Seal of Surrender (23 page)

She stepped into the scorching hot shower and tried to scrub away the revulsion from her captor's touch. It didn't help. Her disgust turned inward, morphed into the more familiar, unsettling torment of childhood abandonment. Why would someone — her birth mother, say — leave a newborn at the ER entrance with no note, no way to cope, no link to the world beyond? Mira jammed the shower off. Didn't matter anyway. She didn't need a family. She didn't need anybody.

Mira strode into the bedroom and surveyed the clothes in her closet before tossing out a clean pair of jeans and a hot pink T-shirt. The cute tanks and faded denims tucked away in the corner stirred a pang of sadness. She crammed it deep, out of reach. She didn't wear those clothes anymore. They revealed too much. At sixteen, she'd reveled in her blossoming figure. Twelve years and one brutal violation later, she knew better. Now she dressed for defense. Mira pulled on her self-imposed uniform then moved to the edge of her bed to lace on her steel-toed combat boots. Barriers in place, she was ready to tackle the outside world.

She suppressed a yawn and bustled to the kitchen to fix a cup of coffee in her chipped happy face mug and check her phone. Only one person ever texted. The only person who'd never betrayed her. Zoe. She smiled when the message flashed across the screen.
Meet you at the platform. Need caffeine.

Mira plucked her oversized coat off its hook on the wall and bundled up, her chest squeezed by a familiar sense of foreboding. Yet another pleasant side effect of the nightmares. After a firm mental shake, Mira locked the door and sprinted to catch the train at the nearby station.

• • •

Kagan sprawled naked among the sheets of his disheveled bed, skin sheened with sweat. The spectral images remained. He wiped the perspiration from his face and tossed the damp sheet aside, stalking to the bathroom and flipping on the shower. The near-scalding water ran over his tense muscles but did little to relieve his rabid unease. He slammed his fist against the native travertine. “
Basta
!” Why? Why, after all these centuries, was he forced to relive the moment of his greatest failure — and his ultimate redemption — on a nightly basis?
He hated the unredeemable guilt knotting his gut. The torment had dogged him for weeks now, same as the dreams.

He toweled off and slung the wet towel around his hips before grabbing his toothbrush. Memories played against the sink's white porcelain backdrop while he scrubbed.

Following the initial shock of bestowed immortality, Kagan had embraced his new life as a Scion warrior. The regimented training and brotherhood provided him with both a family and a purpose. Yet even a millennia later, he still yearned for things beyond the battlefield. Things impossible for a man like him. He was honed for battle and war, not the comforts of home and family.

He glanced at his reflection, toothpaste dribbling down his chin. He craved a summons. Needed one to feel a part of something again.
Dai!
A century of solitude was too long.

Kagan jammed the toothbrush into its holder and turned to leave. A sudden burning on his abdomen stopped him short. He frowned at the sigil below his navel. Divinity had branded each of the brethren and used the marks to summon them like a sacred paging system. On cue, Kagan's mark glowed golden-red. The signal of an impending conveyance.

A bright light exploded in the confined space of the bathroom and a vortex opened behind him. A grin cracked his previous scowl.
Grazie Divinita
. The wet towel slid off his hips, falling unheeded to the floor when Kagan disappeared in the maelstrom.

• • •

Relieved to be back in rotation, Kagan speculated about the nature of his new assignment. War was a constant plague of humanity, yet his considerable skills had been virtually ignored of late. Security, surveillance, and spooks were the orders of the current day. While he loved a good automatic weapon as much as the next warrior, Kagan missed the hand-to-hand conflict of old.

As he waited, he surveyed his surroundings with curiosity. Despite his century in exile, the white marble room remained the same, gleaming with a constant glow of energy. The enormous room stood empty save for a large, flat-screen monitor covering an entire wall, the display alight with scenes from every corner of planet Earth. Divinity's Mission Control.

A petite, white-haired woman with iridescent eyes stepped forward.

“Divinity,” Kagan said with a deferential nod and a wink meant to charm. Soon Xander followed, the only Scion older than Kagan himself. He registered his commanding officer's disapproving glower. What could possibly have set Xander's ire boiling? He'd only just arrived. Surely one wink wasn't worth all this. An errant breeze tickled his nether regions, and his misstep registered.
Dolce Cristo!

“Kagan, where the hell are your clothes?” Xander's raised hands forestalled his response, the twitch of his lips hinting at suppressed amusement. “No. Wait. I'm sure I don't want to know. Perhaps you've spent too long secluded in sunny Tuscany, eh?”

Xander materialized a robe from the ether. Kagan caught the tossed bundle one-handed. “
Grazie
, Xan. Thought it was a bit breezy in here.”

“Sorry to interrupt your reunion, but we've got plenty to discuss and little time, gentlemen,” Divinity's clipped tone mirrored the clack of her heels on the marble floor. Both men followed her across a grand foyer into a cozy, fire-warmed den. She faced them at the mantel, arms crossed and toe tapping, no-nonsense as always. “Kagan, I need you to protect something.”

A handmaiden arrived, bearing a tray with three brandy-filled snifters. Kagan grabbed his and settled into a leather wing chair before the crackling fire. “A new weapon?”

Divinity sipped her beverage before answering. “Yes, I suppose they could be used for weapons if certain people gained control. But they're hardly new, Kagan. The Seals are older than you are.”

Xander took residence in the chair beside his. Kagan scooted forward. “Wait a minute. You mean
the
Seals? As in ‘death, destruction, and total annihilation' Seals?”

“Those are the ones.” Xander gave him a brief nod then did a double take. “And shut your damned robe before I close it for you
permanently
.”

“
Mi scusi
.” Kagan straightened the garment with a smile and shot Divinity another wink. “Come now,
mio fratello
. Admit you missed me. And Divinity is, well … Divinity.”

She toasted him with her snifter. Xander rolled his eyes and focused on the blaze, his tone turning grave. “Kagan, what do you remember about the Seals?”

Always one for brevity, Kagan waited in silence.

“Seems you've suddenly forgotten your tongue, brother.” At his lack of response, Xander continued, his fingers tapping on his glass as he regarded Kagan with supreme annoyance. “Permit me to remind you, then. Each time a Seal is opened, a new disaster is unleashed, culminating in the final Apocalypse. The first Seal triggers the beginning of the end.”

Instincts now on high alert, Kagan sifted through the clues surrounding him: Xander's drawn features and prevailing edginess; Divinity's cut-crystal stoicism despite Kagan's attempts at charm; the palpable tension crowding the room like Hannibal's elephants. They all indicated a forthcoming
mostruoso
of a crisis. His anticipation welled. This would be a good summons after all. He took a long draw off his smooth liquor and awaited the impending explosion.

Divinity remained placid as she detonated the information. “Kagan, the location of the Seals has been discovered. We need you to ensure both the first Seal and its host are protected.”

Host?
This was new information.
Kagan's gaze ricocheted between Divinity and Xander, who now slumped in his chair, deflated. He refused to meet Kagan's gaze while he answered the unspoken question. “Yes, Kagan. The Seals now reside in human hosts.”

“But I thought — ”

“Enough!” Divinity fiddled with the pearls adorning her neck and stared into the fire. “The truth is, for most of their existence, the Seals were secured here. Then my vaults were breached, and the most expedient solution was to bind the Seals to seven human hosts. A place no one thought to search.”

Kagan scowled at the Persian rug beneath his bare feet. “You said ‘we.' Who else is involved?”

“Other than myself and now you, Scion?” She met his gaze, golden turbulence sparking behind her pupils. “Lucifer.”

“
Vasto
!” Kagan gulped the rest of his brandy and rose to a warrior stance, his expression one of staunch intent; the same look had caused the soiling of many a stalwart man's shorts through the millennia. He considered the current downward slant of his fortunes and decided facing Satan himself was the perfect assignment at the perfect time. “I'd be honored to escort the Viper straight back to Hades for you,
Divinita
.”

Divinity blinked, completely unmoved by his statement. “Kagan, your focus must be on protecting the first Seal and its host. Can I trust you to handle the situation?”

Kagan gave a brief nod, disgruntled. Of course he could be trusted! Now his loyalty was in question as well?

He sought the support of his commander. Xander refused to meet his gaze, his attention fixed on the blasted fire. Nostrils flaring and arms twined tight, Kagan's glare burned an imaginary hole through the opposing wall. “I'm to guard this Seal and host? Nothing more?”

Divinity's serene tone sliced scalpel-sharp through his anger. “This mission is the most important summons of your career, Kagan. Important enough to require a lengthy sabbatical to ensure your full competence.” She hesitated, meeting his pointed stare with unapologetic confidence. “I had to know you were ready. If you fail, the results will be catastrophic.”

Kagan forced himself to relax. Divinity had ordered his century-long retreat? Didn't make sense to him, but then it wasn't his place to question. Those were the rules. The rules did not, however, dictate his chosen attitude about said assignment.
Oca! Nothing more than a glorified babysitter. Again.
Kagan inhaled deeply and raised his tensed jaw, his response swift as a dart. “Fine. Where?”

His commander's answering glower showed his irritation at Kagan's less than enthusiastic attitude. Kagan was well beyond caring.

Xander finished his brandy and placed the empty snifter on the mahogany desk with a resounding
thwack
. He then fired off the mission details, bullet-point style while he paced. “Your target's name is Mira Herald. She's in Chicago, and she works at a bar called The G Spot. We've already arranged a place for you to stay. You must make contact with the host tonight and keep her under guard until otherwise notified, understood?”

With a curt nod, Kagan glanced at his robe then up at his commander. While he might not be able to refuse the job, he could still have some fun poking Xander's over-regimented bear along the way. “Will I be provided with a more appropriate wardrobe? This garment's useful, but Chicago's on the windy side and with it being December, I — ” Jeans and a black T-shirt smacked him in the face. Xander flashed a silent dare in his direction before he resumed pacing on the priceless carpet.

“Ah, so generous of you,
amico
. What about boots, a coat — ” Items continued to fly while Kagan listed them off. When he'd finished, he stood fully dressed and faced his taciturn commander, his lips twitching to hide a grin in response to Xander's peevish scowl. “Weapons?”

“Check yourself,” Xander said before stalking out to lean against a marble column in the foyer. He shot Kagan a final, forbidding glare, then pulled out his phone and dialed.

The front pockets of Kagan's long wool coat bulged. He reached in to find a Glock 17 in each pocket; inside his boots, the familiar weight of a sheathed dagger rested against each shin.

Locked and ammo-loaded, Kagan took the phone Divinity handed him and checked the current Chicago weather report. An involuntary wince crossed his features when the frigid forecast appeared: temperature in the teens with a below-zero wind chill.
Che palle!
This job got more hellish with each passing second.

He shoved the phone in his pocket and contemplated the fastest route to get this mission concluded. One host. One Seal. Should only take mere hours to secure and ship them wherever Divinity requested. One problem solved. Not so terrible. Kagan gave a perfunctory wave in Xander's direction then turned to Divinity with a flourish. “As always,
puro paradiso
.”

“Please be careful, Kagan.” Divinity studied him with a cautioning stare.

Kagan nodded and stepped away. Eyes closed and power concentrated, he disappeared moments later in a brilliant flash.

• • •

Mira burrowed into the collar of her coat and climbed the stairs to the platform. The stiff wind blowing in from Lake Michigan fogged her breath and stung her eyes, chafing her skin with bitter coldness. She clung with fleece-covered hands to the railing and waited for the arriving train to come to a complete stop. Once it halted, Mira pushed through the exiting commuters to plunk down dead center on a double seat and stare blindly at the scenery beyond. The train neared her destination a short time later. They jerked into the station and she bulldozed toward the entrance. The sudden prickle of prying eyes skittered over her and Mira snapped sideways, glowering at the crowd behind. No one dared meet her hostile glare, yet she couldn't shake the feeling she was being watched.

Mira fidgeted at the exit, leaping out when the doors opened. She disappeared into the crowds on the platform and jogged down the steps to street level. Through the crowded pre-holiday hustle and bustle, Mira spotted a bright red beret and waved its owner over. “Hey, Munchkin!”