Tribes of Man: The Beginning [Tribes of Man] (Siren Publishing Classic) (27 page)

Eric and Gideon arrived outside Adder’s office with Bryce in tow. Gideon’s eyes were red and his hands glowed. They walked right past the astonished secretary and pulled on the door. It didn’t budge.

“You can’t go in there,” the secretary shouted.

Gideon turned his scarlet eyes on her and said, “If you want to make it out of this, don’t get in the way.”

She let out a little squeak and ran down the hallway they just came from.

“She’s going to get help,” Eric said.

“Let them come.”

Fire began to swirl at Gideon’s fingertips.

“Before you light the building on fire, let me try to get it open,” Eric said as he positioned himself in front of the door. He was making patterns in the air and muttering to himself. He could feel Gideon getting more impatient and hoped he wouldn’t be accidentally lit on fire. He wasn’t sure how good Gideon’s control of the Waterfire was.

Finally the door swung open.

* * * *

Raina couldn’t believe it. She was just standing there, looking at a closed door and it opened. Eric was just on the other side of it with Gideon standing just behind him. She’d never seen Gideon look like that. He looked as though the devil himself had come calling.

Gideon!
She shouted.

He didn’t hear her.

* * * *

Gideon looked beyond Eric into Adder’s office. It looked as though there was a sheer panel of fabric in front of the door. It shimmered like liquid silk.

“Get out of the way.”

Eric jumped back just in time. Gideon flung his hands toward the door. A stream of fire shot out and hit the panel. It didn’t budge. “Are we sure she’s in there?”

“I’m sure.”

“You need magic to get through that,” Kristano said as Gideon shot another stream at the opening. Gideon looked at him and saw him rosy cheeked and ready to go. He pulled his hands back.

“What are you waiting for?”

* * * *

“If you’re expecting them to be able to get through the barrier, don’t hold your breath,” Adder said, leaning back in his chair and crossing his feet on the desk.

“Without having found Earth, they don’t have enough power.”

Raina watched the two men outside the room. Kristano held his hands, palms toward the barrier. It didn’t move. A moment later, Eric began making patterns with his hands. The wall began to expand and withdraw.

As though it was breathing.

Adder’s feet thumped onto the floor, and he threw his own hands up. Sweat began to bead on his forehead.

* * * *

“It’s not working,” Kristano said through gritted teeth. He felt like he was holding up a boulder. “We don’t have enough power.”

“Who’s more powerful here, you or me?” Eric asked.

“Who the hell cares,” Gideon nearly yelled. “It’s not a pissing contest.”

“Right now, I am, but soon you will be. My power comes from blood. It’s finite. Yours is a birthright. It is infinite. Besides that, now that all the keepers have been found, your power feeds each other.” Kristano felt the power on the other side increasing. “This barrier has the power of the guardian
and
he’s of the Air tribe. I can’t beat that.”

“Maybe not, but if you flow your power through me, maybe I can,” Eric said.

“It could destroy you.”

“All we have to do is make a hole, and then Gideon can shoot through it. We have to do this.”

The three of them stood shoulder to shoulder. “Are you sure?” Gideon asked. “As long as we have her body safe, we can come back for her soul if we have to.”

Eric knew what a concession that was, even more so because he could see the Waterfire still raging in Gideon’s red eyes.

“We can do this. One final push together, when he pushes back, let go. If he doesn’t punch his own hole through it, then on the count of three we’ll give it everything we have.”

The two men surged their power forward and felt the immediate push back. They stopped abruptly and watched Adder stagger. He looked cocky.

“Yeah, go ahead and celebrate, you cocksucker,” Gideon said. “On the count of three, one...two...” When he said three, Kristano laid his hands on Eric while Eric threw everything he had at the barrier. Immediately a hole opened up.

It was exactly what Gideon was looking for. He threw up his hands and shot a stream of blue flame through the opening and right at Adder.

Adder pitched a high scream of pain, and the barrier dropped.

Raina saw her prison open.
Gideon!
she shouted.

“Raina! Run.” It was all he said, then hell broke loose.

Raina didn’t wait to see. She ran down the hallway. When she got clear of the office area, she concentrated hard on the hospital. When she opened her eyes, she was looking at her body lying on the bed.

She breathed long, deep breaths, trying to imagine the feeling of air being pulled into and out of her lungs. She closed her eyes and pictured herself waking up. A moment later, she felt pain radiating down her shoulder.

When she opened her eyes again, everything was dark.

“You’re back with us, young lady. We were worried that you’d be lost in the ether for awhile.” A low gentle voice spoke softly by her ear. Raina closed her eyes in relief.

“All the way back now. No going back to sleep.”

“I wasn’t sleeping.” Raina’s voice sounded rusty.

“I want to call Gideon and let him know you’re awake, but I don’t want to distract him. He’s getting his brother out.” Asia’s strong soft hand rubbed her forearm.

“He knows,” Kristano’s voice chimed in.

“Did you win?” Raina asked.

“The fire caught on, and the warehouse went up. They left before the fire department could show up. The last thing Gideon needs is to be caught at the site of another fire.” Kristano touched her uninjured arm. Raina hadn’t fully realized the lack of tactile sensation when she was separated from her body. His heavy hand on her shoulder felt good.

It was also strange for Raina to once again be without her sight, and her body felt heavy and painful. “Did everyone make it out all right?”

“Gideon, Eric, and Bryce made it out. They had to carry Eric. I’ve never seen a more powerful wizard. I thank God he’s a good guy. There were a few casualties, however. Apparently Adder had ‘programmed’ his people to save him with no regard to their safety. A few of his men ran willingly into the conflagration.”

“I’m sorry innocent people died. At least we’re free of Adder,” Asia said.

“Get me some water,” Raina demanded, reaching her hand out into the air.

Asia tried to hold the straw up to her mouth so she could sip.

“No,” she said and grabbed the cup. She pushed the straw to the side and closed her eyes. “Show me Adder, show me Adder.”

When she opened her eyes she could see in the water. Adder’s body was lying on a gurney. He looked very, very dead. Raina smiled. “I think we got him.”

In a wink, the vision ended.

“She just had a vision? Now?” Asia asked, excited. “She can just request them.”

“She never could before. I think her powers have grown,” Kristano said. He sat on the edge of the mattress. “Isn’t that right?”

“I just woke up and knew how to do it,” Raina said, willing herself to see Adder again. When nothing happened, she sighed. “Too bad it’s not reliable.”

“It will take practice to get it right.” Kristano took the cup from her.

For the first time in thousands of years, Kristano felt hope.

* * * *

Gideon had known the moment Raina woke up. He could feel her presence back in his mind. Gideon was driving through town, rushing to get Eric back to Raina’s house. He wanted to go see Raina, but he knew he had to get Eric settled first.

It’s OK. I’ll still be here. Take care of Eric
. Raina, always aware of what Gideon was feeling, comforted him.

I love you.
He wanted to say it again and again.

I love you back.

When they parked in Raina’s driveway, Gideon went around the car to help Eric up the driveway. Bryce was there to support Eric’s other side.

Surprisingly, Bryce had said nothing since they ran out of the warehouse. The sight of the men running into the fire had startled him mute.

“‘S OK,” Eric said, trying to force his body to help. “I can do it.”

By the time they got to the front door, Gideon was limping because of the strain on his injured leg. “I don’t think so, buddy.”

Gideon used his key to open the door. He turned and reset the alarm. Looking shamefaced, he said, “I think we’re going to have to put you on the couch, Eric.” He rubbed his leg. “I can’t help get you up the stairs.”

“I’ll do it,” Bryce said. He was still under Eric’s arm, supporting him.

“Thirsty,” Eric said, trying to walk toward the kitchen.

“No, I’ll get it,” Gideon said. He glanced back to see Bryce almost carrying Eric upstairs.

In the kitchen, Gideon took an extra minute to massage his screaming leg muscle. He hadn’t felt the pain when he was fighting, but the adrenaline had worn off, and he was tired. Actually, he didn’t have any pain at all until he got out of the car in front of the house. He briefly wondered if his power blocked the pain when he needed it to.

Gideon took three bottles of water out of the fridge, and slugged one down. He took the other two and pulled himself carefully up the stairs. He went into the guest room and found Eric snoring on the bed. His shoes were off, and he was on the floor by the bed, and he was covered in a quilt.

Bryce was nowhere to be seen.

Gideon put the bottle of water on the nightstand and turned out the light. He left the door to the lit hallway open so that there would be enough light in the room for Eric to see when he awoke.

He had no idea where Bryce went. He didn’t see him leave, so there were only so many places he could be. Seeing the door to the upstairs bathroom closed, Gideon headed toward the bedroom to change his sooty shirt. Ironically, it was only the sleeves of his shirt that were tarnished. The rest of him was clean. The other guys didn’t even get dirty. He figured it must have been because the fire was coming from his hands. He was surprised the sleeve didn’t catch on fire.

“That’s magical fire for ya,” he said to himself as he stripped his shirt off and pulled another from the closet. He was in the act of putting the shirt on when he turned and saw Bryce standing in the doorway.

Gideon jerked in surprise then put his hand over his heart. “Give me a heart attack, why don’t ya?”

Bryce looked at him quietly for a minute then he gestured to the closet. “Move all the way in yet?”

Gideon stiffened. He had forgotten that Bryce was angry.

“I still have my place. I’m guessing that will change since we have a baby coming.” He figured he’d lance the wound instead of dancing around the facts. He wanted his brother back without an issue festering between them.

“How do you feel about that? Becoming a dad and all. And how is that possible at all, I thought you had the mumps when you were fifteen?” Bryce’s voice was casual, nearly nonchalant.

“I’m not sure how it’s possible. Truthfully, I’m still digesting it. I’m sure it was a surprise for her, too. She didn’t even know she could become pregnant after the attack.”

It was a surprise
, she interjected.
A happy one.

Gideon knew Raina could sense how he was feeling and was trying to make him feel better. He could all but feel her arms around him.

“So how did it happen?”

“The old-fashioned way, I guess. Maybe with a little bit of magic thrown in.” Gideon realized that he was standing there like an idiot with his shirt in his hand and pulled it over his head.

“I hadn’t realized your scars were still so bad,” Bryce pointed to Gideon’s chest. “Do they hurt?”

“No, these are OK. My leg hurts if I use it too much.” Gideon was embarrassed that he had forgotten that his scars were on display. No one had ever really seen them. Even Raina had only seen them in reflection.

“Kind of ironic, isn’t it? You can make fire and not be burned. It must be nice mastering the thing that hurt you the most.” Bryce paused. When there was no reply, he continued, “Is that all you can do?”

Gideon stood and held his hand out. He concentrated on a sword. It appeared in his hand.

Bryce took a stumbling step back, his composure shaken for the first time. “You can make things appear out of thin air. Nifty trick.”

“Actually, the only think I can conjure is a sword.” Gideon began swinging the sword with an eye-popping skill. “If we fulfill the prophecy, you’ll be able to do this, too.”

“I will?” Sounding excited, Bryce unthinkingly stepped further into the room, right into the path of the sword.

It disappeared right before it struck him.

Bryce took a very long breath. “A very nifty trick.”

“What is the prophecy?” Bryce asked.

“Let’s go downstairs, and I’ll tell you all about it. Then I want to go see Raina.”

Gideon brushed past Bryce and rounded the corner on the staircase. Before he could start down, Bryce caught his shirt.

“I’m happy for you about the baby, Gideon. You’ll make a great dad. I always thought it was a shame that you wouldn’t get the chance.”

“Thanks, bro. You know I wasn’t trying to hurt you. I fell in love with Raina so hard and fast, I didn’t even know what happened.”

“That’s all right, Gideon. I would never want to get in the way of destiny.” Bryce smiled. He flexed his hand, imagining how nice it would be to conjure a sword. “So Gideon, tell me everything about this prophecy. It sounds fascinating.”

* * * *

It was six in the morning by the time Gideon got to the hospital to visit Raina.

He walked in to hear Raina whining, “Asia, I want to go home.”

“I’d like to keep you one more day at the very least. You seem strong, but I’m afraid you’ll relapse.” Asia stood by Raina’s bed, holding her hand.