Apostate

by Frankie Robertson

  Tasha returned the hug. “It’s so good to see you.”

  “Welcome back,” Gideon said, and Ana let her go so her husband could wrap Tasha in an embrace. He’d let his hair grow out a little, enhancing his blond good looks even if it wasn’t the current fashion. His V-necked sweater showed off the muscles in his arms and chest. “You look well.” He held her shoulders searching her face, and then slid his hands down her arms until he clasped her hands.

  She felt a slight psychic pressure along with a tingle as he verified her well-being. He wasn’t trying to probe her mind so she didn’t throw up any extra walls. “Do I pass inspection?”

  Gideon’s grin was both amused and mischievous. “You do indeed. Not many would have even noticed that.”

  “Don’t be mad,” Ana said. “He knows I’ve been worried about you and he’s just trying to set my mind at ease.”

  Cassie’s greeting was briefer and she didn’t touch Tasha’s skin. She was psychic and well trained, but she wouldn’t read someone without their permission. At least that was the impression Tasha had from their brief acquaintance six months ago.

  Three-year-old Grace wasn’t so reserved. She walked up to Kellan and took his hand. “You’re sad.”

  “Grace.” Jared stepped forward but Kellan crouched so he could talk with the little girl on her level.

  “I’m worried about a friend. He’s lost.”

  “Sometimes I lose my shoes, but then Mama finds them for me. Maybe she can find your friend for you.”

  “Maybe.”

  “And I can be your friend. Uncle Cam says you can never have too many.” She squeezed Kellan around the neck. When she let go, Kellan’s eyes gleamed liquidly.

  He cleared his throat. “Thank you. I’d like that.”

  “Speaking of Cam, where is he?” Ana asked. “Will he be joining us? And Dave?”

  “Cam’s in Phoenix, tracking down a deadbeat dad and Dave is in California visiting his sister.” Jared picked up his daughter. “I think Maria is folding towels right now. Do you want to help?”

  “Yes!” Grace agreed loudly.

  “Was I ever that enthusiastic about chores?” Tasha asked as Jared and Grace disappeared down the hallway.

  Ana laughed. “Never. Neither was I.”

  “Maria does towel origami,” Cassie said, grinning. “Monkeys, swans, elephants. We never know what we’re going to find in our bathrooms. She lets Grace stick the googly eyes on her creations. Sometimes they have a lot of eyes.”

  “Anyone for coffee?” Jared asked as he returned.

  “Or a beer?” Gideon helped himself to a cold one from Jared’s refrigerator.

  Kellan shook his head.

  “I’ll just have water,” Ana said.

  Tasha raised an eyebrow at her sister.

  “I’m not pregnant, if that’s what you’re wondering,” Ana said. “I just prefer water.”

  After a few minutes, they’d all settled into the sectional sofa with their drinks and focused their attention on Kellan. Even Edgar, Cassie’s cat, stared intently from his perch on top of the bookcase. Tasha sat beside Kellan on the sofa. She laced her fingers with his and sent him her support. He thanked her with his dark brown eyes as his appreciation flowed into her through their connection. Across from them, Ana and Gideon took note of their intimacy and exchanged a look. They were holding hands, too, so they were probably talking mind-to-mind the same way she and Kellan could.

  Kellan took a deep breath. Tasha felt for him. It went against millennia of training for him to discuss U’dahmi business with outsiders. Even though he felt he didn’t have a choice, this was hard for him. He couldn’t go to the Council with this. And if the Golden Path was responsible for Jasper’s death, Jared and company needed to know what the GP was up to.

  “Grace was right. I need your help. My U’dahmi partner, Jasper, was tortured and killed. Or his body was, at any rate. I don’t know yet what happened to him, or even if he’s still alive, but I’m afraid the Golden Path may have had a hand in it. Can you put me in touch with your contact in the Tucson Police Department? I need to get a look at Jasper’s cell phone. I’ll need to see his body, too.”

  “Whoa.” Jared lifted both hands. “Back this up. Your partner was killed and there’s a corpse at the M.E.’s office but you’re not sure he’s dead?”

  “I hope he transitioned into a new body before he died, but we can’t just snap our fingers and jump into a new shell. The extent and nature of his torture and how he was killed will indicate whether he had time and opportunity to make the transfer.”

  Cassie made a small distressed sound. Jared glared at Kellan.

  Kellan turned one hand upward and lifted his brows as if to say, You asked, but then he glanced at Tasha to see if he’d upset her with his bluntness.

  She squeezed his hand. **I’m fine.**

  “Aelziroth required only a touch to transfer.” Cassie volunteered that information with a pained expression.

  Jared’s face remained neutral, but Tasha had the feeling that he was surprised his wife had spoken of the Apostate who’d possessed her—let alone used his name.

  “Apostates don’t care about the damage they do,” Kellan said gently, “since they don’t expect to stay long. Seketh, on the other hand, cared, but he had an amulet that compressed the spells a smooth transition requires.” He cast a worried glance at Ana.

  The rogue U’dahmi had held her sister captive. Kellan’s concern for Ana’s feelings filled Tasha’s heart with warmth and she squeezed his hand.

  “Most of us require time and concentration to transition,” he continued. “Torture would make that difficult, but not impossible, and Jasper is disciplined. If he had a bit of time before he died, he might still have been able to leave his damaged body. The biggest problem he’d face would be gaining access to someone recently deceased.”

  **He could have decided to try cohabitation.** Tasha said privately.

  **Also a problem. I doubt anyone who was willing to torture him would volunteer to host him. And if they didn’t volunteer, taking over a human’s body would be possession, and a violation of our deepest beliefs. We don’t harm humans.**

  **Even someone who’s torturing you?**

  **Even then.**

  “Why do you think the Golden Path is involved?” Gideon asked.

  “I don’t have any real evidence, but they’re the nastiest people I’ve encountered recently. I’m only guessing that they might have been trying to get to me through him.”

  “And from you to Tasha,” Ana finished the thought.

  Tasha’s fingers twitched against Kellan’s. Would she ever be completely free of those assholes?

  Kellan stroked the back of her hand with his thumb, comforting her with that small caress. “Exactly. Or it’s possible someone Jasper pissed off in a previous investigation came after him. We both work ordinary cases much of the time. Mostly missing persons: runaways or custodial interference. Once in a while someone might be angry enough to get physical, but we can diffuse the more violent emotions, as you know.” He directed the last comment to Jared, who nodded.

  “So none of your normal human jobs concerns you?” the Lightbringer asked.

  “No. Nothing stands out.”

  “Oh!” An awful idea jolted the exclamation from Tasha.

  **No. They wouldn’t do that,** Kellan answered while Ana said, “What?”

  “Never mind. I had a thought, but Kellan says it doesn’t hold water.”

  Jared propped a foot on the distressed wood coffee table. “Share anyway.”

  Tasha glanced at her lover. She didn’t want to upset him if it wasn’t important.

  He shrugged. **Go ahead.**

  “I just wondered if the U’dahmi Council might have ordered Jasper’s death.”

  “The Council would have merely had him executed if they thought he’d gone rogue. They wouldn’t have tortured him,” Kellan countered in his soft French accent.

  “Merely,” G
ideon said dryly.

  Kellan ignored him. “Torture doesn’t fit our philosophy of keeping a low profile, not to mention it’s a poor way to get information. Plus Ezra wouldn’t have sent me to find him if they’d already had him executed.”

  “Unless it was a test,” Tasha said.

  Kellan’s brows lifted as he considered this thought. Then he shook his head. “No.”

  Tasha chewed her lip. “They already doubt you because of me.”

  “Yes, but Ezra examined me quite thoroughly. He was satisfied that your training was sufficient, that my survival and your knowledge of us hadn’t compromised U’dahmi security.”

  “Ezra?” Jared asked. “Former Seraph?”

  “Yes.” Kellan nodded.

  Jared and Gideon exchanged a look. Had they known Ezra before he became U’dahmi? Celestials had been around forever, effectively. The idea of them all knowing each other like the members of some cosmic fraternity made her feel like an outsider. She hadn’t joined a sorority at Arizona State and hadn’t minded being an Independent. Now it didn’t feel so comfortable and she wondered how Cassie and Ana felt about it. She returned to her point.

  “What if the Council already knew that Jasper had failed to correct the situation in Bisbee?” Tasha asked. “What if they wanted to see if you shared the same ‘corrupt’ values,” she made air quotes with her fingers, “if your partnership with him had undermined your adherence to the party line?”

  “What situation?” Jared asked.

  Kellan’s lips compressed in that way that indicated he wouldn’t answer. Tasha touched his hand again. **You are asking for his help. Maybe you should tell him.**

  **I won’t expose Melchior’s and Athena’s secret to the Celestials. Once they return to the Celestial Realm whatever they know, all of them will know. And whatever the Council thinks of them, they’re U’dahmi first, and our secrecy is one of our primary caveats.**

  **The Prime Directive,** she replied, making a Star Trek reference. How geeky was that? She mentally rolled her eyes at herself. **Yeah, I get it.** And Kellan had violated it when he’d allowed Jared and company to see into his mind the night they’d rescued her. No wonder Ezra was ticked. Was that why Kellan was being extra careful with the cohabiters info? Tasha pressed her lips tightly together and gave him a quick nod. They couldn’t betray them that way.

  “It’s not my story to tell,” Kellan said leaning forward. “I interpreted U’dahmi rules more liberally than the Council would approve of and chose not to execute punishment. It’s not anything that will bring harm to you or your family. What you need to know is that the Council won’t be happy with me once they learn of my decision. If Tasha’s correct, and this was a test of my loyalty, then that moment will come sooner rather than later, and they could send another Enforcer after me.”

  “So you may have your own people on your back, or it may be the Golden Path. Lovely,” Cassie said.

  “And,” Kellan said.

  “And?” Gideon asked.

  “The Golden Path and the U’dahmi Council could be after me—which brings me to the second reason we’re here. You may need to hide Tasha from the Council as well as the Golden Path.”

  “What?” Tasha looked at him sharply, half turning in her seat. “No! We’re partners. You’re not dumping me again,” she almost shouted at him.

  He answered in a calm, placating tone. “I’m not dumping you—”

  Tasha gripped his arm as well as his hand. **You’re trying to!** she exclaimed into his mind. **You need a partner to watch your back, and that’s going to be me!**

  His mental walls came up, but not before she caught a glimpse of his desire for her. He wanted her with him, but he wouldn’t risk her. **I won’t put you in greater danger.**

  **Isn’t that my decision?**

  **No.** Kellan’s stare conveyed his intransigence on the subject.

  Tasha glared at him, unable to think of a single thing that would change his mind.

  Jared cleared his throat. After a moment Tasha pulled her gaze from Kellan’s and realized everyone in the room knew they’d witnessed an argument between lovers. At least they hadn’t been party to the specifics—except for the part when she’d been shouting at him. She felt heat rise in her face, and that just made her angrier.

  “How much of their Celestial nature do the U’dahmi retain?” Jared’s question redirected her thoughts. “The Seraphim in the Celestial Realm can be rigid, and they excel at keeping their own counsel.”

  Kellan grimaced. “That describes U’dahmi Seraphim, too. They comprise the majority of the Council, even though most of us are Lightbringers and Guardians, but they were the only ones who wanted the job managing a herd of cats.”

  “Why single you out? Because we prevented the psychic bomb they planted in your mind from blowing your brains out?” Ana asked.

  “They haven’t singled me out. They don’t tolerate disobedience, especially when they believe it puts all U’dahmi at risk. I not only didn’t die when I was supposed to, but I allowed all of you to learn more about us than we’d ever shared before. Had I not possessed a spotless reputation, they would probably have sent another Enforcer after me six months ago.”

  “Celestials have suspected the existence of the U’dahmi for millennia,” Jared inserted. “That wasn’t news.”

  “But you knew almost nothing about us until now. You’d never met one of us. You thought of us as Apostates, the same as the followers of Lucifuge and Beelzebub. Only the Veil and the fact that we didn’t draw attention to ourselves kept the Celestial hierarchy from eradicating us.”

  Jared’s brow furrowed into a dark expression, but he didn’t dispute Kellan’s assertion.

  “So, while the U’dahmi Council doesn’t like that you know about us, the fact that you do is also a protection—at least for Tasha. I made sure they understood that making her disappear would attract the wrong kind of attention.”

  “Damn straight,” Jared said with a growl in his tone.

  It was gratifying to know the Lightbringer wanted to keep her from harm, but Tasha wondered why. As his best friend’s sister-in-law, she was at best barely a member of his extended family,

  “But do we care as much about Kellan?” Gideon speculated.

  “Hey!” Tasha scowled, appalled that he could be so callous.

  Gideon held up his hands in a gesture meant to slow her flare of ire. “We’re not going to throw Kellan to the wolves, either pack. But I wonder whether they think he’s a safe target. It may make a difference in their next actions.”

  “It may be time for you to make your association with us more formal,” Jared said. “Take a job with my security firm. If the Council is reluctant to attract the ire of the Celestials, becoming an official part of my team might give them pause.”

  Perfect! Tasha turned to Kellan with an expectant smile, but he shook his head.

  “Or convince them I’m a risk. ‘No man can serve two masters,’” he said in a tone that indicated he was quoting something. “I vowed to protect the U’dahmi and serve the Council. My vows may not change the nature of reality as thoroughly as yours do, but I do not take them lightly.”

  “If your master betrays you, do you still owe him fealty?” Jared asked softly.

  Kellan made a derisive noise. “Isn’t that what the Apostates argue?”

  Jared stiffened. “The Firsts didn’t betray them.”

  “And I don’t know that the Council has turned on me, either. Until I do, I’ll keep my vows.”

  Jared nodded stiffly. “You can still take employment with me. I won’t ask you to betray your word. But if the Golden Path is involved in Jasper’s death, and that seems more likely than the Council, then you’ll need someone watching your back and helping to protect Tasha.”

  Kellan pursed his lips. “I’ll consider it.”

  “So, if we set aside the U’dahmi Council as the main threat for the moment, we come back to our favorite fraternal organization, the Golden P
ath,” Gideon said.

  Kellan nodded. “I keep wondering how they connected Jasper to me. We’re in business together, but our clients find us strictly by referral. We don’t even have a website. They might get that info from our business license, but how would they find that without my name?”

  “Facial recognition software? Fingerprints?” Jared suggested. “Maybe they followed you and saw you meet with him.”

  “Jasper and I met only once in the last nine months, shortly after your wedding.”

  “That one time could be enough, couldn’t it?” Cassie observed. “You messed up their plans for Tasha not once, but twice. They could have been watching you.”

  Kellan looked offended. “U’dahmi are skilled at hiding what we are. We have to be.”

  Jared snorted. “You weren’t hiding what you are when we met you at Ana’s house last spring.”

  “You mean when you ambushed me,” Kellan said stiffly. “I did what I had to do to escape.”

  Cassie shook her head. “They didn’t have to know Jasper was U’dahmi to be interested in him. He was your business partner and they were looking for information.”

  “Six months is a long time for U’dahmi partners to be apart, isn’t it?” Gideon asked. “Isn’t the point of having a partner so you can share thoughts and feelings like you did when you were part of the Celestial community? Isolation isn’t natural or healthy for our kind.”

  Our kind. Tasha gave her brother-in-law a quick smile for that inclusive remark—even though it reminded her that she didn’t fit that description. She wasn’t their kind. She was Fey—a descendant of Gaia—but still essentially human.

  Kellan tilted his head, acknowledging the truth of the Guardian’s observation. “Jasper and I are both more comfortable acting independently than most of the U’dahmi. And neither of us depended solely on our partners for mental contact.”

  Ana’s gaze shifted from him to Tasha and back, lingering briefly on their clasped hands. “I don’t like the idea that the Golden Path might still be after Tasha, but it doesn’t shock me. But if they made the connection between the two of you six months ago, why wait so long to act?”