Shit.

  Isaac knew they were in trouble the moment he felt the woman’s Aura assault his own. She was a late-stage Countess boarding on Duchess, and unlike the people they had met in the past, such as Clarence, she was not someone to mess with. Her foundations were solid. She had skipped no steps up the mountain to glory and power.

  Francisco looked his way. “How do you want to play this?”

  “Let’s not do anything rash.”

  Felicity nodded. “Her power is weird. I’m getting magical healer vibes off her, but Ink users of that type rarely have offensive capabilities.”

  Isaac wasn’t so sure. “Maybe she’s bluff—” Two white bolts shot from the halo around the woman’s head, causing him to dive to one side. They struck the ground with a flash of light, sending steam curling from the mud. “Looks like I was wrong.”

  Two more bolts streaked toward him.

  He ducked the first.

  Clang.

  The second slammed into his katana.

  “Look, lady, we just—”

  He didn’t finish. A fresh volley cut him off, bolts hissing through the air like angry wasps. He moved fast, instincts firing, feet firing in the sludge as he twisted and ducked.

  The halo wasn’t letting up—just kept firing, white bolt after white bolt, relentless and precise.

  And all he could do was keep moving, keep breathing, and hope she ran out of ammo before he ran out of luck.

  Another two bolts fired his way, and he moved out of the way of the first and blocked the second with his katana. “Look lady, we just—” But no sooner had the words left his mouth than more bolts came his way. He kept on moving, making himself a hard target to hit as the halo fired white bolt after white bolt.

  Isaac skidded to a stop and found himself back next to Felicity and Francisco. “Thanks for the help.”

  Francisco smirked. “Looks like you had it all sorted. Was running around like a headless chicken not part of your plan?”

  “Don’t mock our fearless leader,” said Felicity. “He’s trying his best.”

  “If you two are finished, we’ll get started, shall—”

  Another bolt landed between Isaac’s legs, causing him to move.

  “Talking during a fight?” asked the healer. “How confident you must—”

  “On me!” screamed Isaac, using Aura to strengthen his legs as it pushed him forward.

  Time slowed down as his speed increased. The first two bolts zipped past his head as Felicity fired a trio of arrows the healer’s way. The healer dodged each one but caught a fourth. The smug look on her face didn’t last long as the arrow in her hand exploded with a flash and a billow of smoke.

  Obstructed from view, Isaac couldn’t see his target, but he didn’t need to. He could sense her Aura. It pulsed with a feeling of judgment. He caught Francisco on his left out of the corner of his eye, and they both launched themselves in the air and came down hard with attacks.

  Vibrations went up Isaac’s arm as both weapons struck something solid.

  Smoke clearing a yellow dome protected its user.

  The healer smirked, a mischievous twinkle in her eye. “Not bad for a Viscount—Viscountess and a Baron. You make a good team. Pity, it won’t be enough to save your lives.” The yellow dome protecting her pushed out with force, knocking him and Francisco aside.

  The blow knocked the wind from his lungs as he skidded along the dirt.

  Explosions rocked the air as Felicity fired explosive arrow after explosive arrow at her target. It wasn’t enough though as the dome protecting the healer stood firm. Think, Isaac. Think. She must have some weakness. He watched as Felicity fired from different angles, always moving, always keeping her target guessing. The healer dodged or caught the regular arrows sent her way, but she used her force field to protect her against the explosive ones.

  What am I missing?

  Francisco slid next to him. “Got a pla—”

  Issac shushed him as the overall picture became clearer. Two things become abundantly apparent. One, the healer was not only protecting herself but also the buildings around her. And two— “Francisco. I need your help. I need you to attack her head-on. After, follow me and do as I do. I just need to get Flic’s attention so we are all on the same page.”

  “You want me to attack her now?”

  Issac nodded. “Just long enough so I can speak to Felicity. Be elusive. Try not to get hit. Just buy me a handful of seconds. After, follow my lead.” Francisco nodded, then took off. Isaac ran to Felicity as she let off a cluster of arrows that were fired together but split up mid-journey and attacked from different angles.

  “You finally got your head out of your ass and come up with a plan?” she asked. He gave her a look. “If you are going to be in charge of our little group, then you must accept the responsibilities, too.”

  “I know that. Just—” He shook his head. Francisco roared in the distance as he dodged and tried his best to attack head-on. “Now isn’t the time to discuss this. I want you to fire as many arrows as you can, so she keeps her shield up while Francisco and I get close. When we are in range to attack her, stop. Allow her to.”

  “Allow her to what?” demanded Felicity.

  “Allow her to attack us. Allow her to get close. When the time is right, then you attack.”

  Felicity looked at him like he was crazy. “We can’t win this, Isaac. We’re only still alive because she’s a healer and her offensive powers are lacking. Anyone else at her skill and Aura level would have—”

  “I know we can’t defeat her. But I just need to get her to stop for a minute so we can talk.” She gave him a look. “Flic. I trust you. I trust your judgment. I just need you to hit her with something so we can talk.”

  She nodded, and he took off.

  Francisco turned at hearing Isaac approach. Blood coated his brow. The left side of his torso wasn’t much better.

  “You took your sweet time.”

  “Follow my lead.”

  Isaac burned Aura as he moved from side to side, keeping his opponent guessing. Francisco did the same, though his movements were not as elegant. Isaac focused on his target as he kept on burning Aura. Time slowed down. Felicity fired a handful of explosive arrows that caused the Healer to shield herself.

  Smoke cleared. Isaac held back as Francisco launched himself in the air as the shield vanished and a bolt of light fired from her halo. The big guy lifted his weapon in time to take the attack on the flat of the blade, but it still sent him crashing into the nearby wooden house.

  The Healer’s eyes widened as Francisco smashed through one side of the house and came out the other.

  Isaac smiled. Checkmate.

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  The Healer’s eyes darted his way. Isaac launched himself into the air, weapon sweeping back and up. He aimed for her midsection, but at the point of contact a yellow barrier just wide enough to protect her side blossomed into existence, stopping the attack.

  Ah. So she can control the size of her barrier.

  “You’re doing better than I thought,” said the Healer. “But it won’t be enough. There is a reason levels exist.”

  The barrier vanished, and Isaac could do nothing but watch as three bolts struck him in the chest at point-blank range. Pain filled his system, but through it all, a smile still graced his face.

  “What are you smiling—” She never got to finish her question as her body jerked and electricity swept through her.

  Isaac fell and watched as Felicity fired two more arrows that struck the Healer in the back. Her body did a little dance in the air as she, too, dropped to the ground.

  Isaac didn’t see where she landed as his body slammed into the mud and bounced. With each impact, he felt ribs break as his mouth formed a small O. Finally coming to rest, he embraced the silence that came after a battle as his vision darkened.

  It was a thing of utter beauty.

  The feeling of fighting well. The feeling of pushing oneself to their limits. The feeling of conquering one’s foe.

  It was something he could truly get addicted to.

  ***

  “Why do we fight, Young Master?”

  Isaac rolled his eyes as he ignored Femi, who sat on a boulder overlooking his training.

  Anong came at him again with a low kick that slammed into his calf, causing him to grit his teeth. The Thai woman wore nothing but a white vest that had gone see-through with sweat. She winked at him and shook her breasts his way. “Keep your eyes off the goodies. I know I’m not wearing a bra, but that doesn’t give you an excuse to perv over me like some—”

  Isaac ignored her and came on strong.

  The first two jabs were a fake, but the teep kick buried itself in her gut, lifting her off her feet. He rushed in and knew it was a mistake from the smile wrapped around the cigarette in her mouth. He tried to stop his forward advance, but it was too late—she dropped low and swept his legs from under him. Accepting the sweep, he broke his fall and rolled away as she sent kick after kick his way. Finally getting to his knees, he blocked her knee and tackled her to the ground, landing on top of her.

  “Oh Femi, save me! This sex-crazed teenager is about to have his wicked way with me.”

  Issac shook his head as he rolled off her and looked at the onyx-skinned man wearing nothing but a brown tunic. “I’m not going to keep doing this if she doesn’t take this seriously.”

  “Who said I’m not taking this seriously?” she asked as she threw an up-kick.

  He blocked it without looking. “I am.”

  Anong clapped in delight. “Ohhh, I think our young man is finally growing a big pair of balls.”

  Isaac ignored her as he made his way to the boulder that Femi was sitting on. The man’s milky eyes drew him in as if they could see something only he could. Isaac stopped and folded his arms as bird song filtered through the mountainside they were on.

  They stared at each other, neither moving an inch.

  Anong sighed as the click of her lighter sounded behind him. “As much as I love this tense stare-off, a girl needs her beauty sleep, and this is getting boring. When you figure out his answer, then we’ll pick up where we left off.”

  “Miss Anong, we are not done here,” said Femi, looking her way.

  “You may not be, but I am. There’s a cute lumberjack that works in the nearby village who’s been eyeing the goods. I’m going to position myself on the trail he works on and pretend I’m injured. Then I’ll get him to carry me back to his cabin where we’ll have wild—freaky—lumberjack sex. I may even wear his shirt afterward. Ohhh, the things I’m going to do to that man,” she said as she walked away with a wave.

  Femi turned his attention Isaac’s way. “You still have not answered my question, Young Master.”

  “I have not answered it because it is a stupid question.”

  Femi raised an eyebrow. “Oh, is it now?”

  “Why do we fight?” Isaac mocked. “How the hell am I supposed to know why people fight? It could be a number of reasons. Frame—riches—greed—vengeance—spite—the list goes on and on.”

  Femi shook his head. “Why do you fight?”

  “Isn’t it obvious? To defeat the man who killed my parents.”

  “So it’s out of revenge?”

  About to respond, Isaac slowly closed his mouth and thought it over. Was it revenge? Was it that simple? Was he that simple? “To be honest, Femi, at first it was. But as the years have passed, and my parents’ faces gets murkier, I don’t know anymore. I fight because that’s what I have always done. Fight. Like two countries fighting a war that started a thousand years ago, I’m just going through the motions. Doing what I think is right. Keeping on this path because if I don’t, then who am I? What am I? Then the deeper question really becomes, was it all worth it? The people I’ve killed—will kill. The harm I’ve done.

  “Will it all be worth it in the end?”

  “That’s assuming, Young Master, that you make it to the end.”

  Isaac smiled as he locked eyes with his mentor. “Oh, I’ll make it, Femi. No matter what—I’ll make it. I just don’t know if I’ll like who I become once I do.”

  Femi nodded to himself as he hopped off the boulder he was sitting on. He landed elegantly next to Isaac. Hand resting on Isaac’s shoulder, Femi stared off into the distance. “Once you find out the reason you fight, Young Master, use that as an anchor to keep you from being washed away from the shore.”

  “I don’t understa—”

  “You will do, and when you do, I pity the Gods themselves for getting in your way.”

  ***

  Felicity watched as Isaac crashed to the ground, as she fired another electric arrow into the Healer’s back. The arrow tips were in the shape of prongs that discharged an electrical current wherever they hit. The ones she had brought from E were the cheapest version. For her Aura level, they were the only ones of their type that she could handle. The more expensive versions needed higher Aura control but would allow her to discharge thunderbolts like Zeus smiting his enemies.

  She couldn’t wait until she got her hands on those.

  Felicity watched as the Healer landed in a crouch, her hands reaching around to her back to remove the arrows stuck there. The big idiot was nowhere to be seen, and Isaac was still down for the count.

  “I would be careful of your next move,” said Felicity, bow string pulled taut.

  The Healer chuckled. “Two of your number are down. Only leaving you. We both know that you cannot defeat me no matter what you do, not as you are, not by yourself.”

  “Are you so sure of that? We’ve defeated enemies higher ranked than you, and with much less experience and rank.”

  “Do not get too caught up on rank. It is a fallacy. There is a Duchess, and then there is a Duchess. I have seen Duchesses give Archduchess a run for their money and in some cases even defeat them… Yes, the fight always favors the person higher up the mountain, unless your foundation is solid. Unless granite runs through your veins and you have been battle tested, faced death more times than you can count, then do not be so sure of your path to victory.”

  Felicity took in the surrounding homes, with the grimy faces peering out of windows, and tried a different tack. “We both know your true goal is keeping the people of this town safe, and the more this fight continues, the more collateral damage that will be caused. I have no such concerns.”

  The Healer locked eyes with Felicity. It felt like she was searching her soul. The Healer let out a laugh. “You are no killer. You would not harm these people. Those two you are with, on the other hand—”

  Felicity couldn’t stop the words before they came out. “They would never do such a thing as hurt innocent people.” She tutted in annoyance as her rue was dashed against the rocks like a boat caught in a storm.

  The Healer plucked the last arrow from her back and stood tall. “I wouldn’t be so sure. The Other Side has a way of warping who you are—what you thought you were capable of—who you become.”

  Felicity felt the fight go out of her as she lowered her bow. “Look, this place—this planet—is fucked up beyond anything that I could envision. On Earth, they say this place is Hell and I didn’t believe it—didn’t want to…but the things I’ve seen, the things I’ve done, the things I will do…make me shiver. I know there is no reason for you to believe me, but we are not your enemy. Not by a long shot. We do not want to harm these poor people, nor are we here to ambush you. Can we have a do-over?”

  The Healer chuckled. “A do-over sounds good. By the way, you are doing a shitty job of trying to ambush me, if that was your intention.”

  “Tell me about it. We had some dealings with a bunch of assholes less than a week back in the forest while we were camping. The fuckers attacked us in the night.”

  “What did they look like?” asked the Healer, eyes going wide.

  Felicity shrugged. “Your typical bandit type. Dirty—gray clothes—”

  “Demon masks?”

  Felicity’s eyebrows lifted in surprise. “How did you…”

  “Did they also have tattoos?”

  “Yes. A tattoo of an emerald gemstone set in the roots of a tree.”

  The Healer slammed a fist into an open palm. “Those cock gobblers! I knew thinking they were dead was too good to be true.”

  “Look,” said Felicity, placing her bow back in her pocket dimension ring, “I am unharmed. Woman to woman, let’s just talk. Without having to worry about those other two dickheads.”

  The Healer pointed to herself. “Aja.”

  “Felicity.”

  Both women stared at each other. Neither knew what to say. “Well, this is awkward,” said Felicity. “It’s not every day I try to make small talk with the person who just tried to kill me.”

  Aja passed her hands through her braids, which had white bands tied to the ends. “You’ll get used to it. I’m taking it you haven’t been on The Other Side long?” Felicity nodded. “Sometimes it almost becomes a common occurrence. At the highest levels, Archdukes, Queens, and everyone in between are always changing alliances and fighting for whatever power they can grab. Now, tell me more about the bandits that attacked you.”

  Felicity shrugged. “There isn’t much more to say. They attacked us in the night. We killed some of their number, while others escaped. Luckily, I noticed something was wrong, otherwise we would not have made it. My skills—our skills, are still developing. I’m not used to working in a team. So we’re still getting used to each other’s strengths and weaknesses.”

  Aja grunted. “You’re being too harsh on yourself. For the Aura level of you guys, if I was anyone else, you would have defeated me.”

  Felicity smiled. “It was Issac’s idea. I didn’t know what he was trying to do at first, but he saw a weakness in your game. You can either defend or attack. Your power doesn’t allow you to do both.”

  Aja nodded in respect. “He was taught well. All of you are.”

  “He wasn’t lying when he said Smith sent us to find you. Smith has been training him since he arrived. Each of us has had…our own personal mentors. Without them, we would’ve been dead a long time ago.”

  “How do you know I’m the person you are looking for?” Aja asked Felicity.

  “Call it woman’s intuition. Anyway, why are you so important?”

  “I’m Smith’s daughter.”