Damian's Oracle

"It's virtually impossible." Laney voiced his same thought.

"There haven't been any in tens of thousands of years," Damian said slowly. "What else, Jake?"

"That's it. I just have this feeling…" Jake said, his face troubled.

"You have a Traveler assigned to station, Laney?" Damian asked. Most stations had one of the Guardians-or Naturals-capable of Traveling great distances the way he did, by using magic to slip through space and time and end up elsewhere. Laney lifted his chin toward Jake, who nodded. "Watch her. If anything funny happens, bring her in, straight to my headquarters outside of Tucson. Don't take any chances with this one. Got it?"

Jake nodded again.

"Laney, tell Dustin what's going on. He gets pissy when you all call me directly without letting him know," Damian said.

"Will do."

Damian closed his eyes and opened them, materializing in his suite in Tucson. He stood before the low-burning fire, golden eyes swirling as he thought quickly.

A few Naturals were found every year, and he didn't bother to remember their names in an organization his size, leaving that level of detail to his most trusted men, the two regional commanders, and dozens of sector commanders worldwide. An Oracle … now that was worthy of his attention. There had been none since Claire, whose powers had been so weak, she couldn't even be blood bound. The last blood-bound Oracle was Damian's mother, who went mad soon after his birth.

He who binds the Oracle, binds the future, his brother had once told him. His phone dinged and drew him from his thoughts. A text popped up.

Bro, ur supposed 2 tell me when u visit.

Damian grunted, expecting Dusty's message. His regional commanders were the only two people in the world who would challenge him: the cold master assassin in charge of the western hemisphere and the warm master negotiator in charge of the eastern hemisphere. As different as night and day, they were his adopted brothers-and the only men in the universe he trusted with his life. Of the two, Dusty was more likely to call him to the floor when he crossed into his business. As their king, Damian owed them nothing. As his adopted brothers in the war against evil, the two of them were his equals.

He typed a response. Next time, boss.

He left his room for his office. The quarterly conference held four times a century with the highest ranking station commanders was coming up soon, and he had more pressing issues to resolve before it launched. He entered his office and froze, sensing the presence of the otherworldly being.

"Y'all need to learn to ask before setting foot in my house," he warned.