by Siegel, Alex
"What's going on?" Hanley said. "I wasn't expecting another call for two days."
"Just checking to see if you're OK," Xavier said. "You sounded weird this morning."
"I was rattled, but I'm a little calmer now. We're in O'Hare Airport. My plane to Washington departs in half an hour."
Xavier heard airport noises in the background.
"Listen, you need to be a lot more careful for the next several weeks. I'm worried they might figure out you were at Camp Zonta. They could be following you right now."
"I haven't seen anything suspicious, but I'll keep my eyes open," Hanley said. "Thanks for the warning."
"You realize if the legate identifies you as an enemy, you're a dead man."
"I'll be safe once I'm back in Washington."
"It doesn't matter where you are," Xavier said. "She'll show up at your office and cut off your head. Then she'll just walk away. Nobody will stop her."
"What do you suggest I do about that?" Hanley said angrily.
Xavier looked down with disappointment. Twenty-four hours ago, Hanley would've dismissed the threat. He would've bragged about the awesome powers of the federal government and the impregnability of the FBI headquarters. He would've chastised Xavier for being so paranoid.
This Hanley was a changed man. He had looked into a pair of dark eyes and had seen eternity.
"Just be careful," Xavier said softly.
"I will. I'll expect your call in two days. Bye."
Xavier ended the call. Then he threw the phone as hard as he could and shattered it against a wall.
He froze and listened. The legate probably had people following him. He silently walked to one of the filthy windows by the front door. With the tip of his finger, he cleaned a tiny spot in the corner and peeked through the gap in the dust.
It took a minute for Xavier to spot the tail. There was an extra shadow behind a bush. It wasn't moving, but a man was definitely hiding there.
Xavier took a deep breath of cold air. Once he started running, he would never be able to stop.
He started the ATV. The engine coughed a few times before it settled down to a steady rumble. He grabbed a flare from the box. It lit on the first strike, and he tossed it against the wooden wall. He drew a gun. Finally, he shot the propane tanks, putting a hole in each one. Liquid and vapor gushed out.
He only had a few seconds now. He jumped onto the ATV and twisted the accelerator all the way. The vehicle crashed through the part of the wall where he had weakened it.
Suddenly, he was in daylight. He drove straight towards the frozen lake at top speed. The ATV bucked like an animal on the uneven surface, but he had good balance and avoided a fatal tumble.
The sound of thunder made him glance back. The mechanical shed had exploded in a huge fireball. Hopefully, the blast had taken out his tail. Xavier needed as much of a head start as he could get.
He hit the lake at full speed. The ride smoothed out, but he knew it would get interesting again soon. Aaron had mentioned heating elements and had probably told the truth. The ice would be dangerously thin in spots. Xavier twisted the accelerator as far as possible.
He heard a loud pop. The ATV dipped for an instant but then returned to level. He glanced back and saw a crack in the ice.
Another thin patch almost threw him off his seat. Fortunately, the oversized wheels on the ATV quickly found their grip again. He leaned back and struggled to maintain his balance as the ice kept breaking beneath him. It was like riding an angry bronco, but he didn't dare slow down. A rooster tail of loose snow was thrown high in his wake.
A bullet whizzed by Xavier's shoulder, and then he heard the gunshot. Somebody back at the camp was using a sniper rifle. He weaved left and right. There were several more shots but he only got nicked on the arm.
He travelled a mile before finally reaching the other side of the lake. He was out of range of the sniper now. He drove up a slope and entered a forest. He slowed down as the ground became uneven and dangerous.
He picked his way across the countryside for a few minutes. He didn't bother trying to hide his tracks through the snow. Distance and speed were his best friends now. The time for stealth would come later.
He came to a road and turned onto it. He cranked the accelerator all the way again. According to the speedometer, he was travelling at 60 MPH. The frigid air clawed at his exposed face. His tears were actually freezing onto his skin. He squinted but it didn't help much. He remembered seeing goggles in the shed, and he wished he had been smart enough to grab them. This is what happens when you fight in unfamiliar conditions, he thought.
He drove until his vision was just a blur and there was real danger of frostbite. When he finally stopped, his whole body felt like it was still vibrating. His heart was beating fast as he considered his next step.
He kicked over the ATV and laid down on the frozen road with his eyes closed. He waited for what seemed like a long time but was probably just a few minutes.
He heard a car pull up.
A man stepped out and said, "Are you OK, mister?"
Xavier opened his eyes. An old man wearing a wool coat and a knit cap was standing there. Xavier jumped up and knocked him out with a punch.
Xavier ran over to a big blue SUV that was idling on the road. When he climbed in, the warm interior felt like Heaven. He put the metal beast in gear and drove off.
He proceeded at a quick but controlled speed. Getting pulled over by a cop would be an inconvenience. The radio was playing country music. He turned it off so he could think more clearly. He was very glad he was done with that miserable ATV.
He realized he needed a plan. Just evading the Society for as long as possible was pointless. He had to make productive use of whatever time he had left on Earth. As long as he still breathed, his battle against God's capricious tyranny would continue. Rhiannon was depending on him.
No good plan came to mind though. Locating and destroying cell headquarters had barely worked before. Now Xavier was alone without even the Special Missions Unit as an ally. Making contact with his team in Houston would be dangerous at best. He had to find worthy targets he could tackle by himself.
That project would take patience, hard work, and a lot of luck. Xavier had to survive in the meantime. Fortunately, the Gray Spear Society had limitations. He had bemoaned those limitations as a commander, and now he would exploit them to the hilt. He knew all the tricks.
The one good thing about this situation was he could stop pretending. Soon, the whole division would know what he had done and why. He might even find new allies. There had to be others who were unhappy with the way the Lord mismanaged His bloody business. Xavier wasn't the only Spear who had loved and lost.
The sun was setting. It was going to be a long, cold night.
Chapter Sixteen
Aaron was supervising the banquet preparations when he heard a distant motorcycle engine at full throttle. He was immediately concerned. There was no reason for a motorcycle to be near the camp. Then he heard a thud, and an instant later, all the windows rattled. His mind raced to several unpleasant conclusions.
"Smythe and Odelia!" he roared.
He ran into the kitchen. The final stages of cooking were proceeding at a desperate pace. Nancy, Jack, and Kamal were sweating over hot pots and pans. Smythe and Odelia were spreading chocolate icing on a cake.
"We need healers!" Aaron yelled. "Now!"
The healers dropped their utensils and followed Aaron out of the kitchen. They frantically put their coats and hats on.
Aaron had a sudden thought. "Go out," he said. "See if anybody is hurt."
He ran back to the dining room and grabbed a sniper rifle from the racks. He sprinted outside and looked around. A rising cloud of dark smoke told him where the trouble was. He took off in that direction.
He came to a small wooden building that had been blasted to pieces by an internal explosion. He vaguely remembered that it had been a tool shed.
An injured man w
as on the ground. The giant yellow cat eyes told Aaron it was Yule, but the rest of him was unrecognizable. Every inch of Yule's body was burned. It was hard to tell where the charred clothes ended and the charred flesh began. All his hair was gone. Odelia was already working on him, and her skin was glowing as brightly as Aaron had ever seen it. Her face was locked in an expression of intense concentration.
Aaron still heard the distant motorcycle, and the sound was coming from the direction of the lake. He spotted a four-wheeled ATV dashing away at top speed. It kept hitting patches of thin ice, but oversized tires allowed the vehicle to keep going. The ATV was moving a little faster than the ice was breaking.
Clever, Aaron thought. I missed that one.
He laid down on the hard ground and aimed his sniper rifle. It was going to be a very difficult shot. The weapon was unfamiliar and the windage was uncertain. The target was already a thousand yards away and moving fast.
Aaron took his best shot anyway. It missed, and he couldn't tell whether the bullet had gone left or right. He fired round after round until the magazine was empty. Xavier drove out of view, apparently unharmed.
Aaron got on his knees. Yule hadn't moved at all, and Aaron couldn't tell whether he was already dead. Odelia was still working hard though. That was probably a good sign.
"I'm losing him," she said through clenched teeth. "The burns are too deep. Smythe, I need more power."
Smythe stepped forward. "Tell me what to do."
"Touch my heart."
Aaron wondered about the odd request. It didn't make sense in a medical context.
Smythe lifted the back of her shirt and pushed his hand through her ribs. He was literally going to touch her heart!
The white glow spread from her to him. Within seconds he looked like a giant fluorescent bulb shaped like a man. His hair burned with white fire and his eyes were red. He was grimacing fiercely. Aaron could tell he was in intense pain.
"Aaron," Smythe said through his teeth, "we need your power, too. Yule is almost gone."
"I'm not a healer," Aaron said.
"You're a conduit to God."
Aaron hesitated. "Will it hurt?"
"You may feel a slight pinch," Smythe said. "With all due respect, sir, get your fucking ass over here! Lift up your shirt."
Aaron scooted over. Without warning, Smythe shoved his hand deeply into Aaron's chest. Aaron could feel his heart being grabbed.
Abruptly, he was sucked into a vortex of white flame. He now understood Odelia's gift. She could draw power from the universe itself, but that energy was meant to make galaxies spin and quasars burn. It was far too strong for tiny human bodies. The energy crackled and snapped in Aaron's guts like a popcorn machine set on high. It felt like his blood was actually simmering.
This experience wasn't his worst ever, but it was in the class picture. He just had to wait for the misery to end. He couldn't see or hear anything but roaring white flames. His body was a living blast furnace.
As suddenly as it had started, it was over. He was left gasping on the ground, disoriented and dizzy.
"That was interesting," he muttered. "Let's never do it again."
He focused his eyes and looked over at Yule. The cat man was sitting up. He brushed off ashes to reveal skin as pink and perfect as a baby's.
"Are you OK?" Aaron said.
"I'm not sure," Yule replied in a quavering voice. "I was dead. I met God."
"Did He tell you anything?"
"Get back to work and be more careful next time." Yule looked down at his nude, hairless body. He had nothing to protect him from the bitter weather except a healthy glow.
Aaron smiled. "Good advice. Do you want to go inside?"
"Yes. Excuse me." Yule jumped up and ran towards his cabin.
Aaron turned to Smythe and Odelia. The lovers were holding each other tightly without speaking. Smythe's hair was completely white.
"Hey," Aaron said. "You two have matching hair now."
Smythe used a piece of broken glass as a mirror. "Cool. You too, sir." He handed over the shard of glass.
Aaron looked at himself and the image startled him. "Wow. I hope it doesn't stay this way. White isn't my color."
Ethel walked up. "Just because I have white hair these days doesn't mean everybody has to copy me. I appreciate the sentiment though."
Aaron looked up at the legate. "Xavier escaped."
"I know," she said grimly.
"We have to go after him."
"We will soon, but first I need to talk to all my people. Gather everybody in the dining hall."
* * *
Everybody was back in the dining hall. The convention attendees had gathered in small groups and were speaking in low voices. Word about Xavier had spread and speculation was running wild.
Aaron watched from the corner of the room. He didn't believe Xavier had any hidden allies at the convention, but Aaron didn't let down his guard. It was impossible to be too careful.
He took out his phone and called Bethany.
"Hello, sir," she answered in her soft voice.
"Are all the cameras in the dining hall working?" he said. "The microphones, too?"
"Yes, sir. The surveillance system is completely functional."
"The legate wants you to record her speech and send copies to all the cells."
"I know," Bethany said. "She already spoke to me directly. We're sending out a live feed to all the headquarters. Half the division is watching you right now."
Aaron looked up at one of the hidden cameras in a corner of the ceiling. "Watching me?"
"Yes, sir. I like your new hair color."
His face grew warm. "Thanks." He put away his phone and straightened his robes.
Ethel walked into the hall. She was carrying her silver machetes in her hands and swinging them with each step. She didn't look at anybody as she strode to the center of the room.
The audience instantly became silent and found seats. There was competition for the chairs as far from her as possible.
Marina stood beside Aaron. He put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. She held onto his waist.
Ethel turned and faced her people. Her eyes were solid black orbs.
"Love," she said in a loud voice. "Trust. Friendship. These are very powerful feelings. God uses them to bind the natural world together. Without them, life wouldn't exist. But members of the Gray Spear Society are unnatural creatures, and for us these feelings can be a weakness. A deadly weakness."
She began to pace back and forth. Her machetes gleamed.
"During the last two days," she said, "many of you asked why San Francisco didn't send a delegation. My responses were evasive. The truth is their headquarters was overrun. Five members were killed, including the commander, and the rest were captured. The survivors are still being held. The same enemy attacked Miami seven weeks ago and killed four from that cell."
The audience appeared anxious. Ethel had kept the news about San Francisco under wraps until now.
She continued, "Many also asked me why I called this convention. I did it because I wanted to discover the traitor responsible for these attacks. We now know it was Xavier. He betrayed the Gray Spear Society. Last night he tried to kill us all, and he almost killed Yule a short time ago."
Sampson jumped to his feet. "No, ma'am!" he yelled. "That's impossible!"
"Shut up!" she roared.
His face became red. He looked at the people around him and sat on his chair.
"Why would he do such a thing?" Ethel said in a calmer tone. "The answer is love. Two years ago, Xavier loved a woman named Rhiannon. When she died, grief drove him to such madness that he blamed God. By attacking the Society, he was attacking the Lord. The power of love made him insane."
Sampson shook his head.
"Friendship also had a part to play," she said. "The former legate was good friends with Xavier. He trusted Xavier completely. The legate's weakness gave the madness time to fester and grow dead
ly. And Xavier has another good friend. Sampson, come here! Now you may speak."
He shuffled his feet as he came forward. Aaron wanted to turn away, but he pulled Marina closer instead.
"Well?" Ethel said. "Go ahead and defend your friend, just as you've done for the last two years."
Sampson faced the crowd. Even though he was a big man, he looked small now. "Xavier is a wonderful commander. He's done so many missions. He saved so many lives." Sampson's voice caught in his throat. "There must be a good reason for the attacks. Maybe he thought those cells were compromised."
She glared at him. "Loyalty and obedience can be a source of strength. Blind loyalty and mindless obedience are a weakness. I'm told Sampson is a very pleasant fellow. I'm sure that's true, but it doesn't matter. He stood back and watched dumbly as his commander's behavior grew more and more erratic. I would forgive an assistant or even a junior legionnaire for this kind of failure. Sampson is neither. He is the second in command, and supposedly, Xavier's closest confidant. Sampson needed to save his commander from himself. He did not. Sampson failed us all."
Ethel leapt into the air and spun with her machetes held out. For an instant she was a human helicopter twirling so fast she was just a blur. She landed like a cat. Sampson dropped to the floor and his head rolled away. Blood gushed from his severed neck.
She pointed a machete at the corpse and bellowed, "I will not tolerate muscle bound idiots in my organization!" A drop of blood fell from the tip of the blade.
There was shocked silence in the room. Aaron wondered how the team in Houston was reacting to this spectacle.
Ethel resumed her pacing. Clearly, she wasn't done with tonight's lessons.
She stopped abruptly. "The next question you should ask is how could Xavier betray two other cells? How did he discover the locations of those headquarters? The answer is another form of weakness: trust. My commanders trust each other too much. You incessantly send notes back and forth and tell each other things you shouldn't. Xavier merely had to wait for the secrets to fall into his hands."
She glared at the commanders one at a time. They shrank away.