I looked back toward Cristof. He was a short, dark haired man with a dark complexion. His aura was showing that he was impressed.
"’E tends to do tings fairly quick when the idea starts," Flynn said with a laugh, "’Ow close do ye ‘ave to be for the link ta work?"
"Head out from me, Ric," I said, "I think the link will stretch out."
He started across the field and the link didn't break. It stretched farther and farther. As he kept going, the link was getting smaller.
"I think it'll stay but the closer you are, the stronger the link," I said while keying my throat mike.
"Got it."
I turned back to the others, "This is another of those volunteer things. You can pull out of the unit at any time. This is probably going to be standard for this company though."
"You specified open minds," Adaya returned, "so go ahead."
I repeated the link like I had made to Ric with the same results. I placed it in the exact position I had used with Ric.
"I'll try to get it in the same position on each of you. So it's easy to remember where it is."
"I'll go next," Reyna stated and stepped forward.
One after another, they all stepped forward for the link. The last was Alec Brighton and he had reservations. He was slow to make up his mind, and I didn't have to be a mind reader to know why. He took a dislike to me from the beginning. I'm not sure why but it was there, nonetheless. After a moment, he stepped forward and did as the rest.
"Alec," I said before making the link, "Do you have some sort of problem with me? I don't expect everyone to like me, but I feel there's something more with you."
"I'm not here to like you," he said, "But I have to trust you. And I'm having a bit of trouble with that."
I appreciated his honesty. He knew I could tell if he lied to me so he didn't bother. All of them knew what I could see in their auras. Emotions, memories and truth.
Rictor's aura flooded with anger and Prada's was much the same. I held my hand up toward them before anything could be said.
"Can you tell me why?" I asked, "Trust is the most important thing with a unit like this. If it's not there, then we'll fail."
He was quiet for a moment, and I could see the war of emotions in his aura, "I had a friend when I first joined the Soulguard. His name was Ramirez. He was killed by these Shak'Tar bastards. These bastards that you let walk back into a portal free and clear."
I was surprised. But I guess it was a reasonable complaint. I'd kept my DNA issues out of the common knowledge of most, but, if I was to ask them to trust me I would have to trust them as well.
"Luis was a close friend to me, as well, Alec. You have no idea how much it pained me to hear of his loss. But these Shak'Tar aren't the same people they were before our trip to Romania," I said, "I have my secrets and I don't suppose I could ask for your trust and not give you mine."
"You even brought three of the bastards back with you," he said bitterly, "How can you say you're a friend of Luis and ally yourself with the ones who killed him?"
"I guess we should start with the day I was born," I said, "My mother managed to kill fourteen soldiers who had entered our home. She did this while in labor with me. During the battle, she was wounded badly and some of the Kresh blood got into her bloodstream and, through the umbilical cord, into the unborn child- into me. She died that night after my father had returned, and I was left in the care of his two most trusted Guards."
He was staring at me with utter astonishment rolling through his aura. I think he expected an excuse. This was a lot farther from his expectations than he was expecting.
"You've all been briefed on the Shak'Tar. They were experimental subjects raised by Kresh to be used against humans. They have the DNA of the Kresh inside them, and it gives them a degree of telepathy like the Kresh. I also have that DNA, and the telepathy that comes with it. But I was raised by Kharl Jaegher and Kyra Nightwing, not Kresh. And I most certainly was not raised to be used against humans."
"What happened in Romania was as much a surprise to me as it was to them. I'm still discovering what I can do with the telepathy, and I did something while I was there that I cannot ever do again. I altered the minds of all of the Shak'Tar, all of the Kresh that were there, and even the Humans in their prison. They aren't the same people they were before that Mark I put on them. You ask how I can ally myself with Luis's killers?"
"After what I did to them, I can't do any different than I have done. I'm responsible for them all now. I don't know how far the Mark would push them to do as I ordered but I think, if I ordered one of them to do it, he would walk into fire and burn. What terrifies me is that he would do it happily if I asked it. What else am I supposed to do?"
All of them watched with different reactions to what I had said. Rictor showed no surprise and neither did Prada. Flynn wasn't surprised much, I think he had figured out quite a bit of it already. Len Yueh didn't show anything. His aura was behind that shield like his brother, Tien had around his. I couldn't see the emotions or memories in his aura because of it.
The rest of them had various emotions rolling through their auras. It would take a little while for some of them to accept what I had said, and there may be a few vacancies in the company. It might be hard to accept that the man you are following is part Demon.
"I had my suspicions after what happened in Romania," Reyna said, "After we found out about the Shak'Tar and their DNA, it was a small step to realizing that anyone who could do what you did there had to have the same."
"Some people have known for years and it's hard to fight what lives inside me. I'll understand completely if any of you want to resign from this unit. There'll be no repercussions if you choose to do so. Take the evening to think about the decision. We can't function without trust."
I turned and walked away. I hoped none of them chose to leave. I could see some real promise in these Mages. I really wanted this to work out but if not, I knew two hundred or so Mages who would follow me into hell. It would be disappointing if they chose to leave, but I would be damned if it would stop me from being prepared to fight this war when the Kresh returned.
Chapter 36
"You think any of them will leave?" I asked.
"I doubt it," Ric answered. "They're Soulguard and they're the best of the best. After they think about it a bit, they'll come to the same conclusions as we did. You showed us what's inside you in Knoxville. Did anyone request transfers? If anything, it made us appreciate the willpower you have to keep that under control."
We were sitting near the practice field, watching the new trainees do weapon training. Irenia Jaegher seemed to be the center of attention. That's not hard for her to do. She's probably the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. Worthington had been a beautiful woman before the burns, but her Soul had been hideous. Irenia's Soul was as beautiful as she was.
Dietrich may not have told the girl about the Soulguard, but he'd taught her how to fight. With her knot in place, she was hell on wheels in the practice ring.
"I know Flynn will be ok," I said, "I think the others will too, except maybe, Brighton."
"He'll be there, Boss," he said. "Damn that girl is good."
"I know. I haven't met a Jaegher yet who isn't. Seems like it's a family business."
"True."
"Hey, when Reyna first showed up, she said she'd met you once before. Back when you were a lowly Marine. Got me wondering a little, so, what happened?"
He was quiet for a moment as I saw memories of a jungle flashing through his aura, "It was back in '68. My company was stationed in Laos. We ran across a village that was completely empty but there was blood everywhere. There were a lot of atrocities in that war but this looked bad. We trailed the force that had done it for a day and a half."
"They were leadin’ us deep into the jungle, and the Captain figured they were playin’ with us. Somethin’ just didn't seem right about ‘em. They hit us out of the darkness. They moved so fast, we only saw shado
ws. Over about three hours, they destroyed a whole company of Marines. We got a few, and when we saw what they were, we knew we were in trouble. They weren't human."
"There were only fifteen of us left when the jungle lit up off to our left. She walked out of the jungle and it looked like she was on fire. Behind her came twenty men, and women with swords of flame. It was the kind of thing I expected to see if I was losing my mind. It really pissed off the forces that were hittin’ us. They came out of the shadows quick."
"You can imagine what we witnessed after that. Soulguards are impressive to normal people, and I was very impressed. After all was said and done, all fifteen survivors of my company became Soulguard. Been tryin’ to kill all of the Demon bastards ever since."
"I see," I said. "I guess we all have something like that in our past."
"Just about all of the Guard came from that sort of thing," Ric said. "These new Guards will be different. In some respects, better, some not. They'll fight like soldiers, but they have families and friends who they'll return to eventually. They'll serve shorter terms, and they'll want to go home. I can't say that's a bad thing."
"True enough," I said. "They have people they fight to protect. Most of us fight for the memory of people. I never met my parents, but I fight for their memory. My true family is the Guard. I have nothing else."
"It's the same for me, Boss. The Guard's all the family I got," he said. "Things are gonna be different from here on out."
"That's what I told Paige the other day," I said. "Of course it's gonna mean a whole new thing when you say veteran after this. Over time there's gonna be a lot of people who don't work directly for us anymore, and yet have the power they gain from the knot. There's a lot that we need to work with in dealing with that. But that's something Paige has to worry about. We only need to worry about several million Kresh bent on destroying our race."
"Oh, is that all?"
"Yeah, we'll leave the big decisions to the Archmage."
He laughed and gripped my shoulder, "We'll take care of the little things then."
"Yep."
***
"What was he like?" I asked Dietrich.
We sat at a table at the Hooters in Wichita, once again. It seemed to be our unofficial meeting place now. Every week a group of Soulguards would descend on the place, and try to eat all the food. They tried to convince the girls to go home with them as well. Some had been successful, like Jacobs. But mostly, the girls who worked there were immune to the advances of soldiers and Soulguards. They had to be to still be there, I suppose.
"Merlin?" he said, "Honestly, no one knew much about his personal life. He was one scary bastard, though. When I met him, he was close to nine hundred years old. He would say things that sounded ridiculous to most folks about things that had happened so long ago. But then we would meet a Demon army in the field, and he would blow up the world around us. I've seen some pretty impressive displays of power in my life, but he was at the top. Our world was small, we knew there was more, we just couldn't get to it all. I think he had gone to places most of us had just dreamt of."
"I guess you could cover a lot of the world in nine hundred years," I said.
"No doubt. He was fond of something I saw you do on some video footage. The huge vortex of power you held over the field in Kansas. He would do that, and just rip giant gouts of fire down onto their heads. If we'd been there when they came for Kent, things would have been different. Kent was awesome by himself, but, together they were something totally different. I saw them destroy an army of Demons together. We were just there to feed them power. They left the ground so hot it was flowing like water. It was beautiful and the most terrifying thing I have ever seen."
"It's hard to believe they could send something over here that could kill one of them. But they had something and they used it. There was nothing left after that day, only the Guards who weren't there. We started over and Merlin disappeared. For a while I couldn't understand his leaving. But a hundred years ago or so I did the same."
"I was tired. I'd spent so long killin’ and fightin’, and my stubborn son decided he had to join the Soulguard too. I left and then I heard he had died with some Mage they called the Demonkiller, and I swore never to return."
"Then I started a war," I said, "And another of your stubborn kids was gonna run off and join the Soulguard."
He looked down the table at Kharl, who was laughing at something Jacobs had said, "I'm not gonna make that mistake again. Never let your pride make you leave the one's you care for, Boy. Sometimes there ain't a miracle that can bring them back to you."
***
My office door opened, and I saw Alec Brighton standing in the entrance.
"I'll never really trust them, the Shak'Tar," he said, "but I'll give you my loyalty. I've spent the last week talking to every person I could find about you. What you did out there, tying yourself to the Source. You didn't expect to survive that, did you?"
"No," I said, "but my Guard would survive. That was enough for me."
"And that's why I'll follow you."
"Thank you, Alec."
He nodded and turned away. I watched his Soul as he walked down the hall. There was one thing that truly bothered me about how the Guard has given me so much loyalty. Was I forcing it on them with the telepathy, or did they truly follow of their own free will. Alec helped in dispelling that worry. He chose to follow. I had stayed away from the company as they decided. I wanted to be sure I wasn't affecting them by being there.
Over the last few days, they had all come and given me their decisions. All of them stayed. Alec was the last of them to come see me. I could see his point with the Shak'Tar. I had a serious hate for them myself. But when I Marked them, I became responsible for them. It wasn't their choice, and I could have just killed them, but they looked to me for direction now.
And after the explanations, I felt there was no choice. The Shak'Tar were still out there killing humans, and if I sent them back across, that would stop. No choice at all, really. I'm not sure my oath to protect humanity can just cover those on my own world. There are fourteen other worlds of humans out there, and they were under the rule of the Kresh. That's unacceptable, and I will cross into their worlds one day.
Then I will end their rule.
Chapter 37
They hit New York in November. It was the biggest catastrophe ever seen by that huge city. Right in the center of Broadway and 174th street, a portal opened and Demons charged through. Other portals formed nearby at several intersections. They poured through the portals for some time before the National Guard and the Soulguard could get anywhere near the place. It was estimated that there were close to five thousand Demons loose in the largest city in the U.S.
They poured into the congested population of New York, and killed everything they could find. It was absolute chaos.
It was 8:45 PM when our plane landed at LaGuardia. My company exited the plane to be met by a Military Liaison.
"Sir," he said, "we need to get your men over the river, and to the staging ground in Central Park."
I looked at the map in my hands, "You got enough helicopters to get us all over there?"
"No sir," he said, "We'll have to take three trips."
"We'll get there faster on the run," I said and turned to Rictor.
"Ric, we're hittin’ this Parkway," I said, pointing at the map, "at a run. Form everyone up."
"You're going to what?!" the Liaison asked.
I looked back at him, and my rage must have been very close to the surface because he stepped back quickly, and tripped to fall on his backside. I reached down and pulled him to his feet.
"Take more NG's on the Helos. We'll get there faster on foot," I said.
I didn't have time to explain better than that.
"Ready, Boss," Rictor said behind me.
I turned and the world slowed as I shot across the runway at seventy five miles per hour. I leapt the fence with one Soullord, eleven Mages, and a
hundred Guards hot on my heels. Traffic was backed up on the parkway, but it didn't even slow us as we ran across the tops of cars in the heavy congestion. We followed that road through several name changes until we reached the turn toward the bridge. I had wanted to return to New York someday, but it definitely was not under these circumstances. I could only imagine the death toll already. I cringed and poured on more speed. Traffic on the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge was completely stopped, and people were pouring across the bridge on foot.
We hit the top of vehicles once again, and never slowed down. On the other side of the bridge, it was much the same so we ran across cars and leapt to open areas. Once we even launched ourselves to the top of a building to get past the crowds of people trying to escape to the other side of the East River. We stayed on Martin Luther King until 8th Ave where we headed south.
The staging area was in the big open area at the Northwest corner of the park, Cathedral Parkway. I could see the darkness of Demons to our Northeast, and the rage was clawing at the walls.
We reached the mass of soldiers before the first helicopter made it. I stopped in front of a surprised soldier.
"Where's HQ, Private?"
"The big tent there in the center," he said quickly.
He had already met a few Soulguards this day, and our speed hadn't affected his response time.
"Thank you, Private," I glanced down, "Swann."
"Ric, Lyrica, with me," I looked to the others, "I'll be back with targets in a moment. I'd suggest looking over your maps for the time being."
I headed to the central tent where a guard stood outside, "Colin Rourke, Soulguard."
"Go ahead, Sir."
I entered to find several Officers arguing over the map stretched across the table. One of them looked up, and I recognized General Gasper.
"Good!" he exclaimed as he saw me. "Welcome, Mister Rourke. Welcome indeed."
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