“Will do,” Cade said. “Give Lisa my—”
But Xavier was gone.
“Damn ninja,” Cade said under his breath. “Hate it when he does that.”
Cade hefted the bag in his hand and headed downtown. He had the components he needed—now, he just needed the expertise to assemble the contents of his bag. For that he would need a weapons master, but all of the weapons masters within the Order would refuse to help him if he was blacklisted.
He would need to find a weapons master not affiliated with the Order, would need to contact someone with a high enough skill level to form the experimental weapon he designed.
He needed Hep.
FIVE
I took my first step and fell forward.
My center of balance had shifted as the increased weight of my body threw my center off. I rushed to put my hands down and nearly flung my arms up above my head in a move that overcompensated for the additional weight.
My face nearly smashed into the floor as I twisted to one side. A grunt escaped my lips while I crashed hard on my shoulder. The impact forced the air from my lungs in one bounce, leaving me on the cool stone floor, breathless.
I looked up at the ceiling and considered staying in bed for the duration of my life.
“Try it again,” Calisto said. “This is no time to be taking a rest. You have pressing matters to attend to.”
“Like learning to walk…again?”
“To begin with,” she said. “Do you think your enemies are relaxing? Do you think the Unholy are on vacation while you regain your strength?”
“I thought those two were one and the same?”
“Incorrect,” Calisto said. “You have enemies besides the Unholy who would see you exploited and destroyed. The Unholy only want to destroy you.”
“Sounds like the Order,” I said with another grunt as I maneuvered off my shoulder. “They would use the Jade Demon…use me, then try to eliminate me.”
“They tried with your mother,” Calisto said with a nod. “It didn’t work out so well for them. Now, get up.”
“This is impossible,” I said between gasps as I rolled into a push-up position. “How am I supposed to navigate this weight? I feel like I’ve gained two hundred pounds.”
Calisto looked down at me, her face impassive.
“This is weight you can control,” she said. “You have to make a conscious effort to do so.”
“That’s what I thought I was doing?”
“No, what you’re doing is fighting it, and complaining,” Calisto answered. “You could do with less of both. Now stand up.”
I brought my knees to my chest and moved into a crouch, before slowly getting unsteadily to my feet. I balanced by not moving my arms and staying as still as possible. I felt like I was on the edge of a cliff and about to fall off.
“If I face an Unholy in this condition,” I said, looking down and adjusting, “it’s going to be the shortest fight of my life. They will make quick work of me.”
“Try not to think of it as additional weight,” Calisto answered. “Think of it as increased energy.”
“That makes absolutely no sense.”
“I’m not good at these explanations,” she said, waving a hand. “This is more Gan’s area of expertise.”
“Pretend I don’t understand a word you say. Break it down for me.”
“This new weight is really a manifestation of the potential of energy you carry,” Calisto said. “Once you can internalize the energy and manipulate it, the differential in weight will regulate itself and you won’t notice it as much.”
“You sounded more like Gan than you can imagine. It still feels heavy, but at least it makes a bit of sense now. Any idea on how I internalize this new energy?”
“Not a clue,” Calisto said. “When I met your mother, she had already become the Jade Demon. This is new territory for both of us. I really wish Gan were here—he would have a better idea of how to help you get through this.”
“He’d just say something like: Grasp the energy within, Blueberry, you can do this. This power is your birthright. Or something close to that.”
Calisto nodded with a short smile, then grew serious.
“You must overcome this,” Calisto said slowly. “Time is not our ally here. Your energy signature is being masked by this room, the anchors, and the Keep. But—”
“They aren’t a complete mask?”
“The power of the Jade Demon is not subtle, at least not until you learn to make it so,” Calisto said. “Right now you are a beacon of barely contained power. A very bright, powerful beacon. Stronger than the elements trying to mask you.”
“They can’t hide me forever?”
“No, they can’t. You will have to learn active masking. The passive masking offered you by the Keep is inadequate. The Unholy you attract will be seeking your destruction.”
“And the Order?”
“They will try to capture you first. When that fails, they too will seek your destruction.”
“So good to know they care,” I said. “Do you know if Gan is…if Gan is gone? Can you sense that much?”
“Yes, I can. Gan’s alive. I would know if he were gone. Whatever he is doing to hide is impressive, but even in that, I can sense his energy signature. I just can’t pinpoint or locate him.”
“If Gan is hiding, it means—”
“He doesn’t want to be found,” Calisto finished. “You have more urgent matters to worry about. If Gan were here he would tell you to—”
“Focus, Blueberry,” I said. “I know.”
“Exactly,” Calisto said. “Gan can take care of himself. Right now you need to get ahold of this power.”
I breathed out a short sigh of relief. I didn’t want to think of losing Gan on top of everything else I’d just lost, starting with most of my humanity. I needed to get a handle on this new energy within, before the Unholy decided to pay me a house call.
“I don’t know how to do this,” I said. “I don’t even know where to begin.”
“I’d suggest starting with adjusting to the new weight you
