“Actually each Omni Prime had a month before her definition to gather her own animal natures. It was the ability to absorb more than one that was handed down, not the animal natures themselves.”
“Okay. What does all this have to do with Boudicca and the amulets?”
He fed her another grape as he began the story. “The Iceni were a warrior tribe and Boudicca’s mate was their king. He made a treaty with the Romans that most of his people resented. We can only guess at the details because the Celts of that era had no written language, but we do know that her mate died and the Romans took advantage of what they perceived as a weakness. When she confronted them with their misbehavior, she was beaten and her daughters were raped while she was forced to watch.”
Devon scoffed and snatched the next grape out of his hand. “Figures. Is rape the only way men know how to get what they want from women?”
He took her hand and kissed her knuckles. “We’re not all that useless.”
“I know.” His touch seemed to calm her, so he lightly rubbed her back. “It’s just way too common a theme.”
“I didn’t mean for it to upset you. We can talk about something else.”
“No.” She straightened and tossed back her hair. “I want to hear the rest. How did Boudicca react to the abuse? In fact, why did she allow it? If she was an Omni Prime, why didn’t she shift into something fierce and kick some Roman ass?”
“As I said, the only accounts we have are from a Roman perspective, so we’re not sure about the details. All we know is what happened after the abuse.”
“Serious carnage?”
He nodded. “Several cities were sacked and there were thousands of casualties, both Iceni and Roman.”
“That doesn’t sound like a very good outcome.”
“Khonish agreed with you. Needless to say, he was pissed about her actions. He hadn’t created the Omni Prime so she could slaughter humans. She was supposed to discreetly maintain balance among Therian powers.”
“What happened to her?”
“She was stripped of her power and left at the mercy of her enemies.”
“Roman mercy, now there’s an oxymoron.”
“The power then fell to Boudicca’s daughter, but she was only allowed to absorb six animal natures rather than all she could gather in a month. That’s also when the amulets were given to the Historian. It’s the Historian’s job to document the deeds of the Omni Prime. The Historian is supposed to observe without interfering unless the Omni Prime misuses her power.”
“Then the Historian can use the amulets to strip the power from the Omni Prime?” She sounded breathless, and even with his empathic abilities, he wasn’t sure what caused the change in her voice.
“Yes.” He moved his hand to the nape of her neck and tried to rub away the tension.
“And my mother has these amulets locked away in her vault? She could use them on Carissa if Carissa stepped out of line?”
“It would have to be more than a casual mistake, but yes. Your mother is entrusted with that power.”
She was silent for a moment, her expression unreadable. “Does Dorothy know about all this?”
“No. I told her I’d destroyed the amulets and didn’t see any reason to explain the rest.”
“Wow.” She gazed off into the distance, clearly processing everything. “I knew Mom was the Historian, but I never really thought about what that meant. There hasn’t been an Omni Prime since I’ve been alive, so that made Mom a museum curator.”
He chuckled. “She’s a little more important than that.”
Her expressive gaze shifted back to him and it was all he could do not to lean down and kiss her. She looked like someone awakening from a dream, unsure if they wanted to face reality or go right on dreaming.
“How many Omni Primes have you known?” As if she could sense his thoughts, her gaze shifted to his mouth.
“Not as many as you think. The Prime Council seized power in 1092 and came damn close to ending the Omni Prime.”
“Sounds like another long story.”
The husky catch in her voice now was clearly desire and he had no intention of discouraging the development. “You have something else you’d rather be doing?”
She slipped open one button on her blouse and then another. “How about round two?”
* * * * *
“Where did you go last night?”
Zophiel looked up from the computer screen at her sister’s sharp question. “Why?”
Nehema’s eyes narrowed to angry slits, but she wisely stayed by the door. “You look ten years younger than you did yesterday. I know what that means. You promised you wouldn’t do this again.”