White Fire: Timewalker Chronicles, Book 5 (14 page)

She couldn’t believe the Itaran female would be evil, not if Ajax had loved her, even in another life. Emma firmly believed that everyone had a soul, and it didn’t matter what body it happened to be born into, what planet it lived on, or in which stretch of time. All of her jumping forward and backward in time had convinced her of that. A soul was truly immortal. You couldn’t kill it, behead it or burn it. And if the ridiculously honor-bound Itaran male trying to follow her had loved this woman, there had to be something redeeming about her.

As much as Emma hated to admit it.

She found the room she was looking for and crept inside, holding the light around her so she remained unseen. Her mother’s Timewalker gift, invisibility, was coming in handy. Now, she just needed to evade Ajax long enough to get that stone. Celestina had asked her to wait to blood the stone and take back her power, but she really didn’t want to wait. It seemed too risky and she felt too vulnerable, too weak.

Get the stone first. Then worry about the details.

Emma made herself as small as possible in a corner and waited for the attendees to file into the room for the next presentation. She shifted on her feet and did her best to remain still when she saw her prey enter the room.

Angeline in the flesh was something to behold, and the men flocked to her like bees to honey. She was dressed in a conservative navy suit with a white blouse and tasteful jewelry. Her fingernails were a mild shade of pink and not overly long. Angeline handled the attention perfectly, smiling just enough to be friendly but not encourage any of the men. She shook hands and settled everyone into seats like the finest hostess, but Emma had to admire her strategy when all the men were seated and she took a seat in the back row, by herself.

Perfect.

It was hard to wait for the speaker’s introduction, harder still to wait for the lights to dim and a video presentation to begin. But Emma waited, and when things got dark and the presentation got loud, she slid into the seat next to Angeline and waited, sure the Immortal would sense her presence, despite her ability to bend light.

The female stiffened in seconds and turned her head to invisible Emma to whisper, “I know you’re there. Who are you? What do you want?”

Emma debated speaking to her here, now, but decided against it. “Meet me in the ladies’ room straight across the hall.”

Angeline nodded and Emma left the room to go wait for her guest.

The bathroom was empty, and Emma stood in the doorway to keep it that way. She only had to turn away one woman with a tall tale of overflowing toilets and a cleaning crew on the way. Too easy.

Two minutes later Angeline approached. She towered over Emma by nearly a foot in her high heels, but Emma didn’t even flinch. “Hello, Angeline.”

“Hello. I’m afraid you have me at a disadvantage.”

“Yes, maybe I do.” Emma held out her hand, but didn’t offer her name as Angeline shook it. “I’m a friend.”

“Shall we?” Angeline preceded Emma into the small ladies’ room and Emma locked the door behind them. Once they faced each other in front of the row of sinks, Angeline put her hands on her hips. “Well? This is your party. What do you want?”

Emma saw no point in beating around the bush. “Ajax came to see you last night.”

Angeline crossed her arms over her chest and Emma continued.

“He gave you something that belongs to me.”

“Finders keepers.”

“No. Not this time.” Emma reached into her purse, very aware of a buildup of psychic power in the room. She had no idea what Angeline’s gifts might be, but she didn’t want to find out, and she really didn’t want to have to burn her to a crisp. But she would… “I know the stone is very rare and powerful, which is why I’ve come to offer you something even better in trade.”

“And what would that be?”

“Another soul stone. One that’s not sealed by my blood.” Emma pulled the black stone out of its hiding place and held it out on her palm in offering. “Even trade. I just want my stone back. And you can have this one.”

Angeline couldn’t hide her surprise, but it was gone in an instant, replaced by a cool mask. “Where did you get that?”

“Ajax cut it from his chest so I’d have something to offer you in trade. He knew what the stone would be worth to you, and knew this one would be even more valuable.” Emma took a step forward and the woman didn’t back away. “Look, Angeline, I know Ajax loved you, which means you must be a decent person. The stone wasn’t his to give you. It’s mine, and now I just need to set things right.”

Angeline studied her but Emma just looked her straight in the eye and waited.

“You’re tiny.”

“Yes.”

“Human?”

“Yes.”

“Timewalker?”

“Yes.”

Angeline tilted her head to the side and her eyes held decades of exhaustion. “Do you intend to battle the Triscani tomorrow night? Will you be there? With Ajax?”

Emma took a deep breath and considered her answer carefully. “I will do whatever I have to do to eliminate the Triscani threat.”

“Show me your Mark.”

Emma didn’t have to do much, just tilt her ankle to the side and point.

“Good enough then. I accept your bargain.” Angeline reached into her own bag and produced a soul stone with the Mark of the Timewalker engraved in its surface. She placed the stone on the countertop and Emma did the same with the one she’d brought to trade.

“What do you know about tomorrow night?”

Angeline picked up Emma’s stone, placed it in Emma’s hand and wrapped Emma’s fingers around it.

“You’re very brave, for a human.”

“Tell me about tomorrow night.”

Angeline took the black stone Ajax had offered her and put it somewhere inside her own bag. “The Triads have been working to stop the portal from opening. They’ve been hunting both Droghan and the Triscani. They don’t want that Gate to open any more than the Itarans do. They have no desire for widespread panic on Earth. They prefer to keep the human population ignorant of the presence.”

“It’s too late for that. The government already has an alien hunting team organized.”

Angeline smiled. “Yes. But it is overseen by one of ours, and we never let them get far.”

“The Triads have control of the military?”

“They have people everywhere. But now, thanks to you, word is getting out to the people. They won’t be able to control eight billion humans.”

“What do you mean, thanks to me?”

“I saw the video of you posted on YouTube. You were confronting three of them. After they shot you, Ajax cut off the first Triscani’s head and then ashed three more. But that wasn’t even the best part.”

“What was the best part? What are you talking about?”

“The best part was watching him, a forbidden son, already black, already lost to the dark, pick up a tiny human female in his arms, cradle her like she was breakable china and vanish into a portal.”

Emma didn’t remember any of that. Why hadn’t she asked Ajax how she’d gotten into her apartment? How he’d found her? She remembered being shot. She remembered the Triscani, but she’d been so freaked out when she woke up to find a Triscani Hunter sitting next to her bed that her brain hadn’t even thought to ask those questions. Ajax had killed to protect her, given up his soul to the dark and turned into one of them to keep her safe. She was speechless, her mind chasing thoughts around inside her head like a puppy chasing its own tale.

“Portland? Two nights ago? I’m positive it was you I saw on the video.” Angeline raised her eyebrows.

“There’s a video?”

Angeline grinned. “Your little encounter went viral. Every conspiracy theorist on the planet has probably seen it by now, and copied it, and reposted it a thousand times faster than the government can take them all down. Everyone on the planet is going to be looking for you and your sword-wielding savior. Everyone. Be careful.”

The ramifications were staggering. “It went viral?”

“Yes. Four million views in twenty-four hours.” Angeline turned to the mirror and applied a muted red shade of lipstick that matched her dark coloring perfectly. “Thank Ajax for me, when you see him.”

“Thank him for what?”

Angeline smacked her lips and finger combed her hair. “He left a beheaded corpse on the ground, and the human authorities got to it first.”

“What does that mean? Why would you thank him for that?”

“Because the Triads will be too busy trying to do damage control to monitor me.” Angeline walked to the door but didn’t leave. Instead she studied Emma for a long minute. Emma felt like she was being weighed and measured, and was found worthy. She was shocked how much the woman’s smile meant to her.

“Thank you, Emma. For the stone.”

“You’re welcome.”

“You’ve done me a huge favor. Having this stone means more to me than you could possibly know. So, I’ll reciprocate. My mother has spies in Droghan’s domain. They’ve reported that he knows the exact location of the rift that will allow all of the Triscani to escape tomorrow.”

“Where? Tell me where.”

“It’s called Carhenge. Google it. Because even though it’s a laughable replica of the original, the goddess is not without a sense of humor, and the site still manages to channel her power.” She opened the door halfway, then sighed. “Damn it, I don’t know why I’m telling you this, but I think you ought to know.”

“What?”

“I offered Ajax my touch and my Mark. He refused, said he wanted someone else, someone who would make him wild. I don’t know if that will matter to you or not, but I just thought you should know.” With that, the woman who would have been Ajax’s Queen left Emma alone with her soul stone and a choice to make.

Blood the stone now, or honor the request of Celestina, the Immortal Seer she’d met once, for two minutes? Blood the stone now and leave, or find Ajax and go back to fight with the others tomorrow night.

She couldn’t hate Angeline. The woman seemed pretty decent. And very freaking tall, so much more suited to royal robes and the enormous male that she should have Marked and claimed as her own.

And yet, even as she thought it, she knew it for a lie. The thought of Ajax with that woman made her blood boil. Which was stupid. Just stupid. He’d broken her heart, smashed it into hundreds of unrecognizable pieces like an elephant stepping on an egg.

Angeline seemed well versed in subterfuge and lies, in hiding her true feelings and doing what it took to survive surrounded by dangerous enemies.

Emma needed to take a page out of her book and do what needed to be done. Ajax might not be her enemy, but he was definitely dangerous to her in a very personal way.

She’d wait to blood the stone. She’d go back with Ajax and tell the others what Angeline had said. And tomorrow night? She’d fry Triscani until she passed out, and hope Nicodemus or one of the others was around to make sure her head remained attached to her shoulders.

Chapter Ten

Five hours of arguing with the Archiver council and Bran was ready to behead the next coward who dared open his mouth. Yes, they’d all been trapped here since the last great battle. Yes, they’d followed that Triscani vessel through a wormhole and ended up trapped over seven hundred years in Earth’s past. Yes, they all wanted this to be over. But there were limits of stupidity he was willing to tolerate, and they’d passed those limits about an hour ago.

“Sitting this one out is not an option.” Bran stood, in his role as Archiver 4, and practically shouted at the other eleven males seated around the table. “We have protected Earth and her people for seven centuries. And let us not forget the reason we jumped through that wormhole in the first place, to protect our own home world. If we don’t join in this battle tomorrow night, the last seven hundred years were in vain.”

Archiver 3, a much older male who looked like a human octogenarian, cleared his throat. “This battle’s outcome is not set. Too much has changed since we followed our enemies through that wormhole. It’s an unnecessary risk to intervene. I won’t do it without Celestina’s guidance. Where is our Seer?”

“I don’t know.” Bran sat down and shook his head in disgust.

“No one seems to.” Archiver 5, a smooth-talking politician and self-absorbed ass spoke up. “We need to take a vote. I can’t condone action without Celestina’s recommendation. We need to wait.”

“What if she doesn’t come back in time to advise us?” Bran stood again. “I have no idea where she is, and neither do any of you. We have to make our own decision. We have to follow our hearts and our consciences. We can’t leave the people of Earth to fend for themselves against the entire Triscani Horde. We might as well just blow up the whole damn planet and save them some misery.”

“Don’t be dramatic, Archiver 4. Should things not go well, we will consult Helene and intervene in the past.”

“No.” Bran flexed his hand on the hilt of his sword. “It is forbidden. And it is the goddess herself who is opening the Gates. It is the goddess who asks us to help reclaim her lost sons. You would deny her?”

“We have your word on that, and no one else’s.”