Damian's Oracle

"I think you see what I am about," he said. Tears streamed down her face as screams echoed in her mind. "I can carry you or you can walk out."

"Walk," she managed, shuddering at the lingering visions that left an acrid taste in her mouth.

"Let's go."

She pushed herself off the floor and rose. The kind of creature that could do such things to other men left her no doubt he'd do the same to her if she didn't obey. She shivered and hugged herself as they emerged into the cool fall dusk. A chauffeur opened the door to a town car waiting at the curb nearest her apartment building. She looked up and down the street. It was busy enough; she might be able to lose him if she made it to a crowd of people.

As if hearing her thoughts, Czerno gripped her arm again. Sofia sagged, crippled by the burning visions. He shoved her into the car, and she crawled as far from him as she could. The car started up, and they merged into traffic. Czerno raised the privacy glass between them and the driver with the push of a button.

"Tell me, love, just how powerful are you?"

She shook her head.

"Still transforming, I see."

And he smiled, a cold smile that did not reach the death in his eyes.

*****

Damian turned the cell phone back on and emerged into the warm evening air from the Marriott's conference room, the random place chosen by his spy chief for this week's intelligence briefing. The situation in Europe plagued him, as did the declining number of Guardians. This would be the first year he'd gone into the negative in a thousand of years. He was losing established Guardians-mostly in Europe-and an entire class of new recruits.

Dusty's suggestion to bring in every station chief for interrogation was sounding better. As a former assassin and interrogator, Dusty didn't much care for people to begin with. Dusty's skills were legendary, but Damian had held off on what he considered a reign of terror for his seasoned Guardians. Dusty's interviewees rarely lived through the ordeal, and Damian wasn't yet ready for that step. His cell rang before it could upload the number of voicemails and texts.

"I'm done, Han. What's up?"

"This message is from Dusty. He wants to know what the fuck you were doing that you couldn't answer your phone."

"I'll call him," he promised.

"We have a serious issue," Han said in a flat voice. "You need to get to NOVA now."

"Consider me there." He waited until he was out of sight of the hotel's cameras before Traveling to Virginia with his magic. Han had never led him astray in the thousands of years as his XO.