Empower (40 page)

I half smiled. ‘I don’t even know if exiles hear music. They’re so insane they don’t see the beauty in what they’re trying so hard to destroy.’

It was a thought that I seemed to be having more and more – the ultimate problem of this Gordian Knot, as Phoenix called it, that I now faced. No matter what happened in this battle, unless we could somehow attack the problem of the ever-growing exile population in our world, we would always be just trying to keep up.

Something had to change.

‘Well,’ Steph said hesitantly. ‘Dapper and I think we might have found a small loophole.’

I focused my attention on her. ‘What?’

‘We think the angels might have stepped in once before and stopped Sammael from destroying the city.’

‘When?’

‘Hurricane Isaac. It came after Katrina and according to all of the weather warnings was supposed to be much bigger. If it had reached its potential over the city it would have destroyed it.’

‘But it didn’t.’ Clearly.

‘No. Suddenly it changed direction. No one knew why, but it was drawn out to sea.’

‘The angels,’ I said, more to myself than to Steph.

But she nodded anyway. ‘We think so.’

‘So, they could do it again, if they chose to. I just need to figure out a way to convince them.’

Sure. Because changing the minds of divine beings is soooo easy.

I sighed, taking out
my Grigori blade and glancing at Steph. ‘So, tell me about the wedding.’

Her brow creased and she scrunched up her nose. ‘Don’t try to distract me. I know what you’re about to do.’

I shrugged and sliced my blade across my markings, holding my wrist above the non-Grigori blades. As my blood trickled onto each of them they became instantly lethal weapons. After I’d touched them all with my blood, I healed the wound and picked up one of the daggers, holding the hilt out to Steph.

‘You shouldn’t need it, but just in case; I need to know you’re protected.’

‘Er … Vi … I …’ Steph stuttered, her horrified eyes fixed on the blade. ‘I can’t fight like you guys.’

‘And you won’t need to. If an exile attacked you he would know you’re human, and that’s your advantage. Let him come at you and then cut him any way you can. My blood will do the rest. Just … don’t hesitate, okay?’

‘We’re having an outdoor wedding,’ she said quickly. ‘Did I tell you that? Salvatore’s mother wasn’t happy about it at first but Father Peters agreed to it and I really liked the idea. Oh, and you should see the dress I’ve chosen for you. It’s perfect, not disgusting-typical-bridesmaid. It’s—’

‘Steph!’ I cut her off, fully aware of who was distracting whom now.

She swallowed, nervously taking the hilt in her hand. ‘Okay, Vi. Cut. Don’t hesitate. Got it,’ she said, her hand and voice shaking equally.

I nodded. ‘Good,’ I said. ‘And when they tell you it’s time to move out of the city, promise me you will go.’

She nodded
solemnly. ‘I’ll run like my ass is on fire.’ After a beat she added, her voice now less sure, ‘Vi?’

I met her eyes and, seeing how they glistened, sat down beside her. ‘He’ll be okay, Steph. Zoe will be by his side and they’re a great team. They’ll have each other’s backs and they’ll be on high ground.’

She nodded, a tear slipping down her cheek. ‘I know. It’s just … it feels like I’m so close to happiness and everything I’ve ever wanted. I’m scared.’

I pulled her towards me, my arms encircling her protectively. ‘Me too,’ I told her, holding tightly until finally Steph sniffed and said, ‘And he looks so damn delicious in a tuxedo.’

Relieved to hear the
familiar sass in her voice I grinned and sat back. ‘More importantly, tell me about
your
dress.’

‘Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.’

Abraham Lincoln

a
part from a moderate storm pattern, the weather stations showed no hint of the impending natural disaster – evidence that Sammael wanted to keep his intentions hidden from both humans and exiles. When the hurricane hit, no one would be ready and despite our attempts to notify the right people and arrange an evacuation of the city, we were getting nowhere fast.

‘We have no proof,’ the conductors pointed out again. ‘We have people in power but they cannot arrange for an entire city to be cleared on no notice with no verification. And on top of that, we’re out of time.’

I glared at the
Grigori pair, hating how they appeared so unaffected, but Lincoln listened calmly and sent them on their way. When he looked at me and registered my frustration he simply said: ‘We pick our battles. It’s a conductor’s job to look at it objectively. Our best hope is to concentrate the official resources we
can
draw on to evacuate as many of the surrounding suburbs as we can. Within the city now, people’s best chance for survival will be to stay in their homes.’

I dropped into the chair beside him. ‘I’m scared,’ I whispered in a rare admission.

‘I know.’ He turned and knelt beside my chair, his hand going to my face. ‘I wish you could see what I see when I look at you. The warrior you have grown into. How strong you are both inside and out.’ The corner of his mouth lifted. ‘How beautiful.’

‘I don’t know that beauty is going to help us here,’ I said, even though the compliment sure hadn’t hurt.

‘I don’t just see the beauty on the outside, Vi. I see all of you, and you’re luminous.’

Before I could respond, Zoe barrelled into the room. ‘Linc, we’re running out of room up there!’

We both stood. ‘What do you mean?’ I asked.

She huffed, out of breath but with a tinge of excitement in her eyes. ‘Come and take a look for yourself,’ she said, turning tail and heading for the upper deck.

With a quick glance at one another – part intrigue and part disappointment that our brief moment together had been so, well, brief – we followed.

The sight that met us was staggering. Hundreds upon hundreds of Grigori covered the large deck of the navy vessel. Steph stood on a podium flanked by navy guys who looked more miffed than anyone else as she called out orders, sending Grigori this way and that as she, along with Gray and the conductors, allocated newcomers to groups.

Lincoln and I stood, holding hands in the midst of the chaos. ‘How many?’ I asked Zoe, who was looking around wildly.

‘Almost two
thousand, last I heard,’ she said, before darting off.

‘Look,’ Lincoln said, pointing to the helipad, where a Black Hawk chopper had just touched down and Josephine, followed by Drenson, Adele, Seth, Decima, Hakon and Valerie were offloading. I beamed when I saw the last person to step off the helicopter. He had the same dusty brown hair, though for the first time it looked in need of a trim, and was wearing one of his usual navy button-down shirts and tidy black pants, which, despite his recent travels, looked freshly pressed. But, as always, it was his light grey eyes that drew me in and had me exhaling with relief to see him.

Griffin.

The Assembly members moved right into the fray, a number of senior Grigori quickly closing ranks around them, and I knew it wouldn’t take long for Josephine to assume control. The question was: would that be the best thing?

Lincoln started to walk in their direction, but instead of following him I felt a pull behind me and I turned to look back over my shoulder. Phoenix stood at the bow of the vessel, hands in his pockets, looking out to the river as the sun highlighted the streaks of silver and opal in his hair. I was overcome by his loneliness. Phoenix’s shoulders stiffened and I knew he had sensed me, but he didn’t turn.

Lincoln gently took my arm, pulling me back in his direction. ‘You can’t give him what he wants, Vi, but that doesn’t mean you’re to blame for his sadness.’

I bit my lip and nodded. ‘I know,’ I said.

But I wasn’t sure I did. I wanted peace for him. Desperately.

We made our way
towards the Assembly. Josephine spotted us first. Her eyes went straight to our joined hands, and for a brief second it actually looked like she smiled.

Probably a muscle spasm.

‘I see most of the troops have arrived,’ she said, looking around.

I ignored her and threw my arms around Griffin, who pulled me tight. ‘She’s awake,’ he whispered in my ear.

I pulled back, my stomach twisting with the news that Nyla was back.

Griffin braced my shoulders. ‘She’s still adjusting and hasn’t said much yet.’

I nodded.

‘But she asked me to give you a message,’ Griffin said, and my heart missed a beat as I waited nervously to hear that she hated me for bringing her back. ‘She said to tell you that the bond was worth it.’ Griffin gave a quick nod to Lincoln before looking back at me. ‘But it seems you’ve already figured that out.’

I nodded, my breath leaving me in a hurry.

Griffin’s eyes softened and he smiled crookedly. ‘And she said to tell you: thank you.’

I bit down on the inside of my cheeks trying to halt the tears, but then Drenson spoke and that worked even better.

‘I can’t believe we’ve lowered ourselves to this level,’ he said, looking at the large group of Rogues to his right and then settling his unfriendly gaze on me. ‘Though I suppose once you start letting in the trash, more inevitably follows.’

‘Feel free to leave,’ I hissed, taking a threatening step in his direction.

Drenson’s eyes
narrowed, moving beyond me to Lincoln. I didn’t need the bond to know Lincoln would be showing nothing but complete support for me. Drenson’s ever-quiet partner, Adele, took a step closer to him. I couldn’t help but wonder if it was a display of support or because of a fear that he might try to challenge us. Individually Lincoln and I were powerful. But together …

Josephine, no doubt sensing the building tension, raised her hands in a placating gesture. ‘Rainer and Wilhelm have remained behind to run the Academy and tend to Nyla. You’ve called for the full resources of the Academy and Grigori from all corners of the globe, and you have been answered. More would have come if not for the flow-on effect that the exile tournaments have left in their wake,’ Josephine explained.

‘We appreciate you mobilising so much support on short notice,’ Lincoln said.

‘And now that you have us all here, I wonder, do you have any idea what you are doing?’ Drenson asked, his tone mocking.

As his voice had risen, the entire deck had quietened and were now listening in.

‘We are doing everything we can to stop Sammael and help the people of New Orleans,’ Lincoln said levelly.

‘And you expect us to what? Put our trust in her?’ he spat, pointing at me. ‘A child who has shown time and time again that she has no place among us?’

‘If you are very lucky,’ Lincoln responded, his voice low and flat. ‘What is it that bothers you, Drenson? That she is powerful, or that she is more powerful than you could ever hope to be?’

And that is how to
make an entire navy Destroyer able-to-hear-a-pin-drop silent.

‘I’ll remind you who you are talking to,’ Drenson ground out, his face red with fury, and possibly embarrassment as he regarded Lincoln as if
really
seeing him for the first time.

Lincoln simply delivered a blank look. ‘I’m fully aware of who you are.’ He waited a beat before adding, ‘And who
we
are.’

This reply only served to further Drenson’s rage but before he could carry on with his attack, I spoke up.

‘I can assure you, Drenson, that
we
know what we are doing,’ I said, feeling the eyes of an army at my back. ‘Perhaps after this is all over – if we survive – it will be
me
who will have the pleasure of returning that question to you.’

Drenson bristled and Josephine surprised me by calmly smiling. ‘And as interesting as that promises to be, let’s settle for focusing on the problem at hand, for now. I’ve read through your battle plans,’ she said, addressing Lincoln. ‘As per your request all Grigori have been given the option to stay or go – no surprises, they have all chosen to stay and fight.’

I couldn’t hide my surprise.

‘Try to remember, Violet, that every Grigori has a purpose. It appears you have finally accepted yours, just as all the Grigori who surround you have previously accepted theirs.’ She turned her attention to Lincoln while I absorbed the truth in her words and felt rightly chastised. ‘You have your forces divided into five teams. I see you have left the nomination of leaders blank. Do you have a proposal?’

‘You’re not going to appoint them?’ Lincoln asked, warily.

Josephine smiled
while Drenson sneered. ‘This is still your mission.’

Lincoln looked at me.

Hell.

I shrugged, passing it straight back to him. This was definitely his department.

He turned back to the Assembly and stepped up onto a nearby platform looking out over the two-thousand-strong army.

‘Team one,’ he called out loudly enough for the Grigori to hear him clearly. ‘You are all glamour users and will be led by the conductors to keep our battle from human eyes. You will remain elevated where you can, and be armed accordingly. It will be impossible to contain everything, but the conductors will instruct you on the priorities. They will be waiting for you in the eating hall below deck after this.’