Pure Healing (25 page)

She met his eyes and said sincerely, “I had a really great time. You’re a brilliant researcher and teacher.”
Ere smiled a little at her compliment. “Is that all I am to you?”
She blinked a few times and felt a flush working its way up her neck, but she refused to let the acceleration in her heartbeat fluster her like it did before.
“I’d like to think you’re my friend,” she responded, holding his penetrating gaze. “I like you very much.”
Astonishingly, it was Ere who took a slight step back. He looked away briefly, then returned to her with a different smile, a darker, almost ironic smile.
“I like you too, Sophia. Very much.” He started to say something else, but then seemed to change his mind, shaking his head a little.
“Come, I’ll retrieve your coat and walk you out. May I see you home?”
“No thanks,” she quickly replied. “A friend is coming to pick me up and, really, it’s just a few blocks away.”
“Ah,” he murmured in the same tone he did before.
She tried not to read too much into that one little word, but she could have sworn he sounded disappointed.
They parted ways at the bottom of the front steps to the brownstone. Before she left, he surprised her by pulling her into a warm hug and brushing his lips lingeringly against her forehead.
“’Til we meet again,” he said softly.
“I’ll see you in class next Thursday, right?” Sophia couldn’t keep the eagerness out of her voice. Four whole days seemed like an eternity before she saw him again.
“Of course, my lovely Sophia.”
He released her reluctantly from his embrace and sent her on her way, standing in place and watching her round the corner of the block until she was completely out of sight.
*** *** *** ***
“Whoa, girlfriend, where are you storming off to in such a rage?” Aella asked, jerking Sophia to a stop with a restraining hand on the young queen’s arm.
“He’s impossible!” Sophia practically yelled, snatching her arm back with a furious tug.
Looking beyond her to the Paladin, who followed Sophia into the Shield a few steps behind, Aella could only assume that he was the target of the queen’s anger.
“Care to explain, Dalair?” Aella asked with a cocked eyebrow and faintly amused expression. It had become an increasing occurrence over the last couple of years that Sophia was in one snit or another with this particular Elite guard.
“I am merely taking precautions,” the Paladin said grimly, stopping in his approach a few feet away from them, as if purposely keeping himself out of Sophia’s kicking and spitting range.
“How many times do I have to tell you that there’s nothing wrong with Ere!” Sophia thundered, throwing up her hands. “He’s human, not vampire. You saw yourself that he was perfectly normal during the day. Yeah he’s a little pale, but give the guy a break! He lives in a basement!
And
, I felt no ill intentions from him. I’m not so taken in by his pretty face to forsake my own safety for Goddess sake. In fact, I think he might have a Pure soul. I definitely sense something special in him.”
“Are you sure you are not influenced by hormonal imbalances?” Dalair responded calmly. “I can smell the onset of your monthly cycle.”
“Oh, you did not just say that,” Aella muttered under her breath, then extended an arm reflexively to hold Sophia back as the queen launched herself toward Dalair with a snarl.
Dalair watched Sophia struggle against the Amazon’s hold energetically but futilely with the same calm expression. Finally, Sophia wore herself out and shoved Aella’s restraining arm away.
Huffing with her efforts, she speared Dalair with a ferocious glare and ground out, “I really hate you.”
With that, she spun on her heel and marched away, presumably to her quarters.
Aella shook her head at the Paladin and tsked, “You have such a smooth way with the ladies, Dalair.”
His determined expression did not change. “Every instinct tells me that something about this
Ere
is off. If he’s innocent and legitimate, a thorough background check can’t hurt him. I don’t see why the queen takes umbrage to mere precautions.”
“Are you serious?” Aella snorted. “You didn’t strike me as slow-witted before, my friend.”
Finally, a small frown creased the warrior’s brows. Aella didn’t know whether he frowned at her insult or because he still didn’t realize what he’d done or said wrong.
With a sigh, she threw an arm around his shoulder. “Come on, old friend, you need some rest. Everything will become clearer in the morning. I’ll stay with Sophia tonight – there’s no hunt, as we’re expecting Ayelet and cohort to return from China early tomorrow and we’ll have a group get together after breakfast.”
Together they began to walk to the private quarters. “You do what you need to do, Dalair,” Aella continued, “but don’t throw it in Sophia’s face. And if I were you, I’d keep my distance from our vigorous little queen for a while, at least until she’s no longer shooting daggers and spitting nails at you.”
When Dalair was about to object, Aella squeezed his shoulder and silenced him. “Xandros will be fully recovered in a couple more days and Valerius will be back as well. If they were successful in China, we’ll be welcoming a new Elite warrior into our midst. So you can rotate out of Sophia’s protection for a while. I think it will do both of you good.”
Some fight went out of Dalair at that. Aella was right. Somehow he couldn’t help rubbing Sophia the wrong way no matter how hard he tried not to. He sensed a certain irrationality in his own actions when he spent too much time with her, as if her nearness caused his reason and sense to take flight. He felt irritable, angry, and scared when she was with Ere.
Dalair knew that feeling well, though he’d not encountered it since his human life. He cringed to put a name to the emotion, but he knew full well what it was:
Jealousy.

The whispered explicative from the tall, goldenhaired, voluptuous beauty drew Cloud’s gaze directly to hers.

Within minutes of their arrival to the Shield, he was formally introduced to the Royal Zodiac by Ayelet as they gathered together in the throne room.

Cloud did not know any of the new faces, nor did he recognize their souls. Perhaps even in his past lives he had not ever encountered them. But as he stared into the light violet eyes of the female warrior before him, he felt a pang of…

Unease was not the right word. Recognition was too strong.
Awareness.
It was awareness. As if every nerve in his body sprang to attention. Disorientingly so, Cloud realized.
Beside the blonde, the young Pure Queen, Sophia, put her shared consternation and excitement into more coherent words.
“You look just like one of the characters from Dynasty Warrior, my favorite video game,” she said breathlessly. “Except you’re
waaay
cooler.”
And
waaay
yummier, Aella thought to herself. Goddess help her, but she wouldn’t be surprised if she was actually drooling onto the expensive Italian marble floor.
Maybe it was the glorious contrast of the male’s Asian and Western features. The shape of his eyes was distinctly oriental, long and tilted down at the inner corners, tilted up at the outer corners, reminding her of wolf’s eyes. The slash of his black brows and long black hair, pulled back with a wide metallic band at his nape with a matching band around his forehead to keep the shorter tufts from his face, looked thick and silky, and she itched to run her fingers through the waist-length mane. His jaw and chin too were more Asian than Western, acutely angular, smooth and stubble-less.
But then there were the piercing, mesmerizing ice blue eyes, framed by spiky, thick black lashes, which again reminded Aella of the Montana Gray Wolf. His nose was long and narrow, his cheekbones sharp and high. His lower lip was fuller than the upper and the way he held his mouth made her want to take a bite out of him. His bone structure and musculature reminded her more of the Italian, Spanish or Greek, with broad shoulders and very narrow hips. And from what she could tell without circling him like a lioness around her prey, he was in possession of a very fine backside.
She wondered if his golden skin was smooth and stubble-less all over.
Aella roused from her X-rated mental exploration of the warrior’s body at the sound of throat clearing beside her.
“Aella,” Sophia whispered loudly, elbowing her in the ribs, “you’re ogling our new recruit and you’ve ignored the introduction.”
Blinking rapidly to clear the unclothed fantasy version of the warrior from her mind’s eye, she snapped to attention and quickly replaced her dumbstruck expression with a self-confident, inviting smile.
“An honor,” she said and returned the warrior’s formal bow, albeit a few beats delayed. Her eyes fairly sparkled with amusement and pleasure as she raised her eyes again to meet his.
Cloud was stunned by the sudden transformation in Aella’s countenance. He didn’t know which of her expressions made him feel more uncomfortable, the one where she looked at him like he was a succulent meal after years of starvation or the one she was giving him now, as if she had already tasted every inch of him and was insatiable for more.
He should have remained in the remote mountain villages of Yunnan, he thought belatedly, where the only creature who saw him on a regular basis was his devoted steed. Unfortunately, he had to leave his peace and tranquility behind to take his place as one of the Elite. At least his equestrian companion would follow him to the Shield at a later date – when Tristan completed the underground stables to accommodate their four-legged member.
He didn’t mean to do it, but as if Cloud’s mind was erecting protective barriers, he tried to push blankness into Aella’s consciousness, or at least tone down whatever emotion or fantasy that was making her look at him as if he stood naked and vulnerable before her.
He was stunned, however, by the backlash that resulted from his action. His head jerked slightly back as if he’d received a physical blow. For the first time since he’d come into his Gift, he could not push his will onto another person.
Aella frowned a little and absently rubbed her temple as she felt a sharp but brief sting. It had come and gone so quickly it was as though she’d imagined it. Mentally shrugging, she focused back on the warrior as he turned to greet Orion and Eveline. Remotely, she heard that they had bestowed upon him the formal Elite title of “the Valiant.”
It intrigued her, for every title, besides being indicative of an inner circle member’s role, had a history behind it, as well as an omen for the future. Cloud Drako must have been spectacularly courageous in his past lives to earn such a moniker.
“Now to business,” Alexandros announced when the introductions were complete. “We called you back because the situation has grown dire. As you all know, we have reason to believe that there is a new way of making vampires, and that whoever is behind it is targeting warrior-class Pure Ones to turn. Moreover, he or she is old and powerful enough to control these newly created vampire assassins, who are targeting the Royal Zodiac purposefully. To what end, we have yet to determine. Regardless, we must stop them before they progress further.”
He looked to Tristan, who nodded and stepped forth, drawing everyone’s attention. “What you don’t know is that we recently received a projection from Seth.”
This news drew a few gasps from the Dozen. That they received word from Seth meant that he was still alive; that he sent a projection meant that he was strong enough to use his Gift, part of which entailed the ability to project his image and voice across time and space to any person or location of his choosing.
“He assured us that he was safe and strong, though he did not reveal his mission or location. He warned us about the vampire assassins and confirmed that, at the very least, Jade is not behind the plot against us. Based on Seth’s knowledge, we must assume that Leonidas is lost to us. If he is not dead, then he has been turned assassin.”
Tristan let the group absorb the implications of his words.
Alexandros looked away, clenching his fists in fury and frustration. Though he’d already witnessed Seth’s projection, and he’d privately feared that the worst had happened to his comrade, he felt the pain of loss most acutely for he saw it as his own failure that Leonidas had been taken from them.
“To prepare for the battles to come,” Tristan continued grimly, “Alexandros will train each of us, including the Circlet, in the best ways to combat the Sentinel. If he has indeed been turned, the threat to all of us has increased tenfold. He knows our fighting styles, our strengths and weaknesses. He could be training vampire assassins as we speak.”
“Except Cloud,” Ayelet interjected. “He does not know Cloud.”
“Exactly,” Aella responded. “Drako is our edge.” She locked eyes with the warrior in question and felt strangely reassured in the calm, quiet strength of the new recruit. In his presence, she felt as if everything will turn out as the Goddess willed, and that Her will would include their triumph.
When she looked back to the rest of the group, the sense of peace abruptly lifted, and she narrowed her eyes. “However, I wouldn’t be surprised if they’ve studied him thoroughly as they’ve undoubtedly studied all the others. We have a lot to catch up on. We’ve started to compile all the profiles of known warrior-class Pure Ones across the world, based on Ayelet’s work. We need to familiarize ourselves with their history, training, weapons and techniques. There’s no telling which ones have been turned and we need to prepare ourselves for all possibilities.”
“My Queen,” Dalair said, addressing Sophia, who caught the force of his solemn gaze like a startled rabbit before a feline predator, “we need you to harness the full power of your Gift to start identifying and narrowing down Pure souls among the humans, especially those on the cusp of their Awakening. This is another advantage we have over our unseen foes. They can only target the known existing Pure Ones, but we can double our efforts to educate, recruit and train new members. In so doing, we can stay one step ahead of our enemy.”
Sophia almost clicked her heels together and saluted the Paladin, feeling like a stripling soldier receiving a crucial responsibility from her Commander, but she settled for a swallow and a nod. She just hoped she wouldn’t let him, all of them, down.
“Trouble is brewing at an accelerated pace,” Aella said and looked at the Scribe and Seer each in turn. “Not only do we have Seth’s warning, the Zodiac Scrolls and Prophesies have also confirmed an imminent battle that will be critical in deciding our future course. All of us need to undergo intensive combat training, especially Sophia and the Circlet. We need to quickly determine your natural abilities and match you with appropriate weapons.”
She regarded the Protector. “Valerius, you are best suited to train the Elite. You are the strongest among us.”
Next she turned to the General. “Alexandros, you will train and educate everyone on Leonidas’ fighting style and how he thinks strategically so that we can anticipate his moves.”
Finally, she looked to the Paladin. “Dalair, you will train the Circlet and Sophia on basic attack maneuvers and self-defense, leveraging each person’s Gift to the extent possible. Though our non-combat members are not easy prey by any means, as Orion and Eveline have demonstrated on their recent trip, we need to up the ante several notches. If there is an all-out battle, no one will be a liability; no one will be left behind.”
“Should I take leave from school?” Sophia asked. Given the urgency of the situation, she thought that might be the best course of action.
“No,” Aella responded firmly. “We must not signal to our enemies that we’ve caught their scent. Thus far, they’ve been bringing the fight to us, and now it’s our turn to turn defense into offense. But we must maintain the element of surprise. My sense is that they are getting too sure of themselves, too cocky, despite their failed assassination attempts. It’s almost as if they’re toying with us, testing our strengths and weaknesses. We should keep up all appearances that we are none the wiser.”
“Besides,” the Amazon said after a thoughtful pause, “your classes are during the day, when vampires are not active. The risk is relatively low.”
Dalair shot the Strategist a skeptical look, silently disagreeing with her assessment of the level of threat to Sophia. Aella looked calmly and meaningfully back at him.
It was then that he realized that Aella had lied.
The risk to Sophia’s safety was not low. In fact, Aella was counting on a move against the Queen. She was to be bait.
When Dalair shifted his body aggressively, on the verge of calling Aella out for his suspicions, the Amazon slowly shook her head at him. She promised with her eyes that she would explain her reasons.
Offline. In private.
Thus agreed, the Dozen separated into smaller groups to hash out details, schedules and strategies.
Before Dalair could corner her, Aella grabbed hold of Valerius and pulled him to a side corridor.
“How are you feeling?” she asked the Protector with some concern, “I named you as the intensive combat trainer for the Elite because you’re the best candidate for the job, but I can easily sign up one of the others for it, maybe even Cloud if he’s as good as he’s reputed to be.”
Valerius frowned. “You doubt my abilities?”
Aella did her non-rolling-eyes maneuver and speared him with a “don’t be obtuse” look. “I just said you’re the best candidate, didn’t I? But let’s be honest with each other, Val. A, you’re not looking your best right now – I expected you to exhibit signs of decreasing strength as the Phoenix Cycle progressed, but you’re looking worse for wear. And B, you have a more important duty to fulfill to the Healer until the Cycle is complete. She needs to be one hundred percent as soon as possible. Before this battle is over, there will be many casualties, and it’s only the beginning, I feel. There will be many more battles to come before we win the war.”
Valerius clenched his jaw and looked away.
Aella spoke the truth, and he was well aware of his body’s limitations. Training the Elite would take a heavy toll on his already depleted strength.
Meanwhile, he still had his duties as Consort to fulfill. Both roles were crucial to their survival, but he knew without deliberating which responsibility he needed to prioritize.
“Cloud and I can share the task of training the Elite,” he finally responded. “And yes, from what little I have seen, the Valiant is deserving of his reputation.”
Aella nodded with an assessing gleam in her eyes. “You two bonded over the journey, have you? Interesting.”
Valerius narrowed his eyes. “What is your meaning?”
The Amazon shrugged in answer. “Can’t wait to see for myself whether he’s all he’s cracked up to be.”
Valerius knew that she didn’t say what was really on her mind, but he had no interest in pursuing the topic further. Instead, he took his leave and went in search of Rain.
Since their night in the cavern, he could not escape the notion that she was purposely avoiding him. Though she stayed close to him physically, often taking his arm or curling her body against his during their return journey, she seemed distant emotionally. She seldom met his gaze and often stared into the distance as if lost in thought. It took over two days for them to make all the arrangements and return to the Shield, and during that time, they’d barely exchanged two sentences.
His heart ached.
He knew what it meant to give himself fully to her without expectation of anything in return. He’d anticipated the pain and torment of love unrequited, but he’d underestimated the intensity of his agony and the speed of his Decline. If he sparred with any member of the Elite as he was now, it would only be a matter of time before they knew his condition as well. His distance combat techniques might be able to help conceal his waning strength.
But how would he keep his Decline from Rain herself?
As the Cycle progressed, she became more insistent on probing him with her
zhen
to assess his condition. He knew that she worried constantly about overtaxing him, taking too much Nourishment. He had been able to distract her from a thorough health and energy assessment up to this point, but she was growing increasingly concerned. And the more she attuned herself to his body, the more difficult it became to hide the truth from her.
The good news was that her vitality had returned at a much faster rate than previous Cycles by all accounts. Most of her hair had already turned a rich black at the roots. Only a few streaks of white remained. He needed her to take the rest of his Nourishment and build up a deep reserve for the future.
He needed her to take all of him.
Valerius found the Healer waiting for him before the wall mural in the inner chamber of the Enclosure they shared.
He knew that she was purposefully waiting because she met his eyes with solemnity and determination the moment he walked inside and closed the door behind him.