Marker of Hope (30 page)

“What’s the head count on our side?” David
asked.

“Two-hundred nineteen. Our warriors could
take on the Turpis with no problem. But the Turpis
and
the
Council army.” He shook his head. “I hate to say this, but—”

“We’re massively outnumbered.” I stood up.
“We don’t stand a chance.” I bit my thumbnail as I analyzed the
situation.

“If we move fast enough, before the Council
gets to them, we could recruit more deity warriors,” Frederick
suggested. “Give me five days.”

“No. I don’t need more troops. There’s
another way to remedy this.” I regarded David for second. “I’ll
join the Turpis.”

“No!” David’s voice boomed. “Are you
crazy?”

“Maybe, but this is one time I really don’t
care what I am.”

“If for one second…” David’s face was
flushed. “No, Isis. I won’t allow it.”

“You think I’m asking for your consent? I
don’t need approval from anyone,” I told him. “I know what I have
to do. I’m going to be their demon queen.”

CHAPTER 34

David’s face was the color of red-hot magma.
I feared his head would explode any moment now. A few feet away
from him, Frederick’s expression was more confused than angry.
However, in the instant I took to glance back at David and make
sure he hadn’t combusted, Frederick’s frown disappeared. His eyes
gleamed as if with possibility. He marched toward me, took a spot
next to David, and slapped a hand on David’s shoulder.

“David, your wife…” Frederick shook David’s
shoulder. “Oh, by Deus! She’s a genius, man.”

“This isn’t the time for jokes.” David
removed Frederick’s hand from his shoulder.

“And I know it,” Frederick said. “I’m dead
serious. Whatever you’re thinking,” he pointed his finger at David
and me, “hold those thoughts. I need to get Galilea in here. You
two find something to write on.”

Frederick dashed out the door. David lips
were locked tight as he looked at me, his eyes scolding me in
silence.

“I’m going upstairs to get my laptop,” I
said, turning my gaze away from his.

As I walked past him, David caught my arm.
“Isis, don’t do this to me. To our daughter.”

“I would never do anything to hurt either of
you. At least not intentionally.”

“What do you think you’re doing to me now?
You’re telling me you’re leaving us. Didn’t you tell me a few
minutes ago I should always be with you? Were those just
words?”

“I can’t…” I breathed. “I wish you could read
my mind.”

“Unfortunately, I’m fresh out of party
tricks. You’ll have to tell me what the hell you’re thinking.”

I jerked my arm away from his grasp and
grabbed his shirt collar, pulling him down to me. I pressed a hard
kiss on his lips.

“I’m thinking that I love you, you idiot,” I
said. “I’ll be right back.”

I left David with a confounded look on his
face. By the time I came back with my laptop, Galilea was seated on
the sofa with Faith in her arms.

“I can do fifteen minutes for all of you and
not more,” Galilea said. “Starting now.”

Frederick tapped David and me on the shoulder
and held his index finger to his mouth. He took my laptop and
placed it on the coffee table. We watched as he typed.

“This is the safest way to communicate in
case Madam Isis is being watched by Turpis. Madam, when you said
you had to join the Turpis, was it because you have a plan in mind
and are afraid to discuss it out loud?”

I nodded and took over the keyboard. “If the
demons should counterattack the Caelum army, it might help even out
our numbers.”

“I knew you’d be thinking something along the
lines of this. I do think it’s a brilliant idea, but there’s a very
slim chance Turpis will agree to an allegiance with us,” Frederick
wrote.

“It won’t be an allegiance,” I typed. “At
least not one they’ll be aware of. I’ll command them to fight as
their queen. Our battalion won’t join the battle until one of the
armies begins to fall. Then we surprise attack.”

David typed next. “And if the demons refuse
to fight?”

I hadn’t thought of that. I shot Frederick a
worried look.

Galilea leaned forward to read, nestling
Faith with one hand. She squeezed between Frederick and me and
typed slowly with one finger. “Demons need Isis. They will fight
for her.”

“Galilea is on to something,” Frederick
wrote. “Turpis numbers have decreased radically in the last
century. They need a new queen to reproduce.”

I flinched at the words on the screen.

David took a turn typing. “How will Isis
defend herself on the battlefield if we’re supposed to be standing
on the sidelines? She’s had no formal training.”

“Frederick can train me,” I wrote, “We still
have thirty-four days left.”

“Is it enough time?” David typed.

Frederick nodded.

“I don’t know…” David wrote.

I wrote, “Trust me.”

David took in a deep breath and placed the
computer on his lap. He stroked the keyboard swiftly, and then
handed the laptop to me.

His words read, “I don’t agree with this
plan, but I know we’re caught between two swords. As optimistic as
I’d like to be, death is certain in war. Nothing assures me either
one of us be alive in the end. If you don’t make it out of this
alive, I won’t be able to live without you. Isis, our daughter
needs both her parents. And I know that even if I begged, you’re
too stubborn to change your mind. So there’s one thing I need to
ask of you. Promise me you’ll do everything in your power to stay
alive for Faith and me. Even if it means liberating what lies
inside you.”

He was really asking me to do this? He wanted
me to unleash the furious creature I was holding in?

“I promise you, I will,” I said out loud, and
the baby stirred in Galilea’s arms.

“Time’s up.” Galilea rose from the sofa.
“That’s all the strength I can spare. Baby Faith takes precedence
over all of you. And right now, she needs to be fed.”

I swaddled Faith’s blanket tighter around her
body and took her from Galilea’s arms.

“We can iron out the details later,”
Frederick said and turned to Galilea. “Could you help us again,
once we’re ready?”

“Sure,” Galilea said. “But I don’t know when
that’ll be possible. Focusing my power on Faith is hard, but doable
when I hold her if I fight distractions. Extending the block to
whoever holds her on the other hand…”

“Maybe if you’d sleep more,” David chastised
her. “We need your energy at its highest.”

“I’m on atomic power mode, I’ll have you
know.”

“You’re not convincing anyone with the
circles around your eyes,” I said. “You look beat.”

“Yeah, yeah…” She waved me off. “Sleep is for
the weak. I can go months without it. Besides,” she rubbed her
eyes, “the last time I lost focus, Turpis did a number on half of
us. Anyone remember Eileen’s broken ribs? Dr. G’s bashed-in nose?
How about Claire’s third-degree burns? And before that, they did
the rest of us in. David was in a coma, remember?” She huffed. “No.
I can’t risk something like that happening again. Especially not
with the baby here.”

“At some point, you’ll have to rest,”
Frederick told her. “I know it’s in your best interest to keep
Faith and Madam Isis safe, but you can’t when you’re not operating
at one-hundred percent.”

“That’s three votes against yours,” David
said. “Go get some rest, Galilea.”

“You’re not the boss of me.” Galilea frowned
at David.

“Galilea, love, stop being stubborn,”
Frederick said. “Take some time off. Your delicate little body
needs it.”

“I will not.” Galilea leaned into Frederick’s
face. “What do you mean delicate? I’m as much an able warrior as
you. My block is strong. And you’re not the boss of me either.”

“It’s not up for discussion,” I said. Galilea
shot me a surprised look. “You’re taking a break. As of now. Drop
the invisible block and go sleep.”

“But Faith needs me.” Galilea tightened her
fists at her sides. “You can’t make—”

“I’m giving you an order,” I said firmly. “I
agree Faith needs you, and I agree you’re a warrior, but I’m your
leader. There’s no overriding my command unless you’d like to be
stripped of your place in my army.”

Galilea gasped. “You wouldn’t?”

“Try me.”

She lowered her head and sniffed. “I would
never do this to you. You’re my best friend.”

I rolled my eyes. “If you think fake-crying
your way to guilt me will work…”

“Gah!” Galilea raised her hands. “You,” she
pointed to each of us, “are all poopy heads. Huge,
huge
poopy heads.”

Frederick muffled a laugh.

“Listen, dimwit.” Galilea glared at
Frederick. “At the moment, I can’t verbalize what I really want to
call you since I don’t curse in the presence of children.” Her
brows were knit tight as she stepped closer to me. She lowered
herself to kiss Faith’s head, then looked me straight in the eyes
and said, “I’ll be taking my leave.” She righted herself, stepped
back, and then gave me an ersatz smile and curtseyed. “
Madam
Isis
.”

I glowered at her. She knew I hated being
called that. She turned and stomped toward the door, calling me a
“Fun-sized, bossy witch” as she left the room. I didn’t have to try
hard to translate what she actually meant to call me.

I turned to Frederick. “Find any warriors who
can cover Galilea while she rests. Anyone with the power to hide
Faith. And bring them to me.”

“But we agreed no other warriors were allowed
near her or you,” Frederick objected. “I don’t know who we can
trust.”

Faith fussed in my arms.

“She’s hungry,” David said.

“I know.” I rocked the baby as I walked to
the door. “Frederick, I expect you’ll be back by the time I’m
done?”

“Madam, in my opinion, it’s not the best
course—” Frederick started. I cut him off with a warning stare—one
I knew he wouldn’t argue with. “Yes, madam.” He nodded. “As you
wish.”

Frederick walked past me and out the den’s
door. I walked up the stairs to the bedroom and sat in the rocking
chair to nurse Faith. David sat on the edge of the bed, his stare
glued to my face.

“There something on your mind?” I asked.

“Did you do it on purpose?”

“What?”

“Make your face change when Frederick
resisted your orders.”

“That?” I shrugged. “I had to get my point
across without the use of so many words.”

“I see.” David reached over and ran his
finger over Faith’s head. “You know, using words to convey a
message can also intimidate people into following orders.”

“Oh, you mean instead of scaring them with my
hideous monster face?” I asked. David cocked a disapproving
eyebrow. “Yeah, well, you wouldn’t think so if you were the one
always being underestimated.”

“I’ve never underestimated you. I worry about
you. There’s a world of difference between the two.”

“I wasn’t talking about you. Not exclusively,
anyway.”

I glanced down at Faith. She was fast asleep.
David took her from my arms and lay her down in her crib.

“So you think Frederick underestimates you?”
David asked. “He’s tried his best to convince you you’re a leader.
And have you forgotten it was Frederick who begged you to lead this
rebellion?”

“I’m very aware. But I’m willing to bet,” I
said, tucking Faith’s pink blanket under her precious little frame,
“every single one of my warriors thinks I’m a square peg in a round
hole. Frederick and his two disciples included.”

“That’s not true. They respect you;
otherwise, they wouldn’t be out there right now, guarding you and
Faith.”

“I don’t want to talk about this.”

“But this is a conversation we need to have.”
He sat on the bed. “Explain to me why you feel your army is against
you leading?”

“Like you don’t already know?” I asked. He
waited for me to elaborate. “David, I’m the least qualified person
to lead a revolution, much less take down armies of demons and
gods. If those deities are here, it’s because they don’t want to
die. They’re here to save themselves, not to save me.”

“I believe that’s untrue, and I think you’re
self-doubt is making you paranoid.”

“I am
not
paranoid. The smirks on the
warriors’ faces when they saw me in Sub Terra on the day Faith was
born were enough for me to understand I’m a joke to them. Or did
you not notice? I’m like the team mascot.”

“The upside is you don’t need a costume,” he
teased.

“Watch it, bud.” I punched his chest, and he
wrapped his arms around my waist.

“I thought it was my imagination that made me
see mixed emotions on the warriors’ faces when they saw you for the
first time in Sub Terra,” David confessed. “But they don’t know how
strong and capable you are. I’ve seen you go against Turpis, Isis.
Even without any sort of training, you sent those creatures to
their graves. Do you know how amazed I was to see you do that?”

“You were?”

“And proud.” He nodded. “I think the most
logical thing you can do is to prove them wrong.”

And I intended to, in a most unconventional
way.

***

By sundown, Frederick returned to the house.
Four deities accompanied him. As I walked into the den, they
saluted me by dropping down on one knee and raising a fist over
their heads. Warriors—like Chrosis and Zedin—who’d been invited to
the house hadn’t done this before. It felt strange and
uncomfortable, but I dove into my leadership role and nodded once
as if it were an everyday, normal occurrence.

“At ease,” I said in a serene voice. I noted
the soldiers’ eyes studying me. I was glad I’d changed out of my
pink monkey pajama pants and gray sweatshirt. I wouldn’t have felt
much like a leader in that ensemble. Though, with the outfit I’d
thrown on, I felt I was dressed more like Catwoman than the head of
a battalion. I was surprised I’d fit into the ensemble at all,
having given birth a few days ago and all. I guess the part of me
that wasn’t human, knew how to repair my body and quickly.