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Endelle addressed Thorne. “I take it you’ve run drills with your techs.”
“Damn straight I have.”
CHAPTER FIVE
Death’s shadow
Brings wisdom.
Collected Proverbs – Beatrice of Fourth
The vision of an imminent attack on the palace had Duncan tense as hell. He was still deep inside his vampire nature, and Yolanthe’s amber link continued to glow.
With the woman still asleep nearby, he mentally touched the link. He could feel the nature of it and how much the connective power felt like Yolanthe, a combination of self-control and narcissism.
He slowly began to feed his power into the link and with each subtle increase he began to rise to consciousness. He didn’t want to wake the beast; he just needed to slip out of his trance.
The next moment, he blinked several times and saw the ceiling of Endelle’s private suite.
“Duncan?” Rachel’s voice.
He slowly sat up as his mind cleared.
Rachel was sitting in a chair at the end of the couch, her eyes wide as she met his gaze.
“You’re back,” she said. She rose from her chair.
“I am.” But because of the vision, he had to act quickly. “I already know we’re in trouble here. Tell me what’s happening.”
She gestured to the Command Center. “Luken is here with your squad. Merl’s in uniform, helping out as well. Thorne, too. Endelle put them all on alert.”
“Oh, thank God. What about weapons?”
“I don’t know. I still have the guns from the wreckers who showed up in your bedroom.”
“What do you mean?”
Rachel gave her head a shake. “I’ll tell you later.” She pulled the two guns from behind her chair and tossed one to him.
“Ammo?”
He watched her extend her hand and a moment later a box of at least a dozen shells appeared.
Taking the box from her, he set it on the table, loaded his weapon, and slid several shells into the pockets of his kilt.
Rachel had nowhere to store hers, but she placed two cartridges in her gun. “Don’t worry. I can fold additional shells into my hand so I’ll leave the box on the coffee table.”
He nodded, and was about to head into the adjoining room when the initial vision once more flitted through his head. There would be so much gunfire. “Rachel, I don’t want you in there. This battle’s going to be messy.”
Rachel’s lips parted but no words came. Instead, she pressed her hand to her chest. “I’m supposed to be there, with you. I can feel it. I think … I think we need to be in a shielded position.”
He thought for a minute, reflecting on what he’d seen in the vision. “That’s right. We are.”
“What do you mean?”
“I had a vision. In fact, you should shield me rig
ht now.”
