Burning Skies (59 page)

Havily’s eyes burned as the warriors once more rose to their feet and lifted goblets of Medichi’s fine Cabernet. “To Marcus” went around the room.

Havily turned toward Marcus, leaned close, and kissed his cheek, which of course set the men to hooting as they took up their seats again.

Marcus stood up and settled his gaze on Luken. He raised his glass. “But neither of us would be here if it weren’t for you, Luken. You saved us both and you finished Crace off. We all owe you a debt for that. To Luken.”

Another rousing cheer went around the table.

Luken nodded but he blushed. He didn’t handle compliments all that well.

Thorne once more gained his feet and addressed Marcus. “We do have one issue we need to resolve, and here it is. We want you back, brother. Will you rejoin?”

Havily glanced at Endelle, who met her gaze. This wasn’t the timing she would have planned, but Endelle gave her a short I’ll-handle-this nod. Havily inclined her head in response but her heart rate picked up. Would Marcus understand the what and why of it?

She looked up at him, her heart in her throat. “I accept,” he said. “And of course, I’ll start tonight.”

A cheer rang through the room all over again.

This time Endelle took the floor and patted the air, indicating she wanted Thorne and Marcus to sit back down, which of course they did.

She was an amazing woman, powerful, absurdly tall in her stilettos, almost seven feet, a real Amazon. She had even toned it down for the party and wore a simple black leather vest and leather pants. The only decorations were some small red feathers that lined the low-cut V. “As for Marcus rejoining, don’t I get a say in this?”

Almost as one, they shouted, “No.” But laughter ensued.

For just this moment, Havily’s gaze rested on each warrior, astonished as she had been from the first at not just the size and musculature of the men but at the lethal quality each carried in the movements of arm and leg, of torso, even the turn of head and shift of feet. Individually, they were stunning. As a group, overwhelming.

And Endelle ruled them.

She stood at the head of the table and waited for the men to settle and for all attention to turn in her direction. At last she drew a deep breath and began, “I had it brought to my attention a couple of days ago that I was wholly and completely incompetent in my position as Supreme High Administrator. In fact the person who said this to me had the audacity to say I
sucked
at being an administrator.”

Though Endelle spoke with a half smile, and her words were meant to be a sort of joke, a deadly silence fell over the room. The warriors tensed. Even Marcus leaned forward.

Havily glanced at Alison, whose empathic skills were at third dimension level, but even she frowned and appeared confused, which confirmed Havily’s belief that the warriors all agreed with Endelle’s statement but were at the same time ready to go to war on her behalf against anyone disparaging her service.

Havily loved them for that. She slid her arm around Marcus’s and squeezed. He glanced at her and scowled.
You’re not upset about this,
he sent, almost like an accusation.

She shook her head at him.

Santiago rose to his feet, his ruby-encrusted dagger suddenly in his hand. “Name the bastard who would say this to you.”

“Well,” Endelle said. “Thank you for the warm gesture of loyalty but it isn’t necessary.” She nodded in some satisfaction. “Actually, the bastard is a she and
she
is sitting next to Marcus fondling his bicep.”

Havily blushed as she glanced down at her hand. Endelle was right. She had been playing with Marcus’s arm without even knowing it.

But it was the gasp among the warriors that made her pull away from him.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” Endelle cried. “You know I suck at my job.” She huffed a sigh. “I do, but I still needed to hear it said aloud. And I would never have considered this next course of action had it not been for Havily but she’s right. I know it in my gut. And if I’m freed up from some of the administrative work, I can start strategizing against Greaves, find some way to stop him from turning my High Administrators. As it is right now, I don’t get enough sleep and I’m so sunk in reports that I can’t see the war clear enough to figure out what we need to do next. And the Creator knows we need to do something fast. That bastard has been gaining ground steadily for the past fifteen years.”

Thorne cried out, “What the hell is this all about? What the fuck are you trying to say?”

Endelle looked straight at Marcus. “I am appointing, without reservation, Warrior Marcus as High Administrator of the Southwest Desert Territory and at the same time granting him Guardian of Ascension status.”

Silence filled the dining room for a long tense moment.

“Merde,”
Jean-Pierre muttered, the first to speak.

“Holy mother of God,” Santiago cried.

Thorne turned to Marcus. “Did you know about this?”

“No,” he stated, shaking his head. He turned to Havily his eyes narrowing, his jaw rigid. “Was this your doing? Because you don’t want me fighting? I have to fight. I’m needed at the Borderlands. You know that.”

Havily knew for certain in this moment that she had erred, so gravely that she wondered if she would ever recover Marcus’s trust. She hadn’t meant for her discussion with Endelle to seem as though she was going behind his back and manipulating things just to keep her man out of the war, but so it appeared.

Her panic rose to chest level and her mind bent straight back to being in Crace’s forge. She felt trapped and weak all over again, as though she was one down in this setting and had nothing worthy to contribute.

However, as she met Marcus’s accusing gaze, as she saw the anger in his light brown eyes, that he believed she’d overstepped her bounds, she took a deep breath and lifted her chin.

Newer, stronger thoughts flowed through her mind, of the courage she had displayed over the past several days, of her mettle tested in horrific ways, of her absolute certainty that she was right in this situation. Nor was she a simple woman with selfish designs. She knew her man, she knew his abilities, and she understood the situation from an administrative point of view. If the macho warrior strain in this room wasn’t countered with rationality, the war would continue on just as it had, with determination, yes, but with Greaves gaining ground each and every day.

So she lifted a brow to him in response, rose to her feet, and met the scowls of all the warriors present. “I have something to say, and by God you’re all going to listen to me.” She turned to Marcus. “Especially you.”

Marcus crossed his arms over his chest and glared, but he gave her the courtesy of remaining silent.

Havily nodded to Endelle, and Her Supremeness returned the favor and resumed her seat.

Havily shifted to face the warriors once more. “First of all, if Warrior Marcus chooses to fight, that’s up to him. I am not nor will I ever be his keeper and I would never stand in the way of his rejoining the Warriors of the Blood if he believed he would best serve Second Earth by taking up his sword.

“But I want to remind you that war isn’t fought only with the sword, and Greaves has been undermining Madame Endelle’s administration in a host of ways. He’s steadily increased shipments of death vampires to Metro Phoenix to wear you men down, he’s seduced High Administrators around the globe into his camps because he has significant wealth at his disposal, and he knows how to work propaganda on behalf of his Coming Order like nobody’s business. And we all know the travesty that COPASS has become—and that if Greaves turns a majority of the committee members, Madame Endelle’s administration will sink.”

The truth of her words was visible in every expression of clenched jaw, exasperated sigh, or flexing of sword arm at the table.

She continued, “When I spoke with Madame Endelle two days ago about Warrior Marcus’s future, when I suggested that Warrior Marcus should do anything other than serve as a Warrior of the Blood, only my mental shields kept me from being consumed by the blast of her fury.”

Luken shifted in his seat and glanced at Endelle. Thorne grunted. Kerrick nodded.

“Fuck,” Jean-Pierre murmured.

Havily continued, “So you were not alone in your initial reactions to what essentially was my proposal to Madame Endelle.

“I’d also like to say that I resented the hell out of the
breh-hedden
when it hit me as it did four months ago. I despised the man sitting next to me for having deserted the Warriors of the Blood two hundred years ago. For that, I considered him less than a man because … because of my love for all of you and for the terrible sacrifices you have made, especially in your personal lives.” She put a hand to her chest and took a couple of deep breaths. “But sometimes the incomprehensible decisions we make in earlier parts of our lives come forward to show us the way to the future. Marcus built an empire on Second Earth during the last two centuries and knows more about waging an administrative and propaganda war, one that involves building loyalty and service among employees, than anyone sitting at this table.”

“Except for you, Hav,” Zacharius called out. “Look at what you’ve accomplished in the last four months. Look at the success of the Ambassadors Festival. You could serve as High Administrator. I’d give you my vote.”

Havily smiled. “Thank you, Zach, that means a lot to me. However—” She paused and met Endelle’s gaze. Once more Her Supremeness surprised her with an ancient, knowing look of sympathy and support.

Havily continued, “Actually, I’ll be taking up a new position soon, a very different kind of work.” Oh, God. The words she was about to speak had weight, heavy, burdensome, shoulder-sagging weight. She felt her future blast in her direction so powerfully that she staggered a little on her feet. Tears flashed to her eyes and for a moment she could only swallow hard, her gaze fixed to the table.

When at last she composed herself, she said, “I’ve agreed to become apprenticed to Madame Endelle in darkening work, to assist her nightly efforts as best I can in order to prevent Commander Greaves from overloading the Valley with death vampires.”

Once again, momentous silence captured the room.

“
Darkening
work,” Santiago whispered, penetrating the awful quiet. He flipped his dagger in his hand.

“Holy fuck,” Kerrick murmured.

Luken shook his head back and forth. “Havily, this is some crazy-ass shit.”

Havily suddenly felt uncomfortable. “I have a lot to learn, of course,” came out in a rush. “But I’ve told you this by way of answering Zach’s question. I have other duties now. As for Warrior Marcus, what I wanted to say is that we need
someone
to begin waging war as Greaves has been waging war, attacking his efforts where the High Administrators are concerned as well as the ongoing propaganda war. For all these reasons, I asked Madame Endelle to consider the possibility that Marcus would be of greater value and use to the war effort in an administrative position rather than in the field.”

She looked down at Marcus. “I believe with all my heart, knowing you as well as I do, that Second Earth needs you to serve in this capacity. But the decision must be yours and”—here she met the gaze of each of the warriors one by one—“the decision of the warriors as well.”

Lastly, she met Endelle’s gaze. There was approval in the Amazon’s eyes. Havily gave a curt nod then sat down.

Endelle rose to her feet. “I agree with everything Havily has just said. Most particularly, that the Warriors of the Blood must have a say. This should be a joint decision and Marcus, I say this to you most of all, whatever you decide will be perfectly acceptable to me as I know it will be to Havily.” Endelle glanced at her once more. “And as much as I’ve given you shit, I admire you, Morgan. You’ve got balls, that’s for sure. And I know that if Marcus decides he must fight, you won’t stop him.”

“No, of course not. Never.” A murmur of approval went around the table.

When Endelle sat down, Thorne stood up and addressed his men, his gravel voice restating both cases, the need for another warrior and yet the critical need for someone with executive ability to combat all the other fronts on which Greaves operated, all those ways he was currently winning his bid for world domination.

The discussion lasted a good long hour as Marcus answered numerous questions about his financial empire, how he’d built it, his basic philosophies, and if he felt he could make a significant contribution as a High Administrator. The second hour involved even more discussion about just what kinds of measures Marcus would take if he were to become a High Administrator.

When the subject wore itself out, when there were no more comments to be made, pro or con, Medichi served up a massive strawberry cake as well as glasses of Dom Perignon.

When the last of the cake had been devoured and the last drop of champagne swallowed, Endelle rose to her feet once more. “Well, boys, I have darkening work to get to. As for you, Marcus, don’t wear your woman out tonight. Come to my offices tomorrow about nine. Thorne, you as well. We’ll discuss this situation further. Agreed?”

Both men nodded.

She wasn’t an easy woman, Madame Supreme High Administrator, but she was the right woman to command the Warriors of the Blood. She lifted a hand, flipped them all off, then dematerialized. Laughter and a shaking of heads traveled around the table.