Age of X01 - Gameboard of the Gods (55 page)

That was all Mae needed. Fight-or-flight mode seized her, banishing all thoughts of her mysterious winged guide. With little difficulty, she picked up a heavy stone planter sitting nearby and swung it at the door. The glass shattered, and without hesitation, Mae slipped through the jagged opening she’d created, heedless of cuts on her arms. The woman backed up and threw some kind of black knife at Mae. Mae dodged it, but in those seconds as it flew, she saw improbable black flame ringing the blade. It landed on the ground, smoking.

It didn’t even slow Mae down, which came as a surprise to the woman. She looked legitimately scared, and that was when the truly unbelievable part happened.

She transformed into a jaguar.

At least Mae thought that was what it was. She was no expert in large felines or wildlife in general, but when you didn’t sleep at night, you ended up watching a lot of weird TV, including nature shows. She had no time to ponder how she had stumbled into this insanity because her reflexes were kicking into action as the jaguar sprang toward her. Mae was strong but couldn’t fight against that kind of weight and impact. The cat knocked her to the ground, slamming her head against the floor. Mae was able to shake the pain off. Unfortunately, she couldn’t shake the jaguar off as those heavy clawed paws pinned her down and dug into her skin. It snarled, revealing a mouthful of sharp teeth as it readied for her death.

Suddenly, that icy darkness that was normally so unwelcome surged through Mae. Strength and power flooded her, and she jumped up and pushed the jaguar off of her. It started to charge her, then hesitated. Mae also wavered. The battle lust radiating from her seemed to be hitting a wall that she couldn’t move past. The jaguar also seemed immobile. A few seconds later, Mae won out. The world started again, and the jaguar took off down the hall, with Mae in pursuit. As she went after it, she caught sight of Justin peering out of the mysterious door, a hand on his head and his face full of shock.

Not even a prætorian could keep up with a jaguar, but as it neared the hall’s end, it transformed back into the woman. Mae took out her gun and fired but missed as her target rounded a corner toward some stairs. Mae wasn’t concerned. She had absolutely no doubts about being able to close the distance, now that she was no longer pursuing a beast of the jungle. It was just a matter of time.

They reached the casino floor and the woman dashed through, oblivious to the people around her. Some were pushed out of the way. Some she actually knocked over. Mae anticipated another opening and fired. The bullet grazed the woman’s shoulder, causing her to stumble a few seconds before continuing her frantic race. Gunfire in such a crowded
room didn’t go over very well, and screams and panic filled the space as bystanders dropped to the ground or trampled one other. Mae ignored it all. Her whole world was focused solely on the woman, who’d made it to the outside door.

When Mae emerged, she saw the woman shove her way through pedestrians in a crosswalk. The crowd in the park had thinned considerably, but there were still enough meandering people for the woman to disappear into.

“
Jumalauta,
” Mae swore, knowing she’d need a new tactic. Adrenaline filled her with a power she never realized she missed in ordinary days until she was back in the throes of it. It also sharpened her mind, allowing her to quickly and clearly make a plan.

She reached the edge of the park and leapt up onto a table, ignoring both the food on it and the cries of the startled occupants. From that height, it was easy to spot her prey. The woman was weaving through the crowd as Mae had, creating a conspicuous path. Mae jumped down and raced off in the direction she’d seen the woman run, continuing to leap on and off tables as she continued the chase. The crowd slowed both of them down, but Mae was faster and gaining steadily. At one point, using another table, she saw her quarry start to turn toward the makeshift stage. Mae was on the ground in a flash, tearing toward the center of the stage, her heart pounding and muscles responding without delay.

The woman made it up on the stage first, much to the astonishment of the band, who faltered and then stopped altogether. She grabbed the lead singer and held him in front of her, with another shiny black dagger at his throat. Mae came to an abrupt halt, breathing rapidly as she assessed this new development. The dark force urging her forward disappeared, giving her complete and total control of her thoughts and actions. The crowd gasped and screamed at the scene onstage, but few moved. This was prime entertainment.

“Back off!” yelled the woman, slowly retreating with her hostage. He covered up most of her body, creating an effective shield. “I’ll slash his throat open.”

Shooting an erratically moving target had been difficult. A slow-moving
one, even with a small space to hit, wasn’t difficult at all for someone like Mae. In the space of a heartbeat, she raised the gun and shot the woman in the head.

That
caused a reaction, similar to the one in the casino. Guns on Gemman streets were uncommon, public shootings even less so. Near her, a gaping guy was trying to record the scene with his ego. Mae fixed him with a hard look. “Call the police.”

Things moved quickly after that. Johansson, the lieutenant they’d spoken to earlier, was among the responding officers and wasn’t thrilled about the disruptive spectacle. There was little she could do against a prætorian, especially with a hostage situation.

Now that they were safe again, the crowd was vying to get a look at the aftermath. Mae tried to ignore them and the flashing egos. “I’m really curious to see what you’ll turn up when you check her chip.”

Johansson had been studying their surroundings with narrowed eyes but suddenly turned to Mae in surprise. “You think she’s Nordic?”

“Of course she was. What else would she be?”

“Don’t take this personally, prætorian, but you’ve been away for a long time.” That leathery face smiled. “She wasn’t Nordic. Even with what you did to her face, I could tell that.”

Johansson clearly didn’t want her around as her people dealt with the follow-up, and Mae retreated back to the casino, wondering if the lieutenant was right. Away from the heat of battle, Mae could think more clearly. The implant had metabolized most of its handiwork, and the telltale trembling was nearly gone.

She took a walk around the casino and basement, and then returned to the lobby in time to find Justin finishing his statement. She watched him unseen for long moments, wishing she could bury the hurt of his rejection. It was a stupid, girlish sentiment to have, considering she’d just shot someone in the face.

“Thank you, Dr. March,” said the officer, slipping his ego into his pocket. “We’ll file your statement with the official report and then…” He glanced nervously over as Mae joined them. “Should we have it sent to your office, ma’am?”

“Yes,” Justin answered for her. “And SCI too.”

When the officer was gone, Mae sat down, unflinchingly meeting the gazes of those who stared. Word had spread that she was a prætorian, and they all looked away when they realized they’d caught her attention.

“My avenging Valkyrie,” said Justin by way of greeting.

There was a familiarity in the endearment that she didn’t like, in light of what had happened between them. “I heard what you said in your statement. That the woman attacked you when you went downstairs to use the bathroom.”

“That’s right.”

“Then why was her underwear in the women’s bathroom?”

Justin took a few moments to answer. “How would I know? I wasn’t in there. And how do you even know it was hers?”

“If you were looking for someone novel, I guess you found her. Lucky for you, I hid the evidence for you,” she said, trying not to grimace. “I threw them away.” It was destruction of evidence, yes, but there was already going to be a huge uproar about a public shooting. Mae didn’t want a sordid sex tale worked in, even if it didn’t have anything to do with her.

“Well, thanks,” he said. “I guess.”

Her next words were very level. “Justin…that’s not the evidence I’m really worried about. I don’t suppose you mentioned the jaguar in your statement?”

“What jaguar?” he asked innocently.

“Oh, stop,” she hissed. “I know you saw it!
She turned into a fucking jaguar.
”

“Of course I saw it. But I’m also a delusional zealot, remember?”

Mae looked away. “It couldn’t have been real.”

“Mae,” he said patiently. “If you have another explanation, I’m all ears. Believe me, it would make my life easier.”

She had none, and she knew he knew that. “There are no gods. There can’t be. It’s all make-believe.” But her voice trembled as she spoke. She’d seen what she’d seen. It was real life, not a movie. And although she believed in the wonders technology could create, even she knew that transformation was beyond the workings of mankind. She also hadn’t
forgotten the sense of the dark power swirling within her—and its hesitation in the face of the jaguar woman.

“Gods are following us,” he said. “Gods who may be responsible for murder and genetic work. Gods who put ravens in my head.”

“Oh, yeah. I saw one.”

He turned to her in surprise. “A god?”

“No…one of your ravens, I think. It flew at me upstairs and somehow showed me how to find you.”

His jaw nearly hit the floor. “You saw Magnus?”

“I don’t know which one it was.”

“He left me briefly. That’s why my head hurts so much.” Justin actually looked delighted. “No one’s ever seen him. Or them. Do you know what that’s like? To finally not be the only one to see them?”

“You said you believed in them, though.”

“Yeah. Mostly. But it’s still a relief.”

“I don’t know how to handle what’s happening,” she said bluntly. “This. What my mom said. In one day, everything I’ve accepted about my life is gone. I kind of wish I was crazy.”

“Yeah, I’ve wished that a lot too.”

“How do you handle it?”

“One moment at a time.”

“You told me your dream…but what do you really know about all of this? The bigger picture?”

He shook his head. “I’ve been trying to figure that out for almost five years. Cope. Lead a normal life. Learn as much as possible. Unfortunately, there’s no real authority to go to for this. Callista’s helped a little, but there are still so many questions.”

Slightly calmer, Mae was able to focus more on him and noticed his shoulder, where long bloody lines cut through the shirt. “She…she scratched you with her, um, claws.”

“Got my back too,” he said with a wince. “And she did that even before the transformation.”

“You should see a doctor.”

He scoffed. “No way. I’m glad you and I had this breakthrough, but there’s no way I’m talking to a professional. It’s not that deep. You can
do a field-medic job on me back in the room.” The mention of his room brought back the memories of their brief moment of passion. “Mae—” he began.

She didn’t want to hear whatever was coming and quickly pushed another topic. “That…thing that seizes me had a weird reaction to the jaguar. Almost as though they didn’t want to fight each other.”

Justin wisely followed her lead, though he looked reluctant. “Competing gods, maybe. I want to know what the police get on her. I want to know who sent her.”

“It’s obvious, isn’t it? The group behind the murders.”

“I don’t know…jaguars and obsidian. That’s not their style. Why didn’t she use a silver dagger on you?”

“Maybe they only save them for special occasions.”

He gave her a long, level look. “You do realize now that this is all tied together? You, the victims, your goddess. You’re connected, no matter what Leo’s tests say.”

Mae started to protest when she noticed Tessa coming toward them. The girl caught the tail end. “Are you talking about goddesses?”

“SCI talk,” Justin said quickly.

Tessa looked skeptical, but she put that aside as concern seized her. “Are you guys okay? I saw what happened from the roof…in the park….” She looked more surprised than appalled, probably because of the common nature of Panamanian shootings. “I heard a policeman saying that woman attacked Justin.”

“Kind of,” said Mae. “It’s a long story.” Suddenly, she remembered the beginning of her earlier conversation with Tessa. “What happened to you? And being accosted?”

Justin’s head jerked up. “Accosted?”

“Bad word choice,” said Tessa. No one was nearby, but she still looked around nervously. “I think we should go upstairs. I’ve got something kind of important to show you.”

CHAPTER 32

DESPERATE TIMES AND ALL THAT

“Something important” was kind of an understatement.

Justin never would’ve believed Mae’s genetic past and subsequent fight with a shape-shifting woman could be trumped by anything. Apparently, it was one of the rare times he was wrong. Equally incredible was listening to Tessa put together facts in the interview with the old man. Justin had known she was smart, but even he was amazed at her ability to ask the right questions. She’d had no idea how it all worked together, but her gut had told her to just keep gathering information.