Southwest Nights (Semiautomatic Sorceress Book 1) by Kal Aaron (large ebook reader txt) 📕

of their descendants, but the rest of humanity…” She shook her head. “They think their toys mean they have power when they don’t know true power. They are self-destructive and short-sighted.”

“I don’t know. The internet, jets, and strawberry ice cream are impressive. Both sides have power, just different kinds. And we wouldn’t have Torches or Eclipses if we were perfect.” Lyssa patted her bike. “Balanced coexistence is a pipe dream with so few Sorcerers, but I don’t see how things work out without it. Right now, there’s not much I can do about it other than my job, and I figure if I’m doing my job right, that helps both sides.”

“If you say so. I’m not so sure.”

A strange expression played across Aisha’s face. If Lyssa hadn’t been looking straight at her, she would have missed it. All the pride, confidence, and arrogance she’d come to associate with Aisha Khatri disappeared and was replaced by the discomfort and pain she’d expect of a young woman unsure of her place in the world.

They weren’t so different in a lot of ways. It was no wonder they didn’t get along. But it was time to change the subject and focus on the job.

“Something’s been bothering me since I ran into you.” Lyssa looked away as she spoke.

“Are you attempting to impugn my honor again, Corti?” Aisha frowned.

“I’m wondering if we should contact our Elders and await further orders. And trust me, I don’t say that lightly. I made a speech to Samuel about how I was not going to do that.”

Lyssa kept her wraith form up. Someone spotting them and somehow tying their presence to the port delivery would only be able to pick out Aisha and not realize two Sorceresses were working the case.

“Elder Theodora doesn’t want to be bothered with petty details.” Aisha narrowed her eyes, obviously trying to pick out Lyssa’s location in the darkness. “It annoys her to be bothered with such things. I’m surprised Elder Samuel wants them.”

“He doesn’t normally, either.” Lyssa sighed. “And I don’t know about Theodora, but it’s not like he always responds quickly when I contact him. That’s not the only thing. Something’s still bothering me about both of us being assigned to the same job. I’ve tried to ignore it, but I can’t anymore.”

Lyssa also couldn’t ignore that her thought process might be clouded because of the recent anniversary. The farther the case progressed, the less she believed it had anything to do with her brother. Mentioning that to Aisha now wouldn’t help.

None of that changed her conclusions. Something smelled off, something far more than territory overlaps.

“It’s obvious that you—” Aisha began.

“I know you hate me, but that doesn’t extend to Samuel,” Lyssa interrupted. “You don’t think he’d ask around? You don’t think Theodora wouldn’t mention it to the other Elders in North America? I feel like we’re both missing something obvious.”

Aisha’s angry look didn’t soften, but when she spoke, her words were quiet. “There are some irregularities about this assignment, given its nature. I’ll admit that. It would have made more sense for the Elders to coordinate with each other, given the smuggling started in one region and is influencing another.”

Lyssa laughed. “This might be about you and me.”

“What do you mean?”

“Our relationship isn’t exactly secret.” Lyssa shook her head. “They might have worried we couldn’t work together, but that doesn’t change what we should do.”

Aisha folded her arms. “And what is that?”

“I think we should clean it up as much as possible before reporting to our mutual Elders,” Lyssa replied. “I don’t know if this is a big deal, maybe only some political crap, or they were worried about us, but I don’t like the idea of them yanking us back home when we’ve put in all this work.”

“Agreed.” Aisha tapped her foot impatiently. “Now we should go to the port and get set up.”

“Dial it down, Nuclear Deva,” Lyssa teased. “We’ve got to save our appearance for right after the drop.”

“Why is that?”

“Think about it. You heard what Sellers said about his supplier.”

Aisha’s fingers clutched into a fist. “A mask and no mention of where he was getting the shards.”

Lyssa nodded. “Then we both agree we’ll find a Sorcerer at the other end.”

“That changes nothing. Our orders are the same, to end the smuggling. I assume we both suspected the same thing, considering we each assumed the other was the rogue.”

Lyssa was unsure. “Just to be clear, you don’t think we should ID the guy and leave it up to an Eclipse?”

Aisha looked insulted. “I would have thought you of all people wouldn’t buy into the myth of their superiority. They’d get all the credit for the work we’ve done. Setting that aside, even if we’re dealing with an experienced Sorcerer, he might present a challenge to only one of us, but two of us will make short work of the scum.”

Lyssa almost dropped her cloak and mask to smirk at Aisha but fought the urge. “No, I wanted to make sure we agreed on what to do. But it’s almost like you’re admitting I’m not half-bad at what I do.”

Aisha snorted. “You’re not half-bad at what you do, which makes you only half-good, friend.”

“I’ll take the half-compliment,” Lyssa replied. “The point is, we have to assume we’re dealing with a paranoid rogue who’s aware the people using his supplied shards have been caught. If we just charge over there, he might sense us coming. We need to show up at the last minute, after the container is on the ground and right before they load it on a truck. We don’t know his essence. If we spook him, we end up trying to chase a water walker across the Gulf.”

“We go to the lot almost exactly at that time, hoping to catch them in the act?” Aisha nodded firmly. “If he’s paranoid, he might have spells set up.”

“It’s like you said; there are two of us. It sounds like we have a plan. We hit the guy, and