Page 31 of Gates of Rapture
CHAPTER 5
Endelle levitated just at the top of the tree line on the western side of the forest.She wore tight black leather pants and a forest-green embroidered bustier but kept herself cloaked in her own private mist.She had intended just to check in for a moment, to see what the colony had put together for this worldwide event.
She wore the same necklace of miniature pinecones, adorned with preserved monarch butterflies.This was her nod to the natural surroundings even if she’d had the insects’ wings dipped in resin to keep them from busting apart.
But it was her stilettos that claimed the prize.She had worked diligently to attach wires to various parts of the shoes; at the end of each wire was a black-and-yellow bumblebee.The wires came to various heights so that it looked as though a cloud of bees buzzed around her.Her design even included shields that kept the bees from getting all tangled up.
Of course the whole ensemble was more frivolous than serious, but given the homespun nature of the event, she thought she fit right in.
The air rippled beside her.She might have been worried, but she felt the flavor of a Fourth ascender.Maybe Beatrice had come to watch the festivities.
However, as she turned in the direction of the moving air, who should appear but that worthless piece of shit, Casimir.Only he looked really different.“Holy hell, what the fuck happened to you?”
Casimir wore a white robe and was completely bald.She moved in close, still levitating, but scooted up higher in the air and put both her hands on his head.She read the names inked on his skull.“These your kids?”
“My sons, yes.”
“Imagine you having children.”
“I was shocked myself.”
“So, you slumming it or what?”
His gaze took in the the fair-like atmosphere.“I take it these are the warrior games.”
“If you’re looking for Grace, she’s in the stands with Leto, but I suspect he won’t give you much of a welcome.He lost it when Grace left and went through some kind of change none of us has figured out.”
Casimir glanced at her.She couldn’t get used to what he looked like without all his long curly hair.He was still a handsome bastard, though.
“How has Leto changed?”
“Bigger at times, then not.”
“Cryptic.”
“You can see for yourself if you stick around long enough.So, did you come here hoping to bust up my latest power couple?”
He shook his head.“No, but I have a feeling that my being here won’t exactly be welcomed or understood.”
“Now who’s being cryptic?Cut the shit, Caz.What’s going on?”
“I’m here to serve as a Guardian of Ascension to one of your warriors.This particular warrior, it would seem, is ascending to Third Earth.”
“What?”Endelle had always had a good sense of things, especially when a major ascension was in progress.“Who the hell is ascending to Third?”
He swept a hand in the direction of the grandstands.“Why, Leto, of course.”
Even the air around her seemed to slow to a halt.Her mind got stuck in neutral and wouldn’t budge.She just kept staring at Casimir.Finally, she said, “That make no sense at all.”
“Are you sure?You said Leto has gone through a change.Could it be Third Earth–related?”
She frowned because certain things started making sense.Was that why Leto could change into something that resembled Greaves’s Third Earth death vampires?Maybe Leto’s ability to shift into an über-warrior wasn’t about his former addiction to dying blood after all.
But if he was ascending to Third, what about Grace?Usually, if an ascender was married, his or her better half emerged with new powers at the same time.Unless of course you counted obsidian flame as a power matching Leto’s ability to morph into Leto-the-Hulk.
A sudden loud thumping drew her attention to the south.
“Fireworks,” Casimir said.“How nice.”
