Tribes of Man: The Beginning [Tribes of Man] (Siren Publishing Classic) (10 page)

Kristano’s expression went from anger to shame in an instant. “I lost. He was too strong. The gods intervened before I was destroyed. They could not kill Adder, even though they made him immortal to begin with. They did not know how Adder managed to kill Aida, so they feared him. In an effort to stop the war, they tried to trap him in a cage of silver. When they failed, they took away the powers of the tribes and scattered people among the tribes of man. The Fire tribe became mixed with the Vikings, the Earth tribe with the Egyptians, the Air tribe with the Celts, and the Water tribe with the Greeks. Some maintained a shadow of their powers and helped to imbue their mythologies with stories of magic.”

“This makes no sense,” Gideon insisted. “You’re telling me that these civilizations are made up of descendants of an ancient race of people with magical powers?” Gideon couldn’t keep his skepticism out of his voice.

“You need to understand, they didn’t become these peoples. They simply intermixed with these cultures. Many of their stories became the mythology of the age.”

Raina stilled Gideon’s next comment just by placing her hand on his arm. “What does that have to do with us?”

“You are a child of Water,” Kristano said.

Raina became silent. She remembered him saying something like that earlier in the day. “You’re protecting me because of that? Even if that is true, there must be millions of us by now.”

“The prophecy basically states that in each generation, a person is born who will hold the power for their tribe. When the first two keepers meet, it starts the process, giving the other two keepers their powers. When all of the keepers meet, they say the ritual words, and all the tribes’ descendants will come into their power.”

“So to complete the prophecy, we only need to get all four of us to be in the same place?” Raina asked.

“Yes. I’m hoping we can work together to find the last two keepers.”

Gideon had been pretty quiet up until then. “Then what happens?”

“The world changes. It’s as simple and as complicated as that.”

Gideon got up to pace. He knew he disconnected his link with Raina abruptly, but he needed to move. He rubbed his hands over his scarred face. “I may have been burned, but I am not from some mythical Fire tribe.”

Kristano produced a sword. He handed it to Gideon. Without thinking about it, Gideon grasped the handle. As soon as he did, he felt his entire body change. The pain of his muscles disappeared. Although the sword was enormous, he could swing it easily.

What’s happening
? Raina asked.
You feel different.

“I am different.” Gideon answered her out loud. Although he didn’t want to, he put the sword down. As soon as he did, his pain returned.

“So what you’re telling us is that we are the descendants of a race of people who no one even knows existed,” Gideon said, beginning to believe.

“In essence, yes.”

“Wait a minute.” Raina couldn’t help but express her doubt. “I’ve studied ancient civilizations. There is no way this race of people could have existed without there being some evidence of it. And what about this Adder guy? I’ve never heard of him either.”

“There is evidence of it, but it’s buried in the mythology of the different cultures.” Kristano let out a long sigh. “Odin and Loki, Cassandra and Apollo, Isis and Seth, Merlin and Nimue.”

“Bullshit. You’re talking about Merlin, like King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. No way.” Gideon was beginning to believe, but the introduction of the wizard Merlin threw him.

“Actually, there was no Round Table. That was added later. But, other than that, yes. That’s who I’m talking about.” Kristano continued, “Each had a strength. Odin was a warrior, Cassandra a seer, Isis a healer and mother, and Merlin a sorcerer. Each had an enemy who could not kill them. Adder can’t kill a keeper. He can have someone do it for him, but he’s bound by the same rules I am.”

“What about you and Adder? You told us the deal with not being able to hurt a keeper, but what are the rules? I know your job is to be a guardian, but what
are
you both?”

“We’ve been called many things. In the beginning, I was an avatar named Krishna.” Pride was evident in Kristano’s voice.

Raina jerked. “You couldn’t be.”

“Like a Hare Krishna, those guys that give out flowers at the airport?” Gideon wasn’t up on his ancient studies.

“Not exactly,” Raina answered for him. “Krishna was a hero, a defender of truth.”

“For a short time, I was a Knight Templar.” Kristano’s eyes began to twinkle. “I found being a monk too restrictive.” He became serious again. “Now, I’m just...”

“What? What are you?” She was almost afraid to ask.

“Now I could be called a vampire.”

Raina jumped to her feet. Gideon tried to push her behind him. “Excuse me,” he said in a calm voice that contrasted with his protective stance. “Did you say vampire?”

Kristano let out a long sigh, as though he had been expecting this reaction. “Yes, although that’s not really accurate either. It really has been Adder that brought the term ‘vampire’ to mean what it does now. I don’t kill when I feed. I can’t. Adder doesn’t have that problem. I require blood to fuel my magic. Without blood I become more vulnerable. While I can’t be killed, literally cannot be killed, without blood it will take me lifetimes to heal from a wound. I can feed from a keeper if I need to. Adder can’t. His intention when he feeds is to kill or to control. Mine is to survive so that I may protect. We can’t change anyone into what we are, although Adder has tried and managed to turn humans into mindless servants. The gods have granted that I may change one person, my soul mate.” He looked away. “I have to find her, convince her I’m not evil, and get her permission to change her before it would work. In all the centuries, all the lifetimes, I’ve never found her.”

Raina stepped around Gideon and went unerringly to Kristano’s side. She laid her hand on his arm. “Can we help you find her?”

Kristano patted her hand. “I don’t know. Thank you for the offer, though. It means a lot that you would.”

Gideon stepped close again, as though ready to pull Raina away if Kristano made a false move. “OK, that’s all nice and everything, but we have a more serious problem here.”

“You don’t trust me.” Kristano sounded amused.

“No,” Gideon replied. “Either you’re delusional, you’re scamming us, or you’re a bloodsucking, soulless fiend of the night.”

Kristano burst into laughter that made him seem considerably younger. “I’m none of those things. I’m just a guy trying to survive and fulfill my sacred duty.”

“I wouldn’t call you ‘just a guy,’ Kristano,” Raina said gently. She clearly was feeling protective over him. “What can you do, exactly?”

All of a sudden, Kristano went invisible. Since Raina was not looking through Gideon, she didn’t realize that he disappeared, but she abruptly stopped sensing him.

Gideon gasped. “Holy shit!”

“Well, I wouldn’t call it ‘holy.’” Kristano’s voice came from somewhere to the right.

Raina walked in that direction and stopped before a chair. She didn’t know he was still invisible. “What happened to you? For a minute, I couldn’t sense you.”

“You can sense me now?” Kristano sounded amazed.

“Of course.”

Kristano materialized, sitting negligently in the chair.

“No ‘of course’ about it, Raina. He was invisible.” Gideon said from behind her.

“I’m surprised that you could sense me at all. That must have been why you knew I was watching you. Your other senses must have been sharpened.”

“What is the extent of your power?” Gideon sat back down and tugged Raina down next to him. His voice sounded casual, but Raina could feel the tension in his muscles.

“"I can become invisible, as you could see. When I’m invisible, I’m generally incorporeal, although I don’t have to be. I can also travel over long distances with a thought. Although I can’t fly, I can jump from great heights. I can influence the thoughts of most mortals. That type of thing.”

“Can you turn into mist or shape-shift?”

“No. But I can see through the eyes of an animal.”

“Does sunlight hurt you? Or crosses and holy water?”

“It doesn’t hurt me, but I become invisible involuntarily in the sunlight. To remain visible requires a tremendous amount of magic, therefore, a lot of blood. I try to only do it in emergencies. Since I’m neither evil nor undead, churches, crosses, holy water, and that kind of thing can’t hurt me. I am, however, allergic to silver. It can’t kill me, but it can bind me. The bad news is that Adder has all the same powers but is also vicious enough to hurt and use others. The good news is that he also has the weakness of silver.”

There was silence in the room while everyone absorbed the massive amount of information.

“Listen, I know this has been a lot. I’ve never felt the need to reveal it all before, and I’m not sure I did it the right way. It doesn’t matter in any case, because we have things we need to do. You’ve started the chain reaction that will change the world. Once all the keepers meet, the prophecy must be fulfilled or those powers die away forever.”

“Does Adder have the prophecy?” Gideon asked.

“He must,” Kristano answered. “If he didn’t, he’d have no reason to go after Raina.”

“How could the gods not have told you that Adder had a copy of it, too?” Raina leaned forward. She was outraged at the treatment of Kristano by these so-called gods.

“The gods each have their own function. One of the gods, Forseti, believes in balance and justice. He would have insisted on giving Adder a copy of the prophecy.”

“Can I see it?” Raina asked.

“No problem. I’ll bring it tomorrow. I have a copy translated into English. Actually, as soon as a language develops enough to be popular, I have it translated. I have hundreds of copies now.”

“What is it written in originally?” Raina asked.

“Ancient Latin.”

“Good. Please bring a copy of the original, too,” Raina asked.

“Sure.” Kristano disappeared.

Raina only knew because Gideon said, “He didn’t even say good-bye.”

All a sudden they heard “Bye” with a thread of laughter, then Raina couldn’t sense him anymore.

* * * *

The waiting area outside the director’s office was tastefully decorated in hues of green. His secretary, Stacy, sat behind her desk calmly typing on the computer. She didn’t break her rhythm when Director Cascaval’s voice was heard, shouting, through the door. She didn’t flinch when she heard the crash of breaking glass. When silence descended, she let out a long shudder.

Agent Peter Jensen had heard some things about Director Cascaval when he became the director of the Center a few years before. He had heard that one of the reasons Cascaval got the job was that he could get the truth out of anyone. Peter guessed that he was a master of torture, but he wasn’t sure. All he knew was that he respected the man for making the tough decisions. If a few civilians had to be sacrificed to maintain the security of the nation, he had no problem with that. Unlike a lot of the agencies formed after 9-11, the Center did not have to answer to Congress. He wasn’t even sure the president knew about it. “Reasonable deniability” could be maintained only if he didn’t know. Although his organization was considered somewhat rogue, he knew that they were doing the job that needed to be done.

He also knew that the director was furious that they missed the girl at the school. Peter didn’t see how it was their fault, but he was glad that he wasn’t in charge of the clusterfuck that resulted. He had no problem killing those kids, but he did have a problem missing the target.

After a long wait, the door was opened by Director Cascaval himself. Peter went inside and spared Mike Robinson only a quick glance before moving to stand at attention in front of the director’s desk. His quick glance revealed Mike’s blank eyes staring from an extraordinarily pale, pinched face.

“Agent Jensen, you have just been promoted to the lead agent in the Kallan matter. I want her dead within a month. I don’t care what it takes. If you are not able to fulfill this duty, like Agent Robinson, you will be reassigned. Do I make myself clear?”

Peter was well aware that “reassigned” meant more than just a demotion. One look at Mike told him that there would be a physical price also. “Yes, sir.”

“Kallan is still considered Code Red. I don’t care about collateral damage. Take the bitch down.”

“Yes, sir.”

Cascaval waved his hand. “Dismissed.”

Peter turned to leave. He waited for Mike to turn also. He moved very slowly and carefully toward the door. Before they could walk through, Director Cascaval said, “Robinson, don’t forget what will happen the next time you fuck up. Don’t disappoint me again.”

“No, sir,” Mike said. His voice was husky as though he’d spent the last hour screaming, even though he couldn’t have. Peter would have heard him in the outer office. Mike stumbled a bit as he headed out the door.

When Stacy saw him, she shuddered again.

Back in the office, Director Adder Cascaval rubbed his stomach as he turned to look out the window. He knew how to inflict excruciating pain and humiliation without leaving a mark. Robinson’s mental screams were satisfying, and the blood he’d taken made him feel strong.

He was determined that Raina Kallan would die. He didn’t know who the other three keepers were, but he knew that killing this one would end the ritual before all the descendants received their powers. He sensed that the time of the prophecy was coming near, but it wasn’t until he located and tried to kill Raina Kallan that he knew for sure it had begun. If it hadn’t, Kristano wouldn’t have been there to save the girl. There’s no way Kallan could have gotten away in the library without Kristano’s help. His men were too well trained and too vicious for that.

Adder ran his finger along the scar that started at his ear and ran down his neck. As he did, he felt a slight fissure of fear. Kristano never should have been able to mark him all those thousands of years ago. His magic should have prevented it.