Prophecy (Residue Series #4) (18 page)

But it came with her head resting on me, the rise and fall of her breathing lifting my arms rhythmically as they lay wrapped around her. It was a solid shuteye, undisturbed by dreams, uninterrupted by what was happening halfway around the world, because we hadn’t been told yet.

The next thing I knew Jocelyn’s mother’s voice stirred the house. But it wasn’t her arrival, or even the urgency in her tone that brought me fully awake. It was the message.

“The Seven’s are launching their first attack.”

11
FLAVIAN

M
Y FEET HIT THE WOOD FLOORS
hard, but I only slightly registered it. There were so many thoughts going through my head that pain didn’t make it onto my list of priorities.

Where was the attack being launched?

How many Sevens were on the ground there?

How many Vires were being used?

When did they strike?

Lastly, and most importantly,
how do I keep Jocelyn from insisting on going?
Because I knew she would.

Every one of my questions, with the exception of the one concerning Jocelyn, were answered after I pulled on the black Vire uniform and met up with Isabella downstairs. Jocelyn came up behind me, breathless and wide-eyed, and again my concern over her wanting to go flared. And she had dressed for it, having borrowed black, tight-fitting clothes from Maggie. Needless to say, she was a distraction.

“Flavian began launching waves of Vires across western Africa less than an hour ago, and they’re taking down everyone, not just those in our world.”

“Just one Seven?” I asked, stunned.

“Yes. The rest are positioning their Vire forces in each of their provinces, but they haven’t moved yet.”

“Which means they are using Flavian as a test…,” I deduced.

“That’s likely,” Eran said, coming down the stairs. Maggie followed him, nodding in agreement. I didn’t notice this so much as what she was wearing…a black leather suit, the same one she wore to Sisera’s execution.
Different
, I thought, realizing that singular description applied to so many characteristics about her.

By this time, the rest of the house was flooding into the small parlor room just inside the front door.

Maggie agreed with us. “That sounds like the Fallen-umm-The Sevens’ method. If all goes well, the rest of them will strike.”

“Not if we don’t give them the chance,” I mumbled, as a plan formed in my mind. It was hazy, moving itself like puzzle pieces fitting together until the picture as a whole transpired. When the image settled, it was lucid and had a high probability of success.

“What’s on your mind?” Eran asked. Evidently, he detected what I was doing.

“I think this Vire uniform might come in handy. But we’ll need you and Maggie there, too.”

“Good, let’s go,” Maggie stated.

“We’re wasting time,” Jocelyn added as the two of them headed for the door.

I almost groaned, knowing where this was headed. “My plan doesn’t involve you, Jocelyn.”

She stopped a foot from the door and turned back to face me with her mouth agape. Maggie paused too, glancing curiously at Eran.

I took a quick look at Isabella and found that I was on my own. Judging by her frown, she knew she lost authority over her daughter a long time ago. If she pushed, Jocelyn would pull. And vice versa. The expression she gave me confirmed it was up to me now. It was saying: Good luck.

“You need me there,” Jocelyn declared, with fire in her eyes. She wasn’t going to back down.

Ezra had been standing by the kitchen doorway with a mug in her hand observing. “Huh, looks like Maggie and Jocelyn are cut from the same cloth.”

I didn’t know what that meant, but it really didn’t matter. I was more focused on talking some sense into Jocelyn, although I didn’t have much hope of accomplishing it.

I appreciated when Ezra suggested that they all give us some privacy.

Jocelyn didn’t wait for them to leave, marching back to me, determination etched into her face. “I’m not going to stay here. I won’t be able to heal you from here.” She said this with genuine fear.

“I won’t need to be healed.”

“You don’t know that. The Sevens want you dead just as much as they want me.”

“They won’t even notice I’m there.”

“What?” she demanded. “How can you say-”

“I have a plan, Jocelyn. It doesn’t include you.”

“You’re going to have to modify it then.”

“I can’t risk you being captured again. I can’t,” I said, stressing my point through the resolve in my voice. “If you come, I will be focused on you, not on Flavian.”

“And I can’t risk you not coming back,” she said, trembling, her voice almost a shout.

A clearing of the throat suddenly halted our debate. “Is your issue resolved?” Ezra asked, peering from around the corner of the kitchen hallway.

“No,” I said, frustration unmistakable in my tone.

“Well, you need to hurry it up because there is a mob forming on my front porch.” She tipped her head toward the large window overlooking the front of the house. Sure enough, my family and the Weatherfords gathered, their heads silhouetted against the streetlight outside.

I sighed and shook my head. “They’re harmless,” I stated before second guessing the truthfulness to that statement. The fact they were lining up on opposite sides of the porch didn’t look comforting.

“This isn’t over,” Jocelyn stated as I opened the door, and I felt my mouth sink into a frown.

“Well, it’s good to see you too,” my mother said as she entered, and my frown deepened until I realized that they weren’t alone.

“Theleo?” I muttered, surprised.

“Jameson,” he greeted stiffly. “You didn’t come for me.” He stepped up to the welcome mat once the last of the Weatherfords had filtered inside.

“Why would I?”

He stared at me, making me think I had asked a ridiculous question. “You killed a Seven,” he said remaining expressionless.

It made me realize then that he still wanted to be a part of what we had started, to help in our undertaking. I had turned them all away, every Dissident, every Defector, and given them a safe location to ride out this war between The Sevens, Jocelyn, and me. And they had left, as I asked, and the rumor had started convincing them that I was working for The Sevens, so it never occurred to me that any of them would ever want to be involved again.

I felt an urge to slap myself upside the head, because I now realized that of course they would leave. They were taught to follow commands. They did as I told them. But Theleo had always thought for himself, and was now proving once again he didn’t follow pack mentality.

“I can be of service,” he claimed, as if reading my thoughts.

And that’s when it came to me.

“Yes,” I agreed. “Yes, you can.”

Stepping aside so he could enter, my gaze drifted to Jocelyn, who greeted Theleo with an embrace. Awkwardly, he leaned in but didn’t raise his arms. Vires weren’t taught to hug.

“What are you doing here?” Jocelyn asked, just as amazed as I had been.

Before Theleo could answer, I cut in. “He’ll be escorting you to Africa.”

They both gave me a stunned look. Jocelyn’s was especially inquisitive.

To Theleo, I said, “Keep her at a distance, hidden. She is not to move, period, unless I give you a signal.”

“I understand.”

“Is that resolved enough for you?” I asked Jocelyn.

“Yes,” she replied bluntly.

I was angry with myself for giving in. But what choice did I have? There was no doubt in me that she would ignore my wishes and show up on the battlefield where she would be truly endangering herself.

My lips tight in resistance, I nodded to her and turned back to the room. Again, both families had been split down the middle and were parked on opposite sides of the parlor. They were torn between looking at me and keeping an eye on their adversaries across from them. “The rest of you came because you heard what’s happening in western Africa, am I correct?”

Various nods and grumbles gave me my answer.

“Well, you’ve come for nothing,” I said plainly. “You can’t help. Not yet. It’s best if you return to your safe houses.”

“We’ll stay,” my mother replied adamantly.

“We’ll wait,” Isabella announced.

My gut told me that wasn’t a smart idea, but every second we waited discussing it would mean more lives lost to Flavian’s forces.
I’ll have to deal with whatever happens between them when I get back
, I reasoned.
If I get back
.

“Eran? Maggie?” I called to them as they collected in the hallway leading to the kitchen.

“We’re ready,” Eran confirmed.

After Jocelyn and I weaved our way through to the back door, I stopped next to Ezra in the kitchen. She knew what I was asking and gave me a nod of consent.

“Thank you,” I said. “If they are any trouble, kick them out.”

She flashed a huge grin. “I will.”

Her uninhibited reassurance gave me some relief.

Regardless, as the door was closing behind me, I called out in a final attempt to get them to strongly reflect on their actions before committing to them. “Behave!”

Unfortunately, the scowl beginning to creep across Charlotte’s face didn’t leave me with the sense that I got through.

Theleo levitated us through the treetops to just above the more common flight paths taken by the airlines before pointing us toward Africa. Once on our way, Eran yelled out, “All right, Jameson, going to enlighten us on this plan of yours?”

“Well,” I began, knowing I’d face some resistance. “We’re going to find Flavian’s command center and walk right in.”

Anyone not already looking quickly turned in my direction. Eran’s only reaction was to hold back a laugh.

“We can’t defeat his forces head on, so we’ll come in from behind.” I paused and then summed it up the best way I could. “Take out the leader, leave the forces in chaos.”

After a few seconds of silence, Eran spoke as he nodded approvingly. “Right, cut the head off the dragon before the tail knows what’s going on.”

“Okay, but how do we even get close to the dragon?” Maggie asked with a puzzled shrug.

“I’m going to deliver you,” I said. “You’ll act as my prisoners, and we’ll walk right in. Flavian won’t know what hit him until it’s too late.

“Camouflage,” Eran repeated. “I like it, Caldwell.”

I do too
, I thought,
so long as it works
.

Theleo brought us in from the side, not too far back from the front line. It was mid-morning here, which made it easy for us to realize we had reached our destination. While our speed hindered us from catching sight of all that was happening on the ground, it didn’t obstruct everything. And what I saw made me want to tell him to land right then so I could beat the cra-.

“They’re fighting back,” Maggie said with an optimistic edge to her voice.

That jolted me. I expected a complete annihilation.

“Looks like they’ve learned some things while fending off this area’s rebels,” Theleo surmised.

A steadier look told me that they were correct. In between makeshift huts and along the dry, barren landscape, people were running, most being chased by black uniforms. But directly at the feet of some of those pursuers flashes of flames and sparks of ice hit the ground. Some landed with better aim, on the chests of those in black, and either ignited them or encased them in ice. Not all were using their feet to outpace their attackers, either. Some were taking great leaps, higher and farther than was possible by any common man, only to be tackled in midair by levitating Vires. From there, they fought, suspended, each trying to force their opponent back to the ground.

Not everyone was retaliating though, and I figured it was because they couldn’t. Those running weren’t only from our world, which meant they were being made privy to our abilities, which had been kept hidden for centuries. Although, I doubted they were paying much attention while running for their lives.

I felt my hands squeeze into fists while watching, and I knew this was a reaction to literally wanting to rip the heads off the Vires pursuing the innocents below.

“Can you pick up the speed, Theleo?” I asked, on edge.

He did and no less than a few seconds later, we came across a large tent. With Vires encircling it, forming a solid band around the outside, we were pretty sure we’d arrived at our destination.

Theleo dropped us swiftly behind a line of tall brush before we could be seen, and we huddled there for a second, listening.

Screams of terror and loud bursts vibrated back to us, penetrating the silence. There was a metallic smell to the air, as if the energy here was highly charged. The sun that scorched this countryside until only sand and dried bushes could exist, immediately began to bake us.