Damian's Oracle (8 page)

Furious his order had been disobeyed, Damian
started for the young Guardian. Dusty planted a hand in his
chest.

“D, we need to get to her now. We know what
he’s planning,” he said quietly, calmly. “You hear me? We know
where he’s taking her.”

Damian met Dusty’s clear blue eyes, blood
boiling.

“C’mon, bro. If he finishes with her before
we get there … “

They were
fucked.
Damian forced
himself to calm down, though he wanted nothing more than to wrap
his hands around the newbie’s neck. The thought of Sofia in
Czerno’s hands did worse than anger him – he felt
fear
for
the first time in millennia
.

“You know where she is,” he said.

“Yes.”

“We’ll do this your way, Dusty. We raze the
place. No survivors.”

“We’ll drop you in first,” Dusty said.
“Whatever you don’t destroy, we will. I called in the DC Sector for
support as well.”

“He’s going with me,” Damian said, indicating
Jake.

“Agreed. Jake, prep yourself. You’ve got half
an hour.”

It was a death sentence, and Damian saw the
realization in Jake’s eyes before the newbie left for the weapons
room. The other Guardians filed out in silence befitting a
funeral.

“He’s the only one at station who can
Transport,” Dusty reminded him.

“I don’t give a damn. If we can’t un-fuck
what he did, Czerno will destroy humanity overnight.”

And Sofia.

“I’ll put out a recruitment requirement for a
new Transporter,” Dusty said and begin handing him weapons.

Damian pulled off his sweater to reveal a
black t-shirt and tucked weapons into his cargo pants, boots and
pockets. They were silent, aware this would be one of the most
crucial battles they’d encountered in ages.

“Is she like the oracles in your father’s
court?” Dusty asked. “Does she understand how important her gift
is?”

“Not yet,” Damian admitted. “She’s this sexy
little thing with beautiful eyes. Lots of spunk and stubborn as an
ox. Nice rack, killer legs. So sweet and innocent. Were we ever
innocent?”

“Nope. We were damaged goods when we were
dropped onto this planet.”

He felt Dusty’s thoughtful gaze on him and
looked up from strapping a gun to his ankle.

“Watsup?” he asked, straightening.

Dusty shook his head, though Damian saw his
faint smile.

“Bro, watsup?”

“Either you need a woman real bad or there’s
something special about this one.”

“Hey now, don’t insult my oracle,” Damian
warned. “Assuming she survives tonight.”

He ignored Dusty’s intent look, aware his BFF
knew when he was avoiding answering his question. Dusty was right
on both accounts: he needed a woman, and she was special. He didn’t
dare mess with an oracle, though. It was common sense: never piss
off the woman who could see the future, lest she alter it and make
your life hell. Thousands of years hadn’t given him much insight
into a woman’s way of thinking, but this he knew without a
doubt.

“As if the European front wasn’t enough,”
Dusty muttered.

“Tell me about it. After this is over, I’ll
tell you about the Guardian recruitment stats.”

“Gods.”

“Yeah.”

Hang in there, Sofia.

They drove west, away from DC. She watched
the scenery turn from urban to rural and recognized the roads
leading up to Skyline Drive, the scenic route running through the
mountains of northern Virginia. The town car moved at a quick pace,
bringing them to a mansion atop one of the private, gated drives
tucked away from sight along Skyline Drive.

Czerno motioned her out of the car as it
stopped in front of the Georgian-style manor house. It was full
daylight, and she was already in pain despite the heavily tinted
windows.

The daylight almost dropped her to her knees.
She staggered against the car, cringing away from Czerno as he
snatched her arms and dragged her to the house. He released her and
tossed his coat to a waiting maid before motioning her to
follow.

She followed, heart racing. She passed
several men with guns hidden in the alcoves of doors as she walked.
Upon passing the first, she realized they weren’t men at all. No
human’s eyes glowed red, and their inhuman growls as she passed
resembled those of animals. They watched her like they intended to
make her their dinner. She hurried to follow Czerno, silently
praying Jake ratted her out to Damian.

There were two other men in the study Czerno
led her to. The door closed behind her, and he pointed to a chair.
She sat, taking in the Goth décor that made the study as welcoming
as a graveyard. The other two men gazed at her. One was of medium
height and slender, an older man with sharp green eyes the color of
forest moss who seemed out of place in the middle of the room. The
second was closer to Han’s age with midnight hair and eyes.

Neither looked friendly. She stayed the urge
to curl up in her chair, jumping when a shadow with lopsided
shoulders emerged from the corner dressed like an executioner in
black hood and gloves.

“Jilian, check her,” Czerno ordered. “Two,
prep the room.”

The man in the black hood left while the man
with midnight hair and eyes approached. She blinked, shocked when
he walked through the man with the green eyes, as if he weren’t
there. Jilian wrenched her up. Visions slammed into her, each one
as vivid as the next, the sights, smells, sounds. He was Czerno’s
personal hitman, an executioner with no heart or soul.

“Unbound,” Jilian said, releasing her.

She dropped into her chair, shaking.

“I’m impressed,” Czerno said. “Bylun’s gone
soft.”

“If he didn’t act, there’s a reason,” Jilian
observed.

“If he didn’t act, I will,” Czerno responded.
“Prep her, quickly. Damian’s not gonna sit around for this
one.”

Jilian grabbed her again, and she grated her
teeth against the visions, staggering as she tried to keep upright.
He led her down the stairs into a basement that looked more like a
dungeon. One well-lit room gleamed with stainless steel. Until she
saw the blood on the walls and ceiling, she thought it was a
surgical room.

The torture room from her visions. Panic
gripped her, and she tried to bolt. Jilian snatched her and slammed
her onto the table, pinning her in place as he strapped her wrists
and ankles in.

“Please don’t - “ she cried, yanking at her
arms and legs.

“Shut up. The more noise you make, the worse
I make it for you.”

She shut up, breathing raggedly. He retrieved
a jar from the small refrigerator and laid it next to a surgical
knife, a large rubber tube, and a huge syringe.

Oh, god, oh god, oh, god!!
Sofia
pulled again at her bindings and closed her eyes against the blood
splatters on the ceiling.

“What are you going to do?” she
whispered.

“
You’re
the oracle.”

“I only see other people’s fates, not
mine.”

“You see mine?”

“Yes.”

“What is it?”

“You die.”

Horribly. At Damian’s hands.
That
Damian was capable of the same level of violence as these men
reminded her that this world was nothing like hers.

Jilian laughed.

“Guess they forgot to tell you I’m immortal,”
he said. “Only Czerno or Damian can kill me.”

I’m sorry, Jake. I’m sorry, Damian.

“I’m going to drain your blood,” he said
conversationally. “You should be grateful. Czerno wants this done
his way, not mine.”

From her visions, neither of them was capable
of any measure of kindness. Tears trickled down her face, tickling
her ears.

“Then we’ll bind you to him.”

“What does that mean?” she forced herself to
ask to keep hysterics from claiming her.

“An oracle must be blood bound to her master
to be of any use and keep you from dying from the Transformation.
We’ll bind you to Czerno, and you’ll serve him for all
eternity.”

His words were too extraordinary for her to
understand fully, but she knew serving men like these
for
eternity
was equivalent to living with the devil in hell. Her
breathing stilled, and she strained against the bindings.

“Hold still. If I miss, I’ll paralyze you for
eternity.”

He held up the long syringe. By the glimmer
in his eye, he wanted her to move. Sofia closed her eyes. He
injected the gel into her arm, and warmth spread through her. Sweat
soon covered her, and her chest began to tighten.

“We have to kill you first,” he said,
crossing his arms and leaning against the counter. A slow, cold
smile spread across his face. “I didn’t use the cocktail mix. This
might hurt a little.”

Fire formed in her stomach, racing through
her. The man in the corner of her mind spoke to her then.

My name is Darian.

Sofia began to scream as her nerve endings
sizzled from the inside out. She strained and bucked against the
bindings, her body seizing. Darkness lingered at the edges of her
mind but refused to take her. Instead, the agony grew, tearing her
apart, cell by cell, while Jilian’s laughter echoed in her
mind.

The alarm sounded the second he materialized
into the compound. He expected it to; he sensed Czerno as well as
the Black God sensed him. He snatched Jake as a knife sliced
through the air where the newbie materialized and whirled, whipping
out the sword at his back. He sliced through two vamps before
shooting the other two in the small courtyard. Bullets rained down
on them.

He dragged Jake against the building and
loosed part of his power to locate Czerno’s position in the
compound.

“C’mon!”

Jake shot off a burst of rounds as several
vamps raced across the courtyard, their red eyes glowing and growls
loud.

“You ok?” Dusty’s voice came across his
earpiece.

“Great,” Damian grunted. “You got the
schematics on this place?”

“Here,” Jake said, whipping out a PDA. He
ducked into a doorway while Damian shot two more vamps and
reappeared, the blueprints on the screen.

“Guide me in,” Damian ordered.

“Tell me when you’re ready for us,” Dusty
said.

“Will do. D out.”

Jake led him into the Gregorian mansion,
whose stone walls resembled an old school fortress. Czerno’s
affinity for castles meant they couldn’t simply blow the place up
and hope she survived an avalanche of stone. He had to find her
fast.

Damian located the enemy ahead of them,
shooting intersections clear as they reached them. Jake led him
into a dark wine cellar, and they paused to reload.

Czerno was moving.

“There’s another basement,” Damian said,
pacing the room in search of a door.

“It’s not on the schematics,” Jake confirmed.
“You see a door?”

They heard a sound that made them freeze and
look at each other. It was the scream of a soul dying.

“Sofia!” Jake breathed, guilt and anger
crossing his face.

“Stand back,” Damian ordered. “Cover the
door.”

He tracked Czerno then placed his hands on
the back wall. The stone exploded into pebbles and dust. Light from
the hidden hall filled the wine cellar. Sofia’s anguished scream
was still muffled.

“Sofia!” Jake shouted.

“D, watch out for Jilian. Czerno brought in
fifty of his goons. Jilian’s - “ Dusty called.

“Jake!” Damian shouted as the transporter
disappeared. “Fuck!”

He saw Jilian’s blow cleave the transporter
apart the moment he materialized down the hall. Jake dropped
silently. Damian charged Jilian, Czerno’s longtime executioner.
Jilian met his sword with his own, barking orders to his vamps.

The screams stopped, and Damian’s heart
quickened. The period between when an oracle could be bound and
when she permanently died was brief. Jilien’s men pounded down the
hall. Damian gritted his teeth, unable to unleash the blow that
could destroy them all in a blink without taking out Sofia as
well.

“D!”

“Busy!”

He whipped out the vamp killing hand cannons
and shot the first two of Jilian’s men. Several rounds drove him
back, and he ducked a blow aimed at his neck by Jilian.

“I’m here, bro!”

Dusty materialized beside him, his gun
roaring in the narrow hallway as he mowed down Jilien’s men.

“He’s coming!” he warned.

Damian slashed thrown Jilian, and the vamp
dropped. He hacked him apart until there was nothing but pulp.

“Laney, send in everything!” Dusty barked
into his mike. “
Now!”

Vamps jammed both directions of the hall, and
Czerno was making a beeline for the room behind the wall in front
of them.

“Hold em, bro,” Damian shouted and placed his
hands on the wall.

“Got it,” Dusty said, reloading before his
hand cannons began roaring again.

The wall before him burst into dust, and he
crawled through the opening, firing a full clip at the form at the
other end. The mansion rocked as Dusty’s first set of explosions
went off. The ceiling began to crumble. A second explosion threw
him across the room. Czerno disappeared.

Damian rose, sickened by the sight before
him. Sofia lay on the cold steel table, her tears still wet but her
eyes open and staring blankly. A tube ran from her neck to the vat
of blood on the floor. What had started as a stream of blood had
slowed to a few remaining drops.

Fury filled him. A stone dropped from the
ceiling into the vat, and warm blood splashed over him.

Dusty joined him, drawing a sharp breath at
the sight.

“This place is about to come down,” he
warned.

Damian launched forward, snatching the tube
and whipping out a knife.

“Cut me,” he ordered.

“You know what you’re doing?”

“Think I just got me an oracle,” Damian said
grimly.