by Ryan Wieser
“Yes. They believe him to be the rightful Infinity Lord, as he who could protect the Blade of Light most ferociously, would be the true Protector of the Blade and the Daharian galaxy…”
His golden eyes trailed over her. “He failed to take Hydo’s title… but many of my people remain loyal still.”
She crossed her arms over her chest, leaning against his dresser. “But not you?”
He stared at her. “Do I even have to dignify that with an answer?”
“I’m sorry, I’m tense from the day.” She shook her head, raising a hand to apologize.
“Then let us speak and you can return to your boy,” he answered curtly.
She arched a brow at his words but he was already closing the space between them with his long strides. He stopped short of her, his face not two inches from hers, his breath falling onto her lips, his yellow eyes so close she could see the way they held dancing flames.
Slowly, he raised his hand to her face, and cupped her cheek. His long fingers tucked into her hair, his thumb just touching the corner of her mouth, his massive hand covered half of her head. She raised her own hand, slowly touching his chin, letting her fingers travel slowly over his cheek, stopping just as they grazed his temple.
And then they shared all their thoughts and secrets.
* * * *
Jessop opened her eyes slowly, her lashes fluttering. She couldn’t help but smile softly as she let her hand fall from his cheek. He opened his glowing gold eyes and smiled down at her. They now knew all there was to know. She patted his shoulder. “Sevos, Hasen-Ha,” she thanked him for sharing.
“Sevos, Oray-Ha,” he nodded down to her, finally lifting his large hand from her face.
She stood up a little straighter, stretching her back. “How long have we been?”
“Several hours at least,” he answered, watching her intently.
“I need to go. Kohl will be wanting to see me,” she explained.
Trax smiled down at her. “Ah yes, the boy.”
Jessop crossed her arms, “Do you take issue with him?”
“Of course not—he’s a good Hunter, he has a kind heart. I’m actually quite fond of him,” Trax answered.
“Then what is it?”
He shrugged. “He is just a boy.”
She understood his meaning… and knew it was time to leave. “I need to go, but we will speak again soon, my friend.”
She turned from him and took a step towards the door. As she began her exit she felt him grab her hand, gently stopping her.
“You could stay, Oray-Ha,” he offered, his voice soft and low.
She turned to him. “You have been in my mind for hours now… You know I am already in love.”
He smiled with a slight shrug of his shoulders. “It was worth a shot.”
She squeezed his hand. “Thank you for sharing all you have shared with me, but I need to go now.”
He let her hand go and nodded slowly, escorting her to the door. “The offer is always there,” he smiled down to her as the door slowly slid to the side.
“Good night, Hasen-Ha,” she smiled, and left him standing in the doorway.
* * * *
“Did you enjoy speaking with Trax?” Kohl asked, stepping aside to let her into his quarters.
“Very much so.” She smiled, walking past him. “I feel most at ease with the Kuroi.” She turned and sat on his bed, offering him a small smile along with the truth.
“You’ve never mentioned it,” he pointed out, crossing his arms as he leaned against the wall.
Jessop studied his expression, his furrowed brow and warm eyes. Was he suspicious—or was he just trying to learn more about her? Had she been wrong in assuming he was so different from the man who trained him? She could search his mind, but she thought back to the night in the bathing room, when she had removed his memory of her abilities, and resisted the urge to rummage through his thoughts. She felt different towards him… as though searching his thoughts, after how close they had become, would be a more intimate betrayal.
“We haven’t spoken about everything with one another,” she said.
“You know the Council has strong feelings towards the Kuroi—and those who align with them,” he spoke, and his dislike for her decision to spend time with Trax became more apparent.
“Obviously not all of them—Trax is on the Council, isn’t he?”
Kohl shrugged, staring down at her. “He is indeed. He leads all missions that take us beyond the Grey, and he coordinates with the Kuroi tribes to ensure our safe passage around the Mountain—his presence on the Council is very beneficial to the Infinity Hunters.”
Jessop slowly stood from the bed. “What are you saying? The only reason he is on the Council is to deal with his people? You don’t trust him.”
At her words, his entire demeanor changed. He shook his head, running a hand through his golden locks. “No… I don’t know what I’m saying. I’m voicing old, long-forgotten rumors.”
Jessop nodded slowly. She didn’t like how fickle Kohl was in his disposition, alternating jealousy and accusation with kindness and support so rapidly. What had seemed like an impressive navigation of distinct emotions now seemed like simple indecision. “You’re jealous of my time with him.”
“No… and yes. I dislike his interest in you. You two locked eyes and then he was in your mind, and you speak his language, and spent the remainder of the day together,” he explained, looking embarrassed.
Jessop knew she needed to put his mind at ease. If her time with Trax derailed all the work she had put into building a relationship with Kohl—she would be most upset. She took his hand and squeezed it tightly.
“You know many of the Kuroi are loyal to Falco Bane. Many work within the walls of his abode—and one in particular, a man named Koren’da, went to great lengths to care for me. He, along with others, believed that I am of Kuroi descent. So he helped me whenever he could. I cared for him and Trax reminded me of him and others I once knew. That is all.”
She couldn’t think of Koren’da without also thinking of Jeco. She closed her eyes and forced the faces down into the depths of her mind. She took a slow breath, looking up at him only when it felt safe; when she knew her memories were neatly tucked away.
Kohl nodded slowly. “That explains your interest in him… not his interest in you.”
Jessop leaned closer to him. “Is it so bad that one of the Councilmen doesn’t hate me as the others do?”
His face softened. “Of course not. Forgive me?” He raised his hand and pressed her palm into his cheek, as if offering his mind to her. But Jessop knew it wasn’t his mind he offered willingly, but his heart.
She thought of Trax’s offer and all the Kuroi Hunter had shared with her. He was handsome, smart, and trustworthy, but he was not Kohl. She knew the inherent link she had to the Kuroi was not the same, and would never be the same, as the relationship forged with the young Hunter who felt as though he owed her his life.
Even if he would never be Kuroi, Kohl was attached to her, possessive already of her body, truly good to her. And in thinking it, she couldn’t help but also think of what she had told Trax—that she was already a woman in love.
“There’s nothing to forgive.”
* * * *
She woke before him, pushing herself up slowly from the bed. She looked over the thick strips of marred flesh across his chest, shoulders, and stomach. Nearly every inch of him was scarred, and it reminded her so greatly of Falco that she couldn’t help but stare. She knew that if she slipped into his mind, particularly in this moment of sleep where he was so vulnerable, she could see his history of pain… but regardless of her curiosity, she couldn’t do that to him.
The thought of caring for him in such a way bothered her so greatly that she leapt from the bed. She couldn’t sincerely have feelings
for him—she wasn’t capable of it. It took her a minute to dress in silence, another to fix her dark hair back into a plait. As soon as she was dressed, she escaped the small room, winding her way down the glass hall. She knew where she needed to go.
* * * *
Jessop could hear her name through the automated voice as it announced her presence. She waited in the hall a moment longer before the door finally slid open. He stood there, staring down at her with an arched brow, his arms crossed over his chest, wearing his black uniform.
She glanced down the hall to her side before looking back to him. “Can I come in?”
“If you must,” Hanson grunted, slowly stepping to the side and allowing her entrance. She walked past him quickly but didn’t roam far into his quarters. The room was quite large, but similar in style to Kohl’s.
She spiraled on her heel and locked eyes with the old Hunter. “We need to stop this… this feud we have. You care for Kohl, and so do I. You have plans for Falco Bane—so do I. We will get more done working together than apart.”
Hanson leaned against the wall, his arms still crossed over his chest. “I agree with you… but I don’t trust you.”
“Isn’t it enough that Kohl trusts me?” She knew the answer to her own question, but thought it worth reminding the old man that others he had faith in trusted her… then she thought of her earlier conversation with Kohl and his dislike of her time spent with Trax DeHawn. Maybe he didn’t trust her implicitly, maybe only to an extent…
“Absolutely not. You’ve got him bewitched,” he scoffed, jerking his chin at her like she was something untouchable.
She crossed her own arms, leaning away from him. “What do I have to do to prove myself to you? You said it yourself, I couldn’t touch your Lord Jesuin, your own mentee has faith in me, your colleague Master DeHawn trusts me, I saved your life, and I let you all ravage my mind, freely, searching for whatever you wished—and you found nothing. What else can I do?”
“Nothing!”
Jessop was unsure if she had heard the old man correctly, he had spat the answer out with such vehement frustration.
“What?”
He took a step towards her, lowering his arm, narrowing his cobalt gaze. “I said nothing. You can’t do anything. I know all you have said is true, I know you saved my life, I know you had nothing to do with Hydo or Bevda—but that doesn’t mean I trust you. The Blade is no place for a woman.”
“Let me hunt for you then. Let me show you that I would risk my life to stay here.”
He stared at her with clear apprehension. “You can’t be serious?”
“Of course I’m being serious. Send me out on a hunt—you’ve seen me train in the Hollow. You’ve seen me in real action. I can help you; I can help the Blade, especially during this time with Hydo. Plus, if I die out there, that will fix all your problems concerning me.”
“No,” he answered immediately… but Jessop could see his mind turning. “The other Councilmen would never stand for it. A female Infinity Hunter? It’s never been done.”
“Then don’t title me as one of your Hunters of Infinity… send me with Kohl, his comrades, all of your Councilmen’s mentees—you know I have seen more fights than most of those I bested in the Hollow. Call me their assistant, their guide, their comrade for all I care. Just let me help. Let me show you what I know to be true—that given the chance I can change everything here for the better.”
He eyed her over with his blue gaze. “You speak Kuroi fluently?”
“Yes, fluently,” she nodded, unsure where he was going with the line of questioning.
“Then I give you the title of translator. Trax DeHawn has mentioned for some time there are too many missions past the Grey for just him alone to handle, and he has another mission coming up soon. Report to him in the morning as his official assistant translator, you’ll travel with him.”
Jessop didn’t know how to react. In many ways, this was the perfect opportunity; Hanson had conceded. But she knew it was also a test, pairing the least trusted guest in the Blade with a representative of the least trusted tribe. She also knew Kohl would not be happy about it.
“A translator?”
“A translator… who will wear a tracking device, paired to none other than he who has such faith in you—my protégé, Hunter O’Hanlon, who will mission alongside you.”
Jessop nodded slowly, watching the bemused expression cross over the old man’s face. He knew this was the perfect opportunity for the Council—they could test her loyalty, and if she died, it was of no great loss to them. He was agreeing to her idea, so why wasn’t she happy about it?
Afraid of upsetting Kohl by spending more time with Trax? She pushed the niggling voice out of her head, focusing on Hanson.
“What kind of tracking device?”
“Does it matter?”
She had seen tracking devices before that were quite invasive and she had a feeling that if the Council had the opportunity to hurt her just a little, they would take it. “I don’t want Kohl hurt on my behalf.”
“He can take the pain,” Hanson said, shrugging his shoulder nonchalantly.
“Is that what you told yourself when you scarred his entire body?”
As soon as she had said the word body, the back of Hanson’s hand had struck her. She was astounded by the lightning speed with which he had hit her, more so than the strength of his strike. She tasted the metallic flavor of blood and raised the back of her hand to her lip, gingerly patting it.
She could kill him where he stood.
Instead, she slowly brought her hand away, looking at the kiss of blood she had left on it. His reaction had confirmed her suspicion. She raised her head to him and forced down her urge to retaliate. She had gotten what she had come for—she would be on the next mission and she would gain the trust of the Council. “I’ll report to Trax DeHawn in the morning then.”
His eyes were wide and he stared at her with shock, his lips parted. Despite all his vitriol, it was clear he was not accustomed to striking women. Slowly, she turned from him, making her way for the door.
“I—I’m sorry,” he called after her, his raspy voice sounding small.
Jessop pictured the scars. The layers of marred flesh. Scar atop scar, where blades and whips and maces and fire had carved him up in an attempt to kill him. She saw his body… and she saw Falco’s too.
“I’m not the one you have to apologize to.”
CHAPTER 8
“Wait, wait… so, you’re going to be an Infinity Hunter?” Kohl interrupted, waking quickly, looking at her with excitement from where he sat upright in his bed.
“No… I am going to be a translator,” she clarified, running his bed sheets through her fingers.
“Translator is just a fancy word to mean you’re a hunter beyond the Grey, just like Tra…” but Kohl let his voice trail off, his sentence unfinished.
“I know. It wasn’t my idea, Kohl. Hanson needs to test my loyalty to the Blade, and we all know there is no way I could be called an Infinity Hunter, so ‘translator’ it is… under Trax.”
He nodded slowly. “And I have to have a tracking device installed, so it can be paired with yours?”
Jessop reached across the bed and rested her hand on his knee. “You don’t have to do it.”
Slowly, he rested his hand on top of hers. He took a deep breath and she watched him carefully. His gold locks were loose around his tan skin; his dark eyes seemed thoughtful as he took in all that she had said.
“Let’s get them installed in the morning.”
“Really?”
He looked up to her. “Really. This is the only way to prove your loyalty, so let’s do it.”
She let a small smile pull at her lips. “Thank you, Kohl.”
He began to smile at her—but froze. His gaze homed in on her mouth and slowly he rea
ched over and touched her full lip. As his finger grazed her, she retracted, feeling the sting of Hanson’s strike.
“What happened?” His tone was instantly different, deep and angered.
“Nothing,” she shrugged, raising her own hand to her lip.
“Don’t lie to me, Jessop. Not after everything.”
His voice was filled with an urgency that surprised her. She had never seen this part of him—and she was beginning to think there were more layers to Kohl O’Hanlon than she had ever thought possible upon their first meeting.
She dropped her gaze, staring at her hands. “Hanson.”
Kohl was off the bed in an instant, reaching for his clothes. “Hanson? My Hanson? Struck you?”
Jessop followed suit, jumping from the bed. “Calm down, Kohl. I made a comment to him…”
“I have had it with him, with his disrespect and now his abuse.”
“I said something—”
“He shows no regard for me, for those I care for!”
He fastened his trousers and fiddled with his tunic, desperate to dress and deaf to her voice. So she reached to his face and locked her hands onto his cheeks, forcing into his mind the picture of her with Hanson.
“I don’t want Kohl hurt on my behalf.”
“He can take the pain.”
“Is that what you told yourself when you scarred his entire body?”
Jessop lowered her hands from Kohl’s face, letting them rest on his broad shoulders. She waited for him to open his eyes, her heart racing. She had used her abilities with him… She had no idea how he would react to her, or why she had even used them. Or perhaps, that was a lie… She did know why, she had done it because some part of her needed to know the truth; she needed to know how he would react to her, the real her.
Slowly, he opened his hazel eyes and stared down to her. “What else can you do?” His voice gave him away—low, full of betrayal and accusation. He was enraged. She knew the emotion well.