Author's Note: Hey, everyone! It's a new year and I can't wait to see all the new reviews & readers! Hope you enjoy the newest chapter to "Dead Man's Hand."

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

"Good evening, Toyama! How are you all doing tonight?"

The crowd cheered loudly in response. The MC was standing center-stage with a microphone in hand. The crowd was mostly upper teens and young adults, but there were quite a few adults in the audience, too. The MC was an older gentleman in his late thirties with wild, blonde hair to go with his wild green eyes.

"This is the tenth annual Night of Life Concert and we are still going strong! We've had dancers, singers, and even a magician or two! But now you're in for a real treat!" the MC announced.

Spread out amongst the crowd was the eight warlords. Each of them was keeping a keen eye on a member of the Ancient Council. So far, they had only spotted four of the six members. The twins were over by one of the food stands eating something. Selena and, who they assumed was, Kai were among the mortals in the center of the crowd.

That left them with only one missing Council member; the Empath. Kento had spotted Griffin disappearing behind the stage and had disappeared after him. None of the seven others had seen him follow the Ancient so they figured he was off eating somewhere.

In reality, Kento was slowly and quietly sneaking up behind Griffin. The tall Empath was standing at a corner looking at something so Kento was able to approach him without fail. When he was within reaching grasp of the Ancient, the former ronin felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around swiftly with a silent question on his lips.

He saw a flash of blonde and C-CR-A-A-CK! Kento fell backwards with a loud cry that was covered by the loud crowd and MC who was announcing the next person.

"…for a real treat! We've seen imitators, pretenders, and plain out fakes!" The crowd booed. "But now you get the real deal. This will be the third year she's made an appearance at the Night of Life Concert. By the end of the night, she'll make you all believers!"

The crowd let out a big roar of cheer. The MC was very skilled at getting the crowd to settle down and get loud. The MC brought his hands up then down, bringing the volume of the crowd down as he did so.

"Please help me in giving a warm, evening welcome to the girl who brings the magic of the cards to this stage! Kalen McCoy!"

The crowd cheered. The warlords didn't bother. They knew good and well she wouldn't be making an appearance. They also knew the other Ancients would realize this and react which is why each of them had a targeted Ancient to subdue. This would be the night the Ancient Council would fall.

The crowd quieted a smidge as the MC frowned. He flashed a smirk at the crowd as he raised his hands up.

"Hey, hey, hey! I think our great performer can't hear us. We need to pump up the volume so she can hear us!" the MC announced.

The crowd yelled in agreement. The MC started a rhythmic clapping which the crowd copied. CLAP, CLAP CLAP CLAP. CLAP, CLAP CLAP CLAP. Among them the twins could be spotted looking over at Selena and Kai. One of the twins made wide gestures to which Selena shrugged in response.

[The mortals haven't a clue.] Sage.

[When do we snatch the Council?] Rowan.

[Wait until one of us spots Griffin. We need to capture all the Council members.] Anubis.

Suddenly, the lights fell down to one on center stage towards the back by the entrance. They came up as a figure stepped out from behind stage. The crowd let out a loud roar of cheer as Kalen stepped out onto center stage. The MC stepped off after greeting Kalen by way of a kiss on the cheek.

Kalen adjusted the earpiece with the small microphone that lay against the side of her face as she greeted the crowd. She waved her hand up above her head while speaking.

"Good evening, Toyama! It's wonderful to be invited back here at the Night of Life Concert," she said.

The Ancients had disappeared from sight and the only thing the warlords could think of was how the Hell was Kalen here. Kalen caught Cye's gaze from the back of the crowd and winked at him.

"As the MC said, I bring you the majestic of the cards and all they have to tell us," Kalen said.

The crowd came down to a low murmur as Kalen began her show. She appeared to make illusionary images appear from the cards. The warlords knew there was no illusion about it; Kalen was temporarily summoning some of the cards.

For the next part of her show, Kalen set up a table with a camera on it as she laid her cards out on it. Several volunteers were out in the crowd with microphones.

"What's your name?" Kalen asked.

The first person in the crowd was a teenager with her hair in a long braid.

"I'm Annabelle and I'm from Tokyo!" she said loudly into the microphone.

Kalen smiled and shook her head with a small chuckle.

"Well, Annabelle from Tokyo, as you can see, I have my deck of cards before me. I'm going to lay them out like this and I want you to pick a card," Kalen explained.

[How the Hell did she get here?] Rowan.

[It doesn't matter how. After the show, we grab her. Take the other Council members out.] Dais.

"…look in your jacket pocket," Kalen said.

Annabelle pulled her jacket back from her body and was surprised when she pulled out a card from her jacket pocket. Her face broke out into a big grin.

"It's my card!" Annabelle exclaimed.

Kalen chuckled as she summoned the card back to her hand. She did tricks similar to this a few more times with other people. The crowd was captivated with Kalen and Cye could easily see why. Kalen was charismatic and knew how to draw her audience in.

It finally came to the finale of Kalen's performance.

"If you were here last year, you had the pleasure of seeing me hypnotize a group of people. This year, I shall be hypnotizing only one person." The crowd released a big 'ah' in disappointment. "But you will be astounded by the things I will make this person do."

Now Cye was quite curious. The Ancient must be planning to "hypnotize" one of her fellow Ancients. Unknown to the warlords, Sawyer was perched up high and hidden in the shadows. From where he was perched, he could see all eight warlords and Kalen on the stage.

Kalen turned her back to the crowd and secretly switched the microphone to a mike connected to Sawyer.

"Stay out of sight. Soon as the crowd parts, you stay hidden. It's going to get ugly," Kalen whispered.

Despite his reservations about not aiding the Ancient Council, Sawyer quietly agreed to stay hidden. Kalen switched her microphone back before facing the crowd.

"I have a special volunteer who will be my subject for the evening. Griffin, can you escort him out, please?"

Cye's eyes bugged out when the Ancient Empath walked out onto stage with Kento. The normally short-tempered warrior calmly walked out onto the stage with Griffin. The Ancient had a hand on Kento's shoulder which led him to believe the Empath was controlling his best friend's emotions.

The two men stopped center front stage. Kalen stood just off to the side where everyone could see her.

"My dear old friend here has graciously volunteered to be my subject for tonight," Kalen announced.

Cye heard more than one of the others snort through the armor mental link. Old friend? Volunteer? Please.

With her back to the crowd, Emily secretly used one of the cards to cast her hypnosis. At the same time, she motioned to a light that was straightforward out from the stage. She instructed him to watch that light. The crowd watched silently as the man was put into a deep sleep.

"When my friend lifts his hand from your shoulder, you will fall into the deepest sleep. You will remain calm and listen to my voice," Kalen spoke quietly, but loud enough to be heard by the audience.

Kento murmured in agreement. Kalen nodded to Griffin who slowly removed his hand and stepped away. Kalen was pleased to see that combination of Griffin's empathetic abilities and her card deck had kept the warlord hypnotized. The warlord's eyes were closed but he was fully coherent and could understand everything that Kalen said.

"Open your eyes."

Kento's eyes opened and he looked at Kalen. It was almost eerie the way he stared at her. She knew he was only partially aware of what was going on. She had him do a few simple things but then she really caught the audience's attention when she had him do a backflip. Naturally, she knew it was something he was capable and comfortable with doing.

No matter what they did on the stage, she would never push anyone, even one of the warlords, to do something they weren't comfortable with while under hypnosis.

/…/

"Well, that was loads of fun."

Kalen chuckled as she walked out onto the empty stage. Kento had just finished hauling stuff back stage and was now standing at attention. The large courtyard where the audience had once been was now empty.

She was preparing to release Kento from his hypnosis when a voice spoke up.

"A beautiful performance, Kalen."

She whipped around to see Cye standing in the center of the courtyard. His hands were hidden in his jacket pockets, but the smirk he wore was easy to spot.

"Oh, really?" Kalen smiled. "What was your favorite part?"

Cye chuckled with a shrug.

"Oh, I don't know. I suppose your overall appearance was the surprise of the night. How ever did you get back here, love?" Cye grinned.

Shivers tingled up her back at the term of endearment. Thanks to the loose lips of Cye's best friend (and a little Empath persuasion), Kalen knew her ex had held her at some point while she was unconscious. She was going to be taking a very long, very hot shower later.

"Now why in the spirits would I do that?" Kalen asked.

"Because you're outnumbered."

Kalen glanced up and around. Sure enough, all seven of the warlords (minus Kento) were appeared as they stood or crouched in various places about the courtyard. The closest one was Kento who was still under her spell.

"I think your math is off, Cye," Kalen warned him.

He narrowed his gaze. Cye watched as the Ancient Council members stepped out from various places which placed them close to the warlords and between them and Kalen.

"Going to use one of our own against us, Kalen?" Cye asked, mockingly.

Kalen snorted.

"Heavens no. And thank you for reminding me," Kalen answered.

Kalen raised her hand and snapped her fingers as her hand came up to her head. Kento immediately snapped awake and shook his head as he brought a hand up to his head.

"What the Hell hit me?" he demanded in a gruff voice.

"That would be me," he heard a voice speak up.

Kento looked up and spotted Kalen who waved teasingly. It took him all of five seconds to remember what had happened. Without warning, he lunged at Kalen. She dodged him easily, sending him diving right off the stage. Kalen wasn't the only one who visibly winced when Kento hit the ground hard.

Kalen looked over the edge and winced again.

"Ooh, that's going to leave a mark," Kalen said.

"Undoubtedly," Griffin added, glancing over his shoulder.

Kalen and Cye locked gazes. She saw a small, almost unnoticeable twitch at his eye.

[Take Kalen alive! Kill the Council!]

Kalen sent a mental warning to the Council members just before the warlords summoned their subarmors. Each warlord squared off with a Council member while two warlords went after the two senior Council members, Griffin and Kalen.

The Ancient leader dashed off the stage with Cye and Sage hot on her tail. Kai summoned up the water from a nearby fountain and slung a bunch of ice shards at Rowan who ducked and dodged. A full-grown jaguar (Tobi) nearly took Kento's arm out of its socket.

Still completely hidden in the shadows was Sawyer with Silver and a video camera that was recording the whole thing. He lost sight of Kalen who dashed backstage with the two ex-ronins after her.

I hope she'll be okay, Sawyer thought as he allowed the camera to focus.

Dais tried casting illusions, but Casper was able to break through them easily. The Council members were skilled in battle and it showed. Sawyer wondered why the warlords didn't call their full armors and gain the upper hand.

Sawyer suddenly saw movement on the roof the building that surrounded the courtyard. He moved the camera up and gasped. Kalen was running in a full sprint across the roof. Cye was only a few feet behind her and Sage was just below and ahead of her. Sawyer saw that in only a minute they would catch her in a crossfire.

His microphone to Kalen was cut-off but he could still had a connection to Kai. He quickly turned it back on and sent a message to Kai.

"Kai! Above you! It's Kalen! Hit Rowan from behind on his left shoulder blade!"

Kai sloshed a large wave of water around behind the Strata warrior and nailed it straight at the left shoulder blade. Just before it hit the warlord, Kai strengthened the water into a thick piece of ice with a dull point. Rowan, completely caught off guard, cried out and crumbled to his knees while clutching his shoulder.

Seizing the chance, Kai gathered up the water and sent it across the air at Sage. The water swirled around Sage's ankles and yanked him down just before he could jump up and in front of Kalen.

Sawyer gasped in horror as he witnessed Cye tackling Kalen on the roof. They rolled off the other side of the roof and out of sight. He knew something was wrong when Kalen didn't immediately reappear.

"Silver, go. Defend," Sawyer whispered.

The Alaskan Malamute jumped from their hiding place and took a different route to where Kalen was so as not to be seen.

/…/

"Get. Off. Me," Kalen snarled.

She was on the ground on her back with Cye on top her. He had her pinned to the ground with one knee by her side with another knee digging into her stomach. Cye had Kalen's wrists in his grips with them being held down on either side of her head.

Kalen tried shifting out from under him, but Cye had a tight enough grip on her to prevent that. She had considered kneeing him where it would smart; however, the male had his other leg tucked close enough to her side that it wouldn't allow for such a movement.

"Tell me how you got back here," Cye growled.

"Go to Hell!" Kalen spat.

"You first, love."

Kalen gritted her teeth and tried to dislodge the male. Cye dug his fingers into her wrists, creating small crescent shaped marks into the skin. Kalen visibly flinched from the sharp pain emanating from her wrists. Cye took sick pleasure out of seeing the flash of pain whip across Kalen's face.

Cye leaned down over Kalen so his face was down beside her. He blew softly in her ear, openly enjoying the effect it had on Kalen. His hair prickled her face and his cold breath on her ear brought back memories of his possessiveness. She knew, if given the chance and the power, Cye would keep her in his clutches for life.

A nip to her ear brought her crashing back to reality and to the fact that her possessive ex-boyfriend was still pinning her to the ground. Another, much more shaper nip, caused her ear to split open if the wet feeling on it was anything to go by. A voice started hissing in her ear.

"The Council will fall and with them, the rest of the Ancient race. And you?" Chuckle. "You will be the last to fall. By the time we finally grant you death, it will be the only relief you ever get."

The most disturbing thing about that message was that Kalen believed he meant every word. Suddenly, she heard the rapid movement of quiet paw prints racing across the pavement.

"Like I told you before, Cye. Go to Hell!" Kalen growled, turning her head so they were looking eye to eye.

Cye chuckled again as he leaned back so Kalen could clearly the dark smirk on his face.

"Only if you go fir-,"

Cye was cut off when a sudden force caught him in the juncture between his neck and shoulder. Silver clamped down as he lunged, forcing the warlord to release his hold on Kalen. Silver let go as the warlord hit the ground and jumped backwards so he landed protectively in front of Kalen. Kalen was relieved and irritated to see Silver.

I'm glad it wasn't Sawyer but now Cye and the others will make the connection of Silver to the Ancients, Kalen thought as she flipped to her feet.

She drew a card from her deck before Cye had a chance to react. Kalen activated the card and disappeared with Silver in a bright flash. Simultaneously, the other Ancient Council members and Sawyer disappeared.

/…/

"How did you know about Strata's injury?"

Sawyer looked up from eating a bowl of fruit to see Griffin standing in the doorway. The others were in the living room watching the video and studying the movements of the warlords. Sawyer sighed as he put his fork down and leaned his elbows on the counter.

"I remembered in the first war that Anubis had hit Rowan pretty hard in the shoulder. I took the chance that it still pained him. I didn't know it would work," Sawyer answered.

Griffin shook his head as he approached the other male. He leaned on the counter while standing but did not touch Sawyer or try to influence his emotions.

"You trusted your intuition, Sawyer. I thank you for that. Halo and Torrent surely would have caught Kalen and that would have forced our surrender," Griffin told him.

Sawyer hated to think like that. These encounters were getting worse and worse. The worst part was that there was nothing he could do to aid in concealing and protecting Kalen's true identity. Griffin reached forward to touch his hand, but did nothing to overpower Sawyer's emotions. The emotions were swirling around in his head enough without having the Empath interfere.

"Do not worry, Sawyer. Kalen has been playing this game for a long time. The warlords have not won. And we won't let them," Griffin told them.

Sawyer looked up at him.

"Kalen played this game for many years with only four. Now there's eight. What's changed in her favor?" Sawyer asked.

Griffin smiled. "You're alive and on our side. Believe it or not, Sawyer, you are the Ace in the hole. You are the factor they are not aware of."

END OF CHAPTER THIRTEEN

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