Southwest Truths (Semiautomatic Sorceress Book 3) by Kal Aaron (the red fox clan .txt) 📗

happened, that would imply there was someone in the Society who knew he was alive after his alleged death.”

“That’s one interpretation. He might have been hiding to protect you.”

“So I’ve been told by more than one person.” Lyssa sighed. “And I’m starting to believe that, given everything you’ve said. Any idea where all the spirit shards are coming from?”

“No.” Tristan shook his head. “Although I was able to trace some of them, the provenance of most remain a mystery. Many are odd in how they interface with the spirit world, but I’ve only been allowed limited personal investigation. The Society and the Elders handled most of that. Regardless, it doesn’t change that spirit shards are some of the most difficult to create.”

“Okay, I don’t get all this,” Lyssa said, “or at least, I don’t get how it fits together.”

Mentioning she had a grand emptiness spirit in her guns might end with Tristan cutting her down, but she could go halfway based on what he said earlier. He was putting together pieces for her, but she still couldn’t see the big picture.

“I don’t know what linked Lubon to the other incidents,” she said. “At first I thought someone had pushed me onto the smuggling job, but now it looks like it was a coincidence. I’m not sure what happened during the mine culling.” She growled in frustration. “Someone sent me to that mine on purpose, and I don’t think it was to get me killed.”

“You stumbled upon a partial truth during the smuggling job,” Tristan said. “There are only so many of our kind. Those who want to break the rules must be more careful than ever, but it’s as I said. I think someone wasn’t being careful enough until recently, and now that’s costing them. Torches and Eclipses are noticing.”

“When the Eclipses aren’t on their side, like Lubon,” Lyssa muttered.

“Something is happening. Consider it serendipity or dark fate, but your encounter in Houston might have set you against the same dark, careful rogues I’m hunting. They might know you have that list. I also know you have more of a relationship with the other recent targets than you’re letting on, but I don’t care.” Tristan looked ahead with a thoughtful expression. “I don’t need information from you, and you don’t know more than I do about this. What I need is your aid, and by now, you should understand we are battling the same enemies.”

Lyssa said, “I care more about finding the truth about my brother than cleaning up a conspiracy in the Society. It’s Sorcerers. There’s always someone pulling a scheme, and there will be long after I’m dead.”

“It doesn’t matter what you want. They want you dead, as proven by their use of Lubon.”

“Is that true?” Lyssa asked. “He could have been corrupt without caring about me.”

“He cast a spell shortly before Khatri went down,” Tristan said.

Lyssa frowned. “They used special bullets that could take high heat.”

“I don’t know for certain what spell he cast, but given his essence of weakness, he might have wanted to make sure she went down. He also received a message shortly before that.”

Lyssa nodded. “Probably my emergency code.” She sighed. “Which he didn’t respond to, but I thought that was because he was dead.”

“You’re free to believe what you want. I know he received two messages in a short time.” Tristan stared at the rearview mirror with a distant look. “I believe Lubon was there to ensure you were killed. He probably wanted to let you take down most of the mercenaries, then kill you. With a pile of bodies, it would look less suspicious. In either event, your best bet for surviving and finding out the truth about your brother is to help me.” He looked her way. “We should work together on Last Remnant.”

“You’re saying you want me to smuggle you to Last Remnant?” Lyssa asked. “That’s what this is about, right?”

“I’ve somewhat misled you,” Tristan replied.

“Why am I not surprised?”

“I could smuggle myself to Last Remnant with ease,” Tristan replied in a smug tone. “To be clear, it’s more that I want you to be a distraction. You were willing to risk your life once in the same way, and now you should do so again to draw out enemies. I’ll be going openly to put our mutual enemies on the defensive.”

Lyssa sighed. “I wanted to go anyway. This is probably my best bet, but I need time to think about it and convince my Elder to let me go. I’ll need a couple of days.”

“A couple of days?” Tristan snorted. “After everything you’ve learned, you want to spend that much time waiting?”

“I need to talk to some people. Like I said, my Elder wants me to hide in the deepest hole at the bottom of the deepest ocean, not rush to Last Remnant.”

“Then do what you must, but remember, the longer you wait, the more your life is at risk. Be cautious about who you trust, including your Elder.” Tristan gestured at her pocket. “I’ll give you a number. If you call that number, I’ll be at the house where we talked before within the hour.”

“Not a base, huh?” Lyssa chuckled.

“It’s convenient, and it allows me to kill others without risking innocents.” Tristan nodded at an upcoming exit sign. “Pull off here. Leave me at the first gas station.”

“Okay. I’ve got a lot of thinking to do.”

Chapter Twenty

Returning home and grabbing her Ducati might have not been the wisest course of action, but Lyssa gambled that whoever was hunting her wouldn’t be able to field another powerful team so quickly. She sent a message to Samuel asking for Aisha’s current location. When he replied, she was surprised to find Aisha was back at her apartment in Oklahoma City. Tenebrous Air and Lyssa’s other standard travel spells got her to the city quickly and safely.

There were a couple of things, loose ends she needed to take care of before her trip to Last Remnant. She wasn’t sure she’d