by Caris Roane
Endelle turned to Grace. “Where’s your man right now? Alison said you completed the breh-hedden. Can you find him?”
Grace nodded, then blinked a couple of times as if she was concentrating. Finally, she said, “He’s just sent a squad of sixteen deep into the forest after three death vamps. He also said to alert Jeannie that he’d want to start moving corpses and clearing debris in small bursts. I told him I’d relay the message.”
Thorne held the mouthpiece of his headset, clicked a couple more buttons, and Jeannie’s voice filled the space. “Jeannie here.”
Thorne gave her Leto’s instructions. “Shall I let Gideon know?” he asked.
“I’ve got it,” she said. “Later.”
Endelle heard the softest click. She was fucking impressed. This was a massive team that Thorne had built. “What do we think Greaves’s next move will be?”
Thorne turned around to face her. “This worries me the most because we just don’t know, and according to Marguerite, that bastard Stannett is working his ass off blocking Greaves’s movements in the future streams. She has four teams of Seers working with high rates of accuracy, but none of them is able to find out much about Greaves or his generals or his army. I can tell you what my biggest concerns are.”
But Endelle already knew them. “You’re worried about the colonies falling to Greaves, because Leto a built a force of a hundred thousand.”
He nodded then glanced at Grace. His brow was furrowed. “And I’m worried as hell about obsidian flame.”
Peace, though sought from every corner of the universe, Can only be found deep in the heart.
—Collected Proverbs, Beatrice of Fourth
CHAPTER 11
Greaves once more stood on the viewing platform. Stannett reclined with his hands behind his head, staring up at the ceiling, waiting for Greaves’s orders. He had a new set of Seers strapped down on the chaise longues. He was such a powerful bastard that the women were dying right and left, literally, and yet he looked refreshed.
Greaves recognized some of the women from Johannesburg. All had their eyes closed. Apparently Stannett kept them in a stupor in order to control them. Smart thinking, but then Stannett had been in charge of Seers for centuries. He knew what to do.
Greaves was disappointed that the attack at the Seattle Colony had unraveled as it did and now cleanup was in progress. He had watched events from a levitating position in the sky behind his mist. He had to admit that Thorne and Leto had created a tremendous amount of discipline in their forces, and especially in the citizenry of the colony.
Though Greaves had effectively eliminated the security system’s electronic alarm, he had not been prepared for the pounding of drums that had alerted most of the citizens to his attack. He’d been stunned to observe how many colonists simply vanished—all prearranged, of course.
Despite the achievement of pure vision, no doubt Marguerite had somehow discovered the attack as well and alerted the colony. Earlier, he had spent time with his generals, setting his strategies—especially where the hidden colonies were concerned. He knew that Leto would have trained all the Militia Warriors in all the colonies. He knew Leto’s mind and his skills. He would have been perfect for the task. The warrior games had no doubt been a culmination of his work.
Greaves wasn’t certain exactly how large a force the hidden colonies had, but his generals had put the estimate near eighty thousand and Greaves really didn’t want to be surprised once a battle began. He hadn’t come this far to lose to something as ridiculous as an army built of colonists. More than anything, he wanted to eliminate the colonies as a factor in what would become a major showdown over the next several days.
His other concern, of course, was obsidian flame.
He’d decided to shift his strategy just a little and try one last time to eliminate the triad as a force in the upcoming confrontations. All he needed to do to solve this problem was to render Grace harmless, and he’d formed a plan that might just work. But he thought he’d check it out with Stannett first. Maybe the future streams could give him an edge on this one. That’s all he needed, just a slight edge.
He called down to Stannett. “Are you ready?”
Stannett unloosened his hands and met Greaves’s gaze. “Yes, master.”
“Good. I want you to search for a time when I’m alone with Grace and I want to know where and when.”
Stannett nodded. The women on either side of him tensed almost at the same time, then relaxed one by one. How many times Greaves had wished that he had Seer ability. Given his level of ambition, he’d always felt it a cruel trick of fate that he’d been denied the gift. Ah, well.
No more than a minute later, Stannett opened his eyes and smiled. “I found Grace alone and unprotected in Diallo’s Seattle courtyard garden. You were speaking very tenderly to her with all the gifts in your power. You were offering her things.”
“What kind of things?”
“Nothing that couldn’t be withdrawn should necessity dictate, things like world peace. She was falling beneath your spell, despite the fact that she is already breh-bonded to Leto, a sign of your power, no doubt. For that reason, I pulled back, getting a larger bird’s-eye view until I could see into the lane near the house.
“The vision expanded, and I could see Leto battling more of your Third Earth death vampires in that location.”
“Good.” Greaves actually smiled. “Was Casimir visible?”
“Unfortunately, that’s when the vision ended.”
“And when does all this take place?”
“Sometime this evening, though I couldn’t ascertain the hour. But it’s not yet dawn in the region. In fact, it didn’t even feel close to midnight.” He frowned slightly.
“What is it?”
“It would follow that you have already been planning this kind of tactic, but what do you intend to do with her?”
“It’s simple. I want to disrupt her thinking and have her return with me to Geneva.”
“Where you will have more Third Earth death vampires waiting?”
Greaves smiled. “Of course.”
He then issued orders to continue searching the future streams for signs of the colonies or of anything having to do with obsidian flame.
Hopeful once more, he dematerialized to his Estrella compound, where he chose from among his most powerful Third Earth death vampires. He suspected Casimir would intervene again, but it didn’t matter. Greaves just needed to distract Leto for the few minutes he would require to take control of Grace’s mind.
* * *
Casimir waited near Leto, still invisible. The forest had grown quiet. He glanced up at the night sky, barely visible beyond the layer of mist that Endelle had built to cover the colony.
He sighed. He understood why he’d been given this job: He understood Greaves’s mind better than anyone. Greaves didn’t have a conscience, and until recently, Casimir hadn’t had one, either. So how could Leto, with his hypersensitivity to right and wrong, ever truly know how devious Greaves could be?
His instincts were humming a warning tune. He made himself visible to Leto, which caused the warrior to take a step back. “What the fuck? Why didn’t I see a shimmering?”
“I’ve been here since you folded down to the colony. I can go invisible, or did you not know that?”
He scratched his chin with the edge of his thumb. “I keep forgetting that you’re even around. So what’s going on?”
“I have an uneasy feeling that Greaves is about to shake things up again.”
Leto looked up at the dome of mist and frowned. “Even with such a strong cloak over the colony?”
“Yeah, even with all this.”
Leto looked up at the house. “Gideon cleaned up the death vamps in and around the house. Grace is there now, in the courtyard. I’d say there are three squads of Militia Warriors in there now.”
“She should be all right then.”
Another squad of warriors reported to Leto, and he di
rected them into the south pastures. “Make sure there isn’t a wounded death vampire hiding in any of the haystacks, barns, or fields.”
The men took off. Leto planted his hands on his hips and looked up and down the lane. Casimir followed his gaze. What did the warrior see? What was he looking for? Was this who Patience was? Always looking for the enemy, trying to get one step ahead.
He wished to hell she’d come back to the observation deck. For maybe the first time in his life, despite how desperately attracted to her he was, he just wanted to talk to a woman.
* * *
With the hidden colonies secured and a new layer of powerful mist over the land, Grace returned to Diallo’s house to wait for Leto to finish his duties. She felt a strong need to be near her breh as much as possible right now.
The corpses were long gone, and all the colonists had been accounted for—either those few in the morgue or the rest at the Portland Colony.
She reclined in one of the chaise longues in the lush courtyard. The temperature in the garden was very comfortable, and because of the thick shrubs, flowers, and trees, a wonderful humidity eased the dryness of the mountain environment.
Leto was in the lane below Diallo’s house finishing up with the Militia Warrior Section Leaders and going over the numbers one last time. At least a dozen squads were still doing a house-to-house search just to be sure.
She had long since started blocking Leto’s external physical sensations. She had learned from chatting with both Fiona and Marguerite that blocking those sensations became a critical survival skill for the breh-bonded couples. It was a very doable skill, and she was learning fast.
Even though the colony had been secured, Grace had begun to feel uneasy, but she didn’t know why. She half expected her obsidian power to rise, but the earth remained quiet beneath her.
A chill went down her neck, and she rubbed her arms. She looked around. Something had disturbed her, but what? All the shrubbery remained still, unmoving. She had the jitters, but then why wouldn’t she after all that she’d been through?
She looked up at the dome of mist that once more covered the colony. Endelle had created it as a temporary solution until Diallo could recover and repair the damage. She had even worked to add her own moss to help with the disguise. But if the colony had been mapped, and if Greaves had enough power to burn the mossy mist away, then in what manner could the colony ever be secure again?
She wrapped her arms around her stomach and held herself. She wanted to crawl into bed and forget everything at least for a little while, but which bed? Where? She couldn’t go back to the cabin, Leto’s wonderful cabin, not for some time at least. On the other hand, if either she or Leto could cloak the cabin in an additional layer of mist, the combination might just work.
She thought the thought and instantly, because of the breh-hedden, she was in Leto’s mind. I’d like to sleep in your cabin tonight, she sent.
Hey, sweetheart, he responded instantly. I’d like nothing better as well, but I’m not sure it’s safe.
Are you almost done?
Just a few more minutes. I just sent the Section Leaders to bring in their teams, then we’ll head out. So give me a few minutes … that is … He fell silent.
Grace waited but that uneasy feeling returned.
Oh, shit. His voice was suddenly loud in her head. More Third Earth death vampires just arrived. Casimir’s with me.
Because she was completely open to all his external physical sensations, she could feel him turn in a complete circle, and within a split second he had his sword in hand. She sensed a vibration all along his skin and knew he was letting his beast-man out.
Grace, you should get back to Second. Now.
Grace sat up. She was in danger. She could feel it.
She lifted her hand to fold, but couldn’t. She didn’t understand. Her heart rate kicked up a few notches.
Then, just as quickly as her fears rose, they retreated. Very odd. Yet she felt sublime waves of peace begin to pour over her. She didn’t need to worry about anything.
She folded her hands over her stomach and closed her eyes. She felt the air move near her, but she was too tired to care who it was. Probably Leto, which would be nice. She wanted to open her eyes and smile at him, but she couldn’t. How heavy her eyelids felt.
Lips touched her cheek several times. As if from a great distance, she heard a stream of words, murmured very softly in a kind of chant. The lips moved and covered her mouth.
Come with me, Grace. The words now flowed through her mind with the most beautiful resonance. We will build a new world together, one without war. Isn’t that what you want above all things?
This wasn’t Leto, but why wasn’t she afraid? Was she being enthralled?
Somehow, she didn’t care.
She felt so at peace, as though she never wanted to be anywhere else in her life than right here with this man’s voice in her head and his lips touching hers.
Tell me you want what I want.
Yes, I want a world without war. Yes. Yes.
Then come with me. Say you will join me. I will make you my empress, and you will have the power to order the world exactly how you desire it to be.
At last, she opened her eyes. Some part of her mind truly did realize that she was looking at Greaves, that he sat on the side of the chaise and petted her head in soft soothing strokes, and that he had been kissing her.
He must have enthralled her. She wondered why he didn’t just take her away with him. He had her in his power—that much her rational mind could make sense of. But she knew that by the rules of COPASS, both he and Endelle were limited in what each could do, all those rules set up a hundred years ago to regulate two powerful ascenders. No, Greaves couldn’t just take her. He would have to persuade her to leave with him.
All she had to do was say yes.
She put her hand on his face. She wanted to. Very badly.
Yet she resisted.
His eyes were lit with a strange, unearthly glow. He looked so beautiful. That was one of the most surprising things about Darian Greaves, just how beautiful he was. He had thick, perfectly shaped dark brows, full lips, and large brown eyes, just like his mother’s. He also possessed the best manners. She had always liked his manners.
He slid his arms behind her back and pulled her against him. He kissed her again. Even his mouth was beautiful and tasted of the sweetest peaches. She licked his lips and heard him groan.
I could love you, Grace. I didn’t know that, but holding you in my arms like this, love is what comes to mind. You are the earth. I can feel that in you. Your power would anchor me and change me. I would be made new. Will you do that for me, Grace? Will you make me a new creature through your goodness and purity? My mother would like that. Beatrice would be indebted to you forever.
She loved Beatrice. How wonderful if she could give her such a gift as renewing her son’s soul.
Come with me. Say you’ll come with me.
She wanted to say yes. More than anything in her life, she wanted to say yes. But there was a part of her that couldn’t do it.
She struggled to find the word, to make her mouth move. “No,” she murmured at last.
The soft chanting resumed.
* * *
Leto had his sword in his right hand and one of his daggers in his left as he battled three Third Earth death vampires, all cloaked behind what must have been Greaves’s mist. He’d already killed three of the bastards.
Casimir had his own problems with the remaining four, who apparently specialized in hand-blast capability. Greaves had clearly learned from the failure at Nazca. Sparks showered everywhere. Casimir kept working the vampires away from Leto, protecting him as he battled sword-to-sword. One hit with a Third Earth hand-blast and Leto wasn’t sure he’d survive.
His opponents were damn experienced. More than once he’d gotten a mild skin burn because one of the pretty-boys would fold behind him and slice at his calves. He could feel that his battl
e sandals were partly cut away and that blood dripped into the soles. His feet were slippery.
When two folded at once, he lunged under the raised arm of the death vamp in front of him, caught him in his kidneys with his dagger, and took him down. He’d made the right call. The other two materialized in the exact spot where he’d originally stood.
He increased his speed, darting forward and swinging his sword at the same time. He took the hand of one of the vamps, who now rolled on the ground screaming.
The last bastard wasn’t about to be distracted. Leto folded well beyond the prone death vamp, and before he even noticed, Leto brought his sword down hard and took his head. The vamp still standing was almost on him. Leto lifted his sword, and the weight of his opponent’s downward strike sent heavy, almost paralyzing vibrations down his arm.
At the same time, he caught movement to his left. One of the death vamps had broken from Casimir and was lifting his hand in Leto’s direction.
Again Leto lunged, rolling on the ground below the closer vamp.
The hand-blast was ill placed and hit his opponent, sending him screaming into the air and flying backward about ten feet.
Leto was now exposed and on the ground. He waited for a moment while the hand-blast geared up. Then just as he saw the pretty-boy’s smile widen, Leto pivoted, folded, arrived behind the vamp, and thrust his sword through the spine.
Turning, he saw that the three remaining death vamps had moved in tighter on Casimir and that the Fourth ascender had started to struggle. Casimir was not a warrior.
Leto used his speed, and took two heads. The final death vamp standing, turned at the commotion, which was a fatal mistake because Casimir lifted his hand and caught the bastard in the throat with a hand-blast. His head lolled and he toppled over, his skull crunching hard against one of the severed heads.
Leto bent over at the waist, breathing hard. He still had his sword in hand. His gaze drifted back and forth. If Greaves intended to add to the party, he was ready.
“Thank you,” Casimir said.