Gates of Rapture (The Guardians of Ascension) (51 page)

Endelle sat with her hands clasped around her knees. She was exhausted from morphing and trying to stay alive as she battled Greaves. Her hip ached where he’d struck her.

And now he was gone, taken away to Fourth in an energy field.

She couldn’t believe it. After all this time, after centuries of being unable to deal effectively with Greaves, suddenly he was just gone.

She hardly knew what to think or to feel.

She remained on the bank of White Lake and watched her team perform all that they needed to do. The speedboats rescued dozens of wounded Militia Warriors from the waters, those who had been injured during battle against the death vampires. The healers moved from boat to boat and worked on the injured.

The September sun rose high in the sky, shining down on the great victory over White Lake. Her Warriors of the Blood remained in the sky, moving back and forth, helping where each was needed. Thorne floated in the sky twenty yards away, fully in command, speaking into his headset almost constantly as he directed the show.

In stages, she began to relax. The scourge of Second Earth was gone and would never be back.

She tried to figure out what she was feeling. Much to her surprise, she was at peace.

There would be work still to do in the future. At the very least, she would need to start negotiations with Greaves’s generals, to do all that she could to end the possibility that one or all of them would decide to pick up where Greaves had left off.

But beyond that, her Warriors of the Blood as well as her Militia Warriors would continue to hunt down the last of the death vampires until Second Earth was free of their horrifying and constant threat. Without Greaves to create new death vampires as he had been doing all these centuries, the threat would diminish day by day.

When at last she made it back to the palace, having left White Lake in Thorne’s oh-so-capable hands, she walked into her sitting room and found Braulio seated in the farthest oversized purple velvet chair.

“You did good, Endelle.”

“I did, didn’t I?”

He smiled, and she held her hand out to him. “Come make love to me, and afterward, I want to sleep for about a century.”

He rose from his chair, and as he moved toward her, he said, “I’ve been waiting for this day for the last five thousand years.”

A family is a fluid thing,

Changing shape with each birth and each death.

Take care to celebrate the simple joys of each day.

—
Collected Proverbs,
Beatrice of Fourth

CHAPTER 22

A week after the battle over White Lake, Grace sat several yards away from an enormous bonfire smack in the middle of the desert. Marguerite had suggested the gathering for fun, as well as to celebrate that Second Earth had a new future.

Grace had her arm around Thorne’s and leaned her head against his shoulder. She sighed. She swore her happiness knew no bounds. Leto was checking on Kendrew and Sloane and would return anytime. Casimir had returned to Fourth to continue his journey through the redemption pools but had left his sons in Leto and Grace’s care. He would be returning at least once a week to spend a few hours with them and to reassure them that he was still alive and would be a proper father to them once he had completed Auntie Beatrice’s special healing program.

The boys were confused but not nearly as agitated as Grace had seen them in former times. Leto had proved to be quite good with them, so that even he was gaining favor.

She heard the sound of an ax against wood and shifted to look in Santiago’s direction. Once he’d learned that there would be a desert party, he’d started hauling and chopping enough logs to feed at least ten bonfires.

Most of it was stacked off to the side, but some of it was in the shape of huge logs that either Santiago or Zacharius would take to chopping just for fun.

As it was, the fire rose at least thirty feet into the dark night sky.

Marcus and Havily were sitting side by side to the right of Thorne. They were seated on a huge log, arguing about something, until Marcus dragged her into his arms and kissed her. Havily laughed and leaned against his chest. He rubbed her back, then kissed her again.

Kerrick and Alison sat on a blanket well back from the fire. Helena was with them, but because she was so active and very powerful, Kerrick had created a dome of mist over the child so that when she mounted her wings, she couldn’t just take off. The baby had learned to fly before she’d taken her first step. What a challenge.

Grace smiled. But when had parenting ever
not
been a challenge?

As for Medichi, he’d taken Parisa off into the desert at least a couple of hundred yards away. She couldn’t see them or hear them, thank the Creator. Maybe they’d further disguised their position by sneaking behind a massive saguaro or setting up their own mist. Given the distance and the darkness, a vampire could accomplish a lot with his
breh
.

Zacharius slammed his ax into a log, leaving it there, then moved to stretch out on a blanket on his side. He threw small bits of something into the fire. The bits would flare and more sparks would rise. Santiago walked over to him and handed him a Dos Equis.

Grace couldn’t help it. She extended her hearing in Santiago’s direction. “It’s just you, me, and Luken,
hermano
.”

Zach smiled up at him and clinked Santiago’s bottle. He smiled. “Yep, just the three of us. I’ll want to hit the Blood and Bite in a few.”

“I’m with you.” Santiago dropped down to sit beside him. He sipped his beer, and he, too, had that dark look.

But Grace had a sudden strong impression that the
breh-hedden
wouldn’t be far behind for either of them. And why would it be? They were Warriors of the Blood, some of the finest vampires on the face of the earth, some of the most powerful both physically and preternaturally.

Which made her think of Luken. He had politely refused to join the party. He insisted that at least one WhatBee show up at the Borderlands, that it wasn’t right for Seriffe’s Militia Warriors to shoulder the burden alone, even for one night. But Grace knew the truth. Luken still had a thing for Havily, and in this kind of environment, where
brehs
would be affectionate—well, Grace wasn’t surprised he’d made his excuses.

As for obsidian flame, they were accounted for. Jean-Pierre sat on a log, off to Grace’s left, with Fiona on his lap, his long fingers stroking up and down her bare arm. He kept whispering things into her ear, and she would giggle, looking very young, almost carefree. The word was that Fiona was pregnant, though the pair was keeping it quiet for now.

Grace thought the couple ought to have children, a dozen of them, and maybe they would over the centuries to come. The war looked to be over, though there was massive cleanup to be done, with thousands of death vampires still roaming Second Earth.

Despite that, a new spirit was everywhere: hopeful when a few days ago it seemed impossible to win a battle against Greaves. Now he was on Fourth Earth and no longer a threat.

She watched Marguerite approach the bonfire. She had fashioned a very long stick for herself so that she could prod the wood-based coals at the bottom of the bonfire, dragging some out and building smaller bonfires. She seemed to be enjoying herself immensely. But then why wouldn’t she? Her young life had been filled with horror, and she’d never really gotten to be a child. Apparently, Thorne encouraged her to just play, in the same way Marguerite in turn encouraged him to relax and let things go.

She was so happy to be in the same circle as her brother. She would be an aunt to Thorne’s children and couldn’t wait. Thorne would one day serve as the ruler of Second Earth—that much she felt in every bone of her body, though no official announcement had been made nor had Endelle given a hint that she was stepping down. And Marguerite, as Supreme High Seer of Second Earth, was almost single-handedly overhauling the entire global Seer process, beginning with what she was calling her Seers’ Bill of Rights. With Owen Stannett dead, very little stood in the way of Marguerite’s reforming the corrupt Seers Fortress system.

Grace patted Thorne’s arm. “This is a great group, you know.”

He smiled down at her, looking deeply content, a warm light in his eye.

Oh, Creator in heaven,
she thought,
thank you for giving him peace.
His hazel eyes were clear and beautiful, especially in the flickering light of the bonfire.

He nodded. “Yep, some of the finest men and women you’ll ever know.” He glanced around. “Isn’t Leto back yet?”

“He wanted to make sure that the boys were all right. We got a babysitter, but he said he just wanted to check things out. He feels very protective of them. I never thought I would see this, but he and Casimir seem to have formed a bond.”

Thorne shook his head. “We’ve entered a time of miracles, that’s what I think.”

Grace smiled. “And Marguerite has become your miracle.”

“In every possible way.” His gravelly voice had dropped at least half an octave, so it wasn’t a surprise that Marguerite turned to him, the long stick quiet for a moment, her brows raised.

Grace could tell they were communicating telepathically. Marguerite dropped her stick and launched herself into his arms. Grace had the good sense to shift to the end of the log just to give the couple some room, laughing as she did so. Marguerite kissed him. It was such a beautiful sight, to see her worn-out brother so restored and so deeply in love.

She sighed. Leto hadn’t been gone very long, but she missed him. She was almost ready to go to him, but a shimmering in front of her brought Thorne to his feet his sword in hand.

But there Leto was, having returned to the bonfire, and near him was Casimir and … Patience.

Grace blinked at her sister, who stood smiling beside Casimir, her arm hooked around his.

“Patience?”

Thorne folded his sword away and drew close to Grace. “Is that you? Patience?”

She nodded. Tears swam in her hazel eyes.

“I can’t believe it,” he said. “I thought you were dead. I found so much blood in that gully that I was sure you were dead.”

Patience shook her head, and as tears tracked down her cheeks she told of James having ripped her out of the sky to serve on Third at the portal with him. She had been able to tell James when Greaves created the breach and just how many Third Earth death vampires he had ready to help him in his bid to take over Second Earth. “I wish it could have been done differently, because I know my sudden disappearance wounded you both.”

Grace reached out to her and took her hand. “I knew you weren’t dead, but you’re right, it hurt so much to lose you.” She glanced at Marguerite and reached for her hand as well. “But you see how everything has turned out. We have a new sister, and we will become aunts to her twins.”

Patience admitted that one of the advantages of her situation was that she had been able to know the significant events of her siblings’ lives. She couldn’t have stayed on Third helping James without some information.

“I suppose now that Greaves is contained on Fourth, James allowed you to come here.”

“Yes.”

She then looked up at Casimir. There was such a soft light in her eye that Grace said, “Am I seeing what I’m seeing?” She glanced from Patience to Casimir.

He covered Patience’s hand with his own. “The moment I arrived at the portal, I scented her.”

“Oh, my God.” Grace put her fingers to her mouth as her eyes filled with tears. She felt Leto’s arm surround her shoulders.

Are you okay with this?
he sent.

She turned to him. “More than okay. Don’t you see how perfect this circle is?” Of course, she had one concern and shifted her gaze to Patience. “But you do know that Casimir and I—” She found the words impossible to say.

But it was Patience who rolled her eyes. “Grace, I was never celibate like you. And I’ve had many wild centuries. Casimir knows that. We’ve talked it all over. As for your relationship with him on Fourth, we’ve agreed that without you having taken him there, he would never have entered the redemption pools and would never have agreed to serve as Leto’s Guardian of Ascension. I met him, essentially, because of you, so I regret nothing.”

Grace looked from one to the other. She could see the
breh
-bond forming between them. Once more her eyes filled with tears. She just couldn’t believe that Casimir, of all ascenders, had brought Patience home.

A long series of embraces followed. Patience would return to Second Earth, and Casimir stated without hesitation that he wanted to make his home on Second, not just because of Patience but because of his boys as well. “After all,” he said, “I promised Kendrew and Sloane that Auntie Grace would always be in their lives.”

Grace smiled. “You know, I always promised to take them camping in the Cascades.” She took Leto’s hand. “I hope we can do that soon.”

Leto pulled her close. “Absolutely.”

Casimir frowned. “And the new school term is about to start. I’ll need to get them enrolled right away.”

Grace stared at Casimir for a long moment. It was hard to remember the man he had been. Never in a thousand years had she thought she’d hear him speak about enrolling his kids in school.

She thought of Greaves. If Casimir could be redeemed, maybe it was possible that Greaves could be transformed as well.

*   *   *

Beatrice sat in her favorite chair in her living room, the one with the footstool that Grace had occupied while helping Beatrice to roll her balls of yarn. She missed Grace and wished the younger woman was here. She needed some comfort.

She leaned forward and covered her ears. Tears began leaking from her eyes. She was trying to be strong, but her son’s screams could be heard all over her floating estate. His agony, his rage, his remorse had erupted from the moment he’d touched the water of the first pool, the gentlest pool, the one that was meant to ease the sinner into the process.