Yet what stuck in her head was the reality she was part of the whole thing, especially because of her Fourth Earth shielding power. She could mount her wings faster than ever before and she’d started releasing her own green grayle smoke as a result of these advances.
She vibrated with energy and power.
As Merl levitated and moved swiftly up and down the line, her gaze was fixed on him. He had an intensity now he’d not had before. She felt his determination and understood the cause since rescuing Katlynn, as well as the other warriors, bore heavily on each of their minds. Merl’s ability to communicate to the warriors had improved immensely and each warrior was really responding to the combined efforts of Jean-Pierre and Merl.
He spoke about holding the grayle power tight as the wings released, so that the mounting of the wings fed into the grayle surge. Only with the two combined, wings and grayle, could the fold be accomplished.
Rachel closed her eyes and held out her hands, feeling her own grayle energy rise. She recalled Merl having slapped Duncan on the chest, saying the power came from the core of the body, the very soul. She let the power flow and when she felt the grayle connect with her wings, the increased vibration of energy let her know she could do the fold.
She didn’t hesitate, but mounted her wings and the moment they released fully, she folded all the way to the entrance of the workout center, then materialized. There was no pain, no disrupted mesh super-structure, only a swirl of green smoke rising all around her.
It took her a moment to realize the men were all cheering her. She grinned so hard her cheeks hurt. She was one of them and the good Creator had given her an abundance of power so that she could serve on the ops team.
With the same confidence, she repeated the movement, arriving back at her starting point.
Merl drew close, his light blue eyes glowing. “Well done, ascender.”
Backing up, Merl addressed the team. “Since Rachel is on fire, we’re going to practice her shielding right now, along with some team signals I want all of you to learn. Because of the field we’ll be attacking, I want Rachel capable of reaching the team at a distance of sixty feet. And don’t worry, we’ll get to each of your wing-mount folds in a bit.”
Alex whistled. “Rachel, you think you can cover us at sixty feet?”
“I’ll damn-well try.”
Merl added. “And we need to be able to fold together as a unit, in any direction, on command.”
Owen scowled. “How the hell are we going to do that?”
“Well, I’ll tell you.” Merl then gathered everyone around and spent the next half hour drilling the team on directional gestures used in the field to move as a body, especially given Rachel’s shielding properties.
Once each had the signals down, Merl positioned Rachel at various points.
She thought it would be impossible to do as Merl suggested. But each time she accessed her grayle power and released her shield, she seemed to increase in distance and accuracy, as well as a feel for the group as a whole.
As soon as she had the team covered, Merl would set up a battle scenario then direct one of the warriors to take the lead. Rachel’s primary job was to keep the team shielded no matter what happened.
There were several jumbles and mishaps, warriors running the wrong direction and colliding with each other.
When Joshua misread a signal, turned the wrong way and knocked her down, Merl stopped the drill. He then spent another fifteen minutes reviewing the hand gestures.
An hour later, the team moved seamlessly and Rachel was able to encompass the sixty feet Merl had insisted on.
Merl called a rest and she flopped onto the black mats, sweating profusely. Merl passed around bottles of water.
As she glanced from warrior to warrior, she couldn’t believe what they’d accomplished in twenty-four hours. It wasn’t so long ago, tensions had run high and none of them had been able to do a fold while in wing-mount.
Her thoughts ran to the woman in the veil, to Katlynn, knowing all this effort was geared toward her rescue. Rachel couldn’t imagine what it had been like for her to be inside a jail cell for fifty years. She replayed Duncan’s earlier vision through her mind of the warriors and the woman. An urgency was on her, yet she, too, could feel the mission wouldn’t take place for another night yet. Of course, this wasn’t a bad thing since they needed to learn all their Third Earth skills first.
But would the team get there in time?
“You look really worried.” Duncan sat down beside her. He stretched out his long legs and leaned back, supporting himself with his palms behind him.
“Just thinking about Katlynn.” She swigged her water. “Do we still have the same timing? When we need to be there?”
He nodded. “Yes. We’ll engage sometime tomorrow night.”
Rachel breathed a sigh of relief. “That’s good, because I’m getting worn out. I know we’re not done yet, but I’m going to need some serious rest before we head back into the Third grid.”
He smiled at her, his expression softening. “You’re not alone.”
When Rachel turned to look at him, he shifted a little more in her direction.
Her lips curved, “We haven’t been alone much tonight.”
“No. We haven’t.” The timbre of his voice had deepened. He searched her eyes and she wasn’t surprised when his spicy-ale scent began to rise all around her.
He leaned close and whispered against her check. “Shield us, just for a couple of minutes.”
She knew what he wanted and didn’t hesitate to let her power flow. She knew the moment the shield was complete and so did Duncan, because he simply eased her onto her back, rolled on top of her, then kissed her.
As his kiss deepened and his tongue drove into her mouth, she grabbed his thick, muscled shoulders. He then sucked at her throat greedily, and she moaned.
He drew back just enough to kiss her cheek, the line of her jaw, then drift down her neck. I’m hungry, Rachel. I need you.
I want to feed you, Duncan, but we shouldn’t be doing this.
He drew back, a tender half-smile on his lips. “Everything’s changing, isn’t it?”
She smiled. “I can definitely feel you changing.” She arched her hips against his growing erection.
He chuckled. “Yeah, we shouldn’t be doing this. Don’t know what I was thinking.”
He slid off her and sat up.
When she joined him, she was about to release the shield but he grabbed her arm. “Just give me a sec.”
She covered his hand and held his gaze. “Hope the training ends soon.”
“Me, too.”
When he finally rose to his feet, she knew the stolen moment was over. She hopped up as well and at the same time, released her shield.
Merl called out. “You two having fun?”
CHAPTER SEVEN
New skills thrive, when the past is brought to heel.
Collected Proverbs – Beatrice of Fourth
Not even Merl’s comment could touch Duncan’s feel-good. The team had really started coming together, his visions were back, and for the most part the damn snake stayed quiet. It seemed the more he moved forward, the less the poison got to him.
Merl got the team going again. “Let’s pick up with folding during wing-mount. Who wants to go first?”
“I do,” Duncan said.
Merl nodded then moved to stand in front of him. He put his hand on Duncan’s harness, over his heart. “Feel your grayle power here and when you do, access the energy of your wings at the same time, but don’t release right away. You want a combined sensation, both abilities forging in sync. Without it, you’ll end up with a mangle of wings that will take hours to heal.” Jean-Pierre drew close as well and planted his hand on Duncan’s shoulder, adding his jump-start stream of energy to the mix.
Duncan’s entire body vibrated with renewed energy. He closed his eyes and focused on the interior of his being, on all he was as a Warrior of the Blood and as a m
an capable of delivering battle visions. His wing-locks were already swollen, ready for release. But as suggested, he held the sensation at bay, waiting.
He sustained his concentration until he could feel his grayle power flowing through his chest and his veins. It felt similar to his vision ability but centered on his wings this time.
“That’s it,” he heard Merl say. “You’ve got it.”
Duncan opened his eyes and met Merl’s gaze. Merl stepped away from him. “Don’t think. Just mount and do the fold.”
While holding his grayle power steady, Duncan mounted his wings, the sensation so reminiscent of sex that for a few seconds his body flooded with the same intoxicating hormones. The next moment, he slipped into nether-space, his wings fully intact.
He was surprised to find he could see everyone clearly, something that didn’t happen during a normal fold. Still within nether-space, he moved down the line of warriors and experienced a profound connection to each, especially his former squad. He could sense their positions and their general emotional shape; Owen’s intensity, Alex’s positive nature, Joshua’s determination.
He aimed for the same location Rachel had chosen and rematerialized at the entrance to the workout center. The line of warriors cheered, just as they had for Rachel. Alex threw a fist into the air and whooped a few times.
Slipping back into nether-space with barely a thought, Duncan reversed direction. This time, he rematerialized behind Merl and caught him in a symbolic chokehold, releasing him quickly afterward.
“And here’s the beauty of this kind of fold,” Merl called out. “You can see where you’re going, which will be a huge factor during battle since not all Third ascenders can fold during wing-mount.”
His eyes shining with battle fervor, Merl turned toward Duncan and gripped his shoulder hard. “You’ve got it.”
Merl then directed him to teach Owen. “Show the brother how it’s done.”
The command to have Duncan work with Owen made sense in terms of team-building. And maybe there was a small part of Merl not wanting to get too close to Owen. Of all the warriors, Owen had expressed his dislike of Merl the most.
A lot had changed in the past few hours, but one night’s behavior didn’t automatically translate into trust.
Duncan retracted his wings as he crossed to Owen. The brother’s hazel eyes glowed fiercely, matching Duncan’s current temper. Each of them wanted to be ready to take on whatever Third Earth warriors they would meet in Yolanthe’s prison.
Duncan centered his hand on Owen’s battle harness, over his chest. “Feel the power here and begin accessing your wing-mount energy at the same time. Both powers need to merge before you release your wings. Once I released mine, I had the sense it was permanent and wouldn’t unravel during the fold. But you’ll know what I mean when it happens.”
Owen narrowed his eyes, fixing his gaze at a point beyond Duncan. Because Duncan had taken Merl’s position as teacher, he now felt what Merl must have felt when he had his hand on Duncan’s harness. A vibration began to build beneath Duncan’s palm, a steady rise of power.
“Holy shit,” Owen said, his voice hushed, awed. “I can feel the grayle power rising.”
“I know.”
Duncan even knew the moment the two powers locked together within Owen.
The next moment, Owen released his wings, which had grey, brown, and blue bands on a black background.
When Duncan removed his hand, Owen vanished into nether-space. He turned around and, though he couldn’t see Owen, Duncan could feel him moving around the entire perimeter of the workout center. He knew exactly where he was though he wasn’t certain why.
He felt him stop behind Joshua, and wasn’t surprised when he suddenly materialized then tapped Joshua on the shoulder.
Josh turned around Owen, startled. “Unbelievable.”
Duncan shifted in Merl’s direction. “I could sense where he was. Is that normal?”
Merl dipped his chin. “Because you’ve been through the process and you’ve served together as warriors, you’ll be able to sense him, the others as well, you’ll see.”
To Owen, Merl said, “Normally, I’d have each of you take a turn showing another warrior, but I want Duncan to do it. Because of his extraordinary battle visions, he’ll be the hub of our team probably for as long as we’re together. You’ll each want a strong connection to him since I suspect it won’t be long before he can share his visions with us, maybe even simultaneously.
Merl turned back to Duncan. “Now get Joshua on board.”
Over the next few minutes, Duncan went down the line and worked with Josh, Alex, and Luken. Each time, Jean-Pierre assisted with his usual power boost, though he admitted he knew the grayle ability wasn’t in his wheelhouse yet. It was clear to Duncan the black ops team had special parameters that even so powerful a warrior as Jean-Pierre couldn’t cross. The team was meant for Third and Jean-Pierre would stay behind to continue building the powers of the Militia Warriors on Second.
By the time the entire team had performed what had been an impossible move only a night earlier, the hour was late and dawn wasn’t far away. Luken suggested they retire to the black Ops Cave.
Duncan held Rachel’s hand as together they walked in the direction of the team’s private rec center. His body hummed with renewed energy. He couldn’t remember feeling this ramped up in a long time.
Part of him wanted to take Rachel straight home. The brief time alone with her while she shielded him had made up his mind; he’d share her bed from now on.
But as much as he was ready to get busy with her, another part of him knew the importance of taking a half hour or so with the team to shake off the night’s adrenaline.
He went straight to the bar and started to mix Rachel a Vodka tonic, one of her favorite drinks, but she caught his arm. “I only want water. Lately, I just haven’t been able to handle much else.”
He frowned at her. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
She lowered her voice. “I think I’m just not used to all the training and battling. I’ve also been nauseous off and on for a couple of weeks. I know it’ll pass once I’ve adjusted.”
“Water, then?”
“That would be great.”
As he put ice in a tumbler and filled up the glass from a New Zealand bottle, he looked her over. The skin below her eyes had a faint bluish tinge, but otherwise she looked really good, healthy.
She’d been through an awful lot and he hadn’t made things easier for her at all. But they were together now, and he could work at doing his part. “Here ya go.”
“Thanks.”
He poured himself a Bourbon County Stout. As soon as Luken had commandeered the space, he’d had a few cases imported from Mortal Earth. He joined Rachel at the table in the corner, sat down and began the process of letting the night go. It was hard to do, knowing Katlynn and Merl’s What-Bee team were imprisoned. None of them were far from his thoughts and even now, the vision once more played through his head of seeing the men chained up and the woman controlled with the lavender veil.
He’d been under the thumb of their captor, which tended to increase his need to set them all free. Yet, he could feel within his soul the time wasn’t right. The future had to play out in a specific way in order for his visions to be of use.
“Hey,” Rachel said, extending her hand across the table. “What’s set your jaw to grinding?”
Taking her hand, he hesitated telling her. But as he saw the concern in her lovely, blue eyes, he recalled his promise to make an effort. “Yolanthe’s prisoners.”
A faint smile curved her lips. “I’ve been thinking about them as well, and I can’t wait to head into the Third grid and get this job done.”
“Me, too. For now, though, it’s tough to stop the tape playing over and over in my head.”
“Finish your beer, because I can think of at least one way to distract you.” She lowered her voice. “You game?”
Catching the directio
n of her thoughts, his heartrate soared. “Hell, yeah, I’m game.”
~
Rachel stared into green eyes. Every part of her being vibrated with sudden need. In many ways, the breh-hedden drove her absolutely crazy. But right now, looking at Duncan, she thought the myth-that-wasn’t-a-myth held a central core of absolute genius.
She’d always lusted after his beautiful, warrior body. Now, she craved him with a desire so intense she only wondered why she didn’t faint when she looked at him.
His nostrils flared and his eyes might have rolled back in his head. She understood. The sharing of scents was a profound aphrodisiac and the more she thought about taking him to bed, the more scent she knew she had to be releasing.
Duncan’s own response returned with a heavy hit of erotic spiced ale. The scent swirled through her brain, tapping every pleasure center possible.
He gulped down the remainder of his beer and rose from his seat, extending his hand to her. She took it and jumped up a little too quickly. She bumped the table with her thigh and almost knocked over his now empty beer bottle.
He smiled, a knowing smile, full of wickedness. His viper-demon appeared to be quiet, thank the Creator.
Rachel said good-night to the rest of the team and worked hard to keep a blush from covering her cheeks. With her fair skin, she could turn bright red in a split-second.
Duncan, however, wore a pleased smile, his head high.
Men and sex, always something of a competition.
Once at the landing platforms in the large hangar, he slipped into her head telepathically. I have a surprise for you.
You do?
I do. But it means we won’t be going back to Paradise Valley.
Really? Where are we going then? She had a naughty thought. You know, the White Lake Resort Complex has a couple of really kinky hotels.
He chuckled as he led her to stand next to him on the platform. She held tight to his arm, loving the closeness.
I like the idea, he said. I really do. But I still think you’re going to like mine even better.