“Oui, and now the curse-that-is-not- a-curse. I understand your woman is to work at the rehab center with my breh, with Fiona?” He nodded. He wanted Vela to go on with her plans, to fulfill a dream that had nothing to do with death vampires and darkening work. “I don’t want to see this power developed or utilized.”
“Mais, Samuel,” Jean-Pierre said, his French adding another syllable to his name, “You cannot deny that you single- handedly saved a Warrior of the Blood last night. So, how can you say your power should not be encouraged, brought forward, strengthened? You battled like a Warrior of the Blood.
Do you understand?”
“Yes, but what if I killed someone accidentally. I couldn’t live with that.”
“Then we should work together, you and I, in a controlled space, with no one else around.” He even smiled. “I am not without power myself, so I believe I could take these streams because, as you said, they did not kill immediately, but took some time.”
“But I couldn’t stop them. That’s my point. I watched these men die.”
“Will you let me help you, if I am able? Perhaps this will become more about separating these powers, encouraging the dark mist and accompanying power while perhaps setting shields in place to block the energy streams.” He turned and met Jean-Pierre’s gaze. “That would be the right place to begin. But are you sure.” Jean-Pierre narrowed his gaze. “If you feel the streams emerge, warn me, and I will fold.” Samuel rose to his feet. “Then let’s do this thing.”
Vela stood with her back to Havily’s office. She stared out at the fading eastern landscape, a view of the desert that stretched for miles beyond the window all the way to the Superstitions and Militia HQ. With her arms crossed over her chest, she withheld a sigh. Even standing here, she could feel Samuel. How was that possible?
“So you had a darkening vision of Samuel while dreaming?” Havily asked.
“Yes.” She didn’t turn around.
Havily’s office had glass panes that faced the executive hallway. Too many people had already walked up and down that hall, glancing in to get a look at her. This was a small community, the one made up of powerful ascenders and their support staff, and she wasn’t used to being stared at. “I thought it was just a dream.”
“And you’ve never had them before?” She shook her head. “No.”
“But you’re powerful,” Havily said.
“I can feel it in you. Do your powers manifest in other ways?” She told Havily about the fireworks.
“I love that power. Alison can do that and so can Fiona.” She hoped Havily didn’t ask for a demonstration. She was so not in the mood. A hawk flew over the desert, hunting as the sun sank in the west, maybe a last attempt before nightfall. The death vampires would be heading to the Borderlands soon, ready to do battle as they tried to make their way into the vulnerable Mortal Earth world.
“This is all too much,” Vela said. “I don’t understand why this has happened.” Havily drew close, leaning a shoulder against the thick window. “I know that feeling. Been there. I think more than any other woman who’s gone through this, Vela, I can relate to you because of the darkening ability.” Vela glanced at her. “Do you wish it undone, all this increased power and responsibility?”
“No, but that doesn’t have meaning here. I’m so far on the other side of this thing that I’m sure I’ve forgotten half of what I went through, even my anger toward Marcus because he’d absented himself from the war for two-hundred- years.” Vela shifted slightly in Havily’s direction. “And the breh-hedden? Do you ever regret that?”
“No, not even a little, despite the fact that it’s really frustrating at times. But the best I can say is try, if possible, to stay open to the experience, to this new power you’ve got going on. You might surprise yourself and the one thing I can tell you is that you’ll have a different role in this world going forward, one completely unexpected. I mean, I never thought I would work alongside Endelle or that I would have formed this working partnership with Marcus to change the world’s perception of our fearless leader.
And yet, I believe I’m suited for all of these things, I just didn’t know it.” Vela took a deep breath. “I thought for sure you’d be yelling at me to get on board.” Havily snorted. “That’s Endelle’s style and you need to be prepared for that.
She thinks we’re all slackers unless we’re doing what she tells us to do, the moment she says it. She can be tough to take, but after nine-thousand-years of ascended life, stuck here on Second Earth by the Council of Sixth, she’s lost her filters and has no patience, at all. Which is why I insisted that I speak with you and not her.” Vela laughed. “Thank you for that.
I’ve needed some space, some time to think this through.”
“I know. And as for this new power, don’t be surprised if it crashes down on you again. Emerging power is like that, like a series of storms until you’ve mastered what you’ve been given.”
“You know, that’s not very comforting.” But she smiled.
“One last thing. You do have a choice here. Nothing is set in stone at this point. The next time you’re called by the darkening, and it will probably relate to Samuel because that’s just the way the breh-hedden works, you will have a choice to make. And it will be okay if you choose not to move forward. I mean, you’ve taken night courses for years now in preparation for a counseling career, and you are desperately needed at the rehab center. No one would think less of you for choosing that life.
“As for Samuel, well, he’s lived in isolation since he returned from his captivity, and from a long period of being hurt, being tortured, so that’s a whole thing in itself.
“While you were still in the darkening talking to him, I contacted Gideon. Basically, he said that Samuel has always been distant, a lone wolf, if you will. He won’t be an easy man to deal with. Apparently, he’s closest to Duncan, who helped make it possible for him to escape, but even then I would hazard a guess that Samuel keeps him at arm’s length.” Vela knew Havily was right. “I’ve thought about that as well. I’ve felt him, Havily, I’ve felt the loneliness in him and even right now, I can feel him, that he’s at HQ.” She waved her hand in the direction of Apache Junction Two.