Authors: Selene Edwards
Sariel looked up at her, those damnable patient eyes of hers boring straight through Shyrah’s skull. She had always hated that look. The patience, the quiet measuring glare, the not-so-subtle judgment behind it…
“I’m going,” the Angel said flatly. “No one else needs to come.”
“No need to be hasty,” Kronn replied evenly. “We just need to think this through. If you think it’s worth the risk, there are ways to minimize the risks, at least. I’ll call Stanson’s team and have them start a sweep—”
Shyrah snorted. “Come on, don’t fall for that bullshit. ‘Oh, don’t help me, no one else needs to come!’” She leapt up from the table and glared at the Angel. “Be a little more manipulative next time, why don’t you?”
Shyrah almost hoped the other woman would stand up and hit her. At least it would be
something
. Instead Sariel just sat there, offering Shyrah a look that was half pity, half sadness.
“I meant what I said,” the Angel murmured. “He was my friend for a very long time, and he’s the only reason any of us are here right now. He could have taken us and he didn’t. The other Chosen won’t forgive him for that.”
“What’s the normal punishment for disobedience?” Damien asked from his perch against the far wall.
Sariel sighed. “Avrick is young and inexperienced. With luck he would just be returned to Louvette and probably spend the next year or two in training and local missionary work.”
“It might not be that simple,” Kronn said, leaning back and exchanging glances with all of them. “That wasn’t the only message I received this morning. One of our contacts near Gleason suggested there are more than just a few Chosen looking for us.”
“We know that much,” Shyrah told him. “There are...” she trailed off when she saw his face. No, this wasn’t just about proselytizers or hired slavers…
“They may have sent another Angel,” he finished.
Shyrah closed her eyes and swore. The only sound in the room was the collective shuffle of feet and some suddenly very nervous breathing.
“How reliable is this?” she asked.
“Very,” he whispered. “And it may be even worse. Esche is dead.”
“What?” Shyrah breathed. “You think they killed him?”
Sariel shook her head distantly. “Vaelen wouldn’t do that, and neither would Avrick. They may work for the Covenant, but they are principled men.”
“Principled men who were working alongside a known slaver,” Shyrah reminded her. “And who apparently killed him when things didn’t go their way.”
“We don’t know that,” Sariel pointed out, but her voice was small and lacked conviction. She had clearly come to the same conclusion, even if she didn’t want to admit it openly.
“No, we don’t, but it’s somewhat tangential to the matter at hand,” Kronn said. “The fact is you want to see your friend, and it is as least possible he managed to successfully run away. If he did, we have a lot to gain. He may have information on all of their operations in the district, maybe even the entire planet.”
Shyrah placed her hands on his desk. “Or it’s a trap, and they just want another chance to get our Angel out in the open.”
“It’s a real risk, but I think it’s worth it. Especially if Sara thinks it’s legitimate.”
“I do,” the Angel said softly. She might have lacked the same certainty she had earlier, but Shyrah decided not to press her on it further. Kronn was right that it was a great opportunity, even if there were risks. If the Covenant really was desperate enough to send an Angel here, it changed everything. They had all seen what Sariel was capable of, and this was a woman who was reluctant to use her powers. Shyrah couldn’t imagine an Angel under no such compulsion…
The Asurans were already on the run most of the time, and that was just to avoid mundane threats. What kind of defense could they possibly have against a telepath with that kind of power? Could he locate them with just his mind, given time? Could he kill them all from a kilometer away? Could he warp their thoughts and have them submit to his will without their even knowing about it?
The powers of the Angels were legendary, especially this far from the mainland. For years she believed they were wildly exaggerated, not so different from how people feared Demons. Then Sariel had shown up, and she had saved the lives of men with mortal pulse burns and a half dozen flechette rounds in their chests. She had picked out a single slaver in a crowd of a hundred thousand people at the stadium just yesterday. Shyrah wasn’t even sure what the full capabilities of this woman were, and it scared the hell out of her.
“I’ll begin preparations,” Kronn said after a long moment of silence. “Corin, make sure you run the best sweep you can before we head out there. Shy, make sure you—”
“I’ll get my rifle and organize the others,” she replied. “Give me at least twenty minutes before the rest of you show yourselves.”
He nodded. “We know what to do, then. So let’s get to it.”
***
“I really don’t like this,” Shyrah muttered. “I just thought you should know.”
“We heard you the first seven times,” Corin replied dryly. “Just shut up and be ready.”
“That goes for both of you,” Kronn put in calmly. “Whenever you’re ready, Sara.”
Sariel nodded idly, barely hearing the voices in her earpiece. Her thoughts were stuck on her youth in the temple and the cute little boy who had followed her around whenever he could. Over the years she had watched Avrick grow into a warrior, and he had watched her grow into a priestess. When she first heard that she had been chosen for the Bonding, she had been ecstatic, but Avrick had not. It had taken her some time to realize why—both of them had seen other priests undertake the ritual and transform into entirely different people. They carried the same memories, but their personalities were inexorably changed. Friendships and even loves had been severed and were never repaired.
It was why, only two nights before the ritual, he had snuck into her chambers. Neither priests nor Chosen were allowed intimate relations with another, but they hadn’t cared. They had both assumed it would be the last time they would ever really see each other. They had both been terrified, but somehow being together had lifted all of that uncertainty away.
Sariel sighed. She looked back on that night as if they were children, but it had been less than two years ago. So much had happened since then. She hadn’t undergone the transformation they had both expected and feared, but she had changed.
The question was: had Avrick?
“I’m going in,” she whispered, detaching herself from the wall and shaking her head. All things considered, Avrick shouldn’t have even been her biggest worry. Even a few days ago, she would have been willing to stretch out her mind into the park and locate him herself. Now she hesitated to use her powers at all. At this very moment she felt the spirit inside her churning, as if begging for her to release its energies and open herself to its power.
But no. Today they were going to do this the old-fashioned way. Kronn and the others had already taken their positions around the park and searched for backup, but they hadn’t found anything. They had already picked out Avrick, or at least the same man the shop keeper had spoken to earlier. Only Sariel really knew his face, and she would have to be the one to make the final confirmation. And so she crossed the park, hood drawn tightly about her head, closing in on the man idly leaning against a lamppost some twenty meters away.
It didn’t take her long to verify what she already knew, and it didn’t take him much longer to notice her approach and turn. They stared at each other for a long minute, and for several heartbeats she expected him to pull out a gun and fire—or rather, to reach for his gun and have his head blown apart by Shyrah’s sniper rifle. But instead he just smiled gravely.
“It’s been awhile,” he whispered.
“In a way,” she said, still creeping forward. She took a chance and stretched out her senses just a bit, brushing against his surface thoughts…his apprehension was obvious, but so was his shame. He could barely manage to look her in the eye. Was that a good sign, or did that mean he was just feeling guilty about walking her into a trap?
“I don’t even know where to start,” he said after another long pause. “I guess first it would be nice if you call off whoever you have watching me. You can take my holster if you want.”
“Good luck with that,” Shyrah muttered over the earpiece.
“Why are you here, Avrick?” Sariel asked, ignoring both of them. “Why are you really here?”
He lowered his eyes. “I ran. They’re after me now too, and I need your help.”
“Because you didn’t fire?” Sariel asked.
“That was the beginning of it. There’s a lot you need to know, but I really don’t think this is the best place to talk about it. Just take me with you.” His voice rang with the quiet desperation of a man with nothing to lose. “Bind me if you want, I don’t care. We just need to get out of here.”
“Why the rush?”
Avrick swallowed and glanced about, waiting for some passers-by to move out of earshot. “Like I said, there’s a lot you need to know. There’s more than just Chosen here, Sara. They sent an Angel.”
She felt her stomach sink. So Kronn’s sources had been right about that. An actual Angel, sent all the way from Louvette…it was hard to believe, but she knew he was telling the truth. Angels were too precious a resource for the Covenant to risk—except, perhaps, to hunt down a sister who had betrayed them.
“Son of a bitch,” Shyrah muttered. “I didn’t believe it.”
Sariel shuffled her feet. “Who is he?”
Avrick didn’t even blink. “Marivean.”
She closed her eyes, and the sinking feeling twisted into a full-blown knot. Had he just been speaking the name for shock value, it would have certainly worked. Her guard dropped, and he could have tried something. But he didn’t. He just started at her mournfully, his eyes carrying all the weight and sadness of questions he wished to ask.
“He has a whole network set up here,” Avrick continued, “and I don’t just mean Chosen. They’ve been hiring all kinds of scum just to track you down. He wants you more than anything, and he thinks he’s running out of time.”
So he knew. Perhaps they all did. Did that mean her transformation was intentional, then? That this was something they had planned? It didn’t fit together—why would they have let her escape in the first place? Surely they would have taken extra precautions if this experiment was intended…
“How did you escape him?”
“Luck mostly,” he admitted. “Vaelen’s…dead. Marivean killed him, and he was going to kill me too.”
“An Angel killed a Chosen?” Shyrah asked.
“It has happened before,” Kronn replied softly. “If he’s telling the truth.”
He was, and Sariel knew it. From this range his thoughts and emotions were clearer, and she doubted he had just taken a hit of angel dust. Avrick had always loved Vaelen; he had looked up to him like only a young boy could to a father-figure.
“You should come with me,” Sariel said softly. “We need to talk.”
“Get his weapon,” Kronn cautioned. “And don’t go anywhere until I have some of the others down with you. No need to take chances.”
“I’ve wanted to ask you why you left for six months,” Avrick said. “I think now I have the answer.”
She smiled tightly. A part of her wanted to run over and embrace him. Not so long ago she would have. But now…now things were different. She was different. He was different. Everything was different.
“Give me your weapon,” she said, holding out her hand, “and let’s get out of here.”
***
Zanek stopped a few meters behind the Angel, his face warming in the presence of the silvery glow bathing the entire room. He had no need to clear his throat or speak or otherwise announce his presence. He had long ago learned to simply wait patiently for the master to reply when he was ready.
“I trust you made a suitable arrangement with Esche’s men,” Marivean said after a minute of silence, slowly turning from his meditative posture. The glow surrounding his body gradually faded.
“It took some convincing, but it was nothing I couldn’t handle,” Zanek replied. “They are preparing the tower for us, and they are all ready to serve at your order, my lord.”
“Excellent. Keep them ready, but we need to be patient. There’s no need to rush this.”
“They have taken our bait, then?” Zanek asked.
“Swallowed whole,” Marivean replied, a trace of a smile playing on his lips. “But still, we need to give him more time. The Asurans haven’t survived this long by being sloppy. They will watch him closely and be expecting the worst.”