Gameboard of the Gods

She screamed as an enormous black bird suddenly swooped low over the deck—and landed right on their table. Tessa sprang up in panic, backing into a chair behind her. Mae remained where she was, but her eyes were wide. The bird paced around on the table a little and then stopped, staring directly at Mae. Weirder still, Mae seemed totally transfixed. She met the bird’s gaze unblinkingly and seemed to be holding her breath. Then, without warning, the bird gave a croak and lifted up on strong wings. It flew across the deck again, frightening more patrons, and then paused on the railing of an emergency staircase. It glanced briefly back at Mae and then flew down.

Mae stared after it for a few seconds, and then, without a word, she tore off after it down the stairs.

CHAPTER 31

AVENGING VALKYRIE

Mae was fully aware of how crazy it was. And as she sprinted down the stairs three at a time, she wondered if she was soon going to feel like an idiot. But in that moment, when the bird—no, raven, she somehow knew—had been staring at her, she’d felt suspended in time. The world had stopped, and there’d been nothing in it but those beady black eyes. Then, most improbable of all, she’d sworn she heard a voice in her head when the bird croaked: Come. An overwhelming sense of urgency had swept her, and without further hesitation, she’d followed the raven.

It was waiting for her at the bottom of the stairs. Once she hit the ground, it flew off toward a small building next to the hotel, hovered a few moments, and then soared off into the dark sky. Mae looked at where it had paused. Several steps led down to a lit-up glass door in the building’s lowest level. Mae could hear thumps and see some sort of movement within. She jumped down to the base of the stairs and was met with the unexpected sight of a Nordic woman in a copper-colored dress throwing herself at a wooden door. Puzzled, Mae tried to open the outer glass door and found it locked. The woman glanced over at Mae, her face filling with shock.

That was all Mae needed. Fight-or-flight mode seized her, banishing all thoughts of her mysterious winged guide. With little difficulty, she picked up a heavy stone planter sitting nearby and swung it at the door. The glass shattered, and without hesitation, Mae slipped through the jagged opening she’d created, heedless of cuts on her arms. The woman backed up and threw some kind of black knife at Mae. Mae dodged it, but in those seconds as it flew, she saw improbable black flame ringing the blade. It landed on the ground, smoking.

It didn’t even slow Mae down, which came as a surprise to the woman. She looked legitimately scared, and that was when the truly unbelievable part happened.

She transformed into a jaguar.

At least Mae thought that was what it was. She was no expert in large felines or wildlife in general, but when you didn’t sleep at night, you ended up watching a lot of weird TV, including nature shows. She had no time to ponder how she had stumbled into this insanity because her reflexes were kicking into action as the jaguar sprang toward her. Mae was strong but couldn’t fight against that kind of weight and impact. The cat knocked her to the ground, slamming her head against the floor. Mae was able to shake the pain off. Unfortunately, she couldn’t shake the jaguar off as those heavy clawed paws pinned her down and dug into her skin. It snarled, revealing a mouthful of sharp teeth as it readied for her death.

Suddenly, that icy darkness that was normally so unwelcome surged through Mae. Strength and power flooded her, and she jumped up and pushed the jaguar off of her. It started to charge her, then hesitated. Mae also wavered. The battle lust radiating from her seemed to be hitting a wall that she couldn’t move past. The jaguar also seemed immobile. A few seconds later, Mae won out. The world started again, and the jaguar took off down the hall, with Mae in pursuit. As she went after it, she caught sight of Justin peering out of the mysterious door, a hand on his head and his face full of shock.

Not even a prætorian could keep up with a jaguar, but as it neared the hall’s end, it transformed back into the woman. Mae took out her gun and fired but missed as her target rounded a corner toward some stairs. Mae wasn’t concerned. She had absolutely no doubts about being able to close the distance, now that she was no longer pursuing a beast of the jungle. It was just a matter of time.

They reached the casino floor and the woman dashed through, oblivious to the people around her. Some were pushed out of the way. Some she actually knocked over. Mae anticipated another opening and fired. The bullet grazed the woman’s shoulder, causing her to stumble a few seconds before continuing her frantic race. Gunfire in such a crowded room didn’t go over very well, and screams and panic filled the space as bystanders dropped to the ground or trampled one other. Mae ignored it all. Her whole world was focused solely on the woman, who’d made it to the outside door.

When Mae emerged, she saw the woman shove her way through pedestrians in a crosswalk. The crowd in the park had thinned considerably, but there were still enough meandering people for the woman to disappear into.

“Jumalauta,” Mae swore, knowing she’d need a new tactic. Adrenaline filled her with a power she never realized she missed in ordinary days until she was back in the throes of it. It also sharpened her mind, allowing her to quickly and clearly make a plan.

She reached the edge of the park and leapt up onto a table, ignoring both the food on it and the cries of the startled occupants. From that height, it was easy to spot her prey. The woman was weaving through the crowd as Mae had, creating a conspicuous path. Mae jumped down and raced off in the direction she’d seen the woman run, continuing to leap on and off tables as she continued the chase. The crowd slowed both of them down, but Mae was faster and gaining steadily. At one point, using another table, she saw her quarry start to turn toward the makeshift stage. Mae was on the ground in a flash, tearing toward the center of the stage, her heart pounding and muscles responding without delay.

The woman made it up on the stage first, much to the astonishment of the band, who faltered and then stopped altogether. She grabbed the lead singer and held him in front of her, with another shiny black dagger at his throat. Mae came to an abrupt halt, breathing rapidly as she assessed this new development. The dark force urging her forward disappeared, giving her complete and total control of her thoughts and actions. The crowd gasped and screamed at the scene onstage, but few moved. This was prime entertainment.

“Back off!” yelled the woman, slowly retreating with her hostage. He covered up most of her body, creating an effective shield. “I’ll slash his throat open.”

Shooting an erratically moving target had been difficult. A slow-moving one, even with a small space to hit, wasn’t difficult at all for someone like Mae. In the space of a heartbeat, she raised the gun and shot the woman in the head.

That caused a reaction, similar to the one in the casino. Guns on Gemman streets were uncommon, public shootings even less so. Near her, a gaping guy was trying to record the scene with his ego. Mae fixed him with a hard look. “Call the police.”

Things moved quickly after that. Johansson, the lieutenant they’d spoken to earlier, was among the responding officers and wasn’t thrilled about the disruptive spectacle. There was little she could do against a prætorian, especially with a hostage situation.

Now that they were safe again, the crowd was vying to get a look at the aftermath. Mae tried to ignore them and the flashing egos. “I’m really curious to see what you’ll turn up when you check her chip.”

Johansson had been studying their surroundings with narrowed eyes but suddenly turned to Mae in surprise. “You think she’s Nordic?”

“Of course she was. What else would she be?”

“Don’t take this personally, prætorian, but you’ve been away for a long time.” That leathery face smiled. “She wasn’t Nordic. Even with what you did to her face, I could tell that.”

Johansson clearly didn’t want her around as her people dealt with the follow-up, and Mae retreated back to the casino, wondering if the lieutenant was right. Away from the heat of battle, Mae could think more clearly. The implant had metabolized most of its handiwork, and the telltale trembling was nearly gone.

She took a walk around the casino and basement, and then returned to the lobby in time to find Justin finishing his statement. She watched him unseen for long moments, wishing she could bury the hurt of his rejection. It was a stupid, girlish sentiment to have, considering she’d just shot someone in the face.

“Thank you, Dr. March,” said the officer, slipping his ego into his pocket. “We’ll file your statement with the official report and then…” He glanced nervously over as Mae joined them. “Should we have it sent to your office, ma’am?”

“Yes,” Justin answered for her. “And SCI too.”

When the officer was gone, Mae sat down, unflinchingly meeting the gazes of those who stared. Word had spread that she was a prætorian, and they all looked away when they realized they’d caught her attention.

“My avenging Valkyrie,” said Justin by way of greeting.

There was a familiarity in the endearment that she didn’t like, in light of what had happened between them. “I heard what you said in your statement. That the woman attacked you when you went downstairs to use the bathroom.”

“That’s right.”

“Then why was her underwear in the women’s bathroom?”

Justin took a few moments to answer. “How would I know? I wasn’t in there. And how do you even know it was hers?”

“If you were looking for someone novel, I guess you found her. Lucky for you, I hid the evidence for you,” she said, trying not to grimace. “I threw them away.” It was destruction of evidence, yes, but there was already going to be a huge uproar about a public shooting. Mae didn’t want a sordid sex tale worked in, even if it didn’t have anything to do with her.

“Well, thanks,” he said. “I guess.”

Her next words were very level. “Justin…that’s not the evidence I’m really worried about. I don’t suppose you mentioned the jaguar in your statement?”