Lifeblood (Everlife #2)(68)

“Good,” he says. “You also need to learn how to connect the pair. A staff doesn’t get trapped in bone, and it has a much longer range. You can take out more people at once.”

Right. I slide the swords together, and the center locks. As I twirl the staff—far more clumsily—the outer casing grows hot...almost too hot. Definitely too hot. Literal flames crackle at the ends. My eyes widen. Despite the heat, my hands remain uninjured...until I shift my thumb out of the handhold. One of the flames licks over my skin, blistering me.

Hissing, I drop the staff. The flames vanish.

Levi grins. “I’ve got to get me one of those.”

I snatch up the weapon, surprised to find the metal is already cool. “Mine.” My sore muscles protest the action, but not by word or deed do I reveal my pain. The moment I do, I suspect Levi will call a halt to the session.

Teach me more! Teach me everything!

He snickers at me. “What of generosity, Miss Lockwood?”

“I’ll think about saving your life with my weapon. Can’t get more generous than that.”

As he chuckles, a shadow falls over us. I spin and spot—

Deacon. A smiling Deacon.

Have I entered Bizzaro world? Last time we were together, he gave me the stinky boot.

“I hear you killed an entire contingent of Myriad soldiers,” he says to me. “Good job.”

I bite my tongue until I taste the sweetness of my Lifeblood. Cannot talk about Killian. Cannot admit the truth. I change the subject. “Where have you been?”

His smile slips. “I was part of a select group guarding Javier. During the last battle, I had a chance to escort him to a new safe house, but he refused. At that point, I could do nothing to help him without violating his free will.”

“How is he?” Levi asks.

“The disease is stronger in him than in Dior. He rages out, and nothing calms him.”

For once, I lament free will. If a human doesn’t want us near, we cannot go near. The only exceptions? When a family or friend inside the realm asks on behalf of the human. Like Meredith so often did for me.

Lockdown!

Even with a family member’s interference, there are codes of conduct all TLs must respect.

“I received word before you arrived at the coliseum,” Levi says. “One of the reasons we lost the battle is Javier himself. Our soldiers were weakened in his presence. We believe he’s begun the transition. He will become an Abrogate.”

A sound I don’t recognize slips from my lips. If Javier becomes an Abrogate... “Could he cleansed and become a Conduit for Troika?”

“It’s...possible.”

A chance is better than nothing.

Javier could be the one, then. He could save Troika and win the war. Because Javier Diez is—

In my mind, the Grid translates the word Diez. In Spanish, diez means ten.

He is Javier Ten.

The knowledge comes with a strange mix of dismay and hope. And pressure. A whole lot of pressure. If he signs with Myriad, he’ll become a General. Before the deaths of Rosalind and Abdul, he would have been the tenth. The complete set.

Myriadians have always favored the numbers one and zero. They have ten cities within their realm. Ten festivals of celebration. Ten points on their brand.

The day of my birth, nine of their Generals were killed. Their Leaders believe the spirits of those Generals immediately Fused with humans. Beginning with me.

With the loss of Rosalind and Abdul, Myriad desperately needs two new Generals. Javier is a nice start. Do they believe Javier is the one they’ve been searching for, instead of me? After all, ten is ten, and there are always different ways to say the same thing:

2 x 5 = 10

1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8.9.10

Greater than 9 but less than 11.

. . . . . . . . . .





X


11-1 = 10

A dime.

A decade.

Decem.

Dix.

An insidious monster with fangs and claws prowls through me—his name is Envy. I actually envy Javier. He might be the one my realms need. Him, not me.

I’ve bewailed my status for weeks and now, when it might be taken from me, I want it back? Wow. I suck.

“I wonder if our s—” Remembering our audience, I press my lips together.

“It’s okay. Deacon knows there’s a spy in our midst,” Levi says, understanding the direction my mind had traveled. “We’ve checked out everyone who knew where we were keeping Javier, but have come up with no concrete evidence any information was leaked. But all that means is he or she is very, very good at hiding his or her activities.”

“Maybe Myriad is fighting so hard to keep Dior on their side because she influences Javier.” Once Levi told me I wasn’t seeing the full picture. He was right. But my eyes are beginning to open.

“They aren’t fighting to keep her anymore,” Deacon says. “This morning they voided their petition to stop her trial. A court date has been set for two weeks from today.”

Unease prickles at the back of my neck, but I say, “That’s wonderful.” She’ll be pleased. And I did promise to help her. But I can’t help remembering Killian’s warning...

Deacon rubs the back of his neck as if he feels the same sense of unease. “I don’t think she’s ready.”