“My master wants you,” it said in my ear.
I pushed the image of my insides melting into a slurp-able goo to the back of my mind. Who was its master and why did he want me? I swallowed the fear threatening to overtake me. “Your master?” I goaded the thing. “I wouldn’t boast about servitude. It makes you pathetic.”
“As pathetic as you, Shaede?” Its grating voices used my own words against me. “Aren’t you a slave yourself?”
“I am my own,” I said.
“NO!” A blast of wind whipped at my face. “You belong to that scum of a king!”
“I am employed.” I kept my voice steady, my gaze straight ahead, even as the other pedestrians on the sidewalk gave me a wide berth. I must have come off as bat-shit insane.
“You are purchased,” it seethed. “You are a king’s whore and nothing else.”
Now, I’ve been called a few names here and there. Most of them didn’t even cause me to bat a lash. Whore was not one of them.
I stopped dead in my tracks. “You are a cowardly piece of shit,” I said in voice dripping with malice. “If you were half as tough as your talk, you’d show yourself so I could kick your ass and send your soul into the light forever.”
The Lyhtan’s many voices laughed in my ear, and I felt its presence close to me, like a bulldozer pressing against my body. “You speak with the arrogant supremacy of all Shaedes. But the eclipse will see to the end of your conceit.”
Again with the eclipse talk? I guess this particular Lyhtan was an astronomy buff. I looked straight ahead. I didn’t blink. I didn’t breathe. My hand twitched as I thought of retrieving the katana from my back. Another gust of air pushed at me and then dissipated, followed by the familiar scurrying sound, only to leave me standing alone, trembling with rage.
The Lyhtan—and its master—had to be connected to the hit. Even Xander thought so. But the question was, Why would the mark want me? The plot thickens, I thought as I picked up my pace, walking the adrenaline out of my system and waiting for sunset to release me from pathetic uselessness.
When I made it back to my studio, I was unsurprised to find a note from Raif stuck to the wall beside the elevator door. The long knife he’d used to secure it there was a nice touch. He wanted me at the warehouse as soon as the sun set. I was almost excited for a night of training, despite my apprehension that he was going to kick my ass.
I showed up at the warehouse precisely at sunset. I didn’t want to give Raif any excuses to be unduly rough. Though it went against my nature, I vowed to behave myself. The epitome of humble, I kept my gaze cast down, my ears open, and my mouth shut. And I worked my ass off for him.
By the end of that night’s session, I was doing acrobatic maneuvers that would have made an Olympic gymnast jealous. “That was a sweet move, right?” I asked an indifferent Raif, who merely answered with a raised brow. “Come on. You have to admit, I’m much better than I was.”
“I suppose it’s good for a warrior to be arrogant or, at the very least, confident.” He turned and swung. I parried the thrust, no longer needing both hands to stay his progress. “You’re far from ready, though.”
I leapt high and became nothing but a mist of dark air. Twisting in midflight, I became solid just as my boot made contact with Raif’s arm. He spun away, deflecting my momentum, grunting as he gained his bearings. I landed and held the katana high.
“You’re not big on compliments, are you?”
“I’ll give you one when you deserve one,” he said, jabbing at my midsection.
But my swordplay was impeccable, my speed and precision without flaw. Buckets of sweat ran down my back and my toes squished in my black boots. Yuck. I didn’t give Raif one single excuse to punish me, and he didn’t. He worked me raw. No one could say Raif wasn’t thorough. It didn’t matter to me that he was doing this more out of duty to Xander than out of any concern for my well-being.
I cleaned the blade of the katana before sheathing it. The sun would be rising soon, and so our session had come to an end. I sensed Raif’s approach and I stiffened, waiting anxiously for him to make his move.
His voice was gentle in the empty warehouse, no longer barking orders, goading me, ridiculing me like a deranged drill sergeant. “Your wounds from the Lyhtan attack seemed to have healed.”
Is he actually trying to be nice? Maybe I’d gained some ground with him. “I have a few on my legs, but for the most part, they’re gone.” I shrugged, acting tough for his benefit. “Xander thinks the Lyhtan is connected to the job. You have an opinion on that?”
“I think it’s possible. More than possible, in fact. They are formidable,” he said, reminding me of an ancient warrior, which he assuredly was. “And you’re not anywhere near strong enough to go up against one yet. But if you train with me, you will be. When I’m done with you, only a fool would rise against you. In the meantime, do not let your guard down if you should come across a Lyhtan again.”
“Too late,” I said, guiding the katana into the sheath and driving it home. “It’s got a crush on me. Followed me around for a while today.”
Raif looked taken aback. That was new. “It didn’t attack?”
“No, it was all about the name-calling today.” I kept my demeanor calm, even. “I think it’s building up for a big show.”
“What did it say to you?”
“That its master wanted me. What do you think that means?” I wished to hell I knew. Up until I’d met Xander, I’d lived well under the radar. No one besides Ty had known anything about me. Suddenly, I’d become very popular. “Xander said under normal circumstances, a Lyhtan would try to kill me on the spot. Why the games? So far, it’s just playing with me. And why, exactly, does its master want me?”
Raif’s eyes widened a fraction of an inch. But for him, it was as good as a gawking stare. “Don’t go anywhere alone,” he said after a moment.
Oh, great—another guy looking out for me. If I’d been any other girl, I might have been flattered. But I was not any other girl. “Raif, please. I can handle it. I don’t need backup or bodyguards. What I’d rather have is answers.”
“You can’t handle it,” he snapped.
Christ. Mr. Sensitive.
“Lyhtans are dangerous creatures. You’ll need protection.”
“I can protect myself,” I said. “Just tell me how. Do I need a special weapon—kryptonite? Holy water?”
“I’ll take care of it,” Raif said, distant and thoughtful. “Lyhtans are usually quite predictable. I don’t like that this one isn’t. They don’t take Shaede prisoners. They kill us. In the meantime, if you insist on going out during the day, take the Jinn with you.”
“Um, the what?” I said.
“Your friend. What’s his name—Tyler?”
“Oh, Ty. Well, I doubt he’d be much help. What’s a Jinn anyway—some kind of Shaede slang for human?”
Raif gave me the strangest look. Like he wanted to say something. Instead, he graced me with a benign smile.