Veil of Justice, Shadows of Justice Book 3 (25 page)

At the door, she pushed and tugged, but it
wouldn't budge. "Nathan," she growled.

"
If you leave, you'll never speak to me
again
."

Maybe he wasn't so stupid. But she was a fool
for the relief washing over her.

"
Come look
."

She would've turned on her own, but Nathan's
power sped her up. "Let me go," she snapped. "I'm coming."

He met her at the office door, his apologies
echoing from his lips and in her head. "He left these behind."

Notes, she saw, not surprised. Until she saw
the dates. "This is impossible."

"No. Your nephew was right and wrong. He's
negotiated, but not for sex. Immortality." Nathan shifted the
papers with his mind, and a stack of aged, yellowed sheets came to
hover in front of her. "He wanted me to find this stash."

"Why?" she whispered, staring. These were
notes from the greatest scientists and physicians in history. "Oh,
God. We have to stop him."

"I promise we will." His voice was flat and
the vow deadly.

"Do you have what you need?" He nodded. "Then
let's get busy."

"Wait. One more thing." He kissed her.
"What's here will help me – us – tomorrow."

She smiled up at him. "Apology accepted."

When they exited, together, they jogged back
to the buses. Seeing Daniel, she signaled him over. He seemed
relieved to see her, but reluctant to leave Gideon's side.

"What, Aunt Cali?" At Nathan's glare, he
amended, "I mean, yes, ma'am?"

"Think about your history classes. What is
gained by getting us to over commit as we are here?" She wanted to
capitalize on this teaching moment. Strategy was her particular
skill and she had another generation to prepare.

"It leaves something else vulnerable," he
answered with a small frown.

"Yes. And?"

"It can cause chaos, while giving the
trickster more time and information." His eyes lit with
understanding. "He knew we'd come, he's watching our progress.
Assessing our numbers."

"We're too predictable. Too compassionate,"
Jaden snapped. "This was all a set up so he can prepare." She
smacked her thigh. "He's looking to make it easier to kill us." She
glared at Brian. "Damn, I'm getting slow."

"Not by my count," Brian countered.

Cali and Daniel nodded, picking up on the
primary concern. "They didn't overwhelm my family in Monument
Valley," Cali said. "They capitalized on our humanity. This is a
mind game. Coming here connects us to the men we must get through
to reclaim the map box."

"Oh, to hell with this." Jaden stormed to the
nearest bus and squawked the loudspeaker to life. "Load up people.
We've got a deadline to meet and demons to slay."

* * *

"A prisoner of war is a man who tries to kill
you and fails, and then asks you not to kill him." Winston
Churchill's words haunted Cali. As the bus rolled closer to her
home, the site of her family's tragedy, she knew there would be no
prisoners taken today. Kristoff, with or without his goddess, had
to die. The men he'd enslaved with his performance enhancing
'juice' would stand before him and on his orders they would fall as
innocent casualties of this private war.

She kept trying to lay that blame on
Kristoff, and found it impossible. She might know how to kill, but
she'd been raised with the morals to save innocent lives. What were
those soldiers if not innocent? They'd only given their best and
their good efforts and intentions had been warped by the cruelty of
a mad, power hungry scientist.

"All things work for good." Her father's
favorite phrase, but she didn't see how to apply it to the coming
battle. There was more to it than positive thinking, she was sure.
She tried to quiet her mind, to let the mystery solve itself, but
all she could see was the horror that would be unleashed if her
blood illuminated the secrets hidden on the maps.

Cali moved off alone, trying to meditate in
preparation of the coming conflict. It was a lost cause. She felt
like the planning and discussions had left something vital out. It
niggled at her, wanting her attention, but she couldn't bring it
into focus. Helpless not to, she glanced at Nathan, who was
honoring her waspish demand for space, and tried again to open her
mind and review everything she'd been taught, and more importantly,
everything her brothers had been taught.

With a sigh, Cali gave up on meditation and
crossed the aisle to sit with Nathan. He'd become as much a source
of renewal as anything. More probably.

"What do you think?" She whispered so she
wouldn't wake the others. "Tell me we win."

His eyes were dark, inscrutable in the low
light. His lips didn't move as his answer echoed in her head. "
I
think you should've listened to me
."

She wanted to snap at him, but it would upset
the others, Daniel especially. She was tired of his 'stay safe at
home' routine. Of course, she'd tried to leave him behind. Twice.
Although the bunker couldn't count because she was only mad
there.

He laughed softly in the dark. Clearly he'd
heard her thoughts. "At least you've given up the detachment
thing."

"True." He brushed his mouth across her
ear.

She didn't try to hide her satisfied
smirk.

"You were mean back there," he complained
without much intensity.

"You earned it," she said. She wouldn't
apologize again. "I trust you." Implicitly. She understood that
now. Even when he was distracted and testy she wanted him by her
side.

"No matter what happens," she began.

"We're connected. I'll still be in your
head."

The words came on a warm whisper against her
ear. She snuggled back against his chest as his arms came around
her. Together they watched the scenery blur away as the driver
pushed the bus to its limit. Considering this might just be the
start of an apocalypse, engine care didn't matter much.

"Are you scared?" she asked, feeling a small
tremble in his muscles.

"Not precisely."

Meaning he wasn't scared for her. She wanted
to look into his eyes, but moving would break the moment. She
settled for studying his reflection in the window. "I won't let you
down."

"Never thought you would." His arms banded
tighter, then eased. His breath shuddered in, then out. "You are
impossibly strong. So steady in your beliefs. It's a high standard
to maintain."

Ah. He was back to this. Funny, after all
they'd shared in and out of each other's heads it was a wonder he
didn't know how unsure she'd been. She thought about the challenges
and the tough choices they'd both been forced to make.

"You did what you had to do," she offered.
She knew he was thinking about other things, but she was
remembering his harsh words in the infirmary. She'd needed that
kick in the ass. Man, that 'martyr much' line had lit her
temper.

"And you pulled my ass out of the fire.
Literally. Sort of."

The idea made her giggle. A sound she didn't
think would be any more welcome on this bus than airing her fears.
When did she get so girly? Did this sort of change happen to
everyone on the brink of death?

"Don't try and deny it," Nathan was saying.
"You were right. I was in over my head to go after Kristoff that
way."

"No. You were right to stick with it.
Infiltration was your primary mission."

Nathan snorted and the window's reflection
showed the pain and self-disgust on his face. "I should've known
when to modify the goal."

"You don't like mods remember?" She twisted
in his arms, capturing his face between her hands. "Listen. There
is no blame, no regret in me when it comes to us. Whatever we're
about to face, it's going to take both of us to finish the job.
Trust that, trust us, no matter what happens, okay?"

"Oh, would you two get a room already?"
Daniel said from two seats back. "I'll tell Grandma on you."

Cali ignored the idle threat, determined to
know if Nathan understood. "Well?"

"Marry me?"

TWELVE

Opportunities multiply as they are seized.
Sun Tzu

"You can't ask me that. Not here. Not
now."

Not ever
, added the part of her mind
that always deferred to logic. He wasn't of a guardian clan. It
wasn't possible. They'd be cast out and shunned.

Of course, that assumed they survived the
day.

Nathan turned his face to press his lips to
her palm when the bus lurched into a sideways slide down Highway
163. He sheltered Cali with his body as they slammed into the seats
in front of them.

From the seat behind the driver he heard
Gideon swearing. Daniel was tossed like a rag doll and Nathan used
his mind to ease the boy's landing.

"Oh, this bitch is so going down!" Jaden
jumped to her feet, her balance perfect, before the bus even
stopped rocking.

"Guess it's game time," Brian said, with a
calm that sounded out of place considering the circumstances.
"Stick to the plan everyone."

Then he and Jaden were out the door and
charging to the battle line Nin-Hur-Sag had drawn.

Gideon wrenched the driver from behind the
wheel and checked him over. Then he grabbed Daniel up off the
floor. "Stay in contact. No excuses." He cuffed the boy's ear.
"That thing still working?"

"Yeah."

Daniel's eyes were wide and Cali hated
herself for dragging him into a war no child should see. Thank God
he hadn't been home to witness his father's slaughter.

"
Focus
," Nathan reminded her.

She locked back into the moment, watching
Gideon apply the body armor to Daniel, then himself, cinching
straps tight and slapping them down.

"Now, don't freak when Nathan snaps an order
in there, all right?" Gideon tapped Daniel's forehead, before
handing over Daniel's quiver and bow. "Think sniper and you'll do
fine."

"Laser tag on juice," Daniel said.

"You got it. Now it's time to party."

Nathan felt Cali shiver as she watched Daniel
in Gideon's shadow. "If I survive, Serena's gonna kill me," she
admitted.

"I'll make sure Gideon gets the blame if
anything happens." The useless threat brought a wan smile to her
face. Nathan counted it better than the worry that had been there a
moment ago. "Shall we recap?"

"God no. Let's just get it done."

"What's the goddess's weakness?"

"Arrogance. Among her other flaws."

"How will you capitalize on that?"

She answered him with a hard punch on the
shoulder.

He couldn't complain as he was about to
invite a more severe beating just by stepping off the bus.

"Fine then." He kissed her hard, running his
hands lightly over her weapons. Just in case he had to use one for
her. "No bleeding!" he added, jumping out of her reach. He raced
off to the cliff's edge where their friends were already engaged
with Kristoff's elite soldiers.

"Petra? You there?" he asked, opening the
connection to his sister.

"As much as I'm able," she grumbled.

Nathan felt sorry for her, but no one would
let her risk an astral flight or let her anywhere near a
battlefield while she was pregnant. "Keep me informed." They were
left with only the intel provided by a satellite feed that she
would relay from her post twenty miles out.

Nathan wanted to reach out to Cali, but he
was too close to the evil goddess to risk it. If the assumptions
were correct, Kristoff would try and turn Nathan in the heat of the
conflict and then follow the emotional trail back to Cali.

There were only six of them against Kristoff,
his loyal soldiers, and the evil goddess he served. It sounded
ludicrous, but if they each pulled off their part, the odds were
actually in their favor.

All praise for positive thinking
,
Petra deadpanned.

Nathan ignored her. The Commandant's team was
surely executing the new assignments. There'd been a heated
discussion, but they all agreed there was no point in bringing them
to the front lines once Kristoff had seen them.

Nathan charged forward, deflecting bullets on
his way to the battle. One of Kristoff's soldiers lunged from the
cloud of dust and set on him in hand to hand combat, but Nathan
used his mind to turn him against his closest comrade while
pressing on to his real goal: Kristoff.

The macabre dance seemed a violent
illustration of ancient conflicts he'd studied in the military.
While he'd been trained in close combat and martial arts, he knew
his talents paled next to Jaden. She moved with an elegantly lethal
grace, quickly dispatching one combatant after another.

"Yeah, yeah, she's gorgeous. Focus or I'll
tell Cali."

Nothing like a sister to keep a brother on
task. Nathan pressed closer to his target, until he was finally
within reach of Kristoff's private guard. He reached out with his
mind, when suddenly a line of blood bisected the man and his
entrails oozed in slow motion to the ground.

"Feels good, doesn't it?"

The question was in his mind, but a terrible
laughter was pinging in his ears. Though they'd discussed it and
he'd prepared for the intrusion, Simon still managed to shock
him.

Thank God Petra leaped into the breach
through the mental connection she'd fostered.

Nathan gave up that portion of the battle to
her, trying not to listen as Petra impersonated him in this bizarre
mental relay. Instead, he zeroed in on the man who'd engineered the
back door that left them open to this horrific type of intrusion:
Dr. Leo Kristoff.

Nathan swallowed the bile that rose in his
throat and pressed on.

* * *

Kristoff whipped around, taking his eyes from
the battlefield to the feet of the wicked goddess. "Do something.
He's nearly on me."