Valor: The Custos Saga

by Jessica Tastet

  She shouldn’t be walking home at this hour alone. It was reckless. But even with this logical reasoning, she couldn’t call and admit fear after last night. Lysander hadn’t called today either, and Angelica didn’t want to be the one who called first. At least not yet.

  After locking up the store at ten, she’d figured if she didn’t take her normal route no one could be laying in wait for her, so she turned right on St. Peter’s and headed toward Royal. It didn’t stop her from being startled by every footstep and rustle from a darkened doorway.

  To distract herself she listed ways in her head to send Trevor home tomorrow. For his own good, of course. Her best idea involved calling his mom, and that didn’t sound real grown up. But Trevor’s persistent pursuit had potential to get him in trouble.

  For a moment the distraction took her attention away from the street, but she shook herself when a lump of moving black fabric against a pale gray wall caught her attention.

  She puzzled over it a moment before realizing a cloaked man stooped over a slumped over figure. The dead girls flashed through her mind.

  “Hey! Get away from her!”

  Angelica hurried toward them, tenseness gripping her. As he stood, she broke out in a run, her heart rising in her throat. She had to get to her in time. He faced her, waiting for her to get close. She could see the shadow around his face from his hood, but then he turned with a grim smile and ran from her.

  She ran after him, but he out distanced her quickly with his long strides. At the corner of Royal Street, he disappeared onto the empty street. Looking around, she couldn’t see an accessible hiding place.

  Damn it. Why had he run? Why not stay and fight?

  Angelica jogged back to the slumped over woman, pulling her cellphone out of her jacket pocket. She approached cautiously. Please not dead. Unconscious maybe. Knocked out, would be okay. But one dead body was enough to deal with this week. Angelica leaned in closer, trying to feel for a pulse under the layer of hair, when the woman’s eyes fluttered open.

  Angelica instinctively took a step back, fumbling with her phone a moment before her trembling fingers stumbled across the numbers 911. In the middle of explaining to the operator that she didn’t know whom the woman was, the redhead woman moaned.

  Angelica studied the woman’s face, forgetting about the operator in her ear.

  There was something familiar about her face. Maybe without the crinkles on the forehead and extra weight.

  “He doesn’t deserve it.” She coughed, her eyes closing again. “He doesn’t”

  “Who doesn’t?”

  “Your brother,” her voice faded to barely a whisper. “Your mother said he’d want it, but it was to be you.”

  Angelica shook her head. “I think you have the wrong person. I don’t have a brother.”

  “Of course you do.” Her jaw tightened. “You have your father’s eyes, Custos eyes. I hate those eyes.”

  She drifted off, and Angelica’s brain caught fire. This was Rainy with shorter hair, crinkles at the eyes, and plumper cheeks. The Rainy from her dream last night. Rainy, who’d been Lily’s best friend. Who would’ve known her father and if she had a brother. What did all this mean?

  Angelica felt as though she’d be sick any moment.

  Thirty-Three

  Kline knew it wasn’t fair, but it was necessary. He lay in wait, monitoring the scene as that detective interviewed Angelica. Kline had seen this detective before, at the other scenes where the girls’ corpses had been placed. From the detective’s movements, Kline knew he worked for one side or another. From the broad, confident shoulders, grim expression, and hurried swagger, Kline deduced that the detective was in with the Vindica and displeased with the nature of the progressing investigation.

  The ambulance left quickly after arrival, but crime scene and the detective swarmed the scene and held Angelica up for two hours. Kline watched all of this from his vantage point on a nearby roof. He’d arrived late and had missed how Angelica had ended up here, but he couldn’t afford to lose this opportunity.

  As Angelica walked alone, away from the crime scene, Kline moved fluently into place, dropping down thirty feet in front of her.

  She stopped short and immediately did a cursory sweep of the street, returning to him quickly.

  They were alone.

  She tilted her chin upwards. “You come back to make sure the job was finished?”

  Kline released a low growl. “Wasn’t me. I don’t perform sloppy work.”

  Her left eyebrow rose in doubt, but Kline felt the tenseness of her muscles straining in their alertness. She was gearing up for a fight. Good.

  He lunged at her, studying her quarter second delay and her jerky step to the left to avoid contact with his extended arm.

  They now faced each other. For the first time, Kline could feel her breath, see the starburst pattern in her eyes. He hesitated with his next move.

  Telekinetically, she flung him backward, but only five feet or so. She’d need more force behind that to tackle a Custos.

  “You really need to let go of fear for your abilities to kick in. You have to release all those doubts.”

  She put her hands on her hips. “I’m not afraid.”

  But he could see the fear twitching at her eyes. He hadn’t moved as she’d expected. Fear for her own safety had crept in.

  “Try it again,” he said, facing her relaxed.

  She hesitated only a moment before he felt himself going backwards again, but not as far as the first.

  “Fear will do that every time.”

  She narrowed her eyes at him, and her thoughts turned angry. “Who are you?”

  “Consider me a friend, Angelica.”

  “My friends don’t attack me on the street.”

  “Not attack,” Kline said, closing in the gap. “Teach.”

  “Who are you?” she asked again. He felt her anger replacing her fear.

  “That’s it. Use that anger. Channel it into overcoming the fear.”

  “I told you I’m not afraid!”

  He flew backward, and this time he had to use his own telekinesis to avoid landing on his backside.

  “That’s what I mean. No fear that time. Fear causes hesitation and doubt and weakens the follow though. Now onto lesson two. How are you at mind control?”

  “Don’t like it much?”

  He frowned. “Your enemies will be masters. You need to be better.”

  “Enemies?” He could see the fear twitching at the corner of her eyes again.

  “All those dead girls.” He grimaced. “We don’t want you to be one of them.”

  “Why do you care?”

  “Who doesn’t want to stop innocent people from dying?”

  She stared at him without response.

  “Start small,” he said. “Try changing the color of your eyes and then change it back.”

  “That’s crazy. I can’t change my eye color.”

  Kline moved in close. She tensed, but she didn’t strike back.

  “Can’t you hear my heartbeat?”

  Her head tilted. “Yes.”

  She wanted to say more, he could tell, but she didn’t trust him.

  “It’s your quantity of Custos blood. Makes you stronger than others.”

  “Like you?”

  He nodded.

  “Work on it,” he said. “I’ll be in touch for your next lesson.

  He turned, tucked his hands in his pockets, and began to walk toward a side alley.

  “What’s your name?” She called after him.

  “Let’s keep our lessons between us for now,” Kline said not turning around.

  “It isn’t fair for you to know my name if I don’t know yours.”

  He hesitated. It was risky, but he wanted her to look at him. To look at him as so much more than a trainer. He longed for it, although he shouldn’t.

  “Kline.”

  “Well, until next time Kline.”

  His name on her lips felt w
arm on his insides. He was in trouble.

  But he needed to keep her alive long enough for it to be a problem.

  Thirty-Four

  Rex stared at Rainy through a large glass. After a few hours of doctor’s work and a discreet phone call, the nurse had led him to this woman barely recognizable beneath the erupting tubes and wires.

  She didn’t resemble the woman he’d seen twenty-four years ago, when she’d sought him out.

  Rainy’s husband had been a give-peace-a-chance protestor who’d made a nuisance of himself when Rex’s wife had left him the first time. Rex hadn’t planned River’s death, and had truly only sent someone to shake him up and make him reveal Lily’s location. Accidents had happened often back then though when a fever of renewal had swept through the Dark Soldiers, and the men would partake in the hunt with exuberance.

  That night, Rainy had been distraught, ranting about how she’d given him the benefit of the doubt, interrupting her speech with a cackling laugh when the tears choked her. He’d believed she was intoxicated, but after his own experience with grief and rage, he understood the fuel burning through her.

  Lily had been there. She’d come into the room as if summoned by Rainy’s pain. She’d held her friend in her arms in the middle of the tapestry rug, but Lily’s eyes had fell on Rex. Disappointment and hate had filled them as Rex had watched powerless to stop it, for to quiet Rainy would have been to nail a final spike in the coffin of Lily’s love.

  Lily and Rainy had been like sisters, meeting as roommates at Landon House. Rainy alone had accepted Rex and Lily as a couple from the beginning days of secret love on the staircase. Rainy had deserved more from him.

  He’d stayed away from Rainy since. The woman had earned that much from him. Besides, she was all he had left of Lily’s memory, and he rather thought they shared the grief of all those mistakes.

  Rex’s frown deepened.

  This had to be his son’s doing. No one else would be so daring. Cain must have developed his own ideas. Dangerous ideas, more than likely. Rex had not come this far to have this son jeopardize everything he’d worked toward.

  The prophecy said the Vindica controlled the future of the world, and Rex would possess the Vindica. He would not be beaten to it by his own son.

  If Cain wanted to play in the big leagues, Rex would make sure he knew what the price was.

  Thirty-Five

  Angelica set the box down. More touristy tee shirts she supposed. She’d come in this morning to stock new merchandise, but she couldn’t stop thinking about Rainy last night and Kline, of course. She’d been too shaken to call Landon House when she’d locked the door behind her at 2:30 A.M., and she’d slipped into bed and pretended to sleep so when Trevor and Denise returned from going out on Bourbon Street, they couldn’t ask any questions.

  Her mind was ravaged with questions and the no one to talk to about her arbitrary wanderings was driving her crazy.

  Madame Regina sashayed from the back curtain. “My thoughts are not clear today, Cherie. The city is cloaked for me.”

  Angelica smiled. Madame Regina’s voice was smooth liquid with a wonderful thickness of honey. “Do you have many appointments today?”

  Madame Regina coughed as she gently ironed out a blue brocade dress on one of the dolls. Madame Regina’s other obsession besides seeing the future was collecting antique dolls. Since these dolls were over priced, Angelica didn’t believe they were sold often due to the eclectic woman’s difficult time parting with them.

  “Not until this afternoon,” she said, squinting, the soft crinkles around her eyes folding together. “I believe I’ll go rest upstairs until then if you don’t mind.”

  “Of course not,” Angelica said, opening the box, “I’m here until two o’clock and then Secily is coming in.”

  She smiled with unfocused eyes.”Good. You’ve done good work here, and I believe you could be trained to use your inner sight. I have seen hints of it, and we must work on it in the future.”

  Angelica smiled as she folded a tee shirt to place it on the shelf. She’d prefer her inner sight to work less often. She wondered if Madame Regina could teach her that skill. Kline may disagree though. She didn’t know what to make of their encounter, but she’d felt the strength flow through her that last time. She also had to admit to trying to change her eye color this morning. At first, she’d believed they’d darkened, but then she’d changed her mind and figured it was only the light.

  She hated controlling someone’s mind. Implanting suggestions felt dirty enough, but to go in and take control and feel them fighting you made her feel sick. Maybe that’s why she’d failed at the eye trick.

  She was nearly finished the last shirts in the box, when the bell jangled another customer. Angelica put the box to the side and stood to see the customer. Gabney towered over the front shelf display looking around the store as though something would jump out and bite her.

  “Are you shopping today?”

  Gabney jumped, startled. Her gaze fell on Angelica, and she smiled uneasily. “Sorry, I’m a little jumpy today. Uncle John didn’t want me to come alone, but I insisted. So now I’m super nervous.”

  Angelica wondered if Gabney was born gabbing her mouth and that’s where her name came from. She’d never heard of babies talking, but Gabney’s name was certainly fitting.

  “I’m surprised no one was there to escort me to work this morning.”

  “Uncle John’s working on it.” Gabney grinned. “His time’s been absorbed by that detective and the council members lately though.”

  “How has everything been since the party?”

  Gabney approached and shrugged. “Crazy. The Council members want to interrogate everyone to see who controlled Peter, but after several statements they do believe that it was a case of mind control. Serena has locked herself in her room except for one time yesterday when she screamed at anyone who’d listen that you’d controlled his mind, and that Uncle John was controlled by you, too. It’s been interesting so to speak.”

  Angelica smiled. “So I haven’t missed much?”

  Gabney laughed and relaxed a bit. “Uncle John would like to see you today. He said if you’d come at about five o’clock, the house would be cleared of our extra guests.”

  Angelica placed the last shirt on the shelf. “Did he say what about?”

  Gabney shrugged. “I just assumed it was to settle everything. He doesn’t blame you for anything if that’s what you’re worried about.”

  She supposed she should feel lucky about that. And a little guilty. She’d thought it over last night while watching the officers and detectives work to process the scene. Landon had placed an awful amount of trust in her considering her lies were some of the simplest she’d told, and she knew a man as clever as him could see through them.

  It didn’t feel right. He deserved the truth since she truly knew that she could trust him.

  “So no one will be there?”

  “Everyone who lives there, but the council members are meeting tomorrow so they flew back to France.”

  “There was another attack last night.”

  Gabney nodded as she played with a bin of tiger’s eye. “Uncle John was going to the hospital when I left. She lived at Landon House a long time ago.”

  “Had she been back recently?”

  Gabney seemed fascinated by the smoothness of the stones as she brushed her fingers over each one.

  “No.” Gabney shook her head. “She’d been hiding from Reximortum for years. What do these do?”

  Angelica picked one that caught her eye from the bin and held it up. “They’re supposed to ward against evil.”

  Angelica reached in her shirt and pulled out her corded stone. “My mother gave this one to me when I was young. It’s a tourmaline stone.”

  “Maybe I should have one of those.”

  Angelica moved behind the glass counter and pulled out a case of jewelry supplies. “My mother showed me how to do this when I was young, so pic
k a stone.”

  Gabney chose a smooth, lapis lazuli stone with dull gold specks. Spiritual enlightment.

  Angelica took the silver jewelry wire, wrapped the stone just as her mom had shown her, and created a loop at the top to hang the stone. She then pulled a piece of leather threaded it through the loop and tied the ends together.

  “Now you have one like me.”

  Gabney’s grin was huge. “You should go into jewelry design.”

  Angelica busied herself putting the case back under the counter. “It’s what my mother did. I used to watch her.”

  “Cool.” Gabney placed the chain around her neck. “Wait, didn’t you say you never knew your mom?”

  Angelica grimaced. Mentally deciding not to lie anymore was easier than admitting you’d lied. “How about I explain to you and John at five o’clock today.”

  Gabney studied her, a puzzled expression on her face. “Sure.”

  It really felt like time to stop running. After last night, she wanted answers more than ever. And the answers lay in the truth about herself, no matter what that might be.

  Thirty-Six

  Rex’s pen scratched the thick linen paper as his hands advanced with great speed. The ticking clock above the chair tapped at his thoughts. His hand paused with the distraction, another thought lost.

  This was unlike him. His concentration, his focus was a source of pride. Worry was nagging at the corners.

  Lucilius had handled target number two, but target one and three were still alive. Others had died, but to make an impression, young women who fit the prophecy must be sacrificed. Otherwise, the Vindica council would discount the deaths as random Dark Soldier killings. He needed the Vindica to declare someone as Valor, so they needed to believe that they were to blame for the death toll. This was an important element of his plan. Once Valor was declared, she became the leader in charge and capable of making changes. Controlling one person would be easier than five council members, although he had one of those on his side as well.