Reaper (Cradle Book 10) Read online

  By repeating one technique over and over, and practicing it under many different conditions, one could greatly improve their mastery of a technique. It tended to help those struggling to unleash their techniques more efficiently.

  But, of course, that was for Gold students.

  He didn’t say it, but Kelsa sighed as she heaved her way to her feet. “I will advance soon, I promise. Lindon offered me a pill already. But I don’t even have my balance as a Jade yet, and I know stability is important.”

  It was. Technically. But Jai Long had seen plenty of sacred artists adjust fine to skipping Jade entirely. If Lindon or Eithan Arelius had insisted she stay a Jade, he wouldn’t have argued, but he would characterize their attitude as similar to his own.

  While she was right about stability being important, the difference was so minuscule at Jade as to be negligible.

  But everyone had to travel their own Path, and it wasn’t as though he’d taken her in as a disciple. So he gave her a nod and went to pick up a ‘heavier’ training spear.

  This one wasn’t physically much heavier at all, but it was scripted to be similar to a parasite ring. It became harder to move madra through it, which allowed him to refine his madra, exercise his channels, and practice his weapon Enforcer techniques at once.

  Kelsa settled into a chair nearby and watched him as she drank from a bottle of water. She didn’t rest her perception on him directly, which would have distracted him, but she did observe him closely. Determined to take only one step at a time she may have been, but she never passed up an opportunity to learn.

  This training didn’t take much concentration, and she knew it, so after a few minutes of watching him she picked up their earlier conversation.

  “So you think I should advance to Gold, then?”

  “I wouldn’t delay too long.” He swung his spear vertically, leaving a trail of light that hissed like a snake before quickly dissipating. When it did, he swung again.

  “I’m…not sure how I feel about taking someone else’s Remnant into my spirit,” she admitted. “Even if there are plenty to choose from.”

  Sacred Valley had been littered with Remnants after the Dreadgod’s rampage, many of which were from the Path of the White Fox. They would be little help in advancing to Gold, though, since they could only be Jade at best.

  “There are other compatible Paths,” Jai Long said, focusing on his spear. “It’s difficult to integrate their techniques into yours, but it can be done.” She would have an easier time at Lowgold than he had, no matter what she did.

  At least her Remnant wouldn’t be trying to eat her from the inside out.

  “Your brother didn’t take a Remnant at all,” he pointed out.

  “No, but he had Orthos. I suppose there is Elder Whisper…but if he hasn’t chosen a contractor by now, I can’t see why he’d want me.”

  From what little Jai Long had heard of Elder Whisper, he doubted anyone should want to contract with him. The fox couldn’t be trusted.

  “No point worrying about it,” Jai Long said. This time, he slashed through the ghost of a snake he’d Forged out of his own madra. “If you run into any problems, you can get your brother to solve them.”

  Kelsa took another drink of water. “You don’t like him.”

  “I wouldn’t say that.”

  In fact, if Jai Long had to choose whether he felt positively or negatively toward Lindon, he would give Lindon a passing grade. Lindon had gone out of his way to help Jai Long and his sister more than once.

  But he had killed Jai Long’s closest friend, even if the circumstances were understandable. And…

  In the quiet of his own heart, Jai Long could admit that he was jealous.

  Lindon had started out so far behind, and had overtaken Jai Long so quickly. What could Jai Long himself have done with Lindon’s opportunities?

  Jai Chen would be safe for life, that would be certain. And he himself could pursue…the sacred arts, he supposed. He wasn’t actually sure what he would do if he attained unrivaled power. His training had always been driven by necessity and the existence of enemies greater than he was.

  If he was in Lindon’s position, he couldn’t even imagine what he’d do.

  He had been quiet for too long, and had given Kelsa time to read his body language. Not his face, because that was still wrapped in bandages.

  “You keep calling him my brother,” she pointed out. “You call me by name.”

  “If he was here, I’d use his name.”

  “Not his title?”

  His strike stopped in the middle. That was an accurate, if painful, point. Even if you set aside Lindon’s status as a Sage, he was still an Overlord. Jai Long should be respectful.

  He resumed his training, this time letting soulfire leak into his techniques. A small colorless spark infused one of the snakes that he produced. He couldn’t infuse his techniques with soulfire while they were inside him—his body and spirit still couldn’t handle it—but he could refine techniques with soulfire as he used them.

  It was clumsy compared to what a real Underlord could do, like trying to paint while holding the brush with his toes, but at least there wasn’t much any other Truegold could do to him.

  He decided to turn the conversation back on Kelsa, at least to regain momentum. “It’s hard for me to reconcile the Lowgold I knew with the Sage and Overlord he is now. It must be even more difficult for you.”

  “It’s frightening,” she said simply. “Not just what he can do, but that he only stumbled on the truth by chance. What if he hadn’t made it? What if no one had ever left? We would never have known what the real sacred arts were like, and when the Dreadgod came…”

  Jai Long was more than aware. If no one had come to warn the people of Sacred Valley, they would have all died.

  “We would still have saved you,” he said, though he wasn’t sure why. He wasn’t even certain it was true.

  As soon as he said it, he’d known she wouldn’t let the statement go unchallenged. She liked things to be as objective as possible.

  “Would you have had the chance to come west? Would we have met if not for Orthos sensing you?”

  No to both, he was certain, but he kept quiet.

  Her lips quirked up into a smile. “That was still nice to hear.”

  Jai Long wished he hadn’t said anything.

  “So what about now that we have met?” Kelsa asked. “What are you going to do now? Are you going to head out into the Blackflame Empire?”

  The Empire was probably the worst place for him to blend in, especially the west. And they were heading to Serpent’s Grave. A city he had once helped Jai Daishou to attack.

  “Jai Chen likes it here.” She was taking her role as one of the founding members of the Twin Star sect seriously. Too seriously.

  “I was asking about you.”

  “I can think about the rest after I reach Underlord, now that I have an actual chance.” He had long given up on Underlord…or so he thought before Lindon and Yerin showed up, having casually brushed past the barrier where he had remained stuck for years.

  Now, if he didn’t at least break into the Lord realm, he wouldn’t be able to hold his head up.

  “What if it doesn’t fix…” Kelsa gestured to his face.

  Jai Long had, of course, told her why his head was wrapped up all the time. It was the first question he had to answer if he ever wanted to work with anyone.

  Most people understood. Many sacred artists had strange Goldsigns or disfiguring scars. Kelsa had wanted to see immediately, but he had refused. The advancement to Underlord should fix him, or at least get it under his control. That was another source of motivation; Lindon looked like he had aged five years in the best way, and Yerin had lost all her scars. That gave Jai Long hope for himself.

  But no one knew what exact changes the soulfire transformation would cause. It could make things worse, and he had been honest about that with Kelsa.

  “If Underlord doesn’t wor
k, then I will continue as I always have. And I’ll hope that Overlord heals me.”

  Overlord was a legend, and one that he would never have dreamed of reaching before these last few weeks.

  Kelsa was staring into his mask so intently that he had to re-focus on his spear. “Just advancement, huh. Seems boring.”

  Jai Long sensed someone in the hall heading their way and it provided him an easy escape from the conversation. “My sister’s on her way.”

  Kelsa accepted that, leaning back against the wall. But she kept watching him.

  For a long, awkward minute and a half.

  Just as she said, “Is Jai Chen really—” the door burst open. And two people walked in.

  His sister, Jai Chen, wore a set of sacred artists robes trimmed in blue and burnt orange: the colors of the Twin Star sect. She wore the emblem proudly over her heart, and she moved as though it gave her endless energy.

  She bounced into the room beaming, and even her companion spirit danced around in midair as though he’d inherited the mood. Fingerling was a serpentine, finger-sized pink dragon that was the manifestation of Jai Chen’s power. To Jai Long’s spiritual senses, he felt like an extension of her power.

  But there should be as many as three other souls next to her, and Jai Long had felt nothing.

  Lindon ducked as he passed through the doorway, a looming physical presence without the spirit to back it up. From a boy that had looked like he was spoiling for a fight, he had grown into a real Lord. If Jai Long hadn’t known better, he could have been convinced that Lindon was a hundred-year-old expert. Even with his pale right arm bound up in a sling, he looked like he could fight everyone in the room without using any madra.

  On one shoulder was Little Blue, bouncing up and down on her seat as she chattered to Jai Chen. That wasn’t unusual, but on his other shoulder was a tiny red-and-black turtle that resembled Orthos. Did Orthos have children?

  That idea wasn’t nearly as strange as the fact that Jai Long hadn’t sensed them coming.

  He stiffened up, and Lindon noticed. The Overlord gave Jai Long an apologetic look.

  “Apologies; I’ve been working on my veils. It’s easier when people don’t drop to their knees every time they sense me coming.”

  The turtle on Lindon’s shoulder grunted, bringing up a plume of smoke. “You don’t have to veil me. I’ve been hiding my own power since before your grandfather hatched.”

  That voice. Jai Long stared. That was definitely Orthos.

  Kelsa looked as stunned as he felt. “Orthos?”

  At the opposite extreme, Jai Chen was delighted. “Right? It’s really him! I can’t believe it!”

  “This is nothing. I have many more…stop, what are you doing? Get away!”

  Fingerling was bobbing around Orthos, and Jai Long couldn’t tell if the spirit was happy to have recognized an old friend or if he was gloating that the turtle was his size now.

  Lindon dipped his head to Kelsa and Jai Long. “Pardon us for disturbing your training. I only wanted to see if there was anything I could do to help.”

  Jai Long was immediately torn. On the one hand, he might have a chance to learn from an Overlord and a Sage.

  On the other hand…well, Jai Long had been the one to cut off Lindon’s other hand.

  Kelsa stood up immediately and pressed her fists together, bowing to him. “This one would be grateful for your attention, Overlord.”

  Lindon’s cheeks colored. “Please don’t do that.”

  “If you’re going to train me, then I need to treat you as my teacher.” Kelsa wasn’t playing around, and Lindon knew that just as well as Jai Long did.

  But Lindon adapted in an instant. “Then I’ve decided that the title you should use to address me is my name.”

  “You’re the highest-ranking person on this ship. We have to keep a clear—”

  “Are you questioning me?” Lindon asked quietly.

  Lindon still hadn’t released his veil, but every muscle in Jai Long’s body froze up as though he were staring down the jaws of a massive beast.

  Kelsa straightened her spine. “No, sir!”

  “Then my name is Lindon.”

  “…fine.” Kelsa blew out a breath and scratched the back of her neck. “I can’t win against you at all anymore, can I?”

  The tension had vanished like an illusion, and Lindon gave her a sheepish smile. Orthos was the one that answered.

  “Of course you can’t. A hatchling shouldn’t try to bring down a whole flight.”

  Little Blue crossed her arms and gave a ring that somehow managed to sound smug.

  Jai Chen grabbed Lindon’s arm and pulled him forward, which seized Jai Long’s attention. When had they gotten that close?

  “You said you could teach all of us at once, right?”

  Lindon coughed. “Ah, actually, that was Little Blue who said—”

  “Come on, I know you can do it!”

  He glanced from Jai Long to Kelsa, looking uncomfortable, but Kelsa looked intensely interested.

  When he saw that, Lindon sighed. “Okay. Everyone go sit by a different wall and start cycling, if you don’t mind.”

  Kelsa and Jai Chen ran off immediately, leaving Jai Long standing alone. This was stupid. Even tips from someone more advanced than him wasn’t worth this. This was just giving Lindon a chance to show off.

  Lindon looked to him again, and Jai Long suddenly thought that he didn’t have anything better to do anyway, so he might as well follow instructions.

  When all three of them were cycling, with Lindon standing in the center of the room, Lindon’s veil slipped. Just a little.

  His spiritual perception filled the room like an overwhelming tide. Jai Long’s whole spirit shivered, but only for an instant.

  “Jai Chen, you’ve been focusing on using your techniques with your contracted spirit as a medium. You don’t have to do that; not all your madra is taken up by him anymore. I’ll give you four basic techniques you can work on, and you can refine them on your own, but for now start cycling your madra separately from your dragon.”

  Jai Chen looked startled, but Lindon had already turned to Kelsa.

  “You’re practicing the techniques I gave you correctly, but you’re too slow. Don’t learn to walk by taking one step and stopping to evaluate. Walk. You could spar against some clan elders, but for now…”

  He whispered something to the blue spirit leaning against his neck, and then Little Blue hopped down from his shoulder and walked up to Kelsa.

  “…she’ll be your opponent.”

  Little Blue put hands on her hips and whistled a challenge.

  Kelsa looked like her brother had told her to kick a baby off a cliff. “Uh, Lindon…”

  “Blue.”

  The spirit shoved her palm forward. A Forged blue-white handprint manifested in front of Kelsa’s body and slammed into her midsection, driving the air from her lungs and blasting her back into the wall. Her spirit was disrupted at the same time, and Jai Long winced. He’d been on the receiving end of that technique before.

  Kelsa’s body crumpled to the ground and she groaned.

  Little Blue gave a deep flute note of concern.

  “She’s fine,” Lindon said. “Just wait for her to get up. Now…”

  Finally, he turned to Jai Long.

  “Why haven’t you advanced yet?”

  Jai Long stopped himself from saying something he would regret. Lindon could talk like advancing to Underlord was so easy, but it was a barrier that stopped virtually every sacred artist in the entire Blackflame Empire.

  “I have not received the necessary insight,” Jai Long said stiffly.

  Lindon didn’t scan him with spiritual perception, but Jai Long felt as though he were being examined thoroughly nonetheless. “What have you tried?”

  “Tried? I have isolated myself, I meditate on the nature of my madra every morning, and Jai Daishou ran me through a number of personal trials.”

  Lindon nodded a
s though he’d expected as much. “He didn’t know what the Underlord revelation was, did he?”

  Jai Long didn’t even understand the question. Everyone knew that every Underlord’s transformation was triggered differently. It had something to do with insight into your own Path, but some people achieved the knowledge in battle while others needed isolation, or even conversation.

  “He was enlightened when he visited the birthplace of the Path of the Stellar Spear,” Jai Long said. He didn’t know how else to respond.

  Lindon rubbed his chin. “I wonder why this isn’t common knowledge. The Underlord advancement is caused by an understanding of what started you on your Path in the first place. Why did you start practicing the sacred arts?”

  “Because I was one of the most gifted in my clan,” Jai Long said immediately.

  Of course, no transformation began. He hadn’t expected otherwise.

  “It’s easier to sense in an environment with stronger vital aura. I’ll give you some treasures. You’ll want to open yourself to the resonance of aura while you try and discover what your original motivation was.”

  Lindon’s gaze grew distant. “It’s not as easy as it sounds.”

  It sounded pointless, but Jai Long had attempted less likely things when he was first trying to reach Underlord. He could give this a shot, especially if it came with free natural treasures.

  “I’ll try it.”

  He was being sincere, but Lindon seemed to sense some skepticism.

  “This is the way it works.”

  “I believe you.”

  “You have to give this your full attention.”

  “I will.”

  Lindon still seemed doubtful.

  A crash echoed as Kelsa slammed into the ceiling, and then another as she fell back to the ground, groaning.

  Little Blue warbled a question, pointing at her, and Jai Long somehow understood it perfectly. She was asking Are you sure this is okay?

  “…maybe take it easy on her,” Lindon allowed.

  6

  On Windfall, Lindon had finally finished construction of a new building. It was a large, wooden, one-roomed structure that resembled a barn, and he had carved an intricate set of protective scripts into the foundation.