Terra's Victory (Destiny's Trinities Book 7) (22 page)

They fanned out, covering the three big doors into the warehouse and the two man-sized doors.

Aria lifted her head and turned to look at the blank expanse of unbroken wall that ran along the west side of the warehouse. “He is here.”

Beth spun to face the wall, turning in time to see the wall shiver, like ripples moving over water, radiating out from a single location.

Then a figure stepped through the wall and moved toward them. He was nearly seven feet tall, with damp flesh that looked as if it had been immersed in water for a century or two. Black eyes with red rims and red irises.

Helidoro.

“They’ve learned how to breach our shield,” Zack said bitterly.

“He is not here. Only his…presence,” Aria said.

“Look at his feet,” Lindal said.

Helidoro was walking in mid-air, his feet six inches above the ground. It looked as if he was walking on solid ground, except that he walked straight through the tents and cubicles and the plank benches, as if they were not there.

He stopped six feet away from Beth and inclined his head. His lipless mouth pulled into a grimace that she assumed was his version of a smile. “My masters have sent me to ensure you understand.”

“Destroying a complete city was clear enough,” Zack said heavily.

“No, he means
why
they did it,” Beth said. She could feel trembling starting up somewhere in her gut, spreading out through her limbs, making her feel weak.

Helidoro gave another of his ghastly smiles. “You believe you have found a weakness. You think to take advantage of that. The…city, the nest of humans, is a demonstration that this is not so. It is also a warning.”

“
Fuck!
” Rhys breathed, sounding awed and horrified.

Beth realized all of the trinities had returned to the center of the room where Helidoro stood. They had formed a circle around him and every single one of them had their weapons drawn.

Not that it would do any good at all. Helidoro gave one of the little flickers that made it look as though he was a transmission, which in a way, he was. There was no blade, no bullet that could touch him.

“A warning about what?” Beth asked. There was a coppery taste in her mouth. Adrenaline. Her chest was hurting with the frantic thud of her heart, too.

“We made the offer once before. Now we will enforce it. Leave us to harvest freely. We will take only what we need, as we need it. Stop us, try to defeat us and we will reap one of your cities in return. Continue your resistance and we will take everything and leave this planet a barren ball, bereft of any life. Not even your elementals will recover from the razing we deliver.” His gaze flickered toward Aria.

Then, with one last grimace, his image flickered, then disappeared.

Beth glanced around the big circle of trinities. Everyone was looking at her as they put away their weapons. She could see the tension in them, the need to speak. They had been given a voice—she had encouraged them by listening to them and sharing her thoughts. She couldn’t shut them down now.

“Aithan?” she said softly. Aithan’s responses were always the most measured of anyone’s here. All that time studying philosophy had given him a unique perspective.

“It’s a pretty pickle,” he said. “You have to ask if it is fair that humans, who still have no idea what is really happening here, should pay for something that we do.”

“It’s coercion,” Diego said flatly. “They’re holding humans hostage, to force us to the Grimoré will.”

“They would have done this sooner or later,” Zoe said. “They’re just
saying
it’s punishment for attacking them.”

“You figure they’re going to take down all eight point four million people in New York city sooner? Or later?” Wyatt asked her. “What about L.A?”

“Chicago.” Cairo added.

“Houston.”

“D.C.”

“Erie.”

Rhys’ contribution made only a couple of people smile.

“Try Vancouver,” Cole suggested. “Or Mexico City. How long before they reach South America and all the massive urban sprawls there?”

Octavia thrust her shoulder in between Diego and Remmy, who stood with his arms crossed, a deep frown on his face. “We
have
to tell the humans! We must warn them.”

“You can’t,” Sera said softly. “As soon as you do, the Elves will shut down their portal and we need them. We can’t win this without them.”

“I’m happy to try,” Noemi said. “Isn’t what the Elves are doing another form of coercion? They’re forcing us to behave a certain way.”

“The Grimoré have been here for three years,” Alexander said. “They’ve had time to breed hundreds of thousands of vampeen. You really want to go up against an army of that size with half our forces missing?”

“I know I’d rather try than depend upon someone who isn’t all in with me,” Noemi shot back. “Besides, once we tell the humans, then won’t they want to fight with us? Just think what an M9 shoulder mounted rocket launcher would do to the vampeen.”

“You mean, the vampeen who are really humans who don’t want to be there in the first place?”

Beth wasn’t sure who asked the question. Noemi’s shoulders dropped in reaction.

“If normal humans were involved, half our informal vampire rangers would melt away,” Zack said. “Vampires don’t want to be exposed any more than elves do, but for different reasons.”

“Don’t you think their fear is unwarranted?” Declan asked quietly. “Humans have adapted to refugees, gay rights, equality for women. They can even consider creationist biology at the same time they’re studying evolution, without their heads exploding. After the Grimoré and vampeen, vampires will be an easy step for them.”

“The one woman lieutenant in my precinct is
still
paid below the level of men who have been lieutenants for less time than her,” Blake said, “and that’s just my personal experience. Then there’s the Ku Klux Klan, fundamentalists of every stripe and gay bashers.” He gave Declan a wry smile. “I think the vampires are right to fear being revealed to humans. They’re better off passing as one.”

A dozen voices lifted in protest. Beth wondered if they were aware that the rough circle they had used to hem in Helidoro was getting tighter and tighter and at the same time their voices were rising.

She looked at Aria, who was watching the argument with a curious expression in her eyes.

“Can you get their attention?” Beth asked her, lifting her voice to be heard through the shouting.

Aria didn’t move or respond. Instead, from seemed like only a foot or two above everyone’s head, a clap of thunder sounded, so loud and shocking that nearly everyone winced and put their hands over their ears, some of them ducking away from the potential danger.

“Look at you,” Beth told them. “You’re at each other’s throats. That is what the Grimoré intended when they sent Helidoro to emphasize the risks of attacking them directly. They
want
us divided because it weakens us. Think of it. We all know that a full trinity is far more powerful than only one or two of that trinity. If we are to win this war, if we are to succeed, we
must
be of one mind. We must stand together.”

There were some guilty looks among them. It was Diego, who was allergic to authority, who challenged her.

“So, what are we going to do, while we’re standing shoulder to shoulder?” he demanded.

Beth gasped. Diego’s question triggered a cascade of ideas, thoughts, images, concepts…. She held up her hand, asking for silence, as she tried to grasp the central core of the flood of thoughts. This was the idea that had been eluding her.

Then she had it.

Everyone was looking at her, some of them smiling.

“Can everyone see the light bulb that just went on over her head?” Cole asked the room.

Beth nodded. “You’re right. I’m tingling with it.” She shook her hands to disperse the sensation. “Everyone, I’m going to need thirty minutes to sort out details. So rest. Eat. Sharpen your blades. You’re going to need all three when I get back.”

She picked up Lindal’s hand and beckoned to Zack. “You two, come with me.”

* * * * *

The little cubicle was darker than the room beyond, shaded by the blankets. Through the blanket wall, Beth could hear the sounds of the trinities going about their business. There was chatter and even some laughter. The tensions of a moment ago had completely gone.

That was right. That was as it should be.

Beth drew Lindal farther inside, as Zack ducked under the overhanging blanket that made up the informal door.

She put her arms around Lindal’s neck and kissed him, giving it her full attention. She stroked his lips with her tongue, then pressed it inside, to touch his. Her nerve endings fizzed in response. It had been too long since she had stopped to enjoy this fundamental pleasure.

“Zack, help me,” she breathed, her lips brushing Lindal’s cheek.

He moved up behind Lindal and settled his hands on Lindal’s hips. His fingertips moved against his shirt, almost as if he was sampling the flesh beneath. “This is a fine lightbulb idea you had…”

Beth smiled and kissed Lindal again. As she pressed her lips against his, she could feel Zack’s hands between them, drawing Lindal’s shirt up out of his trousers and dealing with the buttons.

As soon as his flesh was bared, Beth pressed against it.

Lindal was already breathing hard. He cupped her ass with his long fingers, over the top of the denim. “If it had just been a skirt…” he whispered.

Beth pulled away from him and bent and unzipped the boots. “Keep doing what you’re doing,” she told Zack.

“Just try to stop me,” Zack said, as he pulled Lindal’s shirt off his shoulders and dropped it to one side. He pressed his lips against Lindal’s neck, making him shiver and brought his hands around to play with the fastenings on his pants.

Beth was grateful Zack seemed to understand what she was doing. She stripped quickly and let her hair loose to brush against the small of her back. Her nipples were hard, tight with anticipation. Her clit was throbbing. Even though this time was not for her specifically, she knew she would enjoy it.

There was only a foot or two of clear floor space between the blanket wall and the mattress. They were all standing in that space. Zack removed the last of Lindal’s clothing, so that he was as naked as Beth. Lindal’s cock was a marble-hard shaft and his eyes were a dark, stormy blue as his gaze swept over her.

Beth pressed herself against him, feeling his cock against her belly, which made her clit pulse and her pussy squeeze. Her nipples scraped against his chest.

Lindal cupped her ass cheek again. “That’s better,” he said. His voice was thick with lust.

It had been Beth’s intention to make Lindal stand and accept whatever Zack and she chose to do to him. Zack, though, had moved away and was rapidly removing his clothing.

She had also forgotten Lindal might have different ideas. He reached back behind him and caught Zack’s arm, pulling him closer.

Zack dropped his jeans and willingly moved to his side. He was naked now, too and his cock was deep red, swollen with excitement.

Lindal kissed him, taking his time with it, while his hand wandered over Beth’s back and ass and the back of her thigh, teasing with soft strokes that made her flesh ripple and her hips push forward in little jerks. The sight of the two of them kissing, one dark haired and dark eyed, the other light against Zack’s dark, both of them taking pleasure from the other…she shuddered in reaction. She could never get enough of watching them together.

Lindal curled his hand around Zack’s cock, making him moan. He ran his fingers loosely up the length of his shaft, making his cock twitch and Zack hiss in reaction, his lips pulling away from Lindal’s.

So Lindal turned back to Beth. He slid his hands up to her waist as he dipped his head to kiss her again. He lifted her off her feet with what felt like no effort. He pressed her against him and it was only natural to wrap her legs around him, which opened her up, so her heated and throbbing pussy was pushed up against him.

Lindal’s kiss was deep and long. It felt as though he was trying to inhale her, or absorb her. It was as if he knew the decision she had just made that had driven her to pick up his hand and pull him here.

He leaned her back and dipped his head to suck in the tip of her breast and Zack’s hand took the other, stroking it and rubbing over the sensitive tip.

Beth shuddered and fought not to moan. There were people only a few feet from where they were, separated by only the thin blanket. Except that these people were part of the force that had brought them to this spot. They had experienced the power of the trinities, too.

She let herself moan and enjoy Zack’s and Lindal’s attention.

It felt as if Lindal was letting her fall backward and for a fraction of a heartbeat, she was alarmed. Except that Lindal was strong and had never let her be hurt. Ever. She relaxed as he lowered her to the mattress and laid over her.

He was breathing hard, his body glowing not just with heat, but with the unearthly light that all elves shared. It always grew stronger when he was at his happiest.

He pushed himself up on one arm, leaning over her. He almost rammed his cock into her, driving deep and filling her. She caught her breath. This was one of those moments she loved, when either one of them took her and her pussy clenched around them for the first time.

“Two can play at that game,” Zack said and gripped Lindal’s shoulder. Lindal stiffened, his eyes closing. Beth couldn’t see what Zack was doing to him, although she knew that expression. Zack would be taking Lindal from behind, driving himself into Lindal as Lindal had done with her.

This was perfect. It was the meshing of the three of them in mind, heart and body. The absolute rightness grew like a bubble inside her, building until it overwhelmed her.

Lindal thrust, his breath escaping him in a heavy exhalation and her body tightened around him. The climax was building in her belly, leaping to life.

Beth could feel Zack moving against Lindal, his breath harsh. His knuckles were white, where his fingers dug into Lindal’s shoulder, pinning him down so he could get deeper.