A Reason to Live: A Shadowdance Variation Read Online Free

The vampire
accepted it, but still had trouble rising. The woman grabbed
Illyana’s elbow with her free hand, successfully getting Illyana to
her feet. She then started to lead the vampire away.
    Illyana pulled against her. The African woman glared
at her.
    “Unless you want our conversation cut short,” Illyana
said, “you’d better knock me out.
”
    The African woman studied Illyana.

    Geisa reached the open Seika Gate minutes after
leaving the Japanese girl. She saw the stain of Illyana’s blood,
but nothing trailing away from the scene.
    And yet, Illyana was gone.
    This wasn’t the first time the woman had slipped away
from Geisa. It probably wouldn’t be the last. Geisa would find her,
as she always did, and remind Illyana what happens when she causes
this much trouble.
    Geisa closed her eyes, concentrating. When Fatale had
assigned Geisa as Illyana’s watcher, she had undergone a ritual
bonding through the blood with Illyana. Geisa allowed her blood to
call out to Illyana’s blood. She couldn’t track the woman, but she
could become one with her, interact with the world through
Illyana’s senses.
    Unfortunately, the link wouldn’t work if Illyana were
unconscious.

    Illyana woke to the feeling of a strong wind
on her face. She felt the smooth granite beneath her. Pushing up,
her hair whipping about her face, she saw a ledge nearby. She was
on the roof of a building. Forcing her battered frame to its feet,
she walked to the edge, mindful to work against the intermittent
gusts of wind but nearly losing the battle.
    Looking beyond the ledge, Illyana saw a few other
skyscrapers challenging the building she stood atop for supremacy.
The rest of the city was some forty floors beneath her, stretching
out to the Tokyo Bay several blocks away. Shimmering lights gave a
false sense of tranquility to the darkness that lay underneath.
    “Standing at the ledge isn’t the wisest decision,”
came a woman’s voice, shouted against the winds.
    Illyana turned from the magnificent view and saw the
African woman she’d encountered at the market standing several
yards behind her. The rooftop extended back a few hundred feet. An
elevator pressed up from the granite in the middle of the roof.
    She walked over to join the African woman. Closer to
the center of the rooftop, the winds wreaked less havoc.
    “What trouble is Adriana in now?” Illyana asked.
    Over the last century, Illyana had kept tabs on
Adriana but had fallen short of actually contacting her. The girl
had made mortal enemies of just about every Initiated faction
within the Shadowdance. It was a wonder she was still alive at
all.
    “No more trouble than usual,” the woman replied,
confirming Illyana’s own opinion.
    “Then what do you want with her?”
    The woman laughed.
    Illyana tilted her head slightly. “What is so
amusing?”
    “You’ve trusted me to transport you while you were
unconscious, and yet you haven’t asked me who I am, or what I’m
doing. All you care for is Adriana and her well-being. Even though
she couldn’t give a damn about you.”
    The truth in the woman’s words stung Illyana. A
silence passed between the women, interrupted only by the sound of
the wind.
    “We don’t have much time,” Illyana insisted. “I have
a shadow who is probably looking at you right now.”
    If Makeda knew what Illyana was talking about with
her shadow, she made no mention of it. “My name is Makeda Arsi,”
the mystery woman revealed. “I need Adriana to help me end the
Shadowdance.”
    Illyana thought on this. She looked suspiciously at
this Makeda Arsi. “And how exactly do you propose to do that?”
    “The less I tell you, the less chance someone will
compromise my plan.”
    Illyana studied Makeda. There was an earnestness to
her words that made Illyana believe she wasn’t lying, but she was
definitely unwilling to reveal her hand. Illyana turned from Makeda
and walked toward the ledge. Without looking at Makeda, she said,
“I just