Obsidian Flame (Guardians of Ascension #5)(8)
Author: Caris Roane

Hidden Seers of power.

Finally, the line of ribbons began to slow and to differentiate into specific colors until the entire band stopped and a ribbon of burnished dark gray metal rose above the rest directly opposite him.

A female, a Seer, became visible to him.

He smiled. Yes, he enjoyed his power very much.

The woman was tall with some freckles, straight black hair to her shoulders. She had tattoos, and a hair-sized silver loop pierced her right eyebrow. She also had a small amber jewel just above her left nostril on the side of her nose. Her eyes were an unusual color: gray. A very pure gray.

Her name came to him.

Brynna.

He picked up the ribbon and it was like fire in his metaphysical hands, a wicked amount of energy flowing through his fingers.

He let her future come to him, images that began to move very swiftly; daylight, a cabin, a woman behind her, a knock on the door. He tested the women. His heart began to race. They were both Seers.

The location? He panned around and saw forest, a very thick dark forest, not pine, more like fir. He looked up toward the sky and saw mist, but not the usual white lace pattern, something with a strange green hue. He panned back and the door opened: Marguerite stood there, behind a screen door. He held his breath, waiting to see what would happen next, but Marguerite’s Seer power, whether activated by her or not, could have an effect.

He saw her lips move. The stream began to fade until it disappeared.

He cursed. He needed to know where this was and what had happened, or rather what was going to happen. Because of the strange mist, he thought this place might be exactly what he was looking for: a hidden colony of some kind.

He had to continue. Had to learn more.

He still held Brynna’s ribbon, so he ordered his mind and began to rewind the image, letting it flow backward until he could see the mist again. He had some skills when it came to the future streams and he used them now. He held the ribbon steady and froze the moment while still inside the vision.

This time, he focused on the location again and panned skyward, pulling back and back as though rising into the air, higher and higher until the mountains grew small and other towns appeared, until he could see the coastline of, yes, the Pacific Northwest. This colony existed in the Cascade range in the state of Washington, Mortal Earth. He then concentrated on the timing of this meeting. He could feel that the women would meet … tomorrow.

When he sat up, the incredible nature of his discovery flew around in his chest like a bird that had just been set free. He was astonished at his find. He ran a hand lightly over his wave. So there was a hidden colony, with Seers in residence, on Mortal Earth.

His mind began to order his next steps. He would confer with the leader of his small attack force, comprising eight powerful death vampires. He would make an advance visit to the location and establish the when and where of the attack.

He grew relaxed and content now that he had a plan. His new life on Mortal Earth commenced tonight. There would be no bureaucracy to manipulate, no Madame Endelle to sidestep, no Warriors of the Blood to avoid. He could do what he wanted because these Seers were living under the radar. With a little care and planning, he could simply appear, search through the colony, and take what he wanted.

He smiled as he left his meditation room and moved to a veranda that wrapped around the entire central courtyard. Very clever, these houses that looked like nothing from the outside but were elegant and lovely inside. A deception. He loved deceptions.

He crossed the courtyard to the large room opposite where his Mexican death vampires lived and plotted their nightly forays into the surrounding communities. The size of Mortal Earth’s population, especially the number of people living in major cities, made for easy pickings for the pretty-boys.

* * *

Marguerite had been in the shower a long time and still she scrubbed herself silly.

She was so pissed.

She couldn’t believe that José, a mere mortal, had actually told her to get out. She’d never been more shocked in her life. She’d had her own speech ready, right on the tip of her tongue, to the effect that she’d had a great time, but she just wasn’t interested in seeing him again. Then José had said he had to split and she shouldn’t be here when he got back.

The nerve.

At last, she turned the water off and stepped out of the shower. As she did, her fury eased up and in its stead was something very close to remorse. Essentially she’d just cheated on Thorne, even though she’d already dumped his ass. But then, the fact that she felt even a nanosecond of regret pissed her off all over again. She’d already told Thorne to get lost. She’d made it clear in a thousand different ways that she was done with him and her life on Second Earth.

Through all the decades locked up in the Convent, her dream of a new life on Mortal Earth had kept her going. She’d always seen herself this way, living free and hooking up with as many men as she wanted, hitting the road at dawn every morning, and travelling to the ends of the earth, then starting all over again. She didn’t want to be accountable to anyone or anything.

On the other hand, Thorne didn’t deserve to be put through this. Maybe her dreams of freedom had kept her going, but Thorne’s presence in her life had kept her sane. But why had he followed her? He knew what she’d intended. She’d never made it a secret that once she got free, she was going on a prolonged man-hunt, maybe for a millennium.

She spread her towel on the toilet seat and sat down. She leaned over, put her elbows on her knees and her chin in her hands. The trouble was, she kinda felt like two people and torn right down the middle. She wanted Thorne. Aw, hell, she craved him.

But there was another part of her that also craved freedom and self-determination the way her lungs craved air, as though she would die without it.

Then there was Owen Stannett and Commander Greaves. Either of those major pricks would be oh-so-happy to strap a new ankle guard on her leg, hook her up to a Seer milking machine, and never let her see the light of day again. So what the hell would she do if Greaves or Stannett started a major campaign to acquire her?

There was nothing about her current predicament that was simple. Above all, she wished she could get rid of her obsidian flame ability. Unfortunately, once a preternatural power arrived, it was just there, forever.

At least her obsiddy power, as she liked to call it, seemed to be sleeping for now, thank you, God. She and Fiona were sisters in obsidian flame, and supposedly one day there would be another. Once they joined powers, they would be able to make some kind of cosmic orchestral music together—not literally, but something as yet undefined.