Authors: Lynnie Purcell
Daniel stopped walking.
“What?!” he demanded.
“Brothers. Genetically similar. Same papa, different momma,” Spider said. “You know what the word means, right?”
“I…uh, well, how do you know?” Daniel asked.
“Odette told me,” Spider said. “She said you would die. I’m sorry for not warning you.”
Daniel did not hear the apology. He turned and put his hands on Spider’s shoulders. He looked at Spider’s green eyes and his familiar features. Spider was Daniel as a boy – only Spider had softer angles to his face. Daniel ignored the fact that the truth had come from Odette and focused on the reality he could not deny. Spider looked too much like Daniel. Spider was his brother. When he realized the truth, Daniel smiled. He pulled Spider in to a hug. They shared a moment. For the first time, Spider was defenseless. He was happy and surprised at Daniel’s reaction; he was happy to have a brother. Finally, they broke apart. Spider was pleased, but he was not above teasing Daniel.
“Dude, that hug went on for a little too long,” Spider said. “People might talk.”
“Clare can’t talk – not intelligently, anyway,” Daniel said.
“Hey!” I said.
“See?” Daniel asked.
Spider nodded in agreement. “Good point.”
They shared a smile, and then they put the moment behind them. The change between them was palpable, though. I could feel them both coming to terms with the truth of their relationship. They would have to work on it, but it was the beginning of something that would last forever. I could tell that Daniel was overwhelmed with the idea of having a real brother – a brother of flesh and blood. It was similar to how I had felt when I had learned Ellen was pregnant. It changed everything.
Their happiness set a strange counterpoint to our task. Despite the strength of their emotion – and the consequent happiness it brought us all – the reality of searching for enemies in strange territory, so that we could get close enough to attack and kill Marcus, was not lost on me. We were about to start a fight we would not back down from.
It would decide the future of us all.
Chapter 20
It did not take us long to search the landscape. The biggest threat we encountered was sunburn. It was the perfect spot to start bringing Nightstalkers to Israel. I just hoped their natural urge to roam did not mean they wandered to close to Marcus’ stronghold. Someone would have to stay and keep them in check – as much as possible. Certain we had found our spot, we traveled back to the abandoned town.
Sara and Shawn were busy ferrying weapons and armor from the historian’s cave to the camp. Reaper was speaking with Anna, getting a handle on how the Nightstalkers could best help us. He did not even seem to realize she was naked – he was too focused on the task at hand to care. Serenity and Eli were nowhere to be seen. I figured Serenity had taken him back to camp – hanging around a group of Nightstalkers was not the best place for Eli. Reaper stopped talking with Anna when we appeared.
“Find a place?” Reaper asked.
“Yes,” Daniel replied.
Reaper’s eyes shifted to mine.
“Would you mind taking the Nightstalkers there?” he asked. “Sara and Shawn are busy right now.”
“I don’t mind,” I said.
“Anna and I were discussing it, and we’ve decided that we should probably have some of our people stay with them,” Reaper said. “Someone we trust who can liaise between the two groups. That way there will be no misunderstandings.”
“I’ll do it,” Alex said.
“Oh…” Reaper said.
Reaper’s eyes switched to hers. She obviously had not been his first choice. I could tell he was still trying to look after her, despite her choice of Eli having been apparently made. It was difficult for him to let go of the emotions, not as easy as he would like. Alex sensed his hesitation but misinterpreted it.
“Can you think of a better choice?” Alex demanded. “Can any of your people move between both forms? Do they have the history I have with the Saints? Do any of them not fear the Nightstalkers?”
“Daniel, apparently,” Reaper said.
“He can barely control it,” Alex said. “He won’t be able to control it for a while. I…can. I’m your girl.”
Reaper thought about it for a moment. Her words made sense. She was the perfect person we had for the job. The Nightstalkers would listen to her – they had respect for her. Even Anna seemed to respect Alex. She held our respect as well.
“Fine. But twenty of my best fighters go with you,” Reaper said.
“Fine,” she said.
“Fine,” he said.
“I guess we’re all fine, then,” I said. “Who is first?” I asked.
Anna and Alex both held out their hands to me. The Nightstalker Anna claimed was her love interest also touched my hand with his snout. Their choice made, I pulled them in to the darkness and beyond.
When we set down in Israel, Alex surprised me with the way she took control of the situation. She had a clear picture of how she wanted to use the land and there was argument as to who was in charge. Anna didn’t argue with her commands. She knew Alex was the proper one to lead them. Anna had more experience with one-on-one fights, but she did not hold Alex’s purpose.
Alex’s determination and willingness to fight and take up the role of leader was difficult for me to adjust to. Alex was no longer afraid; she had taken control of the change. She was confident. She knew her mission and was ready to fight defending it. It was the same steely confidence I had seen several times before, though admittedly in more minor ways. It was the determination that had dominated her features the night she had asked me to tell her the truth of my heritage. That determination would break mountains. I knew she would be able to handle herself…and the other Nightstalkers in her charge. Alex shifted forms before I left to collect the others. Her Nightstalker form would help her lead the others better than her human form.
I spent the rest of the night and morning taking the Nightstalkers to the place we had picked out. Many of them were uncomfortable with the idea of traveling so far, not trusting the means in which I conveyed them to Israel. But none of them tried to back down. They were brave; they were willing to fight.
Alex remained in control of the camp as more Nightstalkers appeared. She kept everyone organized and the camp from descending in to chaos. It was the most organized I had ever seen Nightstalkers.
When the last of the Nightstalkers were safely in Israel, Reaper took me back to camp, where he personally picked out twenty Watchers to join Alex. He gave them all the choice to stay or go, but none of them backed out. They knew Alex was in charge of the camp – they wanted to help her. Their affection for her outweighed their natural aversion to Nightstalkers. I could tell that they remained uncomfortable, however. They were used to fighting Nightstalkers, not depending on them as comrades in arms. After I had dropped the Watchers off with Alex, I went back to camp to find Daniel.
The camp was busy with the excitement of new weapons to play with and the news of the attack on the historian. They were also excited at the idea of the looming confrontation. Daniel was pacing in the middle of the platform. His eyebrows were furrowed as he paced. Reaper had his arms crossed; his eyebrows were also furrowed. The others were surrounding them, watching with increased worry.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
Daniel’s eyes brightened when he saw me, but his words were serious. He stopped pacing to talk to me.
“Spider finally picked up a station with his radio,” Daniel explained. “We found out that Marcus blowing up bombs in different cities had more purpose than we thought. The Chinese are blaming the Americans for the bombings. The Russian and Indians are taking sides with the Chinese. The Americans think it’s the Chinese…it’s turning in to a mess. A violent one if things continue.”
“I guess that’s the point,” I said.
Daniel sighed.
“Yeah,” Daniel said. “And there are already reports of people falling ill from a ‘mysterious disease.’ Bleeding from the eyes, mouth, nose and ears followed quickly by a painful death. Han and Beatrice’s timeframe of a week was optimistic.”
“Well, there is only way to make it stop,” I said.
“Right,” Daniel agreed.
“So, how are we going to get to Marcus?” I asked.
“We have a plan,” Daniel said.
“Care to share?” I asked.
“Each of us takes a group,” Daniel said, meaning Reaper’s ‘generals.’ “We keep direct control of our groups. That way we can respond to situations as they occur, and we won’t have to wait for Reaper to catch up to the situation.”
“Or you…” Reaper said.
“We use Preacher’s illusion to sneak up on them,” Daniel said. “We let the illusion fall, exposing my forces and Reaper’s. We charge. The others let the Seekers commit to fighting us. Let them dig in. Then Preacher, Jackson and Margaret join us. We let the Seekers think that’s it. Then, we add Moira, Sara and Shawn to the mix. Sara and Shawn can use their talent to throw in more chaos,” Daniel said. “They can walk anywhere in the battle, attack, then leave. Their purpose should be a more fluid one. Our attack will be more focused. Alex will be the last to join the party. The sight of the Nightstalkers should make many of them reconsider the fight. River will be on the mountain with a group. They’ll snipe from a distance…it’ll be their task to keep an eye on the entire battlefield.”
“Your plan is sound,” the historian said. “But you should also think about dividing their forces.”
“How?” Daniel asked.
“Clare showed an aptitude for moving rock when we were fighting those assassins,” the historian said. “She could do it again to break Marcus’ forces in two. It will help you fight their superior numbers.”
I thought over what she was suggesting. Could I manipulate the rock? I realized that the talent was still locked in my head. It would be an easy thing to focus on.
“I could do that,” I said.
“Good,” Daniel said. “Then you’ll be the last to attack. You’ll wait until everyone is fighting, then split open the ground. Make sure we’re out of the way though.”
“Margaret can help with the chaos as well,” Reaper said. “The more distractions the Seekers have, the better.”
Margaret’s grin was wicked.
“I can manage that,” Margaret said.
“I think we should have a group whose sole purpose is getting to Marcus,” I said.
“The whole point is to make Marcus come down and fight us,” Reaper said. “He has a whole army in his way. That’s why we are fighting.”
“With the army distracted, we could get through undetected,” I said. “It would save a lot of lives if we didn’t have to fight them all to get to Marcus. If he falls, the battle falls apart.”
Daniel and Reaper exchanged a look. Their looks suggested it would not be as easy as I was thinking. Their looks suggested that I was also right. If we could use the distraction of the battle to get to him…It would be dangerous for whoever went in, but it might work.
“That leaves the question of who goes in,” Reaper said.
“Me,” I said.
The others did not like my offer. They looked at me uncertainly. The only person who did not look at me with a mixture of fear and uncertainty was the historian. It was as if she had known I would be the one to meet Marcus. It was why she had trained me.
“Clare…” Daniel started to say.
“Don’t ‘Clare’ me,” I said. “It’s me he’s hunted. It’s me he’s included in his twisted vision. I have a right to face him down, to look him in the eyes and make him pay for what he’s done. I’ve earned that right.”
“She has a point,” Jackson said.
“Then I will go with you,” Daniel said.
“You know that’s not a good idea,” I said. “You are a leader, a fighter. People will be looking to you and Reaper on the battlefield. Your presence in the fight will help save lives.”
“But I want to be able to save yours,” Daniel replied.
“It has always been my role to face Marcus,” I said. “It has always been yours to fight the battle we’re about to face.”
“And where is this knowledge coming from?” Daniel asked.
“I don’t know…I don’t care. I just know I’m right,” I said.
Serenity stepped up. Her golden eyes were contemplating my idea.
“It is the best way,” Serenity said.
“Did Odette tell you that?” Daniel asked.
“No, my common sense,” Serenity replied. “If you are worried, send in a group with her. A small group that can watch her back and make sure she gets to Marcus.”
“Are you volunteering?” I asked.
“Yes,” Serenity replied.
“And me,” Eli said.
“And me,” the historian added.
Reaper eyed Daniel at the historian’s words. The historian’s confidence in me had increased his confidence that I was the best choice to face Marcus. They knew that if I failed, the historian would finish the task. They trusted her ability more than they trusted mine. I didn’t blame them. They were used to thinking of me as the old Clare…the girl who got abducted and struggled with her powers. They didn’t understand fully how I had changed.