Blood Love (God Wars, #4)

by Connie Suttle

  "This requires several Larentii working together to accomplish," Lenigar said. "And at least two of them must be well-versed in healing humanoids." His last statement was accompanied by a smile.

  "Thank you," I nodded to him.

  "You are welcome," he replied.

  * * *

  Kleeg—present

  Lissa's Journal

  "So many things happened, I didn't think about the gate," I said. Reemagar and I had returned to Kleeg to search the rest of the temple. Chazi remained on Le-Ath Veronis with Bill, who was working out the next world to visit.

  "We did not have time to search properly," Reemagar agreed.

  He and I walked through the sanctuary and past the large, unfinished pool. He'd watched while I separated the particles of all those at the temple, then healed my arm afterward. The marble floor was nearly spotless beneath our feet, except the area where Genley and I had fought. There, dried blood spattered the floor—his and mine.

  "Where do you think they'd put a gate?" I looked up at Reemagar.

  "Somewhere so their slaves wouldn't accidentally wander into it," Reemagar said.

  "True," I agreed. "That means it's probably near the statue of the god."

  To those who worshipped the god of light and air, the statue, once placed and consecrated, couldn't be touched by anyone except the High Priest. All others had to stand back a respectful twelve feet or so. That meant there was likely twenty-four feet of dangerous space surrounding the sculpture.

  We walked through widely spaced columns and into the chapel of the god, where the statue was positioned at the center. Reemagar and I both recognized the gate—it vibrated with a dark malevolence, waiting for the unsuspecting to come closer and be swallowed up by it.

  "Those who disappeared didn't wander into this one," Reemagar observed. "I believe they were pushed into its waiting vortex."

  "I agree. Everybody knows not to get too close to the god's likeness." I shook my head as I stared at the gate. "What should we do, now?"

  "I have an idea," Reemagar said and held out his right hand. Light formed around it as he gathered power.

  * * *

  "Lissa, that's incredible," Bill breathed as he studied the images I showed him on comp-vid. Nobody would be able to pass through the thick mass of sharp, steel needles that formed a dome over the god's statue at the temple on Kleeg. Reemagar had placed it far enough back that the gate couldn't pull anyone into the barrier, and the sight of it would put anyone off—its long, sharp spikes were lethal.

  "We should place these over every gate we find," Bill breathed.

  "I think so, too," I agreed. "Reemagar placed one around the gate that killed Norian as well, once we were finished on Kleeg. Reemagar set alarms on them—every Larentii will know if the barriers are destroyed or fall to any kind of power."

  "Handy," Bill sounded impressed.

  "Definitely," I agreed. "We just need to get with Kooper, Lendill and Jett, to let them know we have a temporary fix. If the team has a Larentii, the barrier will go up immediately around any gates they locate. If they don't have a Larentii, all the team has to do is send a message and they'll get a Larentii quick."

  "The Larentii don't see this as interference?" Bill seemed puzzled.

  "It's really not," I grinned. "They have no problem providing transportation—or in forming anything they might consider art."

  "So a needle thicket shaped as a dome is art?" Bill chuckled.

  "I think it's damn fine artistry," I said.

  * * *

  Earth—past

  Hank's Journal

  "It's not so much the amount of power as the level of skill involved," Kevis explained. Ildevar listened raptly as Kevis told all of us that Graegar had sent mindspeech—their attempt to mute some of Breanne's memories had been successful.

  Their worry was that as Breanne was the Mighty Heart, it might prove impossible. The task had been difficult but not impossible, but then the Larentii were occasionally modest about their accomplishments.

  "Are the memories gone?" Opal asked. She worried about Breanne's mental health, but didn't want her mind tampered with in any way.

  "Not gone," Kevis shook his head. "They're still there; just a little harder to call up and not nearly as harmful. The Larentii don't do this often, as you might imagine. Breanne is their Vhanaraszh, so of course they'll make the attempt for her."

  "I'm glad it worked—that scared the hell out of me," Jayson said. "When she gets like that, I'm terrified we won't get her back."

  "I have bad news," Bill broke in.

  "What's that?" I went on alert immediately.

  "Vernon Clark's best buddy troublemaker has started up the website again."

  "It makes sense, now that they know she's still alive," I pointed out.

  "I was hoping he'd be hiding in a cave so deep he'd never see the light of day again after Vernon was killed," Bill tossed his cellphone onto the long table where we'd had dinner at the hotel restaurant. He'd asked for—and received—their banquet table in a private room so we could talk freely. I'd placed a shield around it, too, just in case. It always paid to be cautious.

  "So Marc Cummings is letting loose with the conspiracy crap again?" Opal asked.

  "Yeah. That message was from Dan Kelsey," Bill nodded toward his phone. "The website is claiming again that the whole Breanne Hayworth book is a lie, that Ross Gideon vomited that mess for Rome Enterprises and they're offering a reward to anybody who can bring down the woman posing as Breanne Hayworth, or to kill Ross Gideon or your father, Jayson." Bill's gaze turned to Jayson, who stared back in alarm.

  "How much?" Jayson's question was forced. Bill's announcement had stunned him—no matter how much he disagreed with his old man, a part of Jayson loved his father.

  "A million for each. You know that'll lure in the professionals and the crazies."

  "If they're blatantly offering that for the obvious targets, how much do you suppose they might be offering for you, Director Jennings? It's apparent that they want you as well, after two attempts at two different churches." Bill's head jerked in Charles's direction, but the observation was an accurate one.

  "I've got people doing research," Bill sighed. "It seems to be a private vendetta against me, because none of our sources know anything."

  "Wlodek says that there are rumors circulating that Gavin was killed in San Francisco," Charles continued. "We've chosen not to refute them."

  "That's good—we don't need more targets among us," Bill said.

  I knew, whether anyone else at the table did or not, that Opal had been a target as well—that she'd actually died in Austin and Breanne had revealed herself to the enemy by Changing What Was and restoring Opal's life. I'd learned that when I'd connected to Breanne with our first kiss. I never intended to divulge that—Breanne didn't want Opal to know, and I felt that was reason enough.

  "This means," Bill's voice interrupted my thoughts, "that we can't officially schedule anything else until this is over. They'll be waiting for us if we do."

  "Young man," Ildevar spoke for the first time, "if you wish to keep your father and his associate safe, I can take them to Wyyld when I leave. They will be under the protection of my palace guards while there."

  His offer was made to Jayson, who wasn't sure who—or what—Ildevar actually was. A wise concern, actually, but Ildevar would never offer protection lightly.

  "Hank?" Jayson turned to me.

  "Jayson, this is Deonus Wyyld, Founder of the Reth Alliance and Master of the Grand Alliance Council," I said. "They'll be as safe at his palace as they can be anywhere."

  "I don't give a damn about Ross, but Dad does," Jayson muttered. "Yeah—if you don't mind," he nodded to Ildevar. "They won't like it," he added.

  "I have had unwilling," Ildevar hesitated for a moment, "guests—in the past," he smiled slyly. "My guards know how to keep them comfortable in their confinement."

  "I'll help you pick them up," I offered.

  "
I'll accept that," Ildevar replied.

  * * *

  Breanne's Journal

  All heads turned as I was ushered into the private banquet room inside the hotel restaurant. Kalenegar had shortened and disguised himself again and held a protective hand at my back as we walked through the door. The other Larentii had left, but not before Graegar and Barrigar gave me warm kisses.

  The good news was that I was only feeling slightly shaky, and most of that stemmed from finding a crowd waiting for me and that I hadn't eaten anything for too long. Two chairs were left between Hank and Kevis, so Kal and I took those.

  "Baby, how do you feel?" Hank's mouth gently brushed my temple.

  "A lot better," I said, lifting the menu lying in front of me.

  "Here, drink this first," Kevis passed a bottle of strawberry protein drink to me. Kal opened it with power, Hank stuck a straw in the bottle and I drank nearly half of it before stopping for a breath.

  "What happened with Ashe and those other two churches?" I asked.

  "Same thing that happened in Ohio," Bill said. "We just didn't want to tell you before."

  "Fuck." I rubbed my forehead; Hank rubbed my back.

  "Ashe is fine—he had major shields in place so nobody was hurt," Trajan said. "At least nobody with him," Trajan amended.

  "Baby, don't ask right now, okay?" Hank tilted my chin in his direction and I stared into dark eyes. "You've had enough for today."

  I couldn't argue with that so I went back to my protein drink while I studied the menu.

  * * *

  James Rome Sr. followed Quin, his bodyguard, into the parking garage beneath the Rome Enterprises building in Los Angeles. He'd been made aware of the threats against his life. It wasn't the first time he'd been threatened.

  His car and driver waited in a private bay to take him home. The chief of security had hired extra guards for the building, too.

  "Mr. Rome," Alan, his driver for more than ten years, nodded as he slid out of the driver's seat to open the back door. Alan nodded to Quin as James Sr. moved to slide onto the back seat. Without hesitation, both pulled weapons from pockets and opened fire.

  * * *

  Ross Gideon was bored, but there wasn't any way to escape his comfortable prison. Guarded night and day by FBI agents, he couldn't go to the bathroom without someone taking notes. Television programs were monitored and he wasn't allowed a phone, a computer or anything else that might be used for communication. Except paper—Ross had paper. He hadn't written anything on paper in a decade. He was writing on paper, now.

  "Gideon." Ross' least favorite agent stalked into the room and addressed him gruffly.

  "What is it, Weathers?" Without looking up, Ross kept writing, his ballpoint pen moving steadily across the notebook page.

  "This," Sherman Weathers replied, firing a single shot and hitting Ross Gideon in the head, killing him instantly.

  * * *

  Hank's Journal

  Breanne knew before anyone else, and she was standing and shrieking as Ross Gideon and Jayson's father died simultaneously.

  * * *

  Kevis had his hands full with Jayson's meltdown after he learned of his father's death. Trajan, Kalenegar and Ildevar were taking Breanne in hand so Bill and I took Opal, Gavin and Charles with us. Breanne had seen who'd committed the murders in that strange prescience she often displayed, so we were going hunting.

  * * *

  "They'll come hunting," Moxas assured Calhoun. "I suggest you have your Sirenali ready and waiting when they find those they instructed to kill your targets."

  "This is easier than I thought," Calhoun gloated.

  "I warn you, I only see that some will come hunting these obsessed murderers of yours. Like your quarter-blood seer, these things are often unclear to me."

  "Then I'll place a vampire, a chimera and a lion snake shifter with each set of Sirenali, to ensure we take them down."

  "If that is your wish," Moxas shrugged. "As I said, I cannot see nor predict who might come."

  * * *

  Breanne's Journal

  Ildevar's gentleness was difficult to reconcile with the fact that he was Ra'Ak. Granted he was an ancient Ra'Ak, turned long before their descent into evil, but it was still somewhat perplexing to associate a giant, flesh-eating serpent with the man who held me so carefully against him, you'd think I was made of fragile glass.

  "How are you feeling now?" Ildevar's blue eyes twinkled at me. He had thick, blond hair, a dimple that he didn't show often and was quite handsome, in build and features.

  "Better," I said.

  "Good. Very good. Lay your head here," he pulled my face against the hollow of his shoulder, where it was comfortable. "Now, I will tell you of how I and twenty others broke away from my race and formed the Reth Alliance."

  * * *

  "She's asleep. That story will bore even the most avid listener," Ildevar said softly as he closed Breanne's door behind him. "How is the young man doing after the loss of his father?"

  "Kevis says he and Kalenegar placed a healing sleep," Trajan sighed. "A few months ago, I might have said all this was impossible. I may never say those words again."

  "I believe I said something similar perhaps a hundred thousand years ago," Ildevar smiled.

  * * *

  Hank's Journal

  Sherman Weathers was holed up in the suite where Ross Gideon had been held. In addition to killing Ross, Sherman had shot two other agents. Without an obsession, he'd never have done any of those things.

  "Hold on," I placed a hand on Bill's shoulder—he gripped his Ranos pistol tightly and prepared to kick down the suite's outside door.

  "What is it?" Bill's eyes held concern as he turned to me.

  "It's not just Sherman in there," I warned. I didn't add that this information had been passed mentally to me seconds earlier.

  There's a chimera, a lion snake shifter and two Sirenali waiting inside, I sent. Weathers is dead already.

  What's the plan? Bill returned.

  How about you skip us inside and we open fire? Opal joined our conversation.

  Chimera, I reminded her. They can blast fire with a dying breath. Don't need to burn the building down if we can help it.

  How about I freeze everybody inside and you can do whatever the hell you want with them afterward? Someone new joined our party. Yes, he'd likely been called to come to our aid, and freezing a moment in time was one of the talents inherited from his Elemaiyan ancestors. That talent had been enhanced, once he'd become Saa Thalarr. Griffin, also known as Brenten Arden, appeared beside us.

  The Sirenali die first, I said. Then the others. We can't question any of them; it's too dangerous.

  I'll mist inside and place the freeze, Griffin said. Then you kill.

  Agreed, Bill checked the charge on his pistol.

  Yeah, Opal added. I turned my gaze toward Gavin and Charles—both nodded.

  Griffin became mist and pulled us inside it before traveling through walls to find those waiting for us in the suite.

  Chapter 15

  Earth—past

  Hank's Journal

  Charles and Gavin decapitated the Sirenali in a fraction of a second, leaving the lion snake shifter and the chimera to the rest of us. Opal shot the lion snake immediately while my smaller Thifilathi gripped the chimera's throat and crushed it, preventing it from blowing fire. I tossed its body away the moment I realized it was dead. The enemy should have left Sherman Weathers alive; we would have happily killed him as well.

  "Dan Kelsey's on the way," Bill said after ending the call on his cellphone.

  "I'll check him for obsession," I growled. I hadn't turned back—I realized it when I spoke. My voice is always lower, the growls easier to form when I'm Thifilathi.

  "No, keep that," Opal held out a hand. "If somebody shows up who's obsessed, then we need to scare the hell out of 'em," she smiled.

  Dan Kelsey and two agents arrived twenty minutes later. He wasn't obsessed, but both hi
s agents were. Dan swore when Gavin and Charles disarmed both after their first shots went wild—vampires were so much faster than any human might ever be. Hands grasping weapons had been knocked aside before pistols were snatched away and two agents were held—one-handed—by two vampires with red eyes and fangs showing.

  "Obsessed," Bill explained quietly. FBI Director Dan Kelsey stared at two agents whose faces were tinged with blue as their feet hung inches off the floor.

  "Fuck me," Dan muttered. "Anybody got cuffs?" Three sets were handed over immediately.

  * * *

  "I want in on this one," Dan Kelsey checked the gun in his shoulder holster before slipping into his suit coat. We'd dropped off the two agents at a local holding facility and placed them under heavy guard before going back to the hotel, briefing Dan and considering our next target. Griffin actually offered good advice as we discussed our plan of attack.

  Ildevar joined us—Breanne was asleep and he was as deadly as any Ra'Ak ever was. He, like many others of his race, wasn't susceptible to any kind of compulsion or obsession. Older Ra'Ak, like older vampires, built up an immunity over time and Ildevar was very, very old.

  "I've asked my people to hold off on announcing James Rome's death," Dan Kelsey said. "To keep the murderers from running away so fast. Maybe that'll help when we go after that bunch."

  "It's likely they'll bring in additional firepower after they learn their Sirenali died here," Griffin pointed out.

  "What do you suggest, then?" Bill asked.

  "Bending time and taking these before the others. They won't suspect. It's an old Saa Thalarr trick."

  "You're willing to do this?" my voice betrayed my surprise.

  "I was instructed to do as much as possible," Griffin replied coldly. "It was also pointed out to me that my daughter saved my worthless hide, and I owe her. I do owe her," his shoulders slumped. "I have no legitimate power to properly repay that debt."

  "I think acting like a parent would go a hell of a long way," Bill growled.

  "As my past indicates, I have extremely poor skills at parenting."

  "Then it's time you learned," I snapped. "In the meantime, get us to the Rome house in Los Angeles, at the proper time."