Haven (18 page)

“Okay, you work through these.” He showed her how to move
through the Oras to pick up Kita in other places. “If I remember correctly,
Xavier said some of them were corrupted, so you won’t be able to see
everything.”

She frowned. “Corrupted. How is that possible?”

“Takes some dark magic. X is still working on that.”

“So these Oras aren’t infallible?”

“For every spell there is a counter spell. It’s all about
balance.  Nothing is infallible.”

He went through other spells with her, showing her how to
maneuver and angle the images and how to check different places. Once he saw
she’d picked it up, he straightened.

“I’ll go grab drinks and snacks. There are a ton of these to go
through. Will you be okay here alone?”

Engrossed, she nodded absently and waved him away.

“YO, LEO.”

Leo turned around careful not to jostle the tray of food and
drinks. Fallon stood in the middle of the hall, his face grim.

“We were looking for you.”

“Why, what’s up?” He walked over to Fallon.

“I heard you were slapping people around in the surveillance
room.” Fallon grabbed a sandwich off his tray and took a bite.

Leo growled. “Not people, person. One jackass who had given out
my room information, code included.”

Fallon stopped eating and frowned. “I’ll take care of it.”

He shrugged. As far as he was concerned, he’d handled it. He
doubted the male would be likely to give out any other person’s info. But
Fallon would do what he saw fit. He didn’t allow for mistakes.

“Is that why you hunted me down?”

Fallon finished off his sandwich as they rounded the corner to
Xavier’s office. “No, Rugaba is here to see you.”

Leo stopped and his stomach lurched. Looking around, he thrust
the tray he was holding at the first person to walk by. Running a hand down his
chest, he quickly changed into his uniform and took a deep breath. “Why didn’t
you say that first?”

Fallon shrugged, and opened the door, motioning for him to go in
first.  He walked into the office with his head high, hoping no trace of his
nervousness showed. Rugaba in all his power was there. Six feet six in his
human form, very dark skin with dreadlocks that reached his back, the god was
very intimidating.

Leo bowed low. “Thank you, my lord, for seeing me.”

Rugaba nodded. “I know the purpose behind your request to see
me. You know I created the Eminzu to deal with these type of issues, right? And
I’m sure you’re aware of their very exacting rules when it comes to mated
pairs.”

His heart sank. “I’m aware, and I apologize for the
inconvenience, my lord. I simply wanted a chance to plead my case.” He searched
his mind for words to use that would convince the god.

“You’ve served in your post for some decades, yes?”

Leo kept his eyes lowered. “I have served you and wish to
continue to do so. It’s all I’ve ever wanted to do.”

Rugaba sighed. “Your position is a highly dangerous one, Leonalph.”

“I understand the risk and will be extra vigilant.” He dared not
hope, but couldn’t quite corral his optimism.

“My brother speaks highly of you, and does not wish to lose you
as a messenger.”

Surprise raised his eyes to stare at the god. Azra spoke highly
of him? Rugaba shrugged. Leo lowered his eyes unable to hold the god’s gaze.

“You do your job efficiently, and it has not gone unnoticed.” He
opened his mouth to say something else when the door burst open.

“Oh my God, Leo, I found something! I really didn’t think I
would, I mean there are a lot…” Liliana trailed off when she noticed who was in
the room.

She dropped into a deep curtsy. “Apologies, my lord.”

***

Rugaba sighed. “Rise, child.”

She hastily straightened and stood behind Leo. He really didn’t
have time for this. He needed to find out who the other Kokoro souls were and
give their names to Xavier for protection. Rugaba dismissed her and leveled his
stare at the warrior, trying to hold on to his indifference. He wasn’t supposed
to show preference for any one warrior, but this family was dear to him. They
had served him with no questions or complaints for centuries, each father
passing the leadership of the Amanda to the oldest. He agreed to this meeting
simply because the Amanda could not afford to lose Leo. He was the best hunter
they had.  He knew the warrior wanted him to override the Eminzu’s edict and
allow him to keep his position.

Death’s messenger was an apt description for Leo. He delivered
Demis to Azreal and their death consistently and efficiently. Finding Demis
sentenced to death was no easy task, yet Leo did it better than any warrior in
the centuries prior to him. He regularly traveled the portals to hell and came
back, a feat in and of itself. His brother was adamant in Leo keeping his job.
He would trust Azra to strengthen the wards on his side of the portal and keep
the warrior safe. In this case he would override the Eminzu and allow Leo to
keep his position.

He started to tell Leo that when the female’s aura reached out
to him.

Rugaba walked to her and reached passed Leo laying a hand on her
shoulder. The contact brought her past, her future and her every thought into
his head. He hissed. The simple touch burned, but her fate was now an opened
book to him. Its pages littered with the peril she would face and had recently
faced. She was a Kokoro soul. While he knew the Mina were almost always right,
he was still shocked that this small female housed one of the most important
souls on Earth. For a moment he stared, unable to fathom the pain that awaited
her if some of the visions he saw came to life. She would need a strong
protector, that much was clear.

He turned to Leo. “This is your mate.” Not a question, he saw
the strong bond of their souls. 

“Yes.” Leo looked from Rugaba back to Liliana.

“Your request is denied.” No way would he allow Leonalph to
traipse the world for his job, when his mate was more important than any Demi
sentenced to death.

He lowered his head. “Yes, my lord.”

Leo’s pain shot through him along with the lancing heat from his
mate. It was one of the side effects of him touching her. They would be tied to
him for eternity, their every emotion and thought a burden to him. But he
wanted to keep tabs on the Kokoro soul, and would readily bear the burden.

“You will be needed to protect your mate, Leo. For that reason
only I deny your request.” He couldn’t allow him to hunt. It was way too
dangerous. He would talk to Azra. His brother could keep him as a messenger,
provided he did as he said and strengthened his wards over Leo. It would be the
only way to mitigate some of the danger of Leo traveling through the portals.

Leo’s pain forced him from his thoughts. He sighed, he needed to
explain his reasoning. He turned to Xavier.

“I wanted to talk to you anyway. For a while now, there have
been blank spots covering Adro, voids we call them. It keeps us on Alafia from
being able to monitor Earth’s events. Only one being leaves those voids.”

“Offeeree.” Fallon said.

Rugaba nodded. “As I’m sure your father told you, to lock him
away, some of the Demi had to endow their power upon three people.”

“You’re talking about the Kokoro souls?” Xavier sat forward in
his chair. 

“What are the Kokoro souls?” The female’s eyes were wide with
fear.

“The souls of the three people who bound and hid away Ofeeree.”
Leo told her.

Rugaba had an idea which soul she housed, but kept it to
himself. Three people were used in the binding spell and their souls alone held
that knowledge. One soul held knowledge of the location where Ofeeree was
bound, and he had a suspicion that this was the soul she had. He’d found a
woman who had the book of divinity. So he suspected she held the second soul,
the one able to read and decipher the spell used to bind Ofeeree. It was the
third soul he worried after the most. That person would be most important, as
they would be the only person able to access the realm in which Ofeerree was
hidden. Only with that person would the rest be able to have even the smallest
chance at freeing the evil.

“You have one of the souls.”

“Me?” She backed away from Leo.

“Each soul is imprinted with the knowledge of how Ofeeree was
bound.” Rugaba told her.

“And in turn, would have the knowledge of how to free him.”
Fallon said grimly.

“I don’t know anything about Ofeeree.” She hugged her arms
around her waist.

Rugaba grimaced. “You don’t know now. But there is a ceremony, a
very painful spell used to activate and unlock the knowledge imprinted on your
soul.”

“My God.” She whispered.

He nodded. “It’s exactly why I want Leonalph to protect you.
With the voids increasing, and the Kokoro souls roaming Adro freely, it’s in
our best interest to keep you as well as the other souls, when found,
protected.” He turned and faced Xavier. “I’ve found one other who houses a
Kokoro soul and will need guards posted on her at all times.”

“The bookshop owner?” Fallon asked.

Rugaba nodded, Fallon already had the female’s name and
information, so he didn’t have to go over that with him.

“Done.” Fallon promised.

He faced Leo. “Azra has asked that you retain your position as
messenger, and I agree, you would be hard to replace. I will do battle with the
Eminzu for you but, only on the condition you no longer hunt.”

Pride straightened Leo’s shoulders, his relief trickling through
Rugaba’s subconscious.

“Train someone to take your place. Hopefully they will be as
good as you were. One other thing, when you travel, you’re to have someone
there when you cross back.”

Leo sucked in a sharp breath and glanced at Xavier. He nodded
reluctantly. Satisfied he wasn’t leaving chaos, he nodded to the room and took
his leave.

***

Leo stood staring at the spot Rugaba disappeared from. He was
stunned. Though stunned seemed too mild a word. His wife was a Kokoro. If he
thought she’d been in danger before…

He took a shuddering breath.

There were those who would kill her to get the secret her soul
was harboring and there were those who would kill her to keep it from
happening. He rubbed a hand across his face.

“What did he mean have someone there when you crossed back?”
Xavier’s sharp tone broke through his thoughts.

Leo shrugged. “I cross to Azreal in the same place I find my
mark. Sometime it’s not the safest place. But I’ve set up a few areas as my
safety nets.”

Xavier eyed him, knowing he wasn’t telling the complete truth.
Luckily Liliana slumped against the door, her face was pale. It distracted his
brother from his line of questioning.

“What’s wrong?” Leo gathered her into his arms, checking her
over.

She shook her head. “Nothing. I mean, that was Rugaba, you know.
God of the sun, of fate. I can’t believe I just walked in on him. On you guys.”

Fallon snickered.

“And why did you bust into my office without knocking.” Xavier
asked. 

“Oh.” She pushed away from Leo, blushing. “I came up on the
corrupted Oras Leo told me about and I had an idea.”

“What kind of idea?” Fallon sat in the chair across from
Xavier’s desk and crossed his ankle over his knee.

“Well, I know a shaman who may be able to help with the
corrupted magic of the Oras. I want to go see him.”

“Absolutely not.” Xavier quickly denied her.

“Why not?” Liliana asked, a stubborn gleam in her eye.

“Did you not just hear what Rugaba said about who you are? No.
End of story.”

She looked at Leo and he shook his head. He knew what Xavier’s
tone of voice meant, and it was nothing good for his mate.

“I need to go see this shaman.”

Leo frowned. “Who is the shaman?”

“Sergio, he helped me with my papers, and his fake pass got me
into Haven. He’s pretty powerful and could possibly help fix the corrupted
Oras.”

“Is that right?” Xavier’s tone should’ve been a warning to
Liliana, but she ignored it and kept up her plea.

Leo tuned out their argument. The huge weight of what she was
hit him again. He was already protective of her, with this new information…He
sighed. It would impossible not to smother her. Liliana was already touchy
about the guards he’d had on her in Legba. How in the hell would he be able to
keep her safe if she insisted on traipsing across Atlanta into who knows what
kind of danger? He shook himself from his thought as everyone turned to look at
him.

He shrugged, not having kept track of the conversation. He had
no idea what they’d asked so he gave a safe answer. “Let me think about it.”

She growled.

“Gods almighty, it’s like I’m talking to walls. None of you
jackasses listen to me. What use is being head of the Amanda?” Xavier grumbled.

She tapped her feet and stewed for a few moments. He raised his
eyebrow. No way would she rush him on the decision. No matter the nasty looks
she sent at him. He needed to find a way they could both live with to keep her
safe and until he did, she was going nowhere.

She shook her head. “There was another reason I came here. I
can’t access some of the Oras from around the time Kita was here.”

“Outside of the corrupted ones?” Fallon asked.

“Right, they aren’t corrupted. It gives me some kind of
clearance warning.”

Xavier frowned and pull up the Oras. “You used Leo’s codes
right?”

Leo moved closer to his brother’s desk. “Yeah, I put them in
myself.”

“Show me.” Xavier ordered Liliana.

She moved behind his desk and went through the screens as Leo
showed her. Then she moved through them in the same way she had earlier looking
for the clearance warning. After a few minutes of her moving around the screens
a small buzzer sounded.

“See.” She waved her hand in front of the message.

Xavier’s eyebrows bunched in confusion. He gently pushed her
aside and moved through three locking spells. “What the…” He moved through four
others, murmuring to himself before finally, an image flickered to life.

Fallon leaned over Xavier’s desk. “What happened?”

His brother frowned over the image, pulling up and discarding
spell screens. “Someone from the Eminzu locked the Oras around the time frame
Kita disappeared. Remember how we couldn’t find anything?”

His hands swept through the air as he pushed around images, and
worked through spells. Holograms and images of Kita walking through the front
door of Haven flickered and passed. Finally he settled on one image and the
four of them leaned in to watch.