by D. N. Leo
“Put your New York manner away. Nuuk is a small town.”
“Too small, I’m afraid. Everyone knows everyone else’s business.”
Anatole shifted his stance. “What do you mean?”
“Two men came here yesterday. They were asking to join the training club. I knew they had sniffed around and found out this clinic belonged to a mage tribe. I told them we sell natural medicines and offer no training, but they left unconvinced.”
Anatole narrowed his eyes. “What did they want exactly?”
“I think they wanted to see a mage in training.”
“And when did they come?”
“Just before I closed for the day.”
“That’s actually at night.”
“Well, if you’re thinking they were vampires, I didn’t see any fangs.”
Anatole shook his head. “Well, if they weren’t hunters, they had to be paranormal creatures of some kind.”
Nikki waved her arms in the air. “How would I know? If Sedna hadn’t told me she was a mage when I caught her drawing energy from the sunlight, I would have never been able to tell. But judging by what they wore, I’m sure they aren’t locals.”
Anatole nodded. “That’s good enough,” he muttered and started to walk away.
“Where are you going?”
“If they aren’t locals, that narrows things down a lot. Again, just in case you don’t know this after being here for two years, Nuuk is a small town.”
She saw him smirk before he turned around again, and she asked, “You’re not going to do anything to incriminate the tribe, are you?”
Anatole stopped in his tracks. “Incrimination by which law?”
“Greenland’s criminal justice system! That’s not good enough for you?”
Anatole laughed. “Yep. It’s good enough for a law-abiding citizen of Greenland.” Then he pushed open the door and left. Nikki frowned. She knew Anatole didn’t abide by the law. She weighed her options and then picked up the phone to call Afton. Before she had finished dialing, Moss walked in.
Moss was a mage. He looked to be in his late fifties, but Nikki knew he was more than a hundred years old. In terms of power, he was of the same caliber as Afton. He had originally wanted to train Sedna, but Afton beat him to it, so he took Neva, who, in Nikki’s opinion, had no chance against Sedna.
As Moss cast a glance at her, she could see the anger in his eyes and could smell the blood on his breath. She was willing to bet that the rumor about him eating children for breakfast was real, and that was why Sedna hadn’t picked him as a mentor.
“What did Anatole want?” Moss asked as he moved closer to her. His proximity was too close for her comfort. He peered down at her, waiting for an answer.
If he got angry and attacked her, Nikki didn’t think her manicured nails would serve very well as weapons. “He…”
“Why are you hesitating? Did he want something you can’t tell me?”
“It has nothing to do with the tribe.”
“Really? Then tell me.”
“He…he asked me out. Is that against the tribe’s policies?”
Moss arched an eyebrow. Then he grabbed her hips to hold her in place. His fingers dug into her flesh. “Let me tell you something, young lady. I know you’ve been spying on us for Afton and Sedna. I know you think Neva isn’t good enough to win the challenge. But this isn’t about Neva. It’s about me. And the good news is that Afton has never beaten me. Never. If he thought he stood a chance against me, he wouldn’t need a spy.”
He shoved Nikki to the wall and strode toward the long hallway, heading for the training room.
7
Caedmon opened his eyes. He could feel the cold hard floor underneath him, and the ceiling seemed to be right above his face. Was he lying on the floor in a basement crawl space? Was he in a box? Where was he, and why would he in a box? He tried to clear his mind and think, but everything was a blur. Then he heard Sedna’s voice and a deep male voice. He blinked. The male voice didn’t sound friendly, and whoever it belonged to appeared to be questioning Sedna. They couldn’t be in the same room as he was because their voices seemed to echo in from a distance.
He blinked and concentrated again. The fog in his mind gradually lifted. He felt a surge of energy, and he knew it was the Silver Blood kicking in to heal his injury. His mind cleared even more quickly. He recalled he had switched his eudqi on to access the database, leaving the Silver Blood on. Sedna must have contacted him close to his fatal point.
Idiot, he scolded himself. Father had said he had to be very careful when he used the power. This was his first serious lesson. If the kick had been a couple of inches further to the right, it would have been his last lesson. He flexed his muscles. His system was healing fast and was already about eighty percent complete.
“Don’t lie to me, Sedna,” the male voice scolded.
Is Sedna in trouble? He tried to recall what had happened in the room, but nothing else came to mind. Then he felt hands grab at his legs. He was only eighty-five percent healed, but it would have to be good enough. He switched his eudqi off. Immediately, he felt the disadvantage of being an injured human—he was weak. The hands gripped at his legs tighter and pulled him out from under what he now realized was a bed.
As he sat up groggily, Sedna darted over to help him. She tried to shove the man who had pulled him out away.
“He’s harmless, and I injured him, Afton,” Sedna said sternly.
“If he’s harmless, why did you hide him under the bed?”
“He’s my friend, and I didn’t know how you would react seeing him in my room. He saved me from the bastard who stole the sculpture.”
“On that note, I’m sure your friend isn’t human. A human can’t kill that assassin.” The man Sedna called Afton approached him. He pushed Sedna aside. He didn’t like the idea she was protecting him, and he saw an opportunity to approach the tribe. He wagered this man had significant rank given Sedna had shown respect to him.
“I had help. I have a special weapon,” Caedmon said.
“Really?” Afton raised an eyebrow, and as fast as lightning, he landed a punch in his abdomen. Sedna squealed some profanity, and Caedmon slumped to the floor and heaved. The punch was so hard it made him nauseated. He was tempted to switched his eudqi on but refrained from doing so. His second lesson of the day was that being human sucked when it came to a fight.
Afton shoved Sedna away and pulled Caedmon up to his feet. “I don’t believe you. If you’re this helpless, how did you kill that assassin?” Afton cocked his arm began to throw another punch, but Caedmon grabbed his fist in its track.
“I didn’t return the punch because Sedna respects you. But don’t test my patience. I killed that man because if I hadn’t, he’d have killed Sedna. He had a gun, and I had a dagger. I considered it a fair fight.” He pushed Afton away.
“What special help did you have? What weapon?”
Caedmon went to the chair where his jacket covered his dagger. He held up the weapon made of special Eudaizian steel. The blade vibrated with energy. Afton frowned at the dagger and reached out his hand. Caedmon pulled the dagger out of Afton’s reach.
“Can’t I see it?” Afton asked.
“No. I don’t know you, and you just hit me. Do you really expect me to give you the only weapon I’ve got? I’m not an idiot.”
Afton glanced at Sedna then back at Caedmon. “Do you trust her?” he pointed at Sedna.
Caedmon smiled. “That’s not relevant. We used to be friends. But I left, and now she doesn’t trust me anymore. So it doesn’t really matter whether or not I trust her.”
“Why did you come back?” Sedna asked.
Caedmon shook his head. “It’s a long story. Family business. I’m looking for an antique artifact in Nuuk. I recalled it’s your expertise, so I thought I’d find you to pick your brain about it.”
“What kind of artifact?” Afton asked.
Caedmon gave Afton a stern stare. “Why wou
ld I tell you?”
Afton shifted his stance and approached Caedmon. He raised his hand toward him.
“I know a mage like you has supernatural powers. But you haven’t felt the power of my dagger. And I’d hate to use it in front of Sedna given her respect for you. Anyway, she’s safe and sound now. So if you’ll excuse me, I have things to do.” He looked at Sedna. “It was good to see you again, Sedna.” Then he turned to exit the room.
Caedmon walked as quickly as possible. He needed to get to a hotel in Nuuk where his father’s commander had placed two human agents for him should he need help. Once there, he could wait for his father to send in a real commander. He hoped it would be Roy. Roy was cool-headed and had been to Earth several times on different missions. He loved to see Roy shift. He was a half-wolf, half-fox were-creature and now resided in Eudaiz. Now, with Silver Blood inside him, Roy shifted into a magnificent space creature.
Well, he realized he couldn’t ask for too much. He had caught his father off guard and unprepared. He wasn’t sure how many resources his father could gather together in a short time.
Nuuk was more crowded than he remembered it. Four years must be a long time on Earth. Caedmon veered off the main road and walked along a back street. The snow-covered backyards didn’t give him any comfort. It was eerie, and he didn’t like the feel of the area, so he turned back to the main roads. He thought maybe he should just use a map. He raised his left arm to turn his wrist unit on only to find he no longer had it.
The only device he had brought from Eudaiz, the only technological connection he had, was no longer with him. The wrist unit was everything in Eudaiz. It carried a person’s personal profile and connected that person to his universe. It was a life and death matter in Eudaiz—and even more so here, on Earth.
He felt a chill run up his spine. He had never in his life felt so isolated from his people.
The wrist unit must have fallen off when he was under the bed. He had to go back for it. But before he made it too far, he heard footsteps behind him. Someone or something was running toward him.
He checked his dagger to ensure it was ready. If he had to fight now, he would have to fight as a human. If the tribe discovered he was from another universe, they wouldn’t let him get close to the temple that held the key.
8
The picturesque scene of a snowy, sleepy town in popular fiction was a big fat lie. Neva cursed as she struggled to run on the path covered with thick, slippery snow. She supposed she could stop and beat the hell out of the two creatures chasing her. Her training was good enough to defend herself. But if there were more than two, she’d be in trouble. And she had no idea what kind of creatures were following her.
As Moss always said, run first and fight only when absolutely necessary. Moss’s best asset to her as a trainer was his wise advice. He couldn’t give her much martial arts training because her capabilities were limited. But she had beaten all other candidates to date except for Sedna and Keeve. She thought she was a true contender for this leadership.
Through the curtain of snow, she saw a man walk in front of her. “Get out of my way!” she shouted, but it was too close to avoid the collision. The man was a decent size, so running into him bounced her several feet away. She fell on her backside, skidding on the snow.
“Are you okay?” The man rushed over to help her up.
“Get away from me,” she said as she scrambled up from the ground. If there were more than two creatures after her, there was no guarantee she could guard herself, let alone protect this human bystander. And the tribe was extremely conservative when it came to interactions with humans.
The footsteps got closer, and to her disappointment, there were three creatures in the form of men approaching her. And they were not only men, they were huge men. They looked like bouncers at a nightclub.
“Oh shit!” she muttered.
“Are they after you?” the man standing next to her asked.
“Yes, they’re after me. But this is none of your business. Run. I can’t guarantee your safety.” She shoved him away and charged at the three creatures.
They stopped in their tracks when they saw her coming at them. They had expected her to run, and she had. But now she was on the offense, and they didn’t know what to do.
All she needed was one moment of hesitation. She pulled the two curved knives tucked in her knee-high boots and advanced. But as she got closer to the men, she started to regret it. She was skilled with knives, but fighting these three gorillas at once might be a very bad idea.
One approached her and pulled a long knife from his jacket—as if his size wasn’t enough to give him an advantage over her. He swung the knife and ran at her. She anticipated the worst. She had received a lot of training in martial arts, but most of her fights to date were in contests with other mages in the tribe.
Her confidence wavered a bit, but she continued to charge at the man. She swung her right knife over her head and then stabbed in a downward motion. The man lifted his long knife to block and opened his body to her. She kicked her foot as hard as she could into his groin and followed with the left knife, stabbing into his abdomen.
He roared and staggered back. Black liquid poured out of the wound. He slumped to the snow. His eye socket sparked a greenish-blue light. His body melted instantly, and he turned into a pile of scrap metal.
“What the hell?” she cried.
The remaining men roared. They flexed their hands, and their fingers turned into long, sharp blades. They stormed at her. She took several steps back to figure out a better way to take the two of them at once. There were no ideal solutions.
Then a soft material brushed against her as the human bystander ran past her toward the creatures, a dagger in his hand. She grinned and followed him. She took one creature, and he took the other one. She used the same technique she had used before, but the creature didn’t seem to learn from the fatal example from his friend. She killed him quickly and easily. And just like the other one, he dropped to the ground and turned disintegrated into a pile of metal.
She turned around and saw her new friend examining the remains of the creature he’d dispatched.
Am I really slower than a human? If so, she thought, she should quit this leadership contest.
She approached her benefactor. “Thank you,” she said. “Your skills are impressive.”
The man turned around and smiled at her. Her stomach quivered. He was gorgeous with striking gray eyes and the face of a dark angel. And his smile—he could trademark it. “As are yours.” He stood and held his hand out. “I’m Caedmon.”
“Neva,” she responded then saw a stream of blood running down his left arm. “You’re hurt. Let me see.”
He looked at the gash on his arm and shrugged. “It’s just a flesh wound.”
“It’s bleeding quite a bit.” She grabbed his arm and pulled it toward her. “I’m a mage. I can heal your injury. I have the light, a sort of energy I draw from sunlight.”
“I know what a mage can do. But save your energy. I can fix this with a bandage.”
“You’ll need more than that. It’s a large cut. You’re injured because of me. I’ll feel better if you let me heal you.”
Caedmon nodded. “All right then.”
“You’re very strong for a human,” she said and then concentrated, raising her palm and hovering it above his wound. But before anything happened, she heard Sedna yelling, “Stop!”
She turned to her left and saw Sedna and Afton running toward her and Caedmon.
9
The hotel was quiet, as if the staff had cleared out all bystanders so that he could do his job. Anatole sneaked into a long hallway. This was the third hotel he had searched. There were many in Nuuk, but only a handful would accommodate customers that had anything to do with the paranormal world.
He’d checked the guest list and was sure the two staying in the executive suite were those Nikki had mentioned. He sauntered up to the door and knocked. A man i
n his late twenties answered. He was much too young to be a hunter. And too earthly to be a paranormal creature. Anatole doubted his previous speculation. They may just be genuine curious tourists.
“Yes, can I help you?” the young man said with a strong South African accent.
Anatole was much taller than the man, and he peeked inside the room without difficulty. There was no one else inside. “I’m from the natural medicine clinic. I was told you were after some training yesterday.”
“Yes, but the receptionist said they don’t offer martial arts training.”
“No, they don’t. But I do. I work freelance. I offer private training.”
The man looked Anatole up and down.
“Is there a particular reason you want to receive training at that clinic? I have my own studio.”
The man shook his head. “No. No particular reason.”
“Pizza delivery!” The second man appeared at the end of the corridor with a pizza box in his hand.
“He’s a private martial arts trainer,” the first man told him. “The clinic referred him because we had asked yesterday.”
“All right!” The second man grinned. “Come on in. Have a piece, and we’ll talk.” Anatole walked into the room. He had to admit the pizza smelled delicious.
“What’s your problem?” Neva growled.
Sedna zeroed in on the bleeding wound on Caedmon’s arm. She had been sure Caedmon wasn’t human when she tried to heal him in the hotel room. And she didn’t know what would happen if Neva tried to heal his wound. Not that she minded that he wasn’t human. But he probably didn’t know she knew, so he had lied to Afton. If they figured it out now, Afton wouldn’t take it lightly.
Judging by the look on his face, she knew Caedmon didn’t realize she had figured out he wasn’t human. Sedna cleared her throat. “A wound like that takes a lot of energy to heal. The contest is coming close. I don’t want you to be disadvantaged, Neva.”
