by Sasha White
But her connection to the darkening had catapulted her into a new world, demanding things of her she’d never imagined doing before. Beyond her emerging power, however, she also let go of her need to keep the war at arm’s length. Yes, she’d lost her husband to that bastard, Greaves, but the war wasn’t over and now it looked like an entity on Third had gotten involved as well.
“Why Duncan?” she asked, glancing between the men.
Jean-Pierre turned toward her. “Duncan has power, more than anyone knows. I have been working with him, exploring that power, for many months. He has visions, but we could not isolate the source of the power and bring them forward. Each time we did, though, he grew physically stronger.”
Samuel frowned. “Did you have a sense that he was somehow connected to Third Earth?”
“No. How could I have? But Duncan knew things, sensed things. There is a connection between the two of you.”
Vela drew in a deep breath and met Samuel’s gaze. “I think we should head back into the darkening. I want to try to take you back to him and I’m pretty sure I can. Maybe if you saw him, saw the situation, you could figure out what we need to do.”
Samuel dipped his chin. “Are you sure?”
She understood the depth of the question, not just that she would be taking him back into the darkening and on a difficult journey, but because he already knew how she felt about all of this, that she didn’t want to be involved.
She nodded slowly. “I’m sure. My mind’s made up. I’m not especially happy about what’s going on, but I want to help.”
“Then let’s do it.”
But Jean-Pierre intruded. “It might be wise to engage Endelle at this point. Not only does she have darkening ability but it seems to me, mes amis, that we are talking about Third Earth. If an Upper Dimension has begun meddling in our affairs, then Endelle must know.”
Vela nodded briskly. “You’re right. Absolutely.”
Getting a fold to the palace took Jean-Pierre a couple of phone calls to orchestrate, but finally the three of them glided through nether-space.
Endelle met them at her landing platform, hands planted on her leopard covered hips. “What the fuck is all this nonsense about Third Earth, the darkening, and Duncan? What the hell is going on here?”
To Vela’s surprise, Samuel took her hand as she walked beside him down the ramp. She glanced at him and he turned and sent, Is this okay?
She nodded. Absolutely. It’s a comfort because I’m way out of my depth.
He gave her hand a squeeze.
She could get used to this. She’d forgotten the simple pleasures of a man’s company, of holding his much bigger, stronger hand.
Thorne had strengthened the security at the palace over the past couple of years, in part because not so long ago, Greaves had actually attacked the palace during Alison’s rite of ascension. Thorne had also established his Command Center here, prior to the battle over White Lake, which had happened just a month ago. Based on all the P.O.’s she’d processed for Thorne recently, Endelle’s home would be the Command Center for the Allied Ascender Forces indefinitely.
As she followed behind Endelle, she passed through the smaller rotunda to a much larger one. The palace was essentially a series of rotundas that hung off the side of the McDowell Mountains overlooking a vast desert to the west.
Entering one of the massive dome-like rooms, she had expected to see groupings of couches and tables. Instead, the room displayed a dozen large screens and more computers than she’d ever seen in one room except at Militia HQ. The lights were kept low and specific to each desk. The open air balconies at either end were now partially closed off with enormous rolling screens.
Thorne stood next to Colonel Seriffe, who must have just folded in from North Africa. Together they scrolled through an iPad.
“Thorne,” Endelle called out. “I want you and Seriffe in on this. Now.”
Thorne met her gaze and Endelle paused in her steps. They seemed to be communicating telepathically.
Endelle finally shot a hand in the direction of an archway at the north end of the rotunda and called out, “Now.”
Thorne glanced at Seriffe and nodded, then the two of them followed Her Supremeness. Seriffe moved quickly as did Thorne. Vela picked up her pace, matching Samuel’s shift in stride. She glanced around at all the techs and support staff who seemed stunned by what had just happened. Apparently, even Endelle didn’t order Thorne around much these days.
After crossing through two smaller rotundas, and passing through an arched entrance, she arrived at Endelle’s sitting room, a large space with a white shag rug, glass tables, and purple couches and chairs.
Once inside, Endelle waved Vela and Samuel to the couch. She sat down and Samuel didn’t hesitate to plant himself right next to her and to take hold of her hand again.
“Give us the details.”
Vela relayed in detail her journey through the intricate maze of darkening tunnels, of crossing the dimensional boundary, of the images that whisked by her as she moved, the explosions and of course everything that related to Duncan.
When she was done, Thorne, Seriffe, and Endelle stared at her, unspeaking.
“You’re shitting me,” Endelle finally said. She then dropped into the large purple chair that faced into the room. Her shoulders slumped.
Endelle’s sudden despair stunned Vela and without thinking, she slipped into the woman’s mind. Endelle’s thoughts streamed quickly. Where the hell is Braulio? He’s been gone this month, with not one goddamn word, and now we have a Third Earth intrusion. And the hell if I know what to do. We’re losing Militia Warriors by the hundreds every night because of those three fucking generals and now this? An untried blondie, with darkening powers that exceeds even—
She broke off and whipped her gaze to Vela. “You were in my head?” she shouted.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t think. I was just suddenly there. And I didn’t know.” Vela eased back against the cushions. She felt as though she’d been slapped, not by Endelle’s outrage but by the truths she’d just expressed, one after the other.
Hundreds of Militia Warriors.
Dying every night.
She released Samuel’s hand and covered her face with her hands. She’d avoided hearing news of the war. And all around the world, Militia Warriors, caught in the extended war, were dying.
Hey, what’s wrong? Samuel sent.
But before she could respond, Endelle had levitated to stand on the glass table in front of Vela. She looked up and stared at the outraged Amazon. “You stay the fuck out of my head, ascender, do you hear me?”
“My apologies. Again.” Vela had never been around Endelle very much and Havily had warned her, but the angle wasn’t helping because Vela could see the lower rounded portions of her Supremeness’s large bare breasts.
Yet somehow that helped, the absurdity of how Endelle dressed.
Endelle grunted, levitating back to the white shag carpet.
“I’ve joined the ranks, Madame Endelle, and I’ll do what I can to help. But I don’t know what to do. I can get Samuel to Duncan, but there’s a limitation. We can’t exit through the darkening at that point, as you know, in order to pull him out.”
“Fuck. You’re right.” She glanced at Thorne and Seriffe. To the latter, she said, “Did you know Samuel has some kind of Third-based power?”
“No. I didn’t.” The leader of the Militia Warriors scowled as he set his strong gaze on Samuel. “You’ve been holding back?”
“For only one reason. Part of the power I have can’t be controlled, at least not yet. I killed several innocent men with it when I escaped.”
Jean-Pierre shared his experience working out with Samuel.
Thorne’s lips twitched. “You’re telling me a mere Militia Warrior kept knocking you on your ass, J.P.?”
“Oui. And I would complain but I believe he must become a Warrior of the Blood soon, perhaps the first we have had since my own induction.”
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Samuel spoke quickly. “Just to be clear, I have no intention of leaving the Thunder God Warriors.”
Jean-Pierre laughed. “We have all heard that from Gideon for over a year. I suppose I am not surprised.”
Vela glanced around the group of powerful ascenders, wondering what she was even doing here. How upside down was her world that a former purchase-order-processor sat in Endelle’s private suite?
“Okay, assholes,” Endelle said. “Let’s get back to work.” She flipped some of the small, spiral shells which in turn exposed a nipple.
All the men looked elsewhere.
Endelle rolled her eyes but addressed Vela. “Take Samuel back to Duncan and see what happens. None of us have this kind of experience with the darkening. In fact, I want to be part of this. So, let’s do this from my office. You can head on over now. I’ll be with you in a couple of minutes.”
Vela rose from the couch but before she even reached the door Samuel had hold of her hand. Once past the doorway, he switched sides so that by the time they’d returned to the large rotunda that housed the command center, he formed a barrier between her and the men who worked there.
What’s that about? She asked.
Those men were gawking at you.
No they weren’t. She’d noticed a couple of surreptitious looks but nothing close to staring at her with mouths wide open.
You don’t want to argue with me about something like this, not right now. You can yell at me later, if you want. But this damn breh-hedden is like fire on my skin. I’m caught between wanting to punch every man who even looks at you to getting you somewhere private and tearing your clothes off. Shit, I shouldn’t have said that.
As Vela walked, heading back to the platform, she didn’t at first recognize the sensation that moved through her, like little streaks of lightning. His rich scent had thickened the air near her so that desire once more, always ready to take her over, stroked her breasts and the sweet spot between her legs. I don’t mind, she sent in return. And she didn’t. In fact, should they survive this next trip into the darkening, she might even suggest they do a little mutual exploration and see what happened, maybe even tap into a vein or two.
Her mouth watered suddenly. She hadn’t shared blood in a long time and the thought of bringing Samuel into her body in that way, maybe while they were doing other things, caused her to shiver.
As she walked up the ramp, he sent, You have the most wonderful floral scent, which you are shedding in waves right now, and you’ve got me worked up.
Standing beside him on the platform, she turned and met his gaze. Good, she sent. A split-second later, she folded beside him, flying through nether-space, but not before she saw his mouth drop.
* * * * * * * * *
Samuel arrived on the landing platform at Administrative HQ in a state of pain, and a level of gratitude for snug briefs and a battle kilt, he’d never quite appreciated before.
Vela’s eyes held a promise, one he understood really well because he knew that signal. Only this time, the breh-hedden had him in its cross-hairs and he was a target ready to hit. Her scent rose in clouds around her.
He slid his arm tight around her waist and walked her down the administrative HQ ramp, newly installed on the bottom floor of the building.
Once inside the elevator, he drew her into his arms and kissed her, plundering her mouth like he’d never known a woman’s mouth before. That she glided her hips back and forth so that her abdomen stroked his erection told him all that he needed to know about what she wanted from him.
He slung an arm around her neck, put a hand on her face and forced her to look at him. But he didn’t say anything, he just met those large blue eyes and willed her to know him, to know what she was getting into. Her lips parted, her breath quickened.
“I’m not who you think I am. The man I could have been disappeared during those years I was gone. Do you understand?”
She nodded. “I think I feel the same way. I’ve been lost since my husband died. I haven’t been the same, either.”
He nodded, then kissed her again, backing her into a corner, pressing his body up against hers. Time lost its meaning as he arched his hips into hers, pumping like he would once he got inside her.
The doors opened, maybe for the tenth time, he wasn’t sure, but a woman’s voice, a blunt, crude voice, called into the elevator. “Somebody get me a goddamn hose.”
Endelle had arrived already? Shit, how long had he kept Vela inside?
Samuel pulled away. If he’d been in pain before, right now he felt like someone held his balls in a vise. He was so close to release that his abdomen spasmed.
Vela clung to the upper sides of his weapons harness, breathing hard.
“You’re wasting precious time,” Endelle said. “You know that, right?”
“Keep your panties on,” Samuel snapped. “We’re coming.” Jesus, was he really talking to the Supreme High Administrator like that? The ruler of Second Earth?
He turned around to apologize, but Endelle only laughed. “Come on, warrior. Let’s get this next job done. With what you went through in Honduras Two, the least you deserve is a beautiful blond getting your rocks off.” She waved an arm toward the ceiling of the elevator. “And just so you know, security has been enjoying the show.”
“Aw, shit.” He glanced up at the camera and knew a bunch of ascenders were smiling back at him. He didn’t care about himself so much, but it bothered him that Vela was exposed like this. So, he glared at the red blinking light and said, “If I find one hint that you’ve been spreading this around Second Earth, I’ll hunt the last of you down and beat you as close to death as I can get, are we clear?”
A voice came over the speaker. “Erasing the CD now.”
“Then we have an understanding.”
“Yes, Warrior Samuel.”
Damn, they even knew his name.
He put his arm around Vela’s shoulder and led her into the hall in the direction of Endelle’s office.
Once inside, he took in the zebra skin rugs, the antique tusks that supported the unpolished marble desk, a fireplace to the left that looked as though it was never used and the full wall of windows that offered a magnificent view of miles and miles of the eastern desert. He loved this land, the dry air, the forever blue skies, the prickly nature of the inhabitants, human and otherwise. Desert living wasn’t for the weak.
He glanced at Vela. Neither was taking on a vast power like Third Earth darkening abilities capable of moving through dimensions. His woman, yes his woman, stood facing Endelle’s desk, her shoulders squared and ready.
He understood something about Vela right then, that she would go the distance. He knew many Militia Warriors like this, good men and women who he would trust with his life. Most of them would go on to become Section Leaders and they always set the best example for the troops.
“What do you suggest, Madame Endelle?”
But the leader of Second Earth just shrugged. “Beats the hell out of me. I don’t do the darkening the way you described. You’ve got Third Earth chops. I don’t. This is your show, Vela. Though the one thing I can tell you is to go with your gut. The rest will follow.”
Vela turned toward Samuel. “I have no idea what we’re going to find, but I think you should have your sword with you.”
Samuel glanced at Endelle, lifting his brows. “Can I do that here? Fold my sword to me?”
“Do it. We don’t have the same security restrictions as either Apache Junction Two HQ or the palace. Thorne’s been after me about it, but for now he can just bite me.”
Samuel withheld a smile. Thorne was revered among the Militia Warriors, a man’s man, and destined apparently to replace Endelle. So to hear her say something like that about Thorne, perhaps more than anything else that had happened, made him know his life really had changed.
He thought the thought and folded his identified sword into his right hand, the blade held away from Vela. He moved to position himself on he
r right side.
“You ready to go for a ride, warrior?” she asked.
He knew what she meant, but their recent engagement in the elevator made him think of other things. He repressed his thoughts if not the squeeze he gave her waist or the smile that moved his lips inappropriately.
But her lips quirked as well, which made him wonder if the breh-hedden might have chosen wisely for him after all.
She shifted her gaze away from him. He watched her concentrate on what couldn’t be seen, probably searching for Duncan.
He tightened his hold on her waist and suddenly they were moving fast through the dark tunnel matrix she’d described, flying down one tunnel, reaching a branch, choosing with deliberate ease the next tunnel, then flying some more.
He saw the same things she’d described earlier as images raced past him. Once he’d become accustomed to the movement, he tried to see what made up the images that flashed by.
Eventually he saw landscapes and cities, a lot of smoke, ruins, people in rags, some warriors in flight battle gear, people running and large whirlwinds of light which turned out to be weapons of heavy capacity and destruction. He watched people being blown to bits, heard others scream, saw warriors flying and bearing swords. Then more landscape, a beautiful peaceful earth, then even greater turmoil.
His heart sank as Vela continued to move him through the darkening. Third Earth, too, was a world at war and somehow, one of the culprits had gotten hold of Duncan, but to what purpose? And why execute him?
Vela began to slow and his sword hummed in his hand.
“What is it? What’s wrong?” He looked around carefully.
“Do you hear that sound?”
He listened hard. And there it was. “Like a very distant explosion.”
“Yes. The last time, I barely made it out alive. They’re coming for us and they’re coming from the direction of Duncan’s tunnel. I think they must know we’re here.”
When another explosion sounded, closer still, that was all Samuel needed to know. “Get us out of here, Vela. There’s no point in moving forward if they’ve got a fix on us and it seems they do.”
He turned her in a one-eighty, keeping his sword well away from her. Then her voice was in his head. Samuel, the return route has changed, but I don’t know why. I don’t know if we’re being directed that way, and it’s an ambush, or what?