Gates of Rapture (The Guardians of Ascension) (21 page)

She wore a pair of pants in striped black-and-white leather topped with a cherry-red bustier. Her low-hanging belt was made of tiny silver scorpions. Grace was a little surprised, because even though most women would never wear such an outfit, this actually had to be one of Endelle’s most subdued ensembles ever. She frowned as she greeted them. Grace could sense her distress.

Endelle’s sitting room was filled with purple velvet couches and chairs all arranged on a huge pure white shag rug. Glass tables were scattered around. As with much of the palace, instead of a window, the wall was open to the air and led to a small terrace and low wall.

She gestured for everyone to sit down, even though she remained standing.

Thorne took a seat in a big chair that faced away from the terrace. Alison sat opposite him, which gave Grace the chance to sit with Leto on the couch, which suited her. Maybe it was the
breh-hedden,
but she wanted to be close to him right now.

Endelle paced the length of the room, the scorpion belt jingling. She called over her shoulder, “Havily brought in Starbucks, and I drank three grandes all by myself. I’m either peeing or pacing.” Her hair moved as well in response to her emotions. She was definitely keyed up.

“I was about to tell them what’s going on,” Thorne said.

“Fine,” she responded, but without her usual sarcasm.

That was new. Normally, especially with Thorne, she would have laid on the attitude. Apparently not today, maybe not anymore.

Though his expression grew somber, Thorne spelled it out. “We’re headed for a battle against Greaves. Marguerite has been in the future streams and she’s seen parts of it. It will take place over White Lake.”

“But there’s a resort colony over there,” Leto said, frowning, “with over a hundred world-class hotels and public gardens.”

Thorne shrugged. “Just reporting what she’s seen. Apparently part of the battle takes place over White Lake, and obsidian flame is at the center of things, along with Endelle. And, no, she wasn’t able to determine the outcome. She wanted to emphasize that she’s only gotten glimpses, not even enough to plan a strategy.”

He huffed a sigh then continued. “There was, however, an anomaly, in that she’s had another vision of obsidian flame in flight, together, as in some kind of demonstration. So we’re going on the assumption that everything is going to happen fast, and we want to be prepared. And to answer the question that I’m sure is on all your minds, yes, Owen Stannett is blocking her in the future streams. But to be fair, she and her Seers work to block him just as much. To some degree, they’ve been canceling each other out, but as far as I’m concerned that’s fine by me. I’d rather there was an absence of information than that the enemy had a Seer advantage right now.”

Grace’s stomach flip-flopped. Was this really happening? The war had been going on for centuries, and had been steadily escalating for the past fifteen years. Was it really about to reach some kind of sudden, abrupt conclusion? It didn’t seem possible. For as long as she had been alive, all two thousand years, Greaves had been creating death vampires and causing a mountain of trouble, from one century to the next, in anticipation of taking over Second and Mortal Earths.

“So Marguerite isn’t working alone on this?” Grace asked.

Thorne shook his head. “No, not at all. She learned from some of Diallo’s refugee Seers that working in teams improves accuracy. She has a setup out at the rehab center, a nice lounge, in which Seers work in shifts and in groups of four.” He inclined his head toward Alison. “Of course you know by now that Alison has mounted her wings and has been having dreams about the Third Earth portal.”

“Yes,” Leto said, but he dipped his chin frowning. “I suppose Endelle told you about Casimir’s arrival.”

Thorne nodded. “This has to be a shitfest for you on several levels.”

“Especially since he saved my ass out at Nazca.”

Endelle stopped her pacing. Thorne leaned forward in his chair, a deep crease between his brows. “I didn’t know Casimir had been out there?”

“Me neither,” Endelle said, resuming her movement back and forth. “What the fuck happened?”

“It was well after the battle and after the colony had been secured.” He then related the tale of Greaves’s arrival with his Third Earth death vampires.

Endelle moved to stand near Thorne. “Are you telling us Greaves was there, himself, in Nazca, and meant to kill you with a hand-blast?”

“Knowing Greaves, I’m sure he meant only to disable me, but his death vampires would have finished the job. Greaves would never go against that particular COPASS directive, the one that forbids him to kill anyone by his own hand. He wouldn’t risk it because he only owns about a third of the committee.”

“But it was clear to you,” Thorne said, “that he meant for you to die.”

“No question. But as you can imagine, he holds a certain animosity toward me. I betrayed him by leaving his service and returning to Endelle.”

“Leto,” Endelle said, her voice sharp. “Are you in your call to ascension to Third?”

He held his hands wide. “I don’t know. I don’t think so, except for my beast-state. I haven’t experienced the usual longings or dreams, nothing like that. Although one of the death vamps said I was morphing the way Third Earth warriors morph.”

“A Third Earth warrior?” Thorne asked.

“That’s what he said.”

Thorne exchanged a look with Endelle. She shrugged and said, “I don’t know what to make of it. We know so little about Third Earth other than that it’s having its own share of growing pains. I suppose it’s possible that warriors there do what you do. This is a strange dimensional world. Anything’s possible.”

Thorne scratched his forehead with his thumb. “Despite all the unknowns, your possible ascension to Third, or whatever the hell this turns out to be, was one more reason we decided to set up the war room here at the palace.”

Endelle nodded, then gestured from Leto to Alison. “You know, there’s a bit of symmetry here between you two. You battled each other in the arena, and now Alison got her wings and more dreams of White Lake, and you have a Guardian of Ascension sent here to protect you during your ascent to Third.”

Thorne fixed his gaze on Grace. “Endelle and I believe that Greaves has been waiting for your return before making his move. I’ve been tracking the location of his army for some time now, for months. Almost within the hour of your return, he began moving a massive portion of his force here to his extensive underground bunkers near Estrella.”

“How do you know?” Grace asked. “I mean, the bunkers are partly under Greaves’s peach orchard and partly deep beneath the Estrella Mountains.”

But it was Leto who answered the question. “Because I created a back door to the facility, and told your brother all about it.”

“A back door?” Grace asked.

“A computer program linked up with hidden surveillance units in just about every main room of the compound. I couldn’t do anything about the rooms Greaves used—he was too smart for that. But the concealed aboveground landing platforms and the underground bunkers, yes.”

Thorne smiled. “Leto has shifted the balance of power in our direction. We know so much more about Greaves and about his operation than we ever would have known if he hadn’t served as a spy.” To Leto he said, “I want you to work with me at the command center, specifically on strategy. If Greaves intends to attack at White Lake, with all those gardens and hotels lined up on both banks, we’ll need a plan in place with orders ready to deliver to all the Militia Warrior Section Leaders.”

He rose, and because there was command in his manner, everyone rose along with him.

*   *   *

Leto could breathe. Between Kerrick’s earlier demonstration of warrior acceptance, and Thorne’s obvious trust in Leto, yes, he was beginning to breathe. “Where do you want me?” he asked.

Thorne smiled. “Right next to me for now. We have some planning to do.”

Leto nodded.

What might have happened next was disrupted by a shimmering that appeared next to Endelle.

Both warriors drew swords, but the man who materialized looked about as harmless as a librarian. Leto knew him well.

James.

He had gray hair, a novelty in any ascended world. He was short given the relative height of everyone in the room, and there was laughter in his shining light blue eyes.

As Thorne and Leto folded their swords away, Endelle addressed the newcomer. “Hey, shorty, long time no see. What the fuck are you doing here?”

He drew close. “How about a date?” he asked.

“In your dreams.”

He laughed as he turned to face not Thorne, or even Alison whom he had known since her rite of ascension, but rather Leto.

“The time has come, my boy,” James said. “I have a directive from Sixth Earth at long last. I know you always questioned whether all the difficult things you had to do serving Greaves would be worth the sacrifice: becoming a death vampire, providing us with thousands of documents, building an army for Greaves.”

Every muscle of Leto’s body tensed. Grace must have felt it because she slipped her hand into his, a great comfort. He didn’t say anything, though; he just waited, as they all did, hanging on what James would next say.

James’s lips curved slightly. “So you know that army you built?”

“All two million of it? Yes, and the knowledge is painful.”

“Well, sometime in the next forty-eight hours, I want you to start taking back as much of Greaves’s army as you can. Not the death vampires, of course, they’re beyond reasoning. But the hundreds of thousands of Militia Warriors will follow you, if you but ask. That’s what we know to be true.”

Leto was stunned. “Why will they follow me?” he asked.

“Because you’re a Warrior of the Blood, and you carried those values with you when you built that army. The same values now live in all those men and women. You treated Greaves’s Militia Warriors, especially your Division and Section Leaders, with great respect. Your reputation among them is unequaled.

“Greaves’s generals, on the other hand, are struggling to maintain control because they failed to continue the structure you put in place, the one built on honor and decent treatment. Thousands have deserted, and an equal number have been executed at the whims of the generals.

“When you left, several of Greaves’s top men fought for control so that the army is now split under three separate men. Believe me, you have an opportunity to win them to Endelle’s side. As you know, the Council of Sixth Earth can never act outright, but we can offer guidance. Just please take what I’ve said very seriously.”

Leto had known James for a century. Though he had the appearance of a mild, humble man, at times he spoke like an ancient warrior, like someone who knew what battling was, how hard it was on the dedicated soldier, how much discipline was required to get through each day, especially when the days were filled with war. At other times, like now, he talked like a man who had served on a council for centuries. He was two men, but perhaps everyone was.

Leto drew in a deep breath. “If there is even the smallest chance that I could turn the army, or any part of the army, I’ll do it. I swear it on my life.”

James stepped toward Leto and clapped him on the shoulder. “I know all that your service took from you, every ounce of hope at times, and how far into despair your activities plummeted you. But that life is over, and this new one has begun. So don’t hold back, Leto, not in any sense. We have a chance now. We have a chance.”

Then James smiled, a very broad smile, and a sheaf of papers appeared in his hands. “Remember all those files you stole for us?”

Leto glanced at the papers. “Yes.” His heart began to vibrate softly, as though he already knew what James was about to say.

“Well, right here are the private cell phone numbers for every Division and Regiment Leader of Greaves’s army. We broke the code for you, so you needn’t worry about that. Also, we suggest you start with the divisions out of Mongolia Two and Australia Two.”

Leto took the papers and his heart began to sing. Here was justification, something specific that could be drawn from his years as a spy, that could help the ones he’d betrayed. He could bring a fully operational army and lay it at Endelle’s feet.

“Hot damn,” Endelle said. She even slugged James’s arm. “You finally came through for us.”

James did the unthinkable. He reached high, planted his hand on the back of Endelle’s neck, drew her toward him as he reached up, then planted a kiss on her lips.

As she recoiled in protest, James laughed then vanished.

Endelle wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. “That little bastard. I’ll get him for that. And why the fuck did he just take off? I have a thousand questions he needs to answer. One day, I’m going to sit on him and force him to cough up all the information I want, and Sixth Earth can just suck it.”

Transformation

Begins in the soul.

—
Collected Proverbs,
Beatrice of Fourth

CHAPTER 9

After James left, Thorne suggested that he and Leto move to the command center so that Alison could work with Grace on her obsidian flame skills.

But as Thorne headed back to the central rotunda, Grace took Leto’s hand, holding him back. “This is fantastic news.”

He nodded. He had a wind-blasted look. “I just can’t believe it.” He glanced at the papers in his hand. “Well, I know what I’ll be doing for the next few hours.” He met her gaze again. “To think I could win them over.”

Grace was ready to agree, but it was Endelle who came forward and put her hand on his shoulder. “The man who gave that speech at the opening ceremonies of the warrior games could win back the entire army, given enough time. Shit, Leto, I’m fucking glad you’re home.” She looked down at her feet. “Hold on a second.”

She folded off her stilettos and what do you know, Leto was actually taller than Her Supremeness. She held out her arms. “Welcome home.”

As Leto returned Endelle’s embrace, Grace put her fingers to her lips. Her eyes burned like crazy. She wasn’t even jealous, but then she could count on one hand the times Endelle had demonstrated anything close to something as impractical as sentiment.