...even as with a jerk and a gasp, the Vice President of the United States, Ethan Wellington, sat up in bed.
For a long moment, he didn’t know what had wakened him, didn’t know what was wrong.
Then, receiving a number of flashes from the Barrier construct he’d erected over the room, he felt in the bed beside him for the body of his wife, feeling a faint rush of panic when he couldn’t find her. Seconds later, he remembered she was out, touring the Southern states on free school lunches, or one of the other social programs he’d asked her to support. As parts of him whispered in the dark, he found himself thankful for her absence.
He threw back the covers, shoved his feet into plush slippers and reached for the drawer where he still kept a small gun, like in that apartment he and Helen shared when they lived together in graduate school.
The door to his bedroom opened.
Ethan tensed, blinking up into the giant eye of a Maglite flashlight.
“Good,” he said, exhaling as he recognized Wes, the lead of his security detail. “Have them bring my car around. There’s been a family emergency, and—”
“Sir,” the agent said. “That won’t be necessary.”
It occurred to Ethan that he’d made a mistake, even as his eyes adjusted enough to see the gun his security chief held beside the long flashlight. Ethan’s mind toyed with regret—that this wasn’t a seer’s body, that he might have acted faster, that he hadn’t remembered to call Helen that night.
The agent emptied four chambers into his chest.
Ethan’s brown eyes flashed yellow as he slid to the bedroom floor, bleeding on the new silk carpet his wife found for them in Dubai during their last trip with President Daniel Caine, Lisa Caine and the twins.
The last thing Ethan heard was the elongated scream of a siren outside his window, and then everything went dark.
29
CONTACT
I WATCHED REVIK check a security panel by the study doors. Eddard hovered near him. Jon and Cass stood out of sight of the tall sash windows, looking down onto the street where I could hear the activity ramping up once more. Maygar did the same by a third window, an automatic rifle gripped in his hands.
While I watched, Jon shoved a gun in the back of his belt, holding another in his good hand, what looked like one of Revik’s Glocks.
My brother the pacifist.
I glanced back as Revik passed by where I stood, aiming for the china closet. He moved aside a vase on a nearby accent table and slid a key off the wood with his fingers. I watched him unlock the double hutch doors, pressing a button concealed behind a faux wooden panel.
The panel slid back, pushing out a velvet-cushioned tray.
I could only stare as he pulled another handgun off the blue, velvet cloth, checking the magazine for how many bullets remained, then the chamber before handing it to Eddard. He picked up a second gun, then a third. He checked them all, shoving one in his belt before passing the other to Eddard, as well.
I saw him motion towards me then, still muttering to Eddard in a voice too low for me to hear, and I looked away.
I held my stomach with one arm. I was having trouble breathing. My brain seemed to have short-circuited somewhere between the conversation over lunch and the two helicopters exploding over the London streets below. Some kind of delayed reaction, maybe...to being fired on by jets, prolonged stress, almost zero sleep in two days, and finding out my best friends were alive and that I was still married to a guy who couldn’t bring himself to look at me.
I felt a push to move my limbs. I think I meant to walk over to Jon and Cass, but my body must have had other ideas, because I only got as far as the china closet and the exposed tray of guns. Revik no longer stood there. I don’t know when he left, but by the time I reached the tray, he bent over another wall panel on the other side of the room.
“They changed all my codes,” he said. “We’ll have to take the stairs.”
I stared at a gun on the tray I recognized. It looked just like the one Revik held all those years ago in Germany. I picked it up, hefting the weight of the metal in my hand. It was so small. It looked like a toy.
“We can’t take the elevator,” Revik said. I felt his attention on me, but I didn’t turn around. “We have to get to the stairs...now. There’s some chance we can still make it to the basement.”
“Revik.” Clearing my throat, I shook my head. “No.”
Everyone paused.
I thought they’d forgotten me in their panic, but when I turned around, the whole room seemed focused on my face. Even Eddard stared, his expression a mixture of curiosity and pity. It occurred to me that he probably thought I’d snapped. I didn’t look at Revik, but felt his mind slide past my words, still thinking about how we would get out of the building.
He turned to Eddard. “Get the charges from my room. If I have more clips—”
“Revik,” I said. “No. We won’t get out that way.”
He didn’t look at me, but I watched him put a hand on the wall. He turned towards me, still without looking at me, his face closed.
“Allie. We don’t have any choice.”
“No.” I shook my head. “Not that way. Please.”
I saw his jaw harden. He still wouldn’t look at me. “Please trust me on this, Esteemed Bridge. I am not being disrespectful...but I know our options here. This is my home. Let me protect you in it.”
I saw Jon and Cass stare at him, as if they didn’t recognize him. Then they both, seemingly at the same instant, looked at me.
“I do trust you,” I said. “But I can’t let you take us out that way.”
“Allie!” Cass said.
I looked at her. My whole body was shaking. I stood there, in the middle of the room, barely able to stand upright from the pain in my chest.
“Allie, what are you doing?” Jon said. His voice sounded shocked.
Revik stared at me, his eyes flat now, wary.
I didn’t realize at first I was pointing the gun at him. It wasn’t until I looked at Jon, saw his mouth hanging open, his hazel eyes wide, that I realized something was wrong. I looked down at my hands. They gripped the gun, steady.
“Allie.” Revik held out a hand. “Please. Give it to me—”
“No.” I took a step back. “Please, Revik. You have to listen to me. He expects you to do this. He’s counting on it.” My voice lowered, growing angry, but not at him. My eyes blurred as they filled with tears, but I couldn’t care about that either. I knew I was right. I had no idea how I knew, but I did.
“Please,” I said, my voice thick. “Please, Revik. Please...just listen to me.”
“I’m listening, Allie,” he said. “Put the gun down...”
I shook my head, gripping it tighter. He wasn’t listening to me. I could feel it. I’d become a threat in his eyes, a dangerous animal. But I knew he wouldn’t listen to me if I gave him the gun.
“He wants to shoot at you,” I said. “He knows I’ll do something. Fold something, or break something...or light something on fire. I can’t control it. He must know that, too. It’s gotten worse, Revik...”
“Allie!” Jon’s voice rose, pulling me to look at him. “Jesus, are you going to shoot Revik? He saved our lives!”
“Who, Allie?” Cass said. Fear leaked into her voice. “Who wants us to do it? Do you mean Terian? Is Terian here?”
“No.” Revik’s voice sharpened. He held out a hand towards Cass. “We’re all right, Cass.” He looked at me, and now he felt angry. “Put the gun down, Allie!”
I heard all this, and it affected some part of me, but I didn’t take my eyes off his face.
“Please, Revik...”
“Please, what?” he said. “What do you want me to do?” He looked at Maygar, and the anger in his face worsened. “What do you want from me, Allie?”
I shifted my weight, and felt my resolve falter. “Did you give me those numbers?” I said. “On the ship. I thought you were dead...but you did it to keep them from
Terian. That was you. It had to be you...”
Revik’s eyes drew a blank.
I saw Maygar turn, startled. He stared at Revik.
“It’s important,” I said. “It’s really important, Revik.”
“Allie, I don’t know what you’re talking about! I would tell you, I swear I would! But we have to go now...please!”
“You helped design it,” I said. “The rotating hierarchy.”
He blanched. Then his jaw hardened more. “Even if I did. I don’t remember...”
“None of it came back with Terian?” I said. “That’s what he wanted from you, isn’t it? The succession order? So he could go after Galaith?”
Jon and Cass’s expressions grew openly startled, just before their eyes swiveled almost in unison to Revik’s face. It was enough to confirm what I’d suspected. Then Jon’s voice rose, angry.
“Did Terian help him remember? You mean when he was beating him unconscious every day? Is that what you’re asking, Al?”
I turned, staring at Jon.
I saw Revik look at Jon too, telling him to be silent with his eyes. I focused on the bruises on Revik’s neck, how his clothes hung on his long frame. I lowered the gun slowly, staring between them, then down at my hands, holding the gun.
“I don’t want to hurt you,” I said. All the resolve and tension left my limbs. “I don’t want to hurt anyone...”
“Maybe not shooting us would be a first step,” Jon snapped. “Jesus, Allie. Have you lost it completely?”
“Jon,” Revik warned. “Stop.”
I looked at Revik, startled. Then Maygar spoke up from where he leaned against the wall, out of sight of the high window.
“Yeah, Jon,” he drawled. “Take it easy on little sis. We need to know what we’re up against..and Rook-boy here used to be evil. Or did he forget to mention that in all of your touching inter-species bonding?” He nodded towards me, his voice openly approving.
“...About time someone went to the source for answers.”
I felt Revik turn before I saw him, felt his anger flare into something closer to hatred as soon as it found a target. His voice nearly shook.
“You’re right,” Revik said. “...she’s not completely wrong. I do remember more now...Maygar, is it? Your mother, for instance. Does she still work for them?”
Maygar’s expression turned hard as glass.
“Watch your forked tongue, Rook...”
“I remember you,” Revik said. “You were a little shit when they brought you in. A thief...half-recruited yourself. Are you the reason my wife’s got a gun on me now? Didn't I stay dead long enough for you?”
“As a matter of fact...”
“Just stay away from her!”
My eyes swiveled to Revik. I stared at his face in shock, saw his jaw clenched, his hands in fists by his sides so that the long muscles in his arms stood out. I felt my breath stop when I saw his expression. I’d only seen it on his face once before, and that was before I’d been born.
Maygar burst into a laugh. “You must be joking!”
“I’m not. Don’t push me, boy. I’ll rip your dirtblood heart out...”
“Revik!” Jon said.
“Boys!” Cass said, sharp. “We don’t have time for this! Military outside, remember? Revik, calm down—”
“You broke vow,” Maygar said to him. “You have no rights, you worm-fucking retard. I can court her if I want!”
“No. You can’t.” Revik clenched his hands. “You interfere with an attempt at reconciliation, and I’ll press charges...if I don’t kill you first.”
I blanched, looking between them. Court me? I stared at Revik, unable to look away from the expression on his face.
“Reconciliation?” Maygar snorted. “You brought your human whore here!”
Revik’s face drained of blood. He looked at me.
“Whore?” Cass broke in furiously. “Would that be me?” She turned on me. “Is that what the martyr crap at lunch was about? You really think I’d skank on your husband, Al? You’re my best friend! And for your information, he hasn’t been with anyone since you saw him! We were with him the whole time. He didn’t touch anyone for months, unless you count Terian and his—”
“Shut up!” Revik was breathing harder, staring at her. “Shut up, Cass! Right now!”
I looked between them, feeling sick. “I really don’t—”
“No!” Maygar said, holding up a hand to me. “Don’t accept anything from him, Bridge! You owe him nothing!”
Revik and Maygar were looking at each other again. Neither dropped their gaze, nor relaxed their stances.
I couldn’t take my eyes off Revik’s face, seeing the anger there, but more than that, him fighting to control himself, to remain standing where he was. Suddenly, my mind seemed to click back on. Lowering the gun the rest of the way, I placed it on the table. Giving Maygar a disbelieving look, I closed the distance to Revik.
I grabbed his arm, harder until he looked down.
“No...Revik. Look, he’s protecting me, but not the way you think.” I yanked on his arm again to get his eyes off Maygar. “Revik! Listen to me! There’s nothing going on with me and Maygar!”
Revik turned. His eyes locked on mine.
“Are you with anyone?” Pain wafted off him.
I stared up at him, momentarily speechless.
“Allie.” He gripped my arm, hard enough to hurt. “I would understand. I know I’m not acting like it, but I would. Tell me to back off, and—”
“No.” I shook my head, still staring at him. “No...no one.”
He didn’t move. Realizing I still had him in a death grip, I let go of his arm.
After the barest instant, he released me, too.
We just stood there, staring at one another. Then it occurred to me that I’d walked up to him. Before I could move away, though, he caught hold of my wrists. His fingers tightened, pulling me closer to where he stood.
For another moment, he seemed to be trying to speak.
He looked so damned thin. I watched his jaw harden, his eyes brighten as he looked at me, holding out my hands slightly, almost like Jon had when he first saw me alive. He looked longest at my face, then down the rest of me. I felt his light on mine then, cautiously at first...growing stronger the longer we stood there.
I tried to decide if I should say anything, when an intensity rose to his eyes. He met my gaze again and I nearly flinched, but I didn’t look away.
I’d seen that look on his face before, too, but never aimed at me.
Tugging at my hands, he pulled me carefully between his arms.
I let him guide me up against him, following his pull to wrap my arms around him once I stood close enough. He let go of my wrists once I had, curling an arm lengthwise across my back, gripping my shoulder in his hand and squeezing before he wrapped his fingers into my hair. I didn’t move as he pulled it out of the soft knot, caressing it away from my neck. He slid his other arm around my waist, pulling me tight against his body before he lowered his head, pressing his face against mine.
I relaxed against him. I forgot all of it in those few seconds—my mother, all those months of believing he and Cass and Jon were dead, even the military outside. He held me tighter, tight enough that I could barely breathe. My throat closed as he pulled me deeper into the curve of his body.
Then he opened...and his light nearly flattened me.
I felt him hold his breath as he wound it deeper into mine...and then I couldn’t breathe...I breathed too much. I clutched at him as he leaned into me more, and I felt him asking me, willing me to open, asking me again. I held him tighter, unable to see as his hands clenched my back. His light slid deeper, pulling on me...I think I made some kind of sound.
Then everything seemed to happen fast.
We were kissing when someone’s arms grabbed me from behind.
Revik’s hands were under my shirt and around me as someone or several someone’s dragged him off. Yet another person held m
y waist, pulling me away from him.
I glanced behind me, barely recognized Maygar.
“What the hell are you doing?” He was staring up at Revik, his eyes and voice furious. “Are you trying to kill her?”
I felt Revik react to Maygar’s hands on me.
I saw pain on his face, confusion as he looked at me, almost like he didn’t know where he was. My own pain worsened as I stared back, and suddenly I couldn’t bear being held away from him. I had to fight not to shove all of them off me, just so I could touch him.
“It’s okay,” I said, holding up a hand. “Revik, hey. It’s okay...”
Then my light, everything about me that was me, was ripped away from my body.
“NO!” CASS DROPPED her gun, running for Allie as she collapsed in Maygar’s arms. Revik got there before she did. Maygar tried to shove him back, but the taller seer grabbed the front of Maygar’s shirt in his fist, and suddenly a gun was in his hand. He pressed it to Maygar’s face.
“Let go of her,” Revik said. “I’ll do it. I promise you.”
Maygar released her, removing his hands. His voice shook.
“If she dies, so help me, I’ll skin you—”
“Stop it!” Cass snapped. “Both of you!”
“What happened?” Jon crouched over Revik, but it was Maygar who answered in a snarl.
“Rook-boy couldn’t keep his hands to himself! He just fed her to them...”
Cass watched Revik pull Allie into his lap. He stroked the long hair away from her face, caressing her cheek with his hand. His voice shocked her. It was quiet, but a near anguish trembled on the surface as he spoke.
“Allie...gods. Can you hear me? Allie!”
“Hit her!” Maygar snarled. “Do you think that’s going to do anything but make it worse? Hit her, or let me try!”
But Revik’s hands had gone still.
Maygar shoved Cass out of the way, grabbing Revik’s shoulders. When he turned the other seer around, looking him full in the face, he cursed, releasing him. Bending down, he slid his arms around Allie, pulling her roughly out of Revik’s lap. Cass watched in disbelief as Revik made no move to stop him. She was still staring at Revik’s unmoving form when a loud crack of flesh against flesh jerked her eyes back to Maygar.
Allie's War Season One Page 43
