Children of Sun (Oracle's Legacy)

by R. B. Holbrook

  "Why are you here?" she asked Ellis, who said nothing as he headed upstairs.

  "This here idjit," Wolfe groaned, pointing at Joc, "triggered an alarm when he barged in, an natcherly Sir Twins-a-lot came a runnin'."

  "Thank you for that colorful commentary," Joc mocked.

  "Check yourself," Ollie warned. He wasn't allowed to mess with any of her brothers. "Joc, get your boys. Get out. You've caused enough trouble." Ollie pointed to the door as the man finally got off the floor. She headed for the stairs.

  ()()()

  Ellis went to the refrigerator and pulled out a bottle of water. He needed to get a grip. Joc would not hurt Ollie, but he should not have touched her. Not like that. Ellis closed his eyes as he downed the whole bottle of water. Tossing the bottle in the trash, he walked into the white living room. Everything in the living area was white, except the yellow broom in the kitchen. Was Ollie in a white mood when she decorated this area? He rolled his head on his neck.

  He was about to kill Joc. The need was right there. Sitting on his chest. Breathe.

  Two white couches, face to face. Breathe. White walls. Breathe. White doors. Breathe. White tile in the kitchen with white marble countertops. A white kitchen table and chairs, a white refrigerator, and a stove.

  Calm washed over him. He needed a book, and she didn't have one in the building. Though he had only been in the building two other times, his sister didn't take up reading actively, as he did. He needed … something.

  "Stop pacing." Her voice carried across the room. He spun to see that she was leaning against the wall next to the staircase, watching him. Her expression was grim, which was not surprising; he had just tried to kill Joc. With his bare fists, he would have. He should not have touched her like that. Not like that. "Ellis."

  Her voice brought his mind back to the room.

  "What?" Air escaped his nostrils.

  "How are we?"

  "Fine."

  "Ellis."

  "Fine."

  "You had your knees in his chest. You are not fine."

  "Ollie, let it go."

  "And when you see him next time?"

  "Pray I don't." He closed his eyes, seeing him grab her. Seeing him grab her. Seeing him grab her, dragging her … behind closed doors. Helpless.

  The room filled with classical jazz, loud bass and saxophone bringing him back into the room. Ollie put her stereo remote on the white wooden coffee table.

  "I'm hungry," she told him. Without hesitation, Ellis went into the kitchen to see if he could find something. "Not many groceries. Geo brought us some eggs, bread, and milk. A few other things."

  "French toast?"

  "We don't have syrup."

  "Sugar?"

  "Yeah."

  "You have syrup." He went into the kitchen and pulled down the bowls, eggs, milk, and bread. He brought out the sugar and some spices in the cabinet. No vanilla, but there was cinnamon and nutmeg. That would have to do. Bringing out a pot, a pan, and some olive oil, he got busy.

  "Ellis, you know I can take care of myself, right?" she said, sitting down at the kitchen table.

  "I know."

  "Then let me."

  "I try. But I need to do this." And he needed to feed her.

  "No, you don't."

  He put the first piece of soaked toast in the heated pan. "We've gone through this before."

  "And there is nothing to atone for."

  "Yes, there is."

  "Ellis, we were--"

  "Holy hell," Wolfe's voice cut through the room, "Troy, Ellis's cookin', gitcha ass up here, 'fore Ollie eats it all," he yelled into the intercom system by the stairway.

  Ellis continued to cook until everyone was fed. He fixed himself a glass of milk and a peanut butter sandwich and watched the four of them eat. There was not much in his life more satisfying than people silently enjoying his cooking. A good book being the second. And his sister, safe, being the first.

  ()()()

  Kansas City, Missouri

  Mary could not help but glow. Marissa's contact in House Heart had given her more information and contacts than she could hold. She had underestimated House of Heart. Though Granger was Heart, she had thought he was just well connected. But now it seemed that the House itself was well connected. Now she had a picture and enough information to go on a manhunt for an agent that might be able to get her Demon's Wrath.

  According to the sources, Fire Eye was considered the best at finding anything. She had never failed a mission. Rumor had it that she knew where to find the Oracle as well. Now wouldn't that be a diamond in her plans? Instead of getting Demon's Wrath, go straight to the source. Mary had to have Fire Eye.

  The problem was that no one knew where to locate her. It seemed that Fire Eye had dropped off the face off the planet the minute this mess started. Mary didn't let that stop her. She pulled her best trackers and seekers to find Fire Eye.

  Leads were coming from everywhere. But when Granger's name came up on one occasion, dread hit her. How the hell did Granger, who wanted nothing to do with the whole incident, fit into all of it? She didn't like this one bit. If she had to go up against him in any way, then she could be on his radar, and that kind of attention was deadly. She wanted to keep her soul, so if the need did arrive, she might need to kill him as well.

  Mary thought for a moment. With Granger out of the way, she would be more free to do as she wished. Maybe Demon's Wrath would come in handy after all.

  ()()()

  8

  Silver Spring, Maryland

  Night had fallen, again. And nothing, again. Another day and no word about what was happening. No attack. Nothing. Ollie was starting to wonder if someone was keeping something from her. Troy and Wolfe watched sports all day. Ellis left, only to return with a few books.

  No one told her anything. And her cell phone was missing. Ollie finished beating the stuffing out of the punching bag and headed up to the living area. Checking the computer by the stairway, she noticed that all of her e-mail messages were being forwarded to her. Geo must be monitoring her e-mail. That pain in the ass. Surfing the Net, she found that many of the main channels of information she used weren't coming up. Like the Web server was down, or was she being blocked?

  Ollie looked over at her twin sitting on the couch facing the kitchen. "E, let me borrow your cell. I have misplaced mine."

  "It's at home," Ellis answered. It was possible; her twin didn't much care for phones.

  However, something was going on. It had been three days of silence, with no Geo telling her what to do and no news about the situation. Even O-no would have tried to contact her by now. She went back down the stairs to the second floor, where Wolfe and Troy were putting on their jackets as if they were about to leave.

  "So, where are you two going?" she asked.

  "Out to get some things. We won't be long." Troy's voice was flat.

  "Leave your cell. I need to get in touch with Geo."

  "He said sit tight," Troy said, slipping his cell phone into his jacket pocket.

  "Really?" That meant she wouldn't be using his cell phone.

  Both of them wore their business faces, showing no emotion--not a sign or hint of anything. And she had an aching feeling that she was that business. Were they handling her?

  "I'll be back." He'd just brushed her off. Oh, hell no.

  She looked over at Wolfe, who looked just as blank, not even looking her in the eye, like she wasn't even in the room. This was really starting to piss her off. If she could take both of them without using her powers, she would. Argh.

  "Well, will you two stop at the store and get some things? Granola bars, juice, candy. Peppermints and gummies, please. Preferably the sour ones. Oh, and some more bottled water. More milk and--"

  "How 'bout we bring the whole store?" Troy still showed no emotion.

  "Fine, but I was trying to save your wallet," she said before heading back upstairs. She stopped at the third floor. Think, Ollie. Going up to the fourth
, she stopped and glanced over at Ellis. Focus. She went to the roof. Heading over to the edge of the building facing the street, she waited and watched as Troy and Wolfe pulled out of the garage. As soon as they pulled out, a black SUV followed behind them. Joc. Oh. Hell. No.

  Something was happening, and they had left her out. Completely. If it wasn't clear before, it was getting there.

  Ollie headed back inside, and as soon as she did, the door sealed shut and the locks latched. Surprise, surprise. She was locked in. Grinding her teeth, holding back the rage, she focused.

  So, girl--how you wanna play this? Ollie looked over at the computer by the stairs. She logged in and checked all of her e-mail messages again.

  A host of friendly mail, not much House business. Geo had done a superb job of filtering her messages. Prick. Too bad he wasn't omniscient. She opened a message from a correspondent named Alice_in_Wales and read it.

  Just writing to say hi … yada yada … business is good.

  Alice

  Smiling, she responded, in just as cordial and unrevealing a manner.

  Glad to hear you are well, as always … yada yada … if business is really doing that well, maybe you should consider expanding. Just a thought.

  Olivia

  Then she responded to a few more messages, just to say hi. She loved pulling wool over the Grand Exalted One's eyes.

  She wasn't going to play nice. There was no way she was going to be a prisoner. Yeah, Geo was protecting her, but keeping information away from her wasn't part of the deal. I'm counting on you, Alice. Pull a rabbit out of your hat.

  Yeah, she would play dirty. She smiled to herself as she went to pummel the punching bag again.

  ()()()

  Granger waited in the parking lot of the agricultural warehouse several miles outside of the city, talking with Antonio--or Geo, as his family called him. The area wasn't populated this time of night, so it was a perfect spot for a meeting. Trees surrounding the facility gave good cover from the main road, and the fact that Geo was an associate of the company's CEO helped.

  There were a few people Granger respected, and Geo was one of them. He was tough as nails, driven, and dependable. One thing he wasn't was stupid. The man should have been a military general, the way he operated. With the current conflict within the Structure, he was a general. He had a commanding presence that demanded attention.

  Some of Geo's contacts soon pulled into the parking lot, followed by Troy, Wolfe, and Joc with his gang. Ollie's annoying naming habit had spread to the whole family. When everyone had arrived, the meeting began.

  "How in hell'd we get the big dog himself?" Wolfe grinned, holding out his hand to Granger, who took it and shook.

  "It's been awhile, hasn't it, Wolfe?" Granger asked.

  "Hell, yeah." Wolfe laughed. He was a loud country man, but his heart was as good as gold. How he had married into their family was a mystery. The family had very strict rules about who was let into their inner circle. Very strict.

  The eldest sister had been the first of all the siblings to get married, but it took her a month to convince her brothers to let her go on a date with her future husband. When he proposed marriage, it took an act of Congress and a broken jaw before they allowed her to marry him. If it wasn't for Troy and Wolfe being best friends, Wolfe wouldn't have had a hope in heaven. Or hell.

  "How is she?" Geo asked Troy, referring to Ollie.

  "Unusually quiet. She asked for my phone. And I'll tell you, she's figurin' it out. You won't be able to dance around it for long," Troy answered. From what Geo had told him earlier, they were keeping Ollie under lock and key for her own protection. And he decided that the less she knew, the better their chances of her not getting trigger-happy. Granger almost agreed, because if she found out there was a hit out on her life, she would break her cover just to get at Hooser.

  "She's been punchin' that damned bag all day, Geo. It won't be long 'fore she's bustin' heads," Wolfe groaned, evidently dreading the idea.

  "I'll handle it. But we may need to move her fast. That's why Granger is here. News came from Asia. Japan lost their River representative, and Flame lost two candidates, one in Germany and one that was in India. The conflict has escalated even further. Breath is moving against Blade."

  "Ballsy, but an unexpected move might be the only thing to throw Blade off," one of Geo's associates commented, and Geo nodded in agreement.

  "Everyone is up to speed about what's going on here, right?" Geo asked. Everyone sighed and moaned in agreement. All eyes were on River and Flame. They were the two powerhouses maneuvering into position, so they had to be watched.

  "There is something you should know," Joc spoke up. "River has moved in this evening. Since this area is heavily populated with Flame and Breath, this only spells bad news. Some of the reports suggest that they belong to Mary."

  The curses that came from the group let Granger know that he wasn't the only one who saw bad things coming. If Mary of River, who based her operations in the Midwest, had come to the East Coast--smack dab into territory dominated by Flame--there would be a high body count. And with Mary Alexander behind the wheel, that count was sure to double.

  "It seems that candidates aren't the only ones being targeted," Geo said. "Earlier I got a call from Blade HQ in New York. Several undocumented high-levels have been found dead or have gone missing over the last forty-eight hours. Any competition is being snuffed out."

  "Damn, they're going for blood." Joc frowned and then looked dead at Granger. Fear was in his eyes, because Granger could also be a target. If they were foolish enough.

  Granger's eyes grew heavy, and he stumbled back.

  "Man, you okay?" Joc's voice brought Granger back to earth. He looked around and noticed Geo taking out his gun.

  "We have company." Geo's words, although informative, commanded them all into action. Granger dropped down on the ground. The moment his eyes grew heavy, signaled someone was trying to plant a mental link inside of his head--and evidently Geo's as well. Maybe all of theirs, but only a few would be strong enough to notice it.

  Granger scrambled behind his Benz as shots rang out in the distance. "Augh!" Wolfe's voice carried from the other side. Moving low to see what he could in the dark, Granger noticed that Wolfe was on the ground, holding his bleeding leg. Granger crawled over to the man and began to make a tourniquet with his suit jacket.

  "Can ya … work yer mojo from here?" Wolfe groaned, hissing in air.

  "Yeah, but it will take a while."

  "Do it. Don't worry 'bout me." Clearly in pain, he pushed Granger away, more worried about everyone else than himself. "I'll give ya cover," he grated. That was comforting, considering that Wolfe was the best shot Granger had ever met.

  Light flashed in the distance as Troy used his powers of distraction, illuminating the shooters' position and throwing off their focus. Granger concentrated on the direction of the shooting and began to find every last one of the shooters. Eleven in all. All from River. All of them trackers able to track energy signatures and follow mental images. Two were shot dead. Nine left. Geo and Joc closed in.

  Geo's speed and agility alone could have been a power, but his ability lay in seeing an opponent's weakness and using it against him. He didn't need to pinpoint these agents' weaknesses to take them down. Seven remaining. Seven was more than Granger was used to at once, but now was as good a time as any to find out if his enlightenment paid off. He began to possess them, unraveling the strings that formed their wills. Amid all the chaos, the unraveling took longer than he wished, but he was gathering their information faster as he adapted. One was starting to struggle, and two others were shot dead. Then another started to struggle. Geo killed two more, and Granger's grip on one of the gunmen loosened before the possession was complete.

  Granger reached for his gun and went after the man while still concentrating on the remaining three. Damn. One had gotten free and was running from him. But he stopped. Granger could feel his fear, could see throug
h his eyes, as Geo came down on him like a bear, snapping his neck and severing what little hold Granger had on the man. That was the only way out for all of those completely possessed--death.

  The two remaining stopped struggling as Granger completely gained control of their wills. Approaching them, he could feel their fear, their regret. There was always regret. He drank in their past, bathed in their present, seeing who they were and what knowledge they held without any resistance. Now all he needed to do was let them go, let them live their lives, report to Mary if they liked. But they instinctively understood what to say and what not to say; Granger made sure of that. And all of their information would come back to him, no matter where they were. They were his as long as they lived, and he could tighten or loosen the chains at will. But they would never be free. Not because Granger liked it that way; he didn't. That was just how it worked. He could shut them out, ignore them as if they were never there, but they would always know he was present; they would always feel that bond. They would learn to live with it, maybe even like it, depend on it.

  "Hell, man, you're scary," Troy said, looking at Granger.

  "Wolfe's been shot." Granger didn't have time to express his fears. They ran over to the group of cars. Geo was already by Wolfe on the phone, calling his sister Cee. She seemed to be urging him to bring Wolfe by the house, and Geo was refusing. Good move. There was no guarantee that they weren't being followed.

  "Take him to Falls Street," Troy breathed, looking worried.

  "No way. Ollie has that place locked down like Fort Knox. He's a bleeder, and by the time we get in there, you'll be dead." Geo clearly didn't like his choices. "The only other place is Pointe--"