by Elana Brooks
“We’ll take turns,” Noh said firmly. “We won’t leave you here alone with the dead bodies of your comrades. And some of us must stand guard over those who yet live.” He went to Gabeel and put his hand on the Seraph’s neck. “You’ve betrayed your own people for our sakes. We won’t forget your sacrifice, nor fail to honor you for it.”
Gabeel looked at Noh and ducked his head. “I could do no other and remain true to the way God has revealed to us.”
Noh nodded. “Let us be about our work.”
The Memory switched to a montage of shifting images. Noh’s telepathic voice narrated them in Beverly’s mind. Over the next days we moved each piece of ice so that its path through the heavens would no longer bring it to Earth. Beverly watched the eight humans and Gabeel hover around tumbling comets, over and over, and saw displays that showed orbits swinging away from their intersections with the planet. First those nearby, then the further ones, until every work of the Seraphim was undone.
On a sunny morning, the battered and waterlogged craft was towed telekinetically to rest on a rocky beach below towering mountains. Though the flood submerged our old home, we came safely to a fair place where we might build a new one. Stone huts rose, and once again children played, adults worked, crops grew, animals grazed.
We bore the couches of our yet-living foes down from the heavens and into deep waters. Beverly saw a cluster of astral humans surrounding one of the Seraphim sleeping capsules, guiding it telekinetically out of the ship and down through layers of atmosphere. Settling it into the ocean, they pried it open. The Seraph within dove into the waves as the capsule sank. Though they cannot multiply in our waters, we told them they might live out their lives in peace if they refrain from hostility toward our people. They perforce agreed and vanished into the deeps.
The bridge of the Seraphim ship appeared. Gabeel hovered by the computers, indicating a displayed diagram. Gabeel returned to his vessel. He commanded it to sail a great circle around the sun, a journey so long it will not approach our world again until the time the Seraphim colony ship draws near. He returned to his couch to sleep, so that he might survive until the day, many lifetimes hence, when our children’s children will once again need his aid. Beverly watched, a lump in her throat, as Gabeel touched his astral fin to Noh’s astral hand, then sank though the lid of his capsule to rejoin the body that floated unmoving in the trapped bubble of water.
The view shifted to the shore of the sea near Noh’s family’s new home. The eight who had fought and defeated the Seraphim stood in a ring, hands clasped, heads bowed. In the sky, shafts of light from the setting sun pierced dark clouds, setting a rainbow arching over the far horizon. I crafted my Memories, as Gabeel taught me, into a form that will endure, and entrusted them to each of the others. We Eight made a solemn vow to each other and to God. God placed his bow in the heavens, and we took it for the sign of our Covenant. Never again will the waters rise and floods destroy the people of this world. We will pass on our knowledge to our successors, down through the ages. When the Seraphim return and seek again to take the Earth for their own, we will stand ready to stop them.
Beverly blinked and swallowed as the Memory faded from her vision. She looked down at Adrian’s hands clasping hers, then up into his eyes. She wanted to say something, to tell him that now she truly understood, but she couldn’t find the words. She looked away.
From behind her came Rabbi Sensei’s voice. “I hope I’m not intruding. But I wished to be present when you finished the Memory in case you had any questions.”
Adrian’s brow creased, but Beverly twisted around in relief. “Oh, no. I’m glad you came. Although—it’s so overwhelming. I don’t know what to say.”
Rabbi Sensei pulled up a chair and seated himself so the three of them made a rough triangle. “Many have that reaction on their first viewing.”
Beverly wrapped her arms around herself, shivering. “So Gabeel is out there somewhere in his ship? Do you think he’s really going to come back?”
Adrian nodded. “We’ve been watching for him, as well as monitoring the astronomers who scan for comets and asteroids. So far there’s been no sign of his ship orbiting back into the inner Solar System. There’s plenty of time, though. Assuming he still lives; it’s always possible his life support might have malfunctioned at some point. None of the people in the Covenant with precognitive gifts have seen him yet.”
Beverly nodded slowly. She kept thinking back over everything she’d seen, gradually digesting it. “So that’s what a soul bond can do, huh? Wow.” She glanced at Adrian, then down.
Rabbi Sensei smiled with a touch of wry humor. “It seems that bonding souls is an ability unique to humans. Nothing is specifically stated, but Gabeel and the rest appear surprised when Noh and Nama first create theirs.”
“Yeah.” Images of the battle flashed across Beverly’s mind’s eye. “I didn’t expect things to get so… violent. The way Noh and the rest just start killing the Seraphim, without hesitation, without remorse. I mean, I know it was that or let bunches of humans die, but still…” She swallowed. “I guess that’s what we’re going to have to do. What you expect me to do.”
Adrian’s voice was gentle. “We intend to seek some sort of truce with the Seraphim. But as you saw, it doesn’t seem likely they’ll be willing to negotiate. So yes, we’ll probably end up fighting them. It’s going to be the same generation of Seraphim that Noh faced, after all. They’ve been in suspended animation all this time. They haven’t had generations to learn and grow and change like we have.”
Rabbi Sensei pulled a palm-sized gold medallion from his pocket. He turned it in his fingers for a moment, studying it, then passed it to Beverly. Engraved on its surface was the image of a bow and arrow, the arrow nocked and ready to shoot, the bow drawn into a deep half-circle. The bow was inlaid with narrow bands of colored gemstones: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet.
“In modern American culture the rainbow has come to represent many things. Most see it as something pretty and insubstantial: rainbows and butterflies and unicorns. Some use it to symbolize the unity of all the many varieties of humankind. In the Jewish faith and those that spring from it, the rainbow is remembered as the sign of God’s promise that the flood will never come again.”
His voice grew deep and resonant. “But what most fail to understand is that a bow is first and foremost an instrument of death. We of the Covenant of the Rainbow know our purpose. We are the weapon in the hand of God, the arrow aimed at the heart of the enemy.”
Chapter 18
Beverly paid the cashier and picked up her tray. She followed Adrian across the busy lunchroom to the small table by the window that had become their customary place to eat together. The food offered by the HBQ cafeteria was so good and so reasonably priced she was seldom tempted to venture into the city for lunch. Today it was a big bowl of beef soup, stuffed with tender chunks of meat and perfectly cooked vegetables. The whole strong body/strong mind philosophy seemed to be carried through in the food HBQ made available to its employees.
She was still so shaken from watching the last Memory she was glad Adrian was willing to eat for a while in comfortable silence. Eventually, though, about halfway through her bowl, she set her spoon down. “It’s been two weeks.”
Adrian carefully swallowed his mouthful. “It has.”
Beverly looked away, then back. He was watching her, muscles taut, dark eyes intent, indrawn breath held. She gave him a shy smile. “Is your invitation to dinner still open?”
He exhaled in a rush. “It is.”
Her smile got stronger. “Good. I’d like to accept. Tonight, maybe?”
“Tonight would be great.” He grinned, eyes dancing, and leaned across the table to catch her hands. “I’ve been thinking about where you might like to go. There’s a wonderful little restaurant over on—”
A commotion arose by the doors of the lunchroom, drowning him out. Adrian broke off and looked to see its source. The anno
yance on his face was replaced by surprise, then pleasure. “Hey, look, it’s Steve.” He jumped up and pulled Beverly from her seat. “I didn’t know he was coming in today. You have to meet him. He’s a friend of mine; I think you’ll really like him.”
Reluctantly Beverly rose and let Adrian tow her over. She was glad Adrian was pleased to see his friend, but couldn’t he have waited to show up? Preferably until tomorrow? She’d been waiting so long for this moment with Adrian, and now it was spoiled. At least his hand was still firm and warm in hers.
“Steve! Why didn’t you tell me you were coming? How are things going with Rosalia and the yoga screenings?” Adrian shoved through the crowd around the big man and clapped him on the back. He pulled Beverly forward. “This is Beverly Jones. You’d better watch out; she’s going to take the energyball championship away from you.”
Steve’s eyes traveled up and down Beverly’s body with obvious appreciation. The scrutiny made her feel a little embarrassed, but at the same time it was thrilling to provoke the sort of admiration she’d never attracted before. “Is she now? We’ll see about that. Although if I must go down in defeat, I can imagine no one I’d rather fall to than this lovely lady.” He lifted Beverly’s hand and bowed to brush the back of her knuckles with his lips.
Beverly giggled and pulled her hand back. She was flattered, though his manner was so extravagant and his smile so teasing she couldn’t possibly take him seriously. “Don’t believe him. I’m still only a beginner. But maybe you’ll join us this afternoon? Adrian and I usually play a few matches starting around three. He said you’re the best; I’d love the chance to learn from you.”
Steve smiled at her, easy and charming. “I’d—”
His gaze shifted to Adrian, and he blinked. Smoothly, with only a slight hesitation to make her suspect he’d changed his answer mid-sentence, he continued. “—better not, at least not today. I’ve got a lot to do, getting settled in here, meeting with Solomon and the others to work out plans. Tomorrow, how about? Give the old man a chance to brush up on my technique before I defend my title from a hungry young challenger.” He winked at her and waved an expansive hand. “I’ll let you two get back to your lunch. It’s good to see you, Adrian. We’ll have to talk later.”
His last words carried an odd emphasis that puzzled Beverly, but he seemed perfectly at ease as he nodded and strode away. Beverly turned back toward her abandoned soup. “He seems very nice. You’re right; I do like him.”
“Yeah.” Adrian’s voice sounded strangled.
When Beverly turned to him, curious, he was staring after Steve, his face expressionless. When she reached to sense his mood, she found his mind tightly shielded against hers. “What’s the matter?”
“Nothing.” He shook his head sharply and gave her a strained smile. “Let’s finish eating. And weren’t we deciding where we’d go to supper tonight? Have you ever had Ethiopian food?”
“No. Sounds interesting. Is it spicy?” Beverly sat down and picked up her spoon. Whatever had caused Adrian’s momentary strange behavior seemed to have passed. Maybe later she’d ask him about it. Maybe tonight, on their date.
She shivered with delighted, nervous anticipation. Her choice was made. Now that she’d told him, there was no going back.
Not that she wanted to.
Adrian tried to focus on Beverly as he described the peculiarities of Ethiopian cuisine to her, but his mind kept going back to the moment when Steve had let his gaze travel over Beverly’s body and raised her hand to touch his lips.
It didn’t mean anything. He knew that. Steve flirted shamelessly with every woman he encountered. Adrian had seen him make similar, or even more blatant, displays many times. The women generally ate it up, taking it in the playful spirit it was offered. Beverly’s reaction had surely been no more than that.
So why had he been swept by a surge of pure jealous rage, so strong it had taken all the willpower he possessed not to tackle his friend and slam a fist into his face?
The reaction was so not him. He’d never been possessive of women. Even that time a girl had dumped him in the middle of a party and spent the rest of the evening draped all over another guy right in front of him, he’d bitten back his hurt and anger and acted civilly. It was her choice who she wanted to be with, after all. He didn’t own her.
Now, though… He wanted to wall Beverly up behind an ten foot tall fence and nail “Property of Adrian Marshall” signs all over it. He wanted to growl at any man who dared look at her. He wanted to walk up to Steve, stare him in the eye until he backed down, and tell him “Stay the hell away from Beverly. She’s mine.”
It must be the soul bond. Something about that link to Beverly was turning him into an animal. He was going to have to get over it, fast. For lots of reasons.
Beverly wasn’t his yet, and she never would be if he drove her away by acting like a caveman. Even if they did get together, he’d have no right to try to control who she interacted with.
Steve was a good friend. It would suck if Adrian let baseless suspicion come between them. Steve would no more try to steal Adrian’s girlfriend than he’d steal his wallet. Look how quickly he’d backed down when he saw Adrian’s reaction.
Beverly really did need Steve to help train her. The skills in energy combat he could teach her might someday save her life. That was infinitely more important than any irrational jealousy Adrian might feel.
All excellent reasons, which Adrian’s mind fully accepted. But none of them did a thing to quiet the roaring beast in his heart.
“—Adrian?”
He looked up to find Beverly regarding him with a curious half-smile. “Oh. Sorry. I guess I got distracted by my thoughts for a minute.”
“More like five.” She stood and picked up her tray, giving him a shyly smoldering sidelong look. “Thinking about tonight, I hope.”
“Yeah.” He swallowed, his throat suddenly dry.
“Me, too.” She sighed. “We’d better get going, though. You know how Rabbi Sensei gets if we’re late for karate.”
Adrian managed a smile. “Do I ever.” Rabbi Sensei maintained that arriving late for lessons was an indication the student felt they had nothing left to learn from the master. He took pains to demonstrate that impression false. Forcefully. “I’d rather avoid extra bruises today.”
“What? You don’t want me to kiss them and make them better?” Beverly ran her eyes over his limbs in a way that had him vividly imagining her doing just that.
He wanted to say something clever about how in that case he’d volunteer for any number of rough falls, but his voice failed him. “Um…”
Beverly quirked a wry smile at him. “Let’s go.” She glanced at her watch. “How many hours before we can get out of here?”
“Too many,” he said fervently. Her laugh of commiseration and the fact that at least they would be together was all that kept the prospect of those hours from seeming like pure torture.
Chapter 19
Showing Beverly how to tear off pieces of the spongy, pancake-like, slightly sour-tasting injera and use them to scoop up chunks of exotically spiced meats and vegetables was great fun. Even more so was the way she didn’t try to hide either her intimidation with something so far outside her Midwestern comfort zone or her pleasure when the experience proved enjoyable. Her inner hedgehog was fully uncurled, relaxed in his presence as she’d never been before. The last thing he wanted was to do anything that might cause her to throw her spines back up.
So when they finally emerged from the restaurant into the lights and shadows of the city night, he was careful to keep his voice casual. “Would you like me to walk you home? Or would you rather take a cab?”
She looked toward the street. “Actually, I haven’t been over to your place yet. Have you got everything unpacked?”
Adrian’s heartbeat thudded in his ears. “Mostly. There wasn’t much. I’ve been living light for so long, traveling. I’ve still got a couple of boxes sitting around, stuff I pu
t in storage when I moved out of my old apartment. I don’t even remember most of what’s in there.”
“If you’ve done without it this long, it can’t be that important.” She reached to take his hand. “So what do you say? Mind if we head over there?”
“I’d love it.” He squeezed her hand and tugged her in the proper direction. Neither of them loosened their grip as they wove through the crowds of residents and tourists, pausing at corners to cross with the lights, until they got to his building.
“Lucky! How’d you manage to get one on the ground floor? So close to Headquarters?” She put her hands on her hips and mock-glared at him as he worked the key.
“It was just one the relocation department had on their list.” He shrugged. “It’s not much, but I like it.” He held the door and gestured her in.
“It’s beautiful. Bigger than mine. But I guess you know that, because you’ve seen my place, haven’t you? I tend to forget, since I couldn’t see you while you were there.” She wandered through the small living room into the kitchen and poked her head into his bedroom. “An actual door.”
He was very glad he’d straightened up and made the bed that morning. He hadn’t had much hope she’d be coming home with him, but he’d wanted to be ready just in case. “Can I get you something? Water? Coke? A beer?”
“Water would be nice.” She came to stand at his elbow as he filled a glass with ice and ran water over it. “Thanks.”
He got himself a glass as well and jerked his head toward the sofa. “Have a seat. Want to watch TV or a movie or something?”
She plopped down and watched him as he settled beside her. “Really, I’d rather just talk.”
“Me, too.” He took a long drink, then set down his water on the coffee table. “What’s on your mind?” He reached for her hand and she willingly let him take it.
She blinked at him over the rim of her glass. “So what was the deal at lunch? With your friend. You got all tense for some reason.”
