Gameboard of the Gods (Age of X #1)(123)
Author: Richelle Mead

“Such ingratitude,” he said. “For all you’ve received.”

Mae had no time for soliloquies. All she knew was that her targets were standing still. She fixed her gun on Emil but hesitated to pull the trigger as a swirling feeling stirred in her stomach. That would be the toxin, she supposed. A lightness spread through her limbs, but she took her shot anyway—and missed. Scowling, she tried to fire again, but her shaking hands couldn’t get a grip anymore. The gun slipped from her hands. It was like the recovery phase that followed implant activation, only far more violent than anything she’d ever experienced. Her knees buckled as that swirling in her stomach increased and spread to her chest. She was vaguely aware of Leo catching hold of her as she fell.

“A prætorian is only as good as her weapons,” Emil said, a smug smile on his face. “And your mortal ones mean nothing.”

“Yeah?” Mae gasped. She barely managed a nod at the man she’d killed. Her body shook fiercely now, and her vision was blurring. “Ask him if that’s true.”

“He’s just one man,” said Emil. She had the sense he was moving toward her. “His sacrifice will strengthen our mistress—as will yours. You wouldn’t serve, and now your time is up. It’s time for you to return to her and serve in death.”

Mae tried to speak but couldn’t. Her tongue seemed to fill up her mouth. Beside her, she heard Leo say, “The full moon isn’t until tomorrow.”

Emil chuckled. “Depends on your definition. It’s after midnight. It is tomorrow.”

That was the last thing Mae heard before her heart exploded.

CHAPTER 34

NO ONE EVER EXPECTS THE KNIFE

“Have you heard anything?” Justin asked.

“No,” growled Dominic from the front seat. “Just like I hadn’t thirty seconds ago.”

Justin could forgive the gruff attitude for once because he knew Dominic was just as agitated as he was about the sudden silence. Leo had sent messages every few minutes until recently. Now, ten minutes had gone past without communication. Concerned, Dominic had queried Leo a couple minutes ago but heard nothing.

“They probably found something and got distracted,” said Justin. He was trying to reassure himself more than Dominic. As it was, Justin was fighting every instinct to go inside after them. “Leo’s too smart to set off an alarm. And Mae’s a prætorian for f**k’s sake. They’re fine.”

“You put a lot of faith in prætorians,” remarked Dominic.

“Of course I do. They’re lethal—I mean, aside from when they’re drinking heavily and acting ridiculous.”

“It’s how they cope,” Dominic said. “You have to if you’re going to survive that kind of lifestyle. They flip back and forth, but it’s always extreme—even if they’re off duty. They play hard, f**k hard, and fight hard and can switch into that ‘on’ mode in the space of a heartbeat. You ever seen Mae switch on?”

“Of course.”

“With a few rowdy zealots? That’s nothing. You see her now, with that pretty face and all those manners, and you think, ‘Oh, she’s a castal who happens to be a prætorian.’ But the truth is, she’s a prætorian first who happens to be a castal. When she switches on, when she’s really in that moment…she’ll be something else. Something whose purpose is to fight and kill with single-minded focus. And it’s not just the implant and the training. They don’t just choose prætorians on physical ability. There’s a psychological profile they screen for too, one that works very well with being pumped full of all those chemicals—and don’t think those don’t eventually take their toll.”

“You don’t like prætorians,” said Justin, knowing what an understatement that was.

“I don’t trust them,” he corrected. “They’re dangerous to others. They’re dangerous to themselves.”

Justin said nothing more, not wanting to provoke his paranoid companion. It was true that Mae was scary sometimes, but Justin had faith in her. He wasn’t sure if he had faith in the alleged charm he’d given her, though. The ravens had spent the last two days trying to teach him a symbol they claimed was one of their god’s greatest mysteries. They called the symbol algiz and had been drilling its meaning into his head over and over. The problem was, they kept giving it all sorts of definitions. Initially, it had represented protection, which Justin thought was a reasonable concept to send a warrior into battle with. But then the ravens kept elaborating. It was an elk, a yew tree, life. When he showed them that he’d memorized everything, they condescendingly said he didn’t truly know it, that it took a lifetime to understand. They did finally decide, however, that he had enough of a grasp to perform a rudimentary protection blessing on Mae. Whether it would do anything remained to be seen.

Do you feel that? Horatio suddenly asked, snapping Justin out of his thoughts.

Feel what—

Justin could feel something, just the slightest prickling along his skin. He would’ve ignored it if the raven hadn’t pointed it out. It was the same sensation he occasionally got around strong practitioners.

Where’s it coming from? he asked.

Where do you think? asked Magnus. Dominic certainly hasn’t found religion.

Justin didn’t wait to hear more. He opened the car door and swung his legs out, earning a cry of surprise from Dominic. “What are you doing?”

“Something’s wrong.” Justin took off at a sprint across the grassy field, and Dominic closed the distance easily. He grabbed Justin’s shoulder.

“You’re just going to go right in? You don’t know what you’re walking into.”

Justin glared in the darkness. “I know it’s one of two things. Either nothing’s wrong, and there’s no harm done, or something is wrong, and we can help.”

“I think it’s a little more complicated than that.”

“You were the one who thought this was too dangerous in the first place.” Justin turned back toward the warehouse. “Are you coming along or not?”

Dominic came along.

They immediately found signs of Mae and Leo’s passing. The front door was ajar, and the inside security panel had been set to daytime mode. Other than that, the huge building was dark and silent. Dominic led the way, scanning the space and keeping protectively near Justin in a manner almost identical to the way Mae moved. Suddenly, Dominic stopped and pulled Justin behind a stack of crates with him. Justin’s eyes had adjusted to the poor lighting, and he saw Dominic point ahead. Peering around the boxes, Justin could discern a spot of light shining on the floor near the far side of the warehouse and the dark shape of a man standing nearby who clearly wasn’t Leo. He was pacing, standing guard, but hadn’t seen them yet.