Battle of Forces

by Ali Vali

  “I don’t know where to begin asking questions,” Mac said as he held Molly’s hand.

  “I do, and I need you to pay very close attention.” She glanced up at Piper and smiled. “All of you.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  “Find out where she’s going.” Julius watched through the chain-link fence as Asra boarded a large, strange vessel alone. Behind her, an Oriental man carried two urns, the kind that held cremated human remains.

  The man followed her to the top of the steps and handed them to Asra, then went back to the car for one last urn. Asra’s expression was so solemn and sad, Julius could see the pain clearly etched on every part of her face and her posture. He’d laughed at Vadoma’s success a few days earlier, but it wasn’t time to celebrate yet. Asra wasn’t done paying him in pain what she owed him.

  Behind him Bailey talked softly into the phone, and judging from the conversations, he was trying to find the answer to his question. More bags were unloaded from Asra’s vehicle, and the men with her loaded them on the plane. As they finished, another car arrived with Lenore, Morgaine, and Charlie, and they all took turns embracing Asra.

  “Do you know what Asra’s problem has always been?” Julius asked Travis, who’d been able to get away from Rolla for the next couple of weeks without raising the Elder’s suspicions.

  “I’m sure you’re going to tell me, so why waste time asking.”

  “She cares too deeply for those things in her life that are fragile. Why fall in love so easily if you’ll never be rewarded for those efforts?” He glanced back at Bailey and smiled as he rubbed along the scarred line where Asra had separated his head from his shoulders. The elixir had brought him back, but he wasn’t completely healed. “Loving and taking care of these idiots who die as easily as if swatting a fly has been her life’s ambition. She should’ve concentrated instead on how best to control them to do her bidding.”

  “The night she took me by surprise and embarrassed me in front of Rolla, I thought I’d never hate someone that much, so tell me you’re not done with her,” Travis said, and the links in the fence bent under the pressure of his fingers.

  “She is headed back to New Orleans. That’s all the man in the airport tower knew after reviewing their flight plan,” Bailey said. “I’m still shocked Vadoma was able to kill Asra’s bedmate while they were under her protection.”

  “There’s always safety in numbers, Bailey, and when we get to where she’s going, that lesson will be clear to you. Asra is their best warrior, but now she’s useless to them because of her grief.” The workers around the big vehicle Asra had entered were closing it up. “Where is this place, New Orleans?”

  “It’s west of here over the ocean,” Bailey said.

  “And this thing they’re loading, it will take her there?” He’d slept so long that at times he found himself at a loss as to how much the world had changed. “Is it slow enough that we can follow?”

  “Julius, I explained this before.” Bailey, though, explained it again. “It flies, so she and the others will be home by tonight.”

  “Then we must fly as well and finish this. We have a very short time before—” He caught himself and stopped before giving Travis too much information.

  “Before what?” Travis asked, seemingly brighter than he gave him credit for.

  “We must get to her while we still have the advantage we’ve fought hard for.” Julius returned to watching what was going on with the thing called an airplane. “After all, from what you said yourself, you didn’t pose much of a threat to her.” He couldn’t restrain the small dig.

  “She caught me off guard. We’ve been through this.” Travis sounded like he was about to turn his anger on him, but the roar that came from the vehicle made Julius lose interest in tormenting Travis.

  He watched it streak toward them, then magically lift off the ground like a large bird. The sight made him feel like a fascinated little boy, and he was anticipating learning all that was available to him in this era. He had time for that, but he had much to do before his real fun began.

  “We’ll see you soon, Asra.” He whispered the promise as he followed the plane’s ascent until it was completely out of sight. “And then I will finish what I started with Attila so long ago.”

  *

  Kendal’s plane landed at a private airstrip about fifty miles away to pick up the rest of their passengers, who’d arrived by helicopter. If Julius was watching, he’d concentrate on her and not the house, especially after Vadoma had told him she and her followers were able to kill Piper and her family.

  Kendal’s conversation with Vadoma had been interesting, since she’d never entered into a partnership with a child of the night, but Vadoma had called to update her, so far keeping her word. Vadoma might be playing both sides, but Kendal couldn’t worry about that now.

  Their talk with the Marmandes and Hill the night before had ended in a tenuous truce of sorts, and they had all agreed to Kendal’s plan. If whatever had attacked them had agreed to help them, and the people who’d hired them thought they were dead, that was for the best. The one subject neither Kendal nor Piper had talked about was the elixir of the sun and the fact Piper had consumed a cup of it.

  Bruik had arrived, and Kendal hoped neither Julius nor anyone he had watching the house had noticed the clan’s best seer enter. He’d spent the night before talking to Piper and, from what Piper had said, taught her a few exercises that’d make the visions become easier to remember.

  Over the Atlantic, Piper followed Bruik’s instructions, then went quiet, and her face took on a pensive expression that made Kendal believe her mind had flown off in its own direction. Piper stayed in her trance for almost two hours, closing her eyes as if trying to lock away whatever she was seeing in her mind.

  When Piper became aware of her surroundings again, Kendal leaned closer to her and kissed her. “Are you okay?”

  Piper nodded and put her head on her shoulder. “Believe me, this isn’t the time to get into it.”

  “No hints?”

  “You’re the only one I’m telling, but I have to wait until the right time. It won’t work otherwise.”

  They stopped to refuel a couple of times, and the first part of their trip ended in California. A car waited in the hangar to drive them into the hills of an estate between Sonoma and Napa, to another piece of Kendal’s history. They turned off a scenic highway and drove through a gate very similar to the one at Farthington House. The drive up to the house wound around vineyards now bare following the recent harvest.

  Sparrow, an attractive older woman of American Indian descent, waited for them at the front of the house. She was dressed in jeans with a native-print jacket, and her beautiful black hair pulled into the familiar ponytail was mixed with a little gray.

  “How are you?” Kendal asked when she opened her arms to her old friend.

  “Old and cold, but I’m feeling better now after looking at such a beautiful sight,” Sparrow said as she gazed up at her. “Come give an old woman a kiss.”

  For a second Piper held her back as if she had something to fear. Sparrow didn’t talk to Kendal like a servant or employee, and the expression on Sparrow’s face telegraphed the intimate history between them.

  “Behave,” Kendal admonished her in the Hopi language as she let Sparrow go so she could hug Sparrow’s tall sons. “Everyone, this is Sparrow and her sons Josh and Jeremiah Brown Bear.” After the introductions Sparrow waved toward the house, doing her best to make everyone feel welcome.

  The staff served a wonderful meal that Mac and Molly ate methodically, still appearing to be in shock from what had happened. Sparrow and her children brought her Kendal to date on what was going on around the vineyard as well as in town. When the dishes were cleared, the Marmandes retired to the room Sparrow led them to, and they knew it would be their new home until all this mystery was over.

  Sparrow and her boys retired to their own home, also on the property, and Kendal took Piper for a
walk. The moon was almost full, and they took advantage of the light to stroll along the rows of grapevines. Some of the fruit that had been dropped during the harvest lay dried and shriveled, waiting to be tilled back into the soil.

  “Now I understand the comment you made about being a winemaker,” Piper said, repeating her statement from the night Lenore and Morgaine joined them.

  “So you do,” Kendal said with a smile, and walked as if she knew this land.

  Piper pulled them toward a tree in the distance, wanting to hear about this part of Kendal’s life. Kendal sat with her back against the tree, and Piper sat between her legs.

  “Tell me about her?”

  Kendal didn’t ask who she was talking about, and started her story. “When she was about nineteen, Sparrow was married to a man who loved the bottle more than her and their two sons. To keep her family off the streets, Sparrow made jewelry to sell in town and tried to make the best of what the gods saw fit to give her. It wasn’t enough to make her happy, but it was a bearable life, from what she told me, until the beatings started.”

  Piper pinched the skin of Kendal’s forearms and became irrationally angry. “Wait, she was out making money and he thanked her by beating her?”

  “She wanted to use the money to feed her boys and not his whiskey habit.” Kendal kissed her temple and held her tighter. “You try to hide it from the world, but you’re a caring soul, my love.” With no effort, Kendal picked her up and turned her a little so she straddled her lap and they were facing each other.

  “What are you doing?”

  “I want to see this beautiful face while I’m talking to you.” Kendal ran a finger along Piper’s lips and smiled when she bit her fingertip.

  “Some big tough warrior you are. It’s all this mush that makes them fall in love with you and pine for you even after you leave. Finish your story, honey.”

  “I bought this place about a hundred years ago because I thought the area was as peaceful as it was breathtaking and a good place where I could retreat every so often, not because I knew a lot about grapes and wine. It’s about eighty acres, and the wine pressed here fills the cellars of places like Farthington and Oakgrove. I was here for a visit close to forty-four years ago and saw a truly pathetic sight.”

  Kendal took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Sparrow was huddled on a corner in town with a split lip and two black eyes. Her husband had really gone after her the night before, so she was out trying to sell her jewelry with her two little boys and as many possessions as she could bring with her. She had finally had enough. I went and got my truck and just opened the door and offered my help. Going with me and accepting my offer was up to her.”

  “And she did.” Piper pressed her palm to Kendal’s cheek, then turned her head enough so she could kiss her.

  “She came here with me and her boys, and they never left. I couldn’t stay, so I asked the man I had running the vineyard to look out for them and teach Joshua and Jeremiah the business. Eventually they moved closer to a small lake on the property where I had a house built for them, since Sparrow liked the main house, but it really wasn’t her style.”

  Piper kissed Kendal again and knew exactly why Sparrow had moved. “It wasn’t that she didn’t like the house, my love. She didn’t like that you weren’t there to share it with her. She fell in love with you, but she didn’t get to keep you. I think that hurt her more than that bastard’s fists.”

  “Two lonely people found comfort in each other, but I don’t know about love. I won’t lie and tell you I don’t care for Sparrow and her sons, because I do. They’ve been good to me and work hard to make this place successful.”

  “I didn’t say that to make you feel bad. That you care so much is why I fell in love with you, and I would’ve begged you, like her, to stay if I hadn’t drunk the elixir. I know I don’t have to worry about anyone alive. Thank you for cementing that truth in my mind with your honesty.” She leaned back a little and started to unbutton Kendal’s shirt. “Did her husband ever bother her again?”

  Looking down at her chest and how much more of it she could see as Piper kept unbuttoning her shirt, Kendal smiled. “He returned once and tried to force her back, threatening me and telling me he owned her. I convinced him what a bad idea it would be for him to try it again.”

  Piper nodded and pulled the shirt free of Kendal’s pants.

  “Do you have something in mind?” Kendal asked as Piper started on her belt.

  The tree had surprised Piper when she saw it during their walk. The new vision on the plane had driven her crazy with a desire to touch Kendal, but it was important to be patient. She didn’t tell Kendal or Bruik when they’d asked, not wanting the outcome to change. All Hallows’ Eve, or Halloween as everyone in the modern world knew it, was close and it was time to start to awaken a sleeping dragon.

  “It seems like such a long time ago, but during an important afternoon of my life, someone very wise told me to share myself only with someone who ignited my passion and owned my heart.” Piper took off her own shirt and pressed their bodies together, sighing when skin met skin. “I found you and I want you to show me your passion. Show me that your heart belongs to me as much as mine belongs to you.”

  “I will always belong to you, my love.” Kendal held her hands as she stood to remove her pants and shoes. Piper was strong enough to pull her to her feet so she could finish undressing her as well.

  “Then show me,” she said, when they were seated again. As they came together the cold night air was forgotten, and Piper felt like every inch of her body had come alive in a search for a way to become one with Kendal’s.

  “Do you belong to me?” she asked, trying to remember everything from the vision. It was the first time she’d had a guide to show her what needed to be done. The woman had been so helpful and had explained to Piper why this night had to happen in a certain way. She’d showed it to her over and over until she’d memorized every aspect of the process. “Answer me,” she demanded, when Kendal took too long to speak.

  “Only you.” Kendal willingly let her take control, leaning against the bark of the tree and putting her hands to the sides of her thighs.

  “In a tent a long time ago you were marked.” She took one of Kendal’s hands and entwined their fingers, and it was like she was becoming someone else who sounded commanding and in control. “The woman who marked you did so because one day you’d find someone who’d claim you as their own, and then the brand would come to life and the dragon would know your true mate.” Piper hesitated before placing her hand on the spot she knew from her vision held the hidden tattoo. If it didn’t appear after what she had to do, it would break her heart because of what that would mean.

  “Piper, look at me,” Kendal said softly when she hesitated and couldn’t stop staring at their hands. As Piper glanced up, Kendal’s eyes filled with tears for the uncertainty she probably saw on her face. The fear came from not knowing her place. She loved Kendal more than life, but would the mark know how she felt? “What did you see on the plane?”

  “I saw this place.” She let Kendal’s hand go and pointed to the tree and the rows of grapevines around them.

  “Do you trust me and what we have?” Piper nodded. “Then trust that my heart knows who you are and what you mean to me.” Kendal took their still-linked hands and pressed them over her heart. “Trust yourself and claim everything that belongs to you.” When she nodded again, Kendal moved their hands until they were lying over the spot where the woman had run her finger all those years ago, as if knowing what had to happen.

  “In the name of the goddess, awaken from your watery sleep. Your time has come to stand and fight with the one true of heart.” She chanted this three times in the strange language the woman had made her repeat until she had gotten it right. After the third time, their linked hands started to glow and the warmth moved up Piper’s arm and across her chest.

  When the ritual was done they lifted their hands, and there on Kendal
’s skin was the dragon ready for battle. It was coiled like it was on the sword, and its jaws were open, ready to incinerate anyone who meant them harm. Piper’s relief almost made her forget the next part. With their hands still glowing, she moved them to rest over her heart so she could finish the chant.

  “I am ready to stand by her side and accept the responsibility of keeping her whole.” She said it three times, and after the third time something slammed into her chest over her heart.

  When they lifted their hands this time, Kendal saw a tattoo of a dragon on Piper’s chest. Instead of looking as if it were prepared for battle, this one held what appeared to be an orb in one claw, the other claw hovering over it as if to keep it safe.

  “Where did you learn that language?” She sounded like she was in awe of what had happened. “I’ve only heard it once before, and I didn’t understand it then either.”

  The heated, uncontrolled desire was starting to grow, like it had the first time they held the sword together, and Piper wasn’t in the mood to answer any more questions. Whatever the power of the dragon was, because Aphrodite had made it, it centered on the connection they had to each other. The dragon had seemingly taken the love they shared and magnified it so that it became all-enveloping.

  Kendal brought her forward and crushed their mouths together, as if she needed to feel as much of Piper as she could. Kendal’s usual control had seemingly broken its leash and she started to lay her down, but Piper stopped her.

  “Easy, baby, let’s take this slow and enjoy it.” That was hard to say since she wanted Kendal to possess her, to take her like she had in the sword room at Farthington, but the images of her vision made her take control. “I need to be close to you, but I want to see you.” She caressed Kendal’s face with her fingertips, then followed by placing kisses over her eyes and mouth as she went. “Make love to me while you hold me.” She tipped her hips forward and painted Kendal’s lower abdomen with her wetness.