Gates of Rapture (Guardians of Ascension 6)

His silver aura began to diminish and soften, and finally disappeared. “All right, so how exactly do you think the process works then?”

But it was Marguerite who answered the question. “I think it means that when any of us experiences a profound intuition that something is wrong, like what happened at Nazca, then I look into the future streams. When I get a solid vision, the three of us can determine what power is needed to resolve whatever situation appears. Grace then learns the skill from whatever ascender would be best for acquiring the ability. She takes possession of Fiona because Fiona has the power to exponentially amplify any power. And that’s how we get the job done. But the amazing thing is you, Grace. If you can enter the soul of any individual in the entire world and you can learn any ability, then there is no real limit to what we can accomplish.”

And there it was, the identification of what this triad could do.

Grace thought for a moment, and let herself rest deeply within her obsidian power. She felt it vibrate softly. “If our ability as a triad to accomplish a task rests with me, then maybe we should practice exactly that: I should acquire an ability and we should apply it. How does that sound?”

“Perfect,” Fiona said.

Marguerite nodded her assent.

“What power would you like to explore, then?”

Grace addressed Thorne. “I have an idea because I think it would make a great test. I’d like to acquire Leto’s ability with the sword. Then I’d like to possess Fiona and have her do battle with Jean-Pierre.”

“That sounds dangerous.”

“Have Jean-Pierre here as well as Leto. Because of the breh-bond, I think some of what we do will have to include the other men, don’t you agree?”

“You’re absolutely right, especially in these early stages.”

“What’s my role?” Marguerite asked. “I mean, if my job is to choose the task through the future streams, how do I fit in here?”

Grace tilted her head. “Actually, I think in order to really see what the triad can do, we need to be connected when I take possession of Fiona—we need to be functioning as a triad. I mean, I know that Fiona and I could do our parts alone, but I have a feeling that the triad adds something extra.”

An intuited consensus followed.

Grace contacted Leto and asked him to come to the workout center while Fiona did the same with Jean-Pierre. Because of the folding regulations, both warriors had to fold straight to the landing platforms then walk the considerable distance to the workout room.

When Leto and Jean-Pierre finally entered the room, Grace’s vision narrowed to a fine point focused exclusively on her breh. His hair was tight in the cadroen, which set his sharp angled cheekbones in strong relief. He walked with a lethal athletic stride, and because he wore a snug T-shirt, her gaze drifted to his pecs. She blinked a couple of times and wished for a moment that she was alone with him.

Her heart rate soared at the sight of him. Because of the breh-hedden, she could feel the give in the black mats as he crossed toward her, the brush of his fingertips against the sides of his jeans, and the way the muscles of his face moved as he smiled crookedly at her.

Hello, beautiful, he sent.

She had only one real thought, that she wanted to be alone with him. “Hey,” she murmured when he drew near. She was a little embarrassed, but out of the corner of her eye she saw that Jean-Pierre was holding Fiona in a warm embrace and Thorne had taken Marguerite at least twenty feet away.

She wasn’t alone in what she was feeling.

Leto put his arms around her, and she put her hands on his chest. “So what’s this idea you have?” he asked.

“I want to acquire your swordsmanship.” She explained how the triad worked.

“You’ll enter my soul, acquire this ability, then take possession of Fiona.”

She nodded. “Yes, but we’ll be connected as a triad with Thorne anchoring the early part of the process. We thought it would be best if Jean-Pierre participated just in case we need some outside corralling of the sword battle.”

“If you take possession of Fiona, then you won’t exactly be in your body.”

“I think it will be like when I do an apparition-split. I’m in both places at once, just more present in the apparition form.”

“You made the right call,” he said. “Until the triad has everything worked out, I’m glad I’m here.”

After a few minutes, Marguerite and Thorne strolled back toward the group and Jean-Pierre released Fiona.

“Is everyone up to speed?” Thorne asked.

A series of assents went around the group. Grace then asked Leto to remain where he was; she would enter his soul before the triad fired up its power.

She took three deep breaths, closed her eyes, and entered his mind. His shields were already flat, a point of trust that warmed her heart as she began to fall deep into all that was Leto. She passed into his soul, and because her intention was fixed, her blue flame power forged a key and found the lock that contained his ability to use a sword.

All that experience and skill flowed through Grace. She flew up and out of Leto’s soul very fast and was suddenly within her own mind. Her arm felt different, her shoulders, her back. She could feel how her hand was ready to receive a sword.

She glanced at Jean-Pierre who smiled, showing his large gorgeous teeth. He held up a sword and tossed it to her.

Both Marguerite and Thorne gasped. Even Leto moved to intervene, but it was as though Grace had been a warrior for three millennia. She caught it by the grip and went through a variety of training motions, ones that had been passed down through generations of warriors.

When she was done, she faced the group. “This is astonishing.”

“Holy shit,” Leto said. “It certainly is.”

Then she smiled. “What amazes me the most is how the muscles of my arm just reach for the movements.” She stared at Leto for a long moment. “How much you must have loved this part of it—the training, then the use of your skill in battle when you fought the enemy.”

“Everything you’ve said is exactly right.”

Grace turned toward her obsidian sisters. She handed the sword to Fiona. “You’ll need this in a few seconds.”

Fiona swiped the blade through the air. Jean-Pierre wisely gave her some space, but he said in the lilt of his French accent, “How strange to think that I will be battling my breh.”

The moment of truth had arrived, the truth of exactly what obsidian flame could do. This was a very small test, to pit the triad against Jean-Pierre’s ability as a swordsman.