by T. G. Ayer
“Not like you had much choice.” I shrugged. “There’s only so much horror a person can endure until they break, At least you broke in a way to defend yourself and free yourself.”
Darcy nodded slowly. “Technically.”
I studied her face. “Meaning?”
She sucked in a ragged breath. “His name was Ward. His name is Ward. And he is still alive. At least I don’t have to keep thinking of myself as a murderer anymore.”
I remained silent, unsure of what to say next and worried that my time was up.
Darcy nodded at me. “So where do I stand?”
“Why do you feel you are compromised? You killed the man to save your life. Are you concerned about meeting him at some point in the mission?”
She sighed and her shoulders bowed. “I’m worried that I’m not up to coming face-to-face with him and having to fight him again.”
“Aren’t you more powerful now than when you killed him?”
Darcy laughed. “I am. But so much for being powerful, I didn’t even succeed in killing him. And if he survived that battle, who is to say how powerful he’s become in the years that passed?”
“Is there a way to investigate? Do you know people who knew him too?”
Darcy shook her head. “Even if I did, that would be too dangerous. He’s a brilliant strategist. And I feel like I’m just complicating things by adding this to the mix. We already have enough to think about.”
“Yeah, I want to talk to you about ways to protect the team. Mentally,” I asked as an idea began to blossom in my mind.
Darcy’s eyebrows rose. “You want me to mess with their heads?”
I laughed. “Not exactly. I wanted to ask if there was a way to protect the team from Ward. In case he managed to get his hands on one of them. Can you protect their minds in some way.” Then I fell silent. “Maybe I shouldn’t be asking you to this.”
“Why? Well, I suppose you can’t really trust me...”
“No, don’t be silly. What I meant was it would reveal your connection to us if Ward does end up delving inside one of our heads. Won’t he recognize that you’ve been fiddling around in there?”
Darcy chuckled. “You have done your homework. And yes, my markers will alert him, but if he does end up taking one of our team, then how does it matter if he knows it’s my work. We’re going to do everything in our power to get them back. I’m seeing a showdown with Ward as inevitable. I just don’t want anyone else to get caught in the crossfire.”
“Well, protect us. And educate us. We’re planning for every eventuality, right?”
Darcy nodded then groaned with relief then headed for the nearest chair. She sank onto the seat, her entire body slumping.
Seeing that she was now relaxed, I sat forward. “I have a confession to make.”
Darcy opened her eyes. “If you are confessing plans to run off with Iain, I can’t be held responsible if I end you,” she muttered, laughter in her eyes.
I shook my head. “As if. That walker only has eyes for you. Everyone can see that.” Then I cleared my throat. “What I need to tell you is that I already knew.”
“Knew what?” Her eyes narrowed as she straightened a little.
I gave a rueful smile. “About Ward. I wanted to tell you before you started talking, but I figured if you needed to get things off your chest it would be good for you. Lighten each other’s burdens and all that. Besides, I had every intention of telling you I knew.”
“That’s what this meeting was about?”
I nodded. “I wanted to be certain you were okay. And to be straight, I didn’t really care about Ward himself. It’s you and how you feel that’s most important to me.”
Darcy sat motionless for a long moment as she digested my admission. Then she shook her head. “I should have guessed he’d tell you. Logan right?”
I gave her my poker face. “A good agent never reveals her sources.”
“Shut up,” Darcy said, rolling her eyes. That roll was enough to calm my nerves down. She was annoyed but not angry.
“I’m sorry.” I got to my feet and went around the desk to meet her. “I really hope that waiting to tell you I knew doesn’t damage our relationship. I just felt that unburdening is cathartic. It’s what happened to me not too long ago so I know it helps.”
Darcy smiled and patted my arm. “I’m fine. We’re a team and you and Logan are leading. It makes sense that he’d divulge something that could potentially harm the mission and endanger any one of us, including Saleem.”
I couldn’t have said it any better myself.
Chapter 36
The HQ was a bustle of activity later that night as everyone dressed and armed themselves. I felt a low buzz of worry when we initiated the Kelans but thankfully a quick inspection confirmed the team was doing well and had no need yet for me to siphon off any excess power.
“Let’s move out,” Fathima called as she hurried past their open door. “According to the guard’s schedule, Ward is moving Saleem into the basement two hours later than usual. He and Blake have a meeting with the witch, so we’d best move out now.”
Aisha’s eyes were large and indignant. “I honestly do not understand why I’m to be left behind.”
My jaw dropped as I stared at her. Whining? The powerful djinn queen was whining? “We don’t know what the outcome of this mission will be. You’re the only royal left who knows what’s going on. If Division 7 does end up killing both your sons and you, where will Mithras be?”
Aisha’s jaw hardened but she didn’t counter my statement.
I turned and hurried toward the door. “Maybe you could help us with managing the Kelan power-fluctuations for the team. Just don’t drain any innocents of their blood while we’re gone.”
Outside in the passage, the team chuckled, more laughter following when we heard Aisha’s raised voice as she yelled out something unintelligible and filled with fury.
It was midnight when we reached an orchard filled with orange trees, the scent heavy in the air as we passed between the narrow trunks. The team remained silent as we slowed our steps, the warriors in the lead gathering near a dark stone outcropping.
Moments later, we were walking carefully through a doorway that appeared to have been carved by hand out of stone. Once within the tunnels—or rather the caves of Zemamra—we hurried along briskly, and as we walked in shadowed silence, I thought about Aisha, queen of the djinn.
And I prayed we could trust her.
Thankfully, we made good time, reaching the entry point that would take us inside the palace and hopefully straight to Saleem.
I had to wonder who this mage-witch was that was so powerful. She posed a seriously dangerous adversary, especially as we didn’t know at all what we were dealing with in terms of her skills. The only thing we did know for sure was that she’d stumbled around and revealed her inexperience. Still, she could be smart, could have begun to learn from her mistakes.
I hoped not.
Up ahead, Fathima was calling out to my team and we hurried forward. “We’re all ready to perform the simultaneous attack. The charges here are set and tested. So are the ones at each of the factories around the realm. And we’re mere minutes from the deadline.”
Amira hurried past us, a serious expression on her face and she held her weapons close as she went. As she disappeared along the tunnels another warrior hurried past in Amira’s wake and I frowned. Something was familiar about this rebel. The shape of her body, maybe?
Then she was gone and I had to focus on the plan at hand.
Exchanging glances with Kai, Logan and Darcy, I nodded, goosebumps rippling across my skin. It was now or never. Akbar’s voice drifted to us, low and still clear enough to travel to the last of the warriors filling the narrow passage. One moment it seemed to take ages, and the next the time had run out.
And the explosion didn’t happen.
There was a low popping sound and then a thud. Fathima swirled around and I ran after her as she
took off down the tunnel.
We both reached the detonator, and Akbar who’d remained at the head of the advancing line of warriors in case something went wrong with the explosives.
But the scene that met our eyes was nothing like what we’d expected. Akbar was standing before a shadowed figure, spine curved as though hugging his gut.
But he wasn’t hugging anything.
The tip of a long thin blade shimmered red with blood as it appeared out of his back. Fathima took a step closer and so did I, as eager as she was to end this mage who’d been the bane of this realm’s existence for so long.
But we’d underestimated this opponent, and none of us were prepared for the attack.
In one smooth move she tossed Akbar’s body aside and swept out both her hands, power surging in waves from her blood-drenched palms. For a moment, I sensed a familiarity with the mage, and I understood it was probably more a recognition of how she was using her magic.
She was manipulating ethereal energy rather than physical, which in most cases was a skill nearly impossible to learn. The blast of power hit us full-force and I ducked, instinctively throwing my hands above my head. A stupid move considering hands were hardly an intelligent shield against ethereal power.
Silence encased me, odd because a split second ago the mage’s magic had been thundering through the tunnel.
I remained still for a second, listening to the rockfalls in the distance, aware of the mutterings around me as rebels and my team righted themselves and began to take stock.
I looked over at Fathima, realized I was still holding my hands over my head, and then caught the look of shock in her eyes.
The warrior didn’t move. Instead, she gave a blink-wink in the direction of the tunnel ceiling. A glance upward revealed the reason for her shock, and the reason for the odd muffled silence in the tunnels.
Around us, a dome of energy shimmered, like a bubble of water, undulating and seemingly fragile, and yet it had protected us from being flattened to nothing.
It was also holding up the ceiling.
“Damn, that’s frickin’ insane, Mel. When were you going to tell us you were a mage?” asked Kai.
I snorted. “Maybe never? This is the first time I’ve done anything even remotely like this.” It was weird speaking while also aware that I was still holding the magical protection in place. “And can we maybe keep the admissions of shock for later. We need to get our asses out of here because A, this is beginning to get rather heavy, and two, I don’t know how I generated this thing. If it shatters, we’re all dead.”
Darcy snickered softly. “A, two.” And Kai’s chuckle followed as the two turned and raced off.
Logan didn’t move. “I’m staying with you. I can use my dragon form to protect you in case you’re not able to make a jump.”
I nodded even though I was pretty sure I wouldn’t have trouble jumping back to HQ. But then again, we’d arrived here thinking we were going to successfully extract Saleem.
Drake shouldered his way past a clot of warriors, his face dark with worry. “I’m staying, too,” he said, his tone too hard for me to counter.
Then, I found myself with a good reason to get the gargoyle to safety.
Two more guards approached, both holding onto the warrior who had passed by earlier following Amira. One of the two men sputtered something that sounded like “she’s going to have our heads for this” and I frowned.
When they adjusted their burden to reveal the unconscious rebel’s identity, I was surprised I was capable of suppressing the desire to utter a few dozen foul words.
Maybe it had something to do with the fact that I didn’t want to mar Aisha’s reputation any further than it was about to be. She’d followed Amira who’d been heading to Akbar to check on the charges.
Did the queen’s presence have anything to do with the thwarted explosion, and with Akbar’s death.
I glanced quickly at Fathima whose pained expression only reflected my thoughts. Without thinking, I spun around and met Drake’s eyes, my silent plea clear enough that he did nothing except reach for the queen and jump her away.
We’d deal with Aisha when we returned to HQ, that was for sure.
Still, having said nothing, Fathima shifted away, directing two more warriors to retrieve Akbar’s body from beneath a pile of rubble. I nodded at Logan to go over and help, and though he didn’t appear to want to leave me, he must have known with his assistance, he’d render the job done in seconds.
Dragon power wins the day.
Logan returned, two rebels supporting the injured Akbar leading the way. Fathima’s face was dark with worry. “When the last of them are out, we can go together?”
It wasn’t a question but it wasn’t an instruction either. The warrior’s eyes flickered with an unfamiliar expression, one that gave me the feeling that she didn’t trust me all of a sudden.
That’s what you get for saving a girl’s life.
Chapter 37
We returned to the headquarters in the city and to say it was mayhem would be an understatement. My mind was panicked with the failure of the mission, with the power of Division 7’s mage, with Aisha’s possible unwitting betrayal, and with the strange manifestation of my own abilities.
What in the goddess’ name was going on?
We’d rushed to the infirmary where rebels and a couple of my team were in various states of injuries. Darcy had suffered a cut down her arm as a result of a falling rock, and Kai had been brought to HQ by Logan after she’d been shot and almost killed by a djinn weapon laced with poison.
She lay in a cot bed to my right, already attached to an IV which administered the antidote. Fathima looked up, her eyes lightening as she caught sight of us. She left Kai’s bedside and hurried over to us.
“We’ve given her an antidote for the poison. I checked for anything magical but there isn’t. The stuff’s plain old herbal poison.”
“She’ll be fine in an hour or so,” said Amira, coming to a stop at my side. “The poison has no long-term ill-effect if we administer the antidote in time—which is why we use it. We’d prefer not to kill our enemies.”
I blinked at those words, wondering if that kind of thinking was more naive than humanitarian considering the extent to which Division 7 was going.
“Unless you don’t get to it in time?” said Darcy, eyebrow arched.
Amira merely nodded in reply.
Darcy continued, “And from what I was told, plain old humans can die very quickly from this poison. I have to pray this stuff isn’t in the hands of Earth-World governments already. There’s a potential of total devastation if they use poisons like this as bio-weapons.”
After a moment in which we all digested her words, Darcy asked, “What if they tinkered with the poison?”
Logan’s expression was twisted with fear and I knew he was thinking of Kai’s uncle Niko and his particular skill with restructuring poisonous compounds to create the worst results.
But Fathima was shaking her head. Amira, whose face was pale and tired, walked over to Akbar’s cot bed. She schooled her features as I glanced beyond her where two warriors were now covering Akbar’s body with a sheet of bronze fabric.
Fathima gave no indication of her sorrow as she said, “They wouldn’t know how to. The only people who can manipulate the compounds, and who have previous experience with the bio-weapon, is myself, Aisha and my uncle Kassim. So we don’t have to worry about that. Just give Kai some time and she’ll be fine. She’s strong, being a walker and all. And I’ve already spoken to her and she’s confirmed she’s slowly regaining her strength.”
“You’ve spoken to her?” I asked, frowning as I looked over at the sleeping walker.
“She’s had moments of lucidity,” the old warrior replied. “Even our drugs seems to have trouble keeping an alpha walker down.”
“Phew. Okay, that’s good then. How is Darcy?” I asked as I looked around for the MindMelder.
“Already released. S
he suffered a long incision on her left arm but it’s been sealed and should heal rapidly if she doesn’t injure it again.”
I glanced at Logan who’d remained silent through Fathima’s update. Then I turned back to the warrior, a question in my eyes. She swallowed, “Our Shahbanu is currently resting. We’ve sedated her. I’m afraid she was rather upset when Drake returned her to your quarters.”
I nodded, understanding that Aisha would have connected the dots and realized she’d been the reason the mission had failed, and that she’d caused Akbar’s grievous injuries. I felt for her, but I wasn’t ready to head over to check on her. Not just yet.
Fathima continued, “Akbar’s injuries were beyond treating. He would have survived but the mage must have sensed that she hadn’t delivered a fatal wound. Before she released him she took his heart.”
“What the fuck?” I whispered, horror sending waves of heat and ice through my veins as an image of the hooded witch’s bloodied palms appeared in my vision.
Fathima nodded. “Yes. That about covers what we’re all feeling. We didn’t know until we got him into the infirmary. His body is untouched other than the sword wound. It’s only after we’d administered energy induction and he remained non-responsive that we understood the situation.”
“How does someone even do such a thing?” asked Logan.
“The method is similar to jumping but is only known to have been performed by skilled SoulTrackers in the past,” Fathima said, her face now filled with worry.
“It’s not easy,” I added. “But I suppose the mage has sufficient knowledge of the ether that she could have learned the skill.” I heard my voice as I spoke, as though I was listening from a distance.