by Riley Storm
You know there’s still a traitor in your midst. Would it be so hard for them to notify her that you’re closing in on her?
The answer was: maybe. He wouldn’t know until he captured her and could interrogate the mage. Then he would be able to ask questions like that. Then she would die.
Kasperi wasn’t a big fan of killing. In fact, he detested it. But recent events had shown him just what a rogue mage could do to his friends if they decided to attack, and he wasn’t about to see any more of the Ursidae cut down like wheat with a scythe. So he hunted them now, with vigor.
His thoughts distracted him from the trail, and all at once it grew bright and strong. Kasperi threw himself to the side as he saw a figure in the snow ahead. He whirled the scarf around his head furiously, spinning up a shield of dull green energy.
“Back!” he bellowed at his team over the wind as it whistled through the trees. This forest had no coniferous trees in it. No big pines to block the air, and the dead leaves were buried under the snow. Nothing stopped the air from moving as the wind picked up.
He kept his shield up, waiting for the figure to make a move, but they didn’t.
“Put your hands up,” he snapped, taking a step forward, reaching up to unsheathe one of his swords. The blade came around in front of him, the steel lined with another, darker material.
Uranium. The radiation played havoc with shifter DNA and mage blood alike. He held the scarf in front of him, walking closer. Willing some more power into the fabric, the shield began to cast off a green light, illuminating an area.
He saw her now, the mage. She was a woman. A tiny thing, no more than a few inches over five feet. Slim, in a way that didn’t seem to befit her, as if she was used to carrying more weight. Her hair glowed greenish-yellow in the light, falling down both sides of her head, nearly to her waist.
It was her eyes that caught and held his attention though. They were so utterly soft, and the green in them he knew instantly was natural, not a result of his magic shield.
They were also wide and terrified, frozen tear droplets accumulating in the corners.
“Are you an angel of death?” she whispered so quietly his nearly supernatural hearing only barely picked it up. “Am I dead?”
“Not yet,” he said, coming closer, holding out his sword until the blade was just over a foot away. Any closer, and her skin would begin to blacken and die from the radiation in the blade. “But you’re close.”
“I deserve it,” she muttered. “Just get it over with, please. Release me from this hell.”
Kasperi frowned, hearing her speak, but trying to reconcile everything into one coherent picture. This was the mage he’d been sent to hunt down? It couldn’t possibly be. She was a feeble thing, frozen half to death. Any basic magic user would be able to conjure heat, to ward off the cold.
And why was she asking for death? For him to kill her? To the best of his knowledge, she hadn’t killed anyone. Not yet. He was here to ensure she never did. But she should be afraid of him, not welcoming him.
Something was wrong here.
There was no doubt this was the girl. His tracking spell had lit up like a Christmas tree when it had fallen over her. There was power here. A lot of it.
“If you’re not going to kill me,” she said weakly, her teeth clattering together, making it hard to understand. “Then you need to go away. Get away from me. I don’t want to hurt you, so just go, please. There’s something wrong with me.”
Kasperi frowned. “What are you talking about?” he growled in his most authoritative, intimidating voice.
“It’s inside me,” she hissed. “It acts up sometimes. I can’t control it.”
Kasperi saw her lips keep moving when she stopped speaking, and his magically-attuned senses felt the power building in her once more.
“If you attack me with that, I will kill you,” he snapped, holding the blade a little closer to her.
The woman—though truthfully barely more than a girl—recoiled quickly in pain, clutching at her upper chest as the radiation reached out and slapped her, setting her blood on fire through her skin.
“Don’t use magic on me,” he warned.
“Magic?” she asked, in what Kasperi felt was genuine confusion. “What are you talking about? I’m losing my mind, aren’t I?”
“Stop lying to me,” he growled, wondering why he was talking to her and not completing his job. “We know you’re the mage who tore up Lola’s, and half a dozen other places from here to Tallahassee. We’ve seen the reports, don’t deny it.”
The woman’s eyes went wide with recognition, and she burst into tears, these now so hot they burned tracks through the ice on her cheek. “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I can’t help it. I can’t control it. It’s not my fault.”
Kasperi spat. “Either you’re the best actor I’ve ever seen, or you truly have no idea what the hell is going on, do you?”
She shook her tiny head, revealing the tightness of her skin over her cheekbones. Kasperi cursed. Something was very wrong here. This wasn’t the person he’d signed up to stop. This was a terrified young woman who didn’t know what the hell she was.
How am I supposed to kill her?
Footsteps crunched around him as the rest of the Asps finally approached, weapons drawn, ready to finish the job.
“Let’s go, Kasperi. What are you waiting for?” Kopper growled, holding his hammer in one hand. The blond giant fancied himself the newest reincarnation of Thor.
Kasperi bit his lip, eyes laser focused on the woman, looking deep into her soul through the twin portraits of green that would be right at home in the forest six months from then.
“This isn’t right,” he said, standing tall, head angled down at the woman in snow. “There has to be another way.”
“Just take her head and let’s go home,” another of his team said. “I’m hungry.”
Kasperi whirled around, bringing blade and scarf up, energy coursing through one, and radiation infusing the other. His eyes rose slowly as he made his decision.
“I said, we’re not killing her.”
3
Another shiver wracked her body. The power that had been so strong earlier was now only but the barest flicker, like a fire nearly turned to ember, licking at the last charred piece of wood before it too was extinguished at last. It was only that hint which was keeping her alive, warding off just enough of the cold to prolong her suffering.
Now, it seemed, she was destined to die not at the hands of nature’s wrath, but from the blade of some giant sword-wielding assassin. How had they found her out here? The man had said they’d been tracking her since Tallahassee. They knew who she was. He’d even told her what she was.
A mage.
Whatever that was. And why was his scarf glowing red? Hadn’t it been green just a moment before? Maybe it was one of those new rave accessories all the kids had these days. The others were pulling out objects of their own that glowed red and green. Were they about to have a dance-off over her?
Her brain slowly realized that she’d never met any ravers who carried around giant swords or hammers. Nor did they talk about taking someone’s head off. Her head, to be exact.
“What’s going on?” she asked weakly, wondering if anyone heard her when there was no response.
The four of them were squared off, her killer-turned-protector putting his back to Amber and keeping himself between her and the others.
“What are you doing?” one of them asked, shaking his head. “You know procedure. She’s broken the accords. Using magic in public. That’s illegal. She’s hurt people with it. How long before people die? It’s clearly getting the best of her. It’s only time before it consumes her completely. You don’t want to know what that’s like.”
Her protector snarled. “I’m not new, you mewling pup. I’ve seen what it does. I’ve seen what it can become. It was my friends cut down by the last rogue mage, not yours. But she is not A
drius. Look at her. Truly look at her. She’s terrified. Frightened. Has no idea what’s going on. Doesn’t even know what she is.”
What I am? I’m a server at Lola’s. No. I was a server at Lola’s. I doubt I’m welcome back now. So what am I?
He was right. Amber had no idea what she was. Or who, anymore.
The four giants tensed, blades and hammers swinging idly.
“Are you really going to fight us for her?” one of the ones in the “Killers” camp snapped.
Her protector shrugged. “If you force my hand, yes. Or you can back down, we take her back to the Manor, and let the others make a judgment. Let them see she’s no threat, that she just needs help.”
“Slag this,” the most hostile one growled. “I say we just kill her and go home. Easier that way. Less fuss.”
Amber watched her guardian’s blade come around to point at the speaker. “I don’t want to do this. Please don’t make me.”
Tensions rose, and Amber prepared to get up and run, if her legs decided to still work.
The men bristled and their body language warred back and forth with one another for minutes on end. Finally, however, the trio united against her protector caved.
“Fine. We’ll take her back, see what the boss has to say. I’m sure he’ll be pleased.”
“Whatever.” Her protector waited as the attackers backed off slightly. Then he put away the glowing rave scarf and turned to give her a hand up.
She eyed him warily. After all, he still had the giant sword in his other hand. Surprisingly, Amber’s legs still worked, supporting her weight, even if she was a little wobbly on them.
“Come with us peacefully,” the walking colossus rumbled, his body still between her and everyone else.
Looking up, Amber finally got a good image of him as her eyes cleared and she saw through the blowing snow. A strong brow and large nose nearly concealed eyes of deep ocean blue, forcing her to search that extra second to lock gazes with him. A thick but short coating of hair covered his cheeks and jaw, but it barely flowed down to the top of his neck.
Thick hair pushed forward from his head, standing on end at an angle. It was a standard, nondescript brown that would blend into any of a thousand different colors of hair, but it looked strong enough that she could push her hand across it like the pages of a book, rippling through it. But it would return to that upward angled position without the aid of any sort of product. She almost reached up to touch his head then and there, but at the last minute, caught herself. He gave her a peculiar stare, but said nothing.
Right, he’s waiting on me to acknowledge his comment-threat.
“I’ll do my best,” she said. “I can’t always control it.”
Even as she said it, her eyes were looking around, evaluating her chance of fleeing the scene. Maybe she could summon the power back again, make it dance to her will for just a second, to disorient them while she got away. All it would take was for her to focus hard enough, to push it out there with a flurry of emotions. Rage and fear were exhausted, but she had one emotion in reserve that would work if need be, powering whatever it was that lived inside her. She didn’t want to use it, because it was the strongest of them all, but if it would help her get away…
“Don’t even think about it,” he said, as if able to sense exactly what she was thinking.
That sparked some defiance deep in Amber. “How am I not supposed to consider running away from a group of guys dressed in weird outfits wielding swords, who have me alone, surrounded in a forest, and are all ‘Off with her head!’ and the like,” she said with a snort. “Isn’t that a perfectly normal reaction to have when a bunch of role-playing weirdos come upon me? Though your ‘costumes’ could use some work.”
Her protector’s eyes danced with mirth, but his face remained impassive, his features practically etched from steel. “Maybe. But for now, you should come peacefully. If you run, I won’t be able to stop them from taking your head off,” he said calmly.
“Exactly,” one of the others stated enthusiastically.
Between the calm promise of her protector, and the greedy desire to inflict death of the other trio, Amber quickly decided.
“Well,” she said, pausing dramatically, wondering where the hell the sudden courage had come from. “I have given it some thought, and will allow you to escort me to our destination.”
The seven-foot-tall behemoth blinked rapidly. “Uh, okay. Sure.” He gestured for his team to lead the way, then pushed her in their wake.
Amber, meanwhile, was swearing and cursing silently at herself for mouthing off to them. If there was one thing she probably shouldn’t be doing, it was talking back to the men with swords. Still, too many years of working in bars with drunks had ingrained it into her, even when she’d been able to hold a job at places classier than Lola’s. She just couldn’t help it anymore, it was reflex.
“Where, exactly, are we going by the way?” she asked through teeth ready to shatter. The cold was back in full force, and her clothing wasn’t anywhere near protective enough.
The huge man looked down at her, cursed, and jabbed his sword into the ground. Amber flinched away, until she realized he wasn’t attacking her. He took off his other sword as well, dropping the gear into the snow. Then he ripped off his shirt and shoved it at her.
“Put this on.”
At least, that’s what she thought he said. Her eyes were too busy drinking in the steam pouring off his now exposed upper body. The muscles of his forearms bunched as he picked up the sword and slung the dual sheath over his back once more, causing all sorts of interesting bulging and definition as he settled it into place.
“Let’s go,” he growled, pushing her forward, ripping away the image of his chest as the straps crisscrossed massive pecs seated above deliciously defined abs, disappearing into his sweatpants. “And put that on. I don’t want you to freeze to death.”
“I do.”
Amber glared at the speaker, pulling the sweater over her shirt, feeling the latent heat in it from him, as well as the scent of his body and deodorant. They mixed into a pleasant musk that tickled her nostrils as the sweater slid over her face and almost instantly started warding off the worst of the cold. She still needed to get inside as soon as possible, but she would survive for a bit longer.
“Any chance you can answer my question?” she asked, hurrying to walk alongside him.
“My house.”
The word house sounded odd when he said it.
“Well that’s a little creepy, don’t you think?”
The other trio snickered.
“Shut up,” her protector growled. “We need to move faster. You need to put these on,” he ordered, pulling a pair of cuffs from his belt and shoving them at her.
She held out her wrists and he locked them up. Almost immediately, the cold grew stronger, and the powers within her retreated. It was like someone had pulled a curtain in front of the window. She couldn’t think of any other way to explain it.
“Now, if you’ll pardon the indecency, we need to get you indoors.” Without waiting for her to respond, the man picked her up and held her to his bare chest, and with a snarl at the others, they began to run.
“You’re ridiculous. The boss is going to kill both of you. She’ll probably live longer than you,” one said.
“Not for long,” another agreed, laughter filling the air.
Amber shivered and curled up tighter into her protector’s chest as they ran on, wondering what the hell was going to come next.
And am I going to survive it?
4
“Why did I ever think this seemed like a good idea?”
Kasperi wasn’t having doubts about saving the woman’s life, but being forced now to stand in front of the Queen of High House Ursa herself and defend his actions was far more intimidating than he’d expected. It wasn’t just the Queen either. Every single seat on the Council was filled—minus the Captain’s, who was on his honeymoon—save for one seat.
The position of Knight, or heir to the House, was open. Not because the Knight couldn’t be in attendance, but because there was no Knight. Killed in the Ursa uprising, where bear fought bear, nobody had yet emerged as a candidate for the position. At one point, Kasperi had thought himself worthy of a position on the Ursa Council, and so he’d challenged one of the current Title Holders during their nomination session.
He’d lost to him, and now Klaue sat in the Champion’s throne as the best fighter in all of Ursa, looking down at the man who had nearly bested him. Kasperi held no ill will. Klaue was a great pick, and if he was honest, probably more suited to be in a command position, and overall a better fighter, even if a privately-held rematch showed Kasperi to be better with the blades.
All the friendship they had built was put to the side now, evident in the perfectly stone-like features of all the people on the Council, his friends or not. Kasperi looked from the Champion to the empty seat where Kirell the Captain would sit once he returned from his honeymoon. Then he glanced back to the Queen, wondering if they had already decided he was insane, or if he would be granted a chance to explain his actions.
Right now, Kvoss, the Assassin of the House, and his boss, were speaking to the assembled Council; they were denouncing Kasperi, his decision, the woman, and everything that had led to this point.
He’s trying to wash his hands of this, so that no matter what happens, it doesn’t come back to him. That slimy rat. Only looking out for himself.
It was the Queen’s face that surprised Kasperi the most. She had always been kind and compassionate to those under her rule, listening to everything, and being of an open mind. Right now, however, her face was closer to a scowl than Kasperi could ever recall it before. Was she too so influenced by the recent actions of the rogue mage Adrius, that she couldn’t see past it to truly look upon the woman?
“Kasperi.”
He came to attention as she spoke. “Yes, my Queen?”
