Gates of Rapture (The Guardians of Ascension)

by Caris Roane

  “I … I thought I did,” Stannett said, wincing. Greaves had used resonance and he meant for it to hurt. “You didn’t tell me to start amassing information. You told me to work the skills of your Seers.”

  “Then let me be very clear right now. I need an abundance of prophetic material as close to pure vision as you can achieve.” Greaves swept a hand over both sets of women. “Go back in and find me some useful information for tonight. And I do mean tonight.”

  Stannett didn’t hesitate. He stretched back out and began the process. Greaves folded back up to the platform. He could feel Stannett’s power moving through the women. He wasn’t surprised when many of them cried out as if in pain.

  Good.

  He waited for a moment, then when the Seers relaxed, he drove his mental power straight at Stannett, pierced his mind, and found himself in what looked like great chaos. A battle of some sort. Greaves recognized the Seattle hidden colony and the warrior games setup. He watched his death vampires flowing over the citizens and striking them down.

  Peace moved through Greaves because he could feel that this was pure vision. If his enemy did not interfere, if Marguerite did not catch wind of the prophecy, then the Seattle Colony would be reduced to rubble. He sought for the timing of the event and knew that he had at least two hours to prepare. But he wanted to see the outcome. He was delighted when he saw his death vampires cheering and drinking people to death, chasing their victims into the forest.

  When the stream ended, Greaves’s heart beat strong in his chest. He would strike a blow against the opposition that would leave Endelle reeling. Right now it looked like Marguerite had failed to intervene by blocking Stannett, or maybe Stannett and the six Seers were just too damn powerful.

  Either way, he rejoiced.

  He was about to fold when he looked down and realized Stannett was trying to rouse the Seer to his left. The woman was dead.

  Stannett looked up at him. “When the power begins to flow, they can’t take it without rest, just as I said.”

  “But you have no problem with that level of power?”

  Stannett laughed. “Of course not. Did you think I would?”

  “No. You have many failings, my friend, but the inability to handle a power surge is not one of them.” He glanced at the remaining women. “Are any of the rest dead?”

  “Yes.” Stannett looked from one to the next. “Three altogether.”

  “Pity.” He rocked on his heels slightly. “Get rid of these, harness more, and forge a path through the future streams. And lest you mistake me again, I need as much information as you can gather, despite how hard Marguerite blocks you.”

  “Understood,” Stannett responded.

  * * *

  That evening, after dinner at the palace, Leto returned with Grace to the bedroom of his cabin. He was still reeling from the hundred-plus conversations he’d had with the Division Leaders earlier in the day. His initial effort had been to test the waters as subtly as possible. To take anything further, to ask for commitments, was out of the question until he had a plan in place. His largest concern, about executing a mass fold, was just as Grace had suggested. He had no idea how he was going to physically move even one division, not to mention several, without Greaves finding out and stopping him.

  He had finished his shower and had a towel around his waist. With another towel, he was drying his hair. Grace was sitting cross-legged on the side of the bed, staring at the wall. She was still in her yoga pants and shirt.

  “What’s going on?” he asked.

  “I’m still stunned by that experience of possessing Fiona and battling Jean-Pierre with a sword. And when I allowed the triad’s power to really infuse my movements, then I became a blur of speed.”

  “Were you ever afraid you would wound Jean-Pierre?”

  “No, never. You can’t imagine the amount of control the triad has. It was amazing. I’m still in shock.” She looked around.

  “Now what’s wrong?”

  She shook her head. “I don’t know if it’s just a residual effect from all the practice today, but my obsidian power is vibrating. I keep trying to intuit the problem, but I’m getting nothing. I just have this feeling…”

  He moved to stand in front of her. “What can I do?”

  She looked up and put her hand on his hip. “That’s exactly what I needed to hear. Thank you. The funny thing is, I’m not sure. I feel like I’m supposed to do something, but I don’t know what. I guess I’m a little wound up.”

  “Why don’t you try contacting either Fiona or Marguerite?”

  “I’ve been thinking about it, but it was such a long day for everyone.”

  “I think you should anyway.”

  She nodded, then closed her eyes. Her shoulders rose and fell, and she grew very still. He didn’t move, either. He didn’t want to disrupt the communication.

  Finally, she seemed to relax and opened her eyes. “It was so easy to reach Marguerite. I just thought her name, and suddenly she was there. I wish you could have heard her. She was practically screaming at me, ‘What’s wrong, what’s wrong?’” Grace laughed.

  “What did you tell her?”

  “Actually, I asked her to hop in the future streams because I was feeling uneasy. She said that was good enough for her and that she’d get back to me.”

  “Good, that’s good.”

  Grace rose to her feet. “It’s probably nothing. I’ll go take my shower, but don’t go far.” She leaned up on her tiptoes and kissed him.

  “I’ll be right here.” His chest felt warm and very full. He could see by the light in her eye that she had something cozy on her mind. He was definitely game.

  He almost suggested he join her in the shower, but he had a few things to check out first. He looked around the room. Then he felt it, too. Something didn’t feel right. He wondered if Casimir was around causing some sort of mischief.

  He heard the shower running. Grace started humming, and the sound gripped his heart in the nicest way. He could feel the water on her skin, her hands soaping up, then rubbing over her shoulders, her arms, her breasts …

  Okay, he had to shut that down because he knew if he didn’t, he’d be heading back to the bathroom. He ordered his mind and found that with a little effort, he could block some of her physical sensations. He really did need to check in with the colony’s Militia Warrior HQ to see how things were going.

  But as he folded his phone into his hand, his sense of uneasiness increased, though he couldn’t say why. His cabin was a significant distance from the main portion of the village.

  He turned the lamps off in the bedroom so that the only light in the room was the glow from the bathroom.

  Grace was suddenly in his mind. Marguerite said the Seattle Colony will be under attack.

  When?

  Anytime.

  I’ll let HQ know.

  He moved to the large window to the left of the bed and pushed back the curtain to look outside. No movement except the wind in the fir trees. He looked down at his phone. It was only eight in the evening. He thumbed, then located the colony’s HQ phone and tapped the screen.

  The phone rang.

  The hidden colony HQ had a small working grid that constantly checked the perimeter throughout the mountainous terrain. A second grid checked the space beneath Diallo’s dome of moss-based mist.

  There was no answer.

  There was no answer.

  He scrolled for Thorne’s number. The phone rang. Thorne picked up. “Marguerite just told me. I’m letting Seriffe know. We’ll mobilize. Get up here to Second as soon as you can, and make sure Grace is safe.”

  “Shit. You must be right, and I think it’s already started. I couldn’t reach HQ.”

  “Got it.”

  When he tossed his phone on the bed, he realized that Grace had shut the water off and she no longer hummed.

  Everything felt quiet.

  Too quiet.

  He turned to face the bathroom.


  A shimmering next to Leto caused him to bring his sword into his hand.

  Casimir.

  “Thank the Creator. We’re under attack.”

  “I’m here,” Casimir said.

  Leto had blocked Grace’s sensations so he quickly reestablished his breh-connection. Then he knew. He could now feel the cold line of tiles that pressed against both sides of her back as well as her bottom, which meant she had backed up into the corner of the shower.

  Leto. Her voice was suddenly in his mind. Bring your sword, she added. We have company.

  To Casimir, he sent, Death vamp in the bathroom.

  I’ve got your back. Casimir held his hands wide, and Leto could feel the power start to build.

  Leto moved with blinding speed to the bathroom. Yet at the exact same moment, he felt three more large bodies fold into the bedroom, into the space he had just vacated.

  He didn’t wait to see what happened, but he could hear the vibrations of the hand-blast. Bodies fell to the floor.

  He found Grace pressed up against the tile, staring into the face of a warrior-sized death vampire.

  Leto used the tip of his sword and pricked the death vampire right on the ass.

  The pretty-boy turned around. “What the fuck,” he muttered, perhaps thinking one of his comrades was giving him a hard time.

  Surprise.

  Dropping into a fighting stance, Leto kept his gaze pinned on the death vamp. At the same time, he sent, Grace, fold to the basement. Then get dressed. I’ll meet you there in about three seconds.

  She vanished. A moment later he felt the cold of the basement touch her wet skin and hair.

  He raised his sword, which drew the death vamp’s arm up to meet steel with steel. But Leto had been a warrior a few thousand years longer than this sonofabitch. Folding his dagger into his left hand, he let it fly and caught the bastard straight through the neck.

  At the same moment, he folded down to the basement. Grace wore jeans and a long green sweater that ended mid-thigh. She had on leather loafers. Good.

  With a wave of his hand, he changed into clean flight battle gear.

  To Casimir, he sent, I’m taking Grace to Diallo’s house, deep into the courtyard garden. Meet us there.

  Done, Casimir returned.

  He took Grace’s arm. “We’re going to fold to Diallo’s house, to the garden. I can’t raise the colony’s HQ on my phone. Casimir will join us there. I’ll block my trace so that we won’t be followed by any other death vampires who arrive here after we’re gone. Okay?”

  She nodded.

  Leto folded her in a quick flash through nether-space. He felt her feet touch down just as his did. They were where he wanted them to be, hidden by foliage. He blocked his trace. However, Diallo’s central courtyard was crawling with even more death vampires.

  Holy shit, while he and Grace had been battling in his cabin, the colony had been attacked by death vampires. Why the fuck hadn’t the alarms sounded?

  Crouch, he sent.

  She was quick and ducked.

  Leto, what happened here?

  He looked up at the dome of mist. It’s simple. Greaves mapped and breached the colony.

  The top had been burned away, just like at Nazca.

  Another couple of seconds passed, and Casimir folded next to Grace. She looked up at him and nodded. There was nothing of the vampire Leto had known all those months ago. Casimir had been absurd, always taunting with sexual innuendo, always easy in his smiles. Now he was serious, even somber.

  Casimir looked at Grace, but without flirtation. Right now, he even looked a little confused. Leto saw nothing to challenge in his demeanor toward Grace. He could only imagine what the redemption pools had been like to have taken the casual smirk from his face.

  * * *

  A number of sensations struck Grace all at once: Casimir’s odd presence beside her, the humidity of the garden, the terrible number of death vampires milling about and ready to fight. She could feel Leto crouching without even looking at him because of the breh-hedden. Earlier, while she was waiting for Leto in the basement, she had felt him throw his dagger at the death vampire. Right now, when he pivoted on his heels to scan every inch of the garden, she could feel his battle sandals grinding against the hard pavers.

  She peered through the shrubbery and started counting the number of death vampires, all restless, all moving as though they were hunting, even if their current job was to guard the courtyard. There had to be at least fifteen in the relatively small space. None of them spoke.

  The war again.

  She looked up. Remnants of the mist remained but mostly it was just gone, destroyed. In the distance, she could hear screams coming from the lane beyond Diallo’s house as well as the sound of a rhythmic drumbeat. Why was there the sound of a drum?

  Creator help them.

  To Leto, she sent, What do we do?

  I’m not sure, he responded. I talked to Thorne. He said he was contacting Seriffe and would mobilize the Militia Warrior contingent at Apache Two. But I have a bad feeling about Diallo and Mei-Amadi.

  When she shivered, he slid his arm around her waist. Sorry, he sent. But I think this is about to get worse.

  It’s okay. I’ll manage. She thought for a moment. Do you think they have Diallo and his wife?

  That’s what I think. Greaves would have ordered them to be either apprehended or killed.

  Do you want me to look for them? She met his gaze. His blue eyes glittered in the garden shadows.

  How will you look for them? Wait, I can feel your obsidian power rising, up through your legs.

  She nodded. Yes, that’s it exactly. I can do what I did for you in Moscow Two and when I searched out Nazca One. I can use the apparition part of this power to travel the house.

  Won’t you be seen?

  She shook her head. Don’t you remember? Even Greaves couldn’t see me. Just you and … Casimir.

  She felt him tense then relax. She could feel him swallow, which was a strange experience all in itself.

  He nodded, but turned to stare once more through the leaves. Do it.

  She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. Steady me while I do this thing.

  You got it. He tightened his arm around her. I’ll let Thorne know what’s going on.

  Grace let her obsidian power flow. Because her blue flame was now fully opened, the rush of energy was like a flood.

  She glanced up at Casimir and telepathically told him what was going on.

  Be careful, he sent. He reached for her, glanced at Leto, then withdrew his hand.

  Grace turned toward the house. She thought of Mei-Amadi, and her apparition-self moved swiftly through the shrubs and even past the death vampires.

  She sped into the hall. To the left was the kitchen and dining room and another major hall leading to the bedrooms.

  Shifting to face forward, she saw that the largest gathering of death vampires was in the front living room where she had sat with Leto all those months ago. They were making a lot of noise, even cheering. She found the pretty-boys grouped around a single death vampire on the floor. He was engaged in copulation and was drinking a woman to death.

  Oh, God. Mei-Amadi.

  She froze for a moment as visceral memories pummeled her. She knew exactly what the woman was experiencing, the terror, the pain, and the rage combined. She felt ill.

  Grace, are you all right? Leto sent. You’re trembling in my arms.

  His voice eased her. Yes, she responded. She drew close and saw that the lovely African-Asian woman was white-faced, near death. They have Diallo’s wife. But she knew what to do. She put her apparition-hand on the woman’s forehead.

  Grace simply took her with her so that Mei-Amadi vanished from beneath the death vamp. With a rush of energy, she headed back to Leto. At the same time she gave him a brisk mental warning of what she had done.

  When she arrived and Mei-Amadi materialized beside her, she collapsed on Grace. She was naked, bruised, and
bloody. She was also weeping. Her sounds would bring the death vamps.

  We’ve got to get her out of here, Grace sent to Leto.

  He drew Mei-Amadi into his arms and sent, We’re folding to the Militia Warrior HQ in Apache Junction Two. The landing platforms. He glanced past her, and she could tell that he was sending Casimir a similar message.

  Take her, Grace sent. I’ll follow.

  As he dematerialized, he was shouting into her head. Grace, come with us now. This is too dangerous.

  She shifted to meet Casimir’s gaze. He frowned heavily. You need to go with him, don’t you?

  He nodded, but he looked pained. I hate to leave you here, but I’m Leto’s guardian. Will you be safe?

  Yes. But I must find Diallo. She noticed movement to her right and saw that a couple of death vampires were headed in her direction. She couldn’t stay in the garden.

  She considered all her options and looked up. I’m going to the roof. Come with me.

  She folded to the rooftop and blocked her trace. She’d half expected to meet up with a couple of death vamps here on top of the house, but none was present. She lay down on the shingle roof, making herself almost invisible since the sky was dark overhead.

  Casimir materialized next to her. What are you doing?

  I’m going to remain prone while I do my split-self. Don’t worry. I feel very secure here. Go to Leto. I can feel your need to guard him.

  He put a hand on her shoulder, then vanished.

  Once more she let her obsidian power flow. She moved in apparition-form and began searching through the house room by room. A great deal of angry shouting was going on in the living room. She pressed on.

  She found Diallo in the middle of his large master bedroom, beaten around his head and face, his arms cut up. A death vampire was behind him, his fangs in deep and drinking him down at his neck. Another was in front, and had attacked him in the groin, sucking from the vein. There were other fang-marks as well. Diallo’s beautiful brown skin had actually paled.

  Grace hurried toward him and he met her gaze. Diallo had so much power that he could see her when even Greaves couldn’t. She put her hand on his forehead, and he simply vanished with her as she flew back to the roof and reentered her physical self. He collapsed facedown on the roof next to her.