Sepia Blue- Nameless: A Sepia Blue Novel- Book 4 by Orlando Sanchez (best self help books to read .txt) 📗

“That damn cloud swallows everything,” Misha said, reloading his weapon. “It’s like firing into space. Nothing happens.”

“Fire anyway and aim for the space where his head is,” Lina told him, twisting to the side and avoiding Velos and a tendril. “Don’t hesitate.”

She blocked the tendril from impaling her midsection, but reacted too slowly to stop Retribution from slicing through her arm. Lina grunted with pain and slashed again, cutting through the nimbus and reverting it to solid. For a brief second, Velos was exposed and a shot rang out, cutting through the silence of the night with a lethal whisper.

The bullet tore through the nimbus of energy and shattered Velos’ jaw, spinning him away from Lina and launching his body back. He landed in a cloud of black energy with a feral growl.

“Shit, he moved,” Misha said with a few curses. “I had a clean shot.”

Velos raised a hand to his face and pulled it away, finding it covered in blood. He fell forward and was immediately covered by the black nimbus.

Wake and Jas ran over to where Lina stood.

“We need to leave, now,” Wake said. “There’s no time.”

“We wounded him,” Lina answered, taking a step toward Velos. “I can finish him. We may not have another opportunity like this.”

“You can die trying,” Wake said, pointing. “Look.”

Several of the tendrils had punched into the street and had formed a protective perimeter around Velos. Getting to him through the swaying wall of tendrils would be nearly impossible now.

“What is that?” Lina asked. “It looks alive.”

“I would imagine a failsafe protection in case of severe injury,” Wake said, heading away from Velos. “I doubt it will take long for him to recover. You can stay to find out just how long, if you like.”

“I volunteer we get out of here before it’s too late,” Jas said, moving faster. “We need to get more firepower. Something nuclear would be good.”

“Charges now,” Wake said, pointing behind her as they moved. “Over there.”

Jas stopped and lobbed several charges at Velos, before turning and running in the opposite direction. The street filled with thick white smoke, obscuring vision.

“I’m out,” Jas said, patting herself down.

“As are we,” Wake said. “Let’s go, Hunter—now.”

“Meet up on us, Misha,” Lina said into her coms. “We need to evacuate.”

“I’m already gone,” Misha answered. “See you at the tank.”

The tank was a repurposed armored truck with extra thick armor plating parked several blocks away.

By the time they arrived, Misha was behind the wheel with the engine running. Misha’s appearance stopped Jas in her approach.

“Are you two related?” she asked as they closed on vehicle. “He looks like—”

“My brother,” Lina answered, opening the passenger side door “We’re twins. Where can we take you?”

“We’re fine,” Wake said, shaking her head. “We’ll find our way back.”

Lina raised an eyebrow and nodded.

“Don’t go back,” Lina said. “That Hunter is dangerous. I’ve never seen a blade do what his does.”

“You managed to hurt him,” Wake said. “It means he can be stopped.”

“Wounded?” Misha said. “That shot should have removed his head. I don’t miss.”

“It seems like the dark blades have capabilities that go beyond simple defense,” Lina said. “That cloud feels almost alive. We’re going to need more than Hunters and gunmen to stop him.”

“Agreed,” Wake said. “We will assess what we learned tonight. I’m sure it will be useful in facing Velos.”

Lina nodded and strapped in.

“I’ll let my superiors know about what happened tonight,” she said. “With the exception of the insane Sisters who came to my aid by risking their lives.”

“That would be appreciated,” Wake said, glancing at Jas. “We were only supposed to observe and report. Not engage.”

“I’m glad you did,” Lina said, tapping Misha on the shoulder. “There was a good chance I wouldn’t be here to discuss this with you if you hadn’t. Take care of yourselves. I’ll see you on the street.”

Wake nodded, pulling Jas back as the tank pulled away with a rumble.

“We’re going back, aren’t we?” Jas asked. “Tell me we aren’t going back.”

“Fine, I won’t tell you,” Wake said. “We need to know if he recovered, and if so, how.”

“Things like Velos don’t die that easy,” Jas said. “I’m pretty sure that black cloud is performing some kind of sword surgery on his face right this moment.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of,” Wake said. “Let’s go.”

FIFTEEN

Approaching the Gray was difficult in the best of times.

Attempting it now, when his Hunter was missing and the other dead, meant Cade had to take extraordinary measures to reach his target. The fact that Red Jen had died on his watch required a full review.

The Order would blame him.

It wasn’t personal. Gunmen were responsible for their Hunters. It was the unspoken rule. No matter how much of a mess your Hunter created or stepped into, the gunman’s job was to watch their back and save their ass when needed.

In the eyes of the Order, and more importantly in the eyes of the other gunmen, Cade had failed—twice.

Being reassigned from his position as Sepia’s gunman and then losing Red Jen meant Cade was tainted. It didn’t matter that Sepia had become a Sister or that Red Jen was attacked by a dark blade. No other Hunter would want him as a gunman.

If he didn’t report to Order HQ, he would be designated TAG—Terminated AWOL Gunman. It was a covert death sentence. TAGs were hunted down and removed from the street with extreme prejudice. The last thing the Order wanted was a group of gunmen forming a militia of their own. It was a risk they weren’t willing to entertain.

HQ would want him off the streets until he was cleared for desk duty somewhere, if they didn’t cut him loose entirely. They needed to determine that Jen hadn’t died due to his negligence. He could see how that inquiry would go.

They would find him guilty, strip him of all gunman privileges, and put him to pasture. He’d seen it countless times—a slow death by bureaucracy. It didn’t help matters