Page 29 of Atone in Darkness
10
Paladin Headquarters—Seattle
“Keep your damn blade up or you’ll have more bruises than you already do.”
Eli stepped back to glare at his sparring partner but did as Trahern ordered. “Tell me again why letting you give me a new crop of bruises every day like this is a good idea.”
The older Paladin’s answering grin was anything but friendly. “Because it’s fun for me, not to mention learningwhat I’m trying to teach you might save your life someday.”
After wiping the sweat off his face with the hem of his T-shirt, Eli groused, “I’m not sure I want to survive if it just means you get to beat the crap out of me again.”
“Maybe those foam rubber swords over there in the kiddie box are more your style.”
Rather than continue the conversation, Eli let his middle finger do the talkingfor him.
Trahern laughed and wiggled his free hand, motioning Eli to bring it on. Their blades slammed into each other hardenough that he felt the vibration all the way down to his boots. At least he managed to block the blow that might have taken his head off. Or it would have if Trahern had been using a real sword instead of a practice blade. Rather than honoring Eli’s minor success, Trahernimmediately picked up speed, lunging at him with a fast-paced series of blows. When he finally succeeded in knocking Eli’s blade out of his hand, the others standing around the gym either applauded or booed, depending on whether they’d bet on Eli or Trahern.
Actually, if it hadn’t been a matter of pride, Eli would’ve bet on Trahern himself. By all reports, the only two Paladins who stood a realchance of defeating the man on a regular basis were Devlin Bane and Jarvis Donahue, who headed up the Seattle and Missouri contingents of Paladins respectively. Eli hadn’t yet met Jarvis, but Devlin Bane was one scary SOB.
Eli held out his hand to his opponent. “Thanks... I think.”
Trahern grinned at him and slapped him on the back. “Considering you’ve never had much in the way of formaltraining, you made a pretty good showing for yourself. I’d even go so far as to say that you have a real gift for it. Take a break and then we’ll try it again.”
Eli’s aching muscles weren’t too thrilled with that last part, but the compliment meant a lot. Blake Trahern wasn’t the kind of man given to false flattery. In the world in which the Paladins operated, men lived and died by the swordeven in this modern age and so took this stuff seriously. If he needed proof of that, all he had to do was look around the gym at the other Paladins and their Kalith companions going at it hammer and tongs.
These warriors had been fighting this secret battle for God knows how long without the rest of humanity having any idea it was going on. He was still trying to understand the new reality thathad been thrust upon him when he was in a military helicopter crash a while back. He’d died with the rest of his crew; he just hadn’t stayed dead.
Lonzo Jones walked over and handed each of them a bottle of water. After guzzling half of his, Eli asked, “Any word yet?”
“No, but we won’t give up until we find him.”
It had been nearly two months since Chase Mosely, one of the Missouri Paladins,had disappeared. He wasn’t the first one to go missing, only the most recent. As soon as they’d gotten the news, Devlin Bane had put together a strike team headed up by Lonzo to investigate the matter.
The core members of the team consisted of Eli, Larem q’Jones, Jamison “Doc” Shaw, and Tyson Dahl. Larem was one of the warriors from another world who had pledged his loyalty to the Paladins. Dochad served in the Special Forces with Eli. He was one helluva field medic and had recently finished his training as a trauma nurse. Tyson was the one wild card in the bunch. A former recon marine, he’d recently walked away from a black-ops group when he’d realized that their purpose didn’t line up with his own moral compass.
Whether that was really true or just a ruse to infiltrate the Regentswho oversaw the Paladins had yet to be determined. They all agreed it was better to keep him close, where they could keep an eye on him. For the moment, the strike team was spinning its wheels, because so far not a single lead had panned out.
Devlin Bane, the behemoth of a man who rode herd on the whole bunch, stalked into the room. He put two fingers into his mouth and let loose with a shrillwhistle that brought all bouts to an immediate halt. As the room grew quiet, he moved toward the center of the gym to stand next to Lonzo and Trahern.
“I have news about Chase Mosely.”
The tension in the room ratcheted up several levels as everyone gathered closer and waited for Devlin to continue.
“Jarvis and I each received an e-mail purportedly from Chase. It said he’s been held captivein an armed compound. He couldn’t tell us where it was located, but he was hoping we’d be able to backtrack through the e-mail to find out where it originated. I’ve given that information to Cullen and his crew. They’ll update me as soon as they find anything.”
Lonzo stepped closer to his friend. “There’s more.”
Devlin jerked his head in a sharp nod. “Chase was in the process of trying to escapewhen he got the chance to send the e-mail. Jarvis and I both responded to the message immediately, but there’s been no reply. Right now, we don’t know what that means. Hopefully he got away but hasn’t reached a place where he’d have Internet access.”
Or maybe his escape attempt had failed. Devlin didn’t say that, but from the fierce expressions on everyone’s faces, they were all thinking it.Devlin rolled his broad shoulders, probably trying to shake off some tension. The situation was bad, but they needed to keep moving forward. He focused his full attention on Lonzo.
“Get your team ready to move out as soon as Cullen can point you in the right direction.”
The other man nodded. No doubt he had questions, but now wasn’t the time or place. The other members of the team were alreadymoving toward him. “Let’s go, guys. Get cleaned up and grab your gear. We’ll be moving out soon.”
Eli headed for the locker room to shower. After that, he’d stop by Safara’s office to let his lady know that he was about to be...deployedwas the only description he could come up with. He didn’t know if the Paladins would’ve used that word to describe what they were about to do. But after hisyears in the army, it felt right to him.
Although the men he now worked with didn’t wear uniforms or have official ranks, they were a band of brothers just like the people he’d served with in the Special Forces. They bonded on a level that civilians would never really comprehend. When lives were on the line, they fought for each other, not something as nebulous as an ideal. Eli might never havemet Chase Mosely, but he’d bleed to make sure the Paladin came home.
