One Last Breath

by S. C. Stokes

  Kasey took a chance and cast her spell blindly, in an effort to deter them. “Chwyth Aer.”

  The concussive blast rolled from her outstretched palm. Kasey may have fired blind, but she was rewarded with a satisfying yelp of surprise as it struck one of the agents. The agent collapsed. Kasey strained to hear any other signs that might warn her of the nearby agents.

  A shuffle to her left came too late. An agent slammed into her torso, throwing her to the ground. Fortunately, the grass was soft and Kasey took the worst of the blow on the right shoulder. The agent’s arms wrapped around her as he tried to wrestle her arms behind her back. Kasey rolled against the agent and then away, trying to pitch the agent off her.

  The agent managed to stay atop her but lost his grip on her arms. Kasey rolled onto her back and slammed her foot into the agent’s groin.

  The man groaned as he rolled off her. Kasey felt a little sorry for him. After years in the ring, she could put immense force behind the blow. Much harder, and his likelihood of having children would have diminished severely.

  Kasey's vision began to clear as she struggled to her feet. Voices all around her told her she was surrounded. She ran only to be confronted by a haze of shapes before her. More than a handful of ADI agents in suits, if she had to hazard a guess.

  "Miss Chase,” a man’s voice bellowed. “We have you completely surrounded. Surrender yourself and no further harm will come to you. If you continue to resist, we will respond with prejudice."

  Kasey whirled about. More shapes closed in behind her. Her eyes could barely see. From the little detail she could make out, she knew her position was growing increasingly tenuous by the second.

  She cursed her luck. Despite the immensity of Central Park, she had failed to shake them. Now she was cornered like a rat in a trap. She had no way of getting a message to Sanders in time. Her heart sank as she realized that for the first time in weeks she was truly alone.

  The agent’s voice rang out once more. “Miss Chase, I'm warning you. Lay face down on the ground and surrender yourself immediately. You won't be warned again.”

  Kasey raised her arms in surrender, looking about for the source of the voice.

  “Get down on the ground, Miss Chase."

  Kasey nodded. The agents were closing in all around. They were everywhere.

  "That's it, Miss Chase. Face down on the ground."

  Lowering her arm as if to place it on the earth, Kasey dropped to one knee. As she did, she summoned the last of her strength, Kasey bellowed, "Daeargryn.”

  She slammed her fist into the earth with devastating fury.

  The pristine manicured grass of Central Park was ripped asunder. Waves of seismic activity radiated out from her. Arcane energy coursed through the earth, splitting it open.

  Great chasms opened in the earth, flinging soil and grass. Agents panicked as they were blown about by the energy. As her vision cleared, she could make out the wall of agents scrambling to grab get hold of anything they could, several clinging to the boughs of trees while others had been cast free blown through the air.

  Kasey grit her teeth and channeled her will outward, sending the arcane energy farther afield. All about her, Central Park was being torn apart. Trees were uprooted violently like weeds in a giant flowerbed.

  She released her spell and took a breath. Looking east, she could see the buildings that lay just beyond the park’s edge. She needed to get back to the street, so that she could lose herself in the crowd.

  She took off through the devastated park.

  She hadn’t gone three steps when a voice behind her called, "Crypelnes."

  The voice was almost on top of her. She had no time to react as the impact of the spell struck her. Her entire body seized up. The sensation started in her spine and spread throughout her limbs. Her legs felt like stone as she collapsed to the earth. She landed on her side, her momentum causing her to roll onto her back. Even as she did, she could feel the sensation spreading. She willed her limbs to move but they would not.

  Her whole body felt like it had been encased in concrete.

  Whatever spell the agent had used, she was completely paralyzed.

  "Miss Chase," the agent called. "We gave you a chance to come peacefully. You should have taken it."

  Kasey struggled but it was useless. The veins in her neck felt like they would explode at the exertion, but her limbs wouldn’t respond at all. Her eyes darted about but no other part of her body would move.

  "You can stop struggling, Miss Chase. The Arcane Council will decide your fate now.”

  The agent’s face came into focus.

  Kasey’s lip shook with rage. It was Kazinsky.

  He smirked down at her. “I think a little rest will do you good.” Raising his hand, he chanted. “Awefecung.”

  Kasey felt the spell roll through every joint and muscle. Her body went limp. Against her wishes, her eyes fell shut and the world went black, as her consciousness drifted away.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Kasey’s head ached, as if her brain threatened to explode at any moment. The rest of her felt like she’d fallen asleep on a freeway and been run over by a truck.

  Her mind was foggy, but slowly everything was coming back to her. John, her flight through Central Park, and the clash with the ADI. She recalled the paralysis that had held her helpless.

  Slowly, Kasey flexed her hands and then her feet. The spell that had held her fast had begun to fade. As her eyes adjusted to the dim light, she found herself lying flat on her back on the cold stone floor.

  The steady clink of steel against steel filled her ears. Looking at her hands, she realized they were shackled. A sturdy wrought iron chain joined the shackles on her hands to another set on her feet. A further length of chain ran through a large iron ring set into the stone floor.

  The ADI weren’t taking any risks.

  Desperate for some relief from her aching head, Kasey raised both hands to her temples and muttered a healing incantation, “Gwella."

  She heard the spell roll off her tongue but felt nothing.

  She had expected a brilliant yellow glow, followed by sweet relief, but it didn't happen.

  "Your magic is of no use to you here, Miss Chase. Those manacles will see to that."

  The lilting air of superiority was all too familiar. Even without seeing him, Kasey knew exactly who it was, the Master of the Shinigami masquerading as Arthur Ainslie.

  Slowly, she sat up. It felt like her body was underwater. The aftereffects of the paralysis spell was probably still wearing off. Searching the darkness, Kasey hunted for her foe.

  For the first time, Kasey could see her surroundings clearly. She was in a steel cage. It was a dozen paces across. A simple aluminum toilet occupied one corner with a sink beside it. Kasey looked to her left and then her right. There were more cells in each direction. Identical to hers, they stretched into the darkness as far as she could see. All were empty. As far as she could tell, she was the only occupant.

  "Why stand there waiting in the dark?” she said. “I'm sure you have been dying to gloat.”

  At last she had him within reach. Mere feet were all that separated them but it may as well have been miles for all she could do. Locked inside the cell with her magic neutralized by whatever enchantment the cuffs possessed, she was at his mercy.

  Knowing the perilous nature of her position, Kasey chose to hide her knowledge of his true identity. Were she to reveal his true identity, she knew her life expectancy would be measured in moments. No, it was definitely best to play it cool. After all, the Master of the Shinigami still had no idea just how much or how little she knew.

  The figure strode forward out of the darkness. The all too familiar face of Arthur Ainslie was twisted into a smile that was neither comforting nor congenial. Every part of it made her skin crawl.

  Ainslie came to a halt as he reached the bars of the cell.

  "Why, Miss Chase, we’re delighted to have you here as our guest. I must con
fess, I didn’t think you would stick around. With all the cash you stole from the Night Crew, why stay in the city?"

  Kasey held the stare. "I know what you mean, Arthur. The overcrowded subway, traffic so bad you can walk quicker than you can drive. There were a lot of reasons to want to leave but what can I say. I just love the pizza here. Then again, maybe I had some unfinished business. I guess there are some mysteries in life that we’ll never know the answer to."

  “I wouldn’t be so sure, Miss Chase. We have ways of making you talk. If you aren't helpful of your own accord, we’ll still get what we want. I just can’t guarantee what state you will be in when we are done."

  “Oh, you’re going to try good cop now, Arthur? It wasn't too long ago you were ordering my execution. What's changed? I imagine I've accumulated quite the list of crimes against the Council. I doubt I'll live through this little vacation. So why should I tell you anything?"

  Arthur smiled. “That’s where you are wrong, Miss Chase. Yes, you’ve certainly proved a nuisance these past few weeks, but I'm willing to consider you an unwitting stooge in Sanders’ plot. It won’t be difficult for the others to believe you were being manipulated by Sanders. I’ll even testify on your behalf to the Council. These cells need not be your final resting place. There is no need to spend your remaining years in this sorry hall with naught but your thoughts for company. The real question is, will you help us, or will you waste away your life, which—let's face it—with the list of crimes you’ve been party too, and my voice speaking against you at sentencing, could be brutally short, indeed."

  "So, what? I give you Sanders in exchange for a reduced sentence?" Kasey asked.

  Even as the words left her mouth, she could recall the times she and Bishop had delivered a similar offer. Facing jail cracked most petty criminals, and bargaining was one of the most useful tools in their arsenal. It almost always yielded results.

  Unfortunately for Arthur Ainslie, she was no common criminal.

  "Nice try, Arthur. You’ve used your position on the Council to try and manipulate me before. You forced me to go after Danilo Lelac, and when all was said and done, was I left alone? No. You’ve manipulated and harassed me at every opportunity. No deal. Sanders will come for you and you’ll be up for early retirement, via the grave."

  Arthur hovered beyond the steel poles of the cell. He was almost within reach. If it weren’t for the chain fixing her to the floor, she’d have just about been able to punch his sneering face.

  "Come on, Kasey. There is no need to languish down here. I could have you out of here in a matter of months. Why throw your life away for Sanders? What has he ever done for you?"

  She would never sell out a friend. It didn’t matter what was on offer.

  She thought of the last few weeks she’d spent with Sanders. More than once, he’d put his life in danger to save hers. She had no doubt that if their situations were reversed, he’d do anything to keep her safe.

  Moreover, Arthur’s promise was hollow. The Shinigami plot would be carried out while she was locked in her cell. Six months or six years, it didn’t matter. Unless she was free, she would have no chance to save the city.

  Kasey slowly stood up, stretching for the first time in hours. She straightened up to her full height.

  Looking Arthur in the eye, she shook her head. "Not a chance.”

  Arthur grabbed the steel bars, his knuckles turning white. “Do you think you can deny me? Remember what happened when you tried to peer inside my mind, Kasey? I cast you out like a child. I could have melted your mind for your insolence. You are but a child playing at being an adult. What do you think will happen when I try to take what I want by force? I've done it before, and I’ll do it again. Serial killers, sociopaths, terrorists. We have interrogated many over the years. Dangerous witches and wizards bent on the destruction of our community. They always try to resist but, in the end, we get what we want from them. The real question is, will there be anything left of your mind when I do?”

  Kasey almost admired the Shinigami’s act. She had to remind herself he wasn’t Arthur. Clearly the role had become second nature to him by now.

  It was no idle threat, though, and she knew it. But this time she was ready. If the Master of the Shinigami wanted inside her mind, she would fight him for it. She doubted he had encountered many prescient witches in his time and her mind was far from ordinary. If he tried to invade her thoughts, he’d get more than he bargained for.

  Still, he would try. That much was certain. He’d come too far and paid too high a price to give up now. He wouldn’t stop until he had Sanders. Kasey would have to decide: Sanders’ life or her freedom.

  Of course, it wasn't really much of a choice. Six months in jail meant she would still be in this hole when the city was destroyed. Doubtless this was the Master of the Shinigami’s intention, but Kasey couldn't let on that she knew his identity. It wasn't in her nature to sacrifice someone she cared about.

  No, she had to keep him talking to buy as much time as possible. “How did you know I would be in Central Park?”

  Arthur laughed. “Oh, I saw the big googly eyes you and John were making at each other over dinner. His concern over you in the Administorum was admirable. Under different circumstances, I’m sure you two might have been very happy together. Classic love story. Boy meets girl. Boy falls in love with girl. Girl breaks three of his ribs and runs off with a murderer. Truly heartwarming. No, Kasey. I knew you would call him eventually, so we tapped his phone and waited. You walked right into our trap. You never stood a chance.”

  Kasey ground her teeth. She wanted nothing more than to punch him in his smug face.

  “That’s what you don’t get, Kasey. You are just two renegades. I have the entire might of the Arcane Council. I can grind you into the dust."

  “Grind away,” Kasey replied. “If you kill me, you’ll have no idea where Sanders is, and with that much money, you will never find him. What time is it, by the way? I’m not really sure how long I was out. He might already be gone.”

  "Enough. If you won't see reason, I’ll have to take matters into my own hands. We tried the carrot. I guess we’ll have to try the stick."

  Kasey fought to keep the smile from her face as a plan formed in her mind.

  “I guess I should have expected this from you, you stubborn little wretch.” Arthur waved his hand across cages lock and chanted, “Onlucan.”

  At his arcane instruction, the lock rolled back into place. Arthur strode into the cell.

  Looming over Kasey, he looked her in the eye. “I did warn you, Miss Chase, but you wouldn’t listen. Now you can have it your way.”

  He reached out his hand and placed it on Kasey’s forehead.

  She closed her eyes and cleared her mind. Focusing all of her energy, she sought for the silence inside of her. She sought the essence at the center of her being. The inner sanctum of her mind where her prescience resided.

  Words flowed off Arthur’s tongue, the baritone chant reverberating through the cell. Kasey paid it no heed. However, as she felt the intrusion into her mind, she doubled her resolve.

  As Arthur attempted to beat down her defenses, Kasey took a different approach. Drawing on the power of her mind, she called forth her gifts.

  Arthur wants a story, so let’s tell him one.

  Kasey reveled as she felt her power well up inside her. Opening her eyes, she felt the familiar mist descending. As she did so, she took the last option Arthur would expect: she lowered her defenses and let him in.

  The mist lifted and Kasey found herself standing on a busy New York street. Traffic ambled by in both directions, angry commuters using their horns liberally. In New York City, impatience was always in oversupply.

  Kasey looked up. Here in downtown Manhattan, she was surrounded on every side by immense skyscrapers. If she had a clear line of sight, she would have been able to see the Empire State building a stone’s throw away.

  The street was one she knew all too well—Le
xington Avenue. She had traveled it many times. She stood outside one of New York’s iconic structures. The Waldorf Astoria was a legend in the New York hotel game. With a history stretching back decades, it had earned its place in the New York City skyline.

  Kasey glanced about. Although she couldn't see Arthur, she had no doubt that the Master of the Shinigami could see all that she could see.

  What he did not know was that the spectacle before him was a fabrication of Kasey's mind. Using her gifts, she was cobbling together a vision melded from memories from her past, mixed with her imagination. If this Shinigami was prescient, he might have been wary.

  Gifted wizard that he was, his arrogance would be his undoing. Akihiro was not prescient, and without experience in seeing visions he would not recognize the tell-tale signs of Kasey's fabrication. The slightest blurring at her periphery, or in the places where memory met imagination. It was so subtle that the untrained eye would gloss straight over it. Kasey did her best not to draw undue attention to them. Her plan hinged on the Shinigami believing he had successfully gained entrance to her mind.

  You are in my playground now.

  Kasey glanced up at the Waldorf Astoria’s sign and then pushed open the heavy glass door. She remembered the hotel well.

  She had been a guest of the hotel for a medical examiner's conference. With the conference starting early and finishing late most evenings, she hadn't wanted to bother with the daily commute. She'd treated herself to a few nights in the luxurious Astoria and tremendously enjoyed the experience.

  The hotel was just as she'd remembered. Its rich period furniture seemed straight out of the thirties.

  She strode confidently across the lobby, past reception to the bank of elevators. She punched the button and the doors parted. After stepping onto the elevator, she tapped her foot as the door shut.

  The elevator hurtled up to the fifteenth floor. As the elevator slowed to a halt, Kasey waited for the doors to part. A Japanese man in a suit was waiting to step onto the elevator.