Reluctant Hero (The Dunamis Covenant Book 1) (23 page)

Chapter twenty-six

Thomas was enjoying some quality alone time with Abby. They had walked and talked, then they stopped for a little while to kiss. They had figured out through trial and painful error how long they could kiss before the pain hit, and then they would stop just short. That was a nice distraction, but most of the morning had been about learning more about Abby. Aside from his insane attraction to her, he didn't know much about her life after age seven. They stopped at a local pizzeria for lunch while her family was training Trevor and her grandmother was doting on Kendra and Sarah.

They sat in the Italian restaurant waiting for their pizza and Thomas looked at Abby and said, "Okay, give me a list of all of your favorites. I don't know enough about the woman I love."

She smirked at him and said, "I'm not sure you can handle my favorites."

"Oh, I can handle anything you send out," he joked. "Come on! Let's hear it. Rapid fire. I want to know everything about you before the pizza get's here," he grinned and pretended to hit a timer.

"Okay, you asked for it." She paused for dramatic effect while Thomas drummed his fingers on the table. When he stopped, she let it rip. "Green, eighties rock, sweats and a tee, chocolate, Connor, books,
Great Gatsby
, dancing, romantic comedies, tiger, tiger stripped blanket, lilies, beaches and Ireland. Your turn," she said. "Quick, I can see them taking our slices out of the oven," she added in a sing song voice.

Thomas feigned annoyance, "Fine! Blue, All American Rejects, jeans and a tee, teriyaki chicken, Spiderman, books,
A Tale of Two Cities
, biking, camping, Action,
Air Force One
, forests, Hawaii, and Abby Fitzpatrick." Just then the pizza arrived and they both started to crack up. "That was actually kind of cool," he added.

"I agree," she replied and took a bite of her pizza.

They talked some more, elaborated on their favorites, and continued eating their pizza. He scoffed at the idea that she thought she could make him a competent dancer. He enjoyed this part of the day most. He finally knew a little bit about this woman he was so in love with, and the more he learned, the deeper his love for her became. He looked forward to a lifetime of growing more in love with Abby Fitzpatrick. He prayed he would defeat Devlin because he didn't want anything to stop this love before it had a chance to blossom.

Thomas gazed into Abby's green eyes, and he loved every question she had asked him about his life. She wanted to know all the same things he did. They talked about their likes, dislikes, favorite things, greatest day, and this day was fast becoming one of them. He finished his pizza after she did, and they left to continue walking.

When they were a half mile from the house, Abby said, "TJ, I think we're being followed. Grey Explorer, third car back. They keep parking and then pulling out when we get a little further ahead."

"Let's try and lose them," Thomas replied. They gave a quick glance back and then turned left down the next street. They began to run before the grey Explorer had a chance to make the turn. At the end of the short block, they made another left which brought them to the front of the high school. Thomas wanted to kick himself because this was the last place he wanted to be. Too many people that could get hurt, not to mention all of the camera phones these kids would have. It was too late to change direction so they continued running past the school. Thomas was starting to get nervous, and even in the early December temperature he could feel sweat on his neck.

They ran down the next street which was one way going in the opposite direction. A red Civic was backing out as the Explorer tried to pursue but was blocked by the car. The driver of the Explorer laid on his horn, but the Civic refused to move. The man honked his car horn, rolled his window down and began cursing out the driver of the Explorer. It seemed that for once, an angry, Staten Island driver had come in handy. They continued their sprint to Hylan Boulevard and made the left towards the entrance of Wolf's Pond Park.

Thomas called over to Abby, "Let's try and lose them in the park. There shouldn't be too many people there and we can fight if we have to."

"Sounds like a plan," she called back while matching him, stride for stride.

The Explorer chased them as far as it could go. Then, four men in black suits jumped out of the SUV and began to chase them on foot. Thomas and Abby ran across a field towards some trees. There were a few people out walking dogs and Thomas almost swore. He didn't want any witnesses to what might happen if they were forced to fight.

They were already half way across the field by the time their pursuers reached the field. All of a sudden, four more appeared on the other side of the field. Thomas noticed some interested observers watching the brewing showdown. It was possible that a skirmish here would involve the authorities and expose them all. Abby couldn't Shift and Thomas couldn't draw his sword. They would have to hope to make it through the four men in front of them before the other four caught up. They were almost ten yards from the confrontation when two of the men in front of them pulled out guns and took aim. Abby dropped behind Thomas before the first shot was fired. Thomas' telekinesis put the bullet in the ground six inches to his left. He repeated the process with the next three shots until they were upon their mystery attackers. Thomas was now covered in sweat, and he had to force himself to focus on the fight. Both his and Abby's lives were on the line.

The remaining spectators were hiding behind benches or trees. Dogs were barking, and their owners were pulling them behind their hiding places in the attempt to keep their pets safe while the showdown on the field continued. Thomas ducked as he reached the first man. Abby leapt over him and into their attacker with a powerful kick that put the man on his back. Thomas took the second man off his feet with an uppercut while grabbing the gun hand of the third and pulling him in for a knee to the face that took consciousness from him. Abby was locked in combat with the fourth man and Thomas knew the others would catch up to them. He turned to face them in time to deflect another gunshot aimed at him. Just then, a large, powerfully built man lunged at him with a giant sword. He spun out of the way, coming up with a kick powerful enough to break the gunman's arm. He was starting to use his powers just enough to put a quick end to the fight. He didn't want to end up on the evening news, but he would protect Abby at all cost, just as he knew she would do the same.

Abby had moved on to her third foe while Thomas dodged the swords of the remaining men. At least there were no longer any guns in play. He dodged another swing of the sword, and he saw the gunman with the broken arm try and sneak up on Abby. Before he could call out to her, she had back-flipped behind the man and taken consciousness from him with a blow to his temple. Her last opponent was a pretty powerful Zdrada, and Thomas was unsure she could take him without shifting.
At least he hasn't drawn his sword yet
, Thomas thought.

Ethereal swords were light weight and very strong. The sword itself was comprised of two sections, each about two feet long. This made it easier for Paladins to carry concealed swords because it could be mounted to the inside of a jacket. The second piece would slide down the first from the hilt to form the full length of the sword. It would lock into place, and was held there by powerful magnets. Once deployed, it looked like one solid piece of metal until it was deactivated. The sword was an interesting design and Thomas had never seen it anywhere else.

The Zdrada Abby faced either didn't have a sword or just didn't feel Abby was enough of a threat to use it on. That decision would turn out to be a fatal mistake for the man. He leapt in for another attack but Abby shifted her hand to a tiger claw, tore through the man's abdomen and shifted back in one motion. Her sleeve shredded, but anyone watching from behind would have thought she just punched the man in the stomach. He went down hard and she finished him off with a powerful kick to the face, and blood began to cover the grass around him.

Thomas used the distraction to grab one of his pursuer's swords with a telekinetic push that slashed it into his partner's arm. As the look of confusion hit his assailant's face, Thomas pounced on him. He broke his attacker's nose and eye socket with one punch. Thomas rolled just in time to avoid the angry slash of the last Zdrada. Abby grabbed the Zdrada's sword arm on his backswing and he pulled with all of his considerable strength sending Abby flying in the process. Thomas used the distraction to hit him twice and he was now close enough to grab the sword arm without risking decapitation. Abby landed on her hands and used them to propel her body into a flip that would take her further away from the angry Zdrada. The sound of police sirens could be heard in the distance.

By this time, Thomas' foe had been disarmed, but he was still not going down and the sirens were getting louder. Thomas swept his opponent's legs and took him down. Abby kicked at his head which distracted him enough for Thomas to land the knockout punch. With the last of their attackers neutralized, Thomas and Abby disappeared into the trees, and were a few blocks away by the time the police arrived.

*****

The police apprehended the men on the field. They were all injured or unconscious. Two of them needed an ambulance. The police began to question the remaining onlookers as to what had happened, and a couple of them produced their phones and showed them the whole incident.

An Officer approached a man there with his black and brown German Shepherd and said, "I'm Officer Donaldson, can you tell me what happened here, Sir?" A slight breeze moved the December air just enough to cause a chill, and Donaldson zipped his jacket up just a bit higher.

"I think so," the man replied. "I was leaning against a tree waiting for Duke to finish his business, and reading about last night's Knicks game on my phone, when suddenly, this guy and this girl came running across the field. I was like, 'what's going on?'" He bent over and began to pet his dog before continuing. "They were moving fast, like they were running from something. Then, four dudes in suits came running across the field after them." The police officer looked at him as he spoke while Duke sat by his owner's feet.

"Yeah, there was no way the suits were gonna catch them. They were moving too fast, but then four more guys came from the other side of the field and pulled out guns. That's when I dove for cover, and started recording the fight on my phone. They shot at the couple a few times, but they kept missing and then the girl kicked one of the dudes right in the face. She did like a flying sidekick that took the guy off his feet! It was pretty impressive. The other guy beat up the men that were shooting at him. Then he took on the other four suits. One of them was shooting at him, too, but he kept missing, I swear, these dudes were like Storm Troopers. Worst... shots... ever! Then a big guy pulled out a sword from, nowhere."

"Wait," the police officer said, looking confused. "The suspects were trying to shoot the unarmed man and woman, then, when they missed, they pulled out swords? Really?" By this time the breeze had picked up and the colorful trees were swaying with the wind.

"Yeah," the man replied undaunted. "And the guy being chased was like Chuck Norris. No joke! Then the girl did a flip over one guy and took him down and she took out another guy with a kick to the face. Then her friend took the last guy down and they kept running away. I don't know why they ran away, the two of them took out eight armed men, and it didn't look hard for them."

"And you're sure that's what happened?" The officer asked with a dubious look.

"Yeah, just check my phone. I recorded most of it." He looked at the officer and added, "It was one of the most intense things I've ever seen, and pretty scary, too. People could've gotten shot." He handed his phone to the officer and bent over to pet his dog again.

"Well, the important thing is no civilians were hurt. The media is gonna have a field day with this as it is. We'll put out an APB for the couple that got away so we can try and find out what was going on. Thank you for your time. I do have to take your phone into evidence. Wait here and I'll give you a voucher to come to the station house and pick up your phone." Officer Donaldson walked back to report to his sergeant and fill out the voucher. The other witnesses had given similar statements, and two other phones were confiscated. At least all of the suspects had been apprehended. Maybe they would be able to give some clue as to what was going on. They were facing pretty serious charges.

Thomas and Abby arrived back at the safe house out of breath, and to an unexpected sight. The Council of Light was convened in their living room. As they closed the door behind them, Grams brought out two large glasses of water. Thomas and Abby accepted the drinks with gratitude, and wasted no time quenching their thirst. Thomas finished his without coming up for air before Gunter began to speak. "High marks, you took on eight Zdrada at once without revealing yourselves to be Ethereals. Entering the park was an interesting choice, though."

"There wasn't really anywhere else to go. I thought that the park would have the least amount of people and the lowest possible collateral damage. "Thomas replied.

"Well, that's the least of our worries now," Gunter added.

"What does that mean?" Abby asked.

"First, let me tell you some big news you may have missed while you were out this morning. You may have noticed that Asaph is no longer among us. Jonathan Fitzpatrick was elected the new head of the Undaraii clan after a vote of no confidence was proposed by the Claytons, O'Learys, Bensons, Stevensons, Cavanaughs and Fitzpatricks late last night. All of the family heads were consulted and Asaph was voted out. Asa and Malachi are no longer in charge of matters that relate to your clan. Jonathan has not yet chosen their successors."

"That's great, Grandpa!" Abby smiled and hugged her grandfather in front of the rest of the council.

"Congratulations, sir!" Thomas added with a firm handshake.

"This next announcement won't be as pleasant for you, Thomas," Gunter continued, "Devlin revealed the existence of his son today, a powerful Shadow Mage. He was married last night to the Dark Clans' most powerful Dark Shifter. I believe you know Devlin's son as Lucas."

Thomas was stunned; he felt like he had just been punched in the gut. He stumbled a little as he felt for the couch to sit. He could see the worry on Abby's face when he asked "Are we sure he's the Lucas I know?"
Or that I thought I knew
, he reflected bitterly. Abby put her hand on his shoulder to console him.

Gunter held out a picture of Lucas and Darcy. Lucas didn't really look as happy as a man that was just married should look.

"It's him," Thomas replied, and then looked away. "I can't believe this. Nothing in my life was ever real! No one in my life was ever truly my friend."

"I'm sorry you feel that way, but we have bigger things to worry about." Rupert interjected without sympathy.

"Bigger things!" Thomas started. "Bigger things! I just found out that my best friend is the son of the man that murdered my parents. Could you give me a minute?"

"No, we can't," Rupert frowned.

"Well, tough," Thomas replied, "Because I need to process this whether you think I have time to or not." He stood and started pacing the living room. Even Abby had given him some space.

"Just give him a moment," He heard John say to the Council.

"Someone needs to teach that boy the proper way to address members of the council." Rupert said with more than a little outrage in his voice.

"We'll get right on that, as soon as he saves our race from Devlin's madness." John replied, sarcasm heavy in his tone.

"Let's not forget, he is still new to our world, he doesn't know our customs or ways. We should give him some time to learn." Gunter surmised diplomatically as the rest of the council nodded.

On that note, Thomas left the house with Abby right on his heels. He sat down on the front porch and Abby sat down next to him. He leaned on her shoulder, and she caressed his head.

"I guess I was just stupid to think that there might have been one person I cared about that wasn't in my life because of this stupid prophecy. I can't believe Lucas is a Shadow Mage. I don't want to even try and reconcile the fact that he is the offspring of the man that murdered my parents. How could I not know he was faking for six years, Abby? It really seemed like we were friends. It seemed so real."

"He didn't seem evil to me. He seemed a little too interested in women, but not evil. Maybe he was your friend."

"I doubt it, just like Laura and Pete are not really family, and Kendra was forced to be my friend by Asa. I have no one left. No one I ever met was interested in me for me."

"I am," she replied with a hint of sadness.

"I know you are," He grabbed her hand and brought it up to his lips. "I'm sorry, that's not what I meant. I meant before... before I found out about all of this stuff. Why couldn't they have just left me with my memory, then at least I could have been prepared for all of this."

"I'm sorry, TJ, none of this has been fair to you, but you can't lose hope. They may have been misguided or forced at first, but you do have great people in your life. Your aunt and uncle would die for you, as would Trevor and Kendra. It may have started out as a lie, but you have some special people in your life. Even Lucas might not be bad. Maybe he doesn't even know of your history with his father. Let's just wait and see what happens before you give up on him."

"You're right, Abby." He leaned in and kissed her with passion. "I do have some special people in my life." He brushed a lock of her chestnut colored hair out of her eyes and studied her face. "Let's go back in and hear the rest of what the council has to say. Please sit with me, in case I get the urge to throttle Rupert."

She kissed him back, a little longer. She nibbled his lower lip and lingered there for a moment before replying. "I think I can do that." They stood and he took a deep breath while she opened the door.

"All right, I'm ready to proceed," Thomas announced. Then, he and Abby stepped back into the living room. "I've discussed it at great length with the Fitzpatricks. I am going to lead a small team into Devlin's—"

"No, plans are changing, Tommy," Uncle Pete interrupted while entering the room with Conner. He had a look of seriousness Thomas had never seen on his uncle's face before. Connor plugged his tablet into the television and played a video. A normal human was given an injection by one of Devlin's scientists. Within minutes he had become insane. The next clip showed him committing a brutal attack on a helpless old man. The next clip showed another man trapped in a room when a gas filtered in. Within minutes, he had descended into madness. They sent in a much larger man and the insane man attacked him without hesitation. The larger man was able to restrain the insane man, but the afflicted man had scratched him during the fight. Minutes later, the larger man was driven to insane violence. As the screen flared off, an eerie silence filled the room.

"Devlin has united the last of the Dark Clans to his cause. He has challenged us to fight him in the Blue Ridge Mountains. If we refuse, he's going to release that virus in twenty of the world's largest cities simultaneously, and then reveal the existence of all Ethereals. As we can see, the virus is transferrable, person to person. If this gets out, millions of innocent people will slaughter each other and the world will never be the same." Pete reported.

Jonathan let out a low whistle. It was the only sound anyone made. It was as if the air had been taken out of the room. No one wanted to believe something this evil could even exist, let alone be used to kill on so grand a scale. The members of the council spent the next several seconds looking to one another, shaking their heads, and trying to process what they had just seen and heard.

Pete took a deep breath and continued. "We know the base components of the virus and have already begun working on an antidote. The reality is, however, even if we have one ready, millions will be killed if he releases it. Economies could collapse in the panic and countries could fall if the wrong people seek to take advantage of the distraction. Then, when the dust settles, it will be open season on all Ethereals among the survivors. I believe the only reason he hasn't already used it is that he knows we can counter it before it reaches the magnitude he desires. He needs us out of the way. Still, we have no choice; we have to meet him on his terms." Connor snorted in disgust when Pete finished his report.

"Can he really do it? Does he have enough of the virus?" Rupert asked in a near panic.

"We believe he does," Connor answered. "And we have no doubt he'll use it."

Gunter's expression was somber as he prepared to respond. "As soon as we have an antidote, I want enough synthesized for the top fifty cities in the world as soon as possible. We should plan to have the antidote ready and helicopters or planes on standby to disperse it. There's nothing to stop him from releasing it, even if we meet his terms. If we are proactive enough, we may be able to keep the damage limited." He paused before continuing. "I will also have some of my company's satellites diverted to cover the Blue Ridge Mountains. He no doubt has some traps in store for us, but I would like to see what we will be walking into. I doubt he wants full scale war. That would draw too much attention and leave him without the manpower to subjugate the survivors of his mad plan. It is probable he will demand Thomas and a small force, no more than a couple hundred, meet him and his top people in battle. We of course will have a larger force ready to intervene when he breaks his word, but I still doubt this will be a conflict on a grand scale."

"I'm not sure, Sir," Thomas interjected. "Grand scales seem to be Devlin's modus operandi. I would prepare for at least thousands. We should send an equal amount from each clan. For my team, I have already picked fourteen people from among the Fitzpatricks and their extended families. I also have Trevor and Uncle Pete. I would also like Stephen, Jake, Sam and Stacy for a couple reasons. They are all powerful, and it will weaken whatever it is Asa is working on right now. I don't trust him to accept his demotion for a minute."

"I will then command the rest of the initial force we send in," John added. "And Tor Stevenson will command the larger backup force. We both have the necessary military experience for this sort of operation. If this is what Devlin wants, it will be the first time in over ten thousand years that two Ethereal armies march into battle against one another." There was another round of silence. No one in the room wanted to believe it had come to this.

Connor picked up where his father left off. "In the meantime, we should beware of more dark assassins. They won't just be coming after Tommy; the Council are all targets, as well as our most powerful people. Devlin wants us all out of the way so there'll be no one to stop him."

"Connor's right," Gunter added. "We should issue a warning for all of our people not to go anywhere alone. Everyone of any strategic importance should have backup with them at all times."

John looked at his daughter and said, "And, Abby, that means no more walks with Tommy until this is over." Connor looked at his little sister's countenance as it fell and Thomas could tell he felt terrible for his little sister. "On the bright side, this should all be over in about a week and then you two can finally get married and break that betrothal spell."

Jonathan put his arm around his only granddaughter and smiled. "Abby and Thomas will be all right." He mussed her hair, and she let him. She just wished she believed him.

Grams, Kendra and Laura began to bring some food out and place it on the dining room table. "Time to eat," Grams called out. "You can go back to your plans for war later." Thomas took the opportunity to sneak into the kitchen and pick up little Sarah. He picked up her pacifier as well, just in case and paraded her out into the room.

"I've been waiting to get you to myself all day," he started. "But Grams won't give you up. Now that she is busy, I get to sneak you away." Everyone knew that Grams would be back for Sarah as soon as all the food was served. Thomas also noticed that the moment William appeared, he and Kendra disappeared.
It must really be great for her to finally have people she trusts with Sarah so she can take a break, or meet a guy like William
. He continued to play with the happy baby, but she soon turned into a fussy baby. Thomas didn't know what to do when Abby took the pacifier out of his hand and put it in the little girl's mouth. Once again she was happy, and she cooed at Abby, studying her with inquisitive eyes.

After lunch, Gunter called everyone back to order for another round of talks. Grams returned to pick up Sarah and took her back into the kitchen. The next several hours entailed planning and more planning. When the time came, Thomas knew they would be ready. He only hoped the people he cared about survived. His thoughts drifted back to Lucas, and he wondered,
Is he still one of the people I hope will survive?
Thomas wondered what would happen to their friendship when he was forced to kill Devlin.