Mathieu (White Flame Trilogy) (47 page)

If nothing else, seeing his mother and then having this very limited conversation with his father had reassured him that they really were his parents. And while he still had issues to sort out with his father, he had his family, broken as it was. He set his head on Solomon's, sighing. "Will you go with me? Please?"

"Of course I will. You think I'd let the lamb go into the lion's den alone?" Solomon teased.

"I'll bring a wolf with me to battle." He nuzzled against the blond.

Solomon turned and picked Mathieu up, carrying him inside, "...You know I love you, right?"

"I love you, too." He said before he kissed Solomon.

~*~

The suns had barely hooked their fingers over the cliff when Mathieu woke. He lay between Solomon and Jo, Niveus on his chest. Lione was asleep on the far side of the bed.

Morning, Mathieu.
How did you sleep?
Mismatched eyes blinked curiously at him, head tilted.

He brought a hand up to scratch behind her ears, fingers gliding over the sleek white fur.
I'm okay. Listen, Niveus, I was wondering if you could take Solomon and I somewhere later?

Like a secret date?

No.
He rolled his eyes at her,
Like
a business meeting.

She wiggled until she was lying on her back, feet kicking at the air.
Mm, okay.
I'll do it for you.

Thank you. You're a wonderful little Shadowrider.

Her purring as he scratched her tummy was what woke Jo up, his face having been on Mathieu's thigh.

"S'going on?"
Jo
slurred,
eyes unfocused.

Mathieu patted his friend's head comfortingly.
"Nothing yet.
Just so you know
,
Sol and I are going on a day trip. That means I want you to listen to Erik today, okay? And make sure to ask Kiev to start a load of laundry."

Jo clung to him tightly, "Take me with you..."

"I'll be back tomorrow morning, sweetie. I'll leave Tesla with you just in case. And he can reach me if something goes wrong, okay?" Mathieu petted the brunet's hair.

"...Fine, then." Jo huffed.

Mathieu chuckled until a toned, scarred arm looped around his waist, pulling him against Solomon's side. "Five more minutes, then we'll get up, kay?" The blond man’s voice was slightly muffled, face pressed into the pillow.

"No, no, no. You're awake, so get your butt up." Mathieu smirked at the groan he received. "I'll let you share my shower...." And that got Solomon's attention.

It took them an hour before they were dressed and presentable to leave the room, by which time Jo and Lione had gotten up, too. They said their goodbyes to the others,
then
went out onto the porch, Niveus behind them.

“It’s going to be a beautiful day out. I hope it’s this nice at the mountains. Should we head out now?” Mathieu asked.

Solomon wrapped an arm around his waist, kissing his temple, “Sure. There is an inn in the Eastern District that makes some great breakfast options, if you want to go there and eat before we go to meet Anastasie. Help get your strength up, you know.”

Mathieu nodded, picking up Niveus, “If you think that’s a good idea, just show her where to go.” He held his Shadowrider out.

The blond pat the Shadowrider’s head, silently communicating with her.
“Okay, she’s ready. Let’s go, Mathieu.”

~*~

They had gone to breakfast at the dainty inn, and were now walking hand and hand towards the highest mountain they could see. The sky was overcast, making it cooler than it had been when they’d left; however, he’d grabbed a light jacket before they’d left. It was still fairly early in the morning, so only a few locals were up to witness their passing, but those who saw them smiled and waved politely.

Solomon picked a flower that was bluish-purple in color, then tucked it behind Mathieu’s ear. “Do you know
anything about your grandmother?” Solomon asked.

“Not really; but then again, I lived in an orphanage, believing I was alone. I’m kind of…hesitant to go charging into her home.” Mathieu rubbed at his pant leg as they walked.

“It’ll be fine. You’ve still got me and I won’t leave you by yourself.”

“This is horrifying.” Mathieu said. “What if she won’t help me, or what if she wants to kill me?”

Solomon pointed to an arched hole in the mountain as they neared it. “I think that’s it. Try not to be too nervous, okay? Remember, you’re the resistance’s leader now.”

They entered into the passage, the walls close together but smoothed to the touch. It took a left almost immediately, and that was where they came face-to-face with a man and an extremely large wolf curled up at his feet. “Who the hell are you?”

Mathieu took a gulp of air, finding his Zen in the moment, “I need to speak to Anastasie. You will take me to her.”

“Who is Anastasie? Don’t know her.” The man was short, fat, and broad with a large mustache.

“I know that this is the way to go see her, so take me to my grandmother.” He crossed his arms over his chest.

The man took a step away from wolf, giving Mathieu an appraising look, “A pansy thing like you? No way you’re a Roman.”

“I am, though. Need I prove it?” A twine of energy slid along his arm towards the man, snaking through the air. “Tell me how to reach her.”

The portly man backed away from the sinister energy tendril, nearly tripping over the monstrosity of a canine. “Jesus, just
go
up the passage three cross-paths and go down the right at the fourth, then follow it to the lift. There will be another guard there.”

“Thank you.” Mathieu pushed past the man, dragging Solomon by the hand. As soon as they were out of earshot, he giggled like a child. “Did you see his face? He was totally scared! That was so cool…”

Solomon patted his back, his tone joking.
“Down, killer.
That was just one guard. He said take the fourth left. Start walking.”

Mathieu put his hand on his hip, making an annoyed sound. “Oh, shut it. You can’t just let me have one moment, can you? Come on.” They started walking down to passage, counting as they went.

They took the proper right turn,
then
followed the twisting path. The deeper they went, the colder it got. Soon, he was shivering so badly his teeth were chattering. There was a strong draft coming towards them, and there was a wetness that tinted the air. He realized that there was water dripping down the walls as the passage narrowed. The passage narrowed further until Solomon was forced to walk behind him in single file in order for both of them to continue without either of them scrapping along the wall.

The cold was sinking into Mathieu's bones, making him shake so hard he had to use the bump of the wall to keep him moving forward. Just ahead there was a dead end, except for a cut out
hole
less than half his height and would be tight in width. Groaning, he slowly got onto his hands and knees,
then
crawled through the hole.

Mathieu crawled onto a metal platform, then moved out of the way and looked around. Above him was a metal grate that slid down. And across from him on the small platform was a huge white wolf, standing in front of the button to go up.

Mathieu gave a sigh of relief as the warm air of the shaft rolled over him. Once Solomon had gotten to his feet, he went to the canine and petted it behind the ears.
"Hello, pup.
I need you to move." In response, the animal gave a short growl, but moves aside. "Solomon, close the grate."

The blond did, so Mathieu flipped the small lever that a paw could flip with ease,
then
leaned against the wall as the lift gave a few rattles, moving shakily upward. There was a prevailing scent of wet something, but the air was drying out. Slowly, the artificial light that has been their guiding source faded, replaced by natural light. The trip upward was slow and tedious, the repetitive clanking putting Mathieu into a light doze.

A bright light stung behind his eyelids, forcing him to open his eyes and turn away. The grate only came up to his waist so he was able to see the glass tube their lift was going up. Next to it, there was another column of glass, presumably to go down, but beyond that was the whole of Korinth on one side, the Outer Zone on the other. Behind him was the side of the mountain that they were traveling up. Looking up, way high, there was what appeared to be
an outcrop which the tubes were coming through.

The closer that they got to the outcrop, the more nervous that Mathieu became. Up to this point, he had done his best to not think about his grandmother, but now he had to wonder. What kind of woman would she be? Would he be able to see himself in her? Had she really been the reason that his family didn't exist, now just an estranged father and son?

Solomon's eyes were on him, sharing his unwavering strength to soothe Mathieu's fears. In a way that words couldn't articulate, the blond was siphoning his nervousness and replacing it with calm, giving him the clarity to deal with the situation. He knew that he wasn't walking into this meeting as the damaged goods he was, or as the grandson who escaped. In this moment, he was a leader of a cause in need of a powerful ally. An ally he prayed they'd be granted.

The invasion was set to begin one week and one day from then as night fell. He had planned everything to be planned, trained everyone as much as they could be trained, and had drilled the invasion plan into the minds of the unit leaders unto they could recite it without hesitation. This meeting was the last pawn to be set on the board.

The lift rose through the outcrop's bottom and into a hollowed room. The wolf nosed at the grate until Solomon opened it, then it stepped onto the landing and shook out its fur. Several loud pops and bone-snapping cracks could be heard.

Mathieu's eyes looked for hidden people, but found none, his focus returning to the animal, just in time to see
something that made his stomach chur. Where the dog has been was a man, a very naked man, on all fours. His face was twisted with pain and under his
skin,
Mathieu could see bones sliding to realign themselves. The popping and cracking didn't stop until the man was able to stand, nearly a foot taller than him. The change had taken less than a minute, but watching the man's spine connect back together had left him nauseated and swearing it'd taken an hour, at least.

"Son of Erik, Anastasie has waited for your return. Come. She will see you now." The mysterious man said. He had the same reddish hair as Erik and was covered in scars most likely caused by thick, sharp claws.

"You know me, but who are you?" Mathieu said, not moving an inch away from Solomon.

The man sighed and went to the corner of the room, rummaged around for a moment, then returned, dressed to the waist. "I am Banin, eldest brother of Erik, and your uncle."

Mathieu wasn't the least bit surprised with the man's identity, but he was quite thrown off about his sudden change. "Well then, Banin, take me to my grandmother, if you will." He swallowed his apprehension and took a step forward, Solomon just behind him.

Banin nodded and led them out of the room onto an open pathway. Mathieu dared not look over the edge towards the ground, instead letting his eyes wandered to the objects that were as high up as they were. The choices were limited.

Soon they were inside again, this time in a foyer. The
architecture was modeled after the housing style before the split in Unith and Korinth, making everything look rather squat. There was barely enough height to the room for Banin to stand up straight. They move swiftly through the house, and the deeper they went in, the more wolves that Mathieu saw. Some were large like Banin and the first wolf had been, but others were smaller, closer to a normal size. The small breed also lacked the intelligence behind their eyes that the larger ones had.