by Frank Morin
“That should support what I’m doing here,” she said.
“The focus of your rune is different so the placement is surprising. That location’s proximity to the nexus of life, coupled with the. . .” He trailed off again. “Never mind. It would take too long to explain everything, and you’ve already figured it out.”
She took a slow breath. “I still think it’s a good idea.”
“Before we decide, you have to tell me where you got those central marks. They’re the keystone of the entire construct, but I don’t know them, but I have to.
Sarah took a slow breath. She’d hoped he would overlook that part. “Those marks came from the master rune we saw in Berlin.”
Alter gaped, silently mouthing the word “Abomination.” He snatched for the paper, but Sarah pulled it out of reach. “Sarah, you can’t! Master runes touch the very heart blood of the world, linking the present to the past, and tapping the power of potentially millions of souls. No one uses them, especially not for personalized runes.”
“I’m just using a tiny piece of it,” she said. “You saw it yourself, my rune won’t work without these marks.”
He shook his head. “Sarah, we hunt the kashaph for stealing the life force of a few souls. You’re talking about stealing on a global level. It’s the worst possible abomination.”
“I’m not stealing all their energy,” she countered. “This rune would only take a tiny fraction, and you know it.”
“I know nothing about it,” he snapped. “How many times do I have to tell you? We don’t use them. Ever. It’s wrong, and it’s dangerous.”
“Paul is dangerous,” Sarah retorted, holding his gaze. “He’s going to kill me, Alter. He’s already killed members of your family. This rune is risky, but not using it is riskier. Can’t you see that?”
Alter paced away, and for the first time his confident zeal cracked and he fought a lifetime’s upbringing. After a moment he turned and regarded her.
“Show me the master rune.”
Only Gregorios and Quentin had seen the master rune with Sarah, and Gregorios had made her swear not to share it with anyone else.
“If I give it to you, you’ll share it with your family, won’t you?”
He nodded. “I must. We’re the keepers of the world’s rune lore. It’s safest with us.”
Sarah slowly shook her head. “If we’d given it to your father, Paul would have it now, along with all the other secret runes in your master book.”
“That’s not fair, Sarah. That’s never happened before.”
“I’ll give it to you once we defeat Paul,” she said. “I promised Gregorios I wouldn’t give it to anyone, but I’ll give it to you then.”
Alter approached and gestured at the paper. “This rune we’ve developed is dangerous. It’s new, personalized, and tied to a powerful master rune. I don’t understand all the permutations of the design, let alone how it will bond to your soul. It is abomination, and my family would kill us both if they learned of it.”
“Then don’t tell them,” Sarah said. “I know I won’t.”
He groaned. “If not for Paul threatening you, I’d never even consider the idea.”
Sarah took his hand. “But he is, and you know in your heart that I need this. We’re not making this permanent yet.”
“If anything happens to you, they’ll think I tried to kill you.”
“They would not. You’re part of the team. You need to trust a little more.”
When he didn’t respond she said, “Just do it.”
Alter blew out a breath. “I reserve the right to not make it permanent.”
“But if it works, you have to.”
“We’ll see.”
She decided that was the best she was going to get. So she pulled the front side of her workout pants down several inches to reveal her hip and the top of her right thigh. She felt more than a little embarrassed with Alter standing close beside her, his eyes glued to her skin. If he had gone swimming with her, her bathing suit would have revealed far more, but the thought did not help as much as she hoped it would.
Alter’s face flushed deeper as he sank to one knee beside her. He hesitantly touched her skin and his finger quivered just a bit. Sarah stood perfectly still and barely breathed as he brought up the marker.
She wanted him to hurry before anyone walked in and found them in that compromising position, but at the same time she felt a delicious thrill from the contact. The feeling surprised her, and she chided herself for it. They were both adults and, even though he never tried to hide his attraction to her, his gentle touch on her thigh shouldn’t affect her so much.
When he had inscribed her first rune, he had done so with fast, sure strokes. This time he took far longer. He didn’t hesitate, but drew slowly and kept his other hand on her hip to steady her as he worked. A slight smile played across his lips but disappeared almost instantly.
If he grinned again, she was going to punch him.
It seemed to take forever to complete the rune, although barely half a minute had passed. When he finished, he took her hand and pressed it over the mark.
“What are you doing?” she asked, her voice barely more than a whisper, her heart pounding.
“Activating your rune.” His expression was intent, his hand warm against hers. “And testing a theory.”
Then she felt his skin grow warmer against her hand, heat flowing through to the newly-inscribed rune. For a moment, the rune burned against her palm, every line distinct. In that moment she felt connected with Alter, felt linked somehow to the process as he activated her new rune. It was an intimate feeling, a moment of sharing something deeply personal.
She smiled in wonder, but all of a sudden she felt exhausted. The unexpected lack of energy sapped her strength and she sagged, nearly falling. She groaned and grabbed him, pulling his head against her stomach, his support all that kept her from falling.
Alter stood and gripped her waist. “What’s wrong?” he called, his breath hot against her neck.
“I don’t--,” she began, struggling to understand, but then gasped as her rune activated. A rush of strength rippled through her like an electric shock, taking her breath away. She grabbed his hand and pressed it over the brightly-glowing rune again.
“Did you feel that?” she laughed, their faces close together.
He nodded, his eyes bright. “I feel it.”
The clarity of his rounon power amazed her. It burned up her arm from the rune while her weakness faded under the strength of the new enhancement. She didn’t want to break away and shatter that marvelous feeling, but the moment was becoming too intimate, the two of them holding each other almost as close as lovers might, and Alter looked eager to continue.
As he leaned forward to kiss her, she leaned away. Their faces remained close as they moved together, and she was startled to feel tempted to stop retreating and let him close the distance. She paused, and his lips drew close, nearly brushing hers, so close she felt the warmth of his skin.
She almost let it happen.
Then she jerked away, snapping free of his grasp, angry that she let herself get so carried away by the moment. The strength of the temptation to let him close that last inch and kiss her left her rattled and upset with both of them. She couldn’t allow him to think she wanted him that way, and he should have known better than to press his advance when she was vulnerable.
Alter took a step after her. “Sarah, you felt something else, didn’t you?”
“I felt we had a special moment going,” she snapped. “And you wrecked it.”
“Don’t lie, Sarah,” he said, reaching for her hand. “There’s something between us, and you know it.”
“What I know is that I have a new enhancement.” She pulled her hand away. “Don’t twist the situation into anything else, Alter.”
“But, Sarah--”
“Don’t,” she interrupted. “I like you a lot, Alter, but what you’re suggesting cannot happen.”
He snatched for her hand, but the move seemed unusually slow. Sarah jumped back, intending to place some distance between them until he cooled down.
She got a lot more distance than she intended.
Instead of hopping a few feet, she flew backward in a graceful jump halfway across the room. She felt almost as light as she did in the memoryscape.
Alter gaped, and Sarah peeled back the waistline of her pants to look at her new rune again. It was glowing like living silver against her skin, fully activated. That initial rush of strength continued to grow, far more intense than when her first rune had activated, and she laughed with the thrill of it.
“I think it’s working.” She lunged toward Alter and crossed the distance between them in a blurring rush. Her earlier frustration with him forgotten, she gripped his hands. “This is amazing.”
He grinned. “What else can you do?”
“A lot, I hope,” she laughed. “Let’s find the others so we can test it.”
Chapter Forty
This Being of mine, whatever it really is, consists of a little flesh, a little breath, and the part which governs.
~Marcus Aurelius, fourth life of Emperor Nerva
Sarah waited with Alter for the team to arrive at the custom obstacle course situated behind the mansion, close beside the shooting range. It was similar in concept to common military obstacle courses, but on steroids. The challenging obstacles would have been all but impossible for most non-enhanced soldiers.
She had run it a couple of times, but couldn’t yet complete every challenge, and she didn’t like crawling through the mud as much as the boys did. Her single enhancement rune was unusually powerful, but Tomas and Alter and most of the soldiers who ran the course had more. She was stronger and faster than non-enhanced mortals, but still fell far behind the others. So she’d focused on her fighting and rune training and left the obstacle course to the boys.
Sarah now waited beside the starting line with a mixture of eagerness and worry. The new rune, even though still only temporary, filled her with so much energy, she found it hard to remain motionless. She had no doubt that she’d blow away her previous best time, but she still worried she wouldn’t match up to the others.
Gregorios and Eirene arrived first, hand in hand. Francesca and Harriett trotted over from the tennis court, still carrying their rackets. Bastien appeared a moment later with Quentin.
Sarah was surprised to see Tomas jogging toward her from the mansion. She hadn’t expected him to return so quickly from Thailand. She shouted his name and rushed across the lawns to meet him, barely noticing how fast she covered the distance until she leaped into his arms, nearly knocking him over. He staggered back, laughing, and Sarah kissed him hard.
He recovered quickly, wrapping her in his strong arms and kissing her back with a passion that set her heart racing. She felt relieved she’d withstood the temptation to let Alter close that last inch and touch his lips to hers earlier. That near-mistake had been fueled by the rush of emotion triggered by the new enhancement. She wouldn’t let anything like that happen again.
When they reached the others, Gregorios said, “Either missing Tomas makes you faster, or your new enhancement is working.”
“I’d say it’s working,” Harriett said.
“She missed me,” Tomas countered.
Sarah squeezed his hand, still riding the wave of joy at the sight of him. “I always run fastest when I’m running to you.”
“Oh, please,” Francesca said, rolling her eyes. She gave Tomas a wicked look. “You want us to wait for you two to find a room?”
He flushed and Sarah laughed, but didn’t hold her breath he’d take advantage of the moment. In love, Tomas was a dedicated slow mover.
“You kids can get reacquainted later,” Eirene said through her own smile. “Tell us about this new rune.”
“It’s unique,” Alter piped in. “Sarah designed it. Even incorporated pieces from the Berlin master rune.”
“You did what?” Gregorios and Eirene exclaimed together.
“Just a little,” Sarah explained quickly. “It was the only way to make the rune work.”
“Show me,” Gregorios said, looking unconvinced. She didn’t really blame him. They’d fought so hard to keep the master rune secret, she barely believed herself that she’d dared incorporate even those pieces.
Everyone gathered around to see, and Sarah realized she should have worn shorts. It would’ve been easier to slide them up. “Uh, it’s not really in a public location.”
“What did you do?” Francesca asked with a laugh, “Tattoo it on your butt?”
Alter looked horrified by the idea, and Francesca smiled when she noted his uneasiness.
“No,” Sarah said. “Nothing so extreme.”
“We’re all adults,” Eirene reassured her.
“Well, all but Alter maybe,” Francesca teased, “but he’s already seen it.”
There was no way to avoid it, so Sarah pulled down the front of her pants enough to reveal the rune inscribed on her thigh just below her right hip.
“Impressive,” Bastien said softly, smiling.
Sarah wasn’t sure if he was talking about the rune or the location.
Alter flushed but didn’t look away. Tomas’ eyes widened and he frowned at Alter. Sarah hoped he wouldn’t make a big deal over the location. She didn’t want Alter telling the story and maybe hinting at their close contact and almost-kiss.
Sarah started to cover the rune.
“Wait,” Gregorios snapped. “Pull your pants down again.”
Eirene slapped him on the side of the head.
“I need to study it a little longer,” he protested.
“You’ve studied it long enough,” Eirene assured him.
“I don’t think I have,” Quentin murmured, smiling as widely as Bastien.
“I have a drawing.” Sarah pulled it out of her pocket, wishing she had thought of that earlier.
Gregorios took it and the group gathered around for a look.
Tomas slipped an arm around her waist and kissed her lightly. “Your hip?”
“It felt right.”
He rolled his eyes. “Not everything that feels good is a good idea.”
“Prude,” she teased, loving the feel of his arm around her.
“This is amazing,” Gregorios said. “How did you figure this out?”
“I’ve been working on it for a while,” she admitted. “And Alter helped me complete it using that triskelion symbol.”
Eirene glanced at Alter, her expression thoughtful. “An unusual choice, Alter. Hunters don’t often use fringe runes.”
“It felt right.”
Tomas groaned. “You two have been spending too much time together.”
Definitely not the direction Sarah wanted the conversation going.
Eirene approached Alter, her tone wondering. “So you helped Sarah complete a unique higher rune, incorporating a fringe symbol and pieces of a master rune? Are you feeling all right, Alter?”
The young hunter flushed, but Sarah spoke up for him. “Paul’s out there. Alter helped me because there’s no other way, and I need all the help I can get.”
“Can’t argue with that,” Gregorios said, and Sarah was relieved that he seemed willing to accept the rune. Eirene slowly nodded, but looked on the verge of saying something more.
“We marked it temporarily,” Sarah said to keep the conversation moving the right direction. “It bonded immediately, and it seems to offer exceptional enhancement.”
Alter nodded. “Definite improvement on reflexes, agility, and speed.”
“I’m liking it,” Tomas said.
“I wanted you all here while I test it,” Sarah said. “I’m hoping to get a lot out of this one.”
Gregorios motioned Quentin forward.
“Let us begin then, shall we?” He gestured toward the starting line. Tomas and Alt
er took their places beside her.
“Tomas holds the record at one minute, twelve seconds,” Quentin said, eliciting a little frown from Alter, who hadn’t yet broken the one minute, twenty second mark. Sarah’s best time had been four minutes, forty-five seconds.
“You’re mine,” Sarah said, tensing for the start.
“For this life and beyond,” Tomas quipped, grinning. “But you don’t stand a chance in the course, Sarah. Not even with your hot new rune.”
“If I win, I pick the location for our date tomorrow,” she retorted.
“Done.” He sounded confident, but for a second he looked worried. She vowed to make those worries a reality.
Quentin’s hand dropped and he shouted. “Begin!”
Sarah launched into the course, and actually gained a tiny lead over Tomas in the opening sprint toward the first obstacle, a series of seven-foot hurdles. In the past, she’d leapt the hurdles in long dives, rolling back to her feet on the far side. Tomas and Alter could vault them while still running. Bolstered by her great start, she decided to do the same. With a shout, she jumped.
She cleared the first hurdle by more than a foot, soaring easily over it to cheers from the watching crowd. She was so startled by her success, she nearly tripped when landing on the far side. Tomas caught up to her and flashed a thumbs up signal before pouring on even more speed.
Sarah chased him through the rest of the hurdles, half a stride behind him, with Alter in third place by a fraction. In a tight group, they scaled twenty-foot ropes to a high platform. The descent off the far side was made by a series of acrobatic tumbles through tubes and hoops, and trampoline-type platforms that sent them soaring over a deep mud pit. Always before, Sarah had fallen into the mud, but she matched the boys with agility she’d never dreamed of.
She chased Tomas hand-over-hand up the underside of a fifty-foot ladder set at a forty-five degree angle, raced along elevated balance beams barely an inch wide, and threw a series of weighted steel balls through openings in a nearby wall. She’d never managed to throw anything heavier than the one hundred pound ball very far, and usually hadn’t bothered trying. Bolstered by her earlier successes, she snatched up all of them and sent them soaring. The five hundred pound ball was tough, straining her enhanced strength to the limit, but she threw it. She whooped when it bounced off the wall, missing the opening by half a foot.