Free Invincible (A Centennial City Novel) by Fionn Jameson

during a chase. Adrenaline pumping through my body, making it hard to concentrate on anything else but whatever was in front of me…Elder Chang had liked my single-minded attentiveness.
    Jason screamed again, a pain filled cry that made the hair rise on my bare arms.
    No, no, no. He couldn’t die. Not now.
    Not when I had a mission to fulfill.
    I wouldn’t let him.
    The doors to his room were wide open, a set of keys hanging from one of the door knobs and I wished I’d been smart enough to stay in front of Jason’s room instead of going downstairs for whatever reason. It made sense now: whoever wanted Jason would have to find him, thus come upon me.
    If I got out of this alive, Reiko was going to slit me from ear to ear. And I would let her too.
    There was no excuse.
    A figure stood over Jason, one hand wrapped around his neck, long blond hair hanging into his prey’s pale face.
    Jason shuddered, trying to draw in a breath and as the bastard pulled back his hand to deal the final blow, I flicked the bi-su in his direction.
    I was very good at throwing daggers, and never missed.
    This case was no exception.
    The darkly clad assailant fell over the side of the bed, the dagger lodged deeply into their pectoral muscles and Jason drew in a loud, explosive breath. Blood seeped from the bandage wrapped around his neck and his eyes were almost completely dark as he slowly, laboriously crawled towards me.
    Behind him, the vampire staggered upright, and yanked the tiny dagger out of his chest. If he’d been human, it might’ve been a killing blow.
    But vampires are damn hard to kill.
    I should know.
    “Not on my watch,” I said, sword held out in a defensive position. “You’re not killing him in front of me.”
    Jason fell with a thud on the floor, but at least he was off the bed and out of the way.
    “Not bad,” the vampire muttered as he hurled the dagger away. “I should have known. They warned me about you. But I have fought many like you. Most of them were not worth the breath spent on extolling their many virtues. Let’s see how good you are.”
    I didn’t even want to dignify that with an answer.
    “Who sent you?”
    Dressed in skin-tight leathers, he pushed his light hair back past his ears and grinned. “Can’t tell you. Not worth my life.”
    I shrugged. “Have it your way, then.”
    They say that when two masters meet each other on the field of honor, neither of them will move. For one wrong move can end the battle and reap an unacceptable outcome.
    This particular vampire didn’t seem to care.
    Launching himself over the bed, he pulled out a blade from a back sheath, its point centered over my heart and I parried it, taking a step back as his strength almost sent me stumbling through the open doors.
    I would not win the battle this way.
    I would not survive.
    And as much as I hated using the particular gift that enabled me to battle those far stronger than I, there was no longer any choice.
    Not if I wanted to live.
    I blinked and the world faded into shades of gray and black, the vampire before me turning into a mass of shadows, each movement made and to be made, pulsing to the beat of my heart.
    Red for movements past.
    White for movements to be made.
    He dodged to the left, intent on spearing me in the side with his rapier-like blade.
    Or rather…he would.
    A human and a vampire can’t possibly fight on equal grounds.
    Not when the vampire possessed inhuman strength and supernatural speed.
    But with my split second precognition, it was possible.
    I could fight him.
    I could win.
    I deflected the blade, but hadn’t taken into account the long length of the blade. The tip scored up my rib cage, bringing forth searing heat and blood in its wake.
    But I was still alive when it was meant to be death blow.
    I grinned widely, let him see the expression on my face. “Is that all?”
    The vampire’s dark eyes narrowed and he took a step back, but by no means lowering his blade. “The rumors. They were