Ascension

A moment later the Commander levitated from his black regal chair and floated, without wings or any other visible means of support, across the black matting. Bastard.

Never once, however, did he shift his gaze away from Alison. She was his object, his mark, his reason for the arena contest, his goal in now crossing the battling mats. He paused four feet in front of her, his large brown eyes fixed to her, unblinking, searching. He floated down to settle his Italian footwear on the mats.

Kerrick touched Alison’s mind and found her erecting shield after shield against the Commander’s deft probes. Kerrick couldn’t control yet another growl or the thrumming of his wing-locks.

A slight blink indicated that Greaves may have sensed the threat that Kerrick was ready to mount his wings in defense of Alison.

Endelle broke the tension. “Well,” she said, her tone lustrous with sarcasm, “look what the goddamn cat dragged in.”

Kerrick wanted to hustle Alison behind him. He wanted her safe and away from the Commander even though he didn’t sense an attack coming. After all, Greaves could hardly act against Alison in this setting. As much as COPASS tended to defer to him, the Committee wouldn’t be able to ignore a direct assault. Neither Greaves nor Endelle was permitted to attack anyone directly and there were some rules even Greaves had to obey, at least when he was in the open. Like now.

* * *

Alison had not been so close to Darian since she stood beside him at the railing of the medical complex staring down at her first very pale, very beautiful death vampire. But here he was, in the flesh, one of the most powerful beings on Second Earth, her former client. He had sent Leto to the downtown Borderland in pursuit of her. He had sent a regiment to Carefree. He had arranged the arena battle just for her, all with one intention.

Yet she had counseled him. She had heard his story. She knew him, at least to the extent anyone could know a man without a conscience, a sociopath. She knew the pain he had suffered as a child, the cause of his mental disorder.

Still. He had intended for her to die.

He held her gaze, his large child-like eyes beckoning. “You surprised me tonight, my dear. Imagine, a reversal of time and sword re-identification and the final shield. So much power. I know of only two beings on Second who can do these three things, and we’re both right here. Was that how you repaired the window in your office? Of course it was.”

She heard Kerrick hiss softly, and another split-resonant growl rumbled through the air. Her vampire-warrior-guardian was in full protective mode.

The Commander’s gaze drifted to Kerrick. “Easy, boy. I’m offering compliments. Your woman did quite well.”

“No shit.” The words shot past Alison’s ear. Kerrick’s body was on fire, a shield of raging heat against her side. She felt his warrior fury rising but for some reason it eased her and she leaned her head against his shoulder. They were together. They were a team, like Joy and Ryan. She sighed. Yes, like her sister and her brother-in-law.

The Commander shifted his gaze back to her. “I learned so very much while watching you battle General Leto. Overall, I consider the evening a very instructive experience.”

So that was it. That was the game. Darian, the Commander, was a man of strategy, so of course he had more than one purpose in the spectacle battle. If she didn’t die, then he would learn more about her strengths and her weaknesses. She was his enemy now.

“I can see I am disturbing what should be an evening of celebration so I will bid you good night. I wish you every happiness, my dear. And do take care.”

He didn’t wait for her to respond but turned in the direction of his army. He lifted an arm and in the blink of an eye, he and the great mass of his contingency simply vanished.

Alison stared dumbstruck at all the empty seats, the vacant dais, the solitary ornate chair from which he had observed the battle.

“Holy shit,” Kerrick muttered. “He sent his entire army away with one thought.”

“How did he do that?” Alison whispered. She couldn’t imagine the level of power required to perform such a feat.

“Poser,” Endelle muttered.

Alison glanced up at her and laughed outright. “Poser?”

Endelle rolled her eyes. “A fucking parlor trick. Don’t let him get to you.” She huffed a sigh, turned slightly to her right, then nodded in the direction of the stands, dismissing her army. In contrast with the Commander’s army, Endelle’s contingency simply started heading to the various exits.

She turned back to Alison. “You, on the other hand, ascendiate Wells, are goddamn useless. All you had to do was finish Leto off. You had him in the palm of your hand and you let him go. What the fuck were you thinking and by the way, what was that little private party you had with him and don’t tell me you didn’t do anything of the sort, because I know you did. Did you do a little mind-diving with Leto?”

Alison felt Kerrick’s body stiffen against her. “Alison,” Kerrick’s deep voice rumbled against her ear. “What the hell is Endelle talking about?”

She pulled away from him, far enough to meet his emerald gaze. His eyes flashed with warning. “I can’t tell you.”

“What?” he cried, his brow sinking low. Another growl erupted from his throat, this time directed at her. “Don’t tell me you went inside that traitor’s head. Tell me you fucking didn’t!”

“Back off, Fido,” Endelle said. “So she was in his head. Big-fucking-deal. It’s not like she had her legs wrapped around his waist.” She shifted her attention back to Alison. “I just want to know what the hell you talked about. The fact you set up a shield even I couldn’t penetrate tells me you weren’t discussing the weather.”

Alison glanced from one daunting ascender to the other. Each was bent toward her in outright aggression. For a split second she wondered if battling Leto would be the easy part of the night.

She drew in a deep breath and decided to deal with the larger of the two problems first. She stared into Endelle’s striated brown eyes. She chose carefully the words she sent. Though I can’t relay everything I saw, I can tell you Leto wants out.

A little late for that.

Alison shook her head very slowly.

What are you not telling me? She narrowed her eyes and tried to break through Alison’s shields, a pressure that got harder and harder to withstand.

Alison lifted a hand. “Don’t press against my shields,” she cried.

“I’ll do what I want.”

“If you’re wise, you won’t.”

Endelle cocked her head. “What the hell is going on, ascendiate?”

This time Alison set up a shield that encompassed Endelle. Alison communicated telepathically, Leto requests that I do not share with anyone, including you, what he shared with me, except for one piece of information. He wants you to contact an ascender by the name of James, resident of Sixth Earth and gatekeeper of Third.

How the hell am I supposed to contact Third or Sixth? Endelle sent. I haven’t had one fucking whisper from the Upper Dimensions in millennia, not since the time I agreed to serve as Supreme High Administrator nine thousand years ago.

These words slammed through Alison’s head, a powerful sensation caused equally by Endelle’s astonishment and her frustration. You’ve been flying blind, she sent. All these years?

Endelle stared at her. After a long moment, she sighed heavily then nodded.

“I don’t know what to tell you,” Alison said, releasing the shield. “But I think you’ve gotten a raw deal.”

“I find the understatement really annoying. But, yeah. Raw deal sums it up.”

Alison didn’t know what else to tell Her Supremeness. She had no idea what a gatekeeper was and as far as communicating with Sixth Earth, well, Alison was still trying to get used to Second. The information Leto had shared with her while she’d been in his head was now cloaked behind as powerful a shield as Alison could create within a pocket of her mind.

“Fine,” Endelle muttered. “I’ll take it from here.”

Alison took another deep breath then turned back to her caveman of a boyfriend. She was about to explain to him what had happened, but he stepped close to her and with his nose about an inch away from hers, he cried, “My woman stays out of the heads of other men.”

“What?” she cried.

“Just stay the fuck out of Leto’s head or anyone else’s. Are we clear?”

“No, Kerrick, we’re not clear. Who do you think you are telling me what I can and cannot do?”

Endelle whistled. “You go, girl!”

* * *

Kerrick knew he’d drifted into some kind of Neanderthal overdrive, which wasn’t helping at all, but his body, his mind, his blood rebelled at the thought that Alison had been in Leto’s head. She wasn’t to go into the minds of other men … ever. EVER. He growled. He glared. I want an explanation, he sent. What the hell were you doing in his mind? How much did you see? Was he in yours? Did you like being in there? Does he have intentions toward you now? You do know he’s the enemy, right? A goddamn traitor?

Alison’s eyes opened wide; then she had the audacity to actually smile. You are so jealous.

He growled all over again and narrowed his eyes. If wanting to tear Leto’s limbs off one by one means I’m jealous, yeah, I’m jealous. But it was more than that. Jealousy was a very small word compared with what he was feeling right now. Jealousy was a breeze when what he felt carried hurricane-force winds.

You know, all your cardamom is starting to get to me. I feel like I walked into a Moroccan café. Her voice had a soft quality, seductive, not what he expected right now.

This isn’t over.

Then we’ll talk later.

Just don’t ever go into the mind of another man again. Have you got that?

She put her hands on her hips, those hips covered in a whole lot of tight clinging leather. His gaze drifted down then back up.

I’ll do what I please, she responded, but her blue eyes had taken on a challenging glint, which had less to do with her will in the matter and more to do with wanting to get him worked up.