Shadowstorm (Sorcery and Science Book 6) (26 page)

His smirk wasn’t fading, not even a bit. “Just a feeling.”

“Hmm.”

“Plus, Jason and I were chatting a bit.”

Terra couldn’t help but look at Jason. The thought of him ‘chatting’ was just too funny. She shot him an amused grin—which he responded to with his usual unreadable face of granite.

“Well, it seems our assassin friend is feeling a tad overprotective at the moment,” said Everett. “He doesn’t want Terra to come with me to Lord Varen’s island. He wants her to come with him, so he can keep an eye on her. Since Lord Varen has some Elitions working for him, I naturally protested that I needed an Elition on my team to counter whatever magic they throw at us. He volunteered you, Ariella.”

“Sick of me already?” Ariella asked Jason, though she didn’t actually look annoyed. It must have been the tickled smirk she was giving Terra.

“You’re mangling the retelling,” Jason told Everett. “It was
you
who insisted that you wanted Ariella to join your team since you’ve worked together on something like this before.”

Ariella snorted. “You can hardly compare sneaking through Solarin to rescue Davin and attempting to steal a Xenen artifact from Lord Varen.”

“Sure I can.” Everett’s shoulders rose in a slow, relaxed shrug. “They both involve breaking and entering.
And
mechanical menaces.”

Ariella choked on her own laugh, and it came out as a cough instead. “You sure do know how to sell it.”

“Come on.” He grinned, the hint of an inside joke breaking the surface. “It will be fun. For old times’ sake.”

“Ok,” she agreed. “I do want to get to the bottom of what Lady Cassandra was really up to. Whatever it is, I have a bad feeling that it will affect us all. And King River will want to know about it.”

Terra nodded. She felt it too, that dark shadow lurking on the horizon of the future.

“What about me?” Cameron asked.

“You’re going back to Eclipse,” said Jason.

Cameron gave his chin a defiant lift. “I think I’ll just go with Everett.”

“To Lord Varen’s island?” Jason’s eyes phased dark, and he turned that menacing stare on Cameron. “Absolutely not. You can come with Terra and me as far as Eclipse.”

“Why does Terra get to go with you?”

“Because I need her.” When Jason turned his eyes on her, they had softened. Somewhat. “Time is of the essence, and you know the way through the Wilderness better than anyone.”

Terra was so flattered by the compliment that she couldn’t think of a response. She even forgot that she’d meant to challenge Jason to a duel—at least until Ariella reminded her.

“Terra,” she whispered. It was an unnecessary precaution, since half the people here could hear her anyway. “The serum. You wanted to test it out, remember?”

Terra looked away from the mischievous spark in Ariella’s violet eyes, to the dark gleam in Jason’s black ones. “Oh, right.” Now that she was standing beside him—now that he’d said he needed her—she found that she was lacking the ire to fight him.

“What serum?” he asked, his face impassable.

“I found a recipe for a Triad serum.”

“Have you?” He looked intrigued.

“I’m still trying to figure out the proper mix for me.”

Ariella gave her a helpful nudge forward. “She thought you might be willing to help her test it out, Jason.”

Jason came closer—so close that Terra could see nothing but his eyes. The cold sheet over them dissolved into hot liquid obsidian as he stared at her. “I can see the serum at work. Especially in your eyes.” He inhaled deeply. “I can smell it on you too. It’s very close to a Triad, but not quite.”

“Not quite?” Her voice cracked. He was too close for her to think straight—or apparently talk normally.

“Your resonance is still yours. Triads taste bitter.”

Terra nodded. She’d felt that from Triads too.

“Whereas you’re sweet.” His cheek brushed past hers as he moved to whisper into her ear. “Sweet, but buzzing with power. I can feel it igniting the air around you.” She tried not to shudder at the feel of his breath against her skin. “The serum is definitely working.” He took a few steps back. “Is that what you wanted to know?”

Without him pressed up against her, Terra felt a chill cut through her body. If she hadn’t know better, she’d have thought he was playing games with her. But Jason didn’t play games. That would have required succumbing to occasional bouts of whimsy. Jason seemed to think that whimsical thinking was a mortal failing in assassins. And maybe he was right.

“Actually, I think Terra was thinking of a
physical
demonstration,” said Ariella.

All eyes turned on Terra. She threw up her mental wall. It was good at keeping pesky Phantoms out of her thoughts, but it had other uses too. It put enough of a lock on her emotions that her cheeks didn’t break out in a spectacular crimson blush, for example.

“Jason Chanz, I challenge you to a fight,” she said, her voice steady and hard. The decade she’d spent working on her mental wall had been time well spent.

Jason listened in silence, and when he spoke, his voice was equally cool. “I accept.”

“Don’t hold back.”

A smile cracked his lips. It wasn’t a big one, but it was big enough to elicit a shocked gasp from Everett. Of course he was probably just putting on a show. He liked to tease Jason far more often than was good for him.

As do I,
Terra reminded herself.

“A serum hasn’t been invented that could allow you to fight me and win.”

A potent flavor of smugness steamed off of him, bringing forth the Phantom in Terra. As it sprang to the forefront of her mind, she felt her eyes burn. Through a haze of blurry movement, she saw the ghost of Jason’s fist dart forward. Half a second later, his actual fist followed. She raised her arms to deflect it, but he’d piggybacked a mind blast on the strike. As their hands made contact, a hot spark sizzled across her skin before dissolving about halfway up her arms. If he was surprised, he didn’t show it. She couldn’t remember if she’d ever mentioned to him that she was immune to mind blasts—though she’d never been hit by one at that range. Maybe it was time to return the favor.

He struck out again, his palm slamming toward her ribcage like a brick. She pivoted and caught his wrist with both hands as she shot a mind blast right through him. Unlike her, he wasn’t immune. He staggered back, his eyes unfocused, his chest twitching in uneven breaths. Terra knew she had only a few seconds—at most—until he recovered. She ran at him, kicking straight at his chest. This time, it would work.

Except that it didn’t. He raised his hand, neatly catching her foot. Even with the serum, even with him dazed—she just wasn’t fast enough. She spun inside his hold, winding up the power of Memory inside of her. As she kicked out toward his head, she shot a memory into him, praying it would take. Her foot met the side of his head at the same time the memory seeped in. He went down.

“I win,” she declared, standing over him.

His hand locked around her ankle. He gave her a sharp tug, and she stumbled forward. As she landed with an ungraceful plop on top of him, he rolled to reverse their positions.

“No, I win.”

Jason was pressing down on her, pinning her legs so hard to the ground that she couldn’t even twitch. His eyes pulsed with satisfaction. He was enjoying this all too much. Terra matched his stare, feeling her eyes harden and phase. A burst of energy erupted from her, hitting Jason straight in the chest. His body shot back, but he managed to turn himself midair, landing on his feet. Terra pushed herself off the ground before he could trap her again.

“This isn’t over,” he said.

“I’m just getting started,” she shot back, sounding more confident than she actually was. She’d hit him with a combination of all three Triad abilities, and he was still fighting.
What does it take to knock him out?

Before she could explore the possibilities, a band of ten armed men stormed the camp.

* * *

527AX January 18, Woods Outside Lear

They were armed with hunting knives and even a few swords. Terra didn’t see any guns, but that didn’t mean there weren’t some tucked away under their many layers of clothing. Some of the men wore leather jackets like Everett, while others wore waterproof coats. They all wore thick-soled hiking boots, which looked a whole lot more practical for trekking through the woods than the heels Terra was wearing. Though her boots were a lot prettier.

“You need someone to swing you over his back and carry you back to Lear, princess?” asked the bounty hunter with the pierced lip, his gaze shifting down to her feet.

Yes, they were bounty hunters. Terra didn’t have the slightest doubt about that. Word of her whereabouts sure had spread fast.

“Empress, not princess, you dolt,” said the bounty hunter with the yellow shoelaces.

“She sure is a pretty one. No wonder Emperor Selpe is willing to pay five hundred thousand Crowns for her,” said a third.

Yellow Shoelaces held up his arm, blocking Number Three. “What are you doing?”

“Going to subdue our five hundred thousand Crowns.”

“If it were as easy as that, the reward wouldn’t be so high.”

Number Three snickered. “It’s high ’cause Emperor Selpe wants that pretty pink-haired treat to warm his sheets.”

“She’s Elition,” said Yellow Shoelaces. “They don’t go down without a fight.”

Pierced Lip was still admiring her shoes. “Those clothes are for clubbing, not fighting.”

Terra rolled her eyes and stepped forward. She kicked and spun, her shin slamming against his side. He went down, hitting the ground with a muted thump.

“If anyone else wants to put my clothes to the test, be my guest,” she called out to the other men.

A hand clamped down on her arm. “What are you doing?” Jason’s scratchy voice said in her ear.

“I wasn’t about to kick him with my foot. These heels are as sharp as daggers,” she said, turning to smile at him.

He didn’t look amused. “I wasn’t critiquing your fighting style. I was questioning your sanity.”

“That’s Jason Chanz,” one of the bounty hunters muttered, backing away.

The others did the same. Terra wasn’t surprised. There probably wasn’t a bounty hunter in the world willing to take Jason on. They were all too afraid of him. But no one was ever afraid of her. Well, if her plan worked, that would all change.

“You scared them. They’re leaving.” Terra frowned at Jason. “And after I did all that work to lure them here too.”

He hit her with a look that could have frozen a river of lava solid. “You lured these men here?”

The bounty hunters paused, their curiosity stalling their steps.

“Not these men in particular, but yes, I wanted some bounty hunters to find me.”

“You…” Jason shook his head. “It is one thing to go where danger may find you. It is quite another thing entirely to purposely seek it out.”

“I have a plan.”

“I don’t want to hear it.” He pulled her behind him. The air around him was charged with currents of a magical energy so volatile—so primal—that she didn’t even try to stop him.

The bounty hunters stood frozen, their eyes wide with terror as the beginnings of Phantom rage began to smolder and seethe behind Jason’s obsidian stare. Phantoms in that state couldn’t be reasoned with; they had to work out their rage. Terra tried anyway.

“Jason, could you try not to kill them? I still need them.” She set her hand on his arm.

He looked back at her, staring her straight in the eye. The Phantom in her screamed to be heard, but she didn’t listen. She pushed it right back down where it belonged, ignoring its demand to challenge Jason to a staring contest. She knew better than to provoke a Phantom like that—especially the Elite Phantom. They could be a real moody bunch when it came to their silly dominance games.

“Jason,” she said, reminding herself to blink now and again.

A wave of energy shot out of him, crashing hard against the bounty hunters. They flew back, mud splattering everyone as they landed on their bottoms. Jason’s hands plucked the throwing knives from the bands on his arms. His hands a blur of movement, he threw them in one continuous arc. Terra closed her eyes, but it didn’t help. As clearly as if her eyes were wide open, she saw the line of razor leafs, each as black as Jason’s eyes. Ten staccato beats thumped out as the ten knives met their ten targets. Terra opened her eyes to find the bounty hunters every bit as dead as she knew they’d be.

“I asked you not to kill them!” she shouted, punching Jason in the arm.

She was too angry to care how much it hurt her hand, which wasn’t as much as usual. She could thank the Triad serum for that. Among other things, it had shot her pain tolerance through the roof.

No, it wasn’t just that. She almost got a high from the pain. It was no wonder that Phantoms were so hard to take down—and why they were often such masochistic maniacs.

“They were a threat,” Jason replied. While his eyes weren’t exactly exuding tranquility and peace, they at least weren’t screaming murder anymore.

“I needed them alive,” she said.

“For your plan?”

“Yes.”

“It’s too dangerous.”

“You haven’t even heard it.” She nearly went cross-eyed trying to phase her eyes.

And he wasn’t even impressed. “I know you. Your plans are always dangerous.”

Drawing two knives, he spun around. He stared down a second group of bounty hunters, newly arrived and meaner-looking than the first. There were fifteen of them, meaning they outnumbered Jason’s throwing knives over seven to one. They each carried what looked suspiciously like a Selpe military rifle, but these were no soldiers. Their spiked leather ensembles screamed that clearly enough.

“Stay back,” Terra told Jason.

She didn’t wait for him to argue. She pushed her hands forward, expelling a mind blast that flung the fifteen men backward. She pushed deeper, implanting a memory. The men hit the ground with a collective moan. Fifteen pairs of eyes looked up, trembling with terror as they met hers. Tripping over one another in an effort to scramble to their feet, they turned tail and ran away.