Lyssa laughed. “You don’t think they’re going to notice the giant dome of darkness sitting here? I’m not in the greatest part of town, but cops will show up, then they’ll call the EAA. The EAA will do an emergency high-threat scramble and more Torches will show up, along with the National Guard.”
“I’ve put a lot of effort into preparing this battlefield, and I’ve thought of all the relevant concerns. All the Shadows nearby are unconscious. The sound is swallowed. The dome isn’t as you think. From the outside, they don’t see anything strange. A useful shard will make anyone traveling near here subconsciously want to avoid the area.”
“That’s a nice trick.”
“Eventually, an Illuminated might notice or sense the sorcery, but I’m willing to bet our fight will be over and we will be long gone, one way or another, before that unlikely event occurs.”
Now closer to the pool, Lyssa confirmed there was active sorcery coming from that direction. She still couldn’t see anyone.
“You don’t have to bother with your hiding spell,” the voice said. “I know you’re there.”
Her stomach knotted, but she didn’t drop her soul blanket or wraith form. She hated Sorcerers with spirit essences. It was hard to get a handle on what they could do with enough time and preparation. It was a good thing they were rare.
He said he knew she was there, but that wasn’t the same as knowing her exact location. She needed to be careful and not believe everything the enemy said.
“If you know where I am, why don’t you just kill me already?” Lyssa asked. “You’re the one who showed up with a Santa’s bag full of shards and a horde of spirits.”
“This isn’t about killing you,” the voice replied. “Not yet, anyway.”
“Was it about killing Aisha? About killing Lubon? Lee?” Lyssa snorted. “I guess I should be honored you bothered to show up yourself to take me down rather than send a bunch of mercenaries with shards and special gear, but that doesn’t mean I won’t kill you.”
Something was wrong. He’d let her run all the way to the room and arm up. Even with spells, he could see the magazines. That didn’t make tactical sense if he knew anything about her, and even less if he knew about Jofi.
“There’s something I’m missing,” she whispered. “This guy let me get my showstoppers. I don’t care what weird plan or shards he has. He’s got to know he can’t survive me using more than one on him.”
“I’m glad to see you’re anticipating using maximum force,” Jofi replied. “Our foe has an unusual ability to manipulate spirits. The number of spirits present suggests he is far stronger than the last man you faced with such an essence.”
The comment further cemented in Lyssa’s mind the likely identity of her opponent. There was only one Sorcerer with a spirit essence who had a possible connection to her.
Lyssa closed on the pool, pointing her guns at the water. She couldn’t see anything in the untreated muck, which made it an excellent place to hide.
“You were ruthless when you killed those men at the ghost town,” the voice said. “Brutal.”
Lyssa snorted. “They were trying to kill me. I gave them a chance to be smart, and they thought flares and tungsten bullets meant they didn’t have to worry. If you want me to apologize for it, keep dreaming. I owe you for Lubon.”
“Do you?” The voice chuckled. “I wasn’t aware you two were close.”
“He died watching my back. So you admit to killing him?”
“Yes. I see no reason to lie to you.”
“That little incident taught me something useful,” Lyssa replied. “It taught me you’re not that great one on one. Otherwise, you would have come after me after Aisha was taken out and you murdered Lubon. But sure, I owe you for nearly getting Aisha killed, too.”
“Making too many assumptions can be dangerous.”
“Maybe.” Lyssa circled the pool fence, trying to triangulate the exact position of the spell she sensed, but there was diffused sorcerous energy around most of the pool area. There was nothing out of the ordinary in the gray darkness. “If this is supposed to be about scaring me before you take me on, you should have done your research. I don’t frighten easily, but you know what I think?”
“Please feel free to share.”
“I think you’re bluffing,” Lyssa said, backing away from the pool. “I think you say you can see me, but you can’t, and you’ve thrown up so many spells on your little battleground that you can’t pick me out of the background. You might be able to pull an Ultrasound and track me down by voice, but it’s not enough.”
“Then you intend to do, what? Wait?”
“Something like that.” Lyssa glanced at the smoker. His chest still rose and fell. “I’m going to stall until your spells run out of power. Then I’m going to track you down and put a bullet in your brain to end all this.”
The voice laughed. “You’re announcing your strategy?”
“I’m that damned confident. What can I say? I guarantee I can hide out in the darkness a lot longer than you can maintain that dome.”
“I see.” The voice sighed. “Then I’ll need to move this along. There are some things we need to talk about, and I can only spend so long probing your abilities.”
Water flowed from the pool, coalescing into a legless form with two armlike projections. It slid over the ground toward the fence like a sort of hydro man. More hydro men appeared, producing a decent-sized group.
“Caution,” Jofi said. “They aren’t purely a projection of direct sorcery. Spirits have infused the water.”
They were moving, but not in her direction. Her soul blanket was holding.
“I figured.” Lyssa backed away from the pool. “Physical damage will be enough to disrupt their manifestation,” she whispered. “We can do this. We’ve done it before. It’s
