Soulcleaver, p.24
Soulcleaver, page 24
part #2 of Dreamwalker Chronicles Series
“Be my guest. Just . . . don’t damage it, okay?”
Mikhail threw an offended glare over his shoulder. “As if I would.”
“So you said good news, does that mean there is bad news?”
“The bad news is that the encryption on this thing is as phenomenal as the shielding. It’s going to take me more than a few minutes poking at it to get it to spill its secrets, and Marshall has me working on something else right now. Once I finish it, though, I’ll get back to cracking this.”
Aeyli tried to keep her frustration from showing. It wasn’t Mikhail’s fault the Company was good at what they did. “Thank you. Please let me know if you find anything. And thank you for looking at it when you had more important things to do.” She smiled and patted Mikhail’s shoulder and pretended not to notice the redness racing up his neck from the contact.
“нет проблем.” He grunted and turned back to his monitors.
Aeyli took that as her sign to leave and made her way back up the stairs, only to run into Jack coming down them. He looked flustered, so she put a hand on his arm to steady him.
“Are you okay? What happened?”
“I’m fine, just irritated. Nova’s mom is here stirring up trouble, and Marshall stormed out of here a few minutes ago. I’d go after him, but I’m trying to keep Fumiko from steamrolling her very confused daughter into leaving.”
“I’m guessing Adelle is still too wound up to help?” Aeyli followed him back up the stairs.
“Actually, she and Nova seem to have worked through their issues, but I still think I should stay. She can get a bit protective of the people she cares about, and she’s spent the past five years watching Fumiko stomp all over Marshall. I think she’s run out of patience with the woman.”
“Are you sure I shouldn’t stay? A neutral party might be best.”
Jack frowned, considering. “Once you get back with Marshall, I might take you up on that, but I do think he needs you the most right now.” He steered her down the hall to the lobby and nudged her toward the door. “Nothing like a little Stillbringer love to make him feel like himself again.”
“Jack,” she protested weakly. She’d been hoping Jack hadn’t noticed the small crush she was nursing for Marshall, or at the very least he wouldn’t mention it.
He opened the door, grinning widely. “Go get him and bring him back to us.”
Aeyli fretted as she hopped down the stairs leading out of the Chapter House. If Jack was teasing her about Marshall, it had to mean he’d figured her out. Would he tell Marshall? She sincerely hoped not. It was only a small crush; she was still loyal to Fourteen. The mere thought of her soldier made her nervous system haywire.
It was just that she’d spent so much time with Marshall lately. She been inside the man’s soul, for Vis’ sake—it would have been impossible for her not to develop some feelings for him.
She would keep her thoughts to herself, hope Jack did the same, and focus on finding Fourteen. After she did, what she was feeling for Marshall would probably dissipate. She hoped.
But for right now, she needed to find Marshall and let him vent. She’d never known him to run away from anything. His interaction with Fumiko must have shaken him.
She scanned both sides of the street hoping to see him, but there was no sign. All she saw were tiny, well-tended spring gardens, expensive cars, and a lone power-walker. Maybe he’d gone to take a walk along the shore? It was right behind the Chapter House, and it was where she went when she need to be alone. But would Marshall find solace there?
She was trying to decide which way he was more likely to go when she remembered she was a witch. Then she wasted a moment or two kicking herself for forgetting she had magic.
She didn’t know much. Marshall had mostly focused on teaching her control and how to protect herself, but in the small hours of the night when she couldn’t sleep, Aeyli had been looking at simple spells. And not ten minutes ago she’d been reviewing a spell in Mikhail’s lair that might actually help her now.
She closed her eyes and focused on her essence, drawing out a small thread of it and feeding it into her hands—enough to make her fingers tingle, but hopefully not enough to trigger the monster lurking in her chest. Then she went through the hand motions—open right hand to her heart, left hand straight out in front, closed tightly into a fist. She willed a tiny bit more essence into her closed hand and opened it, flinging it out in a throwing motion and thought show me where I need to be.
It wasn’t quite a locator spell, but she didn’t know one of those, so this was the next best thing. It took hold of her immediately, and her feet pointed her down the street. Aeyli couldn’t have stopped them if she wanted to.
She sprinted down the sidewalk, a bit surprised at the urgency she felt as the spell had its way with her. She stayed calm as the magic drove her past the grouchy power-walker and nearly tripped her on a loose bit of cobblestone as it marched her forward.
She didn’t start getting nervous until she found herself climbing up a fire escape—what on earth was Marshall doing on the neighbor’s roof? As she crested the top she smiled in relief when she took in the dark figure leaning over the edge of the building.
Then she saw the sniper rifle. Then she realized the man was shorter and broader than Marshall, much more like the build of . . .
“Fourteen!”
The figure jerked to his feet and swore, coming around to face her.
It was him.
She’d been looking for him for weeks, and she’d found him only three doors down using a spell a seven-year-old could cast. Her eyes took him in hungrily. Fourteen looked much like he did the last time she saw him, same dark brown hair, the same storm-colored eyes. Though she noticed he was now clean shaven and his hair had been cut short enough that it wasn’t affected by the ocean breeze doing its level best to get Aeyli’s hair to strangle her.
She didn’t stop to think, didn’t notice the deadness in his eyes as she raced toward him until she was too close to stop herself.
Rough, gloved hands gripped her, and in seconds she was pressed against his chest with a knife to her throat.
“You ruined my shot.”
Aeyli’s mind had stopped working. “Your shot?” she asked dumbly.
“I almost had your teacher, but you distracted me. I’ve only winged him, and he’ll be coming up here now.”
Her brain started to catch up. This wasn’t her Fourteen. She was talking to a set of orders masquerading as Fourteen. She cursed herself for being so foolish.
What, had she really thought he’d escaped and found her? Of course he hadn’t. He’d been sent here by the Company, likely to kill everyone who knew about him. Why hadn’t she considered this as a possibility?
Probably because of that stupid note the Colonel had left, telling her the Company was available for her if she needed them. He must have changed his mind.
The writhing thing she’d been able to subdue in Mikhail’s basement stirred again. Only this time, it had brought some friends. Her skin prickled, and she felt like something was trying to tear its way out. Fourteen wouldn’t be affected by it, but the neighborhood would.
She needed to breathe, needed to think. She tried to focus on drawing air slowly into her lungs and back out again, but Fourteen pulled her hair sharply. She cried out in fear and pain. The knife pressed harder against her neck, and she felt blood trickle down her throat. Oddly enough, the pain cleared her head and caused the monster in her chest to subside enough for her to tamp it down.
“Why are you doing this?”
Her only response was another sharp jerk on her hair.
This couldn’t be happening. She couldn’t have made such a stupid mistake, couldn’t believe she was about to be killed by the man she loved.
She was smarter than this. She just needed to think. If she could remind him of who she was, who he was . . . but her magic wouldn’t work through his shield. The only part of him that wasn’t covered was his face, and she didn’t think she’d be able to get to it before he cut her throat. She needed to distract him until help came. If it came.
“What do you mean, you winged my teacher?” Was he talking about Marshall? Had she distracted Fourteen from taking a shot at Marshall? Thorny vines surged in her chest, nearly breaking free. Hastily, she reminded herself that Marshall was nearly indestructible, hoping the magic would listen. If he could survive getting a wall dropped on him, surely a bullet would be no big deal. “I seriously doubt you could do anything to him. His shield is even better than yours. Your handlers have to know that.”
A sharp burst of cold laughter met her ears. “Keep talking, princess. Once I’ve taken care of him, you’re next.”
“Aeyli.”
Relief swept through her when she heard Marshall’s voice, and the maelstrom building inside her faltered. Marshall would fix this. She’d seen what he was capable of.
Fourteen turned them both around to face Marshall, who had come up behind them.
“I knew it must be you when Aeyli disappeared from my senses the moment I was shot.”
Stunned, Aeyli realized Fourteen really had hit Marshall. The sleeve of his shirt was covered in blood, and she could see it dripping from his fingers onto the roof.
“How . . .?” Her mind was trying to shut down on her again, and she fought it. “How did he get through your shield?”
“I’d like to know the answer to that myself, actually.” Marshall was breathing heavily, and his eyes flashed with blue fire.
“Marshall, I know this looks bad, but please don’t hurt him. He’s not himself right now.” Her skin was so tight with barely leashed magic, she thought she could actually see it ripple under the strain.
Anger flashed across Marshall’s face before it disappeared into his usual calm façade. “Don’t worry about him right now, just try to work on your breathing. I’ll take care of this, sweetheart.”
Irritated at being managed, Aeyli glared, but decided now wasn’t the best moment to inform Marshall of the fact. If she survived, she could explain to him that I’ll take care of this, sweetheart was a pretty douchenozzle thing to say under any circumstances. Then she realized her annoyance had chased back the magic building up inside her. Had Marshall been annoying on purpose in order to distract her? Even while bleeding and angry, had he had the presence of mind to help her stay in control? It was completely crazy, but totally Marshall.
Marshall held out both hands to show they were empty. As if that made him less dangerous.
How much had Fourteen’s handlers allowed him to remember of the Other? They’d have to be morons not to let him remember how dangerous Marshall could be.
“You’re going to hate yourself for this later, man. I know you aren’t yourself right now, but I’m not going to let you hurt her.”
“I’m not here for her. It’s her bad luck she got in the way. I’m just making the best of the situation.” Fourteen’s breath was warm on her neck and made her shiver, but not in a good way.
“So you’re here for me.” It wasn’t a question.
“Sucks to be you, Marshall.” Fourteen voice was cold and dispassionate. Just like he was when she first met him. “You pissed off someone with a lot of money recently. Apparently he didn’t like you taking his daughter.” He shifted his weight and pulled Aeyli even closer to him. “So, you like kidnapping girls? Maybe I should take this one in exchange.”
Aeyli liked that idea a lot better than becoming collateral damage. If Fourteen did take her, she might get a chance to touch him and use her gift to remind him who he was. Marshall, apparently, didn’t like that idea if his snarl was any indication.
“Then again, I was supposed to kill her if I saw her, so maybe not.”
When Marshall raised his hand, Aeyli shouted, “Please don’t hurt him, he doesn’t know what he’s doing!”
“He’s not exactly a puppy I can swat with a newspaper, Aeyli.” Frustration was clear in his voice, but Marshall made no further move to attack.
Fourteen’s grip on her tightened, and Aeyli tensed, closing her eyes, fully expecting the knife to cut through an artery. When she felt nothing, she chanced a peek to see what was happening.
Marshall had a strange expression on his face. “You can’t do it, can you?” He took a step closer. “You had orders to kill her on sight, but you can’t do it, and you have no idea why.”
Aeyli felt the knife at her neck dig in a little deeper, and she whimpered. Suddenly, the knife was gone, and she found herself on the ground where Fourteen had pushed her.
“What the fuck?” She heard him mutter behind her as she scrambled to her feet.
Before she found her footing, Marshall darted forward and tugged her behind him, keeping a death grip on her arm. She was expecting Marshall’s shield to come up around them or maybe Fourteen, but he did nothing.
Fourteen whipped his head to the side and swore again. Then he scooped up his duffle bag and vaulted over the side of the building right as Jack’s head emerged over the fire escape ladder.
“Which way did he go?” Jack demanded as he came over the top of the fire escape, excitement sparkling in his impossible eyes. He stopped dead at the sight of Marshall’s arm. “Are you fucking kidding me? I just fucking fixed you, who did this?”
“It was Fourteen.” Aeyli tried to stay calm, but it came out more as a sob.
“How did he shoot you, man? I know you’re a bit basic right now, but didn’t you have a simple shield up?”
“He shot me with something that took out my shield.”
Aeyli gasped. “You came up here to face him without a shield? What were you thinking?”
“What she said, only louder.” Jack’s eyes were grim, and their colors swirled violently.
“I was thinking I’d been shot and that Aeyli’s essence vanished right where the shot came from.” Marshall hissed when Jack tore open his sleeve to get at the wound. “I called Jack because I knew I wouldn’t be a match for him. But I knew I could stall until he got here.”
“What’s wrong with him?” she asked Jack. “Why doesn’t he have that fancy shield you guys use?”
“The short version is that he’s a dumbass.” Jack’s brows knitted together, and Aeyli saw the rainbow of his essence wrap around Marshall’s upper arm.
“And the long version?”
“Does she need to know the long version?”
“I think she does.” Aeyli snapped.
“He’s getting away,” Marshall reminded them, managing to sound only a little like he was trying to distract them from the topic at hand.
“Right now I’m more concerned with your blood getting away.” Jack frown deepened, and Aeyli watched in fascination as his essence began to form a complex lattice around Marshall’s wound. “You couldn’t have picked a worse time for this, you know. I used a lot of juice bringing your ass out into the Real. We’re both going to need to go back to the ’Scape ASAP. And you’re not coming out again until you’ve installed all of your upgrades.”
“Marshall.” Aeyli ground out through gritted teeth. “Why are you missing your upgrades?”
She sat on the edge of the roof, horrified, as Marshall, with some extreme prompting from Jack, outlined what happened while Marshall was gone.
“You mean to tell me that you came out here, away from the protection of the Chapter House, when you knew a rogue dreamwalker was out there who wanted to kill you, and you barely had enough magic to cast a simple shield?”
Marshall groaned. “Well, when you put it that way, it sounds bad.”
“If you weren’t bleeding right now, I would hit you.”
“She’s definitely one of us. I think we should keep her.” Jack gave her a tight smile as he finished binding off Marshall’s wound and allowed his magic to return to his own body. “This should hold until we can get him back into the ’Scape.”
Suddenly, both Jack and Marshall went still.
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.” Jack ran a hand over his face in frustration.
“Go, you’ll get there faster, we’ll be fine.”
Jack’s expression was torn. Whatever had him and Marshall on alert was clearly a big deal, but Jack obviously didn’t want to leave an injured and defenseless Marshall alone on the roof moments after his attacker had left.
“Go! Aeyli and I can make it back to the Chapter House on our own. If worse comes to worse, she has a shield too.” Marshall gave Jack’s shoulder a shove to get him moving, but he didn’t budge.
Aeyli groaned and kicked a loose bit of concrete across the rooftop. She could have shielded when Fourteen grabbed her, but instead she’d panicked like some stupid cartoon princess.
“A shield didn’t do you much good a few minutes ago.”
“Jack.” With one simple word and a look, Marshall managed to instill a mountain of meaning.
With a growl, Jack made for the fire escape looking incredibly pissed off.
“What was that? What just happened?”
Marshall covered his face with his hands and sighed heavily. “Adelle took Nova and Fumiko out for coffee. Niko found them. He trapped Adelle and took them.”
Chapter 28
Aeyli
The sun had long since gone down by the time Aeyli got them back to the Chapter House, and she was a complete nervous wreck.
Marshall had held together well enough during the confrontation with Fourteen, but using what little magic he had to get to the roof and keep from bleeding out had left him in fairly bad shape. Jack had managed to stop his bleeding and seal the wound, but that was all. Marshall was now about as powerful as a norm with a gunshot wound. So getting him down the fire escape and back down the street had turned into a complicated mess.
At first he’d tried to make it on his own, but after stumbling down the stairs and nearly falling the rest of the way, Aeyli had tucked herself under his arm and taken as much of his weight as she could.
As they fumbled their way back to the Chapter House, she twitched at every noise and stray motion out of the corner of her eye. By the time they were fifty yards from their destination, Aeyli had called up her shield in the hopes it would calm her shaking legs long enough to get them inside.
