Orange Blossom Special (The Covenant of the Rainbow Book 2)

by Elana Brooks

  Steve sent his microphone across the room to her. She opened her hand to receive it. He moved to another microphone, this one on a stand. “Don’t drop that. I’m not holding it anymore, and we wouldn’t want to give anyone beneath you a lump on the head.”

  Nervous titters answered his joke. The reporter nodded and gripped the microphone. Steve waved a hand. “Have you and I spoken with each other before this moment?

  “No, we haven’t.” She studied him with narrowed eyes.

  “Did you have any idea what I was going to do?”

  “No. Nor do I have any idea how you’re doing it.” She pointed at him. “That doesn’t mean I believe you’re using psychic powers.”

  “You shouldn’t. We’re in our own headquarters building; we could have put any number of clever devices in place.” Steve jerked his head, and each of the other seven lifted a reporter into the air. Five of them were similarly well-respected professionals; two were known as gullible sensationalists. More startled exclamations rang out. “None of you should believe what we say until we’ve proven it to objective scientists under conditions they control. Until then, members of the Covenant will be conducting demonstrations in communities around the world. Everyone is invited to attend one or more so you can witness our abilities in person. Information about places and times will be available on our website following this broadcast.”

  He nodded again, and each of the Eight lowered their reporter back to the ground, careful not to release them until they were firmly on their feet. Steve retrieved his microphone and paced across the front of the stage. He looked directly into a camera. “We showed you that for two reasons. First, to assure you that we match the aliens’ psychic powers and are ready to defend you against them. Second, because we need your help. The Covenant of the Rainbow is building an army, and we want you to volunteer.” He pointed at the camera, invoking the famous Uncle Sam poster. “Approximately one percent of the population possess significant latent psychic talents. We need as many of those people as possible to join the Covenant and help defend Earth when the aliens attack.”

  He turned and strode back across the stage. “We’ll be conducting mass screenings around the world over the next few weeks. Some of you have already participated in screenings sponsored by HBQ; there’s no need for you to be tested again. The rest of you, please consider signing up for the session most convenient to you. Information is available on our website, and a brief presentation will follow at the conclusion of this broadcast with more details.” The marketing department had carefully crafted the commercial using all they’d learned about appealing to those with buried gifts. “Thank you. I’m now going to let the rest of our members repeat this request in their native languages. My colleague, Farid Moradi.”

  Farid took the microphone and began speaking in Persian. Steve stepped back, exhaling in relief that his portion was complete.

  One by one each of the others repeated the brief message. Between them they covered a good chunk of the world’s languages. Covenant translators came to the stage to handle the rest. Steve concentrated on the swiftly flowing voice of the Spanish translator, trying to pick out the handful of words he knew. Maybe if he’d been less of an ass when they first met, Rosalia would have taught it to him by now.

  The two hours allotted to the press conference were drawing to a close. Solomon finished making the call for volunteers in Russian and switched back to English. “Now we have time for a few questions before we’re done.”

  Every hand in the room shot up and every voice rang out. Solomon pointed to a reporter in the first row. “Yes?”

  “If these aliens are real, why haven’t you shown us any photos of them?”

  Solomon waved to the screen. “As you can see by the first diagram we showed you”—after a moment it reappeared on the screen—“the Seraphim colony ship is currently located between the orbits of Uranus and Jupiter, approximately three and a half light-hours away. We were able to visit it because our astral forms can travel close to the speed of light. But to transport a camera there and transmit photos back would take many weeks. The ship is approaching Earth rapidly. When it’s close enough, we’ll certainly carry cameras there telekinetically. However, all they’ll be able to capture is an apparently empty ship, and perhaps a few instances of the Seraphim using telekinesis. But as we explained, right now their physical bodies are in suspended animation and will remain so until they’re ready to disembark from their vessel. We’re working on technology that can detect astral forms or record mental images, but so far we’ve had little success. Until we do, artists’ renditions such as we’ve used in this presentation will have to suffice.” He pointed to another reporter. “Next?”

  The one he’d selected raised his voice above the clamor that burst out. “What will happen if you fail? When will the oceans begin to rise?”

  The noise level increased. Solomon spoke into the microphone. “At this time we haven’t identified any comets diverted by the Seraphim to intercept Earth. Even in the worst case scenario, if their scout ships have already begun altering orbits of comets within the Oort cloud, it will be many months, probably more than a year, before the first of them could enter the atmosphere. Long before then, we’ll deploy a network of defenders to deflect any comet that approaches.”

  He pointed at another raised hand.

  “Should people be prepared to move to higher elevations? How far from the ocean is safe?”

  Steve was impressed by Solomon’s patience. His voice remained calm. “No one should leave their home at this time. The chance of any sort of evacuation becoming necessary is extremely slim. Even if we do eventually deem it a sensible precaution, it wouldn’t get underway for months or years. Until then, the most helpful thing anyone can do is to remain calm and continue your usual routine. It’s vital that the worldwide economy continue to function with minimal disruption. If food production and distribution is interrupted, people’s lives will be in danger, even if the Seraphim never come within a million miles of Earth. Energy, too, must continue to be produced without a break. Order is of paramount importance. That’s why we’ve chosen to reveal the truth to the world now, far in advance of any danger.”

  Solomon indicated another reporter, but the man beside her shoved in front and raised his voice. “Lies! It’s all lies! This is a plot by a vast conspiracy controlled by the Jews and the multi-national corporations to frighten us into giving up our freedoms so they can institute one world government and brainwash us with their liberal atheist propaganda.” Some of the other reporters tried to shout him down, but his voice rang above theirs. “Look at them! They’re not even trying to hide it! A bunch of foreign terrorist freaks! What were they really saying, just now? Telling their sleeper cells to activate and launch attacks on patriotic Americans, is my guess. They’re the aliens, not some mythical space snakes!”

  A pair of HBQ security guards finally made it through the crowd. They grabbed the man’s arms and hustled him out of the building, ranting all the way. “Open your eyes! Don’t believe anything they tell you! Beware their Satanic powers! These are the people we’ve been warning you about! Maybe now you’ll lis—”

  The big double glass doors swung shut, cutting off his words. For a moment all was silent.

  A great sense of weariness descended on Steve. He reached for the microphone, and Solomon surrendered it. He cleared his throat and looked at the banks of television cameras. What could he possibly say to counteract the ravings of a lunatic? He knew there were millions of people watching and listening who would find that sort of paranoia easier to accept than the truth.

  He could even understand why. The truth was terrifying. If he thought guns and prayer and adamantly clinging to tradition could save him, he’d be stockpiling ammunition and Bibles right now. No words could capture the things he’d seen and experienced that had convinced him he’d be better off throwing his lot in with the Covenant.

  “He’s right, you know,” he said conversationally
.

  All over the room, eyes widened. The rest of the Eight shot him baffled glances, except for Solomon, who nodded slowly.

  “In part, at least. The Covenant of the Rainbow is a centuries-old secret society. We have paranormal powers and we’ve been hiding vital truths from the rest of humanity. We’ve been working behind the scenes to infiltrate every level of government and society. You have no reason to trust us and every reason to fear us.”

  The reporters looked at each other and muttered. Steve took a deep breath. “But I’m asking you to trust us anyway.”

  He looked directly at his audience, trying to meet as many eyes as possible while he talked. “I’m an American. My ancestors have been Americans for generations. I was born in Sacramento, California. I played football for UCLA.” A few scattered cheers called a wan smile to Steve’s face. “Go Bruins.”

  He moved to put an arm around Solomon’s shoulders. “And I’m here to tell you that these people are my friends. I’ve been working together with them for years, and I’d trust any of them with my life. Every one of us has put our lives and the things we love most on the line to protect this planet. Solomon’s wife is being held prisoner by the Seraphim right now. They’re torturing her every time we attack them. But he continues to order the attacks, because that’s our best hope of weakening them before they get close enough to strike back.”

  He gave Solomon’s shoulders a squeeze and released him, moving to Beverly’s side, taking her hand. “Beverly’s the newest member of the Eight. She’s known about her powers for less than two months. And yet a few days ago she fought the leader of the Seraphim, who likes to dredge up all a person’s deepest shame and fear and throw them in your face. She carries deeper burdens than most of us, but she faced them and overcame them in order to rescue her fiancé from imprisonment and torture.”

  Beverly squeezed his hand. He smiled at her and moved to touch each of the others in turn. “The rest of my friends have left their homes and joined us here because they believe in our cause. They believe Earth is worth fighting for. Worth sacrificing for. They believe, as I do, that if we stand together we’ll be more than a match for the Seraphim. In the days to come, I guarantee you’ll see every one of them perform heroic feats without thought for their own lives. To defend you, the people of Earth.”

  He took control of the microphone telekinetically so he could sling one arm around Farid’s shoulders and the other around Ana Luiza’s. In response to his quick telepathic prompt, they each reached for one of the others until all eight were linked shoulder to shoulder, with Steve in the middle. “I ask that you join me and my friends in this society, which is secret no longer. I ask every citizen of Earth to consider themselves a member of the Covenant of the Rainbow, and to join us in the oath we’ve each sworn. ‘I solemnly swear—’”

  The rest of the Eight quickly chimed in with the familiar words. From all over the room other members of the Covenant added their voices. United, they echoed around the room and around the world.

  “—to remember the warning and the promise, to dedicate my skills of mind and body to the cause, to pass down my knowledge to future generations, and to keep this Covenant faithfully until the Seraphim are defeated, so that they may never again bring the waters of heaven to flood the Earth.”

  “You were magnificent,” Solomon told Steve. They’d retreated from the chaos of the lobby to the conference room on the top floor where the Eight customarily met. “Reciting the oath was an inspired touch.”

  Steve paced before the bank of windows, unable to settle into one of the seats around the long table. “It wasn’t enough.”

  Beverly snorted. “Not to convert the hardcore crackpots, but you sure made an impression with everyone else.”

  Steve studied the rush of people along the sidewalk. From up here he couldn’t see much difference from the normal hustle and bustle of New York’s streets. Only a bit more purpose to people’s strides, a hint of franticness in their gestures. “I hope so. How do things look, Kostas?”

  The young Greek man looked up from the computer station where he was monitoring a dozen screens. “A small riot in Cairo, a larger one in Buenos Aires. We’ve got people in both cities working with the local authorities to contain them. Manila was looking a little shaky; it’s late night there and they’ve gotten a few isolated reports of looting, but I think we’ve headed off the worst. So far things are quiet elsewhere.”

  “Let’s hope that persists.” He made two more lengths of the room before he couldn’t keep from asking any longer. “What about Los Angeles?”

  Kostas hit a few keys and studied the readout. “No trouble reported so far beyond worse-than-usual morning traffic.”

  “I didn’t think that was possible.” The joke fell flat. None of the others had idled behind a steering wheel for hours crawling along smoggy freeways, flipping from channel to channel on the radio. Today every station would be blaring the news in English or Spanish or Mandarin.

  “How are the sign-ups for testing going?” Adrian asked. He’d taken Beverly’s hand the moment she’d emerged from the elevator, and Steve was pretty sure they hadn’t let go of each other yet. Everyone tacitly accepted his presence. Steve supposed that as more of them formed soul bonds the way Solomon had asked, these meetings would get bigger and bigger. No one wanted to ask someone to exclude their soul bonded partner unless they were conducting business limited strictly to the Eight. He certainly wished intensely that Rosalia could be here.

  Kostas made a face. “The website keeps going down. There’s not enough bandwidth in the world to handle the traffic it’s getting. But during the times it’s been up, we’ve managed to fill every slot for the next month.”

  Rosalia’s sessions would be swamped. She wouldn’t be able to come to New York in the foreseeable future unless someone took her place, and every member of the Covenant capable of running screening sessions had already been given assignments in anticipation of the greatly increased demand. Steve sighed to himself. Astral meetings it would have to continue to be. Far better than nothing, but he ached to hold her physically and look her in the eye while they hashed out whether a soul bond would be possible or whether they might as well sign a suicide pact.

  Esi said, “The raid this morning went well.” Her voice was soft and musical as always. “We eliminated fifteen more Seraphim guards. Miheel sends his regards and says that he’s certain his and Rafeel’s sympathies aren’t suspected. They haven’t yet managed to contact Ureel; he’ll report as soon as they do.”

  Solomon nodded, his expression strained. “Good. Thank you.”

  The echo of Keiko’s agony would have reached him shortly before Esi and her team returned, assuming Sarthex had dealt out the promised retaliation promptly. Steve didn’t understand how Solomon could bear it. If it had been Rosalia lying unconscious down in the private meditation room, tubes and machines keeping her body alive while her soul was imprisoned aboard the Seraphim ship, he would have granted her the mercy of a broken tether long since. But Solomon insisted Keiko wanted to live, enduring the unspeakable pain Sarthex inflicted on her, in hopes of an eventual rescue or escape. And so Solomon endured that pain also, when it traveled down their soul bond into his mind and heart.

  The others fell into quiet conversation, listening to Kostas’s reports on the state of the world’s reaction and discussing plans for the upcoming days. Steve would normally have joined them, but he couldn’t drag himself away from the window. He’d promised Solomon he would stay through the afternoon and help with whatever crises their announcement triggered. Even if he were free to go down to the meditation garden and leave his body behind while he flew to join Rosalia, she’d be too busy with her suddenly massively more popular sessions to talk until evening.

  Why had he asked her to bond with him? Because he cared about her? He cared about her far too much to ask her to take such a tremendous risk. What made him dream he could hold her interest for more than the week that was the longest th
ey’d ever lasted together? What made him think they could break out of their pattern of wildly passionate lust followed by even more wildly passionate rage? If they were reckless enough to bind their souls, how long could they suppress the simmering conflict until it burst forth in an explosion that killed them both?

  Long enough to defeat the Seraphim? Maybe toward the end of the war he could follow Adrian’s example and undertake a suicide mission, hoping his death would both buy the Covenant victory and free Rosalia from danger.

  Solomon spoke softly from his elbow. “I took the liberty of booking you a ticket to Los Angeles. You should have just enough time to pack and make it to the airport. Kostas says flights are running only a little late at the moment.”

  Steve whirled on him. “What? You can’t do that. You need me here.”

  “We’ll manage without you for as long as necessary. You can work out of the Los Angeles office. As long as you report astrally when you’re scheduled to lead raids, there shouldn’t be a problem. It will be valuable to have feet on the ground on the west coast. I’m considering sending some of the others to strategic locations as well. We can hold our meetings astrally while we’re separated.”

  “I’m not stupid, Solomon. I know what you’re doing.”

  The old Russian shrugged, a twinkle overlaying the sorrow in his eyes. “I’m maximizing my resources. If you and Rosalia are able to bond, you’ll be a formidable team. I’ll facilitate that outcome any way I can.”

  Steve’s heart soared. In a few short hours he’d be at her side. And it plummeted, considering the choice he’d have to make. He turned back to the window and dropped his voice. “How do you ask someone you love to take such a huge risk for you?”

  “I don’t know. I was adamantly opposed to the idea, but Keiko was persistent. It took her ten years to wear down my resistance. I finally surrendered in a moment of weakness.” Solomon’s tone was humorous, but Steve heard the truth under the playful words.