Brenna looked up at her. “You were monitoring me?”
“Yes, and your work. We knew they had put a lot on you. But the work you were doing was just fine, and obviously you know the physiology and structure of the brain better than any of us. Dorothy was surprised you’d picked up so much in such a short time.”
Brenna laughed softly. “Most of the work I was doing was just repairing capillaries, and I didn’t learn that from Elsie. I helped Rory with a horse that broke its leg and he showed me how to do it.”
Moira broke into a big smile. “Yes, he’s a great healer. I learned a lot from him while I was growing up.”
Brenna gave Collin a questioning look.
Moira is Rory’s granddaughter, Kallen’s daughter.
Kallen is Rory’s son? That beautiful woman is Kallen’s daughter?
Collin chuckled. “Callie has all the genealogies. Check them before you decide to have kids. We try to avoid inbreeding.”
“Are we related?”
“About nineteenth cousins.”
Brenna felt much better.
They went around the corner with Collin, Seamus and Rebecca to a nice little place and ordered dinner and a couple of bottles of wine. While waiting on their meal, the doctors filled Seamus in on the horrible nature of Cindy’s injuries. Moira had been in her mind, laying a Comfort on her, blurring the memories and terror. In doing so, she had seen Cindy’s torturers.
The people who kidnapped her had beaten her with fists and a steel pipe, the latter the cause of most of the broken bones. She also was repeatedly raped, vaginally and anally in the conventional sense, with fists, and with both the steel pipe and the broken, jagged end of a wooden table leg. It was this last that caused the major internal damage and bleeding. Mark told them he had also removed her ruptured spleen. The broken ribs had punctured her left lung.
“Do you know who did this thing?” Seamus asked quietly.
Moira provided a projection of the people involved. There were four men and a woman. Cindy’s memories of three of the men were vague, but the other man and the woman she remembered vividly. She also remembered that her fourth Protector, a man named James McDermott, was captured with her. He was tortured by the woman for two days before he died.
“That’s the guy Kallen and I saw at the hotel,” Rebecca said in a soft voice.
“He’s also the guy who said he was from Der Spiegel and interviewed me at Hopkins just before those goons broke into my house,” Brenna said with a shudder.
“The woman is Helga Fuchs,” Collin said. “She’s one of Siegfried von Ebersberg’s top operatives. The men that attacked Brenna were German and also worked for him. I think we’ve pinpointed the source of our troubles. That she’s involved in torture and murder is no surprise, the woman’s a sadist, pure and simple.”
Brenna was so tired she felt as though she was going to fall face down on the table. Moira reached out and touched her face. Energy flow into her. Wide-eyed, she turned to the other woman.
“You looked like you needed a little boost, and the other people in here won’t miss five percent each. They’ll just go to bed a little earlier tonight,” Moira said. “I gave Dorothy and Mark a shot each back at the hospital. Same sort of thing, a little bit drawn from people in the waiting room.”
After dinner, Moira sent everyone off to bed, saying she would sit with Cindy through the night. Tomorrow they’d work out shifts of healers to sit with her and speed her healing along. With such severe and extensive injuries, they would be pulling in additional healers from Clan across the country to help with her recovery.
~~~
Chapter 1-17
… most tales of the succubus describe her as going after one mortal at a time, draining him and taking his soul to the Abyss - The Succubus Gift, fifteenth century Gaelic tract
Brenna took her shift sitting with Cindy in the afternoon, feeding her energy leached from the hospital staff and visitors, never very much from a single individual and never from patients. She also used her Healing Gift on the injury inside her head. They had worked out an around-the-clock rotation of healers to work on her. A half dozen more were on their way to Washington.
She got back to the local compound at dinner time, and afterward sat in a meeting Seamus held with security personnel to try and plan what they were going to do.
“Now that we know who we’re looking for, with the manpower we’ve pulled in they should be fairly easy to find,” Collin told them. “Helga especially stands out.”
“You seem to know her fairly well,” Rebecca said.
Collin nodded to Kallen, who told them, “Helga Fuchs, age sixty-five, six feet four inches tall, built like a brick outhouse with that distinctive blonde bob. She stands out on the streets of Berlin, even with all the other blondes and tall Germans. She and I almost killed each other once. A succubus carrier with eight gifts, mean, sadistic, and smart. A skilled martial artist, sharpshooter, and she raced cars at one time. She’s been Siegfried’s assassin and lead operative for the past fifteen years. This guy Gless is new to us, though. We don’t have any records of him.”
“According to what Moira saw in Cindy’s mind, he appears to have the O’Donnell Gift,” Collin said. “They drugged her to capture her, evidently beat and raped her while she was still out, but he smashed her shields in a fashion that indicates such power. She’s not helpless, but he controlled her mind.”
“They’re not getting out of the country unless they swim,” Kallen said. “We have every airport covered. I suppose they could go out on a freighter, but those options are limited. And after this success, it doesn’t make sense they’d run. They probably dumped her because they thought she was near death. So we hunt them down and kill them.”
Seamus had been listening quietly, his face a grim mask and his eyes showing only a narrow blue ring around dilated pupils, but now he leaned forward and spoke, “Yes, that makes sense, but there are things here that don’t make sense. This emphasis on succubi doesn’t sound like Siegfried. I could see him wanting to capture Brenna, who’s young and, when Gless first contacted her, a wilder. Get her young, control her, train her. That would be his style.
“But torture and killing one of my people when it could be traced back to him? There’s something else going on here we don’t know about. If possible, I’d like to capture at least one of their crew.”
Collin pursed his lips, “Dangerous, though, if this Gless is a Dominant. They took out four trained Protectors and captured a mature succubus. That’s not an insignificant amount of force. If we could set a trap, lure one or more of them in,” he shook his head, “but since we’re not sure exactly what they’re after, what kind of trap do we set?”
Brenna had been slouched in an easy chair, but now she sat up. “But we do know what they want. We just have to bait the trap and let them come to us.”
They all looked puzzled, except for Rebecca and Seamus.
“Oh, no, that’s a really bad idea,” Rebecca said, “we can find another way.”
“Granddaughter, are you thinking what I think you’re thinking? You don’t know for sure that will work, and how do we bait this trap so that he doesn’t suspect? Too many holes.”
Collin looked at him, then at Brenna. “What are you talking about?”
“My mom taught me how to build an O’Donnell trap. It’s an old O’Neill trick.” She looked at Seamus. “You know it works. We just have to figure out how to present the bait.” She looked at Rebecca, who was shaking her head, frowning. “A construct. That’s how we’ll do it. She can build a construct in me. Didn’t you tell me it was possible to build a nine-level construct?”
It all came together in her mind. Excitedly she began to explain her plan to the others.
“You know that an O’Neill has seventeen shielded levels, right? A nine-level construct is about equal to a fifth-level construct for someone without the Gift. That’s why the trap is built at the tenth level, that’s why it works.
; “An O’Donnell smashes through nine levels of shields and expects to find my soul and take control of my mind. Except there’s no soul at the ninth level,” she glanced at Seamus, “so he wanders around trying to figure out what’s going on, wanders a little too deep, because my ninth level is very shallow, and crosses over into the tenth level. There’s nothing at my tenth level.”
People were staring at her, faces blank. “An O’Neill doesn’t have to construct her shields that way, but it’s how my mom taught me, and how her grandmother taught her. Seamus, tell them how it works,” she pleaded.
“Her great-grandmother was a succubus, an O’Neill, and the keeper of the O’Neill family archives. She remembered the time when O’Donnell and O’Neill were enemies, fighting each other for control of northern Ireland. When Brenna told me about this method of shield construction, I’d never heard of it, so I asked her to demonstrate it for me. I entered her mind to the ninth level, and of course her soul wasn’t there, but it seemed very deep for a normal mental level, and when I wandered a bit too far, she slammed that triple-strength shield down behind me.
“You all know that to enter a hostile mind without taking control is dangerous. If you can’t trigger your Talents, you have no way to defend yourself or employ your weapons. And if you can’t reach the areas of your brain to trigger them, you’re trapped.
“Believe me, it works. She controlled my mind, but in a very different way than conventional control. She couldn’t make me do anything, but I was a prisoner and couldn’t escape. If she’d decided to take a plane to Ireland, she’d have taken my mind with her, leaving my body behind. Separating mind and brain is an interesting experience.”
Realization dawned on the group. She could see it in their faces as each came to an understanding of exactly how it worked.
“Be that as it may, I’m not happy about the idea of using her for bait,” Collin said. “Look what this bastard did to Cindy. Do you want to risk that happening to Brenna, too?”
“I have a few more weapons than Cindy had, including the O’Donnell Gift myself. And I assume you’re going to cover me like a blanket. I have no desire to end up in that basement where he took Cindy. But who else could you use for bait? Siobhan? Rebecca? Neither of them can protect themselves from an O’Donnell. And neither of them has the ability to fight back that I do. Besides, if everything screws up, I have an escape they don’t have.”
She teleported to a chair near the door. Seamus and Rebecca immediately looked around to see where she was, everyone else stared at her empty chair. “See what I mean?”
“You’re awfully cocky for someone who has just learned to use these Talents,” Kallen observed. “How do I know you won’t freeze and get yourself, and my men, killed?”
Brenna disappeared. Less than a minute later she reappeared in her original chair holding a frying pan from the kitchen. “I might fall apart afterward, but my survival instinct is very strong. I won’t freeze on you.”
“You’ve been practicing things you’re not supposed to,” Seamus observed.
“She’s not supposed to be teleporting?” Rebecca asked.
“She’s not supposed to teleport into the kitchen,” Seamus replied. “The cooks get very upset. Collin, I’m not any happier with this idea than you are, but I would like to explore it. Provide me with a workable plan tomorrow morning, and then we’ll decide whether or not to take it any further. I’m also open to any other ideas.
“For now, I want every asset we have looking for these people, and every asset in Europe trying to find out what the hell is going on. This just doesn’t sound like Siegfried. He’s a bastard, but I’ve known him for seventy-five years and he’s usually far more subtle than this.”
Picking up the papers lying on the table in front of him, he said, “I’m going to bed, I need to get up early tomorrow to make some calls to Europe. I’m also going to have Callie call her friend Antonia to ask if she’s heard of any unusual activity or threats to succubi over there. Good night.”
He heaved himself out of his chair and on his way out of the room stopped and laid his hand on Brenna’s head. “Brenna, I almost lost Cindy. I couldn’t stand losing you. If there’s another way to do this, I won’t jeopardize your safety.” He leaned down and kissed the top of her head, then left.
Collin looked around the room. “Okay, let’s flesh this out, and then we’ll consider alternatives. Now, Brenna, let me get this straight. You’re proposing putting yourself out there as bait, as a succubus, correct?”
“Yes, let me play the succubus, draw their attention, and have them make a play for me. When they do, we close the trap.”
“And how do you propose to draw their attention?”
“Gless has already targeted me. He sent those men to kidnap me at my house, right?”
Kallen spoke up, “Yes, and failed. He has to know you’re not a wilder now, that you have O’Donnell protection. He’ll suspect a trap if you suddenly reappear after being hidden for the past month.”
Mike Riley spoke for the first time, “We would have to disguise her, make her a new succubus, one he didn’t know about before.”
“How do you disguise that?” Collin said, waving in Brenna’s direction.
Brenna stiffened, started to open her mouth, but Rebecca put a hand on her arm. “Brenna, you are very unusual. Your build, that hair, I’d know you from a block away. There just aren’t any women that look like you. Collin’s right, you’re very recognizable.”
“Get Rachel down here from the estate,” Kallen suggested. “Let an expert figure out how to disguise her.” He turned to Rebecca, “Have you built a nine-level construct before?”
“Yes,” she answered, “Lydia taught me how, and I have a basic framework stored, but I’ve never built anything in someone with seventeen shield levels.”
Collin asked Rebecca, “If we start this tomorrow, when would you need Lydia?”
“The day after tomorrow. There’s another problem, though. If I’m going to create a succubus, I need source material. Brenna may have the Kashani Gift, but she’s really not a succubus. She doesn’t think like one, has never been one out in the world. When Cindy gets better I can use her for the information I need, but who knows when she’ll be strong enough for that?”
“Mike,” Collin said, “Call Nigel and have Siobhan book a flight ASAP to Washington, not New York. She’s also a construct artist, though not as proficient as Lydia, but she’s had more constructs set up in her head than anyone I know of.”
He looked around the table, “Who are we going to disguise her as? What’s the play here?”
Brenna leaned forward, “Suppose Cindy had a younger sister. I hear that she’s in the hospital, fly in, and then try to find out what happened to her. Gless targeted her at work, right? I play amateur detective, go around to her office, ask questions, hang out at some of the places she usually goes. Let him target me the same way he did her.”
There was silence while the group thought about that idea, then Rebecca said, “That would be perfect. Think about how much different Brenna would look as a redhead. She has the complexion to carry it off, blue eyes. Change her hair style and also the way she dresses, walks, acts. That can be done through the construct. I’ll bet Rachel can change her appearance. She’ll resemble Brenna, but hell, all succubi resemble each other to an extent. If Gless saw you at the lab, or wandering around Baltimore dressed the way you normally do, we can change that and project a completely different image.”
“And how are you going to dress me?” Brenna asked. “You know what kind of problem I have finding clothes.”
“Do your mother’s clothes truly fit you?” Kallen asked.
“Pretty close. They’re a little too tight in the bust and hips, but just a little. They’re wearable.”
Kallen took out his cell phone, punched a button, and waited for an answer. “Callie? Do you think Alice would still have Maureen’s measurements on file? Yeah? Good. Yes, it’s a rush, we need to dres
s her as a succubus for an operation. Rebecca? Sure, that makes sense. Thanks. Oh, and send Rachel down here tomorrow.”
He put the phone away. “Even if your mother’s clothes fit, they’re out of style, and especially out of style for someone your age. Rebecca, figure out what a succubus party girl needs in the way of clothes. Start by going over to Cindy’s and going through her closet, daytime clothes and nighttime hunting clothes, okay?”
She nodded.
He raised an eyebrow. “Go now. Take a dozen men with you. Remember, Gless has you pegged as a succubus, he thinks you’re Siobhan so you go nowhere alone.”
She got up and left.
Collin looked around the room. “So our plan is to present Brenna as Cindy’s sister. Dye her hair red and whatever other wizardry Rachel can perform. Send her out to Cindy’s office to play amateur sleuth, have her play succubus around town, and hope Gless targets her. Have I got that right? We have Lydia and Siobhan coming in to do the construct, and Rebecca will give Alice a wardrobe to build. How long is this going to take?”
“Probably two weeks to set up,” Kallen answered. “A week to build the construct, another week for Siobhan to train her, then we can decide whether to implement. In the meantime, we go hunting the bastards. If we’re lucky, we’ll find them and the only issue we’ll have concerning this plan is whether Brenna wants to keep the red hair.”
Rebecca returned three hours later and showed Brenna the list of clothes she’d decided on. “Alice called me while I was at Cindy’s, and we talked. She said she’d have clothes for you in a week, and that’s about when the construct should be finished.
“Now, I have a private question for you. Are you comfortable becoming a succubus? You’ll still be in there, beneath the surface of the construct, knowing and feeling everything that goes on. If you’re going to play this part realistically, it’s going to mean actually going out and seducing men you don’t know. The construct, the woman we create, will have no problem with it, but you’ll be left with the memories, the way your body is used, after this operation is over. Are you really prepared for that?”
The Telepathic Clans Omnibus Page 21