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bsp; He leaned his head against the redwood wall. He’d never looked more despondent.
Much to Luken’s shock, tears filled Merl’s eyes. He glanced up at Luken. “Do you have a sister?”
The question took Luken so much by surprise, that for a moment he couldn’t respond. Yes, he had a sister, but he had no idea if she was still alive. Centuries ago, in order to save her from their sadistic father, he’d spirited her away from the Norse lands so she’d have a chance at surviving. He hadn’t seen or heard from her since. “I do, or I did. It’s been a long time since I saw her.”
“Do you still think about her?”
Luken debated for a moment whether to speak the truth to the entire group since no one knew, not even Endelle. But it seemed to him that Merl might open up a little if he went first. “Last thing at night, first thing in the morning.” He felt the team’s focus turn toward him, but he kept his attention fixed on Merl.
The brother nodded. “Then we have something in common.” He waited for a moment, before saying, “There are two things you have to know. First, my grid signature will show up the moment I step foot on Third Earth and I’ll be hunted down by either Chustaffus’s or Yolanthe’s forces. And second,” he swiped a tear from his face, his lips turned down. “Yolanthe has kept my sister imprisoned for the past fifty years, the price of my exile. She’ll kill Katlynn if I return to Third.”
“Sweet merciful Creator,” Alex murmured.
Owen stepped forward, his jaw grinding. “Do you think the veiled woman is your sister? Is that what you’re saying?”
Merl nodded, his eyes red-rimmed. “I think she has to be Katlynn.” His voice sounded flat, hopeless.
Almost as one, the group drew closer to Merl, who remained sitting on the floor. To no one’s surprise, he held out his hand and with one of his Third tricks, lit the cigarette he still held between his fingers, without any visible means of doing it. He took a long, slow drag. “So you see, we’re fucked on more than one level.”
Jean-Pierre stood on the other side of Endelle. “All this time,” he said, his French accent softening his words, “You’ve lived in fear of your sister being harmed by the same maniac that held Duncan in a trance?”
Merl nodded.
“Mon dieu.”
Endelle made an angry scoffing sound at the back of her throat. “Why the fuck didn’t you tell us sooner? You know us, Merl. We’re good people.”
“I’m in violation of my agreement with Yolanthe right now because I’ve told you about Katlynn.” He rose to his feet and took another drag, his eyes skittering about as though seeking the solution to an unsolvable problem.
Luken now understood everything about Merl, in part because he knew what it was to love a sibling and to live in fear for her safety. His own sister would always have part of his heart. “Where is Yolanthe’s prison?”
Merl shook his head. “I’m not sure, but my guess has always been Mexico City Three. Her palace compound is one of the best fortified on Third Earth. It appears to be all gardens, lagoons and waterways, but it’s a citadel, covered in an impenetrable mist the woman created herself. And she has a standing army of Militia Warriors completely devoted to her, as well as a lot death vamps, all on the property.”
“How many warriors in her army?” Luken asked.
Merl shook his head. “At least five hundred on her estate alone. But why the fucking questions? You think you’re going to bust the veiled woman out of this prison, whether she’s my sister or not?”
Luken glanced at Duncan who offered a single dip of his chin.
Luken couldn’t explain the level of certainty that overcame him despite Merl’s doubt, but he went with it. “That’s exactly what we’re going to do and you’re wrong, you will go to Third Earth with us. You’re one of us now. Duncan’s vision has given us the security code to the portal leading straight into the prison. We can do this, as limited as we are. We can do it. And we’ll use your portal for entrance onto the grid. The rest, we’ll figure out as we go, including your vulnerability on Third. But we’re meant to do this.”
Merl nodded. He might not appear completely convinced, but he’d lost some of his despair.
Luken turned to Duncan. “And this woman, possibly Katlynn, said she had only a few days to live. Right?”
“The warriors as well.”
Luken frowned. “Wait, what warriors? You mean the men in the cells.”
“Yes. I’m certain all seven men were Third Earth Warriors of the Blood.”
Merl turned toward Duncan, his face paling dramatically. “You have to be mistaken. I mean, how could you know these men are What-Bees?”
“Because of the nature of the vision. They seemed to be a team as well since each of the men had the same tattoo running down his spine.”
Merl weaved on his feet, and uttered a string of curses. He then stunned them all by folding off his maroon battle harness and turning around. His back was fully exposed. “A tattoo like this one?”
Luken nodded to Duncan. “Is this what you saw in the vision?” The black tattoo was composed of a long line of stacked blade points, traveling from a broader design at the top where the harness formed a T at the neck. At the base was a similar configuration to the initial one, but wider.
