by Sue Wilder
While her face flamed, Christan looked at Phillipe. “What kind of diversions have you planned?”
Phillipe had already opened the laptop and was spinning it around. Ethan appeared on the screen. The warrior in San Francisco was adjusting the camera angle as he sat at a desk. Behind him were shelves filled with books, several awards in gold frames and what looked like a piece of ancient pottery, black with red figures.
“Christan. Lexi,” he nodded toward the computer screen, seeing them as clearly as they saw him, and Lexi brushed at a loose strand of her blond hair. Christan tugged it back against her cheek with a wicked grin, while Ethan said, “Has Phillipe brought you up to speed?”
“He’s agreed to let you run through the details,” Christan acknowledged.
“We need a crisis of sufficient magnitude if this is going to work. Attack Six on several fronts.”
“Divide his attention?”
“And force him to spread his resources putting out the fires. I’ve hacked into Six’s data enough times to know most of his business assets. I’d like to hit him in the transportation sector.”
A small window opened in the upper left corner of the computer screen. It revealed a blue map with white dots and the brown coastline of the Eastern Mediterranean.
“Six has seven ships at sea right now, two oil tankers and five container ships. A large truck fleet operates throughout Europe and in his own territory, and I thought it might be fun to send some of those ships to the wrong ports, change up the orders for the trucks, too. We can redirect them into Five’s territory.”
“Can you turn a few missing ships and trucks into a big enough crisis to keep him occupied?” Christan asked.
“Not as an isolated incident. That’s why we’re going to attack off-shore accounts and drain the money. I’ll leave a trail, transfer the funds across Europe, some into Five’s holding companies, others into the bank accounts of known mercenaries working as independent contractors. Most of it will bounce around and take weeks to trace.”
“Six will suspect Three.”
“Not if we disrupt her finances at the same time and mix up her transportation sector in North America,” Ethan said. “One is on board, too, allowing similar disruptions. Three will then demand a full confrontation with all the Calata members and they can shout at each other about war and diplomatic conflicts.”
“Three is sitting right here,” Christan pointed out as a favor.
Ethan smiled. “It was her idea. Six will try to call back his misdirected shipments, and when his security people trace the missing financial funds, he’ll have another concern on his hands. The Calata will be in an uproar while Kace will be too busy in the Middle East trying to sooth angry clients and trace illicit cargo. No one will notice two Canadian tourists entering Algeria to photograph the rock art.”
Christan stroked Lexi’s nape as he studied the small map on the computer. “How can you accomplish all that without warriors involved?”
“Electronically. When they trace our activities, it will lead them to Six’s inner circle, a betrayal they expect now, after One’s disaster in the Piedmont. They’re all nervous about attacks from within and worried about personal safety.”
“Makes sense. It could work.”
“There’s only one complication.”
“What is it?”
“I need help.”
“From who?”
“Your mate,” Ethan said. “I need Lexi.”
✽✽✽
The Immortal world didn’t differ much from the human world. Both societies used technology, exploited it, searching for weakness in business relationships, disgruntled employees, anything to use against rivals and enemies. Everyone felt the need to share the minutia of their lives, where they were at any given moment, their political affiliations or romantic entanglements. Secrets could be found. Behavior changed. No one wanted to be confronted with their extracurricular activities and a threat of exposure.
It was through such indiscretions that Ethan learned of a private banker in Zurich, a man who had a favorite club where he indulged unhealthy interests. This banker, coincidentally, had control of an escrowed account that Six used for his business and financial communications in the mortal world. The encrypted passwords—in the banker’s control—changed every hour. Christan knew Arsen could pay a simple visit and in a matter of minutes possess the information they needed. But that would leave less than sixty-minutes to cause damage before the password rolled to the next one in the queue, shutting them out. The real finesse involved hacking into the program and changing the system without leaving evidence behind.
“Why do you need Lexi?” Christan asked, as his possessiveness kicked and his fingers burrowed into her hair.
Ethan’s gaze shifted to Lexi. “Do you remember all that research you were doing?”
“Which time?”
“Florence. I was following along and then you disappeared.”
“I thought you’d piggy-backed me,” she said. “You were hard to shake.”
“Those were some skills, girl. Who taught you?”
“A mentor,” Lexi said cautiously.
“Does he have a name?”
“Not that I can reveal. Sorry,” she added with an apologetic shrug. “I can’t unless he gives me permission.”
Ethan looked down at his keyboard, and seconds later another window appeared on the laptop in the house at the top of the hill. Code scrolled too rapidly for Christan to decipher, but his mate was following along.
“Let’s try this solo, then,” Ethan said. “Are you with me?”
Lexi leaned forward, her attention engaged in what the San Francisco warrior was trying to do. Now and then her suggestions brought a response on Ethan’s end until he told her to take over when she saw the opportunity. After half an hour, Christan rose to his feet and walked into the kitchen. He was boiling water for the coffee when Three joined him.
“Did you know?” he asked, keeping his back to her.
“About Phillipe’s theory, that Two was trying to force a myth to life through the blood bond?”
Christan nodded.
“I knew she was interested in the idea,” Three said. “She talked about triggering a transformation, but I didn’t think it was possible.” Three paused. “I still don’t, and I’m not convinced by Phillipe’s argument.”
“You don’t think it’s settled?” Christan spooned coffee into the French press.
“No, and I don’t believe the entities could be controlled by immortal magic. They were created to control us, not the other way around, and their presence seems to be generated on their end, not ours.”
“But if Phillipe’s supposition is accurate? What can I do to stop the progression?”
“We’ve talked of it before in terms of Lexi’s growth and her connections to you, so it’s more of the same. Extreme emotional distress makes you more susceptible to immortal influence. Violence and chaos appear to play a role. Remaining calm would be preferable.”
“And you ask us to go to Algeria?” Christan was facing her now, his smile hard.
“It’s necessary. Algeria is Two’s last known location. Your mate must go and you with her. Whatever information Two left may enable us understand what she did and if we’re worrying over this myth for nothing.”
“Lexi said the same thing.”
“If it helps, I doubt you’ll encounter any violence. Our Tuareg guides are loyal and if this diversion works, no one will know where you are.”
A muscle flexed in Christan’s jaw. “I feel it closer to the surface now.”
“The vengeance?”
He nodded again.
“And your mental shield?”
“It holds.”
“That one word for vengeance remains your biggest vulnerability. If your mental shield cracks, Lexi will have the power to repair it. She can do that—she’s the only one who has the ability.”
“Will it harm her to use that power?”
> “Not as much as it will harm you both if she can’t pull you back, Christan. You are part of each other now—the blood bond bound you, and if you get lost in that vengeance, she’ll be lost, too. Your enemies will kill her. And then they’ll kill you.”
Christan knew he was speaking to the most powerful alchemist in immortal society, a woman who could flick her hand and sink the entire island of Marettimo in an explosion of fire and rock. A woman who had, in fact, done something similar in the Aegean Sea centuries ago.
“But if,” he said, “what I feel isn’t the one word at all and we’re evolving into those mythical creatures, how does the story end, Three?”
She held his gaze. “When chaos expands, and destruction becomes imminent, then The Two return to the world and assimilate into the bonded pair. Fate cannot be changed at that point. The Two will reign until order is restored.”
“And when order is restored?”
“The Two depart.”
“And the pair?”
“Depart with them.”
Christan focused on pouring the boiling water into the French press. “Does it ever bother you?”
“What?” she asked, watching the steam dissipate into the cooler air.
“When the alchemy goes wrong.”
“Yes,” Three said, meeting Christan’s hard gaze. “But I wouldn’t change what I’ve done. I would have you in this world, Christan. I would have her, too.”
CHAPTER 28
Lexi sat back with an irritated sigh. The pain between her shoulders had become a dull ache. Two hours spent trying to break the encryption around the private bank in Zurich yielded nothing. Ethan was looking just as frustrated.
She looked over at Phillipe, immersed in files of his own on a second computer, and asked, “Can I call someone?”
Without pausing what he was doing, Phillipe reached into his pocket and tossed her his personal phone. Lexi caught it and glanced back at the computer screen, noting Ethan’s intense expression.
“I’m calling my friend, but it might take time for me to get an answer.”
“I’ll be here,” the warrior assured her.
Lexi stood and walked into the bedroom, closing the door. Her fingers hesitated over the keypad. She hadn’t contacted Matthew for over two years and she wasn’t sure if he would respond. They’d become close friends, and she had a private phone number to use whenever she needed to talk. When she first met Mathew, he’d been a lonely eighteen-year-old genius who had, at the age of fifteen, illegally altered several high-level security systems because he was bored. It was a boredom that left him indentured to the government until he died of old age. They allowed him out for community service where he mentored innocent college girls trying to master their computer skills. Lexi knew Matt could help with their current crisis, but she refused to involve him without asking first.
She keyed in the phone number, listened to the ring. After the third trill an answering machine picked up. “Say hello and maybe I’ll get back,” said a pleasant male voice. She listened to the beep, then left a message, added the safe word they’d agreed on two years ago as proof of identity. She didn’t leave a phone number or mention that her phone had encryption. Matthew could discover the details on his own.
Homesick, and on a wave of insecurity, Lexi keyed in a second number without realizing the time difference on the other side of the world. When Marge’s sleepy voice answered, Lexi sat down on the bed and said, “I woke you, didn’t I?”
“My god, don’t you dare hang up.” Marge nearly shouted, and the sound of material shifting made Lexi think the woman was readjusting her position in bed, thousands of miles away. “We’ve been so worried.”
“I’m sorry, we were staying off the grid.”
“You’re with Christan and that’s what matters. How are you?”
For a moment, Lexi was tempted to lie and say everything was fine, that they were on a Mediterranean island enjoying the sun, but she didn’t. Marge had always been able to read her moods with uncanny accuracy. And Robbie was there; Lexi heard a familiar male voice speaking in the background.
“Robbie says wherever you are, he hopes you’re working on that control.”
“What?” And then her throat tightened. “Darius told you.”
“He said you had girl power, enough to collapse a cave and throw a powerful warrior out into the sand.”
“I was emotional at the time.” There was a catch in Lexi’s voice, and her friend, her therapist and surrogate mother figure picked up on it.
“What’s wrong?”
“I’m afraid, Marge. Things are… changing.”
The sun was filtering through the gauzy curtains at the French doors, lifting so Lexi could see the blue sea, and the horizon, too far away, smudged and mysterious.
Marge’s voice was a comfort. “Robbie’s telling me right now that you shouldn’t be afraid of anything,” she said, sounding as if she was in the room. “Christan is the cardinal enforcer. There isn’t anyone stronger, Robbie says, not even Calata.”
Lexi pushed at her eyes. “Robbie’s his friend, of course he’d say that.”
“You’re Christan’s equal, Lexi.”
“Are you sure?” Lexi tipped her head and stared upward. Light danced on the white-plastered ceiling, reflecting from outside where the sun was catching the surface of water, or glass, and Lexi puzzled over what it might be with the same curiosity one has when nothing else is safe to think about. She took in a deep, shuddering breath and tried to keep the sound in her throat.
Marge’s voice gentled through the phone. “Lexi, darling, you are his bonded mate, and you have been for centuries. Think about that, the kind of love it takes to hold on that long, and then believe in yourself.”
“Marge, if you and Robbie were to, well, do it—”
“We do it all the time,” the woman teased.
“Marge…” Lexi was pleating the blanket beneath her on the bed, studying the tight folds. “If you make the blood bond, it’s different for each couple. What you see happening to Christan and to me—that won’t be your experience. The immortality is worth it. You’ll always be with him.”
“I know you mean well.”
“Please, Marge.” Lexi gripped the phone. “If you love him, bond to him and give him your strength.”
“You’re scaring me, Lexi.”
“I’m sorry.”
“What’s going on?”
“I can’t tell you, but if something happens, I don’t want you to be alone.” Lexi rubbed the side of her cheek with her fingertips, wiping away the gathered moisture. “I know you’re worried about looking so much older than Robbie, but he could always change his appearance for you, like he did before. Think about it, Marge. Please.”
Lexi listened to the soft murmuring in the background and realized Marge must have put the phone on the speaker mode.
“We’ll think about it, Lexi,” Marge said when she came back on the line. “When are you coming home?”
“I don’t know.”
A long pause. “You’ll be okay?”
“I won’t be alone.”
“Stay in touch when you can.”
The soft chirp on the phone signaled call waiting. “I have to go, Marge. Be safe.”
“You too, darling, and give Christan our best.”
Lexi disconnected, hugged the phone to her chest for a moment to regain her poise, and then looked at the caller ID. She hadn’t expected it to be other than ‘unknown’ and she wasn’t disappointed.
“Hi, Matt.”
“Hey, Lex. What’s up? You left a cryptic message.”
Matt’s voice was friendly, familiar, and Lexi remembered how she’d last seen him, wearing ratty jeans and a black shirt with the hard rock band logo, sitting in the historic, lime green beanbag chair in his apartment. “Is it safe to talk?” she asked, because he was constantly monitored.
“Sure. I wouldn’t have called, otherwise. Pretty impressive phone you’re using.”
“It belongs to a friend.”
“Now I’m curious.”
“I’ve been working on something. I can’t break through and it’s important to my friend that I figure out a way in.”
“Did you try that back-door I taught you?”
“Heavy duty encryption.”
“So, what did you want from me?”
“It’s what my friend wants.”
“Voluntary?”
“Yes. My friend wants an introduction.”
“Do you trust this friend?”
“Absolutely. But it has to be your decision, Matt. I’d never compromise you. This is his phone, so he has the number I called.”
“No worries. He’ll trace it into Pakistan and a corner phone booth that doesn’t exist. Are you in trouble?”
“Not yet.”
“What does he need?”
“I’ll let my friend explain.”
“I’ll send a text to your phone. It will have a web address. Tell your friend to leave me a message. If I like his message, I’ll contact him.”
“We don’t have a lot of time. What kind of message should it be?”
“Tell him to show me what he’s got. If I’m impressed, I’ll respond.”
✽✽✽
Twenty minutes later their team had a new member. Lexi didn’t know what Ethan sent to Matt, but she suspected it had been challenging enough to get Matt’s attention—which wasn’t easy to do. Both the computer geek and the warrior loved intrigue, so perhaps they’d bonded. Lexi watched as Ethan began serious work on his end before she turned away. Christan was consulting with Phillipe, and when Lexi wandered into the kitchen, she found Three with a towel tied around her waist, standing at the stove.
“I hope you don’t mind,” the immortal said as Lexi approached. “I understand how women are possessive of their kitchens.”
“It’s not really my kitchen, it belongs to One.”
“One rarely cooks,” Three said, as a heavy pan rattled on the burner and she leaned down to judge the amount of flame when turning on the gas. It was an old stove, black and squat with only three burners, and Lexi could have mentioned how the right front one was uncooperative, often flaring when she least expected it. Lexi generally cooked on the left burner, but it wasn’t as if she and Three chatted like friends and besides, the elegant immortal seemed to have things under control.
