I stare at her. Is she right? Is there a right answer, here?

  She continues, "We Shades may have moved away from personal freedom among our kind, but we had to in order to survive. The goal was always to give freedom to the people of the world, even at the cost of our own. Everything we did was for the greater good, even where we might've gone off the rails and lost sight of that fact."

  "Kisak knew exactly what he was doing. He didn't lose sight of anything. He was a monster."

  "I am not my father!" she shouts, clenching her fists. Slowly, she puts them down at her sides and looks up at me again. "Ella, one last time. Join us on your terms, not mine, and together we'll put an end to the Wraiths' plan to create a new world order with themselves at the top. Stay in the shadows with us, fighting the chaos this 'new order' would bring. It's an ironic label, don't you think? They don't bring order of any kind, new or old."

  My mind races. What she says sounds so good, and rings true...

  And then I remember Luka's death, his vacant eyes staring at her as she killed him for trying to stop her from murdering my people, including my own mother and father. And yes, while she was trying to kill me, too.

  "Well?" she says. "What will it be, petty rivalry or protecting the world? You don't have to like me to see that I'm right."

  I come to a decision. Closing my eyes, I take a deep breath. I can only hope I make the right choice, but either way, I must make one. It's a choice I see I'll never be able to come back from, and nothing will ever be the same after I set my course and maybe the world's. Probably forever.

  Luna glances at her watch, then looks back up into my eyes. "Time's up. Join us in helping to keep the world free from the bonds the Wraiths are building. Have you decided?"

  "Yes," I say, and I can feel the conviction that sounds in my voice. "I'll come back and join the Shades."

  Luna's expression transforms into the closest thing to happy I have ever seen on her. That is, until I continue, "But only under one condition. You have to step down as the Shades' leader. You've proved you can't be trusted with power, and while I doubt the Wraiths' goals, I have no doubts about what yours are."

  "How dare you!"

  "If you think my help is vital for the world, and if protecting it is your real goal, then this should be an easy choice. I'm interested to hear your response, just as I'm sure all these Shades will be interested."

  Her half-smile fades. She shakes her head slowly, biting her lip, then says, "I'm sorry to hear that. I'm not stepping down—I am my father's daughter, and my place is leading our people. Your place is helping us win, but sadly, I can't permit you to live if you're with the Wraiths. This is on your own head."

  She turns to the fire escapes on either side. "Shades, kill her. Make it painless, if you can, but we can't let the Wraiths have her."

  She turns to walk away, heading toward the alley's dead end. I assume she'll watch my death from there, safe and sound, and relish every moment of it. That whole conversation was just for show, I'm sure.

  I shout, "You aren't sorry at all. That was just an act. Someday, every one of these Shades will realize who you are and come find freedom with the Wraiths until you're dead and gone and it's safe to return." Her motive doesn't really matter, though, because now I have to fight for my life. Again.

  The Shades ignore what I said. They're already moving in for the kill, with those behind me moving into a semi-circle while those on the fire escapes vault over railings to land, crouching, in the alley.

  What they don't realize, though, is that I've had a lot of non-magical combat training now, both under Luka and Talon. Both men believe—or believed—in using weapons to complement their magic, that their bodies are just another weapon. With an attack coming, I whip out my daggers and explode into movement. Half-turning, I fling one blade at a Shade behind me, which buries itself into his chest, and sprint toward the three on my left as I draw another dagger. I only have one knife left in reserve, but I only put one Shade down. At this rate, I'll run out of knives long before I run out of enemies. No more throwing...

  A tall, dark-haired man on my right puts his wrists together, hands extended, and a fireball forms, swirling yellow and orange; he thrusts his hands forward, sending the flaming sphere streaking toward me.

  I've already seen the deaths of the two behind me, though. I know it's coming. I duck just as his arms are fully extended, and the ball shoots past me. Striking one of those behind me, it explodes, taking out the woman closest to him as well.

  One to go, back there, and I'll be able to run away, but I have to disrupt the other six if I want to make it that far. I don't know if it's possible, but I still haven't seen my own death, so... maybe.

  One of the three I charge leaps aside, landing on his shoulder and rolling; he comes up on his feet, facing away from me, near the other three on my right. It leaves me facing only Mr. Fireball and a short, slender woman. She waves her hands, and I recognize it as a shield that will cover me in a dome and hold me frozen in stasis if I run into it. It's normally defensive, but outnumbered as I am, it'd be my death sentence.

  But I see her death coming, and her partner's.

  I leap head first, landing just before the still-floating dome, and roll under. It crashes down behind me, but it's too late. I come up on my feet and plunge both daggers into Mr. Fireball next to her.

  Still looking into Fireball's eyes, I throw my second dagger without even looking. The vision told me where. I hear a meaty thunk as it impales the back of the woman's neck. She drops like a ragdoll as I leap for the fire escape, now that no one is between me and it. I'll be free!

  Something that feels like a giant fist grabs me, and everything I see turns golden from its light until it flings me away. I fly across the alley, watching the magic hand fade, and hit the brick wall. Hard.

  Bouncing off the wall, I strike the pavement and the force knocks my dagger out of my hand. It skitters away, coming to a stop underneath the rusty dumpster.

  I've got to get up. Lying there, I'm a sitting duck for the four remaining Shades, who begin to circle me. Groaning from the pain, I pull my last dagger out as I struggle to get back to my feet, and to catch a breath. Flying into a wall knocked the wind out of me.

  I see a vision. A lightning bolt will fry one of the four now closing in on me. I let my legs give out and land on my face, just as a blue bolt sizzles past me, singing my hair bun. Damn them, that'll take a year to grow back out.

  The bolt strikes the man I saw in my vision, but what I didn't notice in the fleeting glimpse was that he and another man are both standing in a puddle. Blue light flares from the entire puddle, crackling all over them and boiling the water. They convulse for a moment and then drop, smoking, to the ground.

  I only face two, now. I'm almost clear to get the hell out of there, if I can survive. I haven't yet seen my own death, though, so I've got that going for me at least.

  Movement from the corner of my eye catches my attention; one of the two bears a sword and she's swinging it at my neck. I roll over onto my back, and she strikes only pavement. She brings her sword down again as I look up at her, and I roll again, flinging a foot out to catch her just behind her knee. She falls backward and I scramble to my feet, leaping backward to avoid her sword swipe from the ground.

  A vision: lightning-bolt-guy dies with a dagger in his chest. I fling my last blade with barely time to glance, and just like in my vision, it catches him tip-first in his chest. The blue light, just forming over his hands as he prepared to zap me, fades as he falls to the ground.

  One left and no one between me and the alley entrance. I spin, and run—

  The magic golden fist appears directly in front of me, fingers open. It grabs me before I can come to a halt, and again it flings me. This time, I fly much farther, half the alley's length, and land in a heap between the final Shade and Luna, who watches with a smug look I'd love to cut from her face. She shouldn't look so smug. She hasn't won, yet.

  I hear a scuffle behind me, and by pure reflex, I duck and see a sword blade flash overhead. I see myself hit by a big, magic fist, with enough force to send me through the brick wall behind me.

  I spring into a backflip, just like Talon trained me, without thinking. Two giant golden, translucent fists miss me by inches, one after the other, and splash open against the alley's opposite wall. When I glance at her, she has her eyes closed and her hands are twisting into a meditation configuration.

  Dammit, she's recharging her energy way faster than normal that way. I can feel the magic radiate from her as she gathers strength.

  I leap into the air and drive my heel straight into her chin, and as I land in a crouch, Ms. Goldfist's head snaps back. My blow knocks her back on her heels and she staggers into the wall.

  I rush at her again, but Luna moves one finger and the sword on the ground flies into her hands. I'm facing both sword lady and Luna, now, but oddly, I'm not afraid. I feel confident. I can handle sword lady, I realize. I'll foresee her every move, because she will only attack me with killing blows.

  Just like I disarmed Luka in training long ago, or so it seems now, I knock her blade from her hands with a right-footed kick just like in my vision. I hold out my hand and catch it as it falls, and bury the blade in her neck in one smooth movement. Just like in my vision of her death a second ago.

  I yank the sword free and snatch up one of my daggers; it is still dripping crimson as I turn to Luna, and the dead man's open eyes make me quiver. I suppress the urge to throw up, though. I can't let Luna see that. She'd take it as weakness, not simple, decent humanity. Thankfully, the adrenaline coursing through me keeps me from having to dwell on that too much; I'm still in fight-or-flight mode. I'll probably vomit later.

  I snarl to hide my shakiness. "I can't permit you to live if you're leading the Shades," I say, my voice mocking hers just as much as I hope the words do. I don't know if I can beat her, but I haven't yet seen my death. That's good. On the other hand, I also haven't seen hers. That's bad.

  I stride toward her, panting and fighting to regulate my speeding heartbeat. I could have run, but I'll never get a better chance at taking her out, removing her evil from this world, than I have right now. As much as I want to run, I have to do this. I have to try, anyway. I'll worry later about the nightmares this fight is going to give me.

  Luna grins as I approach, though I don't know how anyone could smile after seeing what I just saw. She turns and paces slowly at the end of the alley, like a tiger in a cage. "You did better than I expected," she says, though she sounds disappointed, not impressed.

  I pace as well, perhaps ten feet away, matching her steps out of striking distance, but close enough that I can get to her before she can hit me with a dumpster. The one thing I can count on right now is that she won't try to stab me or even fight me. She'll try to prove her superiority with magic, and I'm ready for that.

  I sneer at her with more confidence than I feel and reply, "Well, you never expected much from me, did you? But it's just one more instance of you being dead wrong. You have nowhere to run, Luna."

  "Maybe. But despite your bravado, I know I can take you. My magic is stronger than yours, and you know it. That blade won't do much against magic, girl. I suppose I should have joined in the fun, if only to save a few Shades' lives, but I wanted to watch you die, not join in. Easier to enjoy the show if it isn't 'audience participation.'"

  "You mean, you didn't want to get your hands dirty."

  "My hands are already dirty," she says, turning to pace the other direction again. "Covered in blood, like yours are. I was going to say our bloody hands were different because mine have Luka's blood on them, but you know what? So do yours. Nice job leading him straight to die. Bravo on that one."

  I spit curses at her, even some I don't know the meaning of that I heard from movies and music. "Now it looks like you'll have to kill me yourself," I add when I run out of curses. Inwardly, though, I cringe. She's right, my hands do have blood on them. Literally. I've killed people now, too. The difference is that I did it in self-defense, but as much as I repeat that in my head, it doesn't make me feel better about it. Luka's, too, even if I didn't kill him myself. And I hate her for making me remember that.

  She continues, "It's not that I mind getting my hands dirty. It's just that I'm a leader, and that means I have to delegate. Much like when I had the Shades murder your filthy Roma people. I tell them what to do, and they do it. I only have to tell them it's 'all for the greater good,' and they eat it up. They'll do anything so long as I tell them they're patriots for doing it."

  Uh uh. I was never fooled by her earlier 'save the world' rap. Well, not really. "I'm going to kill you now, for the greater good. Because it will be."

  She starts to say something back, but Talon's training taught me how to go from standing to running in a blink, and I'm already charging at her. As I close the distance, her snide expression morphs into shock, and I see fear in her eyes. I don't think I've ever seen her afraid before, not even from simple surprise. The look warms my heart. Whatever happens in the next few seconds, win or lose, I'll know I made her feel fear, and she'll never forget that.

  I thrust my sword at her right hip as I charge, forcing her to dodge to her left. That puts her directly into the path of my swinging dagger, just as I planned.

  She stops my knife with a single gesture and her magic sends my dagger flying, which was definitely not my plan, but I swing the sword upward in a backhand slash that ends with the razor-sharp blade tip directly against to her throat. She freezes.

  "I win." I slam her into the wall with my empty right hand. In my left, I hold the sword that will end her life.

  She looks terrified, and her knees almost buckle. She has a light cut on her neck from stumbling against the blade. "Please, Ella. You have to understand—"

  "I understand, all right." I should kill her right now, and I know it, but I can't help myself. My rage is bubbling over and I shout, "You're evil! You're a monster. You turned good Shades into monsters just like you."

  "Just let me go. I swear I'll never come back. I'll put it on a binding spell, you'll never have to see me again," she begs.

  I won't listen. I can't. This has to end once and for all. I tense to deliver the killing blow—

  A vision washes over me like a tidal wave, knocking me senseless. Literally. My hearing, sight, and even sense of smell are all dragged into my vision with me, completely blocking out the real world.

  Luna stands atop a tall building I don't recognize, staring at me. Her face is a mask of outrage and disbelief as I plunge a dagger into her chest directly over her heart.

  She slumps, groaning, but before she collapses, I shove her from the rooftop and she plummets.

  I follow her and see her falling down and down. She still hasn't hit. The building isn't just tall, it's a skyscraper. Which is, I realize in the back of my mind, not in the dirty alley I know we're in, in the real world.

  The vision disappears as fast as it came on. Disoriented, I stagger back and my grip on her slips. Luna doesn't waste time sneering this time. She draws a knife of her own and rams it toward my eyes without saying a word.

  I barely fend off her first blow by using my forearm to smash hers aside, and I stagger back again. I'm clumsy and disoriented, though, and I realize too late that I've left myself open to her follow up swing, and it slices my arm. Looking down by reflex when terrible pain shoots up my arm, I only see her fist coming up at my face in an uppercut, right before it lands on my jaw. My head snaps back from the force. She grabs me with her free hand, slams me into the wall again, and before I can even see her move, she has her knife on my throat.

  She laughs. "Now we see who's superior. I was never going to let a traitor like you come back. If you'd said yes, it would have made you an easier target. This is what happens to all who stand against me. Idiot."

  I'm done for. She was just better, stronger, faster than me, and she's not going to let me chat with her before I die, as I stupidly did with her. My visions really did turn out to be a curse. They got me into this mess. Plus, the overwhelming ones always drain me completely. It's made me too exhausted to fight her off.

  After everything I've been through, after all of this, I'm going to die at Luna's hand in a dirty alleyway, wearing a ball gown and bare feet, only blocks from a luxury gala I should still be attending.

  Unfair.

  Sounds from above and to my left catch my attention. A dozen people, maybe two dozen, are looking down from the roof ledge. More Shades? She must have summoned them to watch her victory. Even if I defeat her, there are too many. I grit my teeth and wait for the end.

  Her laugh fades and her eyes grow cold as she draws back her dagger, aiming the point at my throat. "Bye bye, now. Don't come back."

  A blur to the right makes me glance away from the eyes of my killer. A lone figure in a tuxedo wielding two swords arcs gracefully through the air from the roof ledge, flying toward Luna.

  It's Talon! He swings sword in an overhead slash and shouts, "Die, Luna!"

  She hesitates, distracted for a split second, and I see an opening. I swing my right hand, striking her knife hand at the inner wrist with the heel of one palm, knocking her weapon aside, and brush aside her other arm, ripping my gown from her grip.

  She keeps her grip on the dagger, not on me, and it's enough. I shove her away from me and step outside her striking range, and she has a half-second to decide which of us to fight. At the last moment, she brings her dagger up and blocks Talon's swing, just before he crashes into her. They collapse in a pile of arms and legs as the others on the rooftop look on, too stunned to react.

  "Run, Ella!" he screams as he rolls on the ground with Luna, grappling for her dagger, each of them trying to come out on top.

 

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