by Cole Gibsen
“All right.” I pulled my jacket from my desk chair. “Let’s go find Sumi.”
Together, Q and I followed Whitley out of my condo, down several flights of stairs, and into the parking garage where his BMW waited.
Just as I was about to climb into the front passenger seat, my phone began to vibrate from my inside my pocket. I smiled and settled back into the seat. When I didn’t answer, Kim would surely come looking for me. Sure, Whitley would be pissed. But after all the times he’d double-crossed me, I definitely owed him one.
11
Whitley pulled into a remote shopping plaza and parked his car outside a twenty-four-hour gym.
I frowned at him. “Not really a good time for a workout, don’t you think?”
He rolled his eyes. “We’re not here to work out, you dummy. Sumi is here.” He pointed to the blue Honda parked a row over. “I followed her here earlier. And since her car is still here—it’s safe to assume she hasn’t left yet.”
In the backseat, Q unbuckled his seat belt and leaned forward. “Are you sure? I don’t see anyone inside.”
He was right. With the early morning light yet to break through the purpling horizon, the rows of treadmills, elliptical machines, and weightlifting equipment sat unused. But dawn was quickly approaching, and the gym would soon be full of people wanting to get a quick workout before work. If Sumi was in there, we needed to find her before the innocent bystanders arrived.
Whitley pulled the keys from the ignition and placed them inside his pocket. “She’s in the locker room. What better place to clean up undisturbed after a murder? If you can somehow get inside the gym without swiping your membership card, the police would never think to look for you here. Meanwhile, you can rest and clean up, and all that DNA evidence goes right down the drain. It’s genius, really.”
I made a face. “I guess you have to be a psychopath to really appreciate the achievements of another psychopath.” I opened the car door and stepped out into the chilly spring air. “Let’s get this over with. The sooner we do, the sooner I don’t have to see you ever again.”
Whitley followed me out of the car. “Fair enough.”
I quickly glanced at the road behind us. How long would it take Kim to arrive? Since climbing into the car with Whitley, my phone had buzzed five different times over the course of our fifteen-minute drive. He had to be on his way, and I’d sure feel a lot better taking Sumi on with Kim by my side.
Q exited the car and approached the gym door. After trying unsuccessfully to pull the door open, he tapped a gray box beside the door. “You need one of those magnetic key cards to get inside.”
“On it.” I marched to the door and placed my hand on the card reader. Closing my eyes, I opened myself enough to allow a small ribbon of ki to uncurl from my fingertips into the box beneath my fingers. A second later, the box beeped and the door clicked as the lock receded.
Q smiled before pulling the door open. “That never gets old.”
Whitley snorted. “It’s a cheap trick—one that any ninja could do. What would be really handy is if you could do that thing where you make us all invisible.” He gave me a hopeful look.
“Sorry.” I shook my head. “That only works if I’m standing in shadows and this place”—I gestured to the brightly florescent lit room—“is seriously lacking in shadows.”
Whitley sighed. “So much for that idea. Guess we’ll just have to face her head-on.” He removed a long chain from his pocket. A blunt weight dangled from one end and a gleaming hatchet from the other. A kusarigama—the perfect weapon for both bludgeoning your enemy to death and cutting them into ribbons.
I slid my sword free from its sheath at my hip and spun it in several slow arcs in front of me to loosen my muscles. I glanced at Q. “Ready?”
He nodded, his mouth tight. “Ready.”
We quietly stepped inside the gym and shut the door softly behind us. Immediately, I was assaulted by the smell of stale sweat and rubber. As I approached the front desk, an electric current jolted through my body, raising the hair on the back of my arms and constricting my lungs. Definitely a danger premonition—which meant someone was on the verge of trying to kill me. Awesome. I tightened my grip on my sword. “We’re definitely in the right place,” I whispered.
Whitley rolled his eyes. “I told you we were. Why would I lie?”
I directed a scowl at him as I brushed past. Why wouldn’t he lie? He’d killed me in my last life, and it had only been a year since he tried to kill me in this one. I’d have to be an idiot to put my trust in him now.
I glanced at the clock on the wall. Hurry, Kim!
Slowly, we made our way to the back of the gym. I scanned every corner of the room but still didn’t see any signs of Sumi. As we approached the locker rooms, I became aware of the hissing sound of water from a shower. I dropped my gaze to the floor, where I noticed tendrils of steam curling out from under the women’s locker room door like reaching fingers.
If Sumi was in the shower, we definitely had the element of surprise on our side. But it also meant I couldn’t afford to wait for Kim. I motioned for Q and Whitley to stay close as I pulled the door open.
A hot wall of steam rushed out at me, blasting me in the face. There was no way one hot shower could have created the mass of steam blanketing the locker room. And the loud hissing coming from the shower stalls confirmed my suspicions—all the showers were running full blast. And that could only mean one thing.
I tightened my sweaty grip on my sword.
Sumi knew we were coming.
“What do we do?” Q asked. I glanced over my shoulder and could barely make out his features through the blanket of white.
“We fight!” Whitley hissed. “We’re never going to get another chance like this again. If she slips through our grasp now, she’ll only attack again when we’re not expecting it. It’s now or never.”
As much as I hated to admit it, Whitley had made a good point. If Sumi knew we were coming for her, then she might also have known about the Network’s arrival and how we planned to imprison her.
Besides, Kim was sure to be here any minute. If anything, we could stall her until reinforcements arrived. I pulled the boys closer to me and said, “If we want to defeat her, we need to keep our backs together so she can’t sneak up on us. Got it?”
“Got it,” both Whitley and Q answered.
“Okay then. Let’s move out.” I lifted my sword in front of me so that it arched over my shoulder and slowly made my way deeper inside the locker room. Q and Whitley followed, and the door shut behind us with a soft click.
Steam beaded along my skin and ran in lines down my neck. Immediately, I wondered if I had just made a huge mistake. I’d walked into a fight where two of my senses were crippled. The fog distorted my vision and made the room appear hazy and distorted. And it was nearly impossible to hear over the hiss of rushing water.
A shot of pain jolted through my leg, and I looked down to discover I’d bumped into a bench. “Son of hibachi,” I growled.
“I’ll fix that.” Q offered his hand, and I knew if I took it he’d use his powers to melt away the pain.
“No. I’m good.” I waved his hand away. I wanted the pain—needed it. Somehow it helped me focus.
“Do you think she’s still in here?” Q asked.
If the electric current zipping through my veins was any indication, she was definitely close. “Oh, yeah. Let’s cover our backs.”
“Right.” A second later, Q’s back pressed against mine.
I kept my eyes trained on the row of lockers in front of me. “Whitley?”
He didn’t answer.
I twisted my head around, unable to see him through the fog. “Whitley?” I hissed again. “This isn’t funny.”
“Uh, Ri-Ri?” Q’s voice held a waiver of fear. “Whitley’s gone.”
&
nbsp; “What?” I grabbed Q’s elbow and whirled around, forcing him to stay behind me as we moved. Sure enough, Whitley was nowhere to be seen. “That traitor!” I growled through clenched teeth. I should have known he’d bolt. He was a coward, after all, and I shouldn’t have doubted for a second that, once faced with the threat of danger, he’d abandon us.
I sucked in a deep breath in an attempt to calm my rapid heartbeat. “It’s fine, it’s okay,” I muttered, only I wasn’t sure if I was saying it for Q’s benefit or my own.
A girl’s laughter filled the room around us, echoing off walls and reverberating against the locker doors.
Sumi.
My muscles coiled and I raised my sword. I whipped my head around, hoping to discover her hiding spot, but I was unable to see more than a few feet through the fog. Behind me, Q’s breathing quickened and I could feel small shudders rippling down his spine where it pressed against my back.
I transferred my weight to the balls of my feet, readying myself to spring in any direction. “Why are you hiding, Sumi? Afraid we’ll defeat you like last time?”
“Hardly.” She stepped out from behind a row of lockers. Unlike the last time we’d encountered her, she hadn’t bothered with the ridiculous geisha dress. Instead, she wore a pair of black spandex running capris, a green tank top, and black Nikes. She would have looked like an average gym-goer if it weren’t for the splatters of blood staining her shirt.
Q spun around so we stood side by side. He folded his arms across his chest and lifted his chin. For someone who’d been so tense with fear only moments ago, he sure knew how to exude confidence when it counted. “What’s the matter, Sumi? Your stripper outfit at the dry cleaners?”
She narrowed her eyes and stepped forward. “I’d watch my tongue if I were you. You cannot begin to imagine all the ways I could kill you. But this fight does not belong to you. This is a feud spanning more than five hundred years. Leave with your life while you can.”
Q’s fingers curled into fists. “This fight became mine the moment you tried to kill my best friend.”
“Have it your way.” Sumi lifted her hand and blue bolts of electricity bled from her fingertips, striking Q in the chest. He sailed backward and slammed into the lockers behind him with a sickening thunk.
“Q!” My sword wavered in the air, but I knew better than to turn my back on the enemy in front of me.
Q groaned and placed a hand against his forehead. “It’s all right. I’m fine.”
“Impossible.” Sumi’s eyes fluttered wide. “Your healing powers are stronger than I thought.” She waved a hand dismissively. “Doesn’t matter. You’re still no match for me.”
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Whitley called out.
He came back? I whirled around to find him standing in the locker room doorway. Relief loosened the ropes of anxiety pulling tight around my chest. He hadn’t abandoned us after all.
Whitley strode into the middle of the steam-filled room and faced Sumi head-on. “Our deal was you wouldn’t hurt him.”
Sumi snorted. “I seem to recall you made me a similar deal centuries ago, resulting in the death of my betrothed.”
Son of hibachi. We’d been double-crossed. Again.
My stomach quivered. Q and I exchanged furious glances. As much as I wanted to be surprised, the emotion wouldn’t surface. I knew all along that trusting Whitley was like bathing in a pool of electric eels—it was only a matter of time until I got stung.
Whitley threw his hands in the air. “How many times do I have to tell you? That was an accident!”
“So you’re working with Sumi now?” I asked him. “I thought she was trying to kill you.”
“I was,” Sumi answered for him. “But then I realized the old saying is true—the enemy of my enemy is my friend.”
I looked at Whitley. “And you believe her? Who’s to say she won’t kill you the moment your back is turned?”
“She wouldn’t.” Whitley said, but his eyes flashed with uncertainty. “We came to an arrangement that benefits both of us.”
Quentin used the locker door to pull himself to his feet. Sumi was right—his powers had to be growing. It was a miracle he was even alive, let alone able to stand after her attack. “Nothing she could offer you will help,” he said. “Especially when you’re both rotting in a Network security cell.”
Sumi grinned. “That’s what we’re counting on.”
She wanted us to throw her inside a cell? “Well, uh …
good? Because it just so happens I have my phone’s GPS turned on and Kim will be here any minute.”
Sumi whirled around and glared at Whitley.
He shrugged and took a tentative step backward. “I didn’t know.”
“Doesn’t matter,” she said, even though the look on her face was less than thrilled. “We’ll have to work fast. Do you still have the bracelet I gave you?”
He pulled a long, braided cord out of his jeans pocket. Woven throughout the leather were a multitude of colorful stones and what appeared to be fragments of bone. “Are you sure this will work?”
“There’s one way to find out.” She turned to me with a smile.
Okay, I was really confused now. “You’re going to accessorize us to death?”
Sumi rolled her eyes. “Of course not. We don’t want to hurt those precious bodies of yours.”
Now she was concerned about our well-being? Q and I exchanged a confused look. This was by far the strangest fight I’d ever been in.
Sumi pulled a dagger out of her waistband. The razor edge winked under the light, like it was also in on the joke Q and I couldn’t figure out. Sumi spoke to Whitley. “It’s time.”
He nodded and lifted the sharpened edge of the kus-arigama.
A fight. Now this made sense. My muscles tensed and I licked my lips in anticipation of the attack to come.
But it never did.
Instead, Whitley and Sumi lifted their blades to their own palms and drew the edge across their skin. Whitley made a hiss of pain but Sumi barely flinched.
I lowered my blade a fraction and blinked. Well, this is new.
Quentin sidled up beside me. “I haven’t been in a lot of fights,” he whispered. “So can you explain what’s going on?”
“Not a clue,” I answered. “The bad guys usually throw the sharp, pointy things at your head. They don’t use them on themselves.” A growing sense of unease bloomed inside me, making my stomach quiver. Fights made sense—bad guys tried to kill you. And in return, you tried to kill them. But this? My pulse quickened. Something was up, something dangerous; I could feel it like poison in my blood—dark, undetectable, but dangerous all the same.
Sumi balled her hand into a fist and fat droplets of blood fell like rose petals against the floor. She lifted her head and looked at me. “Now.”
Whitley lifted the sickle and lunged for me.
12
Whitley ran at me, his blade aimed at my head.
I knew I couldn’t waste much time or energy on Whitley—especially with Sumi in the room. With only seconds until he brought the blade down on me, I ducked low and lashed out with a side kick.
My foot connected with his gut, sending him stumbling backward. He toppled against the bench behind him and fell over it with a grunt. The kusarigama slipped from his hands and clattered to the floor.
“Idiot,” Sumi hissed. She raised her arm, and streaks of electricity leapt from her fingers.
The static charge in the air pulled the hairs on my arms and neck to attention as the bolts arched toward me. My heart quivered. I knew I wouldn’t be able to dodge them in time, so I closed my eyes and braced for impact.
But no sooner had I done so when Q’s hand tightened on my arm. “Hold on!” he shouted.
A second later, the electricity tore through me, convulsing my
body and fluttering my eyelids. But miraculously, I didn’t feel a thing.
When the spasms ceased, I opened my eyes and looked at Q. “Did you do that?” I asked between gasps for air.
Before he could answer, Whitley attacked him from behind and they both collapsed on the ground in a heap. I started for them when I was kicked just below my ribs. I cried out as pain exploded inside me. Losing my grip on my katana, I hit the ground, forcing myself into a roll to cushion the impact.
I propped myself up on my elbows in time to see Whitley descend on Quentin with his blade. “NO!” I screamed.
Q threw his hands in front of his face and Whitley’s blade sliced through his palm.
I tried to scrambled to my feet when Sumi lunged at me, wrapping her hand around my neck and screaming, her eyes wild. “You think you can take everything away from me and get away with it? Let’s see how you like it when I take everything away from you!” Her fingers tightened around my neck, her nails ripping into my skin. “You will have nothing!” With her free hand, she raised the dagger over her head.
I curled my fingers into a fist and swung. Sure, it wasn’t exactly a traditional technique, but it was effective. My fist connected with her cheek in a satisfying crack. Her head snapped back, and she cried out. I thrust her off me, frantic to get back to Q. I climbed to my feet just in time to see Whitley clasping Q’s bloody hand within his own, frantically tying the cord around both their wrists as Q stared, his eyes wide.
“What the hell, dude?” Q placed his free hand on Whitley’s forehead. A second later, a light flashed from his palm. Whitley’s eyes rolled into the back of his head and he crumpled to the ground. The cord he’d wrapped around their wrists unraveled and fell onto his chest.
I rushed over to him. “Are you okay?”