Despite Gisele's message, it all happened so fast that I already had Maximilian in my grasp, ready to tear his arms off. When my mind successfully processed it, my anger evaporated and rode out on a tired sigh. I released my hold on him, the world cartwheeling around me. I was dumbfounded, staring at the confrontation with a mixture of awe, surprise, and gratitude.
Azriel and Maximilian each had an arm, and Octavian and Gisele stood in front of Celeste, pleading with her. “Do not make us destroy you, Celeste!” Gisele begged, her voice far different than I’d ever heard it. Celeste struggled like they were leading her to the dawn, savage grunts and curses spilling from her lips. She wanted to do some pretty twisted things to me.
“Celeste! You’re leaving us no choice!” Octavian thundered, his voice ringing in my ears. Where he found the strength, I don’t know, but I was impressed. She ignored him, struggling with renewed vigor. “Please!” he implored, his voice growing soft. “Please, or I’ll destroy you myself and mourn your passing forever.” The pain dripped from his words, and it shocked him into silence. Shocked everyone into silence.
Everything seemed to freeze. Dismay was suddenly the word of the hour, especially for Celeste. Her mouth opened and closed, but no sound escaped, and she immediately stilled. Her eyes were wide, as if she couldn’t quite believe what she’d heard. Hell, I barely believed it, and I was certain I’d heard him right.
“You heard me,” Octavian declared softly. “There has been enough dissension.”
“I quite agree,” Maximilian offered heartily, his voice completely sober.
“It cannot be tolerated,” Azriel offered, aware of his new responsibilities. “It will not be tolerated.” Then he took a deep breath, and I knew he was about to say something he wasn’t entirely sure he wanted to say. “Jason is the supreme authority in the Ekhaya. As much as we’d like to believe otherwise, it would not exist without him and, if we were even alive, we would still be Slumbering for eternity. We played a conscious part in giving him that which secures his rule, and that some of us would undo it now if we could does not matter. We must accept his authority and cease all attempts to undermine it by word, action or inaction. Those who refuse will never leave this chamber.”
My goodness.
Azriel didn’t believe in testing the waters before plunging headlong into them, but this was a new plateau, even for him. I couldn’t have spoken if I wanted to, and I wasn’t sure that anything I might say would help all that much anyway, so I watched and tried to keep a smug, victorious expression off my face. Watched as Azriel knelt before me, head bowed, followed by Gisele, Maximilian, and finally Octavian.
Celeste surveyed them all, eyes so wide I thought they might fall out of her head. The gravity of her situation finally sank in, and the stunned realization caused her mental shield to falter. In that moment, I caught a stray thought, and though I can’t say that it surprised me, what it heralded took my breath away.
The others caught it, too. “Celeste, no,” Octavian gasped, Blood tears streaking down his upturned face. Gisele’s mouth fell open in a muted plea. Azriel’s face hardened with anger, his smooth face that of a marble statue. Maximilian gently shook his still lowered head, placing his hand on Octavian’s shoulder, to steady or perhaps even restrain him. It was the first such gesture I had ever seen between them.
“Celeste,” I rasped, my voice lifeless and vacant. “It doesn’t have to be this way. We can live together,” I offered softly even though I knew it wasn’t true. Celeste would never submit to my rule, and the collapse of support from the other Ancients had pierced her heart deeply. She regarded their choice as betrayal, and it stripped away the last of her illusions.
“No,” she refuted calmly. “I cannot submit to you, Jason. You are but a fledgling, and no amount of power changes that. You lack the wisdom to lead us now, or I suspect ever.” I was amazed at how deeply she actually believed that statement.
“But you think you have it?” I returned with equal calm. “Or perhaps one of you?” I questioned of the others, turning my gaze to each of them in turn. “For all practical purposes, you’re as young as I am. What wisdom could any of you have possibly found in Slumber? What leadership experience could you have gained?” I surveyed them all, suddenly animated by the power of my thoughts, and the incredible clarity that I was right.
“If not me, who then? Octavian? Azriel? You? Get real. It’s your unshakable belief that you know everything because of who you are, your absurd notions of how things should be, and your very presence that undermines the Ekhaya more than I ever could with inexperience or lack of wisdom! Have you forgotten that this place existed for centuries without your so-called wisdom?!” I shook my head, crazy laughter bubbling in my throat. I wanted to cry, to scream, to stamp my feet. Instead, I shook my head again at the absurdity of it all.
“What a fucked-up bunch of children we are!” I muttered in amazement, lowering my eyes and shaking my head. After a few moments of silence, I looked back up at Celeste. “More than half of the revenants in this place have lived more revenant life than any of us, a couple more than any three of us combined; should one of them rule? Could any of you accept that?” Segmented thoughts overlapped in my head, and I fell silent as I tried valiantly to grasp one at a time and make a coherent train. No one else said a word.
“I don’t think you can, and I know I couldn’t. It’s impossible for any other revenant to rule. It depends on the ability to enforce the law, and neither you nor they have it. As much as you might think it sucks, it’s the truth, but just for shits and giggles, let’s take power out of the equation. What’s left? A revenant who understands this time, this world, as none of you can. You've all slept for so long that you aren't even a product of your own age. The time you understood is gone forever, and lessons learned from that time have zero bearing today, yet somehow you still manage to delude yourselves into thinking otherwise!” I stopped suddenly, my breath coming in heaving gasps as I strained for understanding to penetrate their thick skulls, as if my will alone could make it so. I looked from one Ancient to the other until I found a grip on my calm.
“The world has changed, and each new change comes as a numbing reminder of how lost you are, so far away from anything that makes sense to you. That’s not going to stop. Ever. As for the others, most of them are a throwback to another time, wishing fervently for that time to come again while knowing full well that it won’t!”
“Azriel. Octavian. Maximilian. Gisele.” I gave each a long, deep look as I spoke their name. “Because you recognize that things can’t go on the way they are, each of you has pledged acceptance of my rule, despite your reservations, but you should’ve done it because you see the truth. I am the only one who can rule! I have all the tools. Take a good look, with logic, not emotion; take everything into consideration, and you can’t help but see it.”
I stopped again, letting the message sink in, and I watched them all carefully in silence. When I saw understanding begin to dawn on their faces, I offered my terms.
“Stand, each of you,” I ordered, waiting until each complied. “Surrender your pride. Follow me because you see that I’m telling the truth, and it makes sense, or refuse and have the courage to face the consequences.”
“And the consequences?” Azriel asked at length, giving voice to the question each of them wanted to ask. I could tell that I was reaching them, but my words fell on deaf ears with Celeste. She looked as though she had been given a reprieve after facing the hangman, but she failed to realize that the noose already ringed her neck.
I didn’t. Hell, I had my hand on the trapdoor release.
“Leave the Ekhaya immediately, never to return, or death. You don’t need to die for standing against me, but you will leave and sever all contact with the Ekhaya and its members. Stay gone, and I'll leave you alone,” I promised. “Make your choice.”
“I am with you, love,” Gisele answered immediately, as I knew she would. Discounting the fact that she would never
choose to be without me, Gisele found comfort in the Ekhaya, no matter how much she sometimes despised it and its members.
“As am I,” Maximilian offered, inclining his head toward me. “As I have always been,” he added, a little offended that I’d grouped him in with the rest of them. I placed my hand on his shoulder in apology.
“Few beings surprise me, Jason,” Azriel began soberly, extending his hand. “You have done so twice tonight, and though your insight prickles a bit, it also makes the decision easier. I am with you.” I inclined my head toward him, accepting his compliment and his hand.
When I released his hand, Octavian spoke, a genuine grin creeping onto his face. “I never dreamed I would say this, but if you keep this up, I may begin to like you yet.”
“God forbid,” I returned, a smile of my own making an appearance.
“Indeed,” Octavian returned, and then his smile vanished. “I submit to your rule.”
Five pairs of eyes fixed on Celeste, who was devastated anew by what she viewed as another betrayal, this one far worse because the submission of the Ancients was no longer grudging. “I will not be ruled by a child, no matter how eloquently he speaks,” she growled, and there was a collective sigh from the rest of the Ancients.
“But you don’t seem to have a problem acting like one,” I muttered on a half-breath, drawing astonished looks. I’d had about enough of her crap, and from the looks of the frosty glare Celeste leveled at me, there was no longer any benefit to being diplomatic. “Celeste, you can bitch and moan about this all you want. You can even resist and make trouble, but you can’t change the way things are,” I bit out from between clenched teeth. “Get in line or get the fuck out, but make a goddamn choice and be done with it!”
I’m not sure what shocked them all more, my words or the abrupt change in my demeanor, but the expressions on their faces would have been comical if my sense of humor hadn’t fled the room.
I focused on Celeste, watching her eyes narrow to slits; a glance at Medusa couldn’t have made her face any harder. There was a long, tense silence as we stared each other down like we were auditioning for a Western, and my jaw started to throb from how tightly I had it clenched. I tried to relax, but it only made my teeth grind together. It sounded like mortar fire in my head.
Fear floated across Celeste’s features like a wraith, and for a moment I thought that it might lead her to reason. Yeah, I know, that was pretty dumb. I somehow managed to forget that if something doesn’t start with reason, it’s not at all likely to end with it.
Even before she moved, her choice was clear, and my mental shield fortified itself. To this day, I still wish she’d chosen exile.
Without a sound or facial inflection, she launched herself at me. I side-stepped the assault, my right arm catching her around the neck and hauling her up against my chest. None of the others made a move; I had to enforce my rule and my will without their aid. She made a supernatural effort to free herself from my grasp, but it was no use. My left hand came around to grip her face, and I wrenched her head to the left with a savage growl and bared fangs.
Popping vertebrae in her neck seemed to echo like gunshots in the chamber, and she went instantly limp in my arms. As her head slumped forward to expose her misshapen neck, I decided not to take her Blood, a common practice when one revenant kills another. I already had enough of Celeste’s Blood, and her irrational defiance, within me. I wanted nothing more from her.
Without looking at the others, I moved to her sarcophagus, opening the lid with a flick of my mind. I gently lowered her body inside, releasing my mental grip on the lid as I withdrew. It slammed down heavily, the resounding noise making us all flinch. Using a trick Phobos had taught me, I delved again into my ravenous BloodHunger and set Celeste’s body ablaze, watching in sober silence as she turned to ash. When it was finished, I opened the lid once more and scattered her ashes about the chamber.
After they settled to the earth, I finally turned to look at the remaining Ancients. Octavian was on his knees, thick rivulets of Blood tears running down his face; the others showed various degrees of sadness and anger, but they had not moved and were not crying. Celeste had made her choice.
“Azriel,” I said softly, the sound making him jump, and after he recovered, he looked to me. “Inform the Ekhaya of what has been decided tonight.” When he nodded his assent, I looked at Gisele, who appeared more than ready to leave. “I’m finished here,” I stated, my voice sounding strange to me, and I left the chamber with Gisele following close behind. As we exited the chamber, her mind spoke to mine.
You should have known better, Jason. She was referring to my doubt when they had all initially rushed Celeste. It seemed like a million years ago. I’d hurt her with that judgment, hurt her by believing her capable of betraying me in such a manner. I didn’t have a defense, not a good one at any rate, and being defensive would only have caused more damage. Only admission and apology were necessary.
“You're right,” I answered softly, my tone apologetic, purposely choosing that response because she liked to be right. Because my shield was still in place, I spoke aloud automatically.
Without delving too deeply into Psychic Powers 101, outbound telepathy is not effective while the mind is shielded. Inbound messages can be received because they leave impressions on a shield that, with training, can be properly interpreted to reveal the original message. An outbound message leaves similar impressions on the shield, but most revenants are not skilled enough to read subtle fluctuations in another revenant’s shield. Thoughts and emotions also leave impressions, which is why there are times when it is possible for me to read a shielded mind. Only a skilled, disciplined and powerful mind can maintain an unchanging shield. “It's been a miserable night, Gisele, and though it's no excuse, I wasn’t thinking clearly. I’m sorry.”
She thought on this while I wrapped my arms around her and brought us to the exit of the antechamber. When we were back in the corridor, I released her, but she didn't let go of me or step away. I understand, Jason. I forgive you.
“Thank you,” I replied, smiling at her.
Please lower your shield. I feel empty when I cannot touch your mind; it is my center. She delivered the request matter-of-factly, but it fell around me like an atomic explosion. I wouldn't have been surprised if my mouth fell off my face. Gisele carefully watched my reaction, and then took mercy on me by not making me form a response to her earth-shattering statement.
She grabbed me by the hand as I lowered my shield, and then she spoke aloud, signifying the end of all that gushy, emo nonsense (her thoughts, not mine), "Come. You must feed, and then we have an appointment to keep."
5 illusions
Nothing clears the mind quite the way flight can; having the night air surrounding me again, the deep cold, the disassociation from the world below and the feel of Gisele against me all worked to scrub away the night’s prior events, leaving the surface of my thoughts tingling pleasantly and preparing me anew for whatever lay ahead.
Gisele is perfectly capable of flying under her own power, but she likes it better when I fly for both of us. She occupied her usual flight position behind me, chin resting on my left shoulder and arms around my shoulders, hands clasped at my chest. Her cold cheek lay against my own except when she occasionally drew back to whisper something in my ear.
Ecstasy is the only word for it.
Normally, I don’t pay much attention to the view when I fly. Looking at the ground through the clouds is so impersonal, so distant, and so very different than when you are walking across it. From above the clouds, the world looks peaceful and clean, and I never feel farther from it. It is the only time when I really understand that the planet keeps on turning with or without me there, and as you can probably imagine, I don’t care too much for the sensation.
No one likes to feel extraneous, least of all an arrogant bastard with too much power, a cumbersome case of self-importance, and not enough life experience to put it all into the pr
oper perspective. Someone with a larger helping of wisdom would let the feeling become a teacher, or a map leading to important internal change, but it really just makes me want to find the nearest person and demonstrate how important I can be...
To them.
Sigh. Sometimes the idea of watching a sunrise does not seem so bad...
Let it go, love, Gisele implored. Life without you would be intolerable. I reached behind me to stroke her hair. Her admission was comforting.
I descended into the heart of Seattle with a ferocious speed. All at once we were standing arm in arm on the sidewalk. We startled a mortal couple, not because they saw us descend, but because they had not realized anyone was near.
"Excuse me," said the man, who was at least a head taller than me. His hair was a shocking burnished red, and it was slicked back with some kind of gel. An earring dangled from his left ear and a chain connected it to a loop in his nose. The woman, head shaved as bald as mine, had no visible piercings. I grew up with the grunge look being “in,” but I don't think I will ever get used to it.
I would give them each two more piercings.
Gisele watched in rapt silence as I fed, and after I returned from disposing of the bodies, her eyes were still glazed over. Her mouth held a smile that was both cold and brilliant at the same time.
Arching my eyebrows in silent question, I extended my arm in the old-fashioned style. Ignoring the look, she tucked her arm beneath mine, and I kissed her lightly on her temple. She leaned into me for a moment, tilting her head to rest on my upper arm briefly before straightening, and we walked into the hotel.
As we ascended the stairs, I could hear fragments of mortal thoughts, and I sifted through them to find Alicia's. As we neared the last landing before we would exit the stairwell, I had caught both her thoughts and her scent, and aching pleasantly for her presence, I realized how much I had missed her.
I opened the door before we reached it, and we walked into the overly warm corridor. I proceeded directly to the suite, Gisele silent at my side, her free hand absently toying with her hair. She was nervous. Interesting. And unexpected. I still had not decided whether it was a good or bad sign as we stopped outside the door. Patting her hand, I looked at her, and as she looked up at me with a questioning glance, I mentally reminded her of her promise.
Corrupting Alicia Page 13
