It isn’t that way for everyone, though. Ellis, for example, was vehemently opposed to any kind of forced sexual encounter due to his time spent with Axel. So, for him, Protection felt more like getting jabbed with a syringe full of narcotics. And while Aaron had grown accustomed to receiving the Protection fragment and had built up a tolerance, Ellis had no such defenses. He immediately let out a brief, high-pitched wail, then went rigid with what looked like a seizure but probably felt more like an overdose of heroin. His eyes rolled back in his head, and he dropped the crossbow into the mud.
Oops. That might have been a bit much. Sorry, Ellis. That’s two fragments. Halfway there. Don’t let go!
I called to the Conjuration fragment from the reservoir I knew to be lurking in the back of my head. It filled my body with its misty presence, and I sent it into the stream of fragments flowing into Ellis. His body stopped convulsing and tensed, then shivered violently as Conjuration caused my blended fragment link to latch on to his very soul. His mouth opened in a silent scream, letting water pour in from the sky. He choked and coughed violently, nearly throwing me off.
Shit. That’s three. Here comes the tricky part.
I had been right about Ward. He did, indeed, have a bit of his Transformation reservoir left in him, and he had donated some to me when I was sucked into his nightmare. Its golden light had appeared within my shield like a beacon of hope. My consciousness had delved so deep inside of him that we had literally intertwined our spirits. In doing so, we had mixed reservoirs, and I had come out with the exact thing I needed to break his brother free. That is, if I could figure out how to use it.
Ward told me once that Transformation was a fragment that could bring your body into alignment with your spirit. It brought your physical being closer to how you envisioned yourself. Ward had imagined himself to be a dog. Ellis had envisioned a future in the Metalworkers Guild. Aaron had seen himself as a dragon, lurking in the mountains. But what was I?
“A warrior,” Spirit said.
What? No, I’m not! I’m a freaking office manager, a clumsy jackass who cries and falls down.
“You,” Spirit said sternly, “are the woman who was thrown onto an alien planet and within a day outwitted an enemy that had a hundred years of experience. You’re the woman who, within a summer, read nearly an entire library and learned skills it should take decades to master. You’re the woman who convinced a dragon to abandon his dream and help you fight a war against an oppressive theocracy. You’re the woman who puts one blistered foot in front of the other and keeps fucking going. You’re a warrior, Lina!”
Her words stunned me. I had never heard Spirit speak like that before. She said “fuck” and everything. And it was all true. I had done all those things.
“I am a warrior,” I said to myself.
Axel shouted directions at the one minion he had left as Aaron wrestled the giant überzombie. Though he’d gotten out of the chokehold, he was still occupied. I had seconds before Axel came for me.
I reached for Transformation, imagining myself as a warrior. The only thing I could think of was Xena: Warrior Princess, which I had loved as a kid.
“I’m a warrior!” I screeched to no one. I solidified that image in my brain, and it glowed with a radiant golden light. I imagined myself scooping up that golden light with my hands, and when I did, it injected a feeling of pure exhilarated inspiration into my body.
The world became a glorious city of gold, ripe for the taking. I could do anything I set my mind to. I was a goddess. I was invincible. Forget Xena, I thought, I’m freaking Captain Marvel! I didn’t want to let the feeling go, but I had a goal, and I had no doubt whatsoever that I would be successful. I was the key to unlocking Ellis’s mind.
My Transformation reservoir was sparse, and I had trouble grabbing it, but I added the meager amount of fragment I could manipulate into the stream flowing into Ellis. My Connection carried it the rest of the way for me. His eyes flew open, and he screamed in agony, shocking me out of my manic confidence. I’d felt so good that I hadn’t considered that forcing Transformation into another person might be painful.
I gripped Ellis’s hands as he squirmed away from me with everything he had. His wet hands slipped out of my grip, and he finally bucked me off. I landed on my back in the mud, right at Axel’s feet.
“Enough!” Axel bellowed. He held the umbrella over himself now.
I froze. Axel brandished his golden dagger, shoved it at my throat, and pressed down. It broke my skin with a sharp sting. Drenched and muddy, Axel leaned in close enough that I could clearly feel a familiar resonance. He was protected.
The rain had lessened a bit but still came down steadily around the perimeter of the umbrella.
I glanced in Aaron’s direction to see him standing over the prostrate body of the giant über-zombie. The unconscious man’s face was covered in burns, his brown potato-sack tunic smoldering.
Aaron’s tunic had been torn almost off and was only held in place by his belt. He’d lost his crossbow somewhere as well as his vest. It looked like the other three had gotten back up to fight him at some point, but they now lay around him, unconscious, faces bloodied. One of the men had a bolt sticking out of his left shoulder, and he panted like a dog.
Axel glared at Aaron with unrestrained hatred. Aaron stared right back.
“Take one step and I will slide this dagger so far into her neck that no amount of Protection will save her,” Axel growled.
“Do that,” Aaron responded, “and I will kill you before you have the chance to pull it out again. I told you six wasn’t enough. You should have fled while you had the chance.” His voice was steady, controlled, but little wisps of steam fluttered off his bare chest and shoulders. His bracelet was gone. He looked like a man about to commit murder for sport. He was terrifying, and I saw that terror reflected in Axel’s eyes.
Ellis rolled over and sat up. He looked around, then spotted his crossbow lying on the ground. With some effort, he got to his feet and retrieved it from the mud.
Axel watched Ellis retrieve the weapon and he visibly relaxed, his face regaining that crazed expression. It was more clenched teeth than smile. He spoke directly to me for the first time. “You see, you ignorant child? Ellis is mine. Did you really think you could heal the Projection fragment out of him? It doesn’t work like that. All you did was strengthen him so he could hold you down while I teach you your first lesson.”
Axel tossed the umbrella aside and grabbed a fistful of my hair. The rain had turned to sleet, and it pelted my face and stung my eyes. He pulled my face up to his mouth with gleeful malice. I winced but ground my teeth against the pain of ripping hair. “The first lesson is always the hardest,” he purred, “and the most fun.” He sensuously tipped his head and took my earlobe into his mouth, a low sigh of pleasure in his chest. Then he bit down and ripped my earring out with his teeth, tearing through my earlobe.
I screamed, instinctively grabbing Axel’s hand to pull it away from my throat, but he was too strong. I used the contact to push Protection into him even harder than I had for Ellis. Nothing happened. He spit my own blood back into my face.
Aaron moved toward us, but Axel drew his dagger tightly against my throat, slicing into me.