Page 106 of Gates of Rapture
Leto, you always say what I need to hear.And yet…
It’s not simple.
You’re right, our decisions are never simple.
She’d had the life of her choosing for many centuries, and during all that time she’d never really found a place to put down roots.She had searched the ends of the earth, even Mortal Earth, looking for some sort of spiritual enlightenment, but nothing lasted, nothing satisfied.
In the end, she’d chosen to come back to Leto and to stop avoiding the war.She thought of all that was at stake.She remembered Leto’s speech at the warrior games about how everyone had a part in the war, because it wasn’t just about swords and guns and bombs.It was about building a better future going forward and that all ascenders had a role to play.
She didn’t like the role she’d been given to play.But what did that matter?
She chuckled softly and drew back.“I don’t know what I expected when I returned, or what I thought would happen when I said we should use a spectacle event as a ruse to move an army.I think I was naive.”She smiled ruefully.“I’ll be okay.I just keep needing to get used to this new reality.”
She turned to walk back in Thorne’s direction.Leto joined her with his arm around her waist.
Both Fiona and Marguerite comforted her, which of course caused their shared power to flare.However, in this case, it helped.“I kind of lost my nerve.But now that I feel all that massive obsidian vibration, I’m okay.We can do this, can’t we?”
“Of course we can,” Marguerite said.“Or as Endelle would say, ‘Shit yes, of course we fucking can.’”
Grace started to laugh, and her obsidian sisters joined her.
Leto drew close, kissed her on the cheek, and said that Thorne had moved computer equipment to the workout room so that he’d be nearby if the triad needed him.“I’m locating Greaves’s artillery.I have one of Marcus’s computer geeks, which is code for ‘hacker,’ to help me break into some of the Commander’s files.”
Knowing that Leto was working on the bombing issue also gave her some comfort.But it was her brother who helped the most when he said, “We’re going to practice the rest of the day, here and out at the parade grounds as well, until all of you feel comfortable.The first thing we need to do is to find out if the triad can gather its power while in flight and without making physical contact.I feel confident it can be done, but we want to be sure.
“Also, we need to find out what happens when obsidian flame folds someone while in flight, which would include the swan and geese handlers, Endelle, and any of Marcus’s in-flight video operators.Though I have a feeling that the triad’s power will protect everyone, we need to know what we’re dealing with.
“Finally, I want to do an emergency run while in flight, to simulate Greaves’s firing his artillery.I want to be assured that I get a signal from the computer operator, and that I can alert the triad that an emergency mass fold is necessary for the parade grounds, then have Grace perform one very fast.How does that sound?”
Somehow having her brother break the challenges facing obsidian flame into specific skill sets and practice drills helped Grace a lot.She could even take a deep breath without feeling like she was being strangled.She realized that she was working with warriors who knew a lot about the value of regular workouts and drills on every level.
The first thing the triad did was to separate and focus on the obsidian flame power, causing the vibrations to rise without making physical contact.After a few false starts, a simple form of telepathy, from Grace to Marguerite then to Fiona, set the necessary sequence.Marguerite even suggested they use the wordscorpionto focus on in order to prompt the experience.After an hour of practice,scorpionbrought the power flowing within seconds each time the word passed from woman to woman.
Once the power could be brought without physical contact, Thorne moved everyone outside to continue the in-flight practice.Leto even suggested that he be the guinea pig for the first folding experiment.He and Thorne argued, but in the end Leto prevailed when he said, “The hell if I’m allowing any of the Militia Warriors to be hurt because of this.And you know I’m strong as hell and powerful, which means that if anything goes wrong, I’ll heal fast.Get Horace over here if it will make you feel any better.”
Grace watched him stare Thorne down.Marguerite hooked her arm through Grace’s.“We have two tough hombres, don’t we?Sweet Christ, is it bad of me to want to see them get into a fight?Thorne’s closing his fist.Look at his arms.Those muscles.”
Grace could not have cared less about her brother’s arms, but Leto’s shoulders were hunched and bulked up.Her mouth watered.She blinked several times.
Giving herself a shake, she approached the men and grabbed each by the wrist.“Hey, knock it off.The last thing we need is the two of you locking horns.”
The men backed down, which meant each took a few steps away from the other.She met Thorne’s gaze.“I happen to agree with Leto.And just in case, Horace should be here.”
“Fine,” Thorne said.He whipped his Droid Ascender from his slacks and started hitting the screen.A moment later, he said, “Hey, Carla, we need Horace at my position at Apache Junction Two, and, no, no one is hurt, and, yes, I do know he’s probably asleep, but get him to me anyway as quick as you can, at this position.I’ll let security here know.”
He tapped again and spoke to security.“Horace is coming to my position.”
Grace wasn’t surprised when about two minutes later, Horace materialized next to Thorne.He squinted against the bright sunshine.
“Sorry to disturb,” Thorne said.
But Horace bowed slightly.“No problem,duhuro.”
Thorne opened his mouth as though to say something then simply shrugged, smiled, and clapped the tall, thin healer on the shoulder.“Thanks for coming.”He then explained what they were doing.
Horace’s eyes grew wide.“I’m ready if you need me, but I really hope you don’t.”A fold could trash a pair of wings, even the strongest wings.
Leto removed his shirt, which caused Grace to put a hand to her chest and to weave on her feet.She didn’t think she’d ever get over what the man looked like.
