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

sides of the container and formed into a long, sharp blade—a sword without a hilt.

“Our primary target arrived after all,” Jofi said.

“I noticed,” Lyssa murmured.

She frowned, not recognizing the regalia. That wasn’t unheard of since there wasn’t any Society law forcing a Sorcerer to tell the entire Society his regalia’s current appearance. In theory, the Elders who attended his Initiation and binding ceremony would be aware of it, but it wasn’t like she could ask them in the middle of a fight.

“Hecate and Flame Deva,” the Sorcerer called. His voice carried a faint French accent.

Lyssa tried to place the voice but failed. She ran into far too many people who ended up wanting to kill her later.

She allowed herself to chuckle. The rogue knew who they were, so he had a good chance of knowing their true identities. Hiding identities from the Shadows was one thing, but the Elders felt people deserved to know who among them was a Torch or an Eclipse. Perhaps some strange sense of twisted honor prevented him from using their real names, or worse, he didn’t care because he thought they’d be dead soon.

“You must be Nelson,” Lyssa shouted back. “This is over. The cops will swarm this place and box you in, then we’re going to finish kicking your ass. Flame Deva took out your truck, so you’re not getting away with the shards.”

“Ah, it will be an honor to fight the famous Semi-Automatic Sorceress,” the Sorcerer replied with a laugh.

Had Damien been spreading that around? She wasn’t sure if she should be impressed or annoyed.

“The police won’t come any closer,” the Sorcerer continued. “They’ve received a tip that a dangerous sorcery battle is playing out at the port, and they’re waiting for the Society to finish handling it. But for it to be you of all people! Ah, fate.”

“You were expecting Torches, just not us?” Lyssa asked.

“I was expecting a confirmation call from Sellers early this morning. When I didn’t get it, I wondered what had happened. I thought the FBI had arrested him, but I thought I better prepare, just in case. My planning has helped salvage what could have been a disaster.”

“You know who we are, rogue,” Aisha spat out, her voice full of bile. “Who are you?”

“A man looking to the future and preparing his position accordingly.” The Sorcerer smiled and twisted his wrists. More pieces of metal ripped from the container wall, this time forming a constellation of twirling sharpened metal surrounding him.

Lyssa remained clueless about the regalia, but judging from what she’d seen, the Sorcerer might have a blade essence. It could have been worse, but it could have been a lot better. It’d been years since she’d last seen someone with a blade essence.

“You should finish him off,” Jofi said. “There’s no reason to leave it to an Eclipse.”

“I need to make sure he’s the end of this chain,” Lyssa whispered. “He can’t talk if he’s dead, but he’s not getting away.”

“I’ve prepared for this eventuality.” The Sorcerer raised his arms. “You can continue to weaken yourself by flinging your bullets and spells against my invisible wall, but you won’t survive. Or you can consider another option, a more sensible one. I respect women of intellect and power.”

Lyssa rolled her eyes and scoffed. “Skip the part where you offer to cut us in. Neither of us is buying what you’re selling.”

“Hecate is right,” Aisha said. “You can’t buy us. You can surrender now, or you can surrender after we beat you into submission. Or you can die. I’m fine with any of those eventualities.”

“Surrender,” Lyssa added, “and I’ll guarantee you’ll live until we deliver you to the Society for judgment. Fight us, and there are going to be unnecessary deaths, including yours. I don’t want to have to kill a Sorcerer, but I will if I need to.”

The Night Goddess schtick wouldn’t mean much to most Sorcerers, but she’d make a half-assed try. This wasn’t going to come down to psychological warfare. She eyed her Dark Steps. They were growing more transparent.

“You’re so much like your brother it hurts.” The Sorcerer shook his head. “It’s pathetic. The same self-righteousness from someone who is nothing more than a sorcery-powered mercenary.”

Lyssa’s heart kicked up. “What did you just say?”

It couldn’t be. Impossible. He was just messing with her.

“If you let me go, I might have some news for you about him.” He laughed. “I’ve heard you’ve been looking for him. I’ve heard you don’t believe he’s dead.”

Lyssa’s jaw tightened, along with her grip on her guns. Fifteen years and nothing. It was too convoluted a plan to leak shards to Phoenix just to get to her.

“He’s attempting to undermine your morale,” Jofi said. “Your brother was a high-profile Torch. The circumstances of his disappearance are not unknown among your kind.”

“How about I offer you another deal?” Lyssa called back. “How about I beat your ass down and force that information out of you? Won’t that be fun?”

Aisha cackled. “Well said, Hecate.”

“We still have a stalemate, my beautiful Sorceresses,” the Sorcerer replied. “No.” He shook his head. “I can’t let you leave here. Know now that you’ll fall before Adrien Allard, bearer of the City Guard.”

Lyssa frowned. Giving up his real name to two Sorceresses was one thing, but he’d also revealed it to all the Shadows around him.

She thought it through. Sellers’ men were normally the ones who drove the truck, but Adrien had been expecting an ambush. They must have all been his goons.

“Destroy him,” Jofi said. “The unknown nature of the remaining shards represents an extreme risk. His full capabilities also remain unknown.”

“Flame Deva,” Lyssa yelled. “When I give the signal, you focus on his men, and I’ll focus on him. Sound fair?”

Aisha let out a snort of disapproval. “You’ll have the higher quality opponent, Hecate, but I suppose the numbers make up for it. Very well.”

Adrien barked a laugh. “You think you can surprise me while you’re openly discussing your plans? You’ll never get through this