Page 5 of Sunsplitter

Fi finally grabbed the sword hilt from her belt. This time, she didn’t draw energy from her own muscles. Her palm closed on a glass capsule in her pocket. The current inside was frigid as the Void, hot as flame, writhing at her touch.

Pulling energy from the storage capsule, Fi Shaped a sword blade onto the hilt. All human energy glowed silver, but her weapon flared crimson—a gift of immortal daeyari magic. The smuggler’s eyes shot wide, his dagger slack. That never got old.

“Hello, Clarence,” Fi greeted cheerfully. “How have you been?”

“Fuck off, Kolbeck.”

“Would you care to sit down?”

“I’d rather not.”

“I’d rather you did.”

After an obstinate pause, during which Clarence considered the glowing red blade pointed at his head, he dropped into a chair, a loud“hmph”saying exactly what he thought about it. Well, look at that, energy swordsdidsolve some problems. Fi sat as well, legs crossed at the knee. She was even kind enough to extinguish her weapon.

“It’s been ages, Clarence.” She grinned, wolfish. “What a delight, running into you.”

He studied her with dark, clever eyes. His hairline hid a dent in his temple, an old fracture where a horse had kicked him. He’d only died briefly. Like Fi, when she’d nearly drowned in a river as a child. Brushed by death, returned to life with the ability to see rips between realities.

“What do you want, Fi?”

He was bluffing. He knew what she wanted. Void smugglers talked like gossiping schoolgirls. Clarence would have heard she’d spent the past year tracking down her former competitors across Antal Territory—the good ones, at least. Ones she could make use of.

He’d only play dumb long enough to hear her terms.

“I’m here to acknowledge your spectacular achievements in the field of illicit goods transportation,” Fi said magnanimously. “And to offer you a job.”

Clarence, unmoved by her showmanship, stayed deadpan. “A job?”

“Of course you’ve heard, Antal Territory is under new management.”

“It’s the same daeyari.”

“With new policies.”

“Sure.”

“No more live human sacrifices. More equitable treatment of mortal citizens.”

“Sure.”

“To make that happen, we need resources. Manpower. People like you.”

“People like me?” He laughed. “You’ve lost your Void-damned mind, Kolbeck.”

“To the contrary, Clarence. I think I’m offering an excellent deal.”

“A job for a daeyari?” He leaned forward, arms braced on his knees, voice low. “So I can be a sellout like you?”

Fi sat a little stiffer. Her smile never faltered, lips curved in a slash of dark lipstick, poise worn like armor—but damn if he didn’t know how to cut to the point.

“Whatever do you mean, Clarence?”

“You’re right, we haven’t talked in a while—not since you gave up smuggling to become the Lord Daeyari’s loyal human Arbiter.”

“My smuggling services aretemporarilyon hold, thank you.” Fi held up an irate finger. “And I’m not his Arbiter. Well, he did offer me the position. I turned it down. A girl needs standards.”

“Since when do you have standards?”