Tentyrian Legacy (47 page)

I kneeled by his side and put my fingers on
his neck to check for a pulse I believed I wouldn’t find. To my
surprise, I felt one. But it had only minutes left to beat.

“Aman. Aman Raad, can you hear me?” I asked.
“I’ve come to save you and bring you home . . .” I could see his
eyelids quivering, struggling to open. “You don’t have to open your
eyes or say anything. I’m going to get you out of here.”

I was about to start prying the metal off of
him when I heard a gravelly, “No.” The dying man was struggling to
speak through his burned lips. He tried to say more, but I knew
blood was filling his lungs, making it impossible to talk. I
reached inside myself for my faltering energy and managed to grasp
onto some lingering tendrils. Raad was on the threshold of death,
which meant I could communicate with him another way. I placed my
hand on his forehead and pushed my energy out and pulled myself
into his mind.

After the vertigo of entering Raad’s mind
settled, I saw him sitting cross-legged in a white tunic on a
rattan mat. He was in the same white room I experienced in Ari’s
dream state—not surprising considering he taught her to build her
safe space. I sat down across from him, mirroring his position. His
brown eyes were warm and smiling; any surprise at my presence was
absent.

“You are the one that is trying to save me?”
he asked calmly. “Yes, my name is Maximos.”

“You are a soldier?

“Something like that. I am here to protect
Ari. And you.”

“My greatest fear has been realized. They
want to use Ari for her power. I held out for as long as I could,
but I fear they made me speak what I swore I would not.” His face
became sad, shaking his head side to side. His intake of breath in
his dream state was labored.

“I can only imagine what you went through.
Can you tell me what you told them?” I asked.

“They know what she can do. They know she is
special—physiologically and psychically. It’s my fault.”

“They would have found out anyway. Ari is
like me and my people. I will keep her safe.” I tried to assure the
man, in as few words as possible. There was so much I wanted to
tell him, but I could feel his body dying. There was no time.

“How?” he asked, his eyes searching mine.

“Because I’m part of an ancient order that
has sworn to protect humanity and what Ari is.”

“I pray that you can. They are monsters . . .
She is the second love of my life, aside from my wife who I will
see soon . . .” Tears began to fall from Raad’s eyes.

“I can save you if you’ll let me. But it will
require me to turn you into a being that will live forever.”

“A vampire?” he asked. “I saw what those men
were who took me. . .”

“Yes. But you wouldn’t be like that. You
would be like me and Ari. We’re not like them. . .”

“You mean Ari is . . .”

“Yes,” I interrupted urgently. “That is why
she has always been different. We don’t have much time. Your body
is shutting down and your lungs will no longer be able to take in
oxygen. You must decide if you want to see Ari again.”

“I cannot. It was not meant for me to live
forever. I know I was meant to guide Ari into adulthood. I’ve felt
it since the day I met her. But my time is over. I feel it in my
soul. It’s time for me to join Seda.” “Very well.” I bowed my head
in acknowledgment and respect for the man who turned down
immortality because he knew it was not his destiny. Not many would
refuse the gift I offered.

“You will promise to take care of her? And
help her find the love she needs?” His words were heart wrenching.
Like a father pleading for his daughter.

“Always,” I promised. I then saw him close
his eyes and bow his own head in peace. I released the energy
tethering us together and was brought back to the scene of
destruction, which is where I am now.

His pulse under my fingertips is gone. I need
to reach the other Brothers, but I can’t leave Raad’s body to burn
in this forsaken place. He will burn according to Tentyrian custom.
I wrench the metal off the doctor’s broken body and sling him over
my shoulder. My body screams in protest with the searing pain. I
make my way through the broken rock and debris, avoiding the flames
while calling to my men. There is no reply, just eerie silence and
the crackling of flames. In the distance, I can hear the faint
blaring of sirens. I have to evacuate my men before the human
authorities arrive at the site. Judging by the sirens in the
distance, it will be in a matter of minutes.

I see five figures in a V formation coming
toward me with guns pointed. I am unarmed, as my own weapon was
destroyed in the blast. I can’t make out if it is friend or foe
through the heavy smoke. If I have to battle, I know it is possible
it could be my last. I could shift away, but I believe in facing my
enemies and inflicting as much damage as possible before
retreating. So I lay Raad’s body on the ground and prepare to
engage.

But it proves unnecessary. As the five
figures reach me through the hellish fire and choking air straight
out of Dante’s Inferno, I see they are my Brothers.

“Praise Hathor, you’re here, Maximos!” says a
relieved Aristos. “We’ve turned this site upside down looking for
you. Julian said you went off to shift through a separate wing of
the facility. I was afraid we weren’t going to find you—alive. Who
is that poor soul you have there?” Aristos gestures toward Raad’s
broken body.

“Ari’s mentor, Dr. Aman Raad . . . How many
Brothers did we lose?” I ask. The fear and anger I feel for my
endangered men is raging. Proceeding with this mission was my call
and ultimately my failure.

“Two. Connor and Gabriel from Delta. New York
and Texas were rigged to blow and they did along with this one.
Fortunately, overall injuries are minimal thanks to the new armor
that Evander commissioned. Based on the blast pattern here, though,
you were one of the closest to it, Maximos. You’re lucky to be
alive,” says Aristos.

“We have two dead Brothers. The Brotherhood
has taken a grievous hit. There is no luck today,” I reply
solemnly.

“Guys, we need to go,” interrupts Julian, one
of the Brothers on my Phi team. He has a few scratches on his face
but otherwise appears fine. “The humans have arrived.”

“Are there any other survivors?” I ask.

“None of the humans or Subordinates lived.
The rest of the Brothers have been accounted for and are back on
Ambrosine,” he replies.

“Let’s go,” I agree as I pick up Raad’s body
and shift with the Brothers to our island. I will now have to break
the news to Ari . . .

We go straight to the lab area to treat our
wounds. Only ten of us are seriously injured. The rest have
superficial wounds that will heal in a matter of hours. In all, we
utilized forty brothers for the mission and lost two. We now have
three to mourn—Connor, Gabriel, and Raad. I was hoping to talk to
Ari right away, to break the news gently, but she isn’t in the lab
area and I can’t readily remove myself from Shashandra’s
ministrations and Evander’s needle.

The gashes are deep in my back and require
both staples and stitches. I drink six pints of blood to replace
those that I have lost, eagerly sucking on the refrigerated pouches
while Evander mercilessly sterilizes, removes shrapnel, and pieces
my skin together. With Evander’s natural healing energies, the pain
lessens considerably, but it still hurts like a son of a bitch.
Fortunately, I can feel the replenishing blood taking effect. I
will be myself after a long healing sleep.

With bandages in place, I meet the rest of
the Brothers in the conference room for an emergency meeting. I
look around the table, absorbing the hardened looks of my men. But
where is Ryan? His presence and perspective are essential; he was
the lead on ground control.

I take the position at the head of the table.
“All right let’s get started, guys,” I say, calling the attention
of my men. “Ryan I’m sure will grace us with his presence soon.
From what I know, three of the facilities blew up. Two of the
others didn’t. Teams Alpha and Omega, what did you find?”

“Mostly scared humans and dumb Subordinates.
The facilities were used to produce DTPA12 all right. But none of
it was there when we arrived. We found underground tunnels, which
we think were used to transfer out the drug,” says Evander, who led
Omega’s missions on Virginia and later Georgia.

“The Dark Coven knew we were coming,”
interrupts Estaban as he holds an icepack to his temple.

“After we heard teams Beta, Delta, and Phi
were compromised by an explosion, we turned the facilities upside
down looking for bombs,” continues Evander. “With the aid of the
E3500 Chemilux device, we located the explosives in Virginia and
Georgia. Fortunately, they were faulty. They didn’t explode because
the C-4 in them wasn’t connected properly to the wires. A common
mistake among amateurs . . .”

“Well the Dark Coven got the rigging right in
New York, New Jersey, and Texas. And unfortunately Connor and
Gabriel paid for it,” says Dimitri with a clenched fist.

“Every one of those facilities had at least
fifty employees. The Dark Coven has never compromised their own
resources like that before,” comments Aristos through gritted
teeth. “They no longer care about the details. Fortunately, they
missed a few by not blowing up all the buildings as planned. We
were able to retrieve hard drives from Virginia and Georgia that I
am going to start scanning immediately.”

“We’re also going to conduct our own campaign
against the Dark Coven by using the humans,” I command. “I want the
picture we have of Stavros, Aglaia, and Calix leaked to the media.
We are going to target law enforcement and talk to ‘witnesses’ near
the facilities. They are going to finger those three for the
explosions. If we have to use mind control—so be it. I want the
world to know that the Dark Coven is a group of terrorists, and I
want their pictures plastered on the news. We aren’t tiptoeing
around each other anymore.”

“You want us to ‘persuade’ the humans with
mind control?” asks Hale, clearly surprised.

“Yes,” I say, certain. “The stakes are too
high. This is for the good of humanity. We are going to hold the
Dark Coven accountable. They intended to destroy the facilities to
not only kill us but stop the drug production and maintain a tight
grip on the available supply.” “And sell it to the highest bidder
or country,” Philip chimes in.

“Exactly,” I say. “And while the humans won’t
find Stavros, Calix, and Aglaia, the message to the Dark Coven will
be loud and clear. The world is turning against them. We are also
going to start a smear campaign against DTPA12. I want people at
the FDA and the general public to believe it’s unsafe. Whether it
is or it isn’t, it doesn’t matter. If we take away the demand, the
supply they are coveting will be rendered useless.” While I avoid
using mind control on humans at all costs—an example I expect my
men to follow—desperate times call for desperate measures.

“But Maximos, what about the why behind
DTPA12? Let’s address the elephant in the room that implies the
Dark Coven is going to be launching some type of radiological
attack that involves nuclear weapons or dirty bombs,” says Estaban.
He is right, but there is nothing else to do. “I understand your
point, Estaban, but we can’t address it if we don’t know where they
are or how to get to the Dark Coven. Right now these are your
orders. And let’s pray we find something on those hard drives.” At
that moment, Ryan enters the conference area and strides to my
side.

His jaw is clenched.

“Arianna isn’t here, Maximos,” he says.

“What do you mean she isn’t here? This is an
island. There is nowhere for her to go.”

“I searched everywhere while you were in the
infirmary. I found your phone opened up to this e-mail.” Ryan then
tosses me the phone, and I see the message that makes my stomach
drop.

“She could only go if she could shift . . .
and she doesn’t know how to do that. It takes years to develop that
skill,” I say.

“Maybe she figured it out. Unless she decided
to jump in the ocean, she is not in the house or on the island . .
.” replies Ryan.

I drag my fingers through my hair. Holy shit.
Arianna is walking or has already walked right into Stavros’ hands.
The address in the e-mail is likely a false one. They’ll lure her
there and soon move her.

Fortunately, we have one advantage—the
necklace. It is now our only hope.

2010 AD, July

New York, New York

The terminal clock reads 2:00 p.m. in New
York. As expected, no one gave me a second glance when I shifted
into Grand Central’s cavernous concourse under the astronomical
turquoise ceiling. Raad had once explained to me that the sky is
actually painted backwards, hypothesized to be based off of an old
medieval manuscript. Some say it was an intentional decision and
reflected “God’s view.” While the constellations may be backwards,
I find they’ve taken on a new meaning for me, as I briefly glance
up at their beauty in my rush to the taxi line. The stars are
linked to Tentyrian history—hence they are linked to me. The Leo
constellation is up there somewhere. And that gives me comfort to
know some indirect part of Maximos is looking down on me.