by Frank Morin
“Let’s start with a review of this morning’s insanity,” Gregorios said.
Quentin spoke first. “Reuben and the hunters made a clean escape after that mortar barrage. We suspect they’re still in the city.”
“Find them and keep an eye on them,” Gregorios said. “I have plans for Reuben.”
As he spoke, he watched Alter’s reaction. The young hunter looked uncomfortable, but said nothing. He had protested Gregorios and Tomas using hunter bodies, but Gregorios had told him to deal with it. Either he was part of the team, or he could leave. No more hesitation.
Tomas spoke next, his voice carefully neutral. “The other problem is that Carl’s missing. Never showed up for his date last night. Hasn’t reported in today.”
“We’re suspecting foul play,” Quentin added.
“That’s terrible timing,” Gregorios said. “It has to be related to ongoing operations.”
“That’s the assumption,” Quentin agreed.
Sarah looked up from where she’d been focusing on her pie and shared a long look with Tomas. It couldn’t be coincidence that the one person now missing was the man wearing Tomas’ body.
They needed to find that suit. Sarah wasn’t going to be happy dealing so soon with Tomas’ next life, but bodies were transitory. It was a truth she’d have to get used to, but Gregorios had thought she’d have more time to understand it.
“We’ve gone to alert two,” Quentin said. “No one’s going to be an easy target again.”
“Good. Is Yurak in position?”
Francesca spoke. “Ready and awaiting orders.”
She wore a pink cotton sun-dress that was completely incongruous with the serious nature of the meeting. She sat directly across from Alter and despite the glum, martyred look he had adopted since learning about his Cui Dashi powers, he couldn’t help but look.
Gregorios decided it might be a good thing she was doing, trying to give Alter something else to focus on than his despair. He hoped she didn’t push too hard and drive the boy away. As much as he’d annoyed Gregorios by siding with his brother temporarily, they needed Alter more than ever.
“Can someone tell me who Yurak is?” Sarah asked.
“Yurak International,” Harriett said with pride. “Our family’s private army.”
“I thought the enforcers were your army,” Sarah said.
“The enforcers are tied to Suntara,” Tomas said. “Which for the moment means about the same thing, but historically, Shahrokh and other council members held more sway over enforcer duties, and loyalties.”
Francesca piped in. “So mom and dad came up with the brilliant idea of giving their kids something useful to do.”
Sarah looked surprised. “You enlisted your children in an army?”
Alter muttered something that might have been “Abomination” but Gregorios wasn’t close enough to hear.
“We had a lot of children over the years,” Eirene explained. “And we made sure they did well.”
“Avoided the plagues, famine, things like that,” Gregorios added. “That many kids started adding up after a few centuries. Talk about bills.”
Eirene gave him a long-suffering look. “There were times when we needed a dedicated force trained to deal with heka threats that wasn’t limited to some of the politics or questions of loyalty that occasionally complicated working with enforcer teams.”
“So you started your own army?” Sarah asked.
“They’re officially mercenaries,” Eirene said. “World leaders get jittery when large standing armies loiter nearby, and the small countries we’d acquired didn’t really want to attract that much military attention.”
“Small countries?” Sarah asked, looking like she wasn’t sure she wanted to ask any more questions.
“Irrelevant for the moment,” Gregorios said. “Our children became a well-respected fighting force and have participated in most of the major conflicts through the last thousand years or so. The core units have always been enhanced, picked from our confirmed descendants.”
“How many mercenaries are we talking about?” Sarah asked.
Harriett answered. “We have three divisions operating in different world theaters. Each is independent and self-sufficient, made up of ten thousand-man regiments. Some are fighters, others heavy cavalry, naval, or air corps. Then we have the medical staff, logistics, communications, and other functions. First Division is made up of enhanced troops with custom weapons systems to deal with the unique nature of heka threats. They’re the units we’re talking about.”
“How come no one knows about them?” Sarah asked.
“They do,” Gregorios said. “A big part of what Bastien’s admin teams do is manage international requests for troop services.”
“So you’re bringing ten thousand troops to Rome?” Sarah asked.
Harriett shook her head. “We almost never deploy all of them at once. We’ll have on hand the forces, tech, and hardware we need to roll against whatever threat is deemed viable.”
“Harriett leads from the front,” Francesca said, saluting her sister. “You should see some of the moves she throws down on those heka.”
“Like what?” Sarah asked.
“She can be very persuasive,” Francesca said. “Doesn’t even have to fire a shot sometimes.”
“How?”
“These are all good questions,” Gregorios said. “But we’re getting distracted.”
“But--” Sarah protested.
“Later. Right now, let’s deal with Jerusalem. Put Melek on.”
Anaru entered with a wireless conference phone. He set it down and pushed a button.
“Melek, are you there?” Gregorios called.
“I am.” Melek sounded weaker than Gregorios had ever heard. He felt no pity.
“You invoked blood feud on the wrong people, Melek,” Gregorios started without preamble. “I’ve tried to work with you in good faith, but your boys killed some of our people. You’ve started a war, and you’re going to regret that choice.”
“I did not authorize the strike,” Melek said. “When Reuben reports, I’ll call you to discuss the terms.”
“We’re beyond discussion,” Gregorios said. “I’ve sent you the soulmasks of three of the hunters caught trying to murder us. When the debt is resolved to my satisfaction, we can discuss restoring them.”
“What of Alter?” Melek asked through a coughing fit.
“I’m here, father,” Alter called.
“He’s fine,” Gregorios said. “But don’t trifle with me, Melek. Your boy Reuben owes me, or a lot of people are going to die.”
Melek didn’t speak for several seconds. “I will order him to stand down if you share the information you’ve gathered on who you believe was responsible for the attack on my family.”
“Your son represents the clan,” Gregorios said. “Your involvement ends there until I call on you.”
“You have three days to resolve this,” Melek said, his voice stronger. “After that, if I hear nothing, I must assume you’re lying.”
Gregorios bit back an angry retort. Melek had opened the door to resolving the conflict without massive blood loss. Gregorios could allow him a little posturing to preserve his image. At least for the time being.
“Don’t do anything stupid,” Gregorios said. “We’ll be in touch.”
At a gesture from him, Anaru punched off the phone with a thick finger.
“That went about as well as we could’ve hoped,” Eirene said.
“It’s a start,” he agreed. Then he turned to Alter. “Will Reuben stand down?”
“No.”
“I didn’t think so. We stay at alert two. If he’s as stupid as he is rash, he’s going to cause the death of a lot of good men.”
Alter looked like he wanted to argue, but only added, “Why didn’t you tell my father?”
“It wasn’t a good time,” Gregorios said.
He wasn’t tempted to tell Melek about Alter’s condition. Any
chance of securing peace with the hunters would have died a grisly death. Melek would have assumed Gregorios had somehow corrupted his son. When he heard the truth from Reuben, he’d probably react that way, but Gregorios hoped Melek would use his head for once. He respected Melek more than any other hunter since Ronen. Gregorios didn’t want to kill hunters but if Melek didn’t control his people, that’s exactly what was going to happen.
They needed a break and they needed it now. So he turned to Sarah.
“Now tell me about your super power.”
Sarah flushed. “It’s not a super power.”
“I’m in charge. I’ll call it what I want.”
She actually smiled. Good. He needed her relaxed.
“Show us your fancy new rune,” he said. When she hesitated, a little flush creeping up her cheeks, he added, “The one on your back. We’ve seen the other one.”
The rune warrior symbol was unusual and beautifully inscribed, flowing across her lower back in unique lines that suggested great power.
“She is confirmed rune warrior,” Alter said, sounding like he wasn’t convinced her success was a good idea.
At least he wouldn’t feel obliged to report her to his family, not with his own problems weighing so heavily on his mind. Gregorios didn’t need the hunters deciding to make Sarah a new target.
Harriett and Francesca both jumped up and gave Sarah warm hugs, and the others added their congratulations. She’d already shared the news with Tomas, and he was happy to see the two looked like they were working through whatever issues they’d been having.
Harald nodded to himself over his laptop. “First confirmed rune warrior since Joan.”
“She was such a dear,” Zuri said, and Eirene nodded.
“We’ll share what we know about rune warrior ciphers after the meeting,” Gregorios added. “I need you up to speed as quickly as possible.”
She grinned. “Looking forward to it.”
“I will take care of it,” Bastien said. “I have the most experience with rune warriors.”
“Agreed,” Gregorios said, even though Eirene looked like she wanted to argue the point. “Schedule some training ASAP.”
“I swear it will be done.” Bastien loved quoting that line from The Princess Bride.
“So how are you able to locate facetakers at a distance?” Gregorios asked. “That’s a unique skill.”
“I made my new rune permanent.” She patted her thigh.
“She changed it,” Alter muttered.
“Just a little,” she admitted.
“You will show us the new rune, yes?” Bastien asked, smiling.
“Sure,” Sarah said without hesitation, but instead of showing off her shapely leg, she extracted a piece of paper from a pocket. Bastien concealed his disappointment as he took the paper from her. Others crowded in to look.
Sarah explained, “It’s mostly the same. I just added the central rune warrior mark around its core design.”
“Beautiful,” Eirene breathed when the paper made it to her. “You have a rare talent, my dear, even for rune warriors.”
“With that change, you set off a locater beacon in your head?” Gregorios asked.
“Sort of.” Sarah closed her eyes and pointed to each of the facetakers in the room, then Alter. “This close, your nevra cores are like lanterns in my mind. I can tell where each of you are, and when I focus, the other three facetakers in the building draw my thoughts like lights in a dark room.”
“She is correct,” Bastien said. “There are three others in the building.”
“How far can you sense?” Eirene asked, looking fascinated by Sarah’s newfound ability.
Gregorios hoped they’d be able to use it, but the new power was a bit unsettling. Harald and Zuri both looked uneasy. If their enemies learned of the rune, could they replicate it?
He wasn’t sure they could use the marks from that master rune since they hadn’t seen it, but perhaps they could. He hated that Alter knew about it, but Gregorios doubted the boy would pass along any secrets to his family any time soon.
“I’m not sure,” Sarah said. “I’m still getting used to it. I didn’t feel Suntara from Quentin’s, and didn’t get a solid sense of how many were here until just a few blocks out.”
“We can work with that,” Tomas said. “The Tenth has developed a solid lead across town. We’ve confirmed heka presence and believe the location contains at least part of the cell we’ve been hunting. While the legion gears up and preps for action, you and I can take a drive near the suspect position and see if you sense anyone in there.”
“Good idea,” Gregorios said. “It’s past time we drop in for a visit. I want that cell stomped out.”
It took only a few minutes to lay the plan. They decided to send a forward strike team with Tomas and Sarah on their scouting mission. Gregorios and Eirene would lead the main assault force, with Alter in tow and Anaru in charge of the Tenth. Quentin would oversee communications from Suntara and manage the coordination of Yurak with Harriett and Francesca in the event Sarah sensed Paul on site and the assault team required more firepower.
Thirty minutes later, Gregorios sat in the front seat of a large truck filled with enforcers kitted for battle. He tapped his earpiece to open the connection to the secure com-link they all shared.
“This is it, men.”
“And women,” Eirene interjected.
“We’re going in hard,” he continued. “Expect resistance and enhancements. We hit them with severe prejudice. John may be on-site, and I want him alive. Terminate the rest.”
He allowed himself a grim smile.
Chapter Fifty-Four
My ciphers cannot be used solely for the purpose of war, regardless of the import such endeavors demand. War alone cannot save my nation, and thus I worked ciphers into the walls of the Gelati Academy to inspire the minds and illuminate the senses. With this subtle encouragement, I will make the academy a second Jerusalem of all the East for learning of all that is of value, for the teaching of knowledge – a second Athens, far exceeding the first in divine law, a canon for all ecclesiastical splendors.
~King David IV of Georgia, known as David the Builder, Rune Warrior, and Sword of the Messiah
“In there.” Sarah pointed.
She sat in the front seat of a cramped sedan. Tomas drove, and two enforcers had squeezed into the rear. Sarah had expected them to scout out the enemy location in one of the big SUVs owned by the council, complete with tinted windows. Or maybe a panel van. Instead, Tomas chose the little car.
“It’s completely invisible,” he had explained. “People notice the big vehicles in Rome, and the enemy is surely on the lookout for panel vans that hang around too long. This is the kind of car tourists rent. In Rome, nothing is more invisible than a tourist.”
The only problem was that they didn’t look like tourists. The men had stashed their vests and heavy weapons in the little trunk, but that helped only a little.
“Are you sure?” Tomas asked, scanning the building across the street with a pair of small binoculars.
“I’m sure.” They had passed the location three times as she triangulated her newly discovered facetaker-locating senses. A facetaker was in a long, brick building on the very edge of a gigantic cemetery on the eastern edge of Rome. They had circled the entire cemetery once and Sarah felt sure she had the right place.
“Still only one?” Tomas asked.
She nodded and he shrugged. “Let’s hope it’s John.”
The hunter body altered his voice, pitching his words a little lower than normal, as if he was perpetually angry. Twice she’d caught herself staring and quickly looked away. He stood about the same height, with military-short black hair. The head was a little too wide, stretching his features a bit in a way that made her want to tug at his nose. Strangers wouldn’t notice, but his features were dear to her, and she hated to see them altered. She had plenty of experience dealing with people wearing different bodies, but this time
it affected her more.
Sarah decided to focus on the fact that he was alive and healthy. They’d find Carl and get his body back. Then they’d make up for that last argument, and leave that unhappy episode behind forever.
She felt secretly relieved they hadn’t tracked down Paul yet. She wanted time to explore her new abilities, to learn how to develop ciphers. She needed every advantage before facing Paul again. A single facetaker, supported by a heka cell, was a scenario Tomas and his forces could handle.
The building looked unremarkable, even a little run down. It looked like a church, with its marble-columned entryway. The double doors of its wide portico stood closed, and shutters blocked the second-story windows, sealing the old church from the world.
The property ran to the wall of the huge cemetery, filled with closely-packed graves. Tall cedars lined the wall, like sentinels placed to prevent all those spirits from escaping, and shaded the left side of the building. That building huddled on its lot like a wary relic of an older world.
A square brick tower near the rear of the building rose four stories, its large clock the only indication it wasn’t a watchtower. An iron fence with a closed gate surrounded everything but the parking lot, forming the final line of defense against intrusion. A few cars sat in the parking lot in front of the building, but no one had entered or exited in the ten minutes since they had started monitoring it.
“All right,” Tomas said. “Call in the cavalry.”
Domenico began speaking in rapid Italian into the radio.
“So are we just going to walk in?” Sarah asked, licking suddenly dry lips.
“More of a run than a walk,” Tomas said.
They monitored the building for ten more minutes, waiting for reinforcements to arrive. Sarah glanced at Tomas, but looked away. She hated to consider her simmering fear that they wouldn’t recover the real Tomas and he’d be forced to live in another body. It didn’t matter that the body he had just loaned to Carl was not his original one, it was the one he called home. He had helped her regain her body from Alterego, so she would do everything she could to help him now.
A large, black truck with “Polizia” stenciled on the back, swerved into the parking lot of the church. Two other trucks followed close behind. The convoy skidded to a halt just outside the main doors, and black-clad enforcers boiled out. Some of them headed for the main doors. Others shattered the lock on the iron gate and rushed around the building.
