Page 21 of Echoes of War

“Sanguine nexu vetustaeque doctrinae,

Clypeum texo, semper validum.

Ex culturis priscis et vigore hodierno,

Eam evoco, nocte et die,

Per Aztecas, Mayas, Romanos et Graecos,

Ex eorum sapientia, meum incantamentum quaero.

Elementa coniungo, haustu validum,

Custodi et protege, vetus et novum.

Sic fiat, hoc incantamentum emittitur,

Protege firmiter, ut perseveret.”

Reina met my gaze. A tinge of fear of the unknown lingered in her eyes. Tomoe’s eyes were pure white, no recognition of the situation around her as she strolled over, offering us the cup. I took it hesitantly, peering back in Reina’s direction, who nodded in reassurance. Taking a deep breath, I brought it to my lips, stopping once the warm fluid touched. I gagged, my fingers trembling as my confidence wavered.

“Want some wine to swish it down?” Reina asked, no malicious intent concealed in her tone.

Sighing, I shook my head. I could do this. Ironically, I’d forgotten about my little party favor in my anxiousness. There was no time to spare. Tomoe had made it clear the spell was time sensitive.

Alexiares took the cup from my hands. “Together,” he said, eyes on mine as he tossed it back, handing it back to me half empty.

Together, I thought back, too disgusted with what I was about to do to respond. The taste was worse than I’d imagined. Metallic and sweet at the same time. The overwhelming smell of iron influenced the taste of the thick fluid coating my tongue. Reina strolled over, her coat now folded over the back of her chair. She removed the cup from my hand, the corner of her mouth pulling in pity. Her head tilted, arm extending toward my shoulder before remembering Tomoe had warned her not to enter the circle during the ritual.

Tomoe had gone silent. Now, she was doing the most important part, sealing the spell. It was essential that she saw the shield around us as being impenetrable, repelling all negative energies and keeping us safe. She snuffed the candle out, closing the imaginary circle.

After a brief pause, she murmured words of gratitude to whatever entities she had decided to call on. The last thing I remembered before I hit the floor was Alexiares saying he felt like shit.

I woke up on the ground, Alexiares lay next to me, head propped on a pillow. My mind groggy but otherwise okay. Reina and Tomoe sat against the wall near the door, watching us. The former wearing a mask of fascination, the Tinkerer in her taking over.

“Fascinating,” she murmured, walking toward my side.

Her hand waved over the entirety of my body, her powers kissing over my skin as she checked for any signs of something gone awry. When she found none, she glanced back at Tomoe, who still sat timidly in the corner, afraid she had hurt me.

“I don’t remember that happening the last time,” I said tentatively, not wanting to alarm her.

She shook her head in response. “That’s because I only had Seth’s blood. Riley and him fought that night, remember?”

I chuckled at the memory. I did remember. It had started off as a joke, well, as much of a joke as Seth was capable of. What had begun as drunken horseplay, Seth had taken to the next level, per usual. Riley, who happened to be slightly less drunk than him, had gotten a clean hit, breaking his nose. Tomoe had been covered in Seth’s blood as she removed her shirt to apply pressure.

That had been the first time I’d noticed that they’d taken an interest in each other, when I knew the inevitable would happen. One glance at Reina let me know she saw it too, a fat grin smeared across her face at her brother’s potential happiness. Now we knew why. Tomoe had been an opportunity to keep him distracted. Force him to settle down. She hadn’t used Tomoe for her benefit. No one thought that. But their relationship surely didn’t hurt her cause.

“How long until we know it works?” Alexiares said, his voice startling me.

I hadn’t realized he was awake. He shifted his weight, pushing himself up and surveyed the room, eyes landing on Tomoe.

She shrugged, not having a solid answer for that. “Immediately, I guess.”

“Why are you staring at me like that?” I asked. There was an odd look in her eyes. Let me know that I wasn’t going to be excited about what came next for the forty millionth time this week. “Give it to me straight, Tomoe, cut the shit. What’s next?”

Her hand slid over her face, resting on her cheeks. “You have to get into a … uh, intimate position. Seth and I were touching when it first happened.”

“You expect soldiers to fuck each other in order to powershare?” Alexiares snapped.

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