23. Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Two
Remmus
Today, Key would disclose when the final confrontation would take place. It had been two months since she’d walked in and told all of them of the future awaiting them. In the time since, Remmus had put everything on pause.
He was finally free of the coercion that’d iced his mind since he’d been a child. Luna, Nero’s healer, had assisted with his recovery, and he’d never once looked back.
His she-wolf mate pounced on him while he jogged on a treadmill. Hooking her legs around his waist and her arms around his shoulders, she laughed as he grasped ahold of her and continued to run.
“That was your sign to stop, Remmus,” she whispered in his ear. “We have places to be.”
“Precisely why I’m running.”
When her hand snaked forward and tapped the off button, Remmus gave a melodramatic sigh. “You’ve killed my treadmill, murderess!”
“You should be worrying that Key will murder you if we’re late.”
Pulling slightly on the thick blonde braid that was tossed over her shoulder, Remmus shrugged. “Have it your way, Blondie.” He gave her a once over. “Ready to go?”
“I am,” her finger came up to delicately trace up the clan mark on his pectoral, “but you should probably put a shirt on. Wouldn’t want to have to mark my territory in front of all those other females.”
“Tempting.”
“ Mine .”
Ava reached out to grab Remmus’ chin, laughing as she claimed his lips. When she released him, he teleported a fitted black t-shirt onto his torso, and a half smile dimpled his cheek.
“All yours. Better?”
His mate nodded happily. “Let’s go to Nina’s house before everyone gets there. I don’t want to be late.”
“Taxi Remmus, at your service.”
He held her waist as they teleported directly to his sovereign’s stoop in Missouri. Knocking once for courtesy, they opened the door to hear excited chatter. Nina and Zeke’s voices mixed with those of Blair and Kaien.
“The party has arrived,” came his obligatory quip.
Kaien grinned, offering Remmus a warrior’s handshake. They had been thick as thieves for eight centuries and stood as each other’s best man at their weddings. There were few people Remmus trusted as implicitly as his best friend.
The healer bowed his head respectfully. “Ava.”
Thankfully, the two had forgiven one another for the parts they’d both played in Remmus’ near-death experience not long ago. A mixture of circumstance and error had caused psychic poisoning to take hold of his mind, and very nearly succeeded in claiming his life.
In the end, it’d been Ava who pulled him back from the brink.
“I take it the others are on their way?” Ava asked as they walked into Nina’s living room. Many of the other delegates were already there.
“Hitching a ride, of course.” Blair elbowed Nina playfully. “We’re trying to get Nina to disclose what Key’s asked of her.”
“And as I’ve said,” Nina repeated, “you’ll simply have to wait like everyone else.”
Beside her, Zeke said, “As long as she’s not putting her life in danger, I’m satisfied.”
Nina shook her head. “Of course not, Zeke.”
Lie.
The realization of Nina’s deceit hit Remmus hard, his ability to discern truth flaring with falsehood. He stared at his sovereign in horror.
Dread pooled inside him as she met his gaze. Her tight smile slowly faded . Conversation progressed around them, but neither joined in the dialogue. Stuck in a state of shock, Remmus remembered the brief warning Key had given him, and his vow to remain quiet.
So he did.
When the technopath finally managed to tear his eyes away from his stricken sovereign, he forced himself to wear a false grin. Nina, sensing the cover-up would remain, rejoined the conversation alongside him.
Twenty minutes later, each of the original couples Key had summoned, plus Derikles, were gathered in Nina and Zeke’s living room. Torrin’s death and the burning of the last holding facility were the primary topics of discussion.
By the time Key arrived, Remmus was up to date on every mission that’d taken place over the previous two months.
When the silver-blonde foreteller teleported in, she gently bid everyone to take a seat. Remmus settled for the loveseat, pulling his mate into his arms.
“In two days’ time, we fight for our lives.”
Remmus’ gut dropped, and he could feel Ava’s alarm rising beside him. Sliding his fingers through hers, he gave them a quick squeeze. Key hesitated a beat, letting them digest the news before continuing.
“Over a thousand mercenaries and the members of the Citizens will converge on your territory, Nina, with hope of killing every last one of the people in your clan.”
A flare of fury pulsed from his sovereign. When she spoke, the hint of fang she sported betrayed her.
“Where will they enter our lands?”
“They’ll come from the south, arriving en masse, with vehicles and on foot.” Key turned to Jeremiah and Zia. “You both will be there to cover the enemy and render them invisible. Three humans will notice their convoy, Zia, and you’re to clear their memories.”
Jeremiah paled. “I’m not sure I can cover that many soldiers, Key. Even for me, that’s a stretch.”
“Believe in yourself,” Key reassured him. “I’ve already seen you do it.”
Across the room, the wind Elemental locked gazes with Gideon, who gave him a small, but reassuring, nod. “I’ll do my best.”
“You’ve all reviewed the battle plans and should know them by heart. The twenty-five of us will be the only defense.”
Each immortal felt the weight of Key’s attention as she studied them. She held power over their future, and the knowledge of their past. It was a dizzying sensation.
“Nina—the pink-haired one, Celeste?” Key asked. “When she asks if she can pop in for a bit tonight, don’t tell her about the gathering.”
“Of course.”
“Most of you can and should rest tonight. For now, I’ll have need of just three of you, and then the healers thereafter.”
On that ominous note, Key’s attention turned to Remmus. He stiffened. He wasn’t certain he liked the sound of it—whatever it was—and he’d already done his task. Perhaps there was another.
“Remmus,” she began, “we’ve procured Torrin’s laptop as well as the phone Barlowe used for communicating with Rayn.”
“What do you need me to do?”
“You’re going to root through the internet, every file in the Army’s archives, and every communication Torrin ever sent, and you’re to excise any mention of the Citizens that might still be documented.”
It was all Remmus could do not to laugh in her face.
“Key, that’s impossible. Even if I started now, it’d take days just to deal with Army archives purge. And ‘the internet?’ Searching and purging content from the largest revolving database with no finite end would be like—”
“Attempting to weave a future twelve centuries in advance?” Key finished for him, one stark blonde eyebrow quirked in challenge. “I understand what I’m asking, Remmus, and I understand your reservations. However, while your limits may be finite, realize that I won’t be asking you to do this alone.”
“There are no other Technopaths here, Key.”
“No—” A cunning smile appeared on her lips, “—but there are two Amps.”
When Remmus’ mouth gaped, his sovereign rode to the rescue. “The risk is substantial, Key—even with several healers present. The energy drought that’d kick back following such a massive display of power could kill him.”
Key’s features softened. “Remmus, I understand the risk you’re taking, but trust that I wouldn’t put your life in danger with this—I’ve foreseen that this doesn’t irreparably harm you. It will create a severe energy drought for the next several hours, but your ability will return before our final confrontation in two days’ time.”
“You want not one, but two Amps powering Remmus’ gift?” Zeke asked from across the room, his concern mounting.
Key nodded. “It’s necessary, Zeke. You alone will not be enough for him to reach every database that needs cleared.”
“Who is the other Amp?” Remmus’ eyes scoured the room, landing on Derikles. “You?”
The man—Isaiah’s second—was quiet, but wickedly powerful. That much was apparent by his psychic signature. He stood behind his sovereign, arms crossed. Like Remmus, Derikles’ skin was visibly tattooed, but his was a watercolor pattern that spanned up his arms.
Derikles nodded. “I am.”
A man of few words. Jaw clenching, Remmus glanced at his mate. While worry funneled down their bond, she wore a look of determination. “Only if you’re willing. I have faith in you.”
His co-sovereigns were clearly communicating telepathically. He interrupted. Sovereign, thoughts?
My only hesitation is your comfort level, Remmus, Nina replied. If Key says you won’t be harmed, then I believe her.
That was enough for Remmus. Pushing past his reservations, he internally girded himself against what was to come. He inclined his chin to Key and gave her a nod.
“Good.” A laptop teleported into her hands. “You’ll need to take a seat for this, Remmus. Derikles, Zeke, if you would?”
Neither Amp appeared to be wary of what they’d attempt.
“If the rest of you would like to leave, now would be the time,” Key warned. “Healers are required to stay.”
No one left.
“Ominous words, Key,” Remmus muttered.
“I’ve not lied to you. You’ll be okay.” Then, softer, she whispered, “Eventually.”
He stared at her when she dropped the laptop into his hands. “When they begin to Amp you, it’ll be overwhelming. I need you to focus on the threads of the Citizens’ communications first. From there, it’ll lead you to the Army’s databases. Finally, you’ll scour the internet for any mention of the Citizens’ or their contracted mercenaries. Do you understand?”
“Yep.”
Key’s attention shifted to the two men standing behind him. “Zeke, you’ll connect with his ability first, amplifying it at the rate he commands. Derikles, you’ll follow, connecting to the same thread Zeke is already feeding him. Amplify that instead of creating a new thread.”
She stepped back, the intensity of her stare almost criminal. And then she spoke the words that chilled Remmus: “You’ll continue amping him until I tell you to stop. If you let go to soon, you’ll kill him. Ava, you will be here before him to catch him when he falters. Do not let him fall.”
Remmus’ mate appeared in front of him just as the rush of adrenaline fueled him. He reached out telepathically. I love you, Ava.
When Key gave him the go ahead, Remmus’ technopathic gift swelled inside him, connecting instantly to the technology in the room. In his hands, Torrin’s laptop flared to life. The screen blinked through document after document at his will, just as Zeke’s hand gripped his shoulder.
The amplification effect was instantaneous.
Pathways he’d never previously noticed, loopholes in code, back doors into firewalls: all of them became glaringly obvious as his mind shifted to accommodate the additional power.
Moving swiftly through Torrin’s documentation and any associated links, Remmus’ consciousness soared toward the Army’s archives. After the slightest hint of hesitation from the practically unbreachable firewall, Remmus felt Derikles’ hand grip his other shoulder.
Nothing would ever be the same.
Remmus was barely aware of his physical body, but his mouth formed the one word that seemed to illustrate his sudden shift.