by Regan Black
"You're a good student." Daniel shrugged. "Seriously, though, items of historical and religious significance have been hidden – unnamed – for centuries for a reason."
"So the Hitlers of the world can't abuse them."
"Sort of." Daniel leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "Items have power, sure, but faith and belief enhance that power. For centuries the guardian clans have kept relics safe to prevent abuse, but more to prevent distortion."
Nathan wasn't getting it and he was relieved when Cali took over. "If Kristoff uses a powerful relic for his own gain, that's one thing. Eventually it backfires but no one would really know the details. If he uses that relic to correct," she made air quotes, "the known histories, then faiths could crumble."
"Is history so wrong?" He knew the winners wrote the text books, but usually you could find a dissenting opinion somewhere.
"Perceptions change with time and motive. If you could wield the sword of Judgment, or drink from the cup of Christ, what would you expect?"
"The guardians prevent the rubber-meets-the-road problem." He laughed suddenly at the utter confusion stamped on both Gairden faces. "If I drank from the grail, expecting one thing and it didn't happen, I'd be disappointed. I'd destroy it, or what's probably worse, I'd disprove the value of the item."
"Exactly!" She beamed at him and he felt ridiculously accomplished as she continued. "Rewriting history is dicey at best. Legends are often more powerful – for humanity as a whole. But think if something got hold of a relic of faith and used it to enslave, or undermine what makes people humane…" She trailed off. He was perfectly able to fill in the blanks and he felt cold at the implications.
"Who could do that?" he asked.
Daniel answered, "We're taught legends no one else can know. There are dark things, ugly creatures stripped of power that will stop at nothing to reclaim influence and worshippers."
"Kristoff doesn't want worshipped. He created an army for power," Nathan pointed out. "He abused his talents to corrupt good men for his own gain and personal protection. No one's been able to get through that wall."
"Which means he wants the map box for someone else," Daniel agreed.
"Payment I'd bet," Cali said.
"So who benefits? Who ordered Kristoff to strike? You're sure it was his army that stole the box? How did he know to look…wherever it was that you lived?"
"He must have divined something about me when he was connected to Petra."
Nathan rubbed his head again. That pesky headache in his temple was back with a vengeance.
"Are you okay?" she asked.
"Just allergies or something," he replied. "Not enough sleep last night," he added mentally.
Her immediate blush was gratifying, though the comment didn't quite banish the worry from her eyes. He silently promised to behave so he wouldn't embarrass her in front of Daniel.
"As I was saying," she began again.
"I don't think so, Aunt Cali. You couldn't have been the only source of information. Before I, umm, left for here, there was a lot of reminiscing going on."
She cocked a brow at him. "And?"
"Grandma mentioned Uncle Darius had a girlfriend. Outside the system."
TEN
Every betrayal contains a perfect moment, a coin stamped heads or tails
with salvation on the other side. Barbara Kingsolver
Alarm filled Petra when the next command flowed onto the screen. "What is it?" Gideon asked from the opposite side of the table.
"We have two days to surrender Kelly in Monument Valley."
"Who the hell thinks we'll do that?"
"Dr. Leo Kristoff."
"Never had a sane moment in his life," Gideon groused.
Petra didn't disagree. "We're missing something. If I've learned anything it's that Kristoff protects himself." She pushed back from the desk and pressed her hands into her aching back. "I warned Nathan his mind might be compromised. Kristoff has to be in his head. I've done my best to shield my own thoughts, to take precautions. And my brother is just so – so cavalier!"
Gideon thought, not for the first time, that she was cute when she was mad, but he'd learned not to mention it. While he wanted to put the crazy old doctor down, he didn't have any intention of letting his wife risk her life again. "Kristoff is still troubling you?"
"Oh, not like when he was really in my head. But it's foolish to think he's forgotten his failure. There's something big going on. We have to stop him."
"I'll call Jaden and Brian," he offered.
"Already done. You should call the Commandant. We'll need some help meeting this deadline."
Gideon drew Petra into his arms. "We'll beat this, Petra. This time he'll go down for good."
But Petra, like Jaden before her, knew it was never that easy.
* * *
Nathan watched Cali try to come to terms with Daniel's latest revelation. She was sitting there with her mouth hanging open, looking way too cute for the seriousness of the topic. He had to get his mind snapped into full battle mode, rather than this dopey, lovesick place he'd lounged in since she first kissed him.
"Outside?" Cali managed at last. "Oh, tell me you hacked, snooped, or something."
"Well, yeah. And –"
"Wait," Nathan held up a hand. "What's 'outside the system' mean?"
"We're supposed to find our spouses within the Guardian network," she explained. "It's easier to keep secrets that way. But Darius couldn't have – he wouldn't have jeopardized the caves."
He slid into her head as easily as his palm slid over her shoulders, to soothe and steady her. She was a wreck inside, her mind spinning with information and theories. He helped her concentrate on what Daniel was saying.
"No, not on purpose. I think she was a spy for someone – something – else. I saw a hologram of them once. She didn't look quite right."
Nathan followed the kid's logic, right up to the 'something' else part. "How does not quite right look?"
"She was pretty enough, but there was something cold about her face. And the way her hand was holding his looked awkward." Daniel moved back toward the kitchen. "I can probably find the hologram again."
"Go for it," Nathan said.
"We have to find out who ordered Kristoff to make that strike," Cali muttered to herself. "The Monument Valley slaughter cannot be repeated."
"You kept these secrets in Monument Valley?"
Cali looked up at him, blinked a couple times and then came back to the moment. "Yes. It was quiet. Not much threat of civilization creeping in."
"But what about everything else?"
She waved off the litany of concerns running through his mind. "Does either of us seem uneducated?" He shook his head and she pressed a kiss to his cheek. "I promise to tell you everything later."
Daniel cleared his throat, but they ignored him.
"Wait," Cali said, reaching out to him. "That's how they found us." She moved to stand cheek to cheek with Daniel. "We're rather distinct. And Daniel's a carbon copy of my brother."
He couldn't disagree about the family resemblance. Deep olive skin, dark eyes, and thick jet hair, all supported by that outstanding bone structure.
"That means whoever has been searching is very resourceful."
"And powerful," Daniel added, leaning back and staring up at the ceiling.
"If Kristoff had protection with his soldiers, then sex is likely the only other draw," Nathan offered. "Kristoff messed with my DNA and Petra's too, and we've always had an affinity for the City of Petra."
"You're even related to the man credited with it's revelation to the rest of the world."
"Yes." He nodded slowly, thinking.
"Which makes Nin-Hur-Sag the likely culprit," Daniel said in the general direction of the cabin's beamed ceiling.
"Who?"
"Sorry. We covered this in my religion class last semester. Adam's first wife, Lilith."
Cali bristled, but Daniel ignored her, barreling on.
"You're missing the point and before you go yanking me out of a school I love, listen." He boosted himself onto the counter. "She's an evil goddess now, sort of like a vampire, and she's really nasty, with some super disgusting habits like drinking blood and snacking on brains. That doesn't make you smarter by the way. It just makes you crazy."
He'd never heard of the legend, but he hated the idea that a horrible power-tripping beast had torn apart their family.
"Worse than all of that, she tempts men young and old when she puts on some sort of glamour spell."
Cali just sat there, looking stunned and more than a little lost.
"So," Nathan said, breaking the silence. "You think this Nin-shur-hag –"
"Nin-Hur-Sag." Daniel corrected. "Nin, for short."
"You think Nin tempted Kristoff into making a deal for the map box."
Daniel was bobbing his head, clearly warming to his theory. "It makes sense. She was revered centuries ago, but now she's not much more than a footnote in obscure texts. And she had a pretty steady source of food and power when Petra was populated."
"I need air," Nathan said, practically jumping up. "I need more air."
Daniel watched Aunt Cali take off after Nathan.
He waited a few moments, in case they came right back. When they didn't he hopped off the counter and bolted to the computer set up and started searching. A new message from Nathan's sister Petra arrived, and his blood ran cold.
Kristoff wanted Aunt Cali to go back home. They had two days or he'd set his troops loose on Chicago.
Thinking quickly, Daniel did a fast search and then sent a reply. Aunt Cali's system was pretty rudimentary so he didn't have to worry about voice recognition or anything. He added a series of links on the goddess and legends and made some suggestions about how to protect Aunt Cali.
He was determined to do anything necessary to prove he should be included on this trip. Not just as a protected observer, but as an active participant.
They'd killed every man he'd ever admired or aspired to emulate. He wasn't going to sit back and watch while someone else dealt out the revenge that burned through his veins.
* * *
Nathan heard Cali chasing him, mentally and physically. He could sense her distress and concern – an echo of his own – and she wasn't making any effort to move silently through the woods.
"Just give me a minute." The woods went quiet behind him. Grateful for her respect, he walked on toward the creek. The happy gurgle of water eased the vise around his chest. He didn't want to think his whole life had been a lie for the amusement and use of others. He understood parents wanting children and on a logical level, he'd accepted Kristoff's terrible breach of that trust.
But the rest of it…Had Kristoff been manipulating him from the cradle? Nudging him one way or the other to bring Nathan to this point – this place where he could use Nathan's skills for his personal profit and security.
"Fresh air and sunshine."
He turned to Cali, surprised that she got so close, so fast. Gazing down into her face he felt more questions bubbling to the surface. Questions that might never have answers. He turned back to the creek, hoping for some relief in the steady flow of the water.
She'd grown up in a world apart from his and he hadn't figured out who had the advantage. He wasn't sure it really mattered. They were both locked into a battle neither could have foreseen. He struggled against a pressure in his mind as suffocating as the solitary confinement. Had their own choices brought them here or was life one big puppet show run by bastards like Kristoff and his hag goddess.
"How have you coped all this time?" he asked, still scared to look at her.
She laughed, but it didn't sound happy to his ears. "You've kept my mind off all of it."
Probably too true. He felt a horrible guilt. "You should've left me." Thankfully, she didn't touch him, didn't try to interrupt. "You had a more important job. Someone else would've found me and hauled me out of there."
"Bull. We're friends. You called me. I answered. That's all there is to it."
He turned his back on the creek and stared into her face, taking a full inventory, branding it on his mind. He'd never get over her dark, almond eyes and high cheekbones. In this light, surrounded by nature, her ears should've been pointed like an elf or dark fairy. Her mouth was a delectable summons. If it were only the two of them, what could they be?
"Don't look at me like that."
He grabbed her close and pressed his mouth to hers. It was warm, right and it took all he had to stop. "You should've left me," he insisted, setting her away from him once more.
"Are you saying you want out of our original deal?"
"No!" She sounded so damn tough, not even a trickle of fear. "God, no." He risked another glance at her eyes and the soldier in him recognized a warrior fully in tune with a cause. At that moment, he would've sworn he saw the knowledge of the ages swimming her eyes.
He rubbed at the back of his neck, but it didn't help. "Kristoff worked me over in that prison. He came for me when he thought I was weak enough." He set a finger over her lips when she would've interrupted. "He knew we were on to him even then."
"Maybe he just knew about you."
He didn't like where the facts were leading him. Isn't that why he was standing outside in the woods? He was running from reality. "Our mission was breached," he insisted.
"Or that."
"What are you getting at?" he asked, wanting to stay in denial. "You think Kristoff planned all this when he tweaked my DNA?"
She nodded, shoving her hands into her pockets. "Maybe not to the minute detail, but he's had hopes for your whole life. Hopes became plans when your telekinesis manifested."
"You're so sure he has resources beyond our scope." He looked away, not caring about her agreement, not wanting to see her disapproval of him in her eyes. "Petra and I used to play, mentally, in the Rose Red City. Was that real, or him? Even Petra's name…was that his idea or Mom's?"
"Your parents have a family ties to the ancient city. They have reason to admire both the city and the explorers. They could hardly have named her Johann or Ludwig. Though JoAnne might've been nice."
He sank to his knees by the creek. Reaching into the water he let it cool his hands, then he splashed his face and pushed his heavy hair back. His headache eased a bit.
"If Petra's right and Kristoff's in my head, why hasn't he launched an attack on us here? We're practically indefensible."
She was silent a long time. "Kristoff has put you through too much already." Her fingers played in his hair, then down over his shoulders. "Stay here and get well. This is a fight for Daniel and me."
"I'm well enough," he argued. "And you can't do it alone."
"Apparently you're actually free of him and safe here. Let this be my fight."
She stormed away and he thought it would be redundant to trip her again. "Come back," he called, feeling blessed when she actually hesitated. "Please?"
He laid back and waited, then found himself smiling as she came into his field of vision, the sun a soft halo around her head. "My dad always told me if things didn't make sense to change the angle."
"You're the only one not making sense."
He tapped his temple. "Petra's making battle plans."
"I stand corrected." She glowered down at him. "You're both out of your minds."
"You saw that army." He rolled to his side, propping his head on his hand, studying her boots. "You and Daniel need help."
"We lure him to Monument Valley and make a stand. We know the area better than any warped goddess or god-complexed doctor."
"The two of you against how many? Gideon can raise numbers to match those we'll…" He cleared his throat and forced the words out. "Those we'll be fighting."
His view of her boots changed as she slumped down beside him. He stared into her dark eyes and beautiful face. He wished he could smile again.
She reached out and he closed his eyes, savoring the soft caress
of her fingers across his brow. "You fear meeting your friends in that battle."
He hadn't meant to telegraph it.
"You didn't have to think anything, it's all over your face. And it's common sense. You went undercover to save them."
He shook his head, shook off her touch. "I went undercover to prevent more from disappearing. Those you saw under his control are lost forever."
She murmured her assent. "Even then you knew the others were beyond saving."
He wanted to argue, but she was right. He rolled, staring into the sky again. "I'll have to detach." He was prepared to explain, but she kicked his boot. "What?"
"I don't think I like the sound of that."
"It's not forever." Unless one of them died. But if one of them died while they were so intricately connected the results would be disastrous for the survivor. He might have to let her fight, but he wouldn't risk her life or her sanity that way. "It might even be easy, considering how you can shut me out at will."
He brought the fallen leaves to life, dancing them about her feet, then swirling them up into the air. It was confetti in reverse, the perfect accompaniment and distraction. Already her eyes were softer and her lips were tilting into a smile.
"How do you shut me out, Cali?"
"Never easily. Not happily."
"Good to know." When he didn't get any reaction, her soft smile didn't waver and her eyes stayed trained on the spinning leaves, he realized she'd done it again. "Never easily, my ass," he said aloud. "How do you do it?"
She turned her face to his, and her body followed. "There are techniques I've learned from my elders."
"Show me."
"No."
"We're closer than any two people can be, Cali. I know you feel it." He traced her bittersweet smile with his fingertips.
"Thank you, Nathan, for everything."
It was no simple gratitude and he knew it by the way she wouldn't meet his gaze. "Last night was –"
"Not that. Although." Suddenly shy, she looked up at the swirling leaves. "That was amazing. But I mean thanks for…saving me from myself."