Emperor's Shadow (Elite Book 1)

by Yi Zhu

  A flicker of red flashed in the corner of his eye and alerted him to another presence. Out of habit, he checked the concealed grapple system on his back. Ever since he entered the Academy, there had always been assassins after his life. Since his graduation last year, the danger had only amplified. Vince had personally killed so many assassins, he was sure it could be made into a career. Being the Shadow covers that pretty nicely, he thought and seized Fye.

  As he swerved into a small passageway between two buildings, Vince consumed the chemicals in his body and closed his eyes. With concentrated effort, he manipulated the charges of particles in the air above. A blinding burst of lightning exploded forth, flashing intensely in every direction.

  Vince had used this technique countless times, and always with great results. It was the most efficient way to disable any assailant without dangers of collateral damage. As he had rehearsed many times before, he planted his combat boots solidly into the ground and launched upward in a flip. Halfway through the air, Vince slapped the trigger around his waist. Two razor-encrusted chains shot forth, ripping two large holes through his coat in the process. Though typical grapple gear functioned mostly for mobility, Vince had made modifications to make his unit more effective in combat.

  A frozen barrier materialized instantaneously, trapping the weighted tips within. Such rapid temperature manipulation required extreme mastery over the elements, and inside Vince’s head, the possibilities as to the identity of the attacker narrowed considerably. With the flick of another switch, the gear detached from his body, and the chain contracted. As the cogs sped into action inside the contraption, the entire grapple system slammed into the barrier violently, shattering the ice. The Shadow landed deftly on his feet, and twisted quickly to turn around. Without missing a beat, he charged forward, breathing in more Fye in the process.

  Subtle hints of moisture on Vince’s skin gave away his opponent’s next move. Whoever the enemy was, the alchemist was about to freeze him. Vince focused his mind, and willed the surrounding Fye away. To his surprise, nothing happened. It would appear that his opponent outclassed even him in control of alchemy. In an act of desperation, Vince unleashed some of his own reserve, and projected fire in every direction.

  The flames met the forming ice, and turned to vapor. For a few moments, Vince was blind and vulnerable. Hands reached across his face, over his eyes. My neck is about to be snapped, his mind cried out in panic. Disoriented and outmatched, Vince reached out for Fye but found none. His opponent was wrestling him for control of the element, and winning.

  Well, at least I’m not the first Shadow to die on the first day.

  “Guess who!” a voice cried out.

  What?

  “Guess!” the voice repeated.

  All sense of fear faded away, and Vince pulled the hands off of his face, annoyed. “Katherine, I’m going to kill you, seriously.”

  “A very empty threat from the man who lost,” the redhead said, and hugged Vince from behind. She poked her head forward and rested her chin on Vince’s right shoulder.

  “You broke my grapple gear,” Vince said with genuine frustration.

  “I’ll pay for it,” Katherine replied nonchalantly.

  Not this again.

  “I designed it myself,” Vince said. It was true; the broken rig was the prototype. He had spent days building it, and the experimentation took even longer. But with his recently renovated workshop, and the experience from replicating the device a hundred times for the Sentinels, he could build a new one within hours. Although, I don’t have to tell her that.

  “I’m sorry,” she said slowly, as her hands drifted downward.

  Without hesitation, Vince stepped out of her grasp. “Not today, Katherine. There is too much at stake. What were you thinking? Sneaking up on me like that, especially when you know there are many attempts on my life. Did you not know that would happen?”

  “No,” she said, playfully.

  Damn it, of course she did. She always took pleasure in dominating him.

  “I need to focus on my task at hand,” Vince said, while turning to face Katherine. Remembering the skirmish, he looked down, and frowned at the two large holes through his coat. “This one was my favorite.”

  “I’m sorry, Vince. It’s just that …” Katherine walked in closer. “You haven’t talked to me in days. And then those women show up.”

  “What women?”

  “Your so-called Sentinels!” Katherine whined. “Some of them are obviously women. And since they can’t all be your sisters, you can see how a girl would get jealous.”

  That’s ironic, because I think of all my female Sentinels as sisters, Vince noted. “Katherine, I’m not your man. I’ve been with others.”

  Instead of answering, Katherine leaned in and kissed Vince right on the lips. “Of course you are my man. I never see you smile at any other woman.”

  “I don’t smile at you either. What was that for? We are in public,” Vince replied.

  “I wanted to see if she gets jealous,” Katherine said, and gestured toward the ledge above them.

  A sentinel balanced perilously on the edge of the wall, holding position with her gauntlet aimed toward Katherine, primed and ready to fire.

  “It’s so hard to get alone time with you!” Katherine complained loudly.

  It’s hard to be alone nowadays, Vince thought to himself. Even when I think I am alone, there are always assassins, or Zed poking his nose in. In the distance, Zed was waving toward him. Vince wanted to join his friend, but first, he needed to finish this awful conversation.

  “I know you do on the inside—smile, I mean.” She smirked. “Send me the bill.” She regarded the wrecked grapples. By now what was left of the barrier had turned into a dirty puddle on the ground. “Actually, deliver the bill to my chambers, personally.” With that, Katherine turned and walked off with haughty strides.

  Vince watched as the foolish girl went off into the distance, passing Zed without any acknowledgment.

  The Sentinel dropped to the ground next to him, and retracted her grapple. A tiny wire inside the chain caused the hook to collapse, and the whole length of metal slid easily into the box. Vince couldn’t help but nod with pride at his own ingenuity.

  For a few seconds, Vince looked at the Sentinel, and recognized her even without reading the tag on the side of her helmet. “Sentinel X,” he greeted as a brilliant smile lit up his face.

  Chapter 6: Home

  Thirteen years earlier:

  “I’m back!” Vince announced loudly as he walked into the Wolf Gang hideout. To his surprise, the whole gang was already waiting for him.

  Derek walked up and punched him lightly on the shoulder. “Called it quits after the first day?”

  Giggles echoed through the orphanage, and a loud squeak made Vince flinch. Crying at the top of her lungs, Isha ran out from the crowd, and tried to latch onto him. Thankfully, Amara intercepted the little girl and swept her up. Isha wiggled and flailed, but to no avail.

  “It’s the weekend,” Vince said with a shrug. “I took the first carriage here.”

  “Carriage, huh? Fancy,” Derek said with a whistle. “Yeah, and one of our scouts spotted you the moment you got here. Someone go get the stew started!”

  At the mention of food, most of the children rushed inside, leaving the courtyard much emptier.

  “Stew?” Vince asked. The winnings he provided surely could afford the children better food than that.

  “We are going to make the money last,” Derek replied casually.

  “Who doesn’t love stew?” Amara commented.

  “Stew!” Isha cried out, eager to be part of the conversation.

  “Are you homesick so soon?” Amara asked, while petting Isha’s head.

  “I’m just trying to get used to coming home. You are my family,” Vince answered honestly.

  The other children all smiled approvingly.

  “How’s the Academy?” Derek said, and sat down on the
ground. “Story time.”

  “Ha, I would be able to see it for myself if I hadn’t gone easy on you,” Amara teased.

  “The tower is really tall, and the instructors are really powerful. But the people, eh, it’s full of rich people. It’s like they can smell my poverty,” Vince said with a shrug.

  Isha squealed happily.

  “Did you know that the tower can open on the side?” Vince continued.

  “What?” Derek asked, confused.

  “Yeah, it opens up flat, like a platform.” Vince opened his palm to provide visual aid.

  “Wow,” the orphans commented simultaneously.

  Vince merely stood silently, and basked in the presence of his loved ones. Sadly, for him, peace never seemed to last.

  The orphanage door crashed open, interrupting the conversation. One of the scouts ran in, breathing heavily. “Danger, Alchemists are—” Her warning was interrupted by a sudden explosion, and the impact knocked the unlucky girl to the ground.

  Derek jumped up in alarm, and Vince rushed toward the fallen child.

  Three masked figures marched through the entrance, and scanned the courtyard. The person in front lifted a hand, and pointed directly at Vince. Without warning, all three assassins conjured balls of flame, and launched them directly at him.

  Reflexively, Vince bent down and rolled toward his right, and landed right next to the injured orphan. Obviously not accustomed to fighting children, the projectiles left enough opening for a small person to dodge through. Quickly, Vince checked the scout’s body and found her alive.

  NO! His concern had clouded his judgment, and Vince realized his mistake too late. Because of where he ended up, if he tried to dodge again, the second volley would finish off the scout. The other children in the courtyard froze in panic, uncertain what to do.

  Desperately, Vince closed his eyes and breathed in the Fye. The element of surprise was the only thing that could save them; there was no way the alchemist knew of his awakening. Freeze! his mind cried out as he focused on the space before him, but nothing happened.

  The second volley of flames zipped through the air toward the children, but Vince stood his ground.

  FREEZE!

  So focused was Vince on the attack that his mind barely registered a familiar voice in the distance.

  “Hey, you, go save him, and kill those alchemists,” the voice said, almost sounding bored.

  FREEZE!

  Vince’s body warmed up as the heat from the air before him rushed out in every direction. But to his horror, the sensation faded as quickly as it came. Instead of a barrier, a humanoid figure appeared before him in a blur of motion. Before Vince’s mind could register the intrusion, the newcomer rushed forward, twin blades gleaming from the light of the flame.

  The blur contacted the fireballs, and the alchemical attack simply melted away. A flurry of motion quickly followed, so fast that Vince’s eyes could barely perceive them. When the action stopped, all three alchemists collapsed onto the ground.

  Blood oozed out from the dead assassins, and slowly seeped into the courtyard. The battle was over in the blink of an eye.

  The children rushed out of the building, eager to check on Vince. Derek flipped the scout over after examining her wounds.

  “She’ll be okay; the injury isn’t too bad,” the enforcer said reassuringly.

  Vince’s eyes fixated on the stranger, his mind oblivious to all else. “Thank you,” he forced out.

  The stranger looked back at Vince with cold blue eyes, but said nothing. With a casual flourish, the man tucked both blades away inside his large cloak.

  “No, no, no, no, no, I’m the one you should thank.” The familiar voice flowed into the orphanage, followed by the redheaded recruit.

  “Katherine?” Vince uttered, shocked at this strange development.

  “Oh, come on! Three academy dropouts almost ended your life,” Katherine said disapprovingly.

  The orphans all milled around in confusion at the strange conversation.

  “Dropouts?” Vince asked, his wits finally recovering.

  With an exasperated eye roll, Katherine pointed to the corpses. “No Ivy Sigils, so they are not Elite, no Flame Sigil, so they are not Specialists, see? You are such an idiot! ARGH!”

  What?

  “You are so dumb! SO DUMB!” Katherine screamed out, and turned to leave. “Hey, you! Come!”

  She beckoned to the man, and the swordsman followed her without a word.

  “Thank you!” Vince cried out after the strange pair.

  “SO DUMB!” Katherine voice repeated in the distance, much fainter this time.

  Inside the orphanage, the entire Wolf Gang froze in an awkward silence. Finally, after several children helped the injured scout inside, Derek turned to the stunned Vince.

  “Girlfriend of yours?” he asked.

  Sawyn rubbed her eyes. Swimming through the Great Divide once again took a toll on her body, and left her only a fragmented memory of Neruby picking her up on the Southern shores. The older Riftborn had promised Sawyn safe shelter, a purpose, and most importantly of all, freedom. Part of Sawyn was reluctant to trust a stranger, but there was a bond between them, a connection shared through their unique talents.

  Though currently resting on a bed in a small wooden, windowless cabin, Sawyn knew exactly where she was. The smell of fresh air and vegetation was unmistakable; she had been here before, in the Forbidden Zone.

  Sawyn tested her muscles, and found her strength surprisingly adequate. It had been less than a week since she ran for her life to the North, yet her power had increased exponentially, despite being exposed to the toxins in the river.

  Maybe because of the toxins, she realized suddenly. The orphanage elder’s speech floated back to her mind. “We, the people, adapt to survive. When we are pushed past our limits, when all hopes are lost, when there is no salvation except from within, we will transcend our own limitations, and perform the impossible.” She remembered his kind smiles with a stab of guilt, as her escape might have put his life in jeopardy.

  “Come out when you are ready, dear,” a voice called from the outside, interrupting her thoughts.

  With minimal effort, Sawyn jumped off of the bed and stretched. Slowly, she pushed forward and felt blinded by the sunlight. It wasn’t until that moment that she realized how much light the Fye blocked in the air. The people in the North likely never noticed it, having never seen the clear skies this close to the Rift.

  When her vision adjusted, Sawyn found a woman in her forties standing before her in form-fitting combat clothes.

  “Where is Neruby?” Sawyn asked.

  “Back in the North. She had to return to her station, as to avoid suspicion. I will be your trainer, as promised,” the woman replied confidently.

  “Are you good?” Sawyn said. Whoever this woman was, she was not a Riftborn. Though Sawyn couldn’t say what exactly gave her the impression, she just knew.

  “Well, I taught Neruby everything she knew. Come, child, walk with me,” she said, and beckoned for Sawyn to follow.

  Sawyn looked behind her at the cabin, and realized it was perfectly camouflaged as a large tree growing on the side of a hill. Impressed, she nodded and fell in rank alongside the woman. “What is your name?”

  “You can call me Mother. That’s what everyone else calls me. What should I call you?”

  “Child, that’s what you called me,” Sawyn retorted. If this “Mother” was expecting trust, it had to extend both ways.

  Instead of getting upset, Mother chuckled heartily. “Fair enough,” she admitted. “I used to be known as Caroline, and the Shadow’s Regret,” she finished softly.

  “Shadow’s Regret? The Shadow Manus?” Sawyn asked. “Why?”

  Mother’s face paled at the mention of Manus’s name, but she quickly shook it off. “Yes,” she said with hint of shame. “I was his wife. Take a seat, child.”

  Sawyn plopped herself down on the dry ground, and looked up at t
he woman who was struggling to collect her thoughts.

  Perhaps out of loneliness, or maybe eagerness to shed her guilty conscience, Caroline began. “I married him right after we both graduated from the Academy, before he ever became the Shadow. We were both so young then.” She smiled bitterly.

  “So you are an Elite?” Sawyn asked.

  Caroline shook her head. “I never manifested alchemy. The only reason I was accepted into the academy was because my father was a Highborn. As it was, I managed to become a Fist, thanks to my martial talents. I know you are probably resenting me already just from what I told you, but my life wasn’t exactly great.”

  Sawyn shrugged.

  “My mother was a Lowborn, which made me a bastard child. The old man took us in, just to satisfy his needs. As my mother caved in to his every desire, he reluctantly allowed me a proper education,” Caroline continued.

  The pain on the woman’s face told Sawyn that this story was about to take an even worse turn.

  Caroline closed her eyes, and steadied herself. “I never realized just how terribly my own mother suffered at that monster’s hands. She sent me off that day, to the Academy. And that was the last time I saw her. One of the servants at the manor told me that soon after I left, Mother took her own life.” She clenched her fist. “Of course, he who sired me was full of anger. Luckily, I was already under Academy protection.”

  That’s why you did it … Sawyn realized. You were alone too.

  Though Sawyn still had many questions, she decided all of that could wait. “Mother, they call you?” She got up and held the woman’s hand.

  Caroline looked down, and smiled appreciatively. “I will tell you everything, all in due time. And one day, you will go to your brother’s side. You two are exactly who the Rebellion has been searching for all along.”