The Sentinel

Split, Croatia, September 15

Li Tian Yi looked out at the breathtaking view of the sun sinking into the sea, but its beauty left him unimpressed. His mind was too busy reassessing his plan.

He had hoped there would be fewer tourists at this time of year and fewer night boat rides. Then again, maybe the crowd would make him less conspicuous.

According to his research, Croatia was a country without any major witches and thus a good starting point for him to reach the High Warlock's mysterious island in the Adriatic and get back his property.

He hadn't shared this plan with anyone and had made sure that the old man was out of the country, visiting a dying old friend. It was a necessary precaution, since the European High Warlock was one of the most powerful beings left on the planet, and one of the few who could recognise that Tian Yi was not just a regular human.

Or really much of a human at all.

Still, it had seemed wise to dial down his powers to a minimum, as he assumed that the High Warlock's island had all sorts of magic defences that might extend to both coasts.

That was always the weak spot of the most powerful witches. They protected themselves against magic, but rarely expected someone to try and get to them without magical means.

"Is there anything else I can get you, sir?" a young waitress asked in English, interrupting his thoughts as she cleared up his dinner dishes.

He smiled at her politely and ordered more wine.

Despite its magnificent view and relatively warm evening, the hotel terrace wasn't well frequented, since the hotel was quite expensive. It was mostly filled with foreign businessmen and one or two elderly couples, so the girl who walked up seemed quite out of place.

She was pretty, with her long hazelnut hair that framed an oval face with sensual lips and large green eyes. Her white dress with tiny red flowers and flaring skirts hugged an hourglass figure which he would once have regarded as too buxom, but had learned to appreciate.

She looked around in a businesslike manner, and the waitress gave her a wary look of dislike, but just hurried past her.

So that's how it was, Tian Yi thought, feeling amused. A high-class prostitute on the prowl in the most expensive hotel in town now that the season was over. He had seen his fair share of those, and however elegantly dressed they were, they still somehow managed to look out of place.

At least this one wasn't strutting around in stilettos like the one who had approached him yesterday.

This one didn't seem very experienced either, as she didn't try the usual game of catching his attention through smiles and inviting looks, but came straight for him.

He looked up at her with his strictest expression, hoping that would be enough to discourage her.

She didn't seem to take a hint, but just said, "I am sorry to interrupt your evening, Mr Li. Could I join you for a moment?"

Her impeccable British accent surprised him even more than the fact that she knew his name.

Still, he raised his eyebrows and said: "I am flattered, miss, but I am not interested in company for tonight."

She frowned in confusion, so he decided to be more direct.

"I am sorry, honey, but maybe you'll have better luck elsewhere."

Her green eyes blazed at him in anger, but to his surprise, she didn't strut off in a huff, but sat down opposite him.

"What exactly is there about me that says prostitute to you?" she hissed at him.

Tian Yi blinked in surprise as he felt a tightening around his throat as if someone was strangling him. He fought down the instinct to betray himself by summoning his own powers and tried not to flinch. This pretty little thing couldn't be a regular human or even just a minor witch.

"I apologise," he gasped, and it came out rather pitiful since he could barely breathe.

She let go of him, looked down at her comparatively demure sundress, and frowned at him again.

"A very high-class lady of the night?" he suggested before he could think better of it.

She didn't seem to see any humour in it, but gritted her teeth and said, "Fine.

If you insist on being a pompous ass, I can at least cut the pleasantries and save some time."

"There is no need for such language, lady. I did apologise. What can I do for you?"

"Don't disrupt my vacation by trying to break into Isola Incantata. You can have the damn sword back if you can convince the High Warlock that it belongs to you and give him an oath that you will leave his territory. You just have to wait for a few days until he returns."

He froze. How the hell did she know? How the hell did the old man know?!

Could he just admit what he was? Surely they didn't know that.

"What if I can't wait?"

She raised her eyebrows.

"If I can't stop you, the Benevento witches will drown you. It may not stop you for very long in the grand scheme of things, but a few decades in a coma could allow for some interesting research on what a Shadow Assassin is really made of," she said in a low voice.

Tian Yi felt quite grateful for the waitress approaching with his tea, as her arrival gave him a moment to think.

He certainly wasn't going to admit to anything, but pretending to be a regular human was probably not an option any more. He allowed some of his power to come back and then instinctively closed his eyes as the whole terrace lit up in a strong red aura.

A Sentinel. Blood Warrior. Executioner.

There were many names for this kind of witch, but very few of them left in this century.

The waitress asked her something in the local language, and the girl answered without taking her eyes off Tian Yi.

He got a grip and gave her his best smirk that he had often been assured could irritate the hell out of other people.

"You are certainly the cutest Sentinel I've ever seen. Does she know what you are, that she is so wary of you?" he asked once the nervous waitress had left.

"Of course she doesn't. Now, will you stay here until the High Warlock has time to deal with you, or do I have to chain you down somewhere?"

He smiled. "That's very kinky of you, lady. Had I known that before, I wouldn't have refused you so quickly."

She smiled back and cursed his ancestors in badly accented, but effective Mandarin.

He hissed through his teeth and said, "Your accent is atrocious."

"So is my temper. Can we finish this? I have more fun things to do."

"I don't. You are the most interesting person I've met on this continent. But just for the sake of argument – will you just take my word for it if I promise to do what you ask?"

"I will hope that you will see reason, as you lose nothing and gain everything by just waiting.

But just in case you are still tempted, it could be difficult to get a new boat so soon."

"What did you do to my boat?"

"Dumped a kilo of cocaine on it and called the police."

He was speechless for a moment.

"Really? Could you not just have destroyed it?"

"It is a very nice boat, and this way more people will be watching you. I count on you not killing half the police force of this town to get out of it, as it would draw too much attention to you. Not to mention that you'll have committed an unforgivable crime on European soil that will leave the Council and the High Warlock no other choice but to come after you. And even if you get away, it would be politically very unwise of Master Su to let you go back to Seoul."

He cursed inwardly but kept up his poker face.

"I assume you won't tell me how you know I was here?" he asked.

"Does it matter?"

"It matters to me."

"Ask the High Warlock then."

"I feel I should be insulted that my very presence doesn't require him to come back early."

She ignored that and asked, "So do we have a deal?"

"If I say no, will you stay to watch me?" he asked back with a flirtatious wink.

She pinched the bridge of her nose as if he were giving her a headache and muttered something unflattering about men.

"You'll have enough company for now," she finally said and got up.

Torn between anger and amusement, he watched her go as she passed the policemen coming for him.