Lost (28 page)

The plan came
together much more smoothly than I'd expected. It wouldn't have
surprised me if it had taken another two or three days to get to the
point where it was ready for Ash to start contracting with hackers.
Instead I finished the final details up and saved off the document
just a few hours after sunset.

The catharsis
of having made real progress had relaxed me in ways that I hadn't
anticipated, and as I powered off my tablet I was tempted to go
apologize to Celeste. I still didn't feel like I could trust her, but
I'd been more brutal with her than I'd needed to be.

I even went so
far as to leave my room and go stand outside her doorway, but I could
faintly hear the sound of deep, even breathing and I decided against
waking her up to offer some vague, halting apology that probably
wouldn't make her feel any better.

I went back to
my room and fell asleep within seconds of lying down. My dreams were
filled with vivid instances of fighting. I wasn't just training with
Set this time around; I was fighting werewolves, lamia and even other
shape shifters. I was outmatched in almost every fight, but they were
too real for me to realize that they were just dreams.

I clawed, bit,
and bled dozens of times over the course of the night, and each and
every fight that I won was done so using one of the techniques that
Set had shown me. I chained elbow strikes and close-quarters blocks
together in one long, whirling frenzy of combat that didn't let go of
me until after sunrise.

When I finally
woke up the next morning, Celeste wasn't anywhere to be found. I
followed her scent trail far enough to verify that she'd left the
cave, and then went back and checked on Ash and Kristin. I was
getting really worried about the two of them. Kristin had started
thrashing around so much in her sleep that I'd had to restrain her in
order to make sure that she wouldn't open Ash's injuries back up.

They should
have woken back up by now, but I couldn't do anything for them here
and I wasn't quite ready to tell Set that we were leaving. I'd just
finished up breakfast when Set arrived at our doorstep and asked if I
could come out and speak with him.

"I'm sorry
to disturb your rest, Isaac Nazir."

"You're
fine, Set. Are we getting started with our training early today?"

"Alas, I
must beg your pardon on that point as well. I wanted to continue your
studies yesterday, but my queen required my services on another
matter. I tried explaining that it was a debt of honor, but she
merely indicated that she would satisfy the debt for the day herself.
Has she satisfied the debt, Isaac Nazir?"

I had no idea
what he was talking about. I certainly would have remembered if the
lamia queen had dropped by for a little unarmed combat sparring, but
I wasn't about to tell Set that he'd come up deficient in any way,
not and risk him over-reacting in one way or another.

"The debt
remains satisfied, Set. Please put your mind at ease regarding the
matter."

He bowed his
head in relief. "It pleases me to hear it. I'm afraid that we
will have to postpone our time together until after I return."

"Can I ask
where you are going, Set?"

"I will be
leaving on the enclave's business, but in this instance you may know,
as I've come to seek a boon from you. I will be taking all of the
enclave's workers and most of the consorts with me. I seek a promise
from you that you won't attempt to bypass the few guards who will be
remaining behind."

Someone else
might have agreed thinking that it was the perfect opportunity to
force their way in to see the queen, but it never even crossed my
mind. It was only afterwards that I realized the level of trust Set
was placing on my shoulders.

"Of
course. For me you have a solemn promise, but I cannot speak for my
queen."

"Such is
always the way of things, Isaac Nazir, but a promise from you is
sufficient. Your queen would not be able to force her way in unaided,
and surely she would not force you to betray your honor in this
matter."

He seemed
awfully certain for a guy who had just been worried that his queen
hadn't fulfilled her end of their bargain, but then again, maybe he
had more faith in Celeste than he did in his own queen. I wasn't
quite as sure that Celeste was completely trustworthy, but it didn't
seem like the time to tell him that.

"Are you
off to fight the Consumed?"

"Thankfully
no, but we must head off a different problem or we will be paid a
visit by the Consumed very soon. Many of the sun people have entered
our hunting territory. Their presence will serve to make the enclave
more noticeable. They must be encouraged to leave if we are to remain
hidden."

I could only
think of one pack that had a reason to be out in the swamp right now.

"Set, are
the sun people from nearby? Are they from New Orleans?"

He looked
confused for the first time in a while. "They are, but my queen
indicated that we should prepare for battle. How can this be, Isaac
Nazir? Can your queen not simply order them away?"

"I'm
afraid not, Set. There are…many enclaves of my people in the
city near here. Not all of them serve my queen. If these sun people
are the ones that I think they are, then you and your men will be in
grave danger. May I come with you and help defend the enclave?"

Set blinked
several times—the odd serpentine blink that started from the
corners of his eyes and worked inward—and then nodded.

"Your
assistance would be appreciated, Isaac Nazir. The time-stream will be
most advantageous in one hour, we will leave then."

Before Set was
even out of sight I heard Celeste approaching. I nearly followed Set
just so I wouldn't have to talk to her, but she deserved to know what
was going on.

"Was that
Set? You don't have to go fight another challenge match, do you?"

"No, not
yet."

It wasn't my
imagination, there was real relief in her eyes at the knowledge I
wasn't going to be risking my life again. It was so hard to reconcile
the two different sides of Celeste that I'd seen so far. How could a
cold-blooded killer care whether I died? Was it just because my death
would represent the end of her chance at getting the lamias to fight
her battles for her?

"I don't
have a challenge match, but Set has informed me that some of Onyx's
men are prowling around the swamp. He's taking a party to warn them
off and I've asked to go along."

She shook her
head. "No, that's a terrible idea."

"I thought
that is what you wanted, Celeste. We leave in an hour. Two hours from
now the lamia might end up wiping out most of Onyx's forces, leaving
you in a vastly stronger position than you've ever been in before."

Celeste spun
around, nostrils flaring, and then she started down the path that Set
had just taken. "You don't understand, Isaac. You don't just
throw bodies at someone like Onyx. I wanted the lamias to help, yes,
but it wasn't just about obtaining more foot soldiers. I want the
queen's help. If there's a way to beat Onyx then she'll know it, but
it will involve stealth and guile."

"She's the
one sending Set and the others out, if she can really see the future
like you think she can, then we'll be fine."

"Is she
really behind this? Are you certain? Because I don't get the feeling
that she's a very hands-on kind of ruler. Set is tough and smart, but
he doesn't have any idea what he's up against. If Onyx is with those
men then he'll kill all of you in minutes. Even if he isn't and you
massacre the guys he's sent into the swamp it will just mean that
he'll come here himself next time."

She was moving
quickly, I had to jog to keep up with her. I tried to get a word in
edgewise, but she was talking too quickly for that.

"If this
isn't handled just right the lamias are going to have the Coun'hij
down here searching for them. Is Set really ready to have dozens of
werewolves crawling all over the swamp? The lamias need to stay a
secret or they don't stand a chance."

"Don't you
mean that they need to stay a secret until you're ready to use them?"

She stumbled,
but she didn't answer me, not when Set was now in sight.

"Set,
wait. Don't go out there. You can't beat the shape shifters you're
going to run into out there. You need to keep your people hidden,
keep the portal closed if you can."

Set turned and
gave her a look that would have frozen water. "This is not your
business, queen."

Apparently she
hadn't made enough of an effort to make small talk with him, that or
he was still unhappy about her having nearly lost control her first
day here. She'd started shaking, but I grabbed her arm and hauled her
back a couple of steps.

"Set, she
doesn't mean to cross any lines, she's just worried about you and
your men. She's had dealings with the…queen who most likely
commands the shape shifters, the sun people, we're about to go
confront. Their leader is indeed very powerful. Celeste has seen
people paralyzed with pain from a distance of dozens of yards. Would
it be possible to avoid them, to hide as she has suggested until the
sun people have moved on?"

Set puffed up
as though he was about to tell me to get lost too, but in the end he
just shook his head. "No, Isaac Nazir. Under other circumstances
maybe, but not today. The sun people are too many and too powerful.
We are already shrinking the enclave as quickly as we are able and
still it will not be enough. They will illuminate the enclave for the
Consumed. He will pick us out of the void and appear without
warning."

I felt like I
was being torn in three different directions at once, but there was
only one remaining option that had any chance of keeping everyone out
of trouble.

"Then let
us leave. If we were gone it would allow you to hide regardless of
how many shape shifters were running around in the swamp. It's the
best solution."

"No,
Isaac!"

I turned to
Celeste and stopped her before she could say anything else. "It
doesn't have to be this way. We'll get Ash and Kristin and we'll
leave. I've got a plan that has a good chance of finding Dream
Stealer, so that takes care of the reason that Ash wanted to be here,
and as soon as we're back in Louisiana I'll call Alec and beg him to
come down here. He can neutralize Onyx and the entire rest of the
pack if he needs to. We can free your people and nobody other than
Onyx and his guys needs to get hurt."

"At what
price? So we can all become Alec's lap dogs?"

"Yeah, if
it comes to that. I don't think it will, but even if it did, would
that really be so bad? Even at his worst Alec has never been even a
tenth as bad as Onyx. Is swearing fealty really too big a price to
pay for the safety of your people?"

It was one of
those moments when you know someone has to decide whether or not they
were going to put up or shut up. Celeste had already done some
terrible things in the name of protecting her people. This was
nothing in comparison. All it required was that she let go of her
pride and trust someone she had been taught since she was a child was
evil.

"All
right, Isaac. If that is what you want, if you really think that's
the best way forward, then I'll go along. We can leave right now as
long as Set can put us down somewhere far enough away from Onyx's men
that we have a chance of surviving."

Set was already
shaking his head. "To do this thing you are proposing would
dishonor our entire enclave. I will not do it."

"Unless
you are going to attack us, and violate your duty as host, there
isn't any way to stop us. Isaac and I can go get Ash and Kristin and
then just walk back out of here the same way we came. The portal
might not put us back in the exact same place, but it will be close
enough that we'll eventually be able to make it back to
civilization."

"That may
be true, but it won't stop me from leading my people out to deal with
the sun people in the swamp."

Celeste looked
like she was going to explode. "What kind of passive-aggressive
crap is this? Are you trying to guilt us into doing what you want us
to do?"

"I have no
choice. Honor compels me to provide for the safety of the enclave's
guests."

There was
something about the set of his expression that told me he wasn't
giving us the full story.

"What
aren't you telling us, Set?"

"Over
time, your being out of the enclave will make it easier to conceal
ourselves, but the sun energies dissipate only slowly. Even if you
leave I will still be forced to go disperse the sun people or we will
be found."

Celeste looked
back and forth between us. "Do you believe him, Isaac?"

"Yes. Set
hasn't ever lied to me."

"Then I
suppose we'd better go help them attack Onyx's guys."

I shook my
head. "No, you need to stay here. Onyx is coming to get you and
Ash, which means that you two need to stay here safely out of reach."

She wanted to
argue with me, I could see it in her eyes. She wasn't some pampered
princess, unwilling to stand up and defend herself, but she knew I
was right.

"Fine, but
you all need to be careful. Onyx is incredibly dangerous."

**

Less than an
hour later I followed Set and more than a dozen of his men through
the crack in the wall that led back to the outside world. Most of the
lamias accepted my presence without any sign of unhappiness, but one
of them, a huge consort, bared his fangs at me when I walked up to
their group.

My beast let
out a pulse of power in return that made me feel like I was in the
eye of a hurricane, and for a second I thought we were about to come
to blows, but Set hissed something indecipherable at the other lamia.
The hostile consort eventually turned away from me and stalked
further down the tunnel, but I got the impression that it hadn't been
a foregone conclusion that he was going to obey.