by Kal Aaron
“One can hope.” Aisha extended her hand. “Remember our deal, Lyssa.”
“It’s pretty one-sided, but sure.” Lyssa shook her hand. “I won’t let anyone but you kill me.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Lyssa wondered if Samuel had a sick sense of humor she’d never experienced. That was the best explanation she could come up with for his behavior.
She’d contacted him via her mirror, insisting they meet. He’d responded and given her a specific time and told her to meet him where she’d met Lee to discuss “the issue.” When she arrived at a rural location north of Phoenix, he was waiting in his regalia as if he hung out near dry creek beds all the time.
It made her wonder about all the Sorcerers responsible for sealing Jofi. Lee had always said he spoke for them, and she’d assumed operational matters were within his control. Had Samuel known about every meeting? Had they planned them together?
Samuel glared at her as she put down the kickstand and hopped off the bike. She pulled off her helmet and shook out her hair. The last time she’d come here, it’d been without Jofi. It felt weird having him there, even if the meeting wasn’t with Lee.
“This is unwise,” Samuel said. “We should both be keeping a low profile. I thought we agreed on that. The last things we need are additional injuries and casualities.”
“But I’ve got new information,” she replied. “And it isn’t something I wanted to share via a shard. When you can’t trust Sorcerers, you can’t trust shards.”
“The reason I’m here is that you mentioned having new information, but I’m more curious about where you got it.” Samuel narrowed his eyes. “Do you know who killed Lubon? Were you involved in the incident in Los Angeles after all? I’ve only now become aware of it, which is curious if you were involved. I would hope you’d share that information with your Elder and fellow target.”
“Yes, I was involved, and yes, I know exactly who killed Lubon,” Lyssa replied.
Samuel’s face reddened. “This is not the time to hold information back from me. Even in your wildest flights of paranoia, you can’t possibly believe I had myself attacked.”
Lyssa shook her head. “A lot of things happened close together, and I had to verify certain things before I told anyone.” She took a deep breath. “I mostly trust you, but this goes beyond simple rogues. When Eclipses are being used by the bad guys, Torches and Elders have to be more careful.”
“Eclipses?” Samuel asked. “What are you talking about?”
“I have no reason not to trust you, and because of that, I’m going to level with you. I’ve got a stupid plan, and that means I’ll need your help getting the final push I need to go to Last Remnant.”
“There are more important things than your brother, Miss Corti,” Samuel snapped.
Lyssa glared at Samuel. “You’re pissy. Someone almost killed you and did kill your friends. I get it, so I’m going to let it pass, but let me make one thing clear. This isn’t just about my brother anymore. This is about all of the Illuminated Society, so you can either help me with my suicidal plan or crawl back into a hole and wait until half the Elders are dead.”
Samuel folded his arms, his glare intensifying. “If it’s a stupid plan, how could I possibly disagree? But first, before I consider helping you with a new plan, I need you, as you put it, to level with me.”
“Fine.” Lyssa cracked her knuckles and looked around. She nodded at a large, flat rock. “You might want to sit down. This is going to take a while, and it’s going to piss you off.”
Samuel chose not to sit. Lyssa felt a little sorry for him when his vein bulged in his forehead and almost recommended the rock again. His reddened face contrasted with his white suit.
“Tristan St. James.” He spat the name like it was a curse. “Of course. At this point, nothing about this surprises me.”
“Remember, I wasn’t able to confirm everything he said, but I confirmed a few things with Caroline.” Lyssa shrugged. “What he was talking about matches some of what I’ve found out recently. I know you think I’m a crazy bitch obsessed by her dead brother, but Allard’s the one who told me about the memory card, and I didn’t know what would be on it.”
Samuel scrubbed a hand down his face. “You should have told me about the memory card immediately. You shouldn’t have held that information back. It could have been investigated by more resources.”
“I didn’t know I could trust you then. I needed to make sure the information didn’t disappear into a black hole because the Society was more interested in covering its ass than getting to the truth.”
“I’m your Elder,” Samuel shouted. “It’s your duty to tell me these things. You’re edging toward being as bad as St. James.”
“Oh?” Lyssa pointed at her face. “I am? Last time I checked, I hadn’t killed any Sorcerers except in clear self-defense. I’m not running around hunting people down. I’m just looking for the truth. I know that’s a foreign concept to you, but I’m not going to apologize.” She pulled back her jacket and patted one of her holsters. “Yeah, someone went for you, but a lot of people went for me, and the damned Eclipse who was sent with us might have helped them almost kill Aisha.” Her voice grew louder. “Between the Eclipse and everything else, we’ve got a lot of evidence that an Elder or two might be involved in doing something wrong. I don’t think it’s crazy to be a little more careful.”
Samuel sneered. “That’s nothing but self-serving drivel. All these conclusions flow from the word of a borderline rogue.”
“Sure, but Caroline confirmed he’s not trying to kill me, and he wasn’t involved in the attacks on you and Lee.”
“That doesn’t mean his other conclusions and suspicions are correct or justify his or your behavior.”
“But his evidence fits with everything else.” Lyssa shrugged. “If St. James had been wrong even once, you guys would have fried him. I don’t completely trust him, but I think he’s onto something, and I think I’m on to something. I don’t know if they are the same thing, but if I go to Last Remnant at the same time Tristan does, I’ll have backup I know can handle himself. Even if this involves Tristan and me being taken out, maybe we can take the rogues with us.”
“Now we have confirmed rogues instead of a single rogue?” Samuel sounded more worried than angry.
“Lubon was dirty, and he’s not the only one. We’re scraping the bottom of the barrel, only to find a rotting barrel filled with filth below it.”
“What a colorful metaphor.” Samuel closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “You should understand, by your admission, you were incorrect about some of the people you suspected of corruption. That does suggest your paranoia and logic aren’t always the best things to follow.”
“So what? That’s the past. I’m not perfect, but we need to move on. I’m willing to risk my butt to close this thing out, and it might just save both our lives.” Lyssa put up a hand to stop his response. “Yeah, I know this is about my personal business, but this time, my personal business is mixed up with the Society’s business. If Tristan’s right, I can shake it all loose on Last Remnant and end the threat before one of these stupid plans succeeds and the Society is fatally wounded.”
“I thought you believed the Society was ossified and in need of reform?” Samuel replied.
“Sure, but that’s not the same thing as agreeing with assassins and certainly not enough to support someone sending huge monsters at innocent people. Better the devil you know.”
“Such painfully conditional loyalty.” Samuel frowned. “If Mr. St. James is right and it goes higher than we suspect, you might be in more danger on Last Remnant. There’s not a greater concentration of Sorcerers on the planet.”
“I’ll be in danger anywhere, and unless you think the Tribunal’s willing to spit up another Eclipse soon, we might as well use the one who has offered his unofficial services.” Lyssa shrugged. “Even if I doubt there’s another dirty Eclipse, I know the Tribunal’s as overly cautious
as you are. I bet at this point, they’re thinking they can just sit this out until everyone involved with the incident is dead and the problem goes away.”
“They’ve strongly implied they wish to minimize more deaths of our kind.” Samuel’s frown ebbed away to be replaced by a pained look. “Are you sure about this, Miss Corti?”
“No, I’m not sure, but I feel like this is our one chance to finish this before whoever’s involved slips back into the shadows and waits until our guard is down to take us out. And I want to go back to doing Torch work, not watching my back because someone in the Society might be trying to take me out.”
“Very well.” Samuel offered a shallow nod. “I’ll do my best to confirm the particulars and get you on a ship, but I won’t be there to help you. Also, keep in mind that Tristan St. James still has his plans and desires. He might not care if you die as long as he can find his target.”
Lyssa let out a dark chuckle. “At least that means someone will avenge my death.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Lyssa stood near the rail of the white yacht, staring at the clouds zooming past. A shimmering field surrounded the boat, concealing the vessel from outside eyes and lifting it almost out of the water. Powerful winds swirled past and pushed it forward. While the entire vessel wasn’t a shard, there were so many powerful ones involved in its use that it was hard to tell the difference.
This was the true potential of sorcery, even if the worries of the Elders kept these sorts of things far from the Shadow public. From what Lyssa could tell, they didn’t believe wonder could convince the Shadows to respect Illuminated, so they were relying on fear of the power of the Society instead. Far more people knew about Torches than Illuminated artists or scientists.
She said, “it’s messed up.”
“What is?” Jofi asked. “Do you suspect danger on the ship?”
“No. It would have already happened. One person couldn’t control this whole ship, so they couldn’t risk waiting so long.” Lyssa squinted at a bird far in the distance. “We Illuminated think we’re better than the Shadows, but at least they’ve evolved. All we’ve done is whine and bitch about losing Lemuria and spend our time thinking of new ways to slink around and lie to the Shadows and each other.”
“There’s a significant risk of the Shadows wiping out your kind without proper precautions,” Jofi replied.
“I’m not saying we give them a list of every Sorcerer out there, complete with addresses and weaknesses.” Lyssa gripped the rail tightly. “It’s just that we have this special power, something less than one in a million people have, and we’re busy worrying about politics rather than working together.”
“The vast majority of your assignments involve threats to the Shadows or Shadows who have gotten out of hand.”
“I get that.” Lyssa sighed. “I’m not saying they’re saints, but it feels like they’re progressing toward something vaguely better. Making a lot of mistakes along the way, but at least they’re looking to the future. Not the past, and not to a history we don’t even remember. Sometimes I think we’re all full of crap. For all we know, Lemuria was a hellhole. The Elders insist the legends concerning Atlantis are not about our ancestors, but it’s hard to ignore a story about an advanced continent destroyed by hubris. What’s the defining characteristic of the Illuminated if not excessive pride?”
“It’s as you said, Lyssa,” Jofi replied. “Better the devil you know.”
Lyssa laughed. It was a perfect comment. She was afraid of the sealed spirit, and certitude escaped her when she thought about the best way to handle him. From what she’d seen of normal emptiness spirits, letting loose a grand emptiness spirit would make the Sicilian Inferno look like a minor traffic accident.
She leaned over the railing, staring at the water rushing past. Change was the province of many people working together, not a single Torch with a bad attitude. The only thing she could do to promote a better future was take down the bastards hunting her and Samuel.
“Don’t get too close to the edge,” called a man from a ladder behind her. He wore the dark blue uniform of the crew. While the captain was a Sorcerer, the rest of the crew were all Shadows. The brown-skinned man spoke with an accent she couldn’t quite place, a product of not traveling out of North America enough. Shadows always falsely assumed her kind were well-traveled.
“I’m not planning on jumping if that’s what you’re worried about.” Lyssa smiled. “I don’t have the Water Witch regalia.” The water flying past made her stomach churn when she imagined falling into it. “And I kind of get the feeling I don’t want to test my regalia’s survivability by falling off something going this fast.”
“We’re pulling close to nine hundred knots,” he said. “The spells and shards protect us from the wind, but you’re right. There’s nothing to stop you if you fall past the barrier.” He grimaced. “And you don’t want to bounce off a yacht going that fast. Even if you did survive, the captain can’t stop this thing on a dime. I’ve seen regalia take some impressive damage, but not that.”
“Has that happened?” Lyssa asked. “Has somebody fallen?”
“No Illuminated has ever fallen off to my knowledge, ma’am,” he replied. “But I saw it happen to a new sailor once.”
Lyssa winced, trying not to picture that. “Poor guy.”
“Sometimes a man doesn’t respect the power enough, and he pays for it.” The man nodded, looking solemn. “But you’re already a regalia bearer, so you’ve made this trip before, if not with us. I shouldn’t be telling you what to do. I’m sorry if I’ve overstepped my bounds.”
“It’s okay.” Lyssa offered him a smile. “It’s been a while since I was on a boat, let alone one going faster than a jet. It doesn’t hurt to be reminded of what that means.” She extended her hand. “Lyssa Corti, bearer of the Night Goddess, also known as Hecate.”
“Intan Sinaga,” the man replied. “It’s an honor to have you aboard, Miss Corti. I did know who you were before I started talking to you. You’re one of the famous Torches being talked about lately.”
“Not by choice.” Lyssa shook her head. “Trust me. If you knew me better, you wouldn’t say being around me is an honor, and calling me Lyssa is fine. Calling me Miss Corti reminds me too much of my Elder.”
“You sure?” Intan asked uncertainly. “You’re a Torch and a full Illuminated. I don’t want to disrespect you.”
“Being a Sorceress and a Torch doesn’t mean I’m a stuck-up bitch.” Lyssa looked to the side. “Well, I am a bitch, just not a stuck-up one.”
“If you insist.” Intan offered a bright smile after chuckling. “My family has served the captains for generations. I’ve got a brother and a sister on this crew. We haven’t produced an Illuminated since the early 1800s, but we do our best to serve the Society in our way. There’s always hope for the future, too.”
“We all have our part to play. One Sorcerer can’t control all this without help, and it’s not like we have enough to spare for a boat crew.” Lyssa stared at the wake of the boat. Despite the vessel’s displacement, its speed left an impressive if temporary trail. “Did you want to be a sailor, or was that just expected of you? I can understand how that question might get fuzzy. I come from a long line of Torches.”
Intan nodded. “I wanted to see the world, and what better way to do that than on a boat serving under a Sorcerer? I’d much rather have this job than run around on Last Remnant fetching things and delivering messages. I don’t mean any disrespect for those who work there, but I get to see the entire world, not only one place, as impressive as it is.”
“I can also understand that.” Lyssa laughed. “You’re doing better than me. I’ve barely traveled out of my Torch region for years. It’s a lot of southwest US, southwest US, and more southwest US, with a chaser of the occasional western US or northern Mexico.”
“You have an important duty.” He sounded solemn. “You use the power of sorcery to destroy evil.”
Having spe
nt time around Shadows raised in Shadow societies, Lyssa was never comfortable dealing with those raised in the Illuminated Society. They, like any other person, varied in attitude, but the reverence demanded by her kind meant even the disgruntled envied the Illuminated.
She forced a smile. There was no shame in not being a paranoid, cynical person consumed by dark thoughts. The world needed hope as much as it needed pragmatism.
“That’s one way of looking at it.” Lyssa returned to gazing over the rail. “But sometimes I wish I had the freedom to travel the world like you. It might be a nice change of pace.”
Intan glanced down at his hand. A crystal embedded in the top pulsed with red light. He offered her an apologetic smile. “My captain calls, Lyssa. Let any of us know if you need anything, and we’ll do our best to make sure your trip to Last Remnant is as comfortable as possible.” He held up his hand. “It’s about nine more hours until we arrive.”
“Thanks for letting me know.” Lyssa waved. “And nice to meet you.”
The sailor headed back down the stairs, leaving Lyssa to again ponder the layered positions in the Illuminated Society. Having people spend centuries, sometimes millennia, serving other families while clinging to the desperate hope they’d produce a Sorcerer bothered her.
It had made a bizarre sort of sense before M-Day, but now people had other options. There was no way the de facto caste system could survive the coming decades if the Society wanted true coexistence with the rest of humanity.
For that matter, the more she thought about it, there was no reason not to integrate the Illuminated Society with the rest of humanity. The EAA, contracts, and temporary limits had been a necessary stopgap in a world that was getting used to the idea of Sorcerers and Sorceresses walking among them, but ultimately, separation bred mistrust.
The current mess proved the Society couldn’t keep a clean house, even with Torches and Eclipses. More people watching meant fewer shadows to hide in.