Riley shifted. “I’m a goddess. I can read you, see if I can detect the flux and what it’s doing to you. Have you had anyone do that?”
“I’ve had an MRI and CT scan, but nothing like you’re talking about.” He shrugged. “Go ahead.”
They sat still while Riley checked him out. Divonne watched alertly, her fingers pressed to Darren’s wrist, apparently keeping track of his pulse rate. After a few minutes, Riley settled back in her seat next to Sam. She looked up at her husband. “It’s toxic,” she said softly.
“Like Marley’s was? In Quinn?” Sam’s jaw flexed as if he wanted to chomp back his words. “How? That doesn’t make any sense.”
“What do you mean, toxic?” Darren asked.
Riley drew a deep breath. “The energy level isn’t excessive. I thought maybe you had an accumulation, but I don’t detect one. It’s in line with what Aiden Samargo and Cressida both described. But for some reason, the energy you have right now has become poisonous. It’s attacking your bodily systems. Not like real poison would,” she added. She rolled her lips, thinking. “I don’t see damage to your organs or tissues that can be repaired. It’s more like interference with the less-concrete body functions.” She looked to Marley, as if seeking confirmation.
Marley shrugged. “You see it differently than I do, but I don’t have any reason to disagree.”
“You’re saying it’s attacking me neurologically.” Darren nodded. “Makes sense.”
“It does?” Marley laughed. “I’ll have to take your word for it.” She pushed to her feet. “Easy remedy.” She skirted a glass coffee table and Sam and Riley’s legs and reached for Darren’s hand. Four people shouted, “No!”
But it was too late. One stroke and the energy was gone.
Darren leaped to his feet and raised the cane as if to beat her back, but then his eyes widened. “Whoa.”
“Good?” Marley asked him.
“Better.” He tilted his head back and forth as if to unkink his neck. “Much better.”
“Why the hell did you do that?” Gage demanded from behind her.
“He was sick. Now he’s not.” Marley raised her eyebrows at all the people staring at her as if she’d done something reckless. “What? That’s what we came here for, right?”
“You should have allowed him to choose.” Divonne had risen, too, and placed her hand on Darren’s shoulder. “You just ended his career in a single second. Do you have any idea the consequences of that?”
“He chose when he asked me to come here.” She eyed Darren, worried that she’d jumped the gun, scared that she hadn’t thought this out beforehand. The impulsiveness, the lack of verbal filter had to be more symptoms of the flux’s effect on her.
But Darren nodded slowly. “She’s right. I had made my decision. I might have waffled, knowing what it meant, but I appreciate that you took the initiative.” He reached to shake Marley’s hand.
Gage tugged her back, his grip tense. “That’s not the only reason you shouldn’t have done it. We agreed you wouldn’t. That it wouldn’t be necessary.”
Marley didn’t remember agreeing to that and didn’t want to discuss her condition in front of the others. “It was a small amount. I’m fine.”
Riley grabbed Marley’s other arm and closed her eyes again, assessing. When she opened them, she grudgingly admitted, “It doesn’t seem any different, now that it’s in you, than any of the rest of it.”
“Right. Because it’s dormant. It’s not energy anymore, so the toxicity is neutralized, too. That’s just logical.” She decided not to mention that the snakes forming the legs of the coffee table were writhing now.
“It’s not just me.” Darren stared at his hands, flexing and squeezing them. “I was the first, so I thought when things started going bad, I could stop the others before it happened to them.”
“He was too late for at least one,” Divonne said, this time without such an edge. Instead, her voice was incredibly smooth and rich, matching her cocoa skin. “An old friend of Darren’s. He was unable to get out of bed, barely able to move, and not in full control of his body. He was suffering something like localized seizures. We found out he’d doubled his dosage, getting it twice as often as Darren.”
“That explains why he’d go toxic first. How long ago was this?” Sam asked.
“A few weeks. Right after I had my last meeting with Cress. He died on the way to the hospital. I don’t know the results of the autopsy.” He blinked hard and fast and cleared his throat. “I tried to tell Cress, but she hasn’t returned my calls.”
Marley battled back a sense of dread. “What about your other friends? Cressida said you’d referred at least a dozen to her.”
He nodded. “Some of those are friends of friends, but yes. There are now eleven, after the one who died.” He cleared his throat. “And after me. I’ve talked to several. Some already have problems. Others don’t want them. I think they’ll all want to see you.”
“There’s only one thing to do, then,” she said. “Gather up your friends. Get them all here, and I’ll take care of them.”
“You can’t, Marley,” Gage growled. She was afraid to turn, afraid he’d see how much she agreed. She wanted it as much as she dreaded it. “She can’t,” he repeated to everyone when she didn’t respond. “Nullification is destroying her.”
She’d barely felt the little bit she’d taken from Darren, and it hadn’t made things worse for her, at least in the moment. But she didn’t know how she was going to face nearly a dozen more. And after that, all the Deimons would have to be taken care of, too. They couldn’t leave the flux in anyone now that they knew what it could do to them. She was the only one who could take it away, so she just had to face it head-on.
“We thought it was dangerous,” she said to the room at large but looking only at Gage. “Now we know for sure. That’s got to be the plan. I’ll nullify them all. You leech Cressida.” She pleaded with him to accept the solution, the shared responsibility. They couldn’t save each other and the rest of the world.
He drooped but smiled. “Butch and Sundance.”
She grinned. “Thelma and Louise. No, wait. I didn’t like that one. Spike and Angel, facing the dragon.”
Warmth engulfed her as he wrapped her in his arms and pulled her to his chest. “That works for me.”
Chapter Sixteen
Sacrifice has never been a valued element of our business-focused culture. This has, perhaps, been an oversight.
—Numina board internal memo
G
age opened the door of the hotel suite they were now staying in and greeted Darren and Divonne, ushering them inside. “Thanks for coming. I don’t think this will take long.”
“Not a problem. We’re glad to be here.”
Gage ushered them through the massive suite toward the conference room where everyone else had already gathered. He glanced down at Darren’s legs. “No cane?”
“Nope. I don’t even have a twinge. Your friend should go into business as a healer.”
Riley had healed Darren’s groin pull before they left his house, but it was still his excuse for not playing in the football game tomorrow. He hadn’t been on the practice field, as far as Gage knew.
“Jury still out on your future in the NFL?”
Darren shrugged. “Any player’s career can end in the blink of an eye. I feel good. We’ll see if I have anything left without the flux. I’m prepared if I don’t.” He motioned to the door they now stood in front of. “Ready?”
Gage nodded, and they went in. He circled around to the head of the table while Darren and Divonne greeted the others and introductions were made. Marley, Riley, Nick, and Quinn were spread out around the big oval table. Nick and Quinn had flown in two days ago, and they’d pulled together so many details in such a fast and haphazard way, they were having this one last meeting to make sure everyone knew their roles and everything was in place for the plan they’d come up with. Quinn would fly back to New York on the
red-eye tonight to meet with Gage’s father, but Nick was staying for the battle to help even the odds. By tomorrow night, everything should be done.
“First, I want to again say thanks to everyone,” Gage began when they all swiveled in his direction, “for coming out here and contributing to this mission. We all have a stake in the outcome but that doesn’t negate the time, effort, and money contributed.”
God, he sounded like a CEO addressing a company board. He glanced down at the list he’d written up, to hide his embarrassment. “Ahem. Okay, first is the location. Darren, you’ve confirmed the stadium?”
“Yes, sir.” He rotated his chair, chin braced on his hand, elbow on the chair arm. “I have the keys right here.” He dug in his pocket and set a large, round ring full of keys on the table with a clatter. “I went over after my session with the trainer this morning. It clearly hasn’t been used in a long time, even by kids hanging out.”
“Good.”
Darren used to play high school football in the old facility, owned by a nearby college whose football program was now defunct. His connections and the money he’d donated to the school’s athletic programs got him access. The stadium was surrounded by open space so whatever happened wouldn’t hurt any innocent civilians or damage property. Plus, it was built to withstand the pounding of tens of thousands of feet and the bombardment of noise during concerts and other events, so even Cressida Lahr would have a hard time damaging it.
“Darren, you and your friends will meet us there at seven. Marley will take care of them first.” He checked her reaction, but she didn’t have one. She’d gotten good at wearing an implacable mask, and he worried how much it hid.
He turned back to Darren. “They’ve all agreed?”
“Yes, none of them want to continue like this.”
“No doubters?” This wouldn’t work if anyone backed out.
But Darren shook his head. “They’re all in.”
“Okay then. After they’ve all been nullified, we’ll set up for the fake event the Deimons have been invited to. Sam, what have we got for the layout?”
Sam grimaced and wiggled his pen in the air as he talked. “We’re compromising here with the facility. We need the privacy, the low risk of collateral damage it offers, but the size will be an issue. Containment. Darren has assured me the facility lockdown overall will be complete.”
Darren nodded and indicated the slew of keys.
“So they won’t be able to get out of the stadium itself,” Sam continued. “But there’s still too much space to deal with. We’ve collected some conference equipment for Darren’s speech. Portable wall-type things, steel frames with curtains attached at the top and bottom. Sturdy enough, though not exactly a cage. We have a podium and speaker system, too.” He consulted a legal pad. “We’ve sent out e-mail invitations to the Deimons using their message-board server and have a ninety-five-percent response rate. Chatter on the boards is excited. So far, so good.”
Nick took over. “No one should be surprised to see Vanrose and the others. They have rumors about who is in the ‘senior membership’ and their presence should be seen as a bonus. Darren, great orator that he is…” Nick inclined his head at the football player, who tipped an invisible hat in appreciation. “He’ll keep the Deimons enthralled while Marley slips through the crowd and nullifies them.”
“There’s not much chance I’ll be able to do them all before they notice what’s going on,” she said. “So I hope your guys are up for containment.”
“They are.”
“There will be enough of us,” Sam reassured. His quiet confidence almost convinced even Gage. “We won’t let anyone get out of there without being nullified.”
Marley nodded and twisted the cap off a water bottle, guzzling half its contents.
“At that point,” Gage said, “Darren, you and your guys will shepherd the Deimons out of the building, hopefully before Cressida shows up.”
“If she shows up,” Quinn spoke up. “This is the part that makes me most nervous. She could come too early if she finds out about the invitation. Or she could be capricious and not show up at all.”
“Vanrose has it covered,” Darren insisted. “He’s got it all timed. Even if she hears about it early, he’ll keep her from arriving before we’re ready. He’s got connections in traffic control and law enforcement because of on-site filming. We’ll be good.”
“All right. That’s the end of your part.” Gage walked down the side of the table, holding his hand out. “Thanks again for coming down just for these few minutes.” He shook Darren’s hand as the player got to his feet.
“Like I said, not a problem. I wanted to hear it all for myself, and I’m leaving you the keys, just in case.” He clapped a hand on Gage’s shoulder. “Thank you, man. Really. We all appreciate this.”
“Sure. I’ll see you out.”
“Nah, we got it. See you tomorrow.”
Gage watched them leave, making sure the door was tightly closed behind them before resuming his position. There was no reason to let them know the details of the leeching process, even though they were aware that was the goal.
“Now the hard part. Cressida won’t come alone. She’s likely to have Chris, Tony, Brad, and Aiden with her. Probably not more than them, because—”
“She’s an egomaniac and she doesn’t need more,” Marley finished.
“Not how I was going to put it, but yeah.” He tapped his pen on the table. “So, can we handle them?”
“You deal with your brother. Sam, Riley, and I got the other three partners. No problem.” Nick spoke with a cockiness Gage never would have tolerated from anyone who worked under him, but over the past two days he’d learned that Nick was more than capable of backing it up.
“And I won’t exactly be on the sidelines,” Marley added. “So we’ll have the advantage.” Everyone stared at her. “Numbers wise.”
“Riley, you’re sure you’ll have enough metal around?” Gage had already been told his concern about Riley holding her own against the guys was sexist and unnecessary, that she was more powerful than Nick and Sam put together. Still, he had to be sure.
To her credit, she didn’t get annoyed. “Yeah, the frames for the walls we’re putting up are all steel. I just need them nearby. I don’t need direct contact like I used to. Plus the stadium itself is full of metal. Prepare to be amazed.” She spread her hands and widened her eyes as she dragged out the last word like a carny. Everyone laughed.
“The ultimate goal is for me to leech Cressida,” Gage reminded them, nerves twisting his gut. “So I have to get to her, and she has to be neutralized. Sam?”
He looked up from something he was scribbling on his pad. “Yeah. Got it.” He reached under the table and pulled out a small case. He unzipped it and held it open for everyone to see two small metal tubes, a couple of tiny, feathered darts, and a vial full of faintly yellowish liquid. “Sedative.”
Nick looked skeptical. “I’m cool with blowing a dart at her, but what if I miss?” He was the one Cressida was least likely to pay attention to since he hadn’t been involved until now.
“I’ll have one, too, doubling our chances. And if we both miss…” Sam flipped a section of the case. Four syringes were strapped in underneath. “Insurance. We can pass these out. But they’re not ideal because we’ll have to be very close to use them.”
“All right, then.” Nick aimed a finger at Gage. “Then you’re up.”
Quinn had been the only one who’d ever actually leeched someone, pulling all the stolen power from Anson. She and Riley had worked with Gage yesterday, giving him tiny amounts of power, letting him get the feel of it and practice expelling it. Quinn had explained how to find, connect with, and draw Cressida’s power out of her. Tomorrow Riley would bestow a bigger amount on him, and he’d use that to connect to Cressida’s well of power and draw it out.
He blew out a breath. “Still a lot of questions we can’t answer until it happens.”
“S
ince her source is the sun,” Quinn said, “she’s always taking in energy. Will that make it impossible to drain her completely?”
“That’s why we’re doing it at night,” Gage answered. “Minimal inflow.”
“Can you take it all in?” Riley asked next. “Anson couldn’t.”
“I’m pristine.” Gage flashed them a smile he didn’t really believe. “Anson was a mess. I’ll have more room to hold it.”
“And finally,” Nick said, “can you discharge it without blowing the whole place up?”
“I know how to control the stream.” He’d practiced with Riley and Quinn’s energy. “Like pinching off a hose or a balloon. A little at a time.”
Everyone nodded, and there was silence for a beat.
“Any questions, comments, issues, things we missed?” Gage asked. They all shook their heads and began gathering things up. “Thanks for tolerating me taking over, everyone.”
Quinn came over and gave him a hug. “You’re taking on the biggest challenge here. It makes sense for you to lead. Good luck.” She backed away, eyes flashing. “I wish I could be there to help.”
“You just keep my dad from flying out here. That might be the hardest part.” Gage’s vague, reassuring e-mails and text messages weren’t cutting it anymore, and his father had threatened just that in his last response this morning. Quinn had set up a one-on-one meeting with him, ostensibly to discuss stalling the summit, but she was going to tell him everything that had been happening. By the time she finished, it would be too late for him to get out to LA and interfere. Whether they succeeded or failed, he’d need to know the details. Gage would deal with the fallout afterward.
If he was able.
Marley hadn’t looked in Gage’s direction for the last half of the meeting. In fact, she’d been quiet for the last two days, and Gage was afraid she was dealing with more effects of the flux. After the massive doses Cressida had given her, they seemed to be lingering in a way the others hadn’t.
Sunroper (Goddesses Rising) Page 27
