Fully restored, Vela set her attention on Endelle. “The darkening called me to the Seers Palace. A Third ascender has taken Owen Stannett’s place. I believe he’s the one that held Samuel prisoner all that time, the one called Sharav.” She gave a description of him and Samuel nodded. “That’s probably him.” Endelle turned to Merl. “Does that sound right?” He nodded, his brows drawn together.

“Fuck.” Endelle released a heavy sigh and after a moment addressed Thorne. “I think we have our answer about what happened, and how the three generals knew where and when to attack.”

“Seer information.” Thorne, making use of his deep, gravelly voice, released his own stream of profanity. “I should get over there. I’ll take a division if I have to and tear that goddamn place down stone- by-fucking-stone.”

“I think that’s a plan,” Endelle said.

“But right now, let’s get Duncan out. If this Third asshole also orchestrated Duncan’s capture, then he might decide to speed up the execution.” Thorne nodded briskly several times, turning toward Samuel. “Since you’ve already been inside the grid, I want you to take lead.” All eyes shifted to Samuel. “The only thing we’re not sure about is how to distract the wreckers so we can attack and get their weapons. We should figure out a way to move in from a flank position, maybe lure a squad of wreckers to us. But how do we trick them?”

“I know what to do,” Vela interjected. “When I was in the darkening, I slipped into Sharav’s head and saw exactly how this would go down, at least the first part of it. Trust me.”

“What did you see?” Samuel scowled.

Vela switched to telepathy and told him what she’d seen in the vision, of herself, naked on the floor.

But Samuel took a step back. “No,” he shouted. “Hell the fuck no.” Vela wasn’t certain what to do or how to convince him this was best, but Endelle laughed and moved in to clap Samuel on the shoulder. “Settle down, warrior. Vela can do this thing.”

“You don’t even know what she suggested.” Endelle met Vela’s gaze. “Sure I do.

I dove straight into her mind and saw what you just saw. Nice ass, by the way. You work out much?”

“Stay on point,” Thorne said.

Endelle rolled her eyes. “Fine.” She addressed Samuel. “Vela’s right. The plan will work like a charm. Three men with weapons, coming across a vision like that? So, get over yourself, or the breh- hedden, or whichever monster has control of you right now.”

“What’s going on?” Leto called out, his deep beast-voice booming through the room. “Can you let us in on this?”

“Vela’s going to play ‘butt-naked decoy’. But you boys just be respectful, which I know you will be.” Thorne and Leto exchanged a glance, then turned a boatload of compassion on Samuel.

“We know what you’re going through,” Thorne said. “Don’t worry.

We’ll keep our distance.” Samuel paled as he said, “Fine. I guess there’s only one more question to ask and answer: Vela, can you move all of us through the darkening at once? This will be a big group.” Vela glanced at Fiona and Alison, Leto and Thorne. “Hell, yeah, I can. And Thorne, you’ll want to be in flight battle gear. And don’t worry, none of you need to be physically connected or anything, not for this trip.” In a blur, Thorne changed.

Samuel took her hand and squeezed.

“Are you absolutely sure?”

“Never more sure in my life.”

Samuel released his dark power, not surprised that all eyes shifted in his direction as his smoky grayle mist rose around him and his energy flowed, strengthening all that he was as a man and a warrior.

He knew the latent streams of power were still there, but for now, he was good.

He turned to Vela, still holding her hand. The soft answering smile eased him as he dipped his chin. “Take us into the darkening.”

“Let’s go.” She might have blinked, he wasn’t sure, but the next moment, as a group, they sped without walking or running, just a swift form of levitation up one darkening grid tunnel after the next. Vela’s power held them together as a group, on and on, following some kind of internal compass that she possessed.

“We’re close to contact,” Vela called out. “As soon as the wreckers stop, fold behind them and do what you do best.” Samuel held his sword in his free hand. Vela slowed their joint movement, then brought the group to a halt. In the near distance an explosion sounded.

She turned to Samuel and said, “Hang tough on this one, on what I have to do next.” He tightened down his caveman instincts and nodded.

To the other men, she said, “You might want to look away. I’ll signal Samuel, then take care of business. Right now, get down, as low as you can.” Leto and Thorne nodded. “Alison, Fiona, you’ll be safest pressed against the grid wall.” Two more nods.

She waved her hand and lost her clothes. Samuel watched her speed twenty feet away and stretch out on her side, on the stone floor that matched Duncan’s cell.

He could hardly recognize the feeling that ripped through him, but again fear and pride split him; a terrible fear that his woman lay, completely vulnerable, this far away from him, and pride that she’d reached beyond her previous convictions, setting them aside, to save another ascender’s life.

A second explosion, closer this time.

Alison and Fiona stood right next to the grid wall. He thought about Duncan and as his grayle power flowed, he extended his senses. Duncan was nearby.

Vela, how we doin’? he sent.

Duncan’s about thirty yards from here.

I can sense him now. Samuel’s biceps flexed.

They’re almost here. Ten, nine, eight… Samuel continued the count so that the other warriors could hear. “Seven, six, five, four…” Leto and Thorne both leaned forward. “Three, two…” A grid wall exploded not five feet from Vela, but she didn’t budge, not even a hair’s breadth. Wall debris, like black ash from a fire, blanketed the area and three wreckers broke through, three massive Third Earth Warriors, in kilted flight battle gear, shotguns over shoulders.

Big motherfuckers.

“What the hell is this?” The leader stared down at Vela. Like the description of Sharav, he wore three braids on either side of his face, clipped back in low hanging loops. All the men had long hair, Warrior of the Blood long.

“Something stinks here.” The wrecker on the left backed away from Vela. “I say we waste her and get the hell out of this tunnel.” Samuel gave the signal, a forward slice of his arm in Vela’s direction.

And just as the wreckers lifted their heads to look down the tunnel, Samuel folded. He reappeared, at the same time as Thorne and Leto, behind the men.

Samuel sliced across his adversary’s forearm, striking almost to the bone so that the wrecker’s shotgun fell to the floor. But a second later, the bastard turned to face him, a sword in his other hand, as though he’d barely felt the wound. He topped Samuel by at least two inches, and his skills matched the Warriors of the Blood.

Samuel bumped up his grayle power, adding new streams of the dark mist, which brought his opponent’s eyebrows up a couple of notches.

“Surprise.” Game on and never had a sword felt so good in his hand, or his new power so magnificent as in this moment when he battled the bastard who had said, ‘Let’s waste her.’ Both Leto and Thorne had taken on a wrecker and a sword-fight ensued so that the sound of metal against metal echoed up and down the tunnel. Because the element of surprise had worn off, it was just vampire-against-vampire.

Chapter Seven

The moment the explosion had sounded, Vela had leaped to her feet, waved a hand and got dressed. She hurried back to join Alison and Fiona. She watched in awe as Fiona allowed Alison to access her body, to essentially take her over so that Fiona’s obsidian flame power could amplify Alison’s ability to reconfigure weapon identification. In the process, Alison’s body grew lax against the darkening grid wall, present-but-not- present.

Fiona gave herself a shake. When she moved, she even brushed her hair away from her face like Alison would have done.

As the battle raged, Fiona turned in the direction of the three weapons that had slid toward them on the floor.

Vela caught her hand, holding her back. “Are you sure?” She turned to Vela and touched her forehead. “Don’t worry. I can do this.” Alison again, speaking from Fiona’s lips and staring at Vela from Fiona’s silvery- blue eyes. “I’m going to start working these weapons now. And I can feel it in every cell of my body that I can do this.” Fiona, now Alison, moved swiftly in the direction of the battle, heading toward the nearest weapon.

Vela held her breath as Fiona stretched out her hand. The weapon flew toward her.

“Please work, please work, please work,” Vela murmured.

Beyond, the men battled.

The weapon reached Fiona’s hand and even at this distance, Vela felt an electric current pass up and down the tunnel. Fiona held up the weapon. “One down,” she called out.

Vela let go of a huge sigh of relief.

At almost the same moment, one of the wreckers fell to the stone floor and Thorne took his head.

Vela wanted to look away, but couldn’t. She’d never seen a battle close up before, not like this. The one she’d witnessed at the Superstitions had still been at a greater distance and within the safety of the darkening.

Thorne turned in Leto’s direction, and in a blinding move, folded, reappeared behind the second wrecker and shoved a dagger into his lower back.

As the Third Warrior arched at the sudden unexpected pain, Leto drove his sword through his chest. When he withdrew the blade, the wrecker also toppled to the floor.

Leto removed his head.

Thorne turned, extended his hand in Fiona’s direction. She didn’t hesitate but tossed the reconfigured shotgun to him.