Gates of Rapture(70)

He almost suggested he join her in the shower, but he had a few things to check out first. He looked around the room. Then he felt it, too. Something didn’t feel right. He wondered if Casimir was around causing some sort of mischief.

He heard the shower running. Grace started humming, and the sound gripped his heart in the nicest way. He could feel the water on her skin, her hands soaping up, then rubbing over her shoulders, her arms, her breasts …

Okay, he had to shut that down because he knew if he didn’t, he’d be heading back to the bathroom. He ordered his mind and found that with a little effort, he could block some of her physical sensations. He really did need to check in with the colony’s Militia Warrior HQ to see how things were going.

But as he folded his phone into his hand, his sense of uneasiness increased, though he couldn’t say why. His cabin was a significant distance from the main portion of the village.

He turned the lamps off in the bedroom so that the only light in the room was the glow from the bathroom.

Grace was suddenly in his mind. Marguerite said the Seattle Colony will be under attack.

When?

Anytime.

I’ll let HQ know.

He moved to the large window to the left of the bed and pushed back the curtain to look outside. No movement except the wind in the fir trees. He looked down at his phone. It was only eight in the evening. He thumbed, then located the colony’s HQ phone and tapped the screen.

The phone rang.

The hidden colony HQ had a small working grid that constantly checked the perimeter throughout the mountainous terrain. A second grid checked the space beneath Diallo’s dome of moss-based mist.

There was no answer.

There was no answer.

He scrolled for Thorne’s number. The phone rang. Thorne picked up. “Marguerite just told me. I’m letting Seriffe know. We’ll mobilize. Get up here to Second as soon as you can, and make sure Grace is safe.”

“Shit. You must be right, and I think it’s already started. I couldn’t reach HQ.”

“Got it.”

When he tossed his phone on the bed, he realized that Grace had shut the water off and she no longer hummed.

Everything felt quiet.

Too quiet.

He turned to face the bathroom.

A shimmering next to Leto caused him to bring his sword into his hand.

Casimir.

“Thank the Creator. We’re under attack.”

“I’m here,” Casimir said.

Leto had blocked Grace’s sensations so he quickly reestablished his breh-connection. Then he knew. He could now feel the cold line of tiles that pressed against both sides of her back as well as her bottom, which meant she had backed up into the corner of the shower.

Leto. Her voice was suddenly in his mind. Bring your sword, she added. We have company.

To Casimir, he sent, Death vamp in the bathroom.

I’ve got your back. Casimir held his hands wide, and Leto could feel the power start to build.

Leto moved with blinding speed to the bathroom. Yet at the exact same moment, he felt three more large bodies fold into the bedroom, into the space he had just vacated.

He didn’t wait to see what happened, but he could hear the vibrations of the hand-blast. Bodies fell to the floor.

He found Grace pressed up against the tile, staring into the face of a warrior-sized death vampire.

Leto used the tip of his sword and pricked the death vampire right on the ass.

The pretty-boy turned around. “What the fuck,” he muttered, perhaps thinking one of his comrades was giving him a hard time.

Surprise.

Dropping into a fighting stance, Leto kept his gaze pinned on the death vamp. At the same time, he sent, Grace, fold to the basement. Then get dressed. I’ll meet you there in about three seconds.

She vanished. A moment later he felt the cold of the basement touch her wet skin and hair.

He raised his sword, which drew the death vamp’s arm up to meet steel with steel. But Leto had been a warrior a few thousand years longer than this sonofabitch. Folding his dagger into his left hand, he let it fly and caught the bastard straight through the neck.

At the same moment, he folded down to the basement. Grace wore jeans and a long green sweater that ended mid-thigh. She had on leather loafers. Good.

With a wave of his hand, he changed into clean flight battle gear.

To Casimir, he sent, I’m taking Grace to Diallo’s house, deep into the courtyard garden. Meet us there.

Done, Casimir returned.

He took Grace’s arm. “We’re going to fold to Diallo’s house, to the garden. I can’t raise the colony’s HQ on my phone. Casimir will join us there. I’ll block my trace so that we won’t be followed by any other death vampires who arrive here after we’re gone. Okay?”

She nodded.

Leto folded her in a quick flash through nether-space. He felt her feet touch down just as his did. They were where he wanted them to be, hidden by foliage. He blocked his trace. However, Diallo’s central courtyard was crawling with even more death vampires.