Ascension (21 page)

CHAPTER 19

“Love that is not madness is not love.”

de la Barca

We drive over to the Cathedral to meet with Vasquez later the next evening. He's a small man with dark close-set eyes framed by thick eyebrows. He's busy on the phone when we walk into the office. I scan the books in the bookshelves and some are so old, the bindings are falling apart. I sit beside Terri on a velvet couch
. A
cool breeze brush
es
my cheeks
, flowing in through open l
eaded windows.

Vasquez sits behind his desk, hands clasped together, waiting for us to speak. On the desk in front of him is the piece of clay Soren gave me.

“Tell me about your trip,” he says after we’re introduced.

I tell him of our trip to
Montana
and of my suspicions regarding Soren – his ability to change his appearance. Of our flight and the turbulence. Of our parting at the airport and the seal he'd given me.

"It could mean anything, his words to you. We can't jump to any conclusions," he says, taking his glasses off and cleaning them with a kerchief extracted from a pocket.

"She's had dreams, Miguel. He seems to be projecting into her mind."

Vasquez looks at me and leans forward.

"This wasn't in your report. If it's relevant to the case, it should
be
in
cluded
. I have to have all the facts before I can determine the proper course of action. This is not personal - none of your work for the SCU or our group is."

I flush, knowing what he says is true, but I was so damn embarrassed to admit my response to the dreams.

"I've talked to Terri about this. I realize I should've put it in my report, but I didn't want it in writing."

"It's a perfect form of torture, to tempt us with desire. You're no different than any other person in this," he says, watching my face closely for my response.
 
I nod at his words. On the way over, I read a brief biography of Vasquez that was part of my files. He knows just what to say - he practiced psychiatry before joining the clergy, and had lived a normal life before becoming a priest.

"I'm sorry that you are faced with this test. Most Adepts are never faced with such temptation. We were so pleased to find you again, Eve.
 
You have so much to offer us because of your gifts. I'm counting on you to weather this and carry on." He rises from his chair and comes in front of me, leaning back on his desk, his hands folded on his lap. "I want you to go to the
Palestinian
Territories
and let him know you're there. Do you feel able to meet this challenge?"

"I..." I hesitate. "I don't know. Michel seemed really worried about my going near him."

Vasquez nods. "He's not unbiased in this. He wanted you for himself. But you serve the Council first and foremost, Eve. As the representative for the Council, I want you to go. Michel's on leave. Julien is a fugitive. I'm your supervisor now. Pray for strength to help you through this. I'll pray for you as I'm sure Terri is already. Call me at any time should you feel a need. Other than that, you'll have to fly to the
Palestinian
Territories
and check out Soren. Place yourself where he can see you so he knows you're following him, that you're aware of his involvement in the peace talks. He may contact you, he may not," he shrugs.

“What about that?” I say and point to the artifact.

"It’s nothing important,” Vasquez says. “Terri," he says, turning to her. "I want you to stay behind and help me. I'm sending someone to
Montana
to infiltrate the group, to watch Soren first hand. I'm reviewing candidates now and could use your input."

He goes back behind his desk and turns to his files. When I don't get up, he glances at me.

"Was there something else?"

"Soren said the clay was important. What is it?”

“He’s trying to confuse us. This is not your concern.”

“But it is. He gave it to me.”

“When he did, he gave it directly to me. It’s just a diversion. That’s all you need to know.”

I sit there, frustrated. I know Soren wanted me to know what that was.

“Who will come with me to Ramallah?"

"I'm sending one of our older Adepts from Central with you."

I nod, unwilling to challenge his decision. Vasquez's silence is our dismissal and we leave him and go back to our own offices at the SCU. As we drive back, Terri shakes her head, admitting shock at Vasquez's attitude towards my dreams.

"I can't understand why he's sending you. It's like he's dangling you out as bait."

I have the same feeling.
 

"Will you be all right?" she asks when I get out of the car outside my apartment.

"The security is crazy here."

"Call me if you need to talk. If you want to stay at my place, feel free. I have an extra room now that Joseph's gone to college."

"It won't do any good," I sigh. "But thanks anyway. You're good to me."

"I don't like what I think Vasquez is doing with you. Michel would never allow it. Keep that in mind when you encounter Soren. You may be bait." She looks in the rear- view mirror at the traffic building behind me and I know she has to leave.

"We seem to be caught up in the idea that the demon is tempting you, but Vasquez may want you to tempt the demon. If so, I fear for you."

I fear for myself as well.

As soon as she drives off, Vasily arrives in his car and I get in and go back to the warehouse.

“Vasily, is there any way you can contact Julien? My new boss wants me to go to Ramallah and make contact with Soren. I don’t think either Julien or Michel would want that.”

“I’ll try, but Julien said he’d be out of contact for maybe a week.”

I watch the scenery as we drive to the warehouse. Now is not a good time for Julien to go black.

With no word from Julien to stop me, I make plans to leave for Ramallah. I have nothing to do but pack my small case and leave an extra bowl of water and food for the cats at my flat. Once that's done, I pace the warehouse, wondering what will happen in Ramallah and who this older Adept is. Finally, I go to bed and roll up in the blankets, doing my progressive relaxation to try to fall asleep.

The first sensation is movement on the bed as he sits beside me, the pressure of his hard thigh along my hip. I lift my head off the pillow, to look at him, expecting to find Julien and am shocked to find Michel instead.

He's dressed in a loose black robe open at the neck, his pale skin glowing in the moonlight shining in from the window. He removes my nightgown without a word and pushes me over on my back, his hands sliding over my bare skin as he moves to straddle my hips.

"You're mine," he says, his voice warm and deep. His eyes move over my naked body. "So lovely. So much loneliness."

He leans over and kisses my neck. His mouth is so cool, his
 
tongue soft and wet - they feel so incredibly erotic on my skin.
 

"I’ve known loneliness," he whispers in my ear. "Hundreds of years. They chose you so well, I just might give in to temptation."

Then he kisses me and I feel such a surge of desire go through me I think I'll explode from it even as I feel tears fill my eyes.
 
I miss him so much and kiss him back and my arms circling his neck, pulling him closer to me.

"Dear sweet Eve," he whispers, pulling back and raising himself up on his hands.
 
He wipes my cheeks with a finger and slips the finger in his mouth, his eyes closing as he tastes my tears. "So much need..." He bends down and kisses me once again, the touch of his tongue on mine taking my breath away. "Can you believe?"

He waits for an answer.

"Yes," I say, not knowing what it is I'm asked to believe. I only know I want him more than anything. Then, he exhales heavily and bends down, his open mouth pressing on my neck and then a searing pain as he bites down.

I wake with a start, still on my side, my blankets twisted around me. I reach for my neck and feel only smooth skin, the wound where Julien bit me almost healed. Thankful that the dream ended there, I get up and go to the washroom, drink some water and go back to bed. I spend the rest of the night tossing and turning, waking only partially rested, but I have no more dreams.

Twenty hours of flight after we leave
Boston
, and Ramallah shines like burnished copper in the mid-day sun. Its light gilds the building tops and glints off the domes and minarets spread over the city. The heat of the morning blends the scents of the city to produce the over-whelming odor of humanity.

My handler from the Council is Sharon Blake, an older Adept, heavy-set and assuringly strong, dressed in grey pantsuit, a scarf around her head to honor the local customs. I wear one as well, not wanting to draw attention to myself.

Although assigned to escort me, she’s given me wide latitude, even leaving me alone while she returns to the hotel to retrieve her laptop that she forgot in the suite. While she’s gone, I meet with our contact in the office assigned to American officials and I use my guise as an FBI Special Agent, flashing my badge, which I keep in my jacket pocket. The staffer hands me the latest reports on the peace talks. I sit on the couch and read through the reports. It’s uncertain if Soren is here to sell his mercenaries or arms. Is this part of his plan for Dominion?

My head aches from too little sleep the previous night and I feel hung-over and can't stop yawning.

"Is there someplace to get lunch?" I ask
Crosby
, the staffer in charge of logistics when I return from the washroom.
 
He shakes his head.

"You have to go out to the market and buy your food.
 
Only official participants get food."

I head out. I don't really feel like being here, sitting in the cramped room with
Crosby
. He's wearing headphones and listens to the proceedings of the talks.
 
There's nothing to do but sit and read the international English language newspapers.
 

I take the closest exit to the street and walk to a nearby market, wondering if Soren's here today. The streets are scorching hot, and the wind blasts me, sand gritting between my teeth.
 
I shiver, feeling suddenly feverish and faint so I sit on a bench, and put my head between my knees.
 

Before I'd accepted the job at the SCU, I had episodes of vertigo and had them checked out by a neurologist, including a CAT scan, but it was negative.
 
As I sit there, trying to focus, I see what looks like rose petals on the ground before me. Where did those come from?
 
A local man stops in front of me, speaking in some dialect.
 
I shake my head.

He points to his nose and I realized my nose is bleeding. Blood drips down my chin onto the street. I hold my arm up, staunching the blood with the sleeve of my jacket.
 
Then someone hands me a handkerchief and I noticed the signet ring on the man's index finger.

Soren
.

I lean my head forward to stem the flow of blood.

"You don't look well,
Agent
Hayden."

He lays his hand on my head and I'm filled with euphoria, warmth emanating from his fingers. Soon, the flow of blood slows and then dries up.

"Seems to have stopped," he says. Soren hooks his hand under my arm, helping me to my feet. The light-headedness is gone. "See your neurologist or ENT when you return to
Boston
, Eve," he said, his voice soft. "Get that CAT Scan repeated. You had a benign tumor in your sinuses causing those headaches and dizziness. It's gone."

"How do you know?"

He smiles at me. "I just have the gift. You need something to eat. Let me take you to my favorite food stall."

I'm too shocked to argue and let him lead me through the thronging crowds, which seem to part just for him. The vendor sells flat bread and spicy meat and vegetables, and I eat a plate with the bread and vegetables, glad that my dizziness is gone, whatever the cause.

"So, Eve," he says as we walk back to the building where the talks are being held.
 
"The Council sent you to watch me?"

"Why are you here? Is Michel here with you?"

He shrugs. "Work. And no, Michel isn’t here. Don't get your little hopes up." He opens a door to an office, ushering me inside and stands directly in front of me, his hands splayed on his hips.
 
"Well, here I am.
 
I'm yours.
 
Ask me anything."