior and have learned much from us, but this lesson eludes you. Your anger will undo you.”
Kal said nothing and continued to work the daggers free from the tree.
“You’re right, for a second I did lose my focus,” answered Kal. “Then I realized what you were doing.”
She pulled the daggers out of the tree and caused some pieces of debris to fall to the ground. She bent down to pick them up with a slight smile on her face. Ji had closed the distance and was standing a few feet from her.
“The difference between life and death can sometimes be measured by a hairsbreadth,” said Ji as she twirled a dagger between her fingers. “You know this since you have become a bladedancer.”
“I agree,”
said Kal as she sheathed her recovered daggers. “I guess we can call it a draw today. You tagged me twice.”
“I do not recall you hitting me today, Kalysta,” said Ji. “This is not a draw.”
Kal handed Ji two small pieces of leather.
“These are yours,” said Kal. “Sorry about the damage.”
Ji looked down in surprise at the two pieces in her hand. She searched herself but didn’t see the cuts.
“A little higher,” said Kal as she pointed at Ji’s neck. “It’s a good thing I was angry or I might have lost my focus.”
Ji put a hand to her neck and felt the cuts on either side of her body armor. Any deeper and she would have bled out on the forest floor.
“How did you—?” asked Ji.
“I told you, I’m not Gray,” said Kal. “My emotions serve me, not the other way around. Now, if you don’t mind, I’m going to spend some time with Zen, unless you have another attack scheduled.”
Kal started walking away and headed for the Gray compound. She left Ji in the center of the clearing, still feeling the cuts in her armor.
“Our training is concluded for the afternoon,” said Ji, still distracted. “But you know my saying.”
After a moment, a small smile crossed her lips and she threw the dagger she held at Kal. Twisting her torso, Kal rotated her body away from the incoming dagger, caught it by the hilt, and sheathed it in one smooth motion.
“I’ll remember to keep my guard up,” said Kal as she shimmered and disappeared.
**********
“You do that,” said Ji to the empty forest around her.
“She has become quite skilled,” said a voice behind Ji.
“She is as good as any of us now,” said Ji. “Will it be enough to face the threats, Yan?”
Another figure shimmered into view. This one remained in Gray canine form as it padded closer to her.
“It will have to be,” said Yan. “Will she be able to fight without her partner? He is not ready and the enemy moves sooner than we thought.”
“He is what motivates her and her skill surpasses his, even with Balance,” said Ji. “Yet she is attached and this attachment may inhibit her.”
“She stood against you and even struck two killing blows,” said Yan, looking at the armor around Ji’s neck. “I would say it is a good thing she held back in this case.”
Ji touched the armor around her neck once more.
“She will be called upon soon, I can sense it,” said Ji.
“Then she will have to go alone. The question is, will she?”
“The survival of the planes depends on her facing the Destroyer, Yan,” said Ji. “This has been foreseen.”
“I never placed much stock in those ramblings. I just think they have a better chance with her there,” said Yan. “I know I would want her on my side in a fight.”
“Agreed. She is formidable.”
“She just has to detach from the bearer of Balance and use her full potential,” said Yan. “Do you think she can?”
“When the call comes, she won’t have a choice,” said Ji.
TWENTY-FIVE
“WHAT’S IT GOING to take, Nina?” I asked. “I’m ready.”
I didn’t feel ready at all.
“A wavedance is not like opening a portal,” she said. “In a wavedance you become the doorway and then step through.”
The confusion on my face must have shown because she took a deep breath and started again.
“This is going to involve some pain,” she said. “You understand how to open a portal?”
“Channeling energy through a glyph and infusing it with chi as a catalyst,” I answered. “This opens a portal using the glyph as a directional way point, like a map marker.”
She nodded. “Yes, that is the basic workings of it,” she said. “Wavedancing takes it several steps further. You form the glyph but instead of infusing it with chi, you use your chi to absorb the glyph. This makes you the conduit for travel.”
“So the glyph denotes the destination, but I become the portal?” I asked, still confused. “Where does the pain come in?”
“They told me you endured pain during the ritual of your bonding,” she said. “Was it very bad?”
I thought back to the ritual and tried to remember the pain of bonding. I remembered wanting to die, begging for it. The pain was so intense that there were no words to describe it.
“I remember it,” I said. “I wanted it to end, or die—whichever came first, I didn’t care.”
She gave me a tight smile, which I didn’t appreciate at all since I took it to mean that the pain was going to be substantial.
“Then you should be fine,” she assured me. “I don’t think this pain is anything like that. This is more like having a hot knife stab you in the stomach and twist over and over.”
“Oh, that’s it?” I said. “Nothing too severe, then. Good to know.”
“You’ll get used to it after the first few tries,” she said. “I will start the wave, but you must pick it up and continue it. It takes some practice.
“And if I can’t?” I asked.
“That’s where the pain comes in,” she said. “At least until you adapt to the glyph passing.”
“I don’t think you should do this here,” said Meja. “What if something goes wrong?”
“Actually, this is a perfect place to do this,” said Nina. “A null plane has no latent chi, so you won’t have any interference during the glyph passing.”
She sat down on the ground. She closed her eyes and slowed her breathing. I looked up at the starlit sky and let my awareness expand but found no active chi signatures outside of our own. The plane really was devoid of energy. I sat down across from her and slowed my breathing to match hers. After a few breaths, our breathing patterns were coordinated. She opened her eyes and looked at me.
“I’m going to trace a glyph and send it to you,” she said. “You catch it and continue it. Once you have it, you will know the pattern. Ready?”
“Yes,” I said, still feeling anything but.
She traced an intricate glyph and left it hanging in the air between us. A few seconds later, it drifted over to me. I remembered the orb practice with Devin and tried to catch the glyph. It wavered in the air for a moment and then slammed into me. Judging from the slide mark, it must have sent me back ten to twelve feet. I felt like someone had tap-danced on my stomach with heavy boots, and my ribs ached. I rubbed my sides as I walked back to where she sat.
“You okay?” asked Meja.
I nodded. “I’ve felt worse,” I said. “Let’s try that again.”
I sat down opposite Nina and calmed my breathing until it matched hers.
“Don’t think of it as a physical thing,” she said. “Use your chi to embrace the pattern. Does that make sense?”
“Not really,” I said. “How do I use my chi to embrace something that isn’t physical?”
“Your chi isn’t physical, is it?” she asked. “Yet you use it to affect the physical. This is just like that. Use your chi to affect the glyph.”
It made sense when she explained it and then it became utter nonsense when I tried to understand it. She traced another glyph and released it between us. It hovered in the space as I let my chi envelop it. For a brief moment, I felt the rest of the pattern.
“I can see the pattern,” I said.
“Good. Now use your chi to trace the entire thing,” she said. “Make sure you don’t—”
The next second, I was airborne. The air in my lungs rushed out as I slammed into the ground. For a few seconds the world spun on a twisted axis as Meja filled my vision.
“That looked painful,” she said. “Do you need help?”
The tap dancer had switched to much heavier boots with the intent on breaking my ribs. I made a move to stand and sat back down, breathless. I opted for crawling back over to where Nina sat.
“Thanks for the concern,” I said as I sat across from Nina again. “
‘Don’t break the flow of chi’ is what I’m going to guess you were going to say.”
She nodded. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you earlier,” she said. “Oh, one other thing: the more complicated the glyph, the worse the backlash if you drop it.”
“What glyphs have you been working with?” asked Meja. “Are these the purifying glyphs?”
Nina opened her eyes wide and took a deep breath before composing herself.
“You want to kill him?” she asked. “He has to be able to deal with these basic glyphs before we try something that dangerous.”
“Basic glyphs—right,” I said as I sat down in front of her. “Again.”
It took close to a dozen more attempts before I could catch a glyph successfully without being catapulted away. We kept at it until she was satisfied that I had acquired the ability.
“Now you are ready,” she said. “This glyph will shift you into the bond you share with your weapon. If you drop this one…Make sure you don’t drop it, please.”
“I won’t drop it,” I said.
She traced the glyph and I sensed the difference the moment she released her chi. The fact that it blazed in front of me and gave off a tremendous amount of heat may have been clues too.
I let my chi receive the glyph, and the light and heat diminished by several levels. I saw the rest of the pattern and traced it. Light exploded in my eyes and for a moment, I thought I had dropped the glyph. I didn’t have the sensation of flight or pain so I knew it hadn’t launched me away. I looked around and saw I wasn’t in the null plane. Something crashed into me, knocking me, on my back. Dazed and disoriented, I looked into a clear blue sky as the world tilted around me.
“Hello, vessel,” said a voice that froze me in place.
It was Maelstrom.
TWENTY-SIX
“AURORA IS IN danger,” said Kenji as Roman joined him in the hallway. “The glyphs are gone, but I can’t open a portal.”
“That door is no longer in working order,” said Roman. “If the glyphs are gone I think I can remove it, but you may want to stand back.”
Roman held his hammer in front of him as he spoke under his breath. The hammer grew bright orange, filling the hallway with its light as it trembled in his hands. His arms shook as he raised it. Taking a few steps back, he aimed it at the ruined door and let it go. The hammer rushed out of his hands and slammed into the ruined steel, punching a hole in the door with a deafening crash. Kenji formed a shield of energy to deflect the shrapnel headed their way. Pieces of the door bounced off the shield and embedded themselves in the wall next to them. Once clear, Roman ran forward. He reached the doorway and picked up his hammer, then removed the ruined door and ran inside the cell.
Warriors of the Way-Pentalogy Page 78
