Power (22 page)

“Yeah,” I said, cutting him off. “She was an Athena-type. She had the ability to influence the mind in directions of … I don’t know, Janus called it working the ‘better angels of our nature.’ She could stimulate the brain toward arts and goodness, or something. I don’t pretend to understand how it works, but I think Ares types work like that, but in the areas of violence and nastiness.”

“So they take out anyone with a will to do violence, and then what?” Reed asked.

“Kill all the sheepdogs and you’ve got a herd without any defense,” Scott said.

“And the world falls right into your grasp, no muss, no fuss,” I said. “Without any metas left to oppose them and with everyone who might be willing to take up arms against them impaled on their own swords, Century rules the world and can remake it in their image.”

It got quiet for a minute. “That’s a lot of dead bodies,” Reed said.

“Probably,” I said. “But Sovereign’s always said it’d be a so-called better world. And it’s ‘better’ because all that tendency to harm each other would be wiped out good and proper. The survivors would get to live with Sovereign’s axe hanging over them—step out of line and you catch the blade across the back of your neck.”

“You can’t tell me people wouldn’t fight back,” Reed said.

“Maybe,” I said. “But if you think about it, he’s perfectly positioned to cut them off at the knees every time. All your soldiers and cops are gone, all your civilians who’d fight back are dead. It leaves you with the willingly ruled.”

“And this is a better world how?” Scott asked. “You’re killing all the people who
might maybe possibly
do harm all at once instead of letting those who
will
do harm do it. That’s gotta be like a hundred to one ratio, for all the people who
might
do violence to those who
actually
do violence.”

“I don’t know, I didn’t stick around for the grandiose explanation of the virtues of his final solution to the world’s violence problem,” I said. “I just know the weapon Century means to use and how it works.”

“And as for how we stop it?” Scott asked as we emerged from the tunnel into HQ.

“Well, they are having a meeting of all hands in the next couple days,” I said as I made for the staircase. “If we can find that—”

“We can storm in there and get ourselves killed all at once,” Reed said sarcastically, “letting the remainder of Century carry out their plans unimpeded by any pesky distractions.”

I shook my head wearily. “I’m working on a plan.”

I could feel Reed’s gaze on the back of my neck as I climbed the stairs. “And how’s it going so far?”

“So far it’s comprised of ‘kill them all’ … and that’s about it.”

“The Wolfe school of tactical engagement,” Reed said, voice still laden with irony. He paused, and his tone dropped. “In this case, I actually like it.”

We emerged into the fourth floor bullpen and I realized with surprise that the sun was setting. Had it already been another whole day? That was fast. I glanced toward the conference room. “How’s Harper doing?”

“She seemed to take it all mostly in stride,” Scott said. “As I understand it, she’s got the drone over us right now, keeping a watch in case we need it.”

“Surveillance state,” Reed muttered.

“Hm,” I said. “We probably will need it at some point, if we can get a fix on the location of this meeting. Did J.J. manage to scrape anything off Weissman’s laptop?”

“Nothing helpful,” Reed said. “Seems like this meeting might have been called after he died.”

“It’s election time in the Evil League of Evil,” I quipped. “I wonder who the frontrunner is to be the next Bad Horse?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Scott said.

“You look tired,” Reed said as we came to a stop outside my office.

“I can’t imagine why,” I said. “Did we do that freeway battle today or yesterday?”

“Today,” Scott said. “I think.”

“No,” Reed said, “the warehouse explosion was today.”

“Nice,” I said, and rubbed my eyes. “So my mom died … one or two nights ago?” I honestly couldn’t keep track. This was a lot to have going on, wasn’t it?

“Yeah,” Reed said, voice soft. “I, um … started making the arrangements. I hope you don’t mind.”

“I don’t mind,” I said. “Better you handle it than me.” Because if I had to handle it right now, I might start to feel dark clouds of emotion descending to fog my brain further. Which would probably be bad. “We need a lead on this meeting. Why don’t we gather everybody in the conference room—”

“Why don’t you get some sleep,” Reed suggested quietly, “and we’ll talk about it when you wake up.”

“Because we’ve got two days—” I started.

“And if on the second day you pass out from exhaustion just before the big battle,” Scott said, “how’s that going to go for your team?”

I shot him a sour look. “I don’t know. I can fight better in my sleep than most people can awake.”

“Not against these odds,” Reed said with a shake of the head. “We need you at your best.”

“Not that we’re saying that your average isn’t good—” Scott added. His voice was full of concern. It was adorable. And annoying.

“I’ll be in my office,” I said, cutting him off. “I will lie down on my couch, and if sleep comes, I’ll embrace it. If it doesn’t arrive in the next thirty minutes, I want a meeting in the conference room with all hands, and we’re going to sit there and keep mulling this until we crack it.” I paused. “Is Janus out of the hospital yet?”

“We’re springing him later tonight,” Reed said. “Figure he’ll be mobile by then. Not everyone shrugs off third-degree burns quite like you, after all.”

“And why should they?” I asked, turning to head into my office. I closed the door. “I’ve had a lot of practice at it.”

I let out a long breath and realized that there was no chance I’d make a meeting in thirty minutes. Not a bit of a chance, even. I took a step and my foot dragged.
Using the Wolfe power takes the strength right out, Little Doll.

Commanding fire exerts a similar tax upon the will
, Gavrikov said softly.

“And constantly thinking about how to outwit your enemies when they outnumber you a hundred to one takes a toll of a different kind,” I said to the empty room.

It’s not a hundred to one anymore
, Zack reminded me quietly. I sat back on the couch, felt my head press into the soft cushions, and imagined him leaning over me.

“It’s close,” I said.

They would follow you to the end
, Zack said.
If you let them.

“I know,” I said, my voice echoing in the empty room. “Which is why I can’t let them.”

Chapter 38

Rome

281
A.D.

“This will be a very great challenge for you,” Janus said quietly. Marius was listening, carefully, watching Janus as best he could reflected in the cloudy glass mirror that stood before him. “The first time you absorb a metahuman, I am told that the battle of wills is fierce.”

Marius nodded. “I still have to exert mine with my mother.”

Janus made a grunting sound. “As commanding as she is, she is human. Metas have a much stronger will. They will fight back harder, will provide much more of a grapple than you are presently used to. We need to acclimate you by having you take on lesser metas in preparation for the final challenge.”

Marius swallowed, felt the dry mouth that always came with nerves. “How will we do that?”

“I am working on it,” Janus said with another grunt. “There are metahumans out there who have done terrible things, who travel the land and wreak havoc upon innocents simply to satisfy their own appetites. I intend to find a few of those, to place ourselves in their path, and then cull their abilities to build your strength.

Strength
, Marius thought.
What if I could wield such power as Ares over men?
It made him shudder slightly, in fear and … something else. He looked back at Janus, and there was a wary smile on the man’s face. “Will I be able to control them?”

“With some effort, I think,” Janus said. “It is the act of harnessing their powers in your service that will become the difficult part, I expect. Simply quashing them within your mind is what most incubi and succubi do if they should absorb a meta, and thus never learn the secret to controlling these new abilities that they gain.”

“Why do they do that?” Marius asked. The firelight flickered on the walls and cast the room in a dim light. It was still better than going to bed as the sun set and relying on it to wake one up.

“They fear to control these abilities,” Janus said. “To draw the powers of other metas freely would be to draw the ire of Jupiter himself upon you. He has forbidden this thing, and now that his brother is dead, no one would stand against him.” Janus landed a hand on Marius’s covered shoulder. “What we do now, should you wish to proceed, will bring with it some risk. Should we be discovered by the others, they will try everything they can to kill you. Your kind has been hated and feared by the rest of metakind since they discovered what power you have over them. ‘Soul stealers,’ they call you, and revile your touch. They cast you out of their cities, out of their company, and kill you when they think they can do it unobserved. I have seen this myself and done all I can to ward against it.”

Marius felt himself swallow again. “Will they ask about my powers eventually? If I continue to show up in your company?”

“Almost certainly,” Janus said, no sense of deception about him. Marius could feel the bracing honesty, the sense of urgency. “Which is why it is of the utmost importance that we acquire for you some power that you can lean on, and as quickly as possible.” Janus stood straight again, his face foreboding. “From there, it will be up to you to learn to entice and enthrall that soul, to make it enough your own that its will is broken to yours and its power is in your own hands.”

“How do I do that?” Marius asked into the silence that followed. He could feel his own fear building on itself—first at the thought of having no power to show the other gods and goddesses if asked, and second at the thought of failing to bend some mind to his will. Failure in either case would be the same, he thought.

“I am not entirely sure,” Janus admitted. “And thus we come to another crucial bend in the plan. I place a burden upon you now that you must decide whether you wish to take up.” He sniffed. “Once we meet with Ares—Mars—and I have spoken to him about what must be done, should he agree with my thinking—and I rather suspect he will, based on the emotions I feel from him—then we are committed to action. Your role and abilities must be a secret up until the very second they are needed. This is for your own sake, and ours. You must decide for yourself whether this is a path you wish to undertake. For once we begin down it, it is thorny and walks the edge of a cliff. There will be no leaving it save for down into the abyss below, and be assured that that is the direction we will go should we make even one misstep along the way.”

Marius turned to look back in the cloudy glass. He could see himself, barely. He had only seen himself in the reflection of a cold, crisp pond on a still morning before. This was new and different and still very foreign, like the candles and hearths.

But he liked it. He liked it all.

And to fail meant having to leave, to hide, to go back to the shadows once more, taking shelter wherever he might find it.

“I will do it,” he said and felt the determination within himself. “Whatever it takes, I will do it. I will bend a will to my own.”

He felt the pressure of Janus’s hand on his shoulder once more. “I am proud this day, Marius. It is one thing for a man to say he will do something that he fears. It is another to make a true commitment in the face of fear. It would be a simple thing for you to have run. It is quite a bit more complex to face your fears in the way you have chosen.” Marius felt the hand leave his shoulder with one more squeeze. “Prepare yourself. Diana will be along shortly, and we should sup together. As a family.”

With that, Janus left, but Marius sat there staring at the mirror for a while longer.

Family
.

Home
.

With one last breath to give himself courage, he turned and walked toward the door. With each step he felt more certain than the last.

Chapter 39

Sienna

Now

I awoke to a gentle shake, opening my eyes to see Scott kneeling by my side. “You should be more careful waking me up,” I said sleepily, “it could get you killed.”

“If it means a morning kiss, I might be willing to go out that way,” he said.

I ran my tongue over the inside of my mouth. “If you could smell my breath right now, you might change your mind.” I shifted my body, rolling it to sit up on the edge of the couch. “What time is it?”

“Just after five,” Scott said. “Looks like you needed that sleep.”

“Yeah,” I said, and smacked my lips together. “What’s the word?”

“Foreman’s called a meeting in five minutes.”

“Good, because we have many important things to discuss and questions to answer.” I yawned and stretched, putting my arms over my head. “The first of which is, ‘Will there will be coffee’?”

“There’s coffee,” Scott said. “I heard a rumor he even had breakfast catered in.”

“Ooh,” I said and headed toward the conference room without bothering to say anything else.

There was breakfast, and it had been catered in by the local bagel chain. I had no complaints as I spread blueberry cream cheese over my bagel. Li was already there, trying to spread his cream cheese with one hand. The plate kept slipping away from him, but he didn’t look up to register my amusement, thankfully. A better person than I might have offered to help; I wisely kept my distance, figuring that offering him assistance would be taken as an insult or something.

Kat and Janus wandered in about five minutes later, Janus leaving heavily on his girlfriend. The sight of the two of them together still gave me gut-level heebie-jeebies, and I could tell from Gavrikov’s veritable rippling in my head that he was still none too pleased. I got the sense that he and Janus had been more than casual acquaintances, and that he viewed the fact that Janus was sleeping with his sister as something of an insult or treading on his guy territory or something testosterone related. I just viewed it as icky.