by Alex Steele
With a steadying breath, I opened the door to the sitting room and stepped into the hall. No one ambushed me. Master Hiko was probably waiting for me in the garden. During training, he would push me to my breaking point, but when it came to more serious matters, he never pushed.
I slipped off my shoes then headed toward the garden. The house was quiet but the smell of dinner cooking drifted past me. Sakura was an excellent cook, but she didn’t do it often, preferring to let Master Hiko cook.
Brisk air washed over me as I stepped outside. The mountains in the distance were snow-capped and soon this area would be as well. The stone pathway chilled my feet as I walked, but it was refreshing after the heat and tension that had come with my magic.
Master Hiko sat on the same bench as the last time I’d spoken with him. It made me feel like no time had passed. Instead of the renewed anger I expected, grief stirred in my gut. Grief for my parents, for the time I wasted being angry, and for the peace I seemed unable to find.
“Master Hiko, I’m sorry to drop in without notice,” I said in Japanese, bowing deeply.
He turned slightly to look at me and returned the bow. “I was surprised but not upset. Your arrival prompted Sakura to cook. I’m beginning to think she prefers your company to mine.”
“I am very charming,” I said with a smile.
Master Hiko snorted and waved me forward. “What do you need?”
“To apologize, and then to ask for your help, once again,” I said as I walked over to stand beside him.
“And why would the student need to apologize to the master who lied to him?” Master Hiko asked, bitterness leaking into his voice.
“It turns out I’m a hypocrite.” I sighed and shook my head. “I’m not happy you kept that from me for so long, but you’re right, I would have done something stupid. What’s done is done, and I know now. I don’t want to hate you.”
Master Hiko nodded in acceptance. “What is it you need help with?”
“Fate broke my katana.”
Master Hiko looked up in alarm. “Completely?”
I nodded. “It isn’t repairable, and Yui said it wouldn’t be a good idea to attempt it. For some reason, Fate wants me to be able to use my mayhem magic, and the magic I absorbed in the fight with the warlock that Yui bound inside of me.”
He smoothed a hand over his beard, looking out over the garden thoughtfully. I turned my face toward the stars and let him think. This was all a lot to take in, and I still hadn’t completely processed it. Fate obviously had some plan for me, which I didn’t like, and was determined not to accept. So far though, he’d been able to push me into doing what he wanted.
“I can’t help you,” Master Hiko said, shaking his head.
“What––”
He held up his hand cutting me off, then nodded behind us. I turned around, confused.
Sakura stepped into view and crossed her arms. She wore an outfit of all black with loose pants and a sleeveless shirt that was bound tightly at the waist. “I think it’s time I trained you.”
That was not what I expected at all. I looked at her in confusion. “You’ve always refused to.”
She nodded, not denying it at all. “You weren’t ready then, but we have no choice now.”
I opened my mouth to say something, but couldn’t form a response.
“But first, we will eat,” she said before turning and walking back to the house.
Thirty-Seven
Yui and Swift were whispering about something and it was very distracting. I didn’t trust Yui on a good day. There was no way that she and Swift joining forces would be a good thing. I’d be completely doomed.
My partner had showed up just in time for dinner –– angry with Yui and me, of course. I just took it as a sign she cared these days. Master Hiko had left on some mysterious errand just before Sakura announced it was time for training. Yui and Swift had elected to watch my torture. And distract me.
A smack against the back of my head brought my attention back to my body. I was going to have a lump the size of a goose egg before the night was over.
“Focus,” Sakura said sharply. “If that is enough to distract you then you better hope you never end up in another fight.”
Biting down on my tongue to keep from talking back –– something that would definitely earn me another lump on the head –– I went through the breathing exercises once again. My magic sat in my chest, warming me from the inside out. I inhaled, filling my lungs with air and letting the magic grow inside of me. It expanded into the rest of my body, then on my exhale, it returned to my chest.
In and out. Slow and smooth. Sakura had told me that self-awareness was the first step to control. Since I was 'out of touch with my emotions and intellect like some kind of cave-man', we were starting with awareness of the physical self. She wanted me to feel how the magic moved inside of me. Breathing exercises were apparently useless without a careful focus on the movement of the magic through the body as they were done.
"Now, without opening your eyes, look within and see the magic inside of you," Sakura said, her voice soft so as not to startle me.
My impulse was to ask her what the hell she meant but I was a quick learner, and lesson number one had been to not ask questions she thought I should already know the answer to. With another deep inhale, I tried to tap into that sixth sense that allowed me to feel someone else's magical signature.
Sakura, who was suppressing all but the barest hint of her magical signature stood behind me, moving slowly to my left. I couldn't sense Yui at all despite her being in the room. Swift, however, was easy to locate. Her magic filled her completely, seeping out every time she moved and leaving little trails of light that I could see in my mind's eye. It was a sort of second sight, one that I rarely bothered to use. It had always seemed mystical and unreliable to me.
My new mentor's magic rose slightly in what I suspected was irritation at my wandering focus –– though I had no idea how she could tell who or what I was thinking about. With a slow exhale, I turned that second sight on myself.
Where Swift was bright and hot, I was a void. Absolute darkness curled in my chest until I inhaled and that darkness filled me.
"Draw out a small piece of that energy and hold it in your hand," Sakura said from somewhere in front of me.
"Is that safe?" I asked, bracing myself for a whack on the back of the head. I had to ask though.
"Of course it is safe. As long as you do not lose control."
Well, that wasn't comforting.
Keeping my breaths even, I lifted one hand from the ground and held it out in front of me. On an inhale, I let the magic seep out of my skin and pool in my palm. With an exhale, the remaining magic flowed back to my chest.
Most of it at least. It was slower to move and a vague feeling of anger stirred inside of me. I ground my teeth together as I attempted to hold the magic in my hand.
"Keep breathing," Sakura said sharply.
I sucked in a breath, not realizing I'd stopped completely. That made the magic move too fast and the darkness leapt from my hand, racing toward my teacher.
My eyes snapped open in shock but the magic moved around her rather than colliding with her, and punched a hole in the side of the dojo.
Sakura raised a brow. "You will fix that later."
I curled my hand into my chest and bowed my head in acknowledgment. The magic angrily pounded inside of me like a drum. A deep breath calmed it a little, but I couldn't try pulling the magic into my hand again any time soon.
"I'm starting to think this won't be possible," I said hoarsely.
"Tch," she scoffed. "What pathetic talk from my student. Don't embarrass yourself by giving up. Did you really think this would be easy? That you could breathe for one evening and then master yourself?"
I looked up slowly. "Of course not, I just don't feel like I'm making any progress."
"You have made significant progress. You lost control for a moment just now, but were able
to adjust your attack," she said, waving away my concerns.
"I adjusted it? I thought you deflected it somehow." It had been odd that it had missed without her moving, but I hadn't thought that was my doing. I'd stopped trying to figure out how she did the things she did a century ago.
"Nonsense. However, this proves you still need to work on your physical awareness. Shut your eyes and continue, focusing this time on a single muscle." She pointed to the area on her hand just below her pointer finger. "Isolate the muscle and move it."
I wiggled my finger.
Whack.
The strike came from behind, but she was clearly in front of me. I rubbed the back of my head with a frown.
"I moved the muscle, what's the problem?"
"Move it in isolation. Every muscle in your body responds to your command. Most mages are asleep to their own bodies. They let the body itself rule, reacting with animal-like instincts. You must master absolute control over your body, mind, and spirit –– that place inside you where your magic lies. Once you have done that, you will be able to use your magic, instead of it using you."
With a sigh, I shut my eyes. It was going to be a long night.
Thirty-Eight
I hadn’t thought it was possible, but my brain was sore.
“Eat up,” Swift said, nudging the rice toward me. “You need energy for your training today. Sakura said she’s going to have me help later.”
I groaned and tiredly scooped more rice into my bowl before snatching up the last piece of fish. “By help does she mean torment me?”
“I think that’s a given.” She reached across the table for the little bowl of pickled vegetables, but Yui grabbed it right before she could pick it up. The kitsune ignored her glare and ate the rest in one bite.
Yui looked up with wide, innocent eyes and met Swift’s angry stare. “What?”
“You know what, you little thief,” Swift said, practically growling at Yui.
“Someone is a little hangry, you should eat more,” Yui said with a mischievous grin, nudging a bowl of natto –– sticky, fermented soybeans –– toward her. I don’t know why Sakura even bought that stuff. No one liked it. Even Master Hiko refused to eat it.
Swift sat back with a huff and dumped more plain rice in her bowl. Her phone buzzed on the table and she checked it, then looked up at me with a frown. “Have you heard from Viktor?”
“No, why?”
She sighed and texted someone quickly, not responding to my question until her phone buzzed again. “Lopez says she hasn’t heard from him in two days, and when she went down to the coroner’s office, they said he no longer worked there.”
“What? Wait...why would Lopez say she hadn’t heard from him in two days?” It couldn’t be...there was no way Viktor was her mysterious date. Viktor just didn’t seem like the romantic type. Though, women did seem to like the tall, dark, and chiseled thing. “Is she dating him?”
Swift rolled her eyes. “Viktor is potentially missing, Blackwell. Focus on the important part.”
I noted that was not a denial, but Swift was right. That was the least important thing right now. He’d been positive deleting those case files wouldn’t put him in danger, but it’s possible they had. “Viktor wouldn’t have just quit the IMIB.”
“I agree. The fact that he has gone silent is disturbing as well. If he was no longer interested, he would have said something to her.” She texted Lopez back quickly then set her phone aside. “We have to do something, the timing on this is suspicious.”
“We’ll get Bootstrap to look into it. It might be good to call Bradley and ask too. He might know something.” I pulled out my phone and dialed Viktor’s number. If he answered, mystery solved. It was always best to try the easiest route first.
Instead of ringing, a voice told me the number had been disconnected, and the call ended abruptly.
“His number has been disconnected,” I said, putting my phone away. “We should go to the bar I met Viktor at and see if they’ve seen him there while Bootstrap is digging up some information for us.”
“You need to train,” Swift objected.
I crossed my arms. “This is more important right now. I’ll train this afternoon, and if Sakura has a problem with that, she can....”
Swift’s eyes drifted slightly behind me.
“...I’d take that into consideration,” I finished weakly.
“Is that so?” Sakura asked from just a few inches away. I hadn’t heard her enter the room, much less creep up behind me.
“Absolutely,” I said as I turned slowly to face the scary old woman.
She stared me down and it felt like she was looking into my very soul...and had found it wanting. “Wash the dishes, then meet me in the dojo. We’ll start with one thousand handstand push-ups to clear your mind.”
I groaned but didn’t bother arguing. My arms were going to fall off, and I wasn’t going to have time to worry about Viktor.
Thirty-Nine
The murmur of conversation and the smell of fresh bread rolled over me as I walked into the same bar I’d met Viktor in previously. My stomach growled in response. I’d worked harder today than I had in years. Sakura had pushed me to my limits, then broken me and kept going.
No one was dancing on the bar this time, but the place was still packed with customers. I couldn't blame them. If this was closer to the IMIB, it would probably be my top lunch choice as well.
“This is not what I expected from the exterior,” Swift said, looking around curiously.
I nodded in agreement. “I think they do that to keep the tourists out.”
We walked up to the bar, taking empty seats near the end. The wood of the stool was smooth from years of use. The bartender was at the other end of the bar helping another patron. The deep timbre of his Russian carried easily over the din of conversation. It was one of the languages I wasn't great at, but I caught the gist of what he was saying. There was a special on pirozhki today; if I was translating correctly at least.
Bootstrap hadn’t been able to find anything on Viktor in the IMIB records, including his employment records. They’d all vanished. That worried me more than the disappearance itself. I was pretty sure the necromancer wouldn’t go down without one hell of a fight, but anyone could be killed. That was a lesson I’d learned as a teen. I’d have to hope he vanished voluntarily, rather than being forced out.
"I spent a month in Russia on a case years ago," Swift said, resting her elbows on the bar and perusing a paper menu she'd grabbed from the napkin holder. "Other than the cabbage they put in everything, their food is better than people give them credit for."
I laughed. "Not a fan of cabbage?"
She shrugged. "I got sick of it after a while."
"What were you looking for in Russia?"
"A magical artifact used in the Mage Wars got lost out there. We thought it was in Siberia but turned out to be in St. Petersburg in an old chapel. It was a wild month," she said with a laugh.
"How can I help you?" the bartender asked, startling me. I hadn't heard him walk over, which was a feat considering he looked like he was bigger than Viktor. Too many people had been sneaking up on me lately. Unlike Viktor, his bulk wasn’t all muscle.
"I'll take a kvass to start, and I think I overheard the pirozhki are the special?"
He nodded.
“I’ll take two then.”
"I'll have the same," Swift said with a smile, putting the menu back where she'd found it.
"Have you seen Viktor around?" I asked. "I came here with him last week."
The bartender shrugged and folded the rag in half then flipped it over and wiped down the already gleaming wood in front of us. His face remained blank. “We have many customers.”
Before I could ask another question, he turned away and shouted our order to the kitchen. I'd hoped that since I'd come here with Viktor that he wouldn't view me as an enemy, but I guess I'd been too optimistic. Or Swift's presence was turning him off. She would h
ave killed me if I'd tried to leave her behind again though. It was also risky for me to go anywhere alone right now anyhow while I still couldn't use my magic. I was improving, but not so much that I’d risk blowing up half of Moira if I lost control.
The bartender brought us our drinks without comment then returned to a discussion with another customer.
Swift set down her drink with a contented sigh. "I never get tired of kvass."
"I thought Viktor was trying to get me drunk when he handed me this drink," I said, shaking my head. "It looks like some kind of stout."
We enjoyed the drinks silently for a bit. With something in it, my stomach stopped trying to eat itself and I relaxed slightly. The blissful scent of food drifting from the kitchen was a special kind of torture though.
The cook stuck his head out of the kitchen with a brown paper bag, waving down the bartender. He grabbed it and brought it straight to us along with our bill.
"Here is your order. To go," he said as he set it between us.
That was a hint to get out if I'd ever heard one. I nodded and chugged down what remained of my kvass before handing over my card. The last thing I wanted to do was get on the bad side of a Russian mage, especially one with food that smelled this good.
He processed my payment quickly then slid the receipt toward me. As my fingers came into contact with the slip of paper, I felt a tingle of magic. With a nod goodbye, I tucked it into my pocket. I'd look at it once we left the bar.
"Thank you for your hospitality," Swift said as she picked up our to-go bag.
The bartender nodded, then crossed his arms and stared at us until we got up and headed toward the door. I felt his eyes on my back until we stepped outside. He definitely wasn't happy with our questions, and I couldn't exactly blame him. Whatever was going on was trouble, and no sane person would want to get involved in this mess.
As the door swung shut behind us, Swift sighed. "Well, that was a waste."
"Not completely," I said, pulling the receipt out.
