Page 76 of Gates of Rapture
But Endelle already knew them.“You’re worried about the colonies falling to Greaves, because Leto a built a force of a hundred thousand.”
He nodded then glanced at Grace.His brow was furrowed.“And I’m worried as hell about obsidian flame.”
Peace, though sought from every corner of the universe, Can only be found deep in the heart.
—Collected Proverbs,Beatrice of Fourth
CHAPTER 11
Greaves once more stood on the viewing platform.Stannett reclined with his hands behind his head, staring up at the ceiling, waiting for Greaves’s orders.He had a new set of Seers strapped down on the chaise longues.He was such a powerful bastard that the women were dying right and left, literally, and yet he looked refreshed.
Greaves recognized some of the women from Johannesburg.All had their eyes closed.Apparently Stannett kept them in a stupor in order to control them.Smart thinking, but then Stannett had been in charge of Seers for centuries.He knew what to do.
Greaves was disappointed that the attack at the Seattle Colony had unraveled as it did and now cleanup was in progress.He had watched events from a levitating position in the sky behind his mist.He had to admit that Thorne and Leto had created a tremendous amount of discipline in their forces, and especially in the citizenry of the colony.
Though Greaves had effectively eliminated the security system’s electronic alarm, he had not been prepared for the pounding of drums that had alerted most of the citizens to his attack.He’d been stunned to observe how many colonists simply vanished—all prearranged, of course.
Despite the achievement of pure vision, no doubt Marguerite had somehow discovered the attack as well and alerted the colony.Earlier, he had spent time with his generals, setting his strategies—especially where the hidden colonies were concerned.He knew that Leto would have trained all the Militia Warriors in all the colonies.He knew Leto’s mind and his skills.He would have been perfect for the task.The warrior games had no doubt been a culmination of his work.
Greaves wasn’t certain exactly how large a force the hidden colonies had, but his generals had put the estimate near eighty thousand and Greaves really didn’t want to be surprised once a battle began.He hadn’t come this far to lose to something as ridiculous as an army built of colonists.More than anything, he wanted to eliminate the colonies as a factor in what would become a major showdown over the next several days.
His other concern, of course, was obsidian flame.
He’d decided to shift his strategy just a little and try one last time to eliminate the triad as a force in the upcoming confrontations.All he needed to do to solve this problem was to render Grace harmless, and he’d formed a plan that might just work.But he thought he’d check it out with Stannett first.Maybe the future streams could give him an edge on this one.That’s all he needed, just a slight edge.
He called down to Stannett.“Are you ready?”
Stannett unloosened his hands and met Greaves’s gaze.“Yes, master.”
“Good.I want you to search for a time when I’m alone with Grace and I want to know where and when.”
Stannett nodded.The women on either side of him tensed almost at the same time, then relaxed one by one.How many times Greaves had wished that he had Seer ability.Given his level of ambition, he’d always felt it a cruel trick of fate that he’d been denied the gift.Ah, well.
No more than a minute later, Stannett opened his eyes and smiled.“I found Grace alone and unprotected in Diallo’s Seattle courtyard garden.You were speaking very tenderly to her with all the gifts in your power.You were offering her things.”
“What kind ofthings?”
“Nothing that couldn’t be withdrawn should necessity dictate, things like world peace.She was falling beneath your spell, despite the fact that she is alreadybreh-bonded to Leto, a sign of your power, no doubt.For that reason, I pulled back, getting a larger bird’s-eye view until I could see into the lane near the house.
“The vision expanded, and I could see Leto battling more of your Third Earth death vampires in that location.”
“Good.”Greaves actually smiled.“Was Casimir visible?”
“Unfortunately, that’s when the vision ended.”
“And when does all this take place?”
“Sometime this evening, though I couldn’t ascertain the hour.But it’s not yet dawn in the region.In fact, it didn’t even feel close to midnight.”He frowned slightly.
“What is it?”
“It would follow that you have already been planning this kind of tactic, but what do you intend to do with her?”
“It’s simple.I want to disrupt her thinking and have her return with me to Geneva.”
“Where you will have more Third Earth death vampires waiting?”
Greaves smiled.“Of course.”
