Gates of Rapture (The Guardians of Ascension) (47 page)

“Yes, absolutely.”

James drew a deep breath. “That’s because you’re not officially ascending to Third Earth.”

At that, Leto turned and met Grace’s gaze. She saw relief in his eyes. They had both been worried about what would happen if he actually did ascend to Third.

James smiled as Leto turned back to him. “There will be no disruption of your
breh-hedden
, you may trust me in this. Sixth wouldn’t have allowed it. But I digress. There is a specific purpose in your ascension. We need you to take over my role as the gatekeeper of Third Earth. My duties call me elsewhere, and I’m not allowed to make war in your dimension, to use force to protect the gate. And we feel it’s necessary for the securing of peace on Second Earth that a warrior be stationed at this critical gateway.”

This pronouncement brought a hum through the group. Grace had no idea what Leto would do as a gatekeeper or why it was necessary at all.

Endelle stepped forward. “I don’t understand, Shorty. I thought Alison would be opening the portal and we’d have access to Third Earth society, customs, even their wisdom and knowledge.”

“You should know by now that nothing in the ascended world is simple. One day I’m sure that the sharing of cultures will happen and that this will be true among all six dimensions. But right now we have to deal with a situation that Greaves has caused. It needs to be locked down before we can go further.”

“What situation with Greaves?” Endelle asked, her voice sharp.

“The commander created an invisible breach in the portal to Third that has allowed him to bring Third Earth death vampires through at will
and
without you or your warriors aware of what he’s been doing.”

Endelle frowned. “Somehow I thought Greaves had found a way to create those vampires himself, making his usual squads bigger and better. It never occurred to me that they really were from Third Earth. Not that I could have done anything about it had I known.”

“Exactly. Their origin would have changed nothing. But the real danger is simple: Greaves is ready to bring a hundred such vampires through the breach in the portal as soon as he engages you in what we believe will be the forthcoming battle over White Lake. Not even you could have fought a contingent of that size; they would have decimated your Warriors of the Blood. You would have lost the war that fast.”

This brought a number of heated expletives from all the warriors against Greaves and his machinations.

But it was Leto who asked the next logical question. “So are you saying that by opening the portal and sealing the breach, we end the possibility of Greaves sneaking these bastards through during a battle against him?”

“Precisely. The portal will once again be secured—but it will need to be guarded by a warrior. May I ask if you are willing to accept the assignment?”

“There is no question. Of course, I accept. But what will it entail? Will I reside on Third?”

“No, on Second, but the ascension that I initiate here today will give you a permanent mind-link with the portal. You will be alerted when anyone approaches, no matter which dimension, and because of the demand inherent in the mind-link, you will need to respond to each approach. Are you willing to engage in a mind-link of this sort?”

Grace felt the sudden tension in Leto’s thighs, back, and neck. She understood his reaction. He had served as a spy for a century, always at Greaves’s beck and call as well as James’s. Now he would be bound, or so it would seem, to the portal, with no real guarantee how easy or how pressing that duty would be.

But she also knew Leto’s character, the essential element of his warrior’s soul. Above all things, Leto was a man of duty, something he would always do and something she treasured about him. She was not surprised when the tension eased from the same parts of his body and he said, “I am willing.”

James smiled and even approached Leto to reach up and clap him on the shoulder. James couldn’t have been more than five-eight, so he had a ways to reach. “Good man,” he said quietly. “And I’ll always be there, Leto, to be of service to you. This isn’t a duty we would expect you to perform without our being available to you at will.”

“I’m grateful for that,” Leto said.

James stepped back to his original position and added, “There is an observation deck as well as living quarters at the portal, which you will have access to at any time.” His expression softened. “I confess that when certain political situations on Sixth Earth became
irritating,
I would stay in the portal suite for weeks at a time, at least until my temper cooled. But you will see the situation for yourself before the morning is out. Or you can ask Casimir. He has been staying there while he served as your guardian. And of course Grace can accompany you whenever you wish as well. Does all of this sound acceptable to you?”

Leto nodded.

Grace released a deep breath. Leto could remain on Second Earth and as needed she could travel to the portal with him. She had been uneasy from the time that Casimir had shown up and made it clear he was serving as Leto’s guardian.

James made the rest of the ceremony very simple. He offered a brief prayer to the Creator, wishing many blessings for Leto in the coming decades. He then placed his hands on the sides of Leto’s head and essentially installed the mind-link.

*   *   *

Leto felt the weight of his new responsibility, but for some reason he didn’t feel burdened as he had in times past. Instead, something inside him now rose to the challenge. He glanced at Grace and smiled. She had done this for him, her acceptance of him and her belief in him. Her love had made all things possible.

James ended the ceremony by extending his arms into the air to encompass everyone in the room. “And may the Creator grant each of you strength in the coming hours to fulfill each given destiny. So be it.”

“So be it” passed around the group, and a moment of silence rested upon the rotunda.

After at least a minute had passed, Endelle asked James what was next on the agenda.

James went straight to Alison and took her hands. “The time has come to open the portal to Third.”

Leto glanced at the woman he had fought in the Tolleson Two arena. And now both of them had a connection to the portal.

“With Stannett out of the way,” Endelle began, “we have a slight advantage in the future streams. I want to see a block set up, on Alison’s behalf, so that as much of the opening of the portal as possible will be kept shielded from Greaves. We know that he’s had some of the best Seers in the world under his command. I don’t want to assume that just because Stannett is gone, we’re home free.”

“Agreed,” Thorne added. He glanced his
breh
.

Marguerite smiled. “I’ll get on it.” She reached within her flight suit pocket and withdrew her phone. Leto heard her make the arrangements with her Seer teams.

Everything seemed to be coming together, except for one small thing. Leto felt sure that Greaves had something else up his sleeve, something unexpected that could still turn the tide of war against Endelle. However, he kept that suspicion to himself. Even if it was true, what could anyone do about it at this late hour?

He turned to James. “So what’s our timing here? Do you know?”

James smiled. “You’ll leave for White Lake in fifteen minutes.” His gaze slid over the group. “Warriors will want to change into flight battle gear. Obsidian flame will serve in support of Alison.” He turned to Thorne. “You’ll want to have Colonel Seriffe shut down all the hotels and gardens for the morning. Declare a state of emergency.”

Thorne immediately whipped his phone from his tunic pocket. Turning away from the group, he let Seriffe know what was happening.

To Endelle, James said, “I’m not allowed to be present, but I will be watching.”

*   *   *

Endelle retired to her sitting room for a few minutes just to gather her thoughts, even to savor what was happening. My God, it looked like everything was all but settled, or would be within the next few hours, especially since Greaves would be denied his Third Earth death vampires.

After all these centuries, everything was moving so fast and at each step along the way, over the past few days, Greaves has steadily lost ground. Half his army was gone, and he’d failed to destroy either the colonies or obsidian flame. With the breach repaired, he would lose another part of his strategy as well.

Yet even as she wanted to exult in this turn of events, this narrowing down of Greaves’s chances to actually win this war, she couldn’t. The bastard had never fought fair, not one day of his fucking ambitious life. What if he’d saved his best for last, something unknown and therefore unpredicted.

Still, her adrenaline was flowing.

The end truly was near—or at the very least a major battle that would change the face of things on Second Earth.

She heard the door to her suite close.

She turned and there was Braulio, the vampire who had been her lover a few millennia ago, who had served once as the leader of the Warriors of the Blood and who had supposedly died in her arms but magically returned to chap her ass over the past few months. He was somehow connected with James in this whole mess with Greaves and more than once had tormented her by sinking his tongue into her mouth, which made her want him to sink other things as well.

He wore a dark blue silk shirt and tailored slacks. His belt had a silver buckle with a scorpion detail.

She smiled. An homage, no doubt. She rose to her feet.

He moved toward her, looking her up and down. “I thought you’d be wearing squid tentacles or clamshells today.”

“Sorry to disappoint.”

His smile was crooked and all male. “A snug black-leather flight suit becomes you.”

She reached up and touched the scars at the back of her neck. She saw his gaze follow the movement, and she got a sick-gut feeling. “Aw shit,” she said. “You’re here to tell me what you did to me.”

He nodded. “It’s time. Like everything else right now.”

He moved in close and slid a hand up and down her arm. “First, I want you to know that I’m sorry that I did this against your will. I hated doing it, but I was under orders. And in this case I actually agreed with the decision because I believe it will save your life.”

“Ominous.”

“It is.” He’d never looked more serious, which increased her uneasiness.

“Spill it, asshole. The suspense is killing me.”

“A lot of nasty shit has come out of Third Earth, including experiments with viruses built just for vampires. Greaves has that virus living in him. And now you do as well.”

She thought for a minute. “Are you saying you put a virus in me?”

He nodded. His eyes narrowed, but he didn’t add to his announcement.

Then she understood. “You gave me the virus by biting deep into my spinal cord.”

“It’s the best delivery method.”

Her breathing shifted, and her face grew hot. She listed on her feet.

He kept her upright, but she pushed him away and sat down again. She rubbed her neck and felt ready to weep like a baby. But something else occurred to her. She snapped her head in his direction.

He moved to sit on the coffee table in front of her and planted his hands on her knees. He met her gaze dead-on.

“If you gave me the virus,” she said, “then you have it, too.”

He nodded.

She sat back in her chair. “Before you tell me what the ramifications of this virus are, I need to know how you got the virus.”

“I volunteered. I wasn’t about to inject you with something that I didn’t understand.”

She put a hand to her chest. What the fuck had he done to himself? To her? And why was it so damn important?

Endelle had lived a long time, but everything that had ever happened to her had been her choice, not forced on her by another ascender. Even becoming the Supreme High Administrator of Second Earth had been an assignment she’d agreed to. Of course Luchianne had put her in a headlock, but still Endelle had said yes.

“So what does this virus do?”

“The upside is that you can shape-shift, or morph if you like, into any biological form you like, you can add appendages, you can change your DNA and grow things like claws.”

“Greaves has a claw he brings out on his left hand.”

Braulio nodded.

“Well, so far so good, but I take it there’s a downside.”

“A big one. Have you ever noticed that Greaves’s left hand is a just a little weak?”

“Yes, I’ve seen that. I figured it had to do with the claw.”

“It does. Changes become permanent.”

Endelle took a long moment to digest this aspect of the virus. She thought of herself, of becoming something different. She also thought of Greaves. “So is he some kind of crab monster because of that claw of his?”

“I don’t know. He may only have experimented with the claw.”

Endelle looked away from his dark blue eyes and the compassion she saw within them.

“Do you have changes that are permanent?”

“I have one.”

“Can I see it?”

“You’ve seen it repeatedly.”

She wrinkled her nose. “Is that a double entendre?” She glanced at his crotch—then her brows rose. “So you can change the DNA, huh?”

He rolled his eyes. “My cock is big enough as it is, as you well know.”

Yeah, she knew, and thoughts of that powerful aspect of his anatomy, despite the dark nature of their present conversation, sent shivers down her neck. “You’re right. You’re plenty big.”

He smiled and looked very male as he nodded.

“So, what’s this other form of yours?”

He didn’t say anything. He just changed.

Her mouth dropped open. “Shorty?”

Light blue eyes twinkled at her.

“Well, I’ll be damned. So you were serious that one time you told me you could be anything I wanted you to be.”

“Pretty much.”

A moment later, James began to disappear, and Braulio re-formed. James was Braulio, and Braulio was James.

“Holy shit. Well, this isn’t so bad. And, hey, Thorne can morph like this.”

“Unfortunately, there’s a big difference,” he said, sitting on the coffee table again. “I have to become James at least once a week to release that part of my altered DNA, or I start to go insane. This is always true, for me and for you. For Greaves as well.”