by Elana Brooks
Rabbi Sensei steered her toward the conference room with a gentle hand on her shoulder. This had to be just as hard for him as for her, Beverly realized. He still seemed weighed down, but he moved with a quiet, intent purpose.
A soft buzz of conversation greeted them as Rabbi Sensei pushed the door open. It broke off as six faces swiveled to look at them.
Beverly returned Steve’s familiar hearty smile, then glanced over the others. Three more women, two other men. A mix of ages and ethnicities. Some of them smiled at her, others regarded her solemnly. She ducked her head.
Rabbi Sensei led her toward the two empty seats, his at the head of the table, the one that had been Keiko’s next to it. “Everyone, I’d like to introduce Beverly Jones, Keiko’s chosen successor. You’ve all been briefed on her background and heard from me about what she accomplished during the mission to the Seraphim ship. Does anyone have any questions for her?”
Beverly risked a quick glance around. No one spoke.
“A new member of the Eight requires the unanimous approval of all the others. Steve, do you accept Beverly as one of the Eight?”
“I do.” Steve grinned at her.
One by one Rabbi Sensei asked the same question of each of the rest. One by one, they affirmed their acceptance.
After the last of them spoke, Rabbi Sensei nodded and gestured to the empty chair. “Welcome to the Eight, Beverly.” He seated himself. “Let’s get right to work. Farid, you led the strike force that hit the Seraphim ship about five hours ago.” He swallowed. “I’m aware that it was successful. Will you give us a full report?”
A Middle Eastern looking man in a gray business suit nodded and started talking. Occasionally someone would ask a question or make a comment. Beverly listened with everyone else. Farid and four others had drawn out small groups of guards, three or four at a time, and killed them. Over the course of an hour they’d struck a dozen times without losing a single skirmish.
After the report, they moved on to other business. Schedules for further strikes. Plans for going public. Strategies for recruiting and for handling the influx of new members. After a while Beverly ventured a few cautious suggestions. They were seriously received, discussed with the same depth as everyone else’s, and accepted, rejected, or modified on their merits, without any indication from the others that they were either dismissing her or making allowances for her because she was the new girl.
By slow degrees Beverly relaxed. It would be all right. The Eight had been losing members and gaining new ones for thousands of years. It shouldn’t surprise her that they were adept at the process.
“One more item of business, before Adrian arrives to give his report,” Rabbi Sensei said.
Beverly glanced at her watch in surprise. Sure enough, the hour was almost over. She’d made it through the hardest part.
Rabbi Sensei’s voice and eyes were grave. “It’s become obvious to me that soul bonds are going to be even more important in our struggle with the Seraphim than we anticipated. They’re an advantage unique to our species, which the Seraphim have no experience with, don’t fully understand, and aren’t yet able to counter. Beverly and Adrian, as well as Keiko and I, were able to make use of something we’ve always considered an unfortunate side effect to resist torture. I expect that as the war progresses, those of us with soul bonds will discover even more ways they can prove effective against the enemy, above and beyond the increased strength they give.”
He looked around the table. Beverly didn’t understand why so many of the others looked grim, or wary, or resigned. Steve stared at his hands clenched together on the table before him.
Rabbi Sensei continued. “In light of that, it seems evident to me that those of us who aren’t yet soul bonded should consider it of highest importance to locate a suitable partner and enter into a bond. As soon as possible. Certainly before the Seraphim reach Earth. We all know the risks involved, but I believe we have no choice but to assume them.”
Steve spoke without looking up. “You’re asking us to sacrifice our futures, and possibly our lives, for a temporary strategic advantage.”
A woman wearing a sari, with a red dot painted between her brows, said quietly, “Is that not what each of us committed to when we joined the Covenant, and again when we became members of the Eight?”
A young man with dark curly hair flashed Rabbi Sensei a sunny smile, though pain lurked in his eyes. “Some of us already have commitments which would make it difficult.”
“I don’t ask this lightly, Kostas. When you see Adrian’s and Beverly’s memories, you’ll understand better what I mean.” Rabbi Sensei rubbed his temples. “I know as well as anyone how much a soul bond can cost. And of course I have no power to compel any of you. But as your leader, I must stress that I believe this may be the factor that determines whether or not we fulfill the mission that’s been entrusted to us down the ages. Soul bonds tipped the balance and led to victory for the original Eight. It will be the same for us. I’ve never had much of a gift for precognition, but the conviction I feel on this point goes beyond ordinary certainty into the realm of the astral.”
A petite young woman with tanned skin and a tattoo of a serpent on her bare shoulder turned to Steve. “What do you think? Is he right?”
Steve slammed his fists on the table. “I can’t trust my visions any more. But for what it’s worth, yes. I haven’t gotten anything specific, but damn it, I know he is.”
Beside him, a tall black woman frowned. She wore an elegant dress of brightly colored fabric with bold geometric patterns and a length of matching cloth wound around her hair. “If we can’t trust our gifts, what use are they? Anyone who isn’t able to heed our leader’s counsel will have to step down from the Eight in favor of someone who is.”
Farid frowned at her. “Are we to discard those with stronger gifts in favor of those who are weaker, merely because they’re willing to jump recklessly into an ill-considered bond that puts them at risk of betrayal and death?” His eyes didn’t pause on Beverly as he looked around the table, but she flinched anyway.
Rabbi Sensei raised his hand. “Nothing need be decided now. I only ask each of you to consider in your own hearts what you will do.” He turned to Beverly. “Beverly, you and I are the only members of the Eight currently soul bonded. Do you have anything to add that the others might find helpful as they contemplate their options?”
Beverly swallowed. She glanced at each of the others, then focused on the surface of the table in front of her, where the dark lines of the wood grain swirled around a knot. “I guess Rabbi Sensei told you about how Adrian and I ended up bonded.”
How would she feel if she were in their place, asked to go out and find someone she’d be stuck with for the rest of her life, with life-or-death urgency and a tight, ironclad deadline? If she were being urged to forgo her personal preferences, maybe sacrifice existing relationships, and put her fate into the hands of someone she might not be able to trust, with severely limited choices of who that would be? To risk everything, to give up control of her own destiny, in order to save Earth? To deliberately choose the path that had been forced on her?
If she’d been given the choice ahead of time, would she have been willing to do it? Without knowing how incredibly lucky she was going to be, and that it would all work out in the end?
No way in hell.
So what could she possibly say to these people? How could she encourage them to make a choice she couldn’t have? Did she even want to? Maybe she should warn them to run in the opposite direction. But then maybe some of them would miss out on the sort of wonderful outcome she was enjoying. She chewed her lip in the lengthening silence, searching for words she could honestly say.
Suddenly, in a flash of insight, they came.
“Neither Adrian nor I chose each other, but we both chose to do what we knew was right. He chose to save my life, even though it meant binding himself to me forever. And it took me a while, but eventually I chose to join the Covenant
, and to do whatever I could to save Earth from the Seraphim, and to come back to Adrian so he wouldn’t have to die to save my life. And it all worked out. We love each other now, and it’s better than I ever imagined. Our soul bond is the best thing that ever happened to me.”
A warm presence moved behind her chair, and strong hands rested on her shoulders. “And to me,” Adrian said.
She put her hands over his and squeezed. She couldn’t stop talking, though. Some power moved in and through her. She guessed it must be a form of precognition, though it wasn’t like the visions Steve had described. “And that’s how it will be for you, too. All of you.” One by one her eyes sought out and connected with each of the seven others. “If each of you do what you know is right—whether that means bonding with someone so you can fight the Seraphim better or leaving the Eight because you can’t, staying true to the person you love or opening yourself to a new love, or whatever else your heart and conscience lead you to do—everything will work out. I don’t know how I know, but I do. Adrian and I are only the beginning. I promise.”
As abruptly as it came, the power left her. She blinked, swallowed, and clung to Adrian’s hands for reassurance.
The others all stared at her, some wondering, others wary.
After a long moment of silence, Rabbi Sensei cleared his throat. Outwardly he remained calm, but Beverly saw painful hope lurking deep in his eyes. “Thank you, Beverly. I think we all recognize that your words are a true vision of the future. But we also know that precognitive visions aren’t immutable. It will be up to us to make the choices that will bring about the end Beverly has seen.”
Steve nodded. “But now we know there’s hope. There is a path that will lead us through this war to a good ending for all of us. We just have to find it.”
The others all murmured in agreement.
Rabbi Sensei smiled at them. “Yes. Let us all take new comfort from that knowledge, and new resolve.” He looked pointedly at Adrian. “But meanwhile, a great deal of work remains. Adrian, I think we’re ready to take your report.”
Adrian squeezed Beverly’s shoulders and moved to stand at the head of the table next to Rabbi Sensei’s chair. “Most of this I can cover verbally, but there are some incidents you’ll need to see from my memories to fully understand.” He met Beverly’s eyes and gave her a warm smile before he went on. “I left Earth astrally three days ago and traveled to the Seraphim ship…”
Beverly propped her chin on her hand and watched him as he continued with his report. She paid careful attention, but that didn’t detract from the sheer pleasure of watching and listening to him. Her lover, her beloved, her soon-to-be husband. Their bond had brought them both more strength and health and happiness than they could ever have found apart. They were partners now, in the battle against the Seraphim, in love, in life.
Together they would weather the coming storm.
About the Author
Elana Brooks lives in Houston with her husband of 26 years. She's been an avid reader of science fiction and fantasy since she was a child and discovered an exciting new love for romance several years ago. She spends a lot of time in Starbucks, drinking vanilla flat whites and telling stories about her imaginary friends. She enjoys dabbling in many hobbies, including spinning, knitting, weaving, costuming, hot air ballooning, singing in her church choir, and performing in amateur musicals. She also writes Young Adult Fantasy under the name Angela Holder.
To get the latest news about Elana’s new releases and special offers, find her at:
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Also by Elana Brooks
Homecoming - exclusively available in the Tropical Tryst Boxed Set
The Covenant of the Rainbow
Prequel Novella: White Nights
Book 2: Orange Blossom Special — Coming Spring 2018
Book 3: A Yellow Wood — Coming Fall 2018
Book 4: The Greenhouse Effect — Coming Spring 2019
Book 5: Deep Blue Sea — Coming Fall 2019
Copyright ©2017 Elana Brooks
All Rights Reserved
ISBN: 978-1975625245
Cover art copyright ©2017 Deranged Doctor Design
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