The Invincible Mystic Master

“Blind Crowe, if I ever believe another word you say, I deserve everything I get!”

Will Hartnett stood at a bus stop in Tearhaven City, so hungry his stomach hurt. He had been cursing his mentor under his breath for the better part of an hour.

Two days earlier, Blind Crowe had summoned him with an unusually grave expression. According to the old man, Will was destined to face a deadly calamity, and the only way to survive it was through a woman. He had then produced an old engagement agreement and sent Will to Tearhaven to find someone named Summer Morton.

Before Will left their secluded mountain home, his mentor had handed him a bulging package, claiming it contained treasures collected over many years. Will hadn't discovered the truth until he was already on his way: the entire package consisted of membership cards for massage parlors.

And two lousy dollars in cash.

“I'm starving, damn it.”

When the bus finally pulled up, Will climbed aboard, rubbing his empty stomach. He hadn't eaten in a day, and two dollars wouldn't even buy him a cheap breakfast in Tearhaven.

Then he spotted a woman standing a little way down the aisle.

She was stunning. Her tailored business suit emphasized her figure, while her cool, distant expression made it clear she wanted nothing to do with anyone around her. She looked like she belonged in a private executive lounge, not on a crowded city bus.

Will couldn't help giving her a second glance.

*Wonder if my future wife is anywhere near that gorgeous.*

His appreciation faded when he noticed the heavyset man standing beside her. The guy had a greasy smile and kept angling his phone toward the space beneath her skirt, snapping pictures whenever he thought nobody was looking.

*Seriously? In broad daylight?*

Will pushed through the crowd and planted himself between them.

The creep glared at him and tried to shove past. Will looked lean enough to move easily, but the man might as well have been pushing against a concrete pillar.

Their jostling caught the woman's attention. She turned, frowned, and gave a pointed cough.

Will understood the warning. As far as she could tell, he was the one crowding her. But moving aside would give the creep another chance, so he stared innocently at the ceiling and held his ground.

The man tried again, shooting Will a look that clearly meant *mind your own business*.

*You really don't know when to quit, do you?*

Will had been willing to let him off with a warning. Now he'd changed his mind.

His hand flashed out, striking several precise spots along the man's back.

Agony shot through the creep's body. He shrieked, convulsed, and collapsed in the aisle, dropping his phone. Its lit screen displayed an unmistakable photograph taken up the woman's skirt.

Her face turned scarlet. “You were taking pictures of me?”

The man scrambled up. As soon as the doors opened, he fled without even retrieving his phone.

“Fast runner,” Will muttered.

Not that the man would be doing much running for long. Will had used Bonebreaker, an art Blind Crowe had taught him. It had shifted the bones along the creep's back out of place, leaving him with injuries that would make walking a nightmare. The technique had been lost to the rest of the world long ago. As far as Will knew, only he and his mentor could undo its effects.

He picked up the phone and offered it to the woman.

“Here. You might want to be careful around creeps like that.”

She snatched it away, turned off the screen, and fixed him with a look of pure disgust.

“Stay away from me. You honestly think I don't know what you two were doing?”

Will blinked. “Excuse me?”

“That fat creep was working with you, wasn't he? One of you harasses me, the other swoops in to play hero. What a disgusting way to pick up women. You're both complete scumbags!”

Will stared at her. He had just helped her, and somehow *he* was the villain?

Other passengers began chiming in.

“He looked decent enough. Just goes to show you can't judge by appearances.”

“Someone should call the cops.”

“What kind of parents raise a guy like that?”

Will opened his mouth to explain, but the woman backed away before he could get a word out.

She was already having a terrible day. Her father's condition had been weighing on her, and she had been rushing home from work when she'd discovered something wrong with her car's brakes. Luckily, she'd noticed the problem while backing out. She'd had no choice but to take the bus, where she'd run into not one, but apparently two perverts.

Now the supposed hero was still staring at her.

“What are you looking at?” Summer snapped.

Will studied her for another moment. Then he said something she hadn't expected.

“There's something wrong with your health.”

The passengers erupted in outrage.

Summer's cheeks flushed. “There's something wrong with *you*! Keep harassing me and I'm calling the police!”

Will sighed. So much for doing someone a favor.

He was a member of the Order of the Veil. After twenty years of training under Blind Crowe, his healing arts and ability to read a person's condition were unmatched. Wealthy executives and celebrities had traveled into the mountains just to beg for his help, and he'd turned plenty of them away.

Yet here he was, getting insulted for offering it for free.

“Driver, take us straight to the police station!” someone shouted.

“People like him need to spend a night in jail.”

“He shouldn't be allowed anywhere near women!”

The accusations came from every direction until Will had had enough.

“Unbelievable. Nobody here wants to listen.”

He strode straight toward Summer.

She recoiled. “What are you doing? Get away from me!”

Before she could dodge, Will touched several vital pressure points with two fingers, moving so quickly she barely saw his hand.

“Hey! Get your hands off her!”

“You think you can just assault someone?”

“Don't worry, miss. We've got your back!”

Several passengers looked ready to tackle him.

But Summer wasn't looking at them anymore. The anger drained from her face, replaced by shock as she became aware of an extraordinary change inside her body.

She slowly turned to Will.

“How... how did you do that?”