He folded his arms, a hundred thoughts flashing through his sharp green eyes as he considered everything she’d said. He could have asked dozens of questions but he said nothing, deliberating in silence.
After several minutes, he exhaled sharply. “We weren’t planning to attack the Hades forces. Our entire strategy was defense. We’re outnumbered and pinned down. If we launched an attack, Hades would swiftly defeat us and our efforts would amount to nothing.”
Cold ran through her. Shit. She hadn’t considered that the Ra forces wouldn’t actually be able to launch a successful attack.
“Can you bring in more soldiers?”
“That would be as good as announcing my intentions to Samael. It must be a surprise attack, and ideally, we would want to close around the Hades forces to prevent a retreat or withdrawal. I simply do not have enough men.”
Her father’s voice sounded from her other side, making her jump. “What if we could provide additional forces?”
She looked at Quinn. She’d forgotten he was there. It had to go against every iota of his nature to listen in on a controversial discussion without expressing his opinion.
“That would depend on the nature of these additional forces,” Miysis replied guardedly.
“The Gaian numbers easily eclipse either the Ra or Hades force alone,” Quinn said to the Ra daemon.
“The Gaians?” Miysis barked with a humorless laugh.
Piper worked to keep her expression neutral despite wanting to react pretty much the same way as Miysis.
“Though they aren’t as effective in battle as daemons,” Quinn continued, “they can provide more than enough of a diversion to give your troops the maneuvering room they need, especially with their array of weapons designed for use against daemons.”
“Would they ally with us?” Miysis asked doubtfully. “Even if they agreed, I would be wary of a betrayal.”
“You would need to stay in close contact with their commanders to ensure coordinated movements,” Quinn answered. “Your truth-seeing ability could detect any insincerity on their part.”
“Very true. But would they agree to an alliance?”
Both men looked at her.
“They will,” she promised, not allowing any doubt to show. “I’ll make sure of it.”
“For the chance to defeat Hades …” Miysis rose to his feet. He slipped a hand in his pocket and pulled out a small radiophone. “I must begin preparations now. Contact me once the Gaians agree so I can send my generals to meet with their leaders.”
She took the phone, hiding her surprise at the rare, expensive technology he was freely handing out. It would definitely make it easier to stay in touch with him. She backed away from the pew and into the aisle so he could exit the row. He paused, looking down at her with those cutting green eyes.
“If you can’t convince the Gaians, there’s nothing I can do.”
Her stomach shriveled “I understand. They’ll be there.”
Miysis nodded and turned. As he headed toward his men, he whistled softly. They hurried toward him, and almost as one, leaped into the sky, flying out the hole in the roof. Miysis shimmered into glamour and spread his wings. In a flash of golden feathers, he too was gone.
Piper let out a huge breath, shaking her hands to release some tension. Holy crap. She’d actually convinced him—with a little help.
She turned to her father, smiling hesitantly. “Thanks for jumping in there.”
“Not a problem. That was some excellent negotiation. I couldn’t have done better myself.”
She labored for a second to pick her jaw up off the floor. Her father had never complimented her skills like that—ever. “You—you really think so?”
He inclined his head. “And your fight with him …”
“About that …” she muttered, wincing. “After the Gaians broke the seal on my magic, I had to learn to control both breeds of my magic to survive. And that … that’s how I had to do it.”
His gaze flicked down her and back up. “So this is a glamour now?”
“No, this is the real me. The daemon form is technically my glamour—the opposite of a daemon.”
“I see. I’m glad you found a way to survive.”
She blinked. Was that it? No more questions?
“I realize now,” he murmured, “that I’ve only been seeing what I expected to see when I looked at you. Children grow up so quickly. One day you were just a little girl, running around with a toy sword. The next, you were an apprentice Consul struggling to find your place in the world. I couldn’t let go of the image of that little girl.”
Stepping over to the nearest pew, he sat, staring at the pile of rubble left by the Ra daemons. A cold wind blew in from the hole in the ceiling.
“I haven’t always made the best choices for you, Piperel. I had a lot of time to think in the weeks you were gone, not knowing if you would ever return. Calder told me what happened at the Styx, how you saved Randy’s life in the most dangerously charged daemon confrontation any Consul could ever face—outside the Consulate, with no rules, in a room full of restless, aggressive daemons eager for a fight. He said he wasn’t sure he could have extracted Randy unharmed if you hadn’t been there.”
She remembered making the surrounding daemons laugh as she dragged Randy away by his ankle, but she hadn’t considered the “rescue” to be all that impressive. She’d mostly been angry with Randy for acting like an idiot.
“And then you helped prevent a battle between the daemons there and the Gaians, saving many lives in the process.” Quinn’s mouth twitched, almost smiling. “My brother then concluded his lecture by telling me I was a blind idiot, that you wouldn’t put up with me much longer, and that if he had to choose someone to guard his back for his next high-risk mission, he would probably choose you over me.”
She almost couldn’t find her voice. “He said that?”
“He did.” He rubbed a hand over his jaw. “Your whole life, I’ve wanted to protect you from my dangerous world. Your mother abandoned us because it was too much for her, choosing the simpler views of the Gaians instead. I didn’t want to lose you like I lost her.”
The silence that followed his final words was uncomfortably heavy. He had wanted to protect her; she’d always known that was the main motivator behind his decisions, but he’d tried to do it by clipping her wings every time she reached for the next level in ability or experience. If she hadn’t been so stubborn, he might have succeeded in crushing her spirit—all in the name of protecting her.
Drawing in a deep breath, she let go of her anger and bitterness on the exhale. Neither of them could change or fix the past. In all likelihood, Quinn was incapable of understanding how much his actions and attitude—and lies—had hurt her over the years, even if she explained it to him. But did it matter anymore? He finally saw her as she was instead of as the little girl with her toy sword or the struggling apprentice who couldn’t fit in.
She’d already lost one parent. She didn’t want to lose the other because she was trapped in the bitterness of things she couldn’t change. Smiling, she leaned down and hugged him. After a startled hesitation, he put his arms around her shoulders, squeezing back.
“So,” she said, gently withdrawing. “Do you really think we can convince the Gaians to join forces with the Ras?”
As he stood, his good eye briefly searched hers, checking if things were okay between them. Then he arched an eyebrow.
“We aren’t convincing them of anything. That’s your job.”
She sighed. She’d been afraid he’d say that.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Piper followed her father and uncle down the street, trying hard to look like she knew where she was going, just in case anyone was watching. Considering the way the back of her neck prickled, she suspected they weren’t alone.
After Miysis had left, she’d lain down to sleep. While she was resting, Quinn and Calder had redoubled their efforts to locate the Gaians in the city. It wasn’
t hard to find signs of them, but figuring out exactly where their base of operations was had been more difficult. Downtown was a large area with many abandoned buildings. It had taken the better part of the day, but they’d identified the location.
Now, with the sun setting behind the skyscrapers, they were walking down an empty downtown street, hoping they wouldn’t get shot. How did one just … walk in on a radical military group? She’d been a lot more confident dealing with Miysis, which said a lot, all things considered.
They rounded a right corner and ahead, the rows of skyscrapers stopped. A vast open space filled with an old sports stadium interrupted the towering buildings. The stands formed a bulky L-shape that surrounded the unseen field on the other side. Huge pillars supported the overhanging back of the stands and multiple doors waited to welcome non-existent fans into the concourse.
“What kind of stadium is that?” she whispered to her uncle.
“It’s a baseball stadium.”
“Oh. How can you tell?”
He gave her a funny look. Okay, obviously a dumb question. She coughed slightly. “Why haven’t we seen anyone yet? Shouldn’t they have scouts or guards or something?”
“You would think …” he muttered with a shrug.
Her nerves tingled with adrenaline as she marched forward again. They passed another few buildings and reached the edge of the expansive parking lot. The three of them exchanged another cautious look and started across the cracked, weedy pavement. Was no one going to stop them? Really?
Since they’d had no way to contact the Gaians ahead of time to tell them they wanted to talk, they’d decided their only real option was to walk up and hope the Gaians realized, by their complete lack of any attempt at stealth, that they weren’t the enemy. But she’d expected someone to stop them—or shoot them—by now, especially since she was certain she was being watched. The tallest section above the corner of the stands was lined with narrow, vertical windows that looked like dark, staring eyes.
There had to be a lot of space in the concourse. How many soldiers were hidden in there? All two thousand? Surely the Gaians weren’t dumb enough to station all their soldiers in one place. She tugged nervously at the long sleeves of the black leather draconian top she wore over her shimmering, entirely too conspicuous ryujin garb. She hadn’t expected to need the change of clothes, but she was glad she’d brought it. Matching leather pants covered her legs down to her ankles. She had two long daggers in her boots and her remaining ryujin blade, but neither was easily accessible. She hoped she wouldn’t need them.
They were halfway across the parking lot, completely exposed with nowhere to hide, when the loud revving of an engine shattered the quiet.
Headlights appeared from beyond one end of the concourse. She shielded her face with one arm, the light blinding her. The black jeep roared as it rocketed toward her. Her heart jumped in her throat and she prepared to dive to the side before it ran them over.
The tires squealed as it slid to a stop. In the glare of the headlights, a dozen soldiers in dark fatigues jumped down, guns pointed at them.
“That’s far enough!” someone yelled.
Piper put her hands against her chest in an X, the universal sign of surrender for a magic-user. Her father and uncle did the same. The soldiers circled them while the jeep’s engine idled loudly. One came forward and did a quick pat down on each of them, checking—not very carefully—for weapons.
“We come peacefully,” Piper said as calmly as she could, her heart hammering in her chest. “We need to speak with your general.”
“Who the hell are you?” one of the soldiers demanded roughly.
“Piper Griffith. I’m Mona Santo’s daughter.”
“Mona Santo is dead.”
“Yes, I—I know.” She swallowed to get the catch out of her voice. “I also know Walter and some other members of the council.”
Two of the soldiers put their heads together in a rapid discussion. She attempted to project calm confidence, aware of the other soldiers, plus whoever was hidden behind those windows, watching her. She suspected that the Gaians had been tracking them for a while but had waited until they were in the open, indefensible lot instead of the cramped streets to capture them. Actually pretty clever.
As the two soldiers debated what to do, the last of the sunlight disappeared below the horizon and the twilight darkened to night. She’d almost forgotten that twilight didn’t last for hours here on Earth.
A detonation blasted through the quiet.
She, Quinn, Calder, and the soldiers all ducked in unison. Smoke illuminated by red flames billowed up from the north grandstand.
“Holy hell,” the lead soldier snarled. “Cuff them and get them in the jeep! We’re going back!”
A second blast hit the grandstand, sending another column of smoke toward the sky. A soldier cuffed her hands behind her back and dragged her to the jeep. Someone was attacking the Gaians now? How could she talk to them if they were under attack? It was just like Habinal City all over again!
The soldier tossed her into the back of the open-topped jeep beside Quinn and Calder as the rest of the Gaians piled in or hung off the roll bars on the outside. The jeep lurched forward, tearing back across the lot. They went around the corner of the concourse on two wheels, while Piper bounced painfully on her knees.
The ground dropped as they drove down a dirt ramp under the grandstand. Solid concrete closed in around them. They sped through a vehicle-sized opening into an even larger space. As soon as the vehicle stopped, soldiers jumped down and one grabbed Piper, hauling her out and setting her on her feet. Voices echoed everywhere in the dim interior, some nearby, some distant, all frantic. Another explosion shook the building.
“What do we do with them?” the soldier holding her arm asked.
“Take them to Walter. Let him decide.”
The commanding soldier took off, shouting for his squad. A handful of Gaians led her, Quinn, and Calder toward a doorway. Piper glanced around quickly, seeing rows of jeeps parked neatly in the large space, waiting to be driven out. The walls were solid concrete, supporting the weight of the colossal structure above. She had no idea if this space had been intended for vehicles, but with only the large double doors at one end and the drivable entrance at the other, it was as safe a place as any.
The soldiers rushed them through the doors and into a dreary corridor, its ceiling lined with piping and cables. Led by their escorts, they hurried up some stairs and into a wide, open concourse that ran the length of the grandstand, the walls decorated with old graffiti. Concrete stairs interrupted the long concourse at regular intervals, leading up to various levels of the stands.
The soldiers herded her, Quinn, and Calder to one of the staircases. They climbed at a jog, turning again and again to take the next flight. Finally, they reached the top, where light spilled into the dark corridor from an open doorway.
They walked into a frenzy of planning, the long room empty except for a table at the closer end. Tall, narrow windows along the back wall displayed the dark parking lot, while the front windows offered what might have been a brilliant view of the field below if there’d been enough light to really see it. The room was full of people: soldiers barking orders or demanding instructions, others standing at the table looking at maps of downtown, another handful at the front window craning their necks to see something.
Piper, Quinn, and Calder stopped just inside the door. She leaned toward the window, bringing the north branch of the grandstand into view. Smoking craters had been blasted in the seating.
One of their escorts hurried into the chaos and came out again with a man at his heels. The leader of the civilian branch of the Gaians looked uncomfortable in his dark fatigues, perspiration shining on his dark skin and furrowed forehead. When he spotted Piper, his steps faltered. Shock replaced his frazzled anxiety before a distinct look of greed took over as he scanned her from head to toes and back up.
“Piper!” he exclaimed as
he reached her. He waved at the soldiers. “Uncuff her, uncuff her.”
Someone grabbed her wrists and she exhaled in relief as the handcuffs fell away.
“What about these two?” the soldier asked.
Walter looked at Quinn and Calder, noticing them for the first time. Shock rippled across his face again. “The former Head Consul! Well, I am certainly surprised to see you here.”
When he didn’t instruct the soldiers to uncuff her father and uncle, Piper cleared her throat. “Would you mind … ?”
Walter hesitated, then gave a reluctant nod to the soldier, who freed Quinn and Calder from their handcuffs too.
Another explosion rattled the windows. Walter flinched, half ducking before recovering himself. The Gaian commanders—who must have been promoted to replace the ones who’d died in Habinal City—were clustered at the table, arguing about evacuation and completely ignoring Walter and his new guests. Piper casually shifted closer to the table, glancing at a map on the corner nearest her. Several locations were marked in green and red. One of the green circles appeared to mark the stadium they were standing in.
“We were very distressed to lose your mother and the entire command staff in Habinal City,” Walter said, pulling his businessman mien back into place. A blast from somewhere below them drowned out his next few words and he flinched again. “You picked a bad time, I admit, Piper.”
“What’s happening?” she asked, abandoning her attempt to read more of the map.
“Another Hades attack. They want our weapons.”
“They—what?”
“Our weapons!” Walter waved a hand rather wildly. “The guns, the jeeps, the magical shields, all the specialized equipment we have for fighting daemons. They’ve been intercepting our patrols and stealing our equipment at an alarming rate.”