Forge the Path of Sorcery

by NAK Baldron

  The aroma of orange and cherry filled Akio's nose as he held the teacup with two hands up to his lips. He blew softly over the top of the tea before taking his first sip. The warmth coated his throat, and he found the tension in his gut began to melt away.

  Blood still stained the back of his hands, but for now they were safe. No one would dare attack them in their home. Clan Kaito may be the smallest and weakest clan of the Bloody Square, but there were plenty of neighbors who wouldn't hesitate to help defend them if a gang attacked. Shaya's father had been beloved by the people for his fairness and freely dispersed charity. Not all Thief Lords acted in magnanimous ways.

  "What will—"

  "Akio and I shall deal with it," Shaya said. "Enjoy your tea and relax. After, we'll visit Master Takumi."

  Akio finished his tea in a hurry. "Excuse me."

  The blood under his fingernails itched and he could no longer ignore it. No one else would have noticed he had blood under his nails. Grateful for a reason to leave Shaya alone with her mother, Akio hovered over the kitchen sink scrubbing his hands. His blood-stained clothes were another matter, but as long as his hands were clean, he could focus again.

  "You can't go—"

  "I can do as I please." Shaya kept her voice calm, but Akio could sense the anger underneath the words. "I'm Kaito-Tanken, you'd do well to remember."

  "I meant no disrespect." She bowed her head. "But a mother worries for her daughter. You're so young—"

  "We're old enough to take care of ourselves."

  An awkward silence settled in.

  "Shaya, I love—"

  "Akio, we're leaving," Shaya called out from the table.

  Akio dropped the rags he'd been using and walked back into the living room as Shaya stood from the table and bowed to her mother.

  "Good day mother." Shaya stood from her bow and led the way out of the apartment.

  Akio followed close behind, but not without a pause at the front door to look at the honorable widow. She wore her face of stone, but despite her deliberate control, tears sat on the corners of her eyes.

  "Shaya—"

  "Not now." Shaya kept a brisk pace toward the stairwell without a glance back.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  Pearl Nation, Fencura

  Outside was a sheet of darkness. The city's conservation mode was enabled. Street lamps were but a sprinkle compared to the sea they'd been but an hour earlier. Brandon sat in the same chair as last time he visited Pearl Power's board room. The view from the tower was even more impressive at night. It gave him the impression of floating in a sea of nothingness. According to Emerald Nation's philosophers, nothingness was the state of being from which all things emanate. Pointless drivel as far as Brandon was concerned, but on a clear night, with the vast blackness of the void above him—maybe?

  Henry Velden called out from behind Brandon, "Pardon the tardiness."

  Brandon turned his head just far enough to watch out the corner of his eyes, as the board members arrived. There were two new faces. Along with Henry, entered Jeremy and Jennifer Kolstad, Rebeca Monty, Johnathan Belfry Jr., a younger boy wearing a smug facial expression that only a life of privilege could buy, and a middle-aged man with a round belly—an unusual sight in the Pearl Nation.

  "This is Max Poulton," Henry introduced the pot-bellied man as the six of them took their seats. "He controls eight percent via proxies and represents the employee's interests here at Pearl Power."

  Max's voice had a rough growl, as if his words were fighting to escape the back of his throat. "Pleasure, Mr. Everly. I trust we'll be allies in most matters."

  Brandon flipped both palms up and gave a curt nod, a sign he held no ill will toward Max or the employees he represented. In truth, Brandon held no feelings whatsoever toward the employees of Pearl Power. Provided they carried out their positions with skill and dedication, he could care less about the inner workings of employee management. Profits. That's the only thing Pearl Power offered to Brandon.

  "And Johnathan Belfry the Third," Henry said. "As an active shareholder, he's entitled to attend votes if he chooses, though his father usually holds his proxy."

  The same receptionist from last time walked off the elevator, pushing a cart of refreshments. She wore a skin-tight dark-blue dress. He noticed Belfry III's eyes were glued to the woman. By the time she'd placed the platters of finger foods, trays of drinks, and taken her rightful seat to take notes of the meeting, it marked twenty minutes Brandon had been seated at the table.

  How do they get things done, if they waste so much time with meeting comforts?

  "We left our last meeting with Mr. Everly on the matter of the lost prototype," Belfry Jr. said. "Mr. Everly, have you been able to retrieve the prototype?"

  "Yes."

  "For how much?" Henry asked.

  "As agreed five hundred thousand. From the company, five hundred sixty-two thousand, five hundred credits. I expect the transference to my account, presently." Brandon pulled out his personal portable terminal and slid the device—about the size of a small book—across the solid cedar table to Henry. "My public access key."

  "A vote," Henry called. "All in favor of paying Mr. Everly his five hundred sixty-two thousand, five hundred credits as promised?"

  It was unanimous.

  Henry used his own portable terminal to transfer Brandon's funds. "You should find the funds delivered to the specified account." He slid Brandon's terminal back to him.

  Brandon shielded his right hand from view as he typed in his account password. Sure enough, 562,500 credits had been transferred. Bringing that particular account up to 3,562,500 credits. A reasonable operating budget. The 62,500 credits profit represented nearly 0.6% of his investment in Pearl Power. Not a bad return for two weeks' work.

  "Now to the serious matter at hand," Belfry Jr. said. "When can we expect delivery of the prototype that you've conveniently acquired?"

  "You can't," Brandon said, and he pressed send on an encrypted message to Henry. "However, I've sent you the address of where you can find your prototype. Along with photos of the wooden crate it's stored in."

  Henry held up his portable terminal for the rest of the board members to see.

  "Now, to the actual serious matter at hand." Brandon drew the attention of the board back to himself. "I call a vote for the immediate removal of Johnathan Belfry Jr. as CEO, and the elevation of Henry Velden to the position."

  "Does the board wish to hear a vote?" The receptionist asked.

  "I'm afraid you don't have the authority to call a vote," Belfry Jr. said, with a grin that made it clear nothing made him happier in that moment.

  "I'll second the motion," Jennifer said.

  "Motion seconded," the receptionist said. "All in favor of the removal of Belfry Jr. from his position as CEO?"

  Brandon, Jennifer Kolstad, and Henry voted yes. Giving them a combined total of forty-four percent.

  "Against?" the receptionist asked.

  Belfry Jr., his son, Jeremy Kolstad, and Rebeca Monty all voted no. Giving them a combined total of forty-five percent.

  "Forty-four percent for, forty-five against." The receptionist read off from her terminal. "No majority. Max Poulton, you are required to cast your vote."

  "You can't fire my dad," Belfry III said, as his father gripped his shoulder to calm him down.

  Abstaining from a board vote was only possible when the vote had already been decided. Had Max not been present, they'd have postponed the decision until another meeting where Max could vote. With three percent held by non-voting citizens, a vote could never account for a full one hundred percent of the shares.

  "Think of the men and women who work for you," Henry said. "They count on you to represent them in this matter."

  Collectively the employees of Pearl Power only held eight percent of the company. Usually nothing more than a gesture when it came to voting, but today it was the employees of Pearl Power who'd decide.

  "Can you honestly s
ay that you're better off with Johnathan in charge?" Henry asked.

  "We're well paid, and even with the massive drop in value only two men were laid off," Max said. "Hell, those men deserved it." He looked between Henry, Belfry Jr., and Brandon.

  "Why?" Max asked Brandon. "Why do you care? Why do you want him gone?"

  Brandon cracked his neck. "Johnathan lacks honor."

  "He—" Belfry III began.

  "Yes." Brandon cut him off. "Your dad keeps his contracts. He pays his men well. He built Pearl Power, and the whole city prospers because of it." He looked directly into Belfry Jr.'s eyes. "But, you lack honor. You think of yourself king over this company, and by proxy of our city. You are one man, and a vile man at that. Your petty behavior is felt throughout the city, down to an orphan boy you took your anger out on recently. From what I hear, your son enjoys beating orphan boys too. Have you been tutoring him?"

  Belfry Jr.'s face dropped as he realized why this was actually happening. It wasn't for profits, though those encouraged Brandon. It was vengeance for Ren and justice for their city. No one man should be powerful enough to control the destiny of a city. Brandon would risk his entire fortune to ensure his city didn't become another monarchy.

  "His corrupted mind, has begun to corrupt this company, and our city can't afford for Pearl Power to go dark." Brandon finished with special infliction, which encouraged an audience to applaud.

  None of the board members clapped, but several said, "Here, here," in agreeance with him.

  Max hung his head. "I vote yes."

  The receptionist's voice was shaky as she readout, "Fifty-two for, the motion carries. Johnathan Belfry Jr. is removed as CEO of Pearl Power."

  "No!" His son screamed.

  Belfry Jr. grabbed him by his shirt as he stood, "Mark my words." He gestured to Brandon, right hand extended palm up, with his left hand resting in the crook of his elbow palm up. The damn blood oath. "I'll recover everything you've taken from me today, twice over. You think I'm vile now? You haven't seen how vile I can be."

  Belfry Jr. led his son away from the table and called over his shoulder, "You'll pay in blood."

  If he means to kill me, so be it.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  Texas, Earth

  Friday, September 9th

  As they drove back toward downtown, the traffic steadily increased. Soon, vehicles surrounded them like an ocean. A few of the drivers were drunk, bouncing between lanes. People were out having a good time for the weekend. Kandice hadn't enjoyed weekends for a while. The whole prospect of people out drinking was appalling. The desire to get drunk and make a fool of herself never appealed to her.

  As they neared Mopac, the traffic grew so dense they had to sit through what seemed like every red light. After merging onto the highway the traffic flowed slow but steady. Instead of cutting across 1st St., they exited just after the river and cut back through Zilker Park, taking their time. The mayor wouldn't be home soon—offering a perfect opportunity to scope out the property.

  When they reached the first light, Kandice pointed out that the mayor's scent vanished on the other side of the road.

  "He'll be at the party for at least two or three hours," Lance said. "We'll have plenty of time to get set up. Provided few guards remained, and the security system doesn't go off."

  It was impossible to find parking on the street—a car sat at every parking meter, and several cars had parked in no-parking zones. Lance settled for a parking lot behind some bars, where he had to pay by placing five dollars into a slot on a board. It was over a mile away from the park, but the walk was better than the SUV getting towed.

  "Leave everything but the backpack in the SUV."

  They emptied their pockets into the glove box of the car.

  This is pointless.

  What would anyone discover from their pocket belongings? It seemed more plausible that the stuff might come in handy. Heading out each with a small backpack, they looked more like students going to a coffee shop than an infiltration team.

  By the time they reached the park, Kandice was sweating. The air clung to her like a warm blanket and made her breathing labored. The park was empty.

  They walked deep into the park to get out of the street lights before heading toward the mayor's neighborhood. At first, they were in an open field of grass—but soon trees surrounded them. The grove grew so thick, they were forced to watch their footsteps to avoid all the roots.

  The walk was silent. Even the trees were quiet because of the lack of breeze.

  The same ridge they had been to previously came into view. The house and front gate entrance were visible through the tree cover. Lance pulled out a pair of binoculars—after looking for over a minute, he handed them to Kandice.

  There was no one outside. The light in the mayor's office was off, but the inside was visible somewhat due to the ambient light of the city. No one was home.

  "Looks clear," she said.

  "Yeah," Lance said. "Maybe a little too clear. I expected to see at least one or two people."

  "Why?"

  "Because if I were him, I wouldn't leave my home unguarded. It makes me worried that the security system inside will be even worse than I anticipated."

  "What do we do, then?"

  "There's rope in each pack. We throw it over the brick wall and climb over. From there, we try to hide and wait for him to get back."

  Lance handed Kandice a pair of gloves. After putting on his own, he tied off the rope to a large tree trunk. Together they shimmied down to the street. There were only two street lamps—both at the bends in the road. A part of the wall was shrouded in near-complete darkness.

  Kandice took her rope out and handed it to Lance, who attached a large metal hook to the end. After he threw it over, he had to grab the end of the rope to prevent it from slipping away. He pulled the rope back, and the metal hook scrapped over the top of the wall and fell to the ground before their feet.

  "Shit," he said. "The wall might be too smooth."

  He tried again.

  This time, the hook caught onto the top edge of the wall. He pulled with all his might, then jumped up against the wall.

  The rope held.

  "I'll go over," he said. "When I drop, wait five seconds. If I don't call out, climb over."

  Lance scurried over the wall.

  A small thud came from the other side.

  One. Two. Three. Four. Five.

  She tried to jump up on the wall like Lance had, but only managed to slam her hip into it. Her arm burned from scraping the rough wall, but she ignored the pain and made her way over.

  Once on the other side, Lance crouched a few feet away looking through the binoculars.

  "All clear," he said.

  He pointed to the back of the property where there was a large garden of hedge bushes. "We can hide there."

  It would be hard for anyone to see them inside those bushes.

  Right before they reached the bushes, a spotlight came on. Lance leapt into the bush, and without hesitation Kandice followed.

  He pulled her close—deeper into the brush—and placed his hand over her mouth. Slowly he pulled his hand away and placed a finger in front of his lips.

  They sat in silence, staring into the yard that was now bright as day.

  There was a click of a walkie talkie.

  "Back yard," a man in the distance said. "May have been a raccoon."

  An Aether Walker turned the corner from the far back of the house and walked up with his back to the wall. He was almost seven feet tall, with large hairy arms that looked like they could snap a man in half. He looked like a larger version of a Gorilla. When he spoke, Kandice saw his teeth were long fangs.

  "All clear here," he said. "You can turn the lights off."

  Lance let out a long breath. They both had been holding it in, and it felt good to release.

  The Aether Walker stopped walking and turned in their direction. His eyes reaching out through the darkness fo
r them.

  Would he spot them? There had to be a plan for this.

  Her mind was blank and racing at the same time with potential solutions that wouldn't work. Lance pulled a sheet of paper out of his pants pocket.

  The dark, hairy arms of the Aether Walker moved into the bush. The next second, Lance ripped his button-up shirt open and slapped the sheet of paper against his bare chest. As his hair turned lightning blue, his arms grew out and grabbed the closest furry arm of the Aether Walker. Before it could react, Lance grabbed the walkie talkie earpiece and threw it aside. Kandice willed herself to do something.

  Anything.

  Grabbing both backpacks, she ran from the bush. She reached for the walkie talkie on the Aether Walker's belt, but wasn't quick enough. An arm caught the back of her shirt and threw her to the ground.

  Lance flipped his whole body around behind the Aether Walker, and with one quick twist of his arms, tore its head off. Blood fell down on Kandice like the rain from a hurricane.

  A man came running into view from the front side of the house. Human.

  The sight of blood caused him to pause. In that moment of hesitation Lance picked Kandice up and darted for the wall without him reacting. There were gunshots as Lance climbed over the brick wall with one arm and Kandice still in the other. When they hit the ground, Lance let out a high-pitched howl—switched Kandice's weight to his other side—and ran to the cliff. As they reached the top of the cliff, Kandice saw the man's head peeking over the brick wall.

  Gunfire rang out after them, but they already cleared his line of sight and ran through the park. Lance moved faster than she could have going full speed on a bike and didn't stop until they reached the river.

  "Strip!" Lance pulled off his clothes.

  Kandice didn't have time to be embarrassed and stripped to her underwear.