Page 34 of Gates of Rapture (The Guardians of Ascension #6)

Seduction comes in many forms.

— Collected Proverbs, Beatrice of Fourth

Twenty-four hours had passed since Greaves had last seen Stannett.

He entered the heart of the new Seers Fortress in Illinois Two, instead of Stannett’s private room.

The surroundings were lovely: black marble on the ceiling, part of the walls and floors, black leather padding on the rest of the walls, a few dim inset lights around the perimeter to cast the inner sanctum in a nice glow.

The Seers’ chaise longues were actually set in a lower level and reached by a flight of stairs at either end, almost like an orchestra pit.

The viewing platform was quite large and finished with a fine polished mahogany.

Doors on either side of the inner sanctum led to an outer hall and the rest of the Seers palace.

From the platform, Greaves could watch Stannett and his bound Seers in action.

The chaise longues were arranged in a straight row, but each was tilted ever so slightly, almost imperceptibly. The concept behind the tilt was to keep the body slightly off balance and therefore the mind better focused.

Greaves moved to the edge of the stage and stared down into the pit. Stannett had his Seers strapped in place. His eyes were closed, and he had a sublime expression on his face. No doubt he had just filled his embroidered, red leather pants.

The vampire was hopeless.

“Stannett, we need to talk.”

The Seer opened his eyes. “Hello, Greaves.” He blinked rapidly several times.

“I suppose you’d like an update.” He sat up, then glanced at the three women bound to his right and the three to his left.

“None of them is conscious yet. The power we just shared has put each in a stupor. Not a bad place to be. At least, they’re not dead. ”

Greaves glanced at the women and noted the dark brown skin. “From Mumbai?”

“Yes. Some of your most powerful Seers.”

“How long have you been working them?”

“Not long, about an hour. I allow them to rest for two afterward and make them drink lots of water. I’ve only had two die on me since last night.”

Greaves repressed a sigh. “And what have you discovered about our present difficulties?”

Stannett looked up at him wide-eyed. “Nothing yet. I have kept these early trial runs relegated to less strenuous matters.”

“You mean you’ve been hunting for future stream tail?”

“Well, yes. It seemed the most sensible way to get the women accustomed. I assure you, I haven’t been the only one enjoying the process. If you’d arrived earlier, you would have heard a great deal of delighted moaning.”

“And this is meant to reassure me?”

Greaves knew it was impossible for Stannett to comprehend the difficulties Greaves faced, but he began to suspect that the man was an idiot. Or if not a complete imbecile, then so given to his own pleasure that nothing else seemed to matter.

Greaves folded to his position in the pit.

He put a finger beneath Stannett’s chin and used resonance.

“Have I not told you how badly I need pure vision? That I must have the best possible information from moment to moment over the next several days?” He could feel Stannett tremble. “Why have you not done as I asked?”

“I… I thought I did,” Stannett said, wincing. Greaves had used resonance and he meant for it to hurt. “You didn’t tell me to start amassing information. You told me to work the skills of your Seers.”

“Then let me be very clear right now. I need an abundance of prophetic material as close to pure vision as you can achieve.” Greaves swept a hand over both sets of women. “Go back in and find me some useful information for tonight. And I do mean tonight.”

Stannett didn’t hesitate. He stretched back out and began the process. Greaves folded back up to the platform. He could feel Stannett’s power moving through the women. He wasn’t surprised when many of them cried out as if in pain.

Good.

He waited for a moment, then when the Seers relaxed, he drove his mental power straight at Stannett, pierced his mind, and found himself in what looked like great chaos.

A battle of some sort. Greaves recognized the Seattle hidden colony and the warrior games setup.

He watched his death vampires flowing over the citizens and striking them down.

Peace moved through Greaves because he could feel that this was pure vision.

If his enemy did not interfere, if Marguerite did not catch wind of the prophecy, then the Seattle Colony would be reduced to rubble.

He sought for the timing of the event and knew that he had at least two hours to prepare.

But he wanted to see the outcome. He was delighted when he saw his death vampires cheering and drinking people to death, chasing their victims into the forest.

When the stream ended, Greaves’s heart beat strong in his chest. He would strike a blow against the opposition that would leave Endelle reeling. Right now it looked like Marguerite had failed to intervene by blocking Stannett, or maybe Stannett and the six Seers were just too damn powerful.

Either way, he rejoiced.

He was about to fold when he looked down and realized Stannett was trying to rouse the Seer to his left. The woman was dead.

Stannett looked up at him. “When the power begins to flow, they can’t take it without rest, just as I said.”

“But you have no problem with that level of power?”

Stannett laughed. “Of course not. Did you think I would?”

“No. You have many failings, my friend, but the inability to handle a power surge is not one of them.” He glanced at the remaining women. “Are any of the rest dead?”

“Yes.” Stannett looked from one to the next. “Three altogether.”

“Pity.” He rocked on his heels slightly. “Get rid of these, harness more, and forge a path through the future streams. And lest you mistake me again, I need as much information as you can gather, despite how hard Marguerite blocks you.”

“Understood,” Stannett responded.

***

That evening, after dinner at the palace, Leto returned with Grace to the bedroom of his cabin.

He was still reeling from the hundred-plus conversations he’d had with the Division Leaders earlier in the day.

His initial effort had been to test the waters as subtly as possible.

To take anything further, to ask for commitments, was out of the question until he had a plan in place.

His largest concern, about executing a mass fold, was just as Grace had suggested.

He had no idea how he was going to physically move even one division, not to mention several, without Greaves finding out and stopping him.

He had finished his shower and had a towel around his waist. With another towel, he was drying his hair. Grace was sitting cross-legged on the side of the bed, staring at the wall. She was still in her yoga pants and shirt.

“What’s going on?” he asked.

“I’m still stunned by that experience of possessing Fiona and battling Jean-Pierre with a sword. And when I allowed the triad’s power to really infuse my movements, then I became a blur of speed.”

“Were you ever afraid you would wound Jean-Pierre?”

“No, never. You can’t imagine the amount of control the triad has. It was amazing. I’m still in shock.” She looked around.

“Now what’s wrong?”

She shook her head. “I don’t know if it’s just a residual effect from all the practice today, but my obsidian power is vibrating. I keep trying to intuit the problem, but I’m getting nothing. I just have this feeling…”

He moved to stand in front of her. “What can I do?”

She looked up and put her hand on his hip. “That’s exactly what I needed to hear. Thank you. The funny thing is, I’m not sure. I feel like I’m supposed to do something, but I don’t know what. I guess I’m a little wound up.”

“Why don’t you try contacting either Fiona or Marguerite?”

“I’ve been thinking about it, but it was such a long day for everyone.”

“I think you should anyway.”

She nodded, then closed her eyes. Her shoulders rose and fell, and she grew very still. He didn’t move, either. He didn’t want to disrupt the communication.

Finally, she seemed to relax and opened her eyes. “It was so easy to reach Marguerite. I just thought her name, and suddenly she was there. I wish you could have heard her. She was practically screaming at me, ‘What’s wrong, what’s wrong?’” Grace laughed.

“What did you tell her?”

“Actually, I asked her to hop in the future streams because I was feeling uneasy. She said that was good enough for her and that she’d get back to me.”

“Good, that’s good.”

Grace rose to her feet. “It’s probably nothing. I’ll go take my shower, but don’t go far.” She leaned up on her tiptoes and kissed him.

“I’ll be right here.” His chest felt warm and very full. He could see by the light in her eye that she had something cozy on her mind. He was definitely game.

He almost suggested he join her in the shower, but he had a few things to check out first. He looked around the room. Then he felt it, too. Something didn’t feel right. He wondered if Casimir was around causing some sort of mischief.

He heard the shower running. Grace started humming, and the sound gripped his heart in the nicest way. He could feel the water on her skin, her hands soaping up, then rubbing over her shoulders, her arms, her breasts…

Okay, he had to shut that down because he knew if he didn’t, he’d be heading back to the bathroom.

He ordered his mind and found that with a little effort, he could block some of her physical sensations.

He really did need to check in with the colony’s Militia Warrior HQ to see how things were going.

But as he folded his phone into his hand, his sense of uneasiness increased, though he couldn’t say why. His cabin was a significant distance from the main portion of the village.

He turned the lamps off in the bedroom so that the only light in the room was the glow from the bathroom.