Duncan considered this. “What does Chustaffus want with Second Earth or Mortal Earth?”
“What do all ambitious men want? To rule, first and foremost. Because other dimensions exist, Chustaffus wants them. But he also wants the resources of your larger populations.”
“For slaves?”
“And to create death vampires to add to his army.”
For the first time since Duncan had been caught in Yolanthe’s trance, he began to see some value in being here. “Chustaffus must have one hell of an organization to be able to do all that he does.” Fishing for info couldn’t hurt.
“He has help.”
“From you?”
She chuckled as she flew. “Unfortunately, though I’ve offered a hundred times to be of assistance, his opinion of women is almost as low your own father’s was. So, you see we do have that in common.
“But he has three of my brothers in tow who do his bidding. Each is working with…” she broke off and stopped midair, flapping her wings slowly and looked directly at Duncan’s voyeur window, meeting his gaze. “So, you’ve grown curious all of a sudden?”
“Of course I’m curious. I can’t agree to your terms unless I know what the hell I’m getting into.” Would she buy it?
“I’m not a stupid as I look.” She tilted her head slowly, her eyes moving about as though considering his words. “No, I don’t think I’ll tell you anything more than that. Just let me show you the world my family controls. When you finally submit to me and become my prince consort, you will in effect enjoy all the honors and riches that fall to me.”
“All right, I confess I’m intrigued.” A total lie, but he wanted to keep her talking.
For the next hour she flew him from continent to continent, zipping often through nether-space while in flight, something most Second Ascenders couldn’t do without causing a severe wing-mangle. But she made the jumps with ease.
Beyond the fires that Chustaffus used to control his portion of the world, climate control was a big part of Third Earth’s overall design. Many equator countries and those in the far north enjoyed Mediterranean like seasons. Poorer regions lived as they’d always lived, at the mercy of the land and the weather.
When she returned to Mexico City Three and drew in her wings, Duncan felt her fatigue. She’d essentially taken him on a quick flight around Third Earth.
“I just have one last question, Yolanthe, something that I’m not getting.”
“Sure, ask anything.”
“Why, me?”
Yolanthe began to pace. She wore her over-dress once more, the skirt gliding in a partial train behind her. He wondered if she did this for effect. Probably. The sense he had of the woman was that she never did anything without a purpose.
Finally, she spoke, “I need to find something or maybe it’s a place. We’re not sure. In our mythology, it’s called Rapture’s Edge and is supposed to contain or provide unlimited power to the one who finds it.”
“And again, what do I have to do with this place?”
“I had a vision that you will one day have the capacity to locate Rapture’s Edge.”
~ ~ ~
Luken folded to the North Africa landing site and faced four powerful Militia Warriors whose job it was to guard the platforms. They had swords in hand and at the ready. No one was taking chances these days.
The men all bore armbands in purple, which the army changed nightly to expose infiltrators. The lead man handed him a band, but Luken smiled, flexing his right arm. “It’ll never fit.”
The warrior chuckled then got on his com to bark orders. A few minutes later, a Militia Warrior came running and when Luken held up his hand, the warrior tossed the larger band to him, grinning.
Luken slid the oversized purple strip of fabric around his upper arm. “Is Commander Thorne in his tent?”
The warrior nodded. “He’s waiting for you.”
Luken began the long, three mile march down the line. Folding wasn’t allowed on site for the same reason they wore armbands. Anyone not wearing the proper color or taking off in flight was instantly brought into custody and interrogated.
A jeep pulled up. “The Commander sent me.”
It was so strange to hear Thorne called ‘The Commander’, because that had been Greaves’s title until Endelle defeated him in battle and exiled him to Fourth Earth. Now Thorne was in charge of the Allied Forces.
The jeep rolled along a solid, paved road, one of many that the construction crew had built and kept repairing and extending. Nothing like solid roads to keep an army running smoothly.
He found Thorne in his tent, bent over a wide, electronic table that showed almost the entire breadth of North Africa Two and the disposition of both armies. Several of his top Militia Warrior Section Leaders were with him.
Luken waited at the entrance to the tent. He felt the tension and understood its source. An assault was in progress.
So, he kept silent. He hadn’t been to Thorne’s tent in a long time. Luken’s duties, until Endelle’s latest orders, had been centered on the action at all five Borderlands around Metro Phoenix Two.
Now he was here.
When the men rose up as one and cheered, Luken smiled and finally stepped forward.
Thorne caught sight of him and turned in his direction. “It’s good to see you. I was hoping to get caught up on palace news.” Thorne’s gravelly voice filled the tent. But he must have sensed Luken’s current state of mind because his expression dimmed. “Shit, what’s going on now?”
Luken glanced back at the men still clustered around the table, then back to Thorne. “We need to talk.”
“All right.”
Thorne led him into the adjoining tent, crossed to a small refrigerator and pulled out a couple of cold Dos Equis. He gestured to the camp chairs and when Luken sat down, Thorne handed him a beer.
Luken thanked him, twisted the cap off and drank. Funny, he hadn’t been wanting a beer yet somehow it hit the spot.
“So, has her Supremeness thrown a tantrum?” He sat down in a chair opposite Luken.
At that, Luken frowned, feeling suddenly sober. “We’ve got a new shitfest, Thorne, and it ain’t good.” Ignoring his own unsettled feelings about the sudden shift in his warrior path, he related all that had happened. It took a few minutes to bring Thorne up to speed.
Thorne sipped his beer and stared at Luken, his brows low. “You know, you think things have gotten as bad as they can get, then this.”
“There seems to be some indication Chustaffus is supporting the three generals.”
“And that would explain a lot, but how the hell are we supposed to beat them now? I suppose we should start expecting to battle Third Earth death vampires next.”
“I don’t know.” Luken leaned forward, letting the bottle dangle between his knees as he stared at the wood floor. The command tents had several modern conveniences, solid floors being one of them. “I think Endelle wants us to go to Third to see if we can prevent exactly that from happening. Though, how the hell we are supposed to have any effect on plans to invade Second from an Upper Dimension, I have no idea. Just about everyone who lives on Third will have more essential power than any of us. Except maybe Rachel.”
“Rachel, Gideon’s sister? She has power?”
“Yeah, some sort of Fourth Earth shielding ability. Merl confirmed it.”
“Holy shit.”
“I know. We’re all in a state of shock.”
Thorne drank deep once more. “You could have told me all this from Apache Junction Two.”
“Well, there’s more because now I’m supposed to build a team to take to Third.”
“Aw, fuck.” Thorne scrubbed a hand down his face. He must have read the situation exactly right, because he asked the most pertinent question. “Who are you taking?”
“Just three men but they’re three of your best Thunder God Warriors.”
“I figured. But let me guess, you want Duncan’s squad.”
“I do. I think it would be best. Jean-Pierre has been bumping them up steadily in the direction of Warrior of the Blood status and they’ve served as part of Duncan’s squad for decades. They can read each other’s signals with their eyes closed.”
Thorne scowled. “But, the men under each of their commands have the highest kill rate of the entire army in Africa. We need them here.”
“I know, but Endelle’s adamant because of her vision.”
“Jesus, I just can’t get used to the idea of Endelle having visions. It sounds completely uncharacteristic. I know she’s never had them before.” Thorne was probably remembering the mind-link he’d once shared with Her Supremeness.
“Hey, she’s just as baffled as you are. And concerned. You know she wept.”
At that, Thorne jerked forward in his camp chair. “What? Endelle?”
“Go figure. This new turn of events has really thrown her. That and her man, Braulio, disappeared on her.”
Thorne grimaced, then narrowed his gaze. “And I suppose that Third asshole, Merl, is still chasing her tail.”
“I want to pound the shit out of him every time he gets within ten yards of me. And here’s the biggest assfuck of them all because Endelle assigned him to my team as well.”
“No.” He shoved a hand through his hair, dislodging his cadroen. “Well, that sucks.” He gathered up his hair once more and secured the clasp.
“At least he’ll bring some skill and information to the team. He was a Third Earth wrecker before he exiled himself here on Second. Though he hasn’t said it, I believe he was a Warrior of the Blood once. He’s damn powerful.”
“Okay, well, whatever.”
“Then do I have permission to take Duncan’s squad with me?”
“Of, course. Granted. They’re in the mess.” He then frowned. “How’s Endelle holding up with all of this, I mean besides the tears?”
Luken sighed. “The way she always does: a little fire, a lot of brimstone.”
Thorne chuckled at that.
But Luken added. “She’s really worried, more than she’ll say. And I’m convinced she was holding something back about her vision, something she didn’t want me to know.”
“And there really hasn’t been any sign of Braulio? I saw the way she looked when he was sharing her bed; she was almost happy.”
Luken shook his head. “We had a few days of peace there, didn’t we?”
“Yes, we did. And I’m pissed as hell that he left.”
“He’s not free, Thorne, you have to remember that. He does whatever the hell Luchianne and the Council of Sixth Earth demand of him. The one consolation I have is that I know he’s working on our side. I know it.” He then laughed. “But if he doesn’t show up soon, I’m pretty sure Endelle will cave and take Merl into her bed.”
Thorne rolled his eyes. “That bastard.”
Luken told him about Duncan battling him at Antony’s villa. “It was a sweet sight to behold, Duncan busting the smirk off his face.”
Thorne grinned. “Wish I could have seen it.” He rose to his feet. “Well, good luck, brother. If I can help in any way—” He let the words hang.
Luken stood up and, lifting his hand, saluted Thorne with his middle finger.
Thorne laughed once more. “I miss this, you know.”
And Luken did know. “The brotherhood eased us all. But now we’re spread out all over the globe and I’m headed to Third.”
Thorne nodded but fell silent. Maybe he was thinking about the past.
“Anything else?” Luken asked.
Thorne shook his head. “Nah. Just thinking about Endelle.”
Luken finally said, “Is it okay if I bring the men back here to talk things over?”
“Absolutely. And listen, I think I’ll pay a visit to the Palace. I haven’t been there in a couple of weeks. Just an FYI.”
“You’d be welcome, that’s for sure.”
Finishing his beer, Luken made his way over to the mess and found the men he was looking for: Duncan’s squad.
It felt strange to know that he was about to change each of their lives forever in the same way his warrior life had just been given a solid shake-up.
Third Earth.
Jesus H. Christ, what the hell was Endelle thinking?
But he had his orders and on a gut level he knew this had to be done. He just didn’t have even a shred of confidence any of them would make it back alive.
As soon as he approached their table, all three men rose to their feet as they would with any superior officer.
“You boys about done?”
A general nodding of heads.
“Then come with me.”
Back in the sitting area of Thorne’s command tent, Luken had the men sit, but remained standing himself. He’d never had a confrontational style, at least not verbally, because it wasn’t necessary; he let the massive nature of his chest, arms and shoulders do the intimidating.
The men looked up at him, but each had taken on a slightly belligerent expression as though guessing what he was about to demand of them. But he honestly didn’t care whether they liked being taken away from North Africa or not.
“We have a situation and I’ll need all of you to come with me back to Militia HQ.”
Owen leaned back in his camp chair. He had a long scar angled just below his left cheekbone, a cut that would have happened before his ascension to Second Earth. “You’re the leader of the Warriors of the Blood, so what do you need us for?”
“Because I’ve been relieved of my duties.”
“What the fuck?” Owen scowled.
Joshua gestured with a flip of his hand. He’d taken off his leather wrist guards, exposing the heavy tattoos that ran up both forearms almost to the elbow, a combination of black flames and birds in flight. “What the hell was Thorne thinking to remove you?”
“This didn’t come from Thorne. It came from Endelle.”
All three men fell silent and stared at him for a long moment.
“That doesn’t make a lot of sense,” Alex said. “I thought she liked you. Hell, everyone likes you.” Alex rubbed his right shoulder where a wide burn scar wrinkled his skin.
“She needs me to head up a black ops team.” At the mention of anything that would involve stealth and reconnaissance work, the tension ramped up, giving the air the sharp tang of testosterone. He definitely had their attention.
He went on to explain some basic things about Duncan waking up from the trance, what Duncan had learned over the past two weeks in Yolanthe’s presence, who the bad guys were shaping up to be and finally a few details about Endelle’s vision.
“Duncan will be on the team as well and I want you three to join up, although ‘joining’ isn’t exactly the right word. Let’s just say, you have new orders.”
Luken had thought he’d be battling all three men, instead he understood the sudden glitter in each eye.
“We’re ready, boss,” Owen said.
“Good, because you’ll be leaving with me in about ten minutes. So pack up and meet me back here. I have a Jeep waiting. Oh, and there’s one more thing, just to be clear: we’re going to Third.”
~ ~ ~
Rachel’s coffee had grown cold while she waited. She hoped like hell Duncan would somehow find a way to sever Yolanthe’s trance and wake up like he did last time. But she really didn’t like sitting around at all. She was a doer and always had been. Although, it might help if she had a little more information.
Turning to Endelle, she asked, “This is a mind-link, right, this thing Duncan has with Yolanthe?”
Endelle nodded. “A very powerful link.”
“I know you once had one with Thorne but how did Thorne break it?”
“He didn’t. I created the link so I was the only one who could destroy it.” She got a faraway look in her eye as though remembering. “We battled here in the palace in the largest rotunda. I was in flight at one point.” She rubbed her forehead as though trying to erase the memories. “
I knew the link had to end. The breh-hedden had struck and Thorne needed to be free.”
“It about killed you, didn’t it?”
“Yeah, in a weird way. I’d held this belief that as long as Thorne and I had that link, Second Earth and I would be okay.” She shook her head and laughed. “It was completely irrational, I know, but I think the delusion kept me sane.”
“It’s been harder for you without him.”
She looked suddenly weary. “Yes, until Braulio showed up, which is one reason I’m so angry he’s gone.”
Rachel had never heard Endelle share so many intimate details of her life. Of course only an impending disaster, like the imminent subjugation of Second Earth, could have brought Rachel this close to a woman who held completely opposing values.
“Do you know Yolanthe at all?”
“No, but she’s a woman I’m coming fast to despise.” Her glance took in Duncan again. “Shit, he’s been out for at least two hours now, just lying on there on my couch.”
“More like three and this sitting around is really chapping my hide.” She glanced at Endelle once more. “And you, with all your power, can’t break this mind-link?”
“Nope, not even with all my glorious fucking power, I can’t do a thing for Duncan.”
“Then if you can’t, no one can.”
Endelle held her gaze steadily “What about you wrecker-killer?”
“Don’t call me that.”
“But you liked it, didn’t you? Killing those bastards.”
Rachel was completely unwilling to go there, so she picked up her mug and rose to her feet. “I need to warm up my coffee.”
She left Endelle’s private suite and crossed through the electronic Command Center, surprised to see Warrior Thorne present and conferring with his tech-team. Mostly, he stayed in North Africa.
She passed by the landing platforms that were near the kitchen. But once inside, Endelle was already there, having folded directly from her suite. She was also blocking the coffee pot.
“You sure it’s coffee you want, not some tea made from boiled turnips or something?”
Rachel chose not to rise to the fly. “Impotence sucks,” she said, trying to open up a little.