Lyssa smiled. “I wasn’t talking about sparring.”
“Then what are you talking about?”
“You’ll see.” Lyssa took a deep breath. “Jofi, I’m going to leave you here for a bit. I want to make sure our communication distance is still the same. I’m going to walk out with Aisha and see if you can still hear me.”
“As you wish,” he replied. “But do you think now is the appropriate time for this?”
Lyssa drew the pistols and set them on the table. “I’ve got Aisha with me, and I’m in my regalia. If an attack happens, I can run back here and get you. I’m not worried. We’d sense something strange long before anyone got close, and if they are going to blow us away with a nuke or something, it’s not like you would be able to help.”
“I don’t anticipate a nuclear attack,” Jofi said.
“Good. Glad to hear you’re an optimist.”
Aisha glanced at Lyssa and the guns, her suspicion replaced by abject confusion. “This is how you intend to pass the time? Pointless games with your spirit?”
“As opposed to meditating and scrolling on your phone? Though I am surprised by how many bars we get out here.” Lyssa shrugged and headed toward the door. “Come on. This is something I need to figure out anyway, and now is as good a time as any.”
“Your thought processes are so random, Corti,” Aisha said, shaking her head.
Lyssa pushed open the door with a grin and stepped outside. “Fool my friends to fool my enemies.” She jogged away from the building toward the church. “Still hear me, Jofi?”
“Yes,” he replied.
Aisha surveyed the area with a slight frown. She walked behind Lyssa, giving her a comfortable lead.
“Don’t want to be near me if they blow me up?” Lyssa asked.
Aisha nodded. “The thought has occurred to me. There are far smaller bombs available than nuclear ones.”
“I can’t argue with that logic.” Lyssa slowed when she was fifty yards from their temporary base. She cleared her throat. “Jofi, can you hear me?”
There was no response. She didn’t expect one, but she needed to be sure before she could risk talking to Aisha. One mistake could make an assassin the least of her problems.
“Jofi, I’m under attack,” Lyssa said. “Get ready. I’m going to sprint toward you. Let me know if there’s anyone near you.”
Aisha stared at Lyssa. “Has the pressure finally robbed you of your sanity, Corti? There’s no threat. I don’t see anything. I don’t hear anything. I don’t feel anything.”
Lyssa replied, “I needed to make sure he couldn’t hear me.”
“Your spirit?” Aisha scoffed. “Are you having some sort of falling out? Is that what this is? If so, get him in line before the next battle. We don’t have time for this nonsense.”
“No. There’s nothing like that going on.” Lyssa sighed. “That’d make things easier, in a way. We live with so many secrets, and now I’ve got people risking their lives because of mine. When I thought up the plan, it was supposed to be about me risking my life with a little help, but I think you deserve to know the truth.” She shrugged. “Some of this is selfish. I’m a paranoid woman, and I want to make sure there are more people I can trust.” She stared at the fallen steeple. “And some of it is guilt. It’s not fair for someone to risk their life and not even know the real reason.”
“What are you talking about, Corti?”
“Here’s the truth. Jofi isn’t a gun spirit.”
Lyssa offered the full explanation about Jofi, from her part in the ritual to Lee’s regular check-ins before his assassination and the murder attempts being related to the group involved in sealing Jofi. Aisha paid close attention, not stopping to insult or ask any questions, and she had a look of curiosity on her face the entire time. She didn’t speak until Lyssa finished. Her mouth twitched into a huge smile.
Aisha threw her head back and laughed. “Of course!”
“Okay.” Lyssa’s brow lifted. “That’s not the reaction I was expecting.”
Aisha’s deep laughter continued. She brought it down to a mere chuckle before smirking at Lyssa. “Everything makes sense now.”
“What makes sense?”
“I acknowledge your skill, but we both know I have more natural talent and power.” Aisha conjured a flickering flame in the palm of her hand. “You’re only more powerful than me because of a cheat.”
“A cheat?” Lyssa snorted. “It’s not like I was all that enthusiastic about the plan. It was just that I fit the bill, and I was nearby in a time-sensitive and dangerous situation.”
Aisha tossed the flame into the air. It dissipated in the dusty wind.
“This isn’t a threat,” she said. “It’s a simple question. Would killing you remove the risk?”
Lyssa wasn’t offended. She’d anticipated that very question. “Not exactly. Since he’s bound both to those guns and partially to me and the Night Goddess, I have a chance of resisting him if he breaks the seal. It would probably kill me, but it could also backfire. If I die, it should, in theory, feed enough power to him for a while to keep him inactive while they figure out what to do with him. If he’s trying to break out, though, I risk dying and having my soul eaten. The emergency scenario was supposed to involve me calling Lee and the gang and having them perform another ritual. That one would almost certainly kill me, but it’d at least temporarily seal him. After that, they were supposed to find another Illuminated to take my place. My Torch work, essence, and regalia together worked out better than anyone thought, and Jofi’s been fine for years.”
Aisha circled Lyssa. “This assassin must want the spirit’s power.”
“That’s what I’m figuring.” Lyssa shrugged. “But it’s not like I can discuss this in front of Jofi without risking the seal. If it comes down to it, I’m willing to die to save people, but it’s
