Run where? she asked him, bitter and angry.
Away. Away. Away. He kept saying it over and over, until a red flower blossomed on his chest. A closer look revealed it wasn’t a flower, but blood. She could just barely make out the knifepoint protruding through the front wall of his chest. Another Warlord appeared beyond his shoulder, and as her father fell down, the new Warlord took his place. He looked at Lee with cold, clinical eyes that made her feel like she was some specimen on a lab slide. You’ll do, he told her, his tone bored, almost indifferent. Then he looked away, staring at somebody she couldn’t see. Finish it, man. I’m ready to leave this forsaken rock and plant a child in her.
Finish what? Lee asked. But she already knew.
They came storming through the gate. Hundreds. Thousands. Millions . . . Warlords and Sirvani, the Sirvani with the smooth, naked scalps and the Warlords, their pale hair bound away from their faces. Each of them had a blue stone that glowed either on a harness crossed over the chest or set in an elaborate collar around the neck.
Leave none of them alive. We’re done here. The Warlord looked at Lee and smiled. Come, offworlder.
Lee shook her head. No. I won’t come if you plan to invade.
He laughed. Like you have a choice. You didn’t truly think you were meant to save an entire world, did you? One lone woman? Pretty you might be, but you aren’t worth that much.
She turned away from him, wanted to run. Her legs felt weighted down and she couldn’t even move. She wasn’t supposedto, Lee decided. What she was meant to do was find her father and stop this damn invasion. End it. All of it.
Lelia—this isn’t the way.
It was a woman’s voice that spoke, coming from nowhere and everywhere. She looked around, searching for the speaker, and there was a soft, husky laugh. You won’t find me out there—I am within you. Just as the power to end this lies within you—you, not in your womb or between your legs. But inside you, where two powers meet. The gates shun power. They gobble it down like children with sweets, but then they jerk away, hiding before they can eat their fill.
The balance is within you—use it, push it through the Veil, push your power into the gate.
Lee nodded. Little of that made sense, but she understood the gate. She had to find a gate and get to her father.
Perhaps . . . perhaps—she couldn’t leave here and make her way to the permanent gate. But she just might be able to make one.
After all, her father had.
No, Lelia. That isn’t the way—
The woman’s voice was still echoing in Lee’s ears as she forced herself to wake up.
THIRTEEN
It wasn’t over. Not by a long shot, Kalen knew. But as he stood at the entrance to Sojourn Gap and mopped the sweat off his face, he breathed out a sigh of relief. The relative quiet would be short-lived, he knew. Elina had only bought them some time, but that time had allowed him to get most of his troops into the Gap, with minimal casualties.
Now he just needed to find Lee, bury his face in her hair and sleep. Just an hour. If he could get an hour’s sleep, he’d be ready to go again. He paused by Sanchez, one of his lieutenants, and left orders for the cleanup. He passed by the huge shelter that would serve as a communal dining area and had the galley workers start preparing some field meals for those who would keep watch for what remained of the night.
There was precious little of it. His bones ached with every step he took, and there was a burn low on his right hip that was going to need treatment before too long. The Ikacado had gotten close enough, just barely, to leave a mark on Kalen before Kalen turned the cold-beam on the thing and blasted it into the next life. Sweat, grime and blood covered him, and he paused just long enough by one of the many streams to splash water on his face.
There was a waterfall at the far end of the Gap, and as soon as he could find the time, he was going to take Lee there. Scrub every last inch of his body and then make love to her under that waterfall.
But right now—sleep. That was all that mattered.
The ripple of power that rolled through the air filled him with dread. No. Kalen stopped dead in his tracks and shot an angry look up into the heavens. “Can’t You give us a little time to catch our breath?” he asked. “Just a little?”
He turned to go back to the front line, but something caught his sight. Just out of the corner of his eye. Something flickering a pretty, bright blue—a blue that was damn near the same shade as Lee’s eyes, he realized. Why hadn’t he noticed that before . . .
“No.”
It was a gate. Not the powerful, permanent bitch that was the source of so much grief for his world, but a small one. Temporary, only big enough for a few people to pass through at a time.
Or in this case—one person. Lee. They’d found her.
Kalen started running, shouting for Morne, then calling his other troops to his side. The thunder of hundreds of feet surrounded him as they all converged on the source of the light. It was coming from one of the hundreds of shallow caves that dotted the rock face.
And right in front stood Lee.
A startled breath escaped Kalen, and he froze in his tracks. It wasn’t a Warlord lifting the gate. It was Lee. Horror flooded him as he realized what was happening. The gate was being forced open—from this side. Power swelled in the air, making it feel heavy and thick. It spun in the air, unseen by the naked eye, but he could feel it. Sense it. The hair on the back of his neck stood up, and goose bumps broke out all over his flesh. His gut knotted, his muscles were tense and ready, all over something he couldn’t even see. It was like a monstrous cyclone was forming all around them and they were caught in the maelstrom.
And in the center of all that horrible, fascinating power was Lee—her head tipped back, gazing up at the sky as though she followed the direction of some unseen guide, spinning a gate out of nothingness. Kalen stared at her, trapped in place and mesmerized as the power formed in front of her. Lee stood right at the mouth of the cave, and as Kalen watched, the shimmery gray of the Veil appeared between them, obscuring her features.
With every breath, the Veil solidified. She stood with her arms spread in front of her, palms facing out, and an unseen wind tore at her clothes. Kalen could smell the hot desert air, and he knew Anqar was just a breath away.
He came to a halt at the mouth of the cave, just an arm’s length from Lee, but he didn’t touch her. Kalen wanted to grab her and haul her away from the forming gate, but that power was too unpredictable. He was forced to watch and wait—although if she tried to go through that gate, he was grabbing her and consequences be damned.
This isn’t the way.
Lee would have plugged up her ears if she could. That annoying, intrusive voice just wouldn’t shut up. “Yeah, it is. It’s the only way.”
Giving yourself over to them? You think that is a solution? It’s not—the solution lies within you. It’s your magick. Flood the gate with it. It knows you, accepts you. Use it!
Lee snarled, “Would you just leave me the hell alone?” She wasn’t sure if she spoke out loud, and she was even less sure who that voice belonged to. It could have belonged to herself—it wouldn’t have been the first time she’d argued with herself. Sadly, it wouldn’t be the last either. Lee imagined there was going to be plenty of time for her to look back and question the wisdom of this decision.
And yet she couldn’t stop those words from circling through her head. It knows you, accepts you. Knows you . . . Like an echo, they kept repeating through her head. She shuddered, and as the answer finally made itself clear, her knees buckled with relief.
She didn’t have to give her body over to the Warlords. But her magick—to the gate. It was just days ago, two . . . maybe three . . . when Lee had watched those rather innocuous tripods as they decimated the wyrms. She remembered wondering what might happen if those things were directed at the gate.
It would take a huge burst of power, massive; one strike was all they’d get before the gate shut down.
It would shut down at any sign of foreign power, and Kalen’s men simply didn’t have the amount of firepower it would take to hit it hard and fast.
Lee’s power, though—the gate accepted Lee’s power. Accepted, hell, it seemed to crave it. Lee could feel it pulling at her, and it wasn’t the first time she’d felt like this either. Unlike the other times, though, she was right up close and personal with the gate, and pulling away wasn’t an option.
The thing felt almost sentient. She sensed its hunger as she funneled more and more power into it. This is the answer . Satisfaction blazed through her. Yeah, she was probably going to go down with the gate, because she could feel the thing wrapping its power around her, pulling her inside.
But if she went down in a blaze of glory, it was a damn sight better than spending the rest of her life in some silken cage.
Kalen came pounding into the Gap like the hounds of hell were at his heels, but it was all for nothing, Morne thought bitterly. Lee hadn’t tried to escape again, but it would be so much easier if she had. Had she run away, even if she’d been caught, Morne could have pursued her, straight into Anqar if necessary. But she was now caught up in a game of chance with the gate. Gate energies were turbulent, and if she faltered, Lee was dead. Possibly along with every last soul in the Gap.
“This isn’t happening,” Morne muttered. He pressed his fingers to his eyes and swore long and hard. Focus and concentration danced out of his reach, but he had to get control. With sweat dripping from his brow, he closed his eyes and opened that part of his mind that let him pierce the Veil. He didn’t lift it—the last thing he needed was the reaction the troops would have if they became aware of one of his many secrets. Instead, he just reached through, connecting with Arnon.
His twin waited on the other side, and Morne sensed Arnon’s uneasiness. What is going on, brother? Arnon demanded, his mental voice quivering with rage.
Aneva’s precious little girl is opening the gate, brother.
Arnon’s thoughts stumbled to a halt and then, for a brief moment, all Morne could sense from him was a casual dismissal. She can’t. She’s no Warlord. She’s a woman.
She’s also Eira’s granddaughter. You’ve sensed the woman’s power before, Arnon. Lee’s father would have been the next High Lord—he was the most powerful Warlord in Anqar. No, she shouldn’t be able to open the gate, but that is exactly what she is doing. And Morne should have been prepared for this—he’d seen how she reacted when the gate’s power acted up around her. She recognized it—and likewise, the gate seemed to recognize her. Gate energy was something the Warlords had long accepted as a sentient being. Not one they could fully comprehend, but it didn’t act or react like conventional magickal energy.
When gate magick existed within a person, using that magick was practically instinctive. Mastering it took time, but once gate magick revealed itself, using it was just a matter of time. Lee was damn young, too young for the gate magick to have already revealed itself. Yet it had. Morne should have been prepared for this, the moment he realized she could hear the musical call of the gate. Recognizing it and using it weren’t that far apart, not when the talent ran strong.
Seven hells, this is bad, Arnon whispered. As one, the twins shifted their focus. Although they saw none of it with their physical sight, they knew what would happen once Lee managed to fully raise that gate. If she didn’t get sucked into the maelstrom of power, then the Warlords would come hunting her, and they wouldn’t give up until they had her. Nothing in hell would stop them.
We have to stop her. Stop her now, Arnon demanded.
Morne snarled. And pray tell me how I’m to do that without killing her? Along with every one around them, if the power backlashed.
Arnon’s voice, by contrast, was gentle. We have no other choice, Morne. If they realize she can do this, and they find her, she will wish for death. Long before it comes. Both of us know it. It must stop now, regardless of how it ends.
A woman with gate magick. She would be hated, coveted, and as long as the Warlords had a chance of finding her, her life and her freedom would be in danger. Morne looked at the air, watching as it fully manifested. The gate was open—just a small sliver of it. Like a rent in the air, he could see the dry, arid lands of Anqar just through the gap. Just a little. Hot desert winds, smelling of the sands and spice, wafted through. On the other side of the ever-widening gate, he saw two faces.
His twin. And a Warlord. He was staring at Lee with disbelief. It faded, though, quickly replaced by an avaristic greed that made every protective instinct Morne had go on red alert. He opened his senses—it felt like something tore inside his mind as he tried to reach out with too much of himself, spread too thin.
Distantly, he sensed what Lee was thinking.
He knew what she had planned, knew it could quite possibly kill her—and at the same time save her mother’s homeworld. The idea itself was simple, so simple. So beautiful. Something that was born of the twin magicks she had inside her, magicks that should never have been forced together inside one person. He felt Arnon’s touch on his mind, felt him recoil in horror as Arnon realized what Lee was going to do. It won’t work, they thought as one.
But then Morne shook his head. It will—if her magick can sustain her. Lee’s connection to the earth was tenable, at best. Already she was faltering. She might not realize it, but the twins did. Distantly, Morne was aware of Kalen and all the men watching and staring in horror. They couldn’t rush in and grab Lee away—the magick she was pouring into the gate would suck them inside, and death would be the easiest fate, but not the likely one. The men would die, and Lee would never again breathe free air.
She needs more power, Arnon murmured. He said nothing else, but Morne knew what he wanted.
Pain spasmed through him as he stared at his twin’s face. If this works, it will level everything on the other side of that gate. It had happened once before, and the crater of Yorkton was the result of the power surge. This time the power surge would happen on the other side of the gate— right where Arnon now stood.
Do it, Morne.
If I do, she’ll likely die, Morne said. So will you. He didn’t tell Arnon his final words, but his twin knew nonetheless. Those unspoken words hung between them as they stared at each other through the unstable gate.
Arnon smiled gently. I have been dead inside for years, my brother. You know this. It will come as a blessing, if I but know she is beyond the reach of our kind. And if you don’t, she’ll die anyway. They’ll find her, for certain. How well will she tolerate the silken slavery of being some Warlord’s Tiris? She will be fought over, claimed by the strongest Warlord. With strength too often comes brutality—at least among our kind. I do not want that for her. Nor do you.
Still . . . Brother, I can’t.
You have to, brother, Arnon murmured. Do it now before her power wanes. Their silent communing had yet to catch the attention of others, but it was just a matter of time.
Morne stared at his brother and searched for some other way. But there wasn’t one. He knew it. His brother knew it. Arnon’s face was calm, accepting, even as he said aloud, “You made an oath to me, brother. You will keep it.”
The Warlord standing at Arnon’s side glanced at him, puzzled by those sudden words. Eyes narrowed, he followed Arnon’s gaze, tracking it across the gate and landing on Morne. Eyes went wide and Morne saw the recognition. Arnon, you bloody fool . . . His twin had given them away, and on purpose if Morne knew him at all well.
“Do it, Morne. Now.”
Morne closed his eyes. Whispered softly the proverb he’d heard often since coming to this world so many years ago, “Blessings on thy path, brother.” And then he reached down deep, reaching into the earth for the power that lay dormant. Just waiting for the right hand to touch it, use it. He gathered it inside and then turned his focus on Lee, funneling it through her, solidifying her connection to the earth. It struck her with a force that was nearly palpable, and Morne saw her body react, spin
e arching, mouth falling open. Her blue eyes gleamed, and some ethereal light seemed to emanate through her pale skin.
“Don’t falter now, Lee,” he whispered. Her body jerked hard. He could feel her pulling away from the sudden onslaught of energy, but just when it all threatened to overwhelm her, she steadied.
He watched as she anchored herself in the vast energies of the earth—connected to them through him. Morne’s abilities as a healer gave him a deep, unending link to the earth, and Lee’s natural witch talent did the rest, converting that earth energy into pure, sheer power. The gate sucked it up like a thirsting man drank water, quick and greedy.
When Arnon added power from across the Veil, light flared and shone so brightly that Morne could barely see anything else. But still, he continued to look into the gate, staring at his brother. He stared, even when the light blinded him and he could no longer see anything at all. Even when he could no longer feel Arnon, he continued to stare.
Some distant part of him wanted to screech in denial as Kalen watched Lee. The power flowed out of her, straight and true, flowing into the gate. Too much power—Kalen could see little wisps of energy trying to escape; he could sense the gate trying to shut down, but Lee wouldn’t let it.
She controlled the gate as though she had been doing so all her life. Perhaps, in essence, she had. She’d been born with the ability inside her, and the evidence of it had been in front of him all this time, yet he hadn’t ever seen it. All these years, Lee had been gating back and forth between their worlds in her dreams. The question how . . . only made a passing appearance in his mind. How was it possible—there was only one way.
Aneva hadn’t been alone when she escaped the Warlord who had claimed her. She’d had a child with her—a Warlord’s child—Lee. Or rather, Lelia. She was born of a powerful bloodline on both sides, and those powers joining together had resulted in something Kalen had never even thought of. A witch who could control gates—more, a female. Witches, by nature, had a stronger connection to the earth than any other known talent. Only healers came close to equaling that power. With that ability to tap into the vast resources of a world’s energies, and the ability to manipulate gate energy . . . As if pieces of a puzzle were abruptly falling into order, Kalen realized just why it was Lee was so damn important.
Through the Veil Page 31
