~Yelena~

"Why do people still seem to think this is a good idea?" I couldn't help but ask at one point. "Is kidnapping Yelena just a rite of passage for the bad guys or something?" Beneath my cloak, they held my hands: Mar at my right and Nate at my left. To busy last minute shoppers, we looked like a casual group of friends out for a stroll before curfew. But I could feel the tension radiating off of them as they snuck frequent glances left and right whenever they could.

Valek had to be close by.

On the bright side, they hadn't left me paralyzed. Bad idea.

I turned to Mar. "Does it even count if I never tried to escape?"

"Hold still." Mar snapped.

"Are you trying to use me to lure out Valek?"

"Shut your mouth or I will give you a hell of pain." Nate hissed. He glared once before continuing his survey of the market with anxious eyes. Valek had once told me that there were few things more annoying to a vigilant assassin than a Captain Obvious. Which meant tag teaming was usually more trouble than it was worth.

"You're going to give me pain, though?" I couldn't help it and simply burst out laughing. "Good…ha…luck…with that…"

Mar narrowed his eyes. "What's so funny?"

Wouldn't you like to know? "Inside joke…although it partly has to do with you two bringing me here alone and out in the open."

"Is she a simpleton?" Mar gestured to me as if I were a specimen in a lab.

"No, that would be you." I explained calmly. "I've already told you. This is a very bad idea and you're all going to die."

Nate laughed as he dug his nails into my wrist, making me wince. "Why? Because you really think your heart mate will save you?"

"That and the fact that you just challenged a master swordsman and assassin with the worst reputation."

"We'll see how he does against all of us." Mar sneered.

I had almost forgotten to mention. "You think this will be a challenge just because the four of you went through the same training that he did? Please. You have to know that continuing education is a thing."

"And you should know better than to have this much faith in one man just because he's your lover." Nate snarled. That odd vehemence was back again.

"Isn't that the whole point?" I asked innocently.

"He might not even save you, sweetheart." Mar pointed out with a smirk. "An opportunist like him might not even see much of a gain to be made there. After all, there are plenty of other warm bodies lying around."

"And not nearly enough cold ones…" I muttered.

His smirk widened. "Looks like I finally hit a sore spot. I bet there were several tumbles between him and a recruit during dry spells. But, of course, you wouldn't believe a word of that because he's supposed to be ever so loyal."

"That's part of it. The other part is he's one of those few men who are perceptive enough to see women as people."

"Is he now?"

"As much as I will never get enough of seeing her defend my honor..." Valek sauntered in. "I'm afraid I'll have to step in."

Hands on his hips, he regarded them briefly before turning to me. "How was your day, love?"

His apparent flippancy was signal that everything was going according to plan so his grin suddenly became contagious. "Oh well you know…" I glanced briefly at my assailants. "It always ends up being a good one when I get to meet your friends."

"I see."

A shuffle of footsteps and the other two emerged. They blended in with the crowd but had crossbows hidden beneath their cloaks aimed at Valek. My captors shifted to a fighting stance. Around us, the shoppers bustled about as preoccupied and gregarious as ever. No one seemed to pay us any attention. Seemed.

Nate forced my arm straight, and held a blade to my wrist. It was wet with poison. "Signal the rest to stand down, Valek. Or she gets it."

Valek froze and regarded him. His gaze held a curious sentiment in addition to his usual calculating intensity. There was something akin to resentment that was...personal.

"We just want to talk, Valek." Mar said casually as he pressed another damp blade to my other wrist. "Try anything funny and our hands will…slip."

Nate's grip tensed. "Blackened Blood. She'll be a bloody mess before you'd even think to reach her."

Valek held his hands up and whistled a distinct tune.

Mar nudged me. "Move."

We turned and began walking back towards the house.

The door slammed shut and locks clicked into place. Astrid and Aleida approached from behind Valek.

"It's been a long time, Valek." Nate spoke, his grip around my wrist never relaxing. The shutters were drawn and the windows were boarded securely from the inside.

I fought against the sudden bout of claustrophobia by reminding myself that there were other exits - we just couldn't see them. Valek had taught me that a good assassin will always be sure to have adequate means of escape. And those routes will be well hidden – no better way to unnerve before you dispatched with any unwanted houseguests.

"Well?" Valek crossed his arms and leaned back against the threshold, one leg lazily arranged atop the other. "I assume that whatever it is you had to say was important enough to ruin everyone's night."

"The conditions are simple." Aleida spoke, striding to stand in front of him. "In a few moments, our client will be here to collect. You will dispatch with her while we take Yelena to the border. When you meet us there, we'll let her go and you'll never see any of us again. Do we have a deal?"

"And we're supposed to trust you won't kill me on the way?" I asked.

"Of course. You're far more trouble dead as long as Valek's alive and vindictive as ever."

Valek took a step forward. "So let me guess. Your plan is for me to do your dirty work. You want the boss to come after me because none of you have the nerve to see this to the end."

I felt Nate roll his eyes. "You, you, you. Always with that 'to the end' crap." He scoffed. "That kind of sentimentality is what gets you killed. There is only survival."

Valek raised an eyebrow. "You knew exactly what you were getting yourself into. They called me 'King Killer' the day I walked in. Writing was on the wall." He patted the drywall and glanced at me with a glint in his eye that made me smile.

"We could have had it all." Nate sniffed.

"This again." Astrid shook her head. "Someone please gut me with Blackened Blood so I won't have to listen to this again."

"I'd be happy to." I said frankly. "Where do you keep it?"

She glared at me.

"Did I say you could talk?" Aleida snapped.

"You never said I couldn't." I said.

Valek laughed. Aleida started at me and Mar had to stop her.

She straightened, eyes narrowed. "Do we have a deal?"

Valek looked at me. If I gave the signal, he'd dispatch with everyone and we'd find another way.

I shrugged. "It's not as if we have another choice."

Astrid crossed her arms. "I don't like this. They're not nervous. How do we know he'd keep his word and not kill us later?"

"You have my word." Valek said simply.

She raised an eyebrow.

"You can believe it." Nate declared sardonically. "The man's a compulsive liar but somehow he always keeps his promises." He added mockingly, "He has a code."

I blinked. "Did you ever even like him?"

"It's easy to like someone when you decide to make up nearly everything there is to know about them." Valek said coolly.

I sighed.

"You could have at least told me you were leaving." Despondence replaced vehemence in Nate's voice.

"Maybe I should have. But you would have stopped me."

"From making a dumbass decision."

"From what I needed to do." Valek corrected. "We were both at fault and it wasn't a good time for a relationship."

Aleida made a slicing gesture. "Alright that's enough of this. You two can keep hashing it out. We're leaving."

I was out the door. Normally this kind of operation wouldn't perturb me. I've been on enough sting operations with and without Valek to know what to expect. But given how spectacularly I've been failing at everything lately…let's just say I could use more than just one shot of whisky at this point.

I ran through the plan in my head again. Valek would appear alone. But Janco would be nearby, sensing anyone reeking of magic a mile away. While the Warper preoccupied himself with subduing Valek in a null shield, there will be reinforcements.

But what if the Warper was too powerful? What if he had already gathered too many souls?

My heart lurched as I recalled for the millionth time how damned inconvenient it was for me to not have my Soulfinding magic.

I inwardly shook my head. If Valek had this much faith in me, then it was only fair for me to have the same in him.

We stopped at a bridge arching a small stream. A small picnic was displayed on the soft grass.

"Sit." Mar rammed the heel of his hand into my right shoulder.

I knelt on the ground by a goblet. My captors promptly joined me, sitting cross legged by their respective plates. Astrid remained close to me, pressing the blade against my side.

Sentries strolled past us. One yawned and the other picked at her ponytail from behind her back with a crooked arm. I rolled my eyes. Even an offhanded glance would have given it away that the five so called friends were tense enough to string a bow.

Hours may have passed. I fidgeted but my captors remained still and quiet. A skilled assassin could remain hidden between rafters and furniture for days.

But eventually, someone flinched.

"What's taking so long?" Mar said under his breath. "We can't wait that much longer."
Astrid pursed her lips but kept her hawk-like eyes stubbornly on the woodland path they'd come through.

I tried to ignore Mar and watched with them, my fear for my own safety completely shrouded by that for the ones I loved.

He's too powerful. Jairus must have amassed enough souls to be able to sustain a null shield with barely the lift of a finger. He could suffocate Valek or even…

My heart lurched and my breaths quickened. I felt my world spinning and close in on me. No. Not now. Think. Plan. I couldn't just sit here.

"We have to help them." I burst out.

Astrid turned sharply to me.

Before she could argue, I hurried on, "The Warper must be too powerful." I added an explanation at their blank stares. "A magician bloated with power by the souls of his or her victims."

They glanced at each other. A smile began to grow on Astrid's lips. I cursed inwardly. So that's what they were planning: They were counting on this.

"What about your comrades?" I shrugged and began to smooth out the blanket. "I know. Survival. It's still a victory even if only half of you made it out. But let me tell you something about a Warper's power: there will never be enough of it. So after everyone back there is dead, believe me when I say he'll still be hunting for more souls. And after you two let the jackpot soul be wasted to the sky…well let's just say that if I were to pick a next victim..." I looked at them both pointedly.

Mar tensed and I felt him considering.

"Don't listen to her." Astrid snapped. "We don't have magic."

"Doesn't matter." I said. "All souls contain magic, whether or not you can access the power source. Week old, stale bread is still food for the insatiable."

"She's lying." Astrid declared. "She's trying to save her own skin."

"If I was only thinking of myself, why would I want to go running back to an all-powerful Magician who can probably kill me with a glance? Wouldn't it make more sense to try and take my chances with two second rate hired goons? …No offense."

We skidded to a sudden stop. From the outside, there still didn't seem to be anything out of the ordinary about the building.

A body crashed out of the window. Janco groaned and clutched his side as he writhed on the ground. I took advantage of my captors' surprise and rushed over to him.

He blinked at me when I shook him. "Yelena…Valek…he's…" He pointed with a trembling hand inwards. "It's no use…we can't..."

I stopped him from spiraling into sheer panic as I made sure he sustained no fatal injuries. Propped up and somewhat calmed, Janco shook his head again, eyes wide. "We can't win…he just keeps regenerating! He took us all down with just a wave of his hand! Ari…even Maren…!"

"…are probably fine. But they need you to take care of them right now." I said calmly.

He blinked but nodded.

"Can you stand? Is anything broken?"

"May have cracked a rib, which is four less than the usual."

I smiled, resting my arm briefly on his shoulder before turning for the door. The wood wouldn't budge.

Still running headfirst into fires, Soulfinder? His voice in my head turned my blood into ice. I froze.

Not good enough, Yelena. When will you learn?

I slammed both hands against the sides of my head and felt my knees give way. But I gritted my teeth as the sane part of me urged me to hold on, to do whatever it took to not fall.

Somewhere in my line of vision the assassins were retreating away from me. I looked desperately about me for Valek. But he was nowhere to be found.

I stilled, my hands falling away from my head. There was only one way. I could feel the triumphant smirk.

Where the hell are you?

The image of the exact path through the woods answered me. I turned and ran in.

Valek was pinned against a tree, the invisible null shield tightening around his neck. But he managed to stay still, conserving his breath. Aleida and Nate flayed in their snares, clawing at the invisible blankets on their faces.

At the center of the madness stood Jairus, calm and composed beneath the moonlight. Even his cloak didn't dare move in the stillness.

Hands steepled, he stepped closer. I narrowed my eyes and planted my feet on the ground.

Edyta was nowhere to be found. Was it because she was dead? Or because she ran? Or…because she…

"It wasn't her." He finally spoke, his voice as treacherously silky and warm as it was the first time I heard it. "Although I will say that this was a valiant effort. It must have taken an immense amount of trust on your part."

I rolled my eyes while I shook on the inside. " I know it's a Sandseed thing to take an entire afternoon to say 'hello' and all, but people are suffocating here. So do you mind?"

Jairus gave me a wintry smile. "A soul is most potent when given willingly. But it seems I will have to settle this once."

I slowly lowered my bow. But abruptly swiped my switchblade out and hurled it at him. It was easily batted away.

But in his distraction, Astrid charged him from behind. He doubled over as she mercilessly dug the dagger down his back. His three victims landed on the ground in gasping heaps.

Astrid cried out and collapsed, whimpering and clutching her hand.

Jairus yanked the blade out and tossed it aside, black blood dripping from it. He cocked his head as the poison left his body and the wound healed seamlessly.

Boots pounded on the grass as all the assassins charged him. They were hurled aside again. Nate threw three shrukiens at him with perfect accuracy at his face before going down. Jairus plucked each blade out deliberately. He wiped and flicked the blood away from his neck as the injury disappeared.

Rubbing his bloody fingers, he approached me.

My eyes fell on Valek pinned to the ground. I instantly stepped back, the core of my very being renouncing my nature in telling me to run.

"Did you really think that it would be this easy?" His shadow fell on me, consuming me and slithering beneath my skin.

I shivered, my eyes widening as I regressed back to the lab rat in the dungeon. No. Not again. I couldn't bear it. I wouldn't survive it.

An invisible fist curled around my neck, crushing my windpipe. Tears stung my eyes as I choked.

Relax Yelena. You're about to become a part of something great.

I grew lighter. The world began to blur and disappear. I was letting go again. My soul prepared to fly with my last breath.

Air.

I violently swallowed it.

The world focused again. Maren stood in front of me, her face twisted in black rage and her sword impaling the Warper.

"Move!" She yelled.

I grabbed my bow and scrambled to my feet.

Maren dropkicked the Warper and hurled a cloak over him. "Go ahead! I want to see you try you bastard!"

But she widened her eyes as Jairus rose again. "A null shield? How unoriginal." He tossed it aside and revealed another healed wound.

But I was watching him closely. His breath had quickened.

"He's growing tired!"

Maren smirked. "So we just have to outlast him."

The crunch of bones cracking. Valek stood behind him with a broadsword through where his heart was. Jairus snarled and hurled him against a tree.

"I wonder how long it'll take to sleep that off." Maren mused as the Warper healed his heart. "Let's shoot for a lifetime." She faked a left blow and swung from the right, managing to get several punches in before being tossed aside to where Valek was.

I launched at him, attacking him with quick jabs and swipes. He blocked and parried but I was relentless.

The sound of cracked ribs. Victory. Bones took forever to heal even by magic.

"Enough of this!" Jairus roared. He raised a hand toward Nate and Mar.

The poisoned sword stabbed through me, twisting and slicing through my intestines. My bow slipped out of my limp hand and landed on the ground with a dull thud. The blade was yanked out with one sickening crunch.

I collapsed, tasting blood.

"Yelena!" Valek's desperate voice cut towards me from several yards away.

Shocked beyond pain, I could only watch and listen to the clanging of steel against steel as he fought off my killer with ruthless vengeance. All the while his desperate voice was begging me to hold on.

That's okay, take your time. It's not like I'm going anywhere.

I shuddered as I lay helplessly on the grass. My hand pressed at the wound, fighting to keep blood and entrails in. But just as I did it, my fingers were slipping against the sticky, warm blood that oozed past it. Or perhaps it was better to bleed out the poison?

It occurred to me.

What was I doing? Why did I even want this body? It's been burned…beaten…kicked…trampled on… poisoned…violated, and now, skewered and poisoned.

When was it even mine to begin with?

It was stolen by Mogkan. Tortured by Brazell. Tossed to Reyad. Locked in a dungeon to rot. Turned over to the Commander as a filter for poison. Even now, I knew I was expendable. There could always be another Liaison. And there would always be another Soulfinder.

When was it ever even my own?

Maybe when I was born… I stopped. I latched onto the thought.

I wasn't born to suffer. I never asked to be taken to Ixia as a child. I didn't ask to be hurt this way. I never asked for any of this to happen to me.

For a moment I stared across at the ongoing battle; the sounds were muffled by my internal war and the motions blurred.

I must have known that at some point. I must have known when I finally stopped and was strong enough to turn away from the blades. When the urge itself dulled. When I finally let the wounds heal properly. I must have known every single moment I decided to stay and to continue living.

And all this time my body continued to breathe and sustain me even as I slept and tore it apart. It took everything I threw at it – every ounce of self-loathing and abuse.

I heard the young girl's voice again. My mind and soul needed a house and they would take no other. She was pleading, begging, imploring. Save me. Save me from this. Don't let them hurt me anymore…

A buzz flowed throughout me as the black poison was expelled. The tissue and skin stitched itself together seamlessly.

I stood. Something charged me from behind and I lunged. A surge of power flowed through me as I turned, found my bow, and disarmed my assailant.

Jairus doubled over and as he stumbled, I brought my weapon down over his neck. He sprawled on the ground with a weak groan.

I palmed several darts.

He rose again with a sharp hiss. But I hurled the darts and swung around to the right. I never missed. My body and my bow fused, anticipating each strike, both mine and his in an elaborate dance that only I knew.

Jairus finally stopped as we circled him and backed him into the middle. He smirked between labored breaths and gave me a small bow.

The magician then vanished into thin air.

~Jairus~

Jairus appeared in the cottage. He rolled his neck and waited for his wounds to heal, all the while his mind ceaselessly went back to the little bat that eluded him yet again.

A bottle opened and whisky was poured into a cloudy glass.

"I told you not to underestimate her." Devlen sighed.

Jairus sat in the chair while he still had the strength to do so gracefully.

"Now what are we going to do?" Devlen paced the room. "We've lost our primary means of transportation and now Edyta is good as gone."

"Minor setbacks, Devlen."

"Or maybe it's time to call it quits."

"Funny. I always remembered you as far more tenacious."
"Maybe I've grown careful." He snapped.

"Do you need someone to torture, Devlen? Is that what this is about?"

Devlen crossed his arms and didn't reply.

"You're restless. I understand." Jairus adjusted the lantern away from his face, casting a large shadow. "And that's why I need you and that silver tongue of yours to perform this next part of the operation."

When he finished talking, Devlen's eyes were lit with renewed vigor. "Sly bastard. But what about the Soulfinder?"

"All in good time. She's still missing two of her most important powers, after all."

So I know it's been months since I updated. Many apologies. But I intend to finish this story one way or another so rest assured it will never be abandoned. Anyways, let me know what you think as always!