by Elana Brooks
The figure fought against her grip. The resistance was even stronger than she’d expected. Only Steve had ever met her mind with that much power. She sucked every bit of energy she could from the astral plane and poured it into the bonds around the figure, but her opponent was able to draw far more to shove against them.
“Stop him!” Rosalia shouted as the figure broke free. HBQ security was supposed to be protecting the convention center. She spotted a guard, but he was well down the sidewalk. She threw a telepathic message at him. Don’t let him get away!
The guard started running, but he wasn’t going to make it in time. Rosalia raced after the figure, yelling, “Anyone! Grab him!”
Some in the crowd responded to her words, but not enough, and not fast enough. The figure twisted lithely between the confused bystanders and disappeared behind a row of cars lining the far side of the street. When Rosalia reached the spot, the figure was nowhere in sight. There were trees and buildings and parked cars everywhere, providing all sorts of cover. She didn’t even know which way the figure had gone.
Steve charged across the street toward her. His voice burst into her mind. Go after him astrally. I’ll guard your body.
She grasped his plan. The idea of abandoning her body in the middle of a busy city street horrified her, but she had to trust Steve to do as he promised. Otherwise the culprit would get away completely.
She forced her mind to calm and relax. The instant Steve reached her and scooped her into his arms, she burst out of her body, leaving it limp in his grasp.
She flew up, scanning the streets all around. There was a flicker of furtive movement far down one side street. She swooped toward it. The hooded figure dove into the backseat of a nondescript black sedan and slammed the door. A moment later the car pulled into traffic.
Rosalia zoomed in close, trying to read the license plate. Before she could, an astral form rose from the car. At first it had the shape of the hooded stranger, translucent and glowing slightly as astral forms normally did, but it swiftly transformed into a brilliantly shining white figure with flowing robes and wide feathered wings.
“Who are you?” Rosalia called to it. She couldn’t look at it steadily. The fierce hot light it emitted blinded her astral eyes. “What do you want? Talk to me.”
The form didn’t answer. It put out its hand. A ball of blazing energy swelled in an instant to the size of a beach ball. The form hurled it at Rosalia.
She’d played a few games of energyball, but not enough to hone her reflexes. The shield she summoned was only half-formed when the ball reached her. It burned through the thin barrier and obliterated her tether where it emerged from her chest.
She grabbed for the loose end, but it slithered away. She summoned her own ball of energy, but even the full power of her fury could only force it to basketball size. She threw it at the figure, who batted it away with a negligently raised shield.
She was far outclassed, and she didn’t have time to fight any more if she wanted to survive. She whirled and dashed back toward her body. A flurry of golfball-sized bursts of energy pursued her. Pain lanced through her heel and thigh and shoulder and neck where they struck, vaporizing chunks of her astral flesh.
A voice reverberated in her head, pure toneless thought stripped of any personal, potentially identifying, characteristics. Tell the Covenant of the Rainbow this: Angel is here to stop you.
Rosalia sucked in a deep breath and opened her eyes. Steve’s arms tightened around her. His voice was strained. “Are you all right? You stopped breathing.”
“That asshole broke my tether.” She struggled, and Steve set her on her feet. “But I got back with time to spare.”
She glared in the direction she’d last seen the car speeding. “If I go after them again, he—or she, I never did get a good enough look to tell—will just send me running again. We need to find a safe place for your body so you can chase them. There’s at least two of them in a black Prius, but I couldn’t get the license number.”
Steve shook his head grimly. “I’d never find them. And I’m not leaving you alone.”
She grimaced and rolled her eyes. “I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself as long as I’m in my body.”
“That person was psychically stronger than you. And maybe stronger than me; I don’t think I could have done that with those papers, at least not without a lot of practice. And they were improvising. They couldn’t have known what would be available for them to use to spell out their little manifesto.”
Rosalia shivered. “Angel. That’s the name of their organization. Right before I ran, he told me to tell the Covenant that Angel was here to stop us.”
“That would explain the symbol at the end.”
Rosalia frowned and rubbed the back of her neck. “There’s something about that symbol…” She shook her head hard. “That punk took its shape to fight me. Like something out of a Renaissance painting, wings and everything. Almost too bright to look at.”
“They’re portraying themselves as the good guys. I wonder what they’re really after?”
Rosalia grimaced as Steve took her hand and towed her back toward the convention center through the milling crowds. “Nothing good, that’s for sure. How do they know about the Covenant, anyway? This can’t have been planned just since the press conference. And where did someone outside the Covenant get such thorough training in using their powers? You said Abuela was the best self-trained psychic you’d ever heard of, and this went far beyond anything she could do.”
“I have my suspicions. But I’d rather wait until we have some privacy to talk about them.” Steve smiled and waved broadly at the reporter.
She broke off interviewing a bystander and urgently beckoned her cameraman to follow as she strode toward them. “What happened? Who did that? How did they do it? Does the name ‘Angel’ mean anything to you?”
Steve projected an air of calm confidence. His voice was relaxed and commanding at the same time. “Everything is under control. No one was harmed. HBQ will release a statement shortly with all the information we have.”
“How do you respond to the accusations against HBQ? Obviously psychic powers were used to create the display. Was it done by the aliens? A rival group of human psychics? Dissenters within your own organization?”
“I have no further comment at this time. As soon as we know more, we’ll tell you. Right now the most important thing is for everyone to remain calm. Thank you for your cooperation.” Steve gave her a winning smile and turned to push through the doors into the convention center. Rosalia followed him.
He led her to the break room. The other instructors were there, buzzing with excited speculation. Steve sat down at the table and gestured for the rest of them to do likewise. Rosalia sank into the seat next to him.
Steve looked around the table. “I can tell you a little more than I could say to Ms. Nosy out there. You can share it with anyone else in the Covenant. But please, no one outside it for now, although I don’t expect any of this to stay quiet for long.” He flexed his hands and spread them flat on the table. “I’ve never heard of an organization called ‘Angel’ before. But there have been occasions in the past when splinter groups broke off from the Covenant. The Eight are aware of several and have always monitored them, without finding any indication that they were planning to oppose us. In fact, we contacted them to see if they’d be willing to come back into the fold now that the Seraphim have arrived, although we haven’t gotten any answers yet. It’s possible that Angel is a new name one of the known groups has adopted. Or it may be a group that’s kept itself hidden from us. But because of the telekinetic skill displayed, and because of the fighting tactics used when Rosalia went after them, I’m convinced this is a group with its origins in the Covenant.”
Rosalia clenched her fists in her lap. “How dare they break their vows this way? Now, when the Covenant needs to be united more than ever?”
Steve shot her a wry smile. “They told us, didn’t t
hey? Apparently they want to negotiate with the Seraphim instead of fighting them.”
Rosalia snorted. “We’d be happy to negotiate, but from what you told me the only terms Sarthex will accept are our surrender.”
“Yes, but Angel hasn’t met Sarthex yet. If we can talk to their leaders and show them our memories of our dealings with him so far, they might be convinced.”
“I don’t think it’s going to be that easy.”
Steve shrugged. “Neither do I, but it’s got to be our first step.”
One of the other instructors asked, eyes wide in apprehension, “These splinter groups—how big are they? How long have they been around? Why haven’t we been told about them before?”
Steve raised a hand in a soothing gesture. “Most of them are tiny, just two or three people. Nothing to worry about. They get started when someone disagrees with Covenant policy, or gets upset when they find out their powers aren’t strong enough to qualify them for a top position, or refuses to obey the rules and is disciplined. They get together with a few buddies and gripe at each other about how unfair and elitist we are. After a few years they fall apart. That’s probably all this is. Except the arrival of the Seraphim and our going public gave them a chance to raise a fuss and try to make us look bad.”
His words rang false to Rosalia. The person she’d fought hadn’t been weak. In fact, she suspected her opponent’s strength was more than sufficient to qualify for a place among the Eight. Why, when you could be one of the people setting the Covenant’s policy, would you waste your talents on petty disruption? “Most?”
Steve frowned at her. Reluctantly, he said, “There’s one larger group that’s persisted for a number of years. We’ll look into them, too, of course.” Later. I trust you not to panic or leak information, but I don’t know about the others.
Rosalia was simultaneously flattered and annoyed. They’re Covenant.
So was our telekinetic friend, before he or she went renegade.
You don’t know that.
If not him, his teachers. Or their teachers.
The bleakness of Steve’s mental tone made Rosalia shiver. But the smile he turned to the others was bright. “I’m going to call an emergency meeting of the Eight. We’ll quickly get to the bottom of this. You’ll be the first to know when we’ve dealt with Angel.”
He nodded to each of them in turn, then rose and walked over to the window. After a few moments of quiet, the other instructors began talking among themselves. Rosalia went to join Steve. She looked out at the milling crowds, even bigger than they’d been earlier. “Do you want me to share my memory of the incident with you so you can show the rest of the Eight?”
“Would you? I wasn’t going to ask, but it would be a great help. You saw the guy much more clearly than I did, and of course I couldn’t see the fight at all. Do you know how to record it?”
“Only the theory.” It was possible to record memories in a permanent form that could be passed from one person to another. That’s how the knowledge of the first encounter with the Seraphim had been preserved uncorrupted through the millennia. “I’ve never actually done it before.”
“I’ll help you get started. It’s not difficult, just a little tricky until you get the hang of it.”
Rosalia took a deep breath. “Okay.”
He moved behind her and put his hands on her shoulders. “Think back to just before the papers started moving. Relax your mind and I’ll show you how to make the shift into recording mode.”
Obediently she opened her mind to him the way she’d learned to do with her Covenant mentor when learning a new skill. This sort of instruction required far deeper contact than ordinary telepathy. With her mentor there had always been a slight sense of discomfort, no matter how professional an attitude they both maintained. Like with a doctor, where physical intimacy might be appropriate and accepted, but always a little awkward.
Steve was different. Of course. She’d shared the deepest reaches of her mind and body with him. Even now, when until yesterday they’d both thought their relationship was over for good, with everything between them tense and unsettled, he slipped inside her as naturally and easily as breathing. He settled into the Steve-shaped space in her heart as if he’d never left.
His attention guided her to the unfamiliar place in her brain and showed her how to open a different sort of channel into the astral plane. Energy welled into a tranquil pool, waiting to be imprinted. Now start remembering.
She let the images, sensations, and thoughts fill her consciousness. Together she and Steve relived the alarm, pursuit, and combat. The experience was caught in the waiting astral energy like an insect in amber. When the brief episode was complete, Steve showed her how to cure the energy, hardening it into a solid, durable package. Then he showed her how to use it to create a duplicate in his mind, her energy impressing its patterns into his waiting blank pool.
He withdrew gently. “Gracias.”
She fought an aching sense of bereavement at his absence. “De nada.”
He massaged her shoulders, easing out the tension that had been gathering there all day. “I’m afraid I’m going to have to leave you without a helper for your next session. I need to go to HBQ’s LA office so I can leave my body in the meditation garden while I meet with the rest of the Eight.”
She was disappointed but not surprised. “I’ll be fine. I’ve been managing well enough all day. I wouldn’t want you to take any unnecessary risks. Especially not with crazy people with a grudge against the Covenant running around. Speaking of which, why don’t you tell me whatever you wouldn’t tell the others?”
Steve drew in his breath. Just then Rosalia’s watch beeped. She became aware of a commotion behind them as the other instructors headed for the door of the break room. “Damn. It’s time for the next session.”
“Meet me for dinner?”
She grimaced. “We’ve got sessions scheduled straight through. I might have time to grab a sandwich from the vending machine.”
“After you’re done for the day, then. What hotel are you at?”
A rush of mingled apprehension and anticipation swirled in her belly. “The Hilton. Right across the street.”
“Headquarters put me at the Marriott downtown. What time will you be finished here?”
“Ten.”
“I’ll meet you in the Hilton lobby bar at eleven. Give you time to get a shower and relax a little first.” He gave her shoulders a final firm caress and released her.
Rosalia swallowed. There was so much she wanted to say to him, but she had to hurry or she’d be late starting the session. It would have to wait until tonight. “All right. See you then.”
Steve was waiting at a table for two when Rosalia stepped out of the elevator and hurried to the bar. Her last session had run long because there had been an unusually large number of positive results. She’d had to be extra careful memorizing all the mat numbers.
Overall, the day had been a smashing success for the Covenant. Hundreds of recruits just at this location. Rumors suggested results had been similar at the other screening sites around the world. People who’d been concealing psychic powers all their lives had flocked to have the reality of their gifts recognized.
The young, idealistic part of Rosalia thrilled to see her dream becoming reality. Her older, more cynical side felt a deep sense of unease. Along with liberation came danger. Now that their secret was out, it could never be hidden again. If the Covenant should ever falter, today’s revelations might prove the worst thing ever to happen to those with psychic abilities, not the best.
Rosalia brushed her damp hair behind her ears as she slid into the seat across from Steve. “Sorry I’m late.”
“No problem.” He gestured to the sweating glass in front of her. “I took the liberty of buying you a margarita.”
“Thanks.” She gratefully sipped the sweet-sour slush, welcoming the warm relaxation as the alcohol hit her bloodstream. “How did the meeting go?”
/> “Not bad. Not great, either. We established that to our knowledge, none of the Covenant splinter groups has ever used the name Angel before. We assigned people to contact all the groups we know of. Except—” He broke off, staring into his glass.
“The big one. That you’re going to tell me about, right?” She grinned at him to keep her words light, but fixed him with a hard stare to let him know she was serious.
“Yes. But first—the angel symbol. You said there was something about it.”
She shivered. “Yeah. It gives me… I don’t know. A creepy feeling. Like I’ve seen it before, like it means something incredibly important. Except I don’t remember ever seeing anything like it.”
He nodded. “When we watched your memory, we all noticed that feeling.” He took a deep breath. “Savitri recognized it. She said that’s what a memory block feels like.”
Rosalia swallowed a gulp of margarita. The ice slid down her throat and settled in the pit of her stomach. “What?”
“A memory block.” Steve reached out and took her hands in his. They were hot against the chill dampness of her skin. “At some point, someone blocked out a portion of your memory. Something to do with that symbol.”
Fury and terror boiled up in Rosalia’s gut. Her heart hammered in her ears. “That’s impossible.”
“Savitri said it’s not hard to break a block if you know it’s there. It takes a good deal of psychic strength, but between us I think we’ve got plenty.” His thumbs stroked her palms. “Do you want me to help you find the block and break it?”
“Hell, yes.” Rosalia pulled her hands away and pressed her fingers hard into her temples. “Somebody messed with my mind? You’d better damn well believe I want to find out what the fuck they did.”
“It might have been done with your consent,” he said, watching her carefully. “Sometimes, in particularly dangerous times and places, the Covenant asks for permission to block memories of its existence before disclosing any sensitive information to a potential recruit. If they decline to join us, the block is placed, and our secrets remain safe.”
