Sakura Darted across the secret road of Puppet Town, in pursuit of her prey.

  As she flitted from one rooftop to the next, she made sure her mask was in place and her gear was ready to go. She had been hoping to avoid a direct confrontation with the jailbirds who had infiltrated the settlement, but there was a good chance that was exactly what was going to happen.

  After days of diligent searching and placing wards in key areas, Sakura had finally found someone suspicious—a cored warrior Concealing their presence in a place where they didn’t belong. They had broken into an empty warehouse in the industrial quarter and might not be there for long.

  She had used Lore-Weaver to contact Earl—who was scouting beyond the wall and wouldn’t be back for at least an hour. Some of his deputies were coming to back her up, but she couldn’t afford to wait for them to arrive before going in. Given how illusive her quarry had been, she doubted they would fall for the same trick twice, and every second that passed increased the odds that they would notice her magic and flee the scene.

  Both moons were full tonight, throwing interwoven patches of silver and shadow across the settlement. Adrenaline coursed through her veins as Sakura readied herself for the conflict to come.

  She was hoping to remain unnoticed long enough to discover what the intruder was planning and if they were operating alone. But if that didn’t work, she was going to have to take them out and then investigate their activities using magical means.

  When she arrived at the warehouse in question, she came to a stop, examining the structure before heading inside. Someone had broken the lock on the back door, which had triggered the ward she’d placed. When she Darted up to the building and looked through the window, the interior was empty.

  She scanned the mana filling the air, searching for any sign of a stealth skill in effect. But all she could see was a faint energetic signature leading away from the district and toward the southern gate. Shit. They’re already on the move.

  Sakura sent updates to Earl and Dialla, trusting them to notify the town’s defenders. Then she raced to follow the fading traces of magic riding the predawn breeze. Fortunately, whoever had tripped her alarm didn’t seem to have noticed the thin strands of mana her spell had stuck to them. If she hurried, she could follow her skill to the source before the effect wore off.

  As she ran, she became increasingly certain that whatever the Claws were planning, they were making their move tonight. The expedition should be back soon, and the jailbirds intended to conquer Puppet Town before its elites returned from the jungle. She had an ominous feeling that if she couldn’t throw a wrench into their machinations, the settlement was in grave danger.

  The mana trail took her to the perimeter road that circled the interior of the town’s wall. As she’d thought, it was either leading to the southern gate or the pair of magitech turrets mounted above it. Sakura didn’t know how the Claws intended to disable the durable devices, as their attempts to access their control units had failed, but she was confident they had a plan to get the job done.

  When she made it to the gate, she Darted onto the closest rooftop, peering over the rim at the area around the gateway. A chill ran down her spine when she saw the deputies on duty were lying on the ground—dead or unconscious, she didn’t know. She looked at the turrets while searching for mana in the air but didn’t sense anything nearby.

  The gate was clear too, but when she followed the conduits leading to the generator powering the turrets, she spotted another trace of her alarm ward riding the breeze. Given everything she’d observed, she was certain there was someone inside the concrete bunker housing the generator, using a skill to Conceal their presence.

  She could see a group of deputies arriving in the distance, but they were still six blocks away. There was a good chance that if she didn’t move fast, it would be too late.

  Sakura had always viewed violence as a measure of last resort. She only had two skills with direct combat utility, along with a few devices and the short sword sheathed at her hip. However, it was blindingly obvious that this situation called for the direct approach.

  Assuming they’re in the middle of doing something to the generator and don’t know they’ve been discovered, I should be able to catch them by surprise. I won’t stand a chance in a straight-up fight against a stage-two warrior, but I should be able to take them out before they realize I’m here. If I find myself outmatched, I’ll focus on evasion and keep them busy until backup arrives.

  With that, all that was left was to go for it and pray that things worked out. Sakura felt Lore-Weaver sense her foreboding and fear, skittering back toward the center of its web to offer what assistance it could. But she couldn’t afford to wait for the spider either.

  Instead, she braced herself, Darted into the doorway leading to the bunker, and immediately let loose with the most powerful Disruption surge she could muster. At the same time, she tossed a double handful of flashbangs inside the room, then ducked behind the wall to shield herself from the blast.

  Half a heartbeat after her surge purged the chamber of active magic, a half-dozen devices went off at once—followed by a man screaming in pain as the bright light and intense sound broke over him.

  By this point, Sakura had already drawn her sword in her left hand and manifested a Nerve Blade in her right. She was ready to land both physical and magical attacks as needed to break through her enemy’s guard.

  When she ducked through the doorway, a throwing dagger coated in flaming weapon oil went streaking over her head—a blind toss that missed by several feet. Inside the bunker, a man wearing simple leather armor was holding an axe in one hand and a magitech device in the other.

  The access panel to the generator was open, but it seemed to be in working order. She could tell by the warrior’s posture that he hadn’t spotted her yet, and Sakura wasn’t about to let him recover.

  Since his skills were down, she raised her Nerve Blade and closed the distance in a flash. The manifestation was vulnerable to a range of magical defenses, but it could pass through flesh and armor as if they were no more substantial than a mirage.

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  Her first swing sliced through the man’s wrists, severing nerves while leaving the rest of his tissue intact. The convict swore as the axe fell from his unresponsive fingers, then ignited his core. Before he could complete his skill, Sakura’s Nerve Blade passed through his neck, paralyzing everything below that point.

  She hit him with another Disruption surge, then jabbed her sword into his hand, which was coated in a sedative that would prevent him from gathering the concentration required to use more skills. Based on what she’d seen, she had a hunch this was only part of the Claws’ plan, and she didn’t have time to make the intruder talk.

  Now that Sakura was touching the convict, she could tell he had been using a complex Sense Link before she disrupted it, which meant he had at least two other people working with him. Knowing that every second was vital, she activated Lore-Weaver’s ultimate ability Analyze to study the lingering traces of the communication skill.

  As data lit up her brain like the rising sun, she focused her efforts on two key areas—who the Link had been connected to and what messages had been transmitted over the last few hours.

  Four people were part of this link, including the person who cast it. Judging by the signature, it’s the same convict who tried to access the turrets. By sorting through the skill’s recent transmissions, Sakura discovered the details of the Claws’ plan. After learning the turrets couldn’t be accessed, they had decided to target the generators instead.

  The next piece Analyze decoded contained part of the explanation.

  “There is a flaw in the older models. If a magitech inverter is inserted near the battery, it will create a feedback loop that will overload the power relay of anything the generator is attached to and make it explode. Given the output of those turrets, I expect the blast to take out the gates and a fair section of the wall with it.”

  Sakura updated the sheriff and mayor, warning them that other key generators were in danger. In addition to the northern turrets, the Dome and the aether refinery were at risk, since they were powered by the same technology and vital to the town’s defenses. Just before Analyze wore off, she learned there was one final component to their plan.

  The moment the generators began to explode, the Claws’ strike leader—a woman who went by Wraith—intended to take advantage of the confusion to assassinate Dialla. She was already in position and waiting for the first detonation. Shit. This is bad.

  That wasn’t a moment to lose, and Sakura had a decision to make. She could either head toward the Dome and aether refinery—whose generators were in close proximity—or she could try to save Dialla.

  It took her less than a second to make her choice. While both facilities were vital to Puppet Town’s security and long-term prosperity, the woman who served as its mayor was even more important. Dialla was a once-in-a-generation genius, and her death would be an incalculable loss.

  “There is a good chance this ‘Wraith’ will strike the moment she notices her Sense Link went dark. If you want to save Dialla, you need to move fast.”

  Sakura knew Lore-Weaver was right and was glad the spider had returned. She tried to send another update, but while her message to Earl went through, the one to Dialla didn’t, which meant Wraith had activated some manner of jamming magic and was ready to make her move.

  The deputies were heading for the generators, but there wasn’t time for them to reach City Hall. Even if they did, they would leave the town’s defenses critically exposed. It meant it was up to her to deal with Wraith.

  By this point, the sky had begun to lighten with the coming of dawn, and Sakura was Darting toward City Hall as fast as her magic would carry her. There were a handful of peacekeepers and bodyguards on duty, but Tessa was with the expedition, and she didn’t think anyone else would notice the intrusion of someone as skilled at covering her tracks as Wraith had proven to be.

  Sakura didn’t see anything out of the ordinary when the building came into sight, which meant Wraith hadn’t forced her way inside, but the woman was still blocking communication magic in the area.

  Since the first-floor entrances were guarded and Dialla’s office was on the second floor, the most likely place for Wraith to enter was the rooftop staircase or a second-floor window. Either way, she was certain that the woman was on top of the building, waiting for the first explosion to mask her attack.

  Every second that passed increased the odds that Wraith would realize one of her allies had fallen, filling Sakura with adrenaline and dread. She manifested her Nerve Blade and got ready to deal with a range of attacks as she Darted onto the roof of City Hall. The first thing she noticed was the door leading to the staircase was open. I’m too late. Wraith is already below.

  She took two steps toward the doorway and then froze in place—instincts screaming she was in mortal danger. She Darted back… just in time to avoid a pair of throwing knives, which glistened from oil coating the blades. The only reason she was still alive was because she’d noticed the magicytes in the air reacting to the activation of a potent skill.

  Clapping echoed across the stonework as someone stepped out of the shadows while deactivating a power Sakura hadn’t been able to sense. It was a woman with pale skin and snowy white hair. She had a saber in her hand, a collection of magitech devices attached to her belt, and a bandolier of throwing knives strapped across her chest.

  It was clear at a glance this woman was a pro. She was lean and agile, which suggested a build heavy on Reflex, Speed, and Control, but Sakura had a hunch that her true strength stemmed from her energetic attributes.

  She seems high on all three. Her skills are going to be dangerous, and she’s combat trained too. I doubt I can match her sword to sword.

  While Sakura’s mind was busy, she tried to buy time, giving reinforcements a chance to arrive and improving her odds as her powers collected more data. “You must be Wraith. I didn’t know you left the Dead of Night to join the Crimson Claws.”

  The elite jailbird smiled wide at her words. “The Night ceased to exist a few weeks before the anomaly. We had… creative differences that could only be resolved one way. I knew someone was working against us behind the scenes, but I didn’t suspect another lifer was defending Puppet Town. That was an oversight on my part, since the old rules don’t apply anymore. You should ditch these tourists and join the Claws. Yussuf is a man who recognizes talent, and there’s a place for you in his empire.”

  Sakura had realized several critical details by this point, from examining Wraith’s words, body language, and most importantly, the energy emanating from her core.

  The first was that Wraith was an information specialist, much like Sakura herself. The woman was stalling for the same reason she was—to buy her allies time while her passive skills and specialty core provided data on her opponent.

  That brought Sakura to her third and final realization. Wraith had no intention of letting her live. They had overlapping skillsets, which meant she was competition instead of a potential ally.

  Not that Sakura would ever join a jailbird gang again. She had paid a heavy price to free herself and her friends from that hell and would die before she lost her way again. Both women had been focusing on their skills while they bantered, but Wraith’s next words grabbed Sakura’s undivided attention.

  “You didn’t really think I wanted to assassinate the mayor, did you? While taking Earl down might have been worth the effort, you were the only one preventing me from disabling the settlement’s defenses. Once we claim the town, we can kill or recruit anyone we like. Removing Dialla from the board beforehand has no value at all.”

  Sakura hadn’t realized she was being targeted, but in the end it didn’t matter. At any second, the rooftop would erupt into violence, and one woman would live to watch the sunrise. She hoped Earl’s people could save the town’s defenses, but she couldn’t afford to worry about it now.

  If Sakura made a single mistake past this point, she knew it would be her last.