Trying Times (The Valens Legacy Book 14)

by Jan Stryvant

  "I just can't wait until we can get our hands on the weapons and ammunition down in South America," said another lion, by the name of Pele.

  Sean nodded. "I need to check with Steve to see if he talked the president into forcing the arms companies here to start making it."

  "He did," the First said. "Tisha was here last night. She also had a few interesting things to tell us about what they recently found there."

  Sean listened as the First caught him up on what was going on in Washington. Sean then told them everything he knew that they might not have heard of yet, taking time to go over the attack yesterday, which he still needs to discuss with Steve to see if they could get the Feds involved in tracking these groups down.

  Sean then listened as the others talked about things that were going on in general. It was fascinating, and Sean soon understood what everyone was up to.

  "So this is what I've been missing?" Sean asked, looking at the First.

  "Well, it's not like I can stop you from coming here anymore," the First said with a shrug. "Besides, you're old enough to know what's going on."

  "Have you thought about what we're going to do about the onderwereld?"

  Keairra spoke up then, "The only thing we've decided is, until we're past the permanent gate event, we're not going to make any decisions."

  "What about sending out some teams to scout around?"

  They all shrugged. "What's the point? Our focus right now is stopping the gate from forming."

  "If it's all the same to you, I'm going to talk to Chad about it. I know he wants to go scouting."

  The First snorted. "He wants to conquer it."

  Sean shrugged. "Maybe, but I seem to recall someone suggesting we could assassinate some of their leaders?"

  The First stopped and cocked his head in thought. "You know, I seem to recall someone suggesting that as well."

  "And with Estrella back, we certain know who and where they are," Keairra pointed out.

  "Definitely something to think about."

  Sean heard it then, faintly, the sound of an alert. He stood up and looked around.

  "I gotta go! Looks like we got a gateway!"

  §

  Waking up, Sean pulled off his clothing, shifted into his hybrid form, then ran for the armor room right off the helipads. Thankfully his armor had been repaired, so he quickly donned it, slung his sword, and grabbed a new radio and headset.

  Running out to the lead helicopter, he jumped in the back and, after dialing in the proper channels, he turned on the radio and put on the headset.

  "How's everybody doing?" Sean asked, looking around. There were a lot of new faces in the squad. More than half. That bothered him; he was going to have to do something to cut down on their losses. They weren't even to the main gateway yet!

  "Hi, Sean! Great to have you back," Hunter said, and the rest of the squad greeted him in order.

  "Great to be back," Sean said with a grin. The last of the squad loaded up. Adam had been standing by the door, and he hopped in, closed the door behind himself, and Trey took them up.

  "So what's it like on the other side?" one of the new guys asked.

  "Dark, full of demons, and not a lot of fun," Sean said with a sigh. "The whole place is kinda freaky. You don't need to sleep as much, and there's no animals beyond the demons. Well, not any that I saw, at least."

  "Kill any djevels while you were there?" someone else asked.

  "Oh, yeah," Sean said with a laugh and turned to Hunter. "We still deploying in the same method and manner?"

  "We dig in now and use our rifles to hold the line. We only use our swords if we have to."

  Sean nodded. "I haven't gotten set up with a rifle yet, and I left my pistols back at the ranch. They've got the wrong ammo in 'em anyway."

  "LZ in thirty!" Trey called back over the radio.

  "That's our cue!" Adam called out, and Sean watched as they locked and loaded, checked their gear, then the doors flew open as the helicopter came down, and everyone literally rolled out the back onto the ground.

  Sean followed their example, and as he hit, he could see why. Trey was creeping forward slowly, and everybody was deposited in a bit of a line. He banked off to the left and climbed out quickly.

  Sean could feel where the gateway was, so he immediately rolled to his feet and headed up the rise between them and the gate. When he got to the top, he could see where the gateway had opened. It was a small one, and nobody had come out of it yet.

  "Form up and dig in!" Chad's voice came over the radio.

  "How long has this one been open?" Sean called back.

  "Fifteen to twenty minutes. We've got elements from both camps on their way; they should be here within the hour."

  "And no one's come through yet," Sean replied. "Did you send one of those quick response teams through?"

  "Yeah, they were in and out within a minute. They saw about a hundred bonde, but not much else."

  "The rest were probably still getting ready. I don't think any of the helliges are unguarded at this point. But it'll probably be a while before a big enough force shows up to come through."

  "Well, let's make sure we're ready for them."

  Sean looked at his watch. Six hours had gone by. No one had come through the gate. A lone helicopter was coming in. Right now everyone was deployed and ready. As there weren't any demons, and there wasn't any fighting, reinforcements and supplies weren't necessary.

  "Adam, you got the duty," Sean said and, getting up out of the trench they'd dug, he trotted down to the helicopter as it landed. As he'd suspected, Roxy climbed out of it, followed by Estrella, who was wearing her new set of faerie armor.

  "What brings you out here?" Sean asked as the helicopter took off to orbit someplace while waiting to be called back. They were too expensive to leave near a combat area.

  "I wanted to see it for myself," Roxy told him. "Also I thought Stell might like to see how we're set up, in case she might have any suggestions."

  Chad and Max came down and joined them.

  "Looks like today's gonna be a bust," Chad said, motioning back towards the gate.

  "That's a good thing, right?" Roxy asked.

  "I don't know; what do you think, Stell?"

  "Normally the kings and queens don't get involved until the main gateway opens," Estrella began. "The lesser lords, sometimes the princes, they'll deal with them in an attempt to gain an early foothold so they can grab as much power as they can before the others take over.

  "Lord Ansigt broke that pattern. He started calling himself a prince, and I'm guessing, based on what had been discovered about our world, he decided to use the small and large gateways to push as much of his people through, and try to set himself up as a major power before the others got here."

  "What stopped him?" Chad asked.

  Estrella nodded her head at Sean.

  "I should have guessed." Chad sighed.

  "So," she continued, "King Sladd stepped into the power vacuum and probably realized this pass wasn't going to be the simple fight they were used to. I think Chad was right when he told us he thinks King Sladd is using the large gateways to test our strength and learn how to deal with us when the main gateway opens."

  "And the small gateways?" Roxy asked.

  "Normally those are just left to the low ranks; the local lord holding the hellige they're on will send some of his lieutenants through, they're not really felt to be worth anything more than that. They focus more on the large gates."

  "Then shouldn't someone be coming through?" Chad asked.

  "That is worrisome," Estrella said with a nod. "King Sladd was already rallying people to his banner when we left. The main gateway will open in his lands; there is only one place it can open, and he controls it.

  "He obviously knows this pass will present a great challenge, hence his taking over the attacks through the large gates personally, rather than leaving it to one of his lords."

  "So what about the small gates?" Ch
ad asked.

  "He's ignoring them. That's what he has always done, so I think it's safe to say that's what he'll continue to do."

  "But why isn't someone else coming through? The low-level peons? That's what Chad wants to know," Sean asked.

  "Oh! Right. Remember, I said it looked like King Sladd was gathering everybody under his banner? How he'd even sent an emissary to the one we were holding?"

  Sean nodded.

  "With them all working for him now, other than a force to maintain his hold over the lille helliges, I mean the small gateway points, no one else can use them."

  "So we could just ride through and take it ourselves?" Chad said, looking back towards the gateway.

  "I'm sure he's reinforced them, or one of his lords probably has, to discourage others from 'wasting their time' when he wants them all following him."

  "What are the odds he's just doing this to lull us into a false sense of security so he can eventually attack through one of them?"

  Estrella shrugged. "Personally, I don't think he's smart enough. I mean, I was there for over a thousand years, and he never figured out I was a lion, because females don't have manes."

  Chad looked at Sean.

  "I know what you're thinking," Sean said with a shake of his head. "I'm not opposed to sending people through, but you're not going, and I want to see a well-thought-out plan beforehand."

  Chad shook his head. "You're never going to let me go over there, are you?"

  "Once the permanent gate has failed, I won't stop you from going. Just don't let your ego override your good sense."

  "Moi?" Chad said, looking innocent. "Let my ego overrule me? I'm hurt you would even suggest such a thing!"

  Max smacked him on the back of the head. "Yeah, well, I'm not. If you can't sell me on it, you're not going, Stinker!"

  "Well, I guess I'm going back to my shop," Sean said. "Rox, you wanna call the helo back?"

  Tangled Webs

  John came into Sean's workshop and found him staring off into space, a bunch of rings on the bench in front of him.

  "You okay, Sean?"

  Sean shook his head for a moment and turned to look at John.

  "Oh, hi, John. What brings you here today?"

  "Uh-uh. I know that look. You first, Sean."

  Sean sighed, shook his head, and looked a cross between melancholy and embarrassed. "I was sitting here working on some magical rings for the girls, and I suddenly realized I had forgotten all about my own birthday."

  "How the hell did you do that? Oh, and happy belated birthday, I guess. When was it?"

  "Saturday the twenty-third. If my mom and the girls hadn't had a little party for me, I'd have totally missed it." Sean looked at John. "How the hell do you miss your own birthday?"

  "Oh, I don't know." John shrugged and, pulling over one of the stools, sat down on it. "Maybe it had something to do with being attacked by a bunch of religious nuts after spending a month trapped in another dimension? Finding out that Alex almost got killed?"

  Sean nodded slowly. "I guess you're right. So why are you here?"

  "Steve called me last night. Seems they have a problem."

  "Oh? Which one is this?"

  John quickly filled Sean in on what Steve had told him, which was pretty much the same as everything he'd learned from the First.

  "Do we know who owns the house?"

  "Yup, but it's being rented by a third party. We're not sure who they are, so we need to figure out a way to ambush them and question them."

  "If we question them, they'll know who we are," Sean pointed out.

  "Take Stew with you. According to Jack, the guy has all sorts of mental domination spells that his stepfather made him learn."

  "Oh, I'm going now?" Sean said, looking at John.

  "Well, I'm not going alone!" John said with a smile. "This thing has 'lion' written all over it."

  "And why's that?"

  "Because it's another country, and that means someone with power needs to be involved."

  "Tisha could do it."

  John snorted. "With all due respect, Tisha has been subverted to the evil ways of the Steve. Plus you're the 'one who leads'. This is in your job description, Sean."

  "What about the war?"

  "What about it? Chad's got it nailed for now. Adam's been doing a good job, and they all seem to like him. Same for Jack. Besides, if we have someone giving out state secrets to our enemies, we need to get a handle on it before it's something that'll hurt us."

  Sean nodded. "I guess I'll have Deidre book us a flight, after I talk to the girls and find out who's coming."

  "Sounds good. I'll be bringing Cenna, of course."

  "Of course," Sean said and, stretching, he stood up.

  "Oh, and put some clothes on, nature boy!" John said with a grin and, hopping off the stool, headed outside.

  Pulling on his pants, Sean stepped into his shoes, grabbed his shirt, and went looking for Roxy. He'd have to see about enchanting while wearing clothing one of these days, see if he could do it without burning them up. He was getting tired of constantly being told to put some clothes on.

  Sticking his head into the command center, he looked around.

  "Oak, where's Rox?"

  "In her office."

  "Oh! Okay!" Sean turned around, then stopped and looked back at Oak.

  "Umm, where would that be?"

  Laughing, Oak gave him directions.

  "Hey, Rox," Sean said, walking into her office a minute later.

  "What's up, Sean?"

  "We're going to DC. Me, John, Cenna, and whichever of you want to come along. Oh, we're bringing Stew, and I guess his wives, too."

  "What's going on in Washington?"

  Sean related the conversation he'd had with John in his workshop.

  Just then Estrella zipped in, gave him a kiss, walked very quickly over to Roxy's desk, and handed her a bunch of paperwork.

  "Okay! I got my citizenship papers done! Driver's license application, bank account, credit card, passport application, and that form your father gave me for a carry permit! Now, let's go shooting! Let's!" she said, while bouncing on her toes.

  Sean blinked. "Ummm, Estrella?"

  "Yes, Sean?" She turned around, and Sean would swear she was vibrating.

  Roxy sighed. "I introduced her to coffee."

  "I love coffee!" Estrella laughed. "Finally! Something from the modern world that I can enjoy!"

  "Just how much did you drink?" Sean asked.

  "Oh, I had one this morning, then another when that one ran out, then..."

  Sean and Roxy watched as Estrella tallied it on her fingers.

  "Umm, eight cups?"

  "Damn, that's about six cups too many!" Sean laughed.

  "But I've never felt so alive before! And it's delicious!"

  "Just wait until you can't sleep tonight," Sean said.

  "So, Rox! When can we go shooting? You said you'd teach me to shoot!"

  Picking up the glass of water on her desk, Roxy walked around it and gave it to Estrella.

  "When you can hold that and it doesn't look like a tsunami on the surface."

  "What? Wait! How'd that happen?" Estrella said, looking at the water on the glass. It wasn't sloshing, but it was by no means calm.

  "Too much coffee makes you jittery; it's like speed," Sean said with a sigh.

  "What's speed?"

  "Something you're not getting," Roxy growled. "At least it should burn off in an hour or two."

  Sean grinned. "I don't know, she's like a big vibrator right now, could be fun!"

  "What's a vibrator?" Estrella asked, and Sean lost it and started laughing as Roxy facepalmed.

  "Should I go talk to Deidre about tickets, or will you?" Sean asked between laughs.

  "Terri set up a charter agreement for us with one of the places her parents do business. So we'll just charter a jet."

  Sean nodded and took Estrella by the hand. "Just make sure it's a big one."

&n
bsp; "Where are we going?" Estrella asked, looking at him and bouncing slightly on her toes. With the tight top on, Sean had to admit the effect was enjoyable.

  "I thought I'd help you burn all that caffeine out of your system," Sean said with a wink at Roxy.

  "What's caffeine?"

  "I'll be sure to tell you allll about it!"

  Shaking her head, Roxy got up to make the rounds and talk to the others. She didn't want to bring the children along; they were too young to travel and would make tempting targets for any of their enemies. Which meant most of her sister wives probably wouldn't be interested in going.

  "I'll go," Roberta said when Roxy asked her. "Roseanne's almost three months now, so it won't hurt her if I'm gone for a few days. I'm sure Jo won't mind watching her and Sarah. Besides, my mother's always looking for an excuse to come over and spend time with her granddaughters."

  "You sure Jo won't mind?" Roxy asked. "I thought the terror twins were wearing her out?"

  "Louise has been helping her out."

  "Sean's mom?"

  Roberta nodded and grinned. "She's pretty good with them, they mind her."

  "Unlike Jo."

  Roberta laughed. "Well, Jo is a complete pushover. I can't wait to see what happens once they're a couple years old. So when are we leaving?"

  "After dinner. Let me see who else wants to go."

  Roxy found Peg, who was with Cali and Sheila. Roxy had noticed the three of them tended to spend a fair deal of time together. She suspected it was mainly Sheila and Cali teaching Peg the kinds of things Peg wanted to know, which Roxy and the others didn't.

  "Okay," Roxy started, "Sean, Me, Roberta, Stewart, John, and a few others have to fly to Washington tonight to deal with some issues..."

  "I'm going," Cali said immediately.

  "That was fast!" Peg laughed.

  Cali smiled and shrugged. "Someone needs to protect him."

  "You know I'm going too?" Roxy sighed.

  "Oh, and to protect you, too," Cali added with a grin.

  Roxy shook her head. "I'm pretty sure you two don't want to go, your babies are too young to travel, but I figured I'd ask anyway."