Semiautomatic Sorceress Boxed Set One: includes: Southwest Nights, Southwest Days, and Southwest Truths

by Kal Aaron

  Should she have asked Tricia to look at it? Getting a different perspective might help.

  Lyssa worried it might not be anything deeper than simple coincidence. There weren’t a huge number of Illuminated in the world. It wasn’t impossible that Chris, Theodora, and Tristan St. James had ended up on the list by mere chance. They might have just wandered in front of a camera.

  She sucked in a breath and shook her head. That couldn’t be true. There had to be some meaning.

  Adrien Allard had been smuggling shards, and he didn’t have any deeper connections with Last Remnant than any other random Sorcerer. There was no way he could have pulled off something on that scale by himself.

  Was it that simple? A greedy and ambitious Elder who’d been helping smuggle shards and hadn’t counted on two stubborn Sorceresses putting their differences aside to deliver justice?

  That didn’t explain Chris or the sudden return of his regalia, but Lyssa didn’t have all the evidence yet. A crime couldn’t be investigated until someone knew about it. The smuggling was too high-profile and blatant to ignore, but there could be many more dark plots waiting to be uncovered.

  “Damn it.” Lyssa picked up the whiteboard and stared at it. “I’m getting nowhere fast. I need to up my pressure on Samuel or get more information from somebody on that memory card.”

  “You could ask Elder Theodora directly about her presence,” Jofi suggested.

  Lyssa burst out laughing. “Yeah, that’s not happening yet. I don’t trust her.”

  “You could have Caroline accompany you to verify the truth.”

  “That’s not a half-bad idea, but I’m not ready to pull that trigger until I’m all but sure of the answer. I don’t like politics, but it’s a consideration, and it’ll be difficult to get the princess out of her LA castle to help me without solid proof.”

  “Do you trust any of the others on the memory card?” Jofi asked.

  “I barely know any of the others. None of my friends are on the card, and if I knew where Chris was, I wouldn’t be sitting here in my bed making weird whiteboard evidence lists like a crazy detective who ran out of vodka.” Lyssa frowned. “There’s something here. I just don’t know what it is.”

  “Given what you’ve stated in the past and presuming there is a grand conspiracy connecting those pictures to Mr. Allard,” Jofi said, “any approach of an Illuminated on your list risks eliciting a dangerous response, up to and including Tristan St. James or another Eclipse being sent for you.”

  Lyssa groaned and fell back on her pillow. “Nothing like having to take on an Eclipse, but it’s not like I can’t fight. He might be a specialist in assassination, but I like to consider myself a generalist in the art of destructive mayhem. If I see him coming, it’ll be an even fight.”

  She wasn’t as confident as she sounded. Her skills were top-notch, but Tristan had been killing Sorcerers longer than she’d been alive. Having Jofi helped close the gap, but she’d rather not take the chance unless she had no other choice.

  “I would suggest you redouble your efforts to recruit specific trustworthy allies who can aid you in battle,” Jofi said. “Regardless of who you might face in the future, it’ll be difficult to succeed on your own.”

  “I wish Rafael was in the States.” Lyssa draped an arm over her face. “The guy was annoying, but he’s not corrupt, and he can fight. But it’s hard to know where he is half the time.”

  She hadn’t seen her mentor in years and only received the briefest of messages on occasion. The last time she’d heard from him, he was spending time in Australia hunting enchanted koalas that had been upgraded into vicious drop bears.

  There was something pure about a monster hunt. Taking down hideous perversions of nature lacked the moral and political complications of a lot of her jobs.

  “There are other possibilities,” Jofi said. “There is a person who is closer and more easily tracked down. She might prove to be of assistance.”

  “Since when are you the head of Sorcerer HR?” Lyssa asked. “And I hope you’re not talking about Tricia. I need people who I know aren’t corrupt but who can also take care of themselves outside their home. At the end of this twisted rainbow, there’s not going to be a pot of gold. It’s going to be a cauldron filled with blood. I love her to death, but she’s not ready to kill like I am.”

  “Your choice of metaphors is colorful, but I’ll address your primary concern,” Jofi replied. “Given what I’ve witnessed, I’d recommend approaching Miss Khatri for aid.”

  Lyssa burst out laughing. “You want me to ask Aisha for help? Are you drunk?”

  “It’s impossible for me to get drunk,” Jofi replied. “Your statements in your last encounter and her actions after your battle with Adrien Allard when you were wounded and vulnerable suggest she’s no longer a threat to you. Her constant proclamations also suggest she takes a dim view of Illuminated corruption. Her combat skills, by your own admission, approach yours, even though she’s younger.”

  “She’s a frenemy, not a friend.” Lyssa sat up and stacked the whiteboards on her nightstand. “Yes, that’s a big upgrade from her previous status of ‘woman most likely to murder me in my sleep’ or ‘petulant shin kicker,’ but it’s not the same as being a friend willing to have my back in a dangerous investigation of Society corruption. And if people think I lack finesse, Aisha is the Empress of Explode First and Ask Questions Later.”

  “But you don’t question her potential corruption?”

  Lyssa shook her head. “Not anymore. The other problem is she believes in the Society more than I do. She came up with a lot of explanations for Theodora’s behavior when I brought up some weird things.”

  “Would Miss Dale be a possibility?” Jofi asked. “Her dolls would prove useful in a battle. Presumably, she’s made some improvements in control.”

  Lyssa wasn’t sure about that. During her most recent visit to Vegas, she hadn’t even seen any of the tiny dolls at Serafina’s place.

  “Serafina couldn’t concentrate on a conspiracy long enough to help hunt it down.” Lyssa chuckled. “If I need someone to help me in the end, I might ask her, but not at this stage in the investigation. The same thing for most people I know and trust—pretty much all of them, and it’s a short list.” She shrugged. “I’ll have to figure something out, but you’re right. I can’t go hunting down people on that list until I have a few more things lined up.”

  “Then what is your immediate plan?”

  Lyssa slipped under her covers. “To stop asking and force Samuel to give me work. If there’s pressure on him from the higher-ups to keep me benched, the louder I get, the more obvious it’ll be. And if he gives me work, I’ll end up that much closer to Last Remnant.” She nodded, now more comfortable with the situation. “It’s time I insisted. If he refuses, I’ll know something is up.”

  Chapter Six

  Lyssa yawned and stretched out on her couch. Watching the latest episode of the new season of Sensual Sorceress might not be the best way to spend her time, but she’d become addicted after binging on the train wreck that was the first season. It was at least something to distract her from her thoughts of throttling Samuel. She couldn’t go around town beating up every bike thief.

  She’d contacted Samuel two days before with her shard mirror and insisted he give her work. She’d preemptively countered every objection about her health and mental state with the same arguments she’d given to Jofi. The finishing touch was explaining how placing Torches under extra pressure weakened their availability in all of the western United States.

  “I’ll take your concerns under advisement,” Samuel wrote back to her. “I understand your desire to return to the field, and I also understand you are feeling frustrated. Rest assured, I keep general readiness in mind when assigning contracts. Please stand by for now.”

  Lyssa didn’t know what to make of that. She’d been prepared for a definitive answer, but the slippery chicken mascot clone had managed to commit to nothing with
out refusing her. The damned Elders were always slithering away like that.

  That was why she’d never make a good Elder. Politics and ambiguity weren’t natural to her. Being Hecate was easy. It involved a mask and shooting people, not manipulating them.

  Without a clear no, she needed to stay home in case an emergency contract came up. While she accepted it wasn’t like the EAA or the Society needed a Torch every day, she’d never get to Last Remnant by sitting around watching terrible reality shows. For once in her life, she wished the area was a little more out of control.

  “I screwed up, didn’t I?” Lyssa said, pausing her show during a hot tub scene featuring a faked water sorcery display involving waves in the tub.

  “In what sense?” Jofi replied. He remained tucked away in her safe. “I don’t approve of your every decision, but you’ve survived so far. That does imply you’ve made fewer mistakes than good choices.”

  Lyssa sat up. “I don’t mean in general. I meant about Samuel. I should have pestered him for more jobs right away instead of overthinking the pictures. Right after Houston, I should have been up his ass demanding work. He would have been resistant, but I’d already be back doing what I do best, and I think he’d be less inclined to keep up the status quo. It’s hard to argue with momentum.”

  “The battle you fought was difficult,” Jofi said. “I would not so lightly dismiss the level of injury you sustained, nor the level of sorcery you were forced to use. The effectiveness and beauty of the showstopper round don’t negate the dangers of its use.”

  “Beauty?” Lyssa stopped herself from frowning. Jofi could see her expressions.

  She’d held onto a slight worry that the fight had done something to Jofi’s seal. On most days, those concerns were easy to dismiss, but she didn’t trust her recent luck. She didn’t need to panic, but a little follow-up wasn’t unwarranted.

  “There’s beauty in complete annihilation,” Jofi continued. “You don’t agree? I don’t harbor the same aesthetic sensibilities as you in a sense, but I can’t deny that I find it appealing. You made statements during the fight suggesting the same.”

  “I don’t know about that. I accept the power of complete annihilation, but that’s not the same thing as beauty.” Lyssa shook her head. “I don’t think much about the beauty of what I do, only the effectiveness. I used that round because Allard left me no choice. I would have preferred not to.” She sighed. “Believe it or not, I’d prefer if every job ended with the guy surrendering. I like being good at what I do, but it’s not like I find joy in killing people. I don’t feel sad about taking out trash, either.”

  “I see. That’s interesting. I know you’re reluctant to use the rounds, but I was under the impression that was more about the expense and difficulty involved with their creation. Does the level of power involved disturb you?”

  Her face twitched into a slight frown, but at this point, she thought she could explain it away. Having Jofi focusing on the rounds versus her statements about killing fueled her worries.

  “It disturbs me a little. Yeah.” Lyssa lifted her hand and looked at the back of it. “We could get through almost anything with a showstopper if we had to. I don’t know if I like that. It’s good to have a final option, but I prefer being careful about using them.”

  “Why do you dislike having an effective weapon?” Jofi asked. His tone remained steady and without any emotion. “Would you prefer weapons that could be defended against? That would increase the personal risk to you.”

  Lyssa thought about the question. She wasn’t all that philosophical on most days, even when her job left her too much time to sit around and think. Her solutions to problems were only a little less direct than Aisha’s.

  No one liked being reminded of their flaws. That was probably the reason she and Aisha’d had such trouble getting along over the years.

  She thought back to Jofi’s question. Telling him she didn’t want to use something that risked freeing him to wreak havoc wasn’t an option, but it also wasn’t the only concern. There was something else.

  “A weapon that can’t be countered limits its own use,” Lyssa said. “The Shadows have only managed to drop two nukes and no more because then a bunch of countries got them. Mutually assured destruction. An armed society is a polite society.”

  “This is not a similar situation,” Jofi said. “Killing you or disarming you will stop the use of the weapon. You’re not unstoppable. Your weapon can be countered. Therefore, your reluctance doesn’t make sense.”

  Lyssa chuckled. “Now I’m a little insulted. I’m Hecate, the Semi-Automatic Sorceress. I’m not so easy to take down.”

  “It wasn’t my intent to insult you. I’m only stating my perspective.”

  “I’m just messing with you. And yeah, I get your point. They won’t work without the appropriate compatible essence, so it’s not like some goon could knock me out and take them.”

  Lyssa stared in the direction of her bedroom. She’d been sitting around feeling sorry for herself and worrying about her brother, but she had other responsibilities. Jofi believed he was a gun spirit and not an emptiness spirit. It was time to get out of the house and do something other than brood about Samuel.

  “Hey, after I finish the episode,” she said, “why don’t we hit a range? It’s been a while since I’ve fired you. I made some promises. It’s time I kept them.”

  “I would enjoy that,” Jofi replied.

  A handy feature of Jofi being bound to Lyssa’s pistols was that she could change their appearance even without using active sorcery or her regalia. She didn’t want to wander into the Southwest Survival Tactical Range and have people recognize Hecate’s weapons. There were enough minor intimidation flourishes on the pistols to make them unique.

  For now, she was a woman alternating between her two normal-looking Sig Sauer P320s. Bringing only one would stress the seal.

  She stood in her firing lane, aiming at the man-shaped target in the distance. It’d been a while since she’d been at a range. She’d forgotten that loud gunshots plus ear protection made it a surprisingly good place to chat with Jofi.

  Lyssa put three rounds into the head of her target. Shooting stationary targets was too easy and a little boring. She might have to look into their more expensive and appointment-only moving target room during her next visit. She doubted she could get the HOA to approve a fancy backyard firing range, though she was tempted to ask them just to see the looks on their faces.

  After another three shots, she asked, “Everything okay with you, Jofi?”

  “Yes,” he said. “Why wouldn’t it be? Do I need to remind you I don’t suffer from mental stress in the same way as you?”

  “That’s not the same thing as never getting stressed out.”

  “I suppose you could say that.”

  “I’m not an expert on all things spirit. For all I know, you could get in a spirit funk, and I wouldn’t notice.” Lyssa concentrated and put a tight cluster into the chest of the target. The rounds landed so closely together they formed a single large hole. She nodded, satisfied.

  “I was very satisfied with my heavy use in your most recent job,” Jofi replied.

  Lyssa frowned. Her next few shots didn’t land in nice clusters, but she would have blown out the lungs of a living target. Muscle memory made her guns deadly even when she was barely paying attention.

  That was good. A person didn’t want to spend much time thinking during a firefight. Split-second decisions kept shooters alive.

  “I desire more activity against active targets rather than pure practice, but I understand the limitations of active hunting,” Jofi continued.

  “You do understand I can’t kill people except in self-defense without a contract, right?” Lyssa asked. “Even if we drop me into the worst crime-ridden hellhole and I clear it out, the Elders and the EAA might call me a rogue. The Shadow government would freak out over the implications.”

  “Of course, Lyssa,” Jofi said. “It wasn�
��t my intent to suggest you hunt criminals or terrorists. I understand your limitations.”

  Lyssa wasn’t convinced he did. He’d always been borderline bloodthirsty despite the calm, professional tone. That didn’t bother her, but this was the first time in a while he’d hinted at doing something outside the bounds of the Society’s rules. He was usually the one talking her down from trouble.

  The recent shift worried her, but it wasn’t time to go blabbing to Lee yet. Losing a partner and risking her life over mere suspicions, especially now that she had a lead on her brother, was the last thing she needed. Lee could ensure she couldn’t go to Last Remnant for years, and Lyssa would need Jofi’s power to deal with any potential assassins.

  She emptied her current magazine in exchange for more headshots. “We’ll get our chance soon enough. There’s no way Samuel can leave me sidelined with all the bitching I did.”

  Lyssa strolled toward the main lobby exit when a man jogged from the front desk toward her. His holstered pistol might have bothered her anywhere else, but over half the people in the building wore holsters. The ones who didn’t carried firearms in cases or were renting something large and high-powered from the range.

  She let the man catch up. She planned to come back to the range and didn’t want to make a scene.

  “You were in lane four, right?” the man asked, gesturing at her holsters.

  “Yeah. What about it? Did I leave something?” Lyssa looked down. Two guns. Two holsters. A spent magazine, maybe?

  Lyssa frowned, wondering if she’d made a mistake. Changing the appearance of her weapons wouldn’t do much if someone made the natural connection between dual pistol use and Hecate.

  She hadn’t seen anyone else in the range wearing two holsters, which made sense given the lack of tactical utility for the average shooter. Maybe next time, she’d leave one of the guns in a case. As long as one was close to the other, it wouldn’t strain Jofi’s seal.