Gates of Rapture

CHAPTER 11

Greaves once more stood on the viewing platform. Stannett reclined with his hands behind his head, staring up at the ceiling, waiting for Greaves’s orders. He had a new set of Seers strapped down on the chaise longues. He was such a powerful bastard that the women were dying right and left, literally, and yet he looked refreshed.
Greaves recognized some of the women from Johannesburg. All had their eyes closed. Apparently Stannett kept them in a stupor in order to control them. Smart thinking, but then Stannett had been in charge of Seers for centuries. He knew what to do.
Greaves was disappointed that the attack at the Seattle Colony had unraveled as it did and now cleanup was in progress. He had watched events from a levitating position in the sky behind his mist. He had to admit that Thorne and Leto had created a tremendous amount of discipline in their forces, and especially in the citizenry of the colony.
Though Greaves had effectively eliminated the security system’s electronic alarm, he had not been prepared for the pounding of drums that had alerted most of the citizens to his attack. He’d been stunned to observe how many colonists simply vanished—all prearranged, of course.
Despite the achievement of pure vision, no doubt Marguerite had somehow discovered the attack as well and alerted the colony. Earlier, he had spent time with his generals, setting his strategies—especially where the hidden colonies were concerned. He knew that Leto would have trained all the Militia Warriors in all the colonies. He knew Leto’s mind and his skills. He would have been perfect for the task. The warrior games had no doubt been a culmination of his work.
Greaves wasn’t certain exactly how large a force the hidden colonies had, but his generals had put the estimate near eighty thousand and Greaves really didn’t want to be surprised once a battle began. He hadn’t come this far to lose to something as ridiculous as an army built of colonists. More than anything, he wanted to eliminate the colonies as a factor in what would become a major showdown over the next several days.
His other concern, of course, was obsidian flame.
He’d decided to shift his strategy just a little and try one last time to eliminate the triad as a force in the upcoming confrontations. All he needed to do to solve this problem was to render Grace harmless, and he’d formed a plan that might just work. But he thought he’d check it out with Stannett first. Maybe the future streams could give him an edge on this one. That’s all he needed, just a slight edge.
He called down to Stannett. “Are you ready?”
Stannett unloosened his hands and met Greaves’s gaze. “Yes, master.”
“Good. I want you to search for a time when I’m alone with Grace and I want to know where and when.”
Stannett nodded. The women on either side of him tensed almost at the same time, then relaxed one by one. How many times Greaves had wished that he had Seer ability. Given his level of ambition, he’d always felt it a cruel trick of fate that he’d been denied the gift. Ah, well.
No more than a minute later, Stannett opened his eyes and smiled. “I found Grace alone and unprotected in Diallo’s Seattle courtyard garden. You were speaking very tenderly to her with all the gifts in your power. You were offering her things.”
“What kind of things?”
“Nothing that couldn’t be withdrawn should necessity dictate, things like world peace. She was falling beneath your spell, despite the fact that she is already breh-bonded to Leto, a sign of your power, no doubt. For that reason, I pulled back, getting a larger bird’s-eye view until I could see into the lane near the house.
“The vision expanded, and I could see Leto battling more of your Third Earth death vampires in that location.”
“Good.” Greaves actually smiled. “Was Casimir visible?”
“Unfortunately, that’s when the vision ended.”
“And when does all this take place?”
“Sometime this evening, though I couldn’t ascertain the hour. But it’s not yet dawn in the region. In fact, it didn’t even feel close to midnight.” He frowned slightly.
“What is it?”
“It would follow that you have already been planning this kind of tactic, but what do you intend to do with her?”
“It’s simple. I want to disrupt her thinking and have her return with me to Geneva.”
“Where you will have more Third Earth death vampires waiting?”
Greaves smiled. “Of course.”
He then issued orders to continue searching the future streams for signs of the colonies or of anything having to do with obsidian flame.
Hopeful once more, he dematerialized to his Estrella compound, where he chose from among his most powerful Third Earth death vampires. He suspected Casimir would intervene again, but it didn’t matter. Greaves just needed to distract Leto for the few minutes he would require to take control of Grace’s mind.
*   *   *

Casimir waited near Leto, still invisible. The forest had grown quiet. He glanced up at the night sky, barely visible beyond the layer of mist that Endelle had built to cover the colony.
He sighed. He understood why he’d been given this job: He understood Greaves’s mind better than anyone. Greaves didn’t have a conscience, and until recently, Casimir hadn’t had one, either. So how could Leto, with his hypersensitivity to right and wrong, ever truly know how devious Greaves could be?
His instincts were humming a warning tune. He made himself visible to Leto, which caused the warrior to take a step back. “What the f*ck? Why didn’t I see a shimmering?”
“I’ve been here since you folded down to the colony. I can go invisible, or did you not know that?”
He scratched his chin with the edge of his thumb. “I keep forgetting that you’re even around. So what’s going on?”
“I have an uneasy feeling that Greaves is about to shake things up again.”
Leto looked up at the dome of mist and frowned. “Even with such a strong cloak over the colony?”
“Yeah, even with all this.”
Leto looked up at the house. “Gideon cleaned up the death vamps in and around the house. Grace is there now, in the courtyard. I’d say there are three squads of Militia Warriors in there now.”
“She should be all right then.”
Another squad of warriors reported to Leto, and he directed them into the south pastures. “Make sure there isn’t a wounded death vampire hiding in any of the haystacks, barns, or fields.”
The men took off. Leto planted his hands on his hips and looked up and down the lane. Casimir followed his gaze. What did the warrior see? What was he looking for? Was this who Patience was? Always looking for the enemy, trying to get one step ahead.
He wished to hell she’d come back to the observation deck. For maybe the first time in his life, despite how desperately attracted to her he was, he just wanted to talk to a woman.
*   *   *

With the hidden colonies secured and a new layer of powerful mist over the land, Grace returned to Diallo’s house to wait for Leto to finish his duties. She felt a strong need to be near her breh as much as possible right now.
The corpses were long gone, and all the colonists had been accounted for—either those few in the morgue or the rest at the Portland Colony.
She reclined in one of the chaise longues in the lush courtyard. The temperature in the garden was very comfortable, and because of the thick shrubs, flowers, and trees, a wonderful humidity eased the dryness of the mountain environment.
Leto was in the lane below Diallo’s house finishing up with the Militia Warrior Section Leaders and going over the numbers one last time. At least a dozen squads were still doing a house-to-house search just to be sure.
She had long since started blocking Leto’s external physical sensations. She had learned from chatting with both Fiona and Marguerite that blocking those sensations became a critical survival skill for the breh-bonded couples. It was a very doable skill, and she was learning fast.
Even though the colony had been secured, Grace had begun to feel uneasy, but she didn’t know why. She half expected her obsidian power to rise, but the earth remained quiet beneath her.
A chill went down her neck, and she rubbed her arms. She looked around. Something had disturbed her, but what? All the shrubbery remained still, unmoving. She had the jitters, but then why wouldn’t she after all that she’d been through?
She looked up at the dome of mist that once more covered the colony. Endelle had created it as a temporary solution until Diallo could recover and repair the damage. She had even worked to add her own moss to help with the disguise. But if the colony had been mapped, and if Greaves had enough power to burn the mossy mist away, then in what manner could the colony ever be secure again?
She wrapped her arms around her stomach and held herself. She wanted to crawl into bed and forget everything at least for a little while, but which bed? Where? She couldn’t go back to the cabin, Leto’s wonderful cabin, not for some time at least. On the other hand, if either she or Leto could cloak the cabin in an additional layer of mist, the combination might just work.
She thought the thought and instantly, because of the breh-hedden, she was in Leto’s mind. I’d like to sleep in your cabin tonight, she sent.
Hey, sweetheart, he responded instantly. I’d like nothing better as well, but I’m not sure it’s safe.
Are you almost done?
Just a few more minutes. I just sent the Section Leaders to bring in their teams, then we’ll head out. So give me a few minutes … that is … He fell silent.
Grace waited but that uneasy feeling returned.
Oh, shit. His voice was suddenly loud in her head. More Third Earth death vampires just arrived. Casimir’s with me.
Because she was completely open to all his external physical sensations, she could feel him turn in a complete circle, and within a split second he had his sword in hand. She sensed a vibration all along his skin and knew he was letting his beast-man out.
Grace, you should get back to Second. Now.
Grace sat up. She was in danger. She could feel it.
She lifted her hand to fold, but couldn’t. She didn’t understand. Her heart rate kicked up a few notches.
Then, just as quickly as her fears rose, they retreated. Very odd. Yet she felt sublime waves of peace begin to pour over her. She didn’t need to worry about anything.
She folded her hands over her stomach and closed her eyes. She felt the air move near her, but she was too tired to care who it was. Probably Leto, which would be nice. She wanted to open her eyes and smile at him, but she couldn’t. How heavy her eyelids felt.
Lips touched her cheek several times. As if from a great distance, she heard a stream of words, murmured very softly in a kind of chant. The lips moved and covered her mouth.
Come with me, Grace. The words now flowed through her mind with the most beautiful resonance. We will build a new world together, one without war. Isn’t that what you want above all things?
This wasn’t Leto, but why wasn’t she afraid? Was she being enthralled?
Somehow, she didn’t care.
She felt so at peace, as though she never wanted to be anywhere else in her life than right here with this man’s voice in her head and his lips touching hers.
Tell me you want what I want.
Yes, I want a world without war. Yes. Yes.
Then come with me. Say you will join me. I will make you my empress, and you will have the power to order the world exactly how you desire it to be.
At last, she opened her eyes. Some part of her mind truly did realize that she was looking at Greaves, that he sat on the side of the chaise and petted her head in soft soothing strokes, and that he had been kissing her.
He must have enthralled her. She wondered why he didn’t just take her away with him. He had her in his power—that much her rational mind could make sense of. But she knew that by the rules of COPASS, both he and Endelle were limited in what each could do, all those rules set up a hundred years ago to regulate two powerful ascenders. No, Greaves couldn’t just take her. He would have to persuade her to leave with him.
All she had to do was say yes.
She put her hand on his face. She wanted to. Very badly.
Yet she resisted.
His eyes were lit with a strange, unearthly glow. He looked so beautiful. That was one of the most surprising things about Darian Greaves, just how beautiful he was. He had thick, perfectly shaped dark brows, full lips, and large brown eyes, just like his mother’s. He also possessed the best manners. She had always liked his manners.
He slid his arms behind her back and pulled her against him. He kissed her again. Even his mouth was beautiful and tasted of the sweetest peaches. She licked his lips and heard him groan.
I could love you, Grace. I didn’t know that, but holding you in my arms like this, love is what comes to mind. You are the earth. I can feel that in you. Your power would anchor me and change me. I would be made new. Will you do that for me, Grace? Will you make me a new creature through your goodness and purity? My mother would like that. Beatrice would be indebted to you forever.
She loved Beatrice. How wonderful if she could give her such a gift as renewing her son’s soul.
Come with me. Say you’ll come with me.
She wanted to say yes. More than anything in her life, she wanted to say yes. But there was a part of her that couldn’t do it.
She struggled to find the word, to make her mouth move. “No,” she murmured at last.
The soft chanting resumed.
*   *   *

Leto had his sword in his right hand and one of his daggers in his left as he battled three Third Earth death vampires, all cloaked behind what must have been Greaves’s mist. He’d already killed three of the bastards.
Casimir had his own problems with the remaining four, who apparently specialized in hand-blast capability. Greaves had clearly learned from the failure at Nazca. Sparks showered everywhere. Casimir kept working the vampires away from Leto, protecting him as he battled sword-to-sword. One hit with a Third Earth hand-blast and Leto wasn’t sure he’d survive.
His opponents were damn experienced. More than once he’d gotten a mild skin burn because one of the pretty-boys would fold behind him and slice at his calves. He could feel that his battle sandals were partly cut away and that blood dripped into the soles. His feet were slippery.
When two folded at once, he lunged under the raised arm of the death vamp in front of him, caught him in his kidneys with his dagger, and took him down. He’d made the right call. The other two materialized in the exact spot where he’d originally stood.
He increased his speed, darting forward and swinging his sword at the same time. He took the hand of one of the vamps, who now rolled on the ground screaming.
The last bastard wasn’t about to be distracted. Leto folded well beyond the prone death vamp, and before he even noticed, Leto brought his sword down hard and took his head. The vamp still standing was almost on him. Leto lifted his sword, and the weight of his opponent’s downward strike sent heavy, almost paralyzing vibrations down his arm.
At the same time, he caught movement to his left. One of the death vamps had broken from Casimir and was lifting his hand in Leto’s direction.
Again Leto lunged, rolling on the ground below the closer vamp.
The hand-blast was ill placed and hit his opponent, sending him screaming into the air and flying backward about ten feet.
Leto was now exposed and on the ground. He waited for a moment while the hand-blast geared up. Then just as he saw the pretty-boy’s smile widen, Leto pivoted, folded, arrived behind the vamp, and thrust his sword through the spine.
Turning, he saw that the three remaining death vamps had moved in tighter on Casimir and that the Fourth ascender had started to struggle. Casimir was not a warrior.
Leto used his speed, and took two heads. The final death vamp standing, turned at the commotion, which was a fatal mistake because Casimir lifted his hand and caught the bastard in the throat with a hand-blast. His head lolled and he toppled over, his skull crunching hard against one of the severed heads.
Leto bent over at the waist, breathing hard. He still had his sword in hand. His gaze drifted back and forth. If Greaves intended to add to the party, he was ready.
“Thank you,” Casimir said.
Leto glanced at him. He was trying to be mature about the presence of the Fourth ascender since it was clear the whole situation was an ascended convergence, but he still resented Casimir for having taken Grace away. He nodded, then reverted his attention to the corpses. Three of the death vamps needed finishing, so he moved swiftly and took heads.
He took one more long look around, but everything seemed quiet. Satisfied that he wasn’t still under attack, he glanced up at the mist.
Greaves.
Did he really think he could take Leto this way? Was that his purpose?
Then his chest tightened with one simple thought: Grace might be alone in the garden.
He folded to the lane beyond the mist, but the moment he did, his mind felt as though it had just been struck down by a mallet. He couldn’t give shape to his thoughts. Even his body felt heavy and unmovable. But why? What was happening to him?
Casimir materialized next to him. “Are you all right? What’s wrong?”
Leto struggled to find the words. “Help Grace. Protect her.”
“No can do. I stay with you, Leto. Sorry. And it looks like Greaves is using his thrall power on you.”
“F*ck.” He had to get to Grace. He could sense she was in danger. For one thing, he couldn’t feel her anymore, not any of her physical sensations.
With great difficulty, he rose from the dirt lane and peered up at Diallo’s large house that overlooked the valley. She was up there, waiting for him. She had agreed to wait, to stay in the garden. At least three squads of Militia Warriors had set up a command center in the house, and Gideon had just gone up there a few minutes ago. She should be safe.
Yet somehow, he knew she wasn’t.
He called to her, mind-to-mind. Grace, Grace.
No answer, which was not possible. They were bonded.
He tried to fold up to the house but couldn’t. He began to walk the long driveway, one uphill step in front of the other. He focused on Grace, but thinking about her only made his mind muddier.
Instead, he focused on Gideon.
That was better. Gideon. One foot in front of the other.
Casimir walked beside him. He glanced at him, even though it was difficult. He sent, Can you fold me to the house?
“I’ll try.” Casimir put his hand on Leto’s shoulder. He could feel the attempt to fold him, but Casimir couldn’t do it, either. Sorry, Leto. This is Greaves’s party.
Greaves. That a*shole.
But the moment he thought of the Commander, he fell to his knees and a terrible pain sliced through his mind.
Oh, shit. Once more he shifted his focus to thoughts of Gideon. He kept what was left of his mind centered on the Militia Warrior. Gideon was tall. Yes. He was at Warrior of the Blood level now, but he refused to leave the Thunder God Warriors. Jean-Pierre had brought Gideon’s powers online. Yes, his brother warrior, Jean-Pierre, had developed new powers once he completed the breh-hedden with Fiona. He could now lift other warriors up to higher levels. Yes, that was what Jean-Pierre could do, and that was what he had done for Gideon.
He just had to keep thinking about Gideon or Jean-Pierre.
His feet were so heavy, but it didn’t matter. He understood that his breh was in trouble, but he wouldn’t think her name.
On and on he pressed, but it was like moving through a nightmare. Finally, he made it to the front walk. At last, he pushed the door open. Two Militia Warriors drew their swords to challenge him, though they immediately backed off when they recognized who he was.
“Forgive us, Warrior Leto.” Each looked him up and down because he was still in his beast-form.
“Gideon,” he whispered. His voice sounded hoarse, and he’d barely been able to get the word out.
They called for Gideon. He came running. He had blond hair, but not so dark as Jean-Pierre’s, nor so light as Luken’s.
“Warrior Leto, what’s wrong? You’re covered in blood. Are you injured?”
He put his hand on Gideon’s shoulder and breathed hard as he said, “Grace. Danger.”
“She’s in the garden. Shit, what the f*ck has happened?”
“Go to her.”
Gideon called his men in close, and as one powerful unit they marched into the garden calling Grace’s name.
*   *   *

Greaves was sweating and exhausted. The effort to mind-control two such powerful ascenders, in two separate locations, was costing him. But he was close to shutting Grace’s mind down, getting her to agree to go with him, and the longer he worked her mind, the more he could feel her resistance breaking down.
Come with me. Say the word out loud, and I will fold you to my home in Geneva. Say that you agree to come with me.
Her lips moved. Her jaw worked. She lifted her face to him. I want …
The next moment he heard Militia Warriors shouting. They were calling for Grace. He was out of time. Though he had mist around himself and Grace, the garden was small and the most any of the warriors had to do was to just push through. Or fold.
“Over here.”
Greaves heard Casimir directing traffic. Shit.
“Gideon, break through here.”
Grace, say you’ll come with me.
*   *   *

Grace was growing weary, fighting against Greaves. She knew if she said yes, it would feel so good. But something deep inside her, perhaps even her soul, refused to give up. If only she could open her eyes.
She felt a strange sliding up and down her arms, and she heard her name called as if from a great distance.
She wouldn’t go with him. “No,” she said, and her voice sounded stronger. “No. I won’t go with you.”
“Come back to me.”
“No.” She began to struggle against the arms now gripping and shaking her. She slashed out at Greaves with her fingernails and screamed at him.
Then suddenly, Leto was in her mind. Grace. Grace. Can you hear me?
Leto?
I’m here.
She fought harder and flew at Greaves. She started screaming and pushing at him, clawing at his face, kicking him. She wouldn’t go. She would never go with him willingly.
“Open your eyes.”
But it wasn’t Greaves’s voice that she heard.
She forced herself to obey. Finally, she popped her eyes wide. Leto was in his beast-state standing beside the chaise, next to her. She was safe, but he had blood running down his face in deep scratches. “What happened to you?” she cried. Then she understood. “Oh, Creator help me, did I do that to you?”
“It’s okay. I will heal very fast.” He dragged her into his arms and held her tight. “He almost had us. Both of us. He used some kind of mind control. I couldn’t think straight. I barely made it up the hill to get to you.”
Grace pushed back. “He promised me so many wonderful things, to bring peace to Second Earth, no more war, if I would just go with him. He had me in thrall.” She shuddered.
“He’s gone. But we can’t stay here. He got through Endelle’s mist.”
“How could he have known where I was?” Even as she spoke the words, she understood. “Stannett and the future streams.” She shook her head and slid her arms around Leto’s neck. “Leto, we’re in trouble. Greaves divided us, even though we’re bonded. He found me because of the future streams. I … I don’t know what to do. Where do we go? Where do we hide that he can’t find us?”
*   *   *

Greaves folded back to his penthouse in Geneva and collapsed on the floor in the living room, facedown. His fingers grasped the thick carpet, and he squeezed. He experienced a profound preternatural exhaustion. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d exerted so much effort. Trying to gain control over two extremely powerful ascenders at the same time had used him up.
So much power. His body vibrated with what he’d felt from both Grace and Leto. Greaves had power, but he’d just attempted the impossible, to wrest a woman from her breh.
Maybe he would have succeeded if Casimir hadn’t joined Leto in his fight against the death vampires. Even then, the shield he’d put around Leto should have kept him immobile. But Leto wasn’t himself anymore. He had somehow gained the power to transform into a Third Earth warrior.
The entire time he’d been working at breaking Grace’s will, he had felt Leto’s impossible walk up the hill to Diallo’s house. At least Casimir had been unable to help him fold to Greaves’s position.
Grace. My God.
There was something within Grace’s power structure, because it was anchored by the earth, that was both highly compassionate and at the same time incredibly erotic, unlike anything he’d ever known. He panted as he lay on his carpet.
Grace would never be sadistic, but she had power that vibrated along the insides of his thighs and up through his testicles. For a woman who espoused all things spiritual, she was surely a reincarnation of Aphrodite. She could command him if she understood her power. That she didn’t and probably never would was the only real advantage he had in this situation. He couldn’t be manipulated by her because it would never occur to her to make the attempt.
Greaves had been so close with Grace, so close to getting her to surrender. By the rules of COPASS, neither he nor Endelle could kill anyone outright or abduct them. And though he had over a third of COPASS in his pocket, he knew an outright abduction wouldn’t be overlooked by those members of the ruling committee who still held to their morals.
For just a moment, however, he had debated taking her and having her killed immediately, which would have ended the obsidian flame threat.
But the repercussions would have been swift. Endelle would have gone to Prague and argued against him in front of the entire COPASS committee. He was simply unwilling to take that kind of risk at this late hour, not with a decisive battle looming before him.
He could feel the battle coming now, and with it his chance at securing his ambitions. In so many ways, he was fully prepared. He even had an ace up his sleeve, something no one knew about. If all else failed, he would use this specialized power and hopefully overcome whatever odds presented themselves.
Yet because of a mere woman, the key to obsidian flame, he was living a nightmare. All his plans had come down to Grace and her ability to fulfill the power latent in the triad. He understood that once a triad came together, there was always one member who could acquire the abilities of other ascenders. The nature of the power or ability didn’t matter—from wielding a sword to healing the mind to throwing hand-blasts. Once that triad member learned the skill, obsidian flame could then magnify that skill a thousandfold. He knew for a fact that there was at least one triad operating on Third Earth. He had witnessed for himself a valley of warriors slain by a single hand-blast, and in turn he had seen a hundred thousand people folded out of the path of a flash flood.
If only he’d had been able to persuade Grace to surrender to him, he could have turned her over to his favorite death vampires and let them dispose of her.
But she had held steady to the end. He had failed.
His blood finally settled down so that he could ease himself up off the floor. He showered and changed into a fresh Hugo Boss suit. He put on his pinkie ring of black onyx. He would head to Estrella next and continue working military strategies with his generals.
Before leaving, Greaves checked on Julianna, his current love-slave. She was facedown on the bed, naked, a sheet just covering her buttocks. Her wing-locks were torn but healing well. Their last session had been one of the best yet. Despite his arousal while feeling Grace’s earth-based power, Julianna was his preference. The claw that he could bring forth from his DNA-altered left hand tingled at the thought that she might be healed as early as noon, at which time they could enjoy another energetic half hour or so.
He glanced at her nightstand and frowned. There was a vase with at least two dozen long-stemmed peach-colored roses in it. He saw a card on the table.
He wondered if someone was attempting to seduce his woman. Casimir had once held Julianna captive in his Paris One apartment. Maybe he wasn’t as reformed as he appeared.
Greaves moved to the table and read the card. He couldn’t help but smile. Sometimes he thought he and Stannett were brothers. The words on the card, in Stannett’s hand, were very simple, “Grace has come home. Casimir, too.”
He saw something gleam behind the vase. Ah, a half-empty bottle of Jack Daniel’s. Julianna had needed some solace.
He leaned down and kissed one of the upper shredded wing-locks. “Patience,” he whispered. “You will have your chance to destroy one or both of them, I have no doubt.”
Grace had stolen Caz away from her, and to a woman of Julianna’s temperament, that was an unforgiveable sin.
*   *   *

Grace sat across from Leto in the Apache Two conference room, her arms folded over her chest. It was past midnight now, and all the events of the day and evening had taken a toll. She was beyond exhausted. But no decision had been made yet about where they would settle down for the rest of the night. Leto had reverted to his normal size, and he’d changed from his stained battle gear into jeans and a dark T-shirt. He’d even showered in the Militia Warriors locker room.
The recent encounter with Greaves had shaken her. The bastard, for she could think of him as nothing less in this moment, had almost taken possession of her. She’d almost given herself into his power. She shuddered. She had no doubt that once she’d agreed to go with him, he would have had her killed.
She chewed on the inside of her lip.
Leto met her gaze. “Grace, please talk to me.” He leaned forward with his elbows on his knees, his hands clasped loosely between his legs. He looked so beautiful, and so different from Greaves. Leto had wonderful thick raven-black hair. She loved feeling his hair. She reached out and touched it now.
Greaves was bald. That circumstance alone should have made her fight him. She still couldn’t believe that he’d been able to place her in thrall like that.
“I don’t know what happened, and I’m frightened. He almost had me.” She shivered and hugged herself tighter.
“Grace, I can feel how tense you are. I just wish I could have gotten to you sooner. But as soon as Casimir and I defeated the death vampires and I folded out of Greaves’s mist, I could hardly move. If I thought about you, I experienced such pain.”
Grace rose from her chair and started to pace. “He has so much power. My God, his power.” That’s what struck her as she walked the length of the Militia Warrior conference room. The vastness of his power. That’s what she could recall and what truly frightened her.
“But he didn’t succeed,” Leto said. “With either of us, and it cost him to do what he did. Mentally, I mean. To hold both of us in some kind of thrall like that, for at least twenty minutes, to keep us separated though we share this bond, means that he’s not all-powerful. He would be drained and even vulnerable right now.”
“He was after me, intent on destroying obsidian flame.”
“No doubt.”
She met Leto’s gaze. “I’m the real threat here. I’ve never wanted to admit it to myself. I shouldn’t be surprised that he came after me. But you know what I really don’t understand? What does a soul-based power have to do with destroying armies? I’m like Alison. I don’t want to kill anyone. I don’t think I could.”
Leto shook his head. “I don’t know. I don’t have anything close to your power, nothing like obsidian flame. I’m just a recovering death vampire who can get big enough to give you a good ride.”
Grace stared at him, then laughed. “I can’t believe you just said that.” She laughed some more. “Give me a good ride?”
Then he smiled, and before long he had joined her. She sat down opposite him again and laughed until tears streamed down her cheeks. She couldn’t seem to stop. For Leto to have reduced everything to his ability to pleasure her when he grew into his beast-state seemed so funny. She wished Marguerite were here. Her Convent cellmate would have found what Leto said hilarious.
“I shouldn’t have said that.” He palmed his eyes and laughed some more. “I know what we have is more than just sex.”
Grace went to him and sank down to the side of his knees. She put her head in his lap. She giggled some more then looked up at him. “Well, it is pretty awesome that you can change size. I mean, isn’t that something most men dream about?”
“Oh, shit, I’ve become a cliché.”
“I guess you have.” But she kissed his knees, then his thighs, and again laid her head down. “Leto, I’m really tired. Where can we go? I need sleep more than anything right now. The last couple of days have really drained me.”
He tilted sideways and slipped his phone from his pants pocket. He thumbed, and a moment later she heard him talking to her brother. The conversation lasted a couple of minutes as one location after another was suggested and discarded.
Finally it was settled that they would go to Medichi’s villa. Antony had recently installed a new security system, and Endelle sustained mist over the property. She’d done so ever since Havily and Marcus had lived there over a year ago.
Maybe the enhanced security system would be enough, but at this point, with fatigue settling like an ache into her bones, Grace didn’t care. She just wanted her head on a pillow, any pillow.
A moment more and Leto had her flying through nether-space.
*   *   *

Once at the villa, Leto stared at the couch in Medichi’s formal living room and the memories flooded back.
Five months ago, Luken had supported him, half-carrying him to the sofa where Leto had thought he would breathe his last. Though Grace had fed him twice from her vein, it hadn’t been enough, and Leto had been near death. He’d been taking dying blood a long time, a hundred years, but he’d made the decision: no more. If he had stayed the course, he would have died, probably that very night.
But his brother warriors and their brehs had stepped in and changed everything. Havily donated her powerful, unusual blood, and he had been permanently healed from his addiction. He never again experienced the severe cramping that occurred at the withdrawal of dying blood. He owed his life to Havily, and to her breh, Marcus, who had allowed him to take her blood, and to their small group for providing all the extra support he’d needed.
Seeing the couch now brought it all back, how his life had changed forever in that moment. Glancing at Grace and giving her hand a squeeze, he was grateful.
She met his gaze and smiled. He just wished that he could see the future more clearly, especially the why of his beast-state and just what role he was meant to play in Grace’s life, even in his world. And what would happen if he really was in his ascension to Third Earth?
Grace had spoken more than once about how she had gone through life as a ghost. The truth was, he could relate. Even though they’d completed the breh-hedden and even though they had amazing sex together, he didn’t feel a complete connection to her.
But he didn’t blame her. He blamed himself. He was as much a ghost as she was. In all his long life, he’d never truly given his heart to another ascender for safekeeping, not once. Maybe the death of his mother had ruined him in that way, but he kept an invisible emotional barrier all around his heart, always protecting himself, always working hard to be the best warrior, perhaps unwilling to love until the last death vampire was slain.
It was in this way that neither he nor Grace had been ready to complete the breh-hedden. It felt strange to be able to feel the pressure of his palm against hers, to know what his skin and the squeeze of his hand felt like from her point of view. They were so close, and yet still so far apart. He wondered if he could ever truly let go with her, truly give his heart completely, truly yield to all that the breh-hedden could be.
Parisa appeared from a side hall at the southern end of the villa. She carried several black towels folded over her arms. “I found some extras in the second suite. I’m putting you in the room closer to the library.” When she reached a rectangular table in the center of the hall, she waved them forward, then gestured to her left.
Leto put his arm loosely around Grace’s waist as he walked beside her down the hall.
Parisa was another beauty, Antony’s breh. She wasn’t as tall as Grace, perhaps an inch or so shorter. Her hair was long, dark brown, and layered. She had extraordinary violet eyes.
She led them to a room on the left, and as she pushed the door open, she said, “Antony won’t be home until dawn. He’s out battling at the New River Borderland. Of course, as soon as he gets back, I’ll be putting him to bed.” A faint blush climbed her cheeks as she held the door wide.
Grace passed into the room, and Leto followed her. The bed was a massive carved mahogany and looked bigger than a king, which was a real plus, especially if Leto went beast. Grace moved to stand near the doorway leading to the bathroom, her arms folded across her chest.
“I know this has been a long night,” Parisa said, her voice quiet. “I just wanted to say how sorry we are about the Seattle Colony. There simply are no words.”
Leto nodded. “Most of the colonists were able to fold to the Portland hidden colony.”
She nodded. “Thank goodness for that. Well, you both must be exhausted so I’ll leave you now. Also, Endelle said she was adding a smaller dome of mist over the villa itself, which should make it impossible for Greaves to get to you.” She glanced toward the window. “Antony insisted on several squads of Militia Warriors as well. They’ll be patrolling the grounds nearest the house day and night. I think there are eighty warriors out there right now.”
“So many,” Grace murmured, but she actually took a deep breath and her arms fell away to hang loose at her sides.
Even Leto felt it, a sense of security, at least for now. “Parisa, thank you so much. We’ll be very comfortable here.”
She smiled. “I’m basically on Antony’s schedule for now, so I’ll be sleeping away the day with him when he comes home at dawn. Just make the villa your home, especially the kitchen. Have anything you like.” She glanced from one to the other. “Sleep well.”
She closed the door.
Leto turned to find that Grace was staring at the carpet and blinking. He went to her, took her hand, and kissed her fingers. “Take your shower. You’ll feel better.”
She nodded and headed for the bathroom.

All good things know a proper time of fulfillment.

—Collected Proverbs, Beatrice of Fourth