Obsidian Flame (Guardians of Ascension #5)(31)
Author: Caris Roane

All in all, Seers’ rights had devolved to squat.

Marguerite had always thought it some strange kind of miracle that her parents had refused to ship her off to a Fortress when she was small since her Seer ability had been well-documented by the time she was eight. But then, her abusive parents had always preferred having control of her. They only sent her to the Creator’s Convent in hopes of having the devil beaten out of her after she’d gone wild at college.

And right now, if either Jane or Brynna was caught on Second Earth, they’d be sent to any of hundreds of Fortresses throughout the world. Only, with the new technology, they’d be strapped with ankle guards just as Marguerite had worn in both the Convent and the Superstition Seers Fortress. They’d never escape a second time.

“Okay, so just how old is this colony? And how is it no one knows about it on Second Earth?”

“Diallo said he worked for centuries to create this mist. He tested it and retested it until he was certain it was impenetrable by even the most powerful ascenders. So you can see why we’re shocked that you’re here today. Right now, the colony’s council is in an uproar. We left the meeting. Too many men, and a few women, yelling but doing nothing. Same old, same old. Anyway, he created the colony in 909 BC.”

“Holy shit.” Marguerite frowned then apologized. “Okay, sorry for the profanity. I’m not exactly house-trained.”

Brynna smiled. “What the f**k are you apologizing for? We’re Seers, not saints.”

Jane laughed but then sighed with some gusto as she continued to stare out the window. “That’s some pair of shoulders. Wow. I mean I knew that some of the Militia Warriors from Florida had folded in for some training, but damn.” Her tongue made an appearance and she swiped her lower lip. “I’d like to lick the sweat off that.”

Marguerite had seen the men outside with swords. They were grouped in an arc maybe watching some kind of demonstration. The lattice arch and angle of the building hadn’t allowed her to see what kind of man-candy was showing his stuff or apparently his shoulders.

Jane was now fanning her face, her nostrils flaring with genuine female interest. So at least one of the Seers wasn’t shy about expressing her overall interest in the male species. It might be fun to check out the local talent with a couple of girlfriends.

Of course, guilt about Thorne roared once more and she winced. Which of course pissed her off all over again. With her back up, she had a couple of questions she’d like answered. “So what do you do for entertainment around here? Or do you slip over to Seattle One? Down to Portland One maybe? Hit some clubs?” Maybe if she could get things settled with Thorne, she’d follow these Seers to their favorite hunting grounds.

But neither spoke up to answer her question. Instead, she felt a sudden tension in the room. “What? Don’t tell me you don’t get out much? I mean Mortal Earth has some damn hunky specimens.”

Brynna shrugged. “It’s complicated.”

Marguerite had a feeling exactly where this was headed. As for complicated, no it wasn’t. “Let me guess. Because you’re Seers, and maybe because you’re women, too, you aren’t allowed beyond the boundaries of the mist.”

Brynna narrowed her eyes. “Not sure about the ‘women’ part, but the Seer part is right. We get the reasoning. We’re wanted, as in wanted, as in if we’re discovered by other rogue ascenders unattached to our colony, then we could get reported, and the whole setup could get blown.”

Marguerite sipped her coffee, but it had cooled off and she preferred hers scalding. She set the mug on the table at her elbow. Her temper, on the other hand, was starting to fire up just fine. “This is such bullshit. For half a second there I’d almost started to like this place. Now you’re telling me you don’t have the same rights as regular vampires?” She crossed her arms over her chest.

“There’s not a one of us here who isn’t grateful for this refuge. We all live as we choose and to a certain degree we respect this law. We know what waits for us beyond the protective mist: potential informants, death vampires, or, worse, Greaves. Our choices are a bit limited.” Brynna then lifted her brows in a really in-your-face kind of way. “But if you think it’s unjust, what do you intend to do about it? You’ve got power, unlike most of us who are only moderately blessed with Seer vision.”

“I’m not going to do anything. When did that become my job?”

“Then what exactly are you complaining about? See, it’s really easy for you to sit there and judge, but are you going to stick around, get involved, challenge the status quo? No, of course not.”

Marguerite clamped her arms over her chest. “Oh, whatever.” She knew she sounded childish but she did not like the direction of the discussion.

“Brynna,” Jane called out. “Stop busting our visitor’s chops and come look at this hunk. He kind of reminds me of that guy you bonked at the club in the colony outside Portland One, the one who stripped at Jake’s Fangtap. But this one’s taller and bigger, uh, everywhere. The last time he spun and levitated, his kilt flew up. I got a good look and can I say, again, wow.” She followed up this statement with, “I need me a man.”

“Maybe it’s Warrior Thorne.”

“Just git your ass over here. You, too, Marguerite. We heard you’d come in with Warrior Thorne. You can tell us if this is him, because if it’s not, and it’s one of the Florida Militia, I’m all over it. By the way, are you together together?”

Good question. “Yes … no … not exactly. We were at one time.”

“So you’re not now?”

Marguerite needed things to change. Maybe this was the moment to start. “No. We’re not together.” But she felt dizzy speaking the words aloud. Did she really mean it? Want it? “So I know you can’t leave the colony, but where can a girl grab a drink?”

The women exchanged a glance.

“Uh, just so ya know, I’m sort of crawling out of my skin here and I could really use a girls’ night out.” But as the words left her mouth, she realized that this was new territory for her. Other than Grace, she’d never had girlfriends before. At the same time, her freedom quest reared its head, so she added, “And I’m serious. I’m crawling out of my skin. I’m not exactly used to all this. I’ve sort of been locked up for a while.” To say the least.