“Are we going to help her?” Jas asked, looking down. “He looks powerful.”
“So does she,” Wake pointed out. “No, we don’t interfere in Hunter business.”
“We helped Sepia.”
“Sepia is…was a special case. She was a Sister. This is Order business, which means we stay out of it.”
“Even if it means the Hunter dies?”
“You still don’t understand,” Wake said. “If you were fighting for your life, do you think that Hunter down there would swoop in to your rescue?”
“I don’t know, maybe?”
“Exactly,” Wake said, her voice grim. “Sisters don’t operate on maybes. We watch our own even if it costs us our lives. I can’t say the same for Hunters.”
“Sepia wasn’t like that. She saved my life.”
“Sepia was different. Now focus,” Wake said. “I don’t think this will be an easy fight for Velos. That Hunter wields considerable power.”
“Maybe she can beat him?”
Wake gave Jas a look and shook her head.
“Not alone, she can’t.”
“The evening isn’t over yet,” Lina said from the street. “Didn’t Regional brief you on the named blades?”
“They gave me all the information I needed and the means to carry out my directive,” Velos said hefting Retribution. “Your named blades are inferior to my dark blade and its abilities. I have proven this twice already.”
“Either you are foolish, or suicidally arrogant,” Lina said, blading her body sideways and holding her sword in a defensive stance. “Cesca, Red Jen, and Yuki come from a different school of learning.”
“Are you claiming you are superior to them?” Velos asked. “If so, I relish the challenge.”
“My training was distinct,” Lina answered, shifting her weight slightly. “Let’s see how you and your Retribution stand against Integration.”
“Integration?” Velos asked as he closed. “No matter. You will fall like the Hunters before you, and I will add your named blade to the others. Tonight, you die.”
“Come kill me, if you can.”
THIRTEEN
“We need to help her,” Jas said. “She can’t face him on her own.”
“Not the mission,” Wake said, shaking her head. “We are recon only tonight. Observe and report. We don’t engage, especially not a train—new Sister like you.”
“You said I’m a Sister,” Jas countered. “Don’t we help people when they are in trouble?”
“Sisters are trained to kill,” Wake said, her voice tight. “We are not humanitarians, unless you consider ushering someone into the next life a worthy cause.”
“We’re just going to observe a Hunter get killed and report that we let it happen?” Jas shot back. “Is that what we do as Sisters?”
“Yes, we follow orders, because following orders keeps you and your fellow Sisters alive.”
“That hasn’t worked out so well lately,” Jas said pointedly. “We lost almost everyone because they followed orders.”
“We stay alive,” Wake replied. “We follow orders and stay alive.”
“That policy hasn’t worked out so well for the Sisters lately,” Jas said, stepping to the edge of the roof and looking down. “Letting her die is wrong. We both know that.”
“What are you doing?” Wake asked. “Get down from there.”
“He’s killed two Hunters,” Jas said.
“Which means he’s dangerous,” Wake said. “Two Hunters who were better trained than you currently are.”
“They didn’t have what I have.”
“Stubbornness bordering on insubordination?” Wake asked. “The inability to follow a simple instruction?”
“They didn’t have us. We can stop him. I know it.”
“Not the objective here,” Wake said. “We stay back and document. That is our purpose here tonight.”
“I’m not letting another Hunter die, not while I can do something about it,” Jas said. “I’m going to help her.”
“All you’re going to do is get yourself killed,” Wake said, pointing to the roof. “Get down here before her gunman spots you.”
“You can stay up here,” Jas said, looking down to the street. “I’m not going to hide up here and watch her die. Are you?”
“Our orders are—”
Jas stepped off the roof and landed silently in the alleyway beneath her. She took a step forward, and unholstered her gun when a hand grabbed her by the shoulder, pulling her back.
It was Wake.
“What are you doing?” Jas hissed. “He’s right over there.”
“Saving your life,” Wake answered, placing a short blade in Jas’ hand. “Take this. Your gun will be useless against that cloud.”
Jas holstered her gun and reluctantly took the blade.
“I’m not that great with blades,” Jas admitted. “I prefer shooting him from a distance if possible.”
“You should’ve thought of that while we were still up there,” Wake said, pointing up. “Unless you’re a better shot than a gunman. Your gun won’t help; we’re going to need to get close.”
“Close sounds dangerous,” Jas said. “Can’t I throw the blade at him?”
Wake stared at her for a few seconds.
“This is why you need to listen to instructions. No, you can’t throw your blade. Your blade-throwing skill is negligible at best. I don’t feel like getting stabbed in the back because you missed.”
“That black cloud is everywhere,” Jas said, looking up and down the street. “How are we going to get to him?”
“We aren’t going for him,” Wake said. “We need to get to her.”
“What are you talking about?” Jas asked, confused. “He’s the threat. He’s the one we need to attack.”
“You still don’t understand,” Wake said. “If we don’t remove her from this street, she’s dead. Do you have any charges on you?”
“What kind of charges?”
“Preferably something that creates smoke. We’ll need cover.”
“I have a few smoke bombs,” Jas said, checking her small arsenal. “I didn’t pack any nukes, sorry.”
“Smoke bombs will have to do,” Wake said. “Hold on to them until I tell you.”
“Are we going to let them fight?”
“We need to wait for an opening,” Wake said, keeping her voice low as they approached the street. “That energy cloud seems to react to his responses directly, and his safety reflexively. If we can divert his attention, we may have a chance.”
“That sounds great. How do we do that?”
“We wait until it starts, then strike.”
FOURTEEN
Velos closed the distance as the nimbus wrapped itself around him.
It ebbed and flowed as if it were alive, undulating around his body as he brought Retribution forward in a thrust at Lina. She parried the attack and sliced through the black nimbus. It solidified around her sword, falling to the ground in solid pieces.
Velos stepped back, glancing at the solid pieces of nimbus, which turned to dust moments later.
“Integration,” he said, parrying an attack from Lina. “Fascinating, but futile, Hunter.”
More shots rang out, breaking the silence of the night. The cloud rose up around Velos’ head, swallowing Misha’s bullets before they could reach their target.
Wake narrowed her eyes at the reaction of the cloud and turned to Jas.
“Take out your gun.”
“I thought you said it would be useless,” Jas said, unholstering her weapon. “What gives?”
“Normally, a gun would be ineffective,” Wake said. “But we can create a window of vulnerability if we can tax the sword’s resources. It’s not sentient; its defenses depend on Velos.”
“You want me to shoot at him now?” Jas asked. “Won’t that black cloud just swallow all the bullets?”
“Precisely,” Wake said. “If we can divert it enough, we can create an openi
ng for her gunman.”
“Are you sure this will work?”
“Of course not,” Wake said, unholstering her guns. “I am, however, open to suggestions. Do you have any?”
“Run away?” Jas answered. “I don’t think he’s noticed us yet.”
“The time for running is long past,” Wake said pointing to the opening of the alley. “I have a feeling he may be aware of our presence.”
A tendril of black energy snaked its way into the alley as Wake leapt up and catapulted off one of the walls and into the street, opening fire. Jas ran past the tendril and rolled into the street, taking aim and firing at Velos, who didn’t even turn to address the new threat.
“It would seem you have allies this evening,” Velos said as he slashed at Lina. “They chose to join you in this fight, and they will join you in your death.”
“You talk too much,” Lina said, ducking under a slash with a thrust of her own. “You must enjoy the sound of your voice—all arrogant idiots do.”
The nimbus solidified and blocked Lina’s thrust as Wake threw several of her blades at Velos before firing again.
“If you have a shot, take it,” Lina said into her coms. “This may be the only chance.”
“That damn cloud swallows everything,” Misha said, reloading his weapon. “It’s like firing into space. Nothing happens.”
“Fire anyway and aim for the space where his head is,” Lina told him, twisting to the side and avoiding Velos and a tendril. “Don’t hesitate.”
She blocked the tendril from impaling her midsection, but reacted too slowly to stop Retribution from slicing through her arm. Lina grunted with pain and slashed again, cutting through the nimbus and reverting it to solid. For a brief second, Velos was exposed and a shot rang out, cutting through the silence of the night with a lethal whisper.
The bullet tore through the nimbus of energy and shattered Velos’ jaw, spinning him away from Lina and launching his body back. He landed in a cloud of black energy with a feral growl.
“Shit, he moved,” Misha said with a few curses. “I had a clean shot.”
Velos raised a hand to his face and pulled it away, finding it covered in blood. He fell forward and was immediately covered by the black nimbus.
Wake and Jas ran over to where Lina stood.
“We need to leave, now,” Wake said. “There’s no time.”
“We wounded him,” Lina answered, taking a step toward Velos. “I can finish him. We may not have another opportunity like this.”
“You can die trying,” Wake said, pointing. “Look.”
Several of the tendrils had punched into the street and had formed a protective perimeter around Velos. Getting to him through the swaying wall of tendrils would be nearly impossible now.
“What is that?” Lina asked. “It looks alive.”
“I would imagine a failsafe protection in case of severe injury,” Wake said, heading away from Velos. “I doubt it will take long for him to recover. You can stay to find out just how long, if you like.”
“I volunteer we get out of here before it’s too late,” Jas said, moving faster. “We need to get more firepower. Something nuclear would be good.”
“Charges now,” Wake said, pointing behind her as they moved. “Over there.”
Jas stopped and lobbed several charges at Velos, before turning and running in the opposite direction. The street filled with thick white smoke, obscuring vision.
“I’m out,” Jas said, patting herself down.
“As are we,” Wake said. “Let’s go, Hunter—now.”
“Meet up on us, Misha,” Lina said into her coms. “We need to evacuate.”
“I’m already gone,” Misha answered. “See you at the tank.”
The tank was a repurposed armored truck with extra thick armor plating parked several blocks away.
By the time they arrived, Misha was behind the wheel with the engine running. Misha’s appearance stopped Jas in her approach.
“Are you two related?” she asked as they closed on vehicle. “He looks like—”
“My brother,” Lina answered, opening the passenger side door “We’re twins. Where can we take you?”
“We’re fine,” Wake said, shaking her head. “We’ll find our way back.”
Lina raised an eyebrow and nodded.
“Don’t go back,” Lina said. “That Hunter is dangerous. I’ve never seen a blade do what his does.”
“You managed to hurt him,” Wake said. “It means he can be stopped.”
“Wounded?” Misha said. “That shot should have removed his head. I don’t miss.”
“It seems like the dark blades have capabilities that go beyond simple defense,” Lina said. “That cloud feels almost alive. We’re going to need more than Hunters and gunmen to stop him.”
“Agreed,” Wake said. “We will assess what we learned tonight. I’m sure it will be useful in facing Velos.”
Lina nodded and strapped in.
“I’ll let my superiors know about what happened tonight,” she said. “With the exception of the insane Sisters who came to my aid by risking their lives.”
“That would be appreciated,” Wake said, glancing at Jas. “We were only supposed to observe and report. Not engage.”
“I’m glad you did,” Lina said, tapping Misha on the shoulder. “There was a good chance I wouldn’t be here to discuss this with you if you hadn’t. Take care of yourselves. I’ll see you on the street.”
Wake nodded, pulling Jas back as the tank pulled away with a rumble.
“We’re going back, aren’t we?” Jas asked. “Tell me we aren’t going back.”
“Fine, I won’t tell you,” Wake said. “We need to know if he recovered, and if so, how.”
“Things like Velos don’t die that easy,” Jas said. “I’m pretty sure that black cloud is performing some kind of sword surgery on his face right this moment.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of,” Wake said. “Let’s go.”
FIFTEEN
Approaching the Gray was difficult in the best of times.
Attempting it now, when his Hunter was missing and the other dead, meant Cade had to take extraordinary measures to reach his target. The fact that Red Jen had died on his watch required a full review.
The Order would blame him.
It wasn’t personal. Gunmen were responsible for their Hunters. It was the unspoken rule. No matter how much of a mess your Hunter created or stepped into, the gunman’s job was to watch their back and save their ass when needed.
In the eyes of the Order, and more importantly in the eyes of the other gunmen, Cade had failed—twice.
Being reassigned from his position as Sepia’s gunman and then losing Red Jen meant Cade was tainted. It didn’t matter that Sepia had become a Sister or that Red Jen was attacked by a dark blade. No other Hunter would want him as a gunman.
If he didn’t report to Order HQ, he would be designated TAG—Terminated AWOL Gunman. It was a covert death sentence. TAGs were hunted down and removed from the street with extreme prejudice. The last thing the Order wanted was a group of gunmen forming a militia of their own. It was a risk they weren’t willing to entertain.
HQ would want him off the streets until he was cleared for desk duty somewhere, if they didn’t cut him loose entirely. They needed to determine that Jen hadn’t died due to his negligence. He could see how that inquiry would go.
They would find him guilty, strip him of all gunman privileges, and put him to pasture. He’d seen it countless times—a slow death by bureaucracy. It didn’t help matters that his first Hunter, Sepia, was currently wanted as fugitive.
The situation had gone from urgent to dire.
Cade needed help; specifically, he needed the help of a weapons master, one who could create what he required without alerting the Order. He had seen something similar to that dark blade that killed Red Jen during his time as a Regional Agent.
It was once, a lifetime ago, when the Unholy w
ere more active outside the Park and Hunters were the front line. Before the Order organized the chaos, Hunters and their gunmen were the first, last and sometimes only line of defense.
Back then, there was only one weapon that could stand against that kind of energy and power; a weapon so feared they stopped making them and banned their use.
He needed a rift gun.
Cade hadn’t seen one in decades. Supposedly they had all been destroyed after the war. They were considered too dangerous for general use, much like the dark blades. He knew Regional—rather than destroy the dark blades, they decided to contain them. The chances of the same thing happening with the rift guns were in his favor.
There was no way he could access the Regional archives or weapons storage, but something he saw while visiting the Gray caught his eye. In the armory with Hep, he thought he had seen one—a rift gun.
Rift guns operated on a simple principle. They harnessed the energy of the rift and weaponized it, creating slugs of energy that could stop almost anything. There were only a few complications with the weapon: it needed to be used close to a rift opening, which were hard to find on the surface these days, and they tended to kill the user.
A large man came into his field of view.
Cade had picked this location because it provided him with a perfect line of sight while keeping him hidden. If his meet wanted to betray him, Cade could see it with enough time to make a hasty retreat without ever being seen.
Hep didn’t exactly blend in—another reason he chose a night meet. The weapons master was the opposite of subtle. Cade looked down at Hep and shook his head with a slight smile.
Hep was by all definitions a bear of a man. He had arrived in his usual outfit: a pair of overalls that strained to contain his large frame. His entire upper body was covered in intricate designs. Some of them resembled Sepia’s own ink. His white hair was drawn back in a ponytail that ran down his back.
Cade adjusted the sight on his rifle and looked down at the large area of green surrounded by buildings. Nestled between Bowery and 2nd Avenue, bordered by East 2nd and 3rd streets, sat the New York Marble Cemetery. Cade rested in one corner of the property perched in one of the large trees that dominated northwest corner.
Sepia Blue- Nameless: A Sepia Blue Novel- Book 4 Page 7