Ultimate Warriors

by Jaide Fox

  "Afternoon, Soulchaser," Ice Warden greeted him. "Have to check the database."

  Julien raised an eyebrow. "For?"

  "Have to make sure you’re cleared for this."

  He nodded. That wasn’t surprising. Julien had spent the day after his release from the civilian medical center in the Academy medical wing. The following two days, Julien had been confined to his quarters then the Academy. He had begun to worry that he would still be on lockdown when Angel came for him.

  Ice Warden grinned, his pale blue eyes crinkling over his snow-white cheeks. He handed Julien’s identi-card back. "All clear, Soulchaser. Have a nice day."

  "I will. I haven’t had a full day out for a long time."

  "With great power comes great responsibility," he quoted.

  Julien nodded. "Yes. It does."

  * * * *

  It didn’t take Julien long to realize that he was being followed. The three operatives were good, but they weren’t good enough.

  With more than five hundred operatives and cadets in the city, it was a given that other operatives had the day off. They were all dressed in civilian clothes as Julien was. Any power capable of blending into the populace did so to avoid the usual power-chasers, humans who wanted to bed powers for the thrill or for bragging rights. Of course, their identi-cards would identify them when they paid, but most operatives frequented establishments that were discreet about what they were.

  The identi-cards told even the most casual observer all they needed to know. If the standard white card was edged in green, the bearer was a cadet through fourth year. Blue denoted an older cadet. Yellow marked an operative, and red marked a unit leader like Julien. Only metallic gold outranked him. Gold marked a trustee.

  No. They might have been operatives out for R and R, but they weren’t. After Julien noted two of the three in each of his first two stops, a coffee shop and a bookstore, he purposely led them all over the city. As he expected, two of the given three appeared at the music shop and clotherie he chose to visit.

  Then came the acid test. Julien chose a restaurant near the tower he needed that was typically overrun with power-chasers, not the type of place that most operatives would frequent. Even cadets tired of power-chasers quickly, once the novelty wore off.

  Julien sipped his coffee, glancing at the two who followed him in through his lashes. What now? If he went to Angel, he’d lead these three bozos in. If he didn’t go, he’d blow his chance at everything she offered.

  He went to the restroom, considering slipping out a window or a back door, but one of the operatives followed him in. Julien went about a normal bathroom routine, checking his watch critically. It was less than an hour until sunset. Whatever he did, Julien would have to do it soon.

  Julien nodded to the operative at the sink on his way past, resisting the urge to brush past him to gain momentary access to the man’s thoughts. There was no need for it. Julien knew who sent them, and he knew their aim. What else did he need to know?

  He needed somewhere the operatives couldn’t follow him, but where was that? Their clearance would have been expanded to match his own. There was nowhere Julien could access that they couldn’t. He was still considering his predicament as he paid his bill.

  The hand that touched his as Julien accepted his identi-card back shouldn’t have surprised him. Julien had chosen this restaurant for its reputation for power-chasers, after all. The strands of her blatant invitation settled in his groin, and Julien shivered in response.

  She leaned close to his ear, her full breasts brushing over his arm. "Interested?" she purred.

  Julien took her hand, searching the connection. "Depends," he answered. An idea took shape. If this one wasn’t optimum to his purpose, perhaps another would be. If it meant getting to Angel, Julien would dust off his wild days of bedding power-chasers. He knew how to make it clear he was available, and a red card was a ticket to any woman he wanted — if he used it right. Few unit leaders played the game.

  The information came in no certain order, as usual. She was twenty-five, an only child. Her name was Elaine. She had her own apartment. Stunning! Elaine was a major player. Soulchaser would be her seventeenth power. Her quarters were close. Good sign. They were in the same tower as the quarters Julien had to reach, second floor, outside access.

  Julien grinned and kissed her knuckles. "Ever been with a psychic operative, Elaine?" She hadn’t. He knew that, and he knew the challenge of a new conquest — a unit leader, no less — would convince her to jump at almost anything he suggested.

  "My place is—"

  "Tower 1022," he teased, kissing her hand again. "Shall we go?"

  Julien smiled the whole way to her quarters. This would work. The operatives didn’t dare follow him into Elaine’s quarters. Better, their spread would be by the book: in the hall, at the back stairpad, and in the lobby. It would be a full twenty minutes before they’d cover the other exits. They wouldn’t call in backup until they were sure that Julien intended to take his time about the liaison.

  Elaine wasted no time, turning into his arms as soon as the door shut behind them. Julien allowed himself a single moment of reveling in her urgency. It had been more than three years since Julien had gone home with a power-chaser. He’d forgotten how wild sex could get when it was one who enjoyed the game.

  Thirty-seven minutes, he reminded himself. Julien broke off the kiss. "Undress for me."

  Elaine smiled. She stepped back, pulling off her form-fitting mini-dress and kicking off her shoes. There was nothing else to her outfit. Elaine had gone trolling for a power, and she was ready for the natural conclusion. She reached for his clothes.

  Julien pulled her hands away, shaking his head at her look of confusion. "If that’s what you want, why did you choose me?" he teased.

  Her eyes widened. "What did you have in mind?"

  He advanced on her. "Would you rather the bed or the lounge?"

  She hesitated. "The bed."

  Julien motioned his head toward the bedroom, adding a hungry look that was not entirely for show. He followed Elaine in, trying to ignore the sway of her hips.

  Elaine sat on the edge of the bed, striking a sultry pose with her shoulders thrown back and her breasts offered up. "What are you going to do, Soulchaser?" Her breathing was quick, already heavy in excitement.

  "Promise me anything, and I will give you the ultimate rush."

  Her cheeks darkened. "Which is?"

  "I’ll make you come without touching you — at all." The challenge was made. He knew from experience that the answer wouldn’t take long. Either Elaine would jump at the chance, or she would ask him to define what she would be giving in return. With the level she played at, chances were that she would accept outright.

  "What should I do?"

  "Lie back. Close your eyes. Let go for me."

  She did the first two. The third wasn’t happening. Julien sat at the edge of the bed. He leaned over Elaine and kissed her. She relaxed into the more familiar idea of his hands on her. Julien eased back, sending the appropriate sensations to her mind.

  Elaine bowed her chest up to the sensation of his mouth. Her arousal washed over him, and Julien stroked his aching cock in response. He closed his eyes, using Elaine’s mind to drive the encounter.

  She groaned as he supplied fingers stroking at her clit. "I thought you said you wouldn’t touch," she taunted.

  Julien snapped his eyes open, checking his watch. Twenty-two minutes. He eased off the bed and strode to the open door, lounging against the frame with a grin. "I’m not," he assured her.

  Elaine looked at him in surprise, and Julien mentally eased his fingers inside her. She shifted her legs wider to accommodate him as if the hand were a physical body.

  "Soulchaser," she gasped. He’d heard that voice before.

  "Close your eyes, Elaine. Imagine what you want me to do." That step wasn’t necessary for him to do this. Julien had used this trick many times before. Women got off on watching the
hands and mouth that weren’t really there, but Julien couldn’t let Elaine watch him. It was better to let her think he needed her eyes closed.

  She nodded, closing her eyes. Julien rewarded her with a slow lick over her clit that had her arching off of the bed. Julien nodded and slid from the room silently. He crossed the main room, placing his forehead against the glass door and willing his arousal back. If Julien wasn’t careful, he would climax with Elaine.

  That was how this particular game started. In Julien’s earliest days with the power-chasers, he would make this offer. He’d stand close beside his partner, unclothed and ready, feeding his arousal off of hers until just before her climax. When Julien suggested the repayment he wanted, none of the women ever balked. He made a habit of delaying his release just long enough for the woman’s crest to dim to a glow before he brought the head of his cock to her lips—

  Julien forced his eyes open. Not this time. Angel is waiting. He checked his watch. Nineteen minutes. Julien forced his mind to two levels, his thinking mind handling his strategy while his semi-conscious layer handled Elaine. It was no different than following strands when you didn’t allow yourself to become immersed in the flow, he reminded himself.

  He opened the door and eased through. Julien raced up the outside emergency stairs. At three floors up, he started checking the corner doors. It was six floors before he found one that was both unoccupied and unlocked.

  Julien closed himself inside and checked his watch. Fourteen minutes. He laughed aloud at the sound of an Academy helo. "Just in time," he mused.

  He hurried through the corridors to the north corner and took the stairs further up. It was another five floors up, and Julien was winded by the time he reached the thirteenth floor. He shook in a mixture of exhaustion and sexual tension, but Julien couldn’t risk using the lifts, as he couldn’t risk using his identi-card to unlock doors.

  Julien was keeping Elaine at the edges of release, holding off the moment when she would discover his absence as long as he could. Once that happened, the operatives would search for him, and a search of the tower wouldn’t take nearly long enough for Julien’s comfort. He checked his watch, groaning.

  "Five minutes," he groused.

  Julien checked the corridor carefully and strode to the quarters as if he belonged there. He grumbled a complaint as he kept Elaine from going over yet again. I wonder if I could screw her into unconsciousness, he thought bitterly. Julien sighed. There was little chance of that, though it would solve his current problem. If Elaine were unconscious, she couldn’t alert his shadows that Julien had ducked them.

  He pushed at the door to the quarters he needed, praying for miracles and smiling at his luck — or Angel’s planning. The door was unlocked. Julien slid inside and locked it behind him. Two minutes.

  It was becoming more difficult to hold Elaine off — and to order her not to seek him out with her eyes. She was begging for release, desperate for it. Two minutes, he begged. Just two minutes, and I will give you the orgasm of a lifetime.

  Julien pressed his back to the door, waiting for a tap behind him announcing Angel’s arrival. He shook his head in disbelief as the blaze of white light filled the center of the near-empty room. His eyes watered, but Julien couldn’t look away. Angel and Anthony stepped out of the light, and it faded away. Julien started swearing fluently.

  Chapter Eight

  Angel smiled at the sight of Julien. He was really here. It was over. Her smile disappeared as he started pacing, running a shaking hand through his hair.

  "You are fucking crazy if you think I’m doing that again," he growled. Julien rubbed his forehead, groaning. "Dammit! I am completely and utterly screwed."

  "What is it?" she asked, confused and frightened by his explosion.

  "I got distracted and let her come," he informed her miserably. "Now she knows I’m gone, and—" He stilled, paling. Julien shook his head, his jaw tight in fury. "Oh, yeah. Just perfect. They know. I can’t go back now. I am so screwed."

  "You want to go back?" Angel asked indignantly. What the hell am I risking myself for?

  Anthony gestured frantically.

  Angel waved him off. "I am well aware that we have ten minutes or less if they are searching the tower," she snapped. She planted her hands on her hips. "I asked you a question, Julien."

  Julien laughed harshly. "Well, I don’t want to travel that way again. It damn near killed me the last time. Thank you very much for that warning, by the way. I suppose I’m facing a choice of death or a synth-cloth padded cell. Lovely choice, but what do I have to lose?"

  Angel groaned. "So like your father. You tapped into the power and almost got sucked along?" she asked urgently. Angel knew it was a possibility, but when Julien hadn’t appeared on the other side, she assumed he hadn’t chanced investigating a power level so high.

  His eyes widened. "He did die that way," Julien accused.

  "Not at all. Jake was smart enough not to fight it. Thankfully, fighting it didn’t kill you. It could have. That was why I needed your absolute trust." She smiled weakly. "If you hadn’t fought it, the jump site would have brought you straight to us, and this would all be unnecessary."

  "You could have told me that," he groused. Julien stilled. "You knew my father?"

  Angel went to him and took his hands, leading Julien further into the room. They were running out of time. "Yes. I did." She vaguely noted Anthony returning to the jump point.

  "How did he die? The Grellan didn’t kill him, did they?"

  "No. We didn’t. I will give you the whole truth when we are safe. Please trust me."

  He nodded slowly, seemingly lost in the revelation that Angel was so intimately tied to him. Angel sighed. Stunned was nearly as good as accepting. It would have to be enough.

  Anthony took one of her hands, casting nervous looks at Julien.

  She nodded, tugging Julien’s body to hers and holding his gaze locked with hers. "Trust me," she whispered.

  The energy wrapped around them. Anthony raised the level gradually, letting Julien accept it in gradients.

  Julien cupped her cheek in one hand. "Promise me."

  "I promise." Angel would promise him anything. It didn’t matter if he was asking for assurances that he wouldn’t be injured again, assurances that he wouldn’t regret leaving his life behind, or assurances that she would honor her promises to give him the whole truth and to make love to him once they were safe.

  He stiffened as the portal formed around them.

  Angel rose on tiptoe and brushed her lips over his. "Trust me," she reminded him.

  Julien nodded, meeting her lips urgently. Angel gasped as his power joined the feed, coursing through her like a wave.

  He raised his head, looking past her as the door swung wide. A devilish smile not unlike his father’s curved Julien’s lips. "Speed it up, Anthony," he requested. He stepped around Angel, blocking her body with his own.

  Angel grasped at Julien’s clothing, memories of the night they both lost their parents searing her. She looked past him, stifling a scream of dismay as the old man raised his weapon.

  Julien waved. "Goodbye, Adrien."

  The old man faltered, his eyes widening. Julien laughed aloud as the room melted away outside the circle of light.

  Angel closed her eyes as she felt her body make the jump — lengthening, thinning, disassociating her mind from her body. She came back to herself in the workroom, collapsing under the force of Julien’s body.

  * * * *

  Julien groaned. His limbs felt leaden much like they had in the hospital. The startling colors faded away, and he blinked his eyes, taking in the beige walls and banks of electronics curiously. The panels were strange, like nothing Julien had ever seen before.

  Angel eased from under him, touching Julien’s face in concern. "Relax. The first time is always the hardest. You’ll be weak for several minutes. The dizziness will last longer — a few hours." She accepted a bright-colored robe from Anthony and pulled it o
n, cinching it at the waist.

  Anthony motioned to Julien, his hands a flurry that made Julien’s head spin.

  She nodded. "We will be fine," Angel assured her brother. "Go rest. Long distances always tire you, but we’ll be able to relax for a few days here."

  The boy smiled at Julien and made more hand motions. He waved and strode from the room.

  "What did he say?" Julien asked weakly.

  Angel blushed. "I’ll tell you later," she promised.

  "Where are we?"

  She reached above her and pulled a strange red container from the countertop. "Drink this, and I will explain everything to you — slowly."

  Julien sucked in a mouthful of the sweet liquid. He swallowed in surprise, coughing a bit as it fizzed against his tongue. The flavor was new but appealing. "Where?" he asked again, staring into the metal container.

  "This is called the workroom. The free powers use this as one of our communications centers."

  "How— Why have the Calante never found this?"

  "That is a little difficult to explain. Let’s start slowly." She motioned for him to drink again.

  "My father—"

  Angel tipped the container to his mouth with a look that brooked no argument. She nodded as Julien took another drink. Whatever it was, it was good.

  "Drink all of that. You’ll need your mental fortitude to read me. What I have to tell you— You aren’t likely to believe me, unless you read it from my mind."

  Julien drank down several mouthfuls. As if the elixir were some sort of magic, his extremities started to strengthen a bit, and his head cleared. "He followed you into that — transport circle."

  She smiled, touching his face. "He was terrified."

  "I think I know why," Julien grumbled.

  "Jake was transported to our headquarters in what was once Glenvale City, unable to move and surrounded by people he perceived as enemies. It didn’t take Jake long to understand that we were not what the Calante painted us as."