“Over the past few hours, have you seen anything about this in the future streams?”
Stannett blinked several times, but the frown never left his face.He shook his head slowly, his chin sinking.“Marguerite and the teams she created are very powerful.No doubt they’ve been blocking the images.”
“Undoubtedly, which means I need you to try harder.This event is scheduled for tomorrow night, yet I’ve heard nothing of it from you and your bound Seers.How is this possible?”
“I humbly beg your forgiveness.”
“I’m not here to dispense absolution.I’m only here to try to get you to understand that we’re on the verge of a major battle.And let me remind you that if your failure causes my failure, it means that Marguerite, as the Supreme High Seer of Second Earth, will have your ass in a sling.Do you understand?”
Stannett finally met his gaze and some of the false humility he’d been showing disappeared.He even looked frightened.
“Good.You’re beginning to get the bigger picture.”There was only one real way of dealing with Stannett.If he didn’t understand exactly how he could be hurt, he would continue indulging his Seer joyride.
The Militia Warrior seemed to have succeeded in reining him in for the most part, but she didn’t have the power to know what he was doing in the future streams.Only Greaves could do that.
“And now, please select your next set of Seers extremely well.I want you to spend the night hunting for information about this event.My senses tell me that it’s not what it appears to be.”
“Yes, master,” Stannett said.
Satisfied, at least for the present, Greaves folded back to Geneva and paced his office from the desk to his black leather couch and back.One thing was clear: If Greaves survived this whole damn turn of events, he was going to have to get rid of Stannett and figure out some other way of getting the information he needed.
If he survived.
For the first time in centuries, he’d begun to doubt the outcome of the war.He stared down at the printout once more.Above the three women were the wordsOBSIDIAN FLAME SPECTACLE EVENT AT THE CAMELBACK PARADE GROUNDS, BY PRIVATE INVITATION ONLY.AIRING ON ALL MAJOR NETWORKS WORLDWIDE.CHECK YOUR LOCAL LISTINGS.
By the time his public relations department had alerted him to the news, the photo had gone viral.Obsidian flame was now being discussed in every corner of the globe.
So with one press release, his plans had been turned upside down.
He rubbed his chin, then his slick bald head.He rubbed his chin some more.
He couldn’t quite bring his emotions under control, but he understood them.He was close to panic because it was the smaller print at the bottom of the page that disturbed him the most:AN HONOR GUARD WILL ACCOMPANY THE REMARKABLE OBSIDIAN TRIAD.Honor guardwas code for a military review.But of what magnitude, and what had prompted Endelle to put obsidian flame on display?Unless of course it was to try to woo back some of the High Administrators he’d already hooked on dying blood.
He wadded the paper into a ball, tossed it into the air, then aimed a controlled hand-blast at it.The paper ignited, exploding into a ball of flames.He watched it land on the black marble of the floor and burn to ashes.
He had come so close to getting Grace to come with him back to Geneva, at which time he would have had her killed and none of this nonsense would even be happening.There would simply have been no triad.But she had been more powerful than he had thought possible and had resisted him.
He mentally shut off all the lights in his office, turned off the various electronic devices, and stretched out on the floor.
He needed to relax.He needed to think about how he would bring pressure to bear on Endelle’s coming spectacle.
His first thought was a number of well-placed bombs that would take out her administrative headquarters as well as the Camelback Parade Grounds, but that was illegal.
On the other hand, with his plans on the tipping point of annihilation, what did he care for legalities?He would think about that.If he struck first, if he bombed the spectacle, he would gain an enormous advantage because obsidian flame would be destroyed.
His thoughts grew more and more focused on this concept so that within a few minutes, he’d made the decision to move forward with his plans.
***
Leto had taken great pains to get Medichi’s house ready for Grace.He’d been in a state of partial arousal for the past several hours.She knew it, too, since she could feel all his external sensations.And just a moment ago, she’d sent,We had a long walk, but I’m almost at the landing platform.Wings coming up.
He shivered in anticipation.
Parisa was definitely out of the house, just as she had said she would be.And Medichi was on duty at the Borderlands.
He and Grace would have the house to themselves.
Because Militia Warriors patrolled the villa grounds constantly, Leto had shuttered all the windows.And for what he had in mind, he definitely required some privacy.
