Absolution (Delroi Prophecy Book 4) (12 page)

Xan’s anger pulsed against her skin
and he turned to glare at Goran. “If she’s been in the temple, they shouldn’t
have been able to use her against you.”

“Cousin,” Xiri said softly. “I can’t
stay locked inside the temple forever.”

“Did you know?” Xan asked.

It hurt him that she might not have
trusted him to protect her, but Xiri shook her head.

“You have names and locations?” he
asked Goran.

“Yes I do, my lord,” he said,
satisfaction thick in the response. Then he turned to her. “I know where your
son is, my lady. They are…uncertain of his stability after the attack on your
daughter so he is kept a prisoner.”

Roarr entered the conversation then. He
sounded as pissed off as Xan and Anna Leigh guessed he’d also been kept in the
dark. “We need those addresses now before they discover you failed at your
task.”

“Put out the word that he did succeed
and in the confusion managed to escape. We’ll go after Zane,” Xan told Roarr.
The Overchief and Barak didn’t argue. “But I want the head of the man who dared
threaten my cousin.”

Roarr nodded agreement, indicating
Goran. “I want proof he can be trusted.”

Parker stepped up, looking fragile and
ethereal. Anna Leigh knew that for a false impression. The power in her mind
was staggering.

“I’ll
probably need your help,”
she said to Anna Leigh
. “I need to make sure he can’t hide information
from me.”

“Of
course.”

“Lower your shields,” Parker said
softly.

Goran looked to Xan for approval before
complying.

“Do it,” he ordered.

Goran’s eyes widened when he realized
both women had entered his mind. His thoughts and memories were neatly ordered.
The only ones he tensed at their viewing were the intimate hours spent with his
mate. Finally, Anna Leigh was convinced he told the truth and was a spy not a
rebel. Still, he’d attacked his clan chief. She withdrew from his mind and
nodded at Xan, while Parker rattled off names and three addresses in the city
below them.

Goran straightened. Faced Xan. “What
will happen to me?”

Barak looked chagrined. “You attacked
your clan chief. Why doesn’t matter.”

Xan stared at him a long moment before
looking to his cousin, his expression softening. “I only have two options. Both
are horrible choices for Xiri but with the second at least she wouldn’t have to
deal with your death.”

“If you banish me, we’ll both be
ostracized,” he said softly, not looking at Xiri. “Death would be kinder for
her. She would still have a home. Still have a family.”

“No!” Xiri rushed to him, cupped his
face between her hands but his posture, the remote look in his eyes never
changed.

Anna Leigh felt badly for the young
woman, but she agreed with Xan and Goran. He couldn’t stay in the clan and if
he took Xiri with him she would have to walk away from everything and everyone
she knew.

“Don’t do this,” Xiri whispered.
“Don’t leave me.”

Goran’s composure cracked and he
wrapped his arms around her. Anna Leigh could hardly bare to watch. She saw
Goran’s choice in his eyes. He kissed Xiri then gently released her to step
forward.

“Death,” he said softly, even calmly,
to Xan though she felt his turmoil.

Before Xan could respond, Daggar
interrupted. “There is another option. If they would have you.”

The Earthlings in the room were
confused but she saw immediate understanding on the faces of all the warriors
and Xiri.

“What other option?” Zola asked.

“The Varangians.”

Her daughter scowled, then huffed a
laugh. “Vikings?”

Daggar grinned. “You know of the
Varangian Guard?”

“Are you saying the Varangian Guard in
Earth history, the Vikings, were Delroi?”

“Yes, in the beginning at least. The
Varangians, which means traveler in our language, have always been explorers.
They have colonies throughout the galaxy. Centuries ago one of their ships
crashed on Earth. While they waited for rescue they…integrated with the
culture.”

She wasn’t sure how to take that. Some
of the Vikings were aliens? “Their mythology?” Zola, always the scholar, asked.

Daggar shook his head. “Earth in
origin, though you will find common names among the Varangians.”

“Fascinating,” Anna Leigh murmured.
She focused on Goran, wondering what his decision would be.

Xiri was in his arms again, looking up
at him intently. “Let’s do it.”

“They won’t take me, us, without a
direct request from the Overchief,” he cautioned.

“I wouldn’t have brought it up if I
was unwilling to do that.”

Goran nodded. “I accept then.”

Xiri scowled. “
We
accept. I go with you.”

Anna Leigh approved of her gumption
though she felt Xan’s sadness. She slipped her hand into his, squeezed.

“I’d like to help bring in the rebels
first,” Goran said.

“I don’t have a problem with that.” He
looked at Barak and Daggar. “Any objections?”

Neither protested. “I am contacting
the Varangians now, however,” Daggar said. “They’re leader is in orbit. He’ll
be waiting when we’re finished.”

“We should move now then,” Zola said.

Anna Leigh felt and shared her
daughter’s impatience, but she didn’t want her in the fight. They had no idea
what to expect from Zane. Seeing the determination in her eyes, however, Anna
Leigh didn’t bother arguing with Zola about staying behind. They split into two
groups, Xan and Roarr leading the one rescuing Zane while Barak and Daggar went
after the other nests of rebels.

The house wasn’t far. She couldn’t
believe how close the enemy had been for the last several weeks. How close her
son had been. They split into groups, searching for ways to sneak in. The rebels
made it easy. None of the entrances were guarded. That kind of arrogance got
people killed. She and Xan followed four Bana warriors through the kitchen
door. She didn’t even get the chance to fire her weapon. She walked by three
dead rebels into a wide hall. The hiss of a laser pistol could be heard in
another room and a moment later Zola, Jarek at her side, entered the front
door. Parker and Kareena followed seconds later, just as the remaining Delroi
rebels rushed down the stairs. They lifted their weapons to fire but had
apparently forgotten who they faced. The pistols were jerked from their hands
and turned on them. Zola’s power pulsed in the air, her fury palpable.

“Roarr?” she asked. “Should I kill
them now or later?”

Somewhere else in the house, Anna
Leigh sensed a gathering force. The Tel agents. When she would have moved in
their direction however, Zola stopped her.

“No, Mother. Let them come to us.”

Kareena and Parker stood on either
side of her, merging their minds with Zola’s to unleash a strength Anna Leigh
would have said was impossible if she wasn’t witnessing it. The men in front of
them paled and one gasped, “The prophecy. The goddess
has
returned.”

Then as one they all fell dead, their
brains crushed. Zola turned to her, blinked, and Anna Leigh watched reason
return to her eyes as her power dissipated. What the hell had just happened?

“There are two Tel agents attempting
to climb out a back window from the third floor,” Parker said in an eerie
voice. “The third is restrained in a cell in the basement.”

Zane. But the other two had to be
dealt with first. Zola, Kareena, and Parker were already moving however, their
mates with them.

“Get Zane,” Zola said before she
disappeared down the hall.

Xan set his hand on her shoulder.
“Come on. They’ll be all right.”

“Right. Basement.”

Kaal stepped forward. “The entrance is
in the kitchen, Lady Bana.”

They followed her to the door in the
kitchen and then down the stairs. Xan turned on the lights when they reached
the bottom. They stood in a large empty room with several doors on the opposite
wall. She let her senses expand, felt one mind behind one of those doors and
the
wrongness
of it. Zane, yet not.
She strode to the door that hid him, but Xan stopped her before she could open
it. Shaking his head, he pulled her back and motioned for Kaal to go first.

“We don’t know if he was programmed to
kill you too,” Xan said softly.

He was right but she didn’t care. That
was her child in there. Kaal opened the door and she waited as he entered,
wondered why the rebels had been stupid enough to leave it unlocked. A moment
later the warrior waved them in and she saw for herself.

“Zane,” she whispered. “Who the hell
did this to you?”

He was sitting on the floor, shackles
on his ankles and wrists attached to chains anchored in the wall. At the sound
of her voice his eyes snapped open. There was a feral look in his gaze as he
looked her over. He cocked his head to one side and she felt his mind brush
against hers.

“You look wrong, but you are one of
the women I’m supposed to kill.”

He made no move to strike against her,
though. Instead he climbed to his feet, the chains clanging in a way that made
her cringe.

“There’s something wrong with my
brain,” he said with no inflection whatsoever. “You should leave before I lose
control again.”

“I came to help you.”

His expression changed, turned
calculating and cold. She felt him gathering his power. “Okay.”

Xan struck before Zane could. Pistol
set to stun and incapacitate, he fired once. Zane slumped to the floor just as
Zola rushed in. She knelt on one side while Anna Leigh took the other.

“Jarek?”

The healer gently pulled Zola to her
feet and took her place. He used a small handheld device to check Zane for
injuries.

“There is no physical damage to his
brain. Whatever was done to him requires an expertise I don’t have.”

“Someone is coming who might,” Xan
said quietly. The soft considering tone concerned her.

“Who?”

*

He suspected neither she nor Zola
would like his suggestion, but it was probably the best option to start off
with.

“The leader of the Varangians is
coming himself. His sister will be with him. She’s a…I think your word is
mystic.”

Part priestess, part witch, part seer.
He had only met her once. To say she was an unusual woman was so far from an
understatement it was laughable. He knew of no Delroi warrior who was
comfortable in her presence.

Jarek’s expression was grim but he
nodded. “Gypsy is the one to speak to about this. Are they coming to the Keep?”

He shook his head. “Daggar sent a
message saying they’d meet us at the stronghold.”

“Zola and I will join you.”

Xan nodded. He approved of the way his
son-in-law was caring for Zola without smothering her. He ordered the chains
removed and Zane transported to his shuttle. In twenty minutes, they were in
the air. Two hours later they waited in the courtyard as the Varangian shuttle
landed. Zane was under guard in one the downstairs meeting rooms. Zola and Anna
Leigh were subdued. He’d given them some space but no more. Standing behind Anna
Leigh, he wrapped one arm around her shoulders and pulled her close so her back
was pressed against his chest. He took Zola’s hand in his free hand. Jarek
stood at her side and a few feet away Xiri clung to Goran.

The shuttle ramp lowered and Stone and
Gypsy led the other Varangians down. Anna Leigh, always a part of his mind, was
at first surprised then amused.

“What?”

“Y’all
said they’d integrated with Vikings on Earth but I didn’t expect them to look
like historical Vikings. Their modern day descendants on Earth look and dress
like the rest of us.”

He saw her point. They wore old
fashioned leather armor--sleeveless in deference to the heat. Their tattoos
were colorful. Their hair long, some with braids others without. Most of the
men had beards. They all--men and women alike--wore a combination of weapons.
Modern laser pistols, projectile weapons like those found on Earth, knives,
swords, and axes. Then there was Gypsy, who apparently took perverse pleasure
in living up to the image her name invoked. She wore a loose bright but sheer
skirt over tight breeches and knee high boots and a matching top. Xan knew from
experience that her jewelry also doubled as weapons. The Varangians probably
looked like something out of one of Earth’s entertainment vids to her. He
shared that information with Anna Leigh and Zola in a second, then stepped
forward to greet them his women at his side.

“Xan,” Stone greeted him with a smile,
forearms clasping in his traditional manner. He turned to Xiri with a feigned
look of disappointment.

“You swore you’d wait for me,
darlin’,” he complained, though he made no move to embrace her. Xan had
forgotten she’d met him on a visit years ago. He was surprised when Xiri gave
him a haughty look and scoffed.