by Kal Aaron
He stepped forward. “What do you think, Corti?” he asked in a low voice.
“You’re Alexander Lubon.” She gestured at his clothes. “Bearer of the Inescapable Hangman. Your essence is weakness.”
“You’re well-informed.” Alexander stepped back. “And a brave woman to suggest such a dangerous plan. Lee’s not an easy man to kill, but this bastard pulled it off with his Shadow friends.”
Lyssa shrugged. “I know I’m the bait, but I don’t know any of the other details of the plan.”
Samuel held up his hand. An image of old, worn wooden buildings separated by a narrow dirt road appeared. She didn’t recognize the buildings, though they had a frontier feel. The look of the mountains and cacti in the background suggested Arizona.
“An assistant of mine located a useful site, an Arizona ghost town that is not currently a tourist attraction,” Samuel said. “I’ve begun circulating information that there are concerns about another potential monster incident in or near the town. You’ll spend a few days there, feigning investigation of the buildings and the area. We’ll see if anyone comes to kill you.”
“And then we kill them.” Lyssa slammed her fist into her gloved palm. “That’s my favorite part.”
“Preferably, Mr. Lubon will disable the assassin.” Samuel inclined his head toward the Eclipse. “You and Miss Khatri will serve as distractions and eliminate any secondary targets. We’ll need to take the rogue alive to establish that our mastermind isn’t linked to more widespread disruptive activity.”
Aisha snickered. “Need my help again so soon, Corti?”
“Something like that.” Lyssa shrugged. She wasn’t in the mood for verbal sparring, and the truth was she did need Aisha’s help. “When I need someone to burn bad guys to a crisp, you’re a good choice.”
Aisha snorted and looked away.
Alexander pointed at the image of the ghost town. “I don’t like the lack of clear intel. Assuming there is a rogue at the end of this, we don’t know anything about their regalia or essence. That puts us at a clear disadvantage.”
“No.” Lyssa pointed at herself, then Aisha. “It puts us at a disadvantage, not you. I’m the primary target. All you need to do is hide and watch. Once our guy shows up and tries to kill me, you’ll have a good idea of what his essence is. In the meantime, I have to not die.”
“There are potential flaws in your plan, Corti,” Aisha said.
“She’s correct,” Jofi said. “Without better knowledge of what you face, you might be killed before Miss Khatri or Mr. Lubon can help you.”
“I’m willing to take that risk,” Lyssa whispered. “So keep quiet for now.”
“What was that?” Samuel asked.
“It wasn’t directed at any of you.”
Samuel gave her a disapproving look. She frowned back. The fact she had a spirit bound to her guns wasn’t the big secret; the spirit’s true nature was. Being secretive about Jofi being present was pointless.
“What if more Shadows show up?” Alexander said.
“We’d prefer if only Miss Corti and Khatri engage them,” Samuel said with a frown. “It’ll be easier to explain to the EAA when bodies start piling up. They’re far touchier about us releasing Eclipses even though Torches kill more Shadows than Eclipses. Regardless of their concerns, self-defense remains a valid reason to use sorcery within the bounds of our treaties. If the Shadows use shards, it’s even easier to explain. That said, in an emergency, I’d prefer you keep Miss Corti alive, regardless of who you have to kill.”
Alexander gave a firm nod. “Understood.”
“Aww. You do care, Samuel,” Lyssa said.
Samuel gave her a cold look. “I wish to minimize loyal Illuminated casualties.”
Lyssa gestured for Aisha to come closer. “I want to talk to you about something in private.” She looked around. “But it’s not like I can take you elsewhere.”
Samuel folded his arms. His conjured image of the ghost town disappeared.
Aisha sauntered over to Lyssa and leaned in closer. “What?” she whispered.
“You don’t have to do this, you know,” Lyssa whispered back. “I’d like your help because after what we went through in Houston and the mine, I trust you to have my back against rogues. I know you can fight, but this is semi-personal. I don’t know how much Samuel told you, but I’m the bait because I’m already a target, not just because I’m aching to score brownie points with the Elders.”
Aisha scoffed. “I’m the only one allowed to kill you, so I don’t care about the reasons behind you being targeted. This rogue is trying to rob me of my prize.” She leaned back and smiled. “I’ll rob him of his life as punishment.”
Lyssa shrugged. “Okay. As long as we’re on the same page. I guess we’re taking a girls’ camping trip.”
Chapter Seven
In her full regalia, complete with mask, Lyssa leaned back in a dusty chair and put her feet up on a creaky old table. Aisha stood near a cracked window, peering outside at the collapsed steeple of an old church. The hint of a dirt road ran in front of the building, but scraggly weeds and bushes had infiltrated most of the area, blurring the line between wilderness and town.
“This grows tiresome,” Aisha said with a frown. “We can’t sit here for weeks waiting for the assassins. I was under the impression an attempt would be imminent. I don’t know that I would have readily agreed had I known how long this would take.”
Lyssa dropped her feet to the floor with a loud thump. “It’s not been weeks. It’s been days. Sure, I’m getting tired of the food we brought along, and I could use a better shower than that wimpy shard Samuel lent us, but we’ve both been in more annoying situations. Hey, this place doesn’t smell as bad as the mine.”
Aisha wrinkled her nose. “I believe they torment sinners in the afterlife in Naraka with that smell.”
“See?” Lyssa grinned. “We’re already doing better than that.”
“This plan might have failed. I agreed to help you because I thought it’d involve defeating enemies of the Society, not spending time in this dreary corpse of a town accomplishing nothing but discovering new depths of boredom.” Aisha turned around and folded her arms. “We’ve gone on many fake patrols, including checking the nearby hills. The enemy has every reason to believe the false story if they’ve been watching.”
“We need to be patient.”
Aisha shook her head. “They’ve seen through the ruse. We’re not so incompetent that we have to spend this long hunting a monster nest. They’d know that.”
“But it’s not like we could guarantee they would show up the first day,” Lyssa replied. “The plan didn’t fail, Aisha. You’re bored and fidgety. Get over it.”
Aisha frowned. “Elder Theodora and Elder Samuel have both explained this assassin is also targeting others. I’m curious where you fit in? I applaud your willingness to volunteer and end this situation before the Society suffers more losses, but there’s something peculiar about someone who’d want to kill you along with the others you mentioned being targeted.”
“Jealous they’re not targeting you?”
“Amusing, Corti, but a dodge. Why are they targeting you?”
“We’re not sure about that,” Lyssa lied.
Boredom wouldn’t hurt Aisha, but shard-wielding mercenaries or a deadly rogue with spirit sorcery could kill her. She was right to be suspicious when her life was on the line.
It was crappy that she couldn’t know the truth. Lyssa didn’t like it when the Elders kept secrets from her, and now she was keeping her own from someone she trusted with her life. Something had to change.
Lyssa patted her holsters. “How about we try a little experiment to pass the time?”
Aisha’s face tightened with distrust. “Experiment?”
“Sure, something that’ll pass the time until the people interested in murdering me show up and make your day a little more exciting. I’m not having fun, either.”
“I’d enjoy sparri
ng with you, but that’s not a good idea given the situation,” Aisha replied with a confused look. “We can’t risk reducing our combat effectiveness with wounds or fatigue.”
Lyssa smiled. “I wasn’t talking about sparring.”
“Then what are you talking about?”
“You’ll see.” Lyssa took a deep breath. “Jofi, I’m going to leave you here for a bit. I want to make sure our communication distance is still the same. I’m going to walk out with Aisha and see if you can still hear me.”
“As you wish,” he replied. “But do you think now is the appropriate time for this?”
Lyssa drew the pistols and set them on the table. “I’ve got Aisha with me, and I’m in my regalia. If an attack happens, I can run back here and get you. I’m not worried. We’d sense something strange long before anyone got close, and if they are going to blow us away with a nuke or something, it’s not like you would be able to help.”
“I don’t anticipate a nuclear attack,” Jofi said.
“Good. Glad to hear you’re an optimist.”
Aisha glanced at Lyssa and the guns, her suspicion replaced by abject confusion. “This is how you intend to pass the time? Pointless games with your spirit?”
“As opposed to meditating and scrolling on your phone? Though I am surprised by how many bars we get out here.” Lyssa shrugged and headed toward the door. “Come on. This is something I need to figure out anyway, and now is as good a time as any.”
“Your thought processes are so random, Corti,” Aisha said, shaking her head.
Lyssa pushed open the door with a grin and stepped outside. “Fool my friends to fool my enemies.” She jogged away from the building toward the church. “Still hear me, Jofi?”
“Yes,” he replied.
Aisha surveyed the area with a slight frown. She walked behind Lyssa, giving her a comfortable lead.
“Don’t want to be near me if they blow me up?” Lyssa asked.
Aisha nodded. “The thought has occurred to me. There are far smaller bombs available than nuclear ones.”
“I can’t argue with that logic.” Lyssa slowed when she was fifty yards from their temporary base. She cleared her throat. “Jofi, can you hear me?”
There was no response. She didn’t expect one, but she needed to be sure before she could risk talking to Aisha. One mistake could make an assassin the least of her problems.
“Jofi, I’m under attack,” Lyssa said. “Get ready. I’m going to sprint toward you. Let me know if there’s anyone near you.”
Aisha stared at Lyssa. “Has the pressure finally robbed you of your sanity, Corti? There’s no threat. I don’t see anything. I don’t hear anything. I don’t feel anything.”
Lyssa replied, “I needed to make sure he couldn’t hear me.”
“Your spirit?” Aisha scoffed. “Are you having some sort of falling out? Is that what this is? If so, get him in line before the next battle. We don’t have time for this nonsense.”
“No. There’s nothing like that going on.” Lyssa sighed. “That’d make things easier, in a way. We live with so many secrets, and now I’ve got people risking their lives because of mine. When I thought up the plan, it was supposed to be about me risking my life with a little help, but I think you deserve to know the truth.” She shrugged. “Some of this is selfish. I’m a paranoid woman, and I want to make sure there are more people I can trust.” She stared at the fallen steeple. “And some of it is guilt. It’s not fair for someone to risk their life and not even know the real reason.”
“What are you talking about, Corti?”
“Here’s the truth. Jofi isn’t a gun spirit.”
Lyssa offered the full explanation about Jofi, from her part in the ritual to Lee’s regular check-ins before his assassination and the murder attempts being related to the group involved in sealing Jofi. Aisha paid close attention, not stopping to insult or ask any questions, and she had a look of curiosity on her face the entire time. She didn’t speak until Lyssa finished. Her mouth twitched into a huge smile.
Aisha threw her head back and laughed. “Of course!”
“Okay.” Lyssa’s brow lifted. “That’s not the reaction I was expecting.”
Aisha’s deep laughter continued. She brought it down to a mere chuckle before smirking at Lyssa. “Everything makes sense now.”
“What makes sense?”
“I acknowledge your skill, but we both know I have more natural talent and power.” Aisha conjured a flickering flame in the palm of her hand. “You’re only more powerful than me because of a cheat.”
“A cheat?” Lyssa snorted. “It’s not like I was all that enthusiastic about the plan. It was just that I fit the bill, and I was nearby in a time-sensitive and dangerous situation.”
Aisha tossed the flame into the air. It dissipated in the dusty wind.
“This isn’t a threat,” she said. “It’s a simple question. Would killing you remove the risk?”
Lyssa wasn’t offended. She’d anticipated that very question. “Not exactly. Since he’s bound both to those guns and partially to me and the Night Goddess, I have a chance of resisting him if he breaks the seal. It would probably kill me, but it could also backfire. If I die, it should, in theory, feed enough power to him for a while to keep him inactive while they figure out what to do with him. If he’s trying to break out, though, I risk dying and having my soul eaten. The emergency scenario was supposed to involve me calling Lee and the gang and having them perform another ritual. That one would almost certainly kill me, but it’d at least temporarily seal him. After that, they were supposed to find another Illuminated to take my place. My Torch work, essence, and regalia together worked out better than anyone thought, and Jofi’s been fine for years.”
Aisha circled Lyssa. “This assassin must want the spirit’s power.”
“That’s what I’m figuring.” Lyssa shrugged. “But it’s not like I can discuss this in front of Jofi without risking the seal. If it comes down to it, I’m willing to die to save people, but it’s too much of a risk if some asshole just wants to steal Jofi.”
“It can’t be that trivial,” Aisha replied. “Those who helped bind the spirit include an impressive collection of individuals.”
“For all we know, the other guy made a special shard with the souls of earthquake victims or something. But you’re right. He’s probably planning to steal it first and figure it out later, even if that means risking the seal.” Lyssa kicked a pebble into the side of an old general store. It was down to three walls, and judging by the smell, something small and furry had been nesting in it recently.
“You agreed to something that risked damaging your soul?” Aisha asked, genuine surprise in her voice.
“It’s not like I had a choice.”
“The Elders ordered it?”
Lyssa shook her head. “Not exactly. They ordered the silence, and I swear if you go and complain to Samuel that I told you—”
“Enough, Corti,” Aisha interrupted. “I’m not the fool you think I am. I neither implicitly trust nor agree with every action the Elders take. In this case, asking you to endanger your soul?” She snarled. “You agreed to something beyond foolish. We both know there are things worse than death.”
“I just wanted to protect people.” Lyssa lifted her head to watch a small flock of birds flying high overhead. “And nobody had any better ideas. I didn’t think there was a real choice. There were other Illuminated whose regalia and essence combinations might have worked, but they weren’t anywhere nearby, and we couldn’t wait.” She turned to Aisha. “I’m not a Torch just because it’s a family tradition. I’m not a Torch because I’m an adrenaline junkie, or I like fighting all that much. I’m a Torch because there’s a lot of messed-up crap out there and dangerous people who are willing to hurt innocents. What good is having all this power if I can’t use it to protect people who can’t protect themselves? That’s what I was thinking.”
Warm light surrounded Aisha’s regalia. She’d
been suppressing it for most of their time together.
“We are Torches,” Aisha said. “We exist to burn away all that is wrong in this world. I understand you better now, perhaps more than I ever did.”
“I hope that’s good,” Lyssa replied. “I just wanted to make sure you understand what was at stake and why you are risking your life.”
“You’re a fool, Corti, risking your soul, but you’re a brave fool. You’re even perilously close to being a good woman.” Aisha inclined her head toward their base. “But we should return before your pet disaster becomes suspicious.”
Chapter Eight
Someone shook Lyssa from her sleep atop her sleeping bag on the uneven floor. She had a gun out and pointed within a second. There was no way she was letting someone kill her in bed. Her ghost would never unlive that down.
Aisha stood over her, her lips pressed in a tight line. Her mask was on, but her light aura was off. Lyssa could only barely make her out without the night vision of her mask.
Letting out a sigh of relief, Lyssa lowered her gun and pulled her mask out of her pocket. She yawned a couple of times before slipping it over her face. “My turn for the watch already? I was having such wonderful dreams about giant worms coming after me to swallow me whole.”
“Listen, Corti,” Aisha whispered. “Listen carefully.”
Aisha murmured a chant under her breath. Her hazy heat shield aura surrounded her. Lyssa worried about the red and white sparks, but there wasn’t a lot of scrubland beyond the ghost town to catch fire. Aisha could burn down the entire town with no great risk to the area.
Lyssa sat up with a frown, hearing the sound of wind mixed with the low rumble of overlapping car engines. She hopped up and pulled on her coat before readying her other pistol. “We can’t shoot until we verify they’re enemies. It might just be tourists. Let’s not make any careless mistakes.”
Aisha scoffed. “I doubt tourists have decided to come to this place at this time of night.”
