Vol.4 Ch.57 – Uneasy Alliance
Chapter 57: Uneasy Alliance
Esther clutched her twinblade tighter. The man advancing on her knew what she was but not what it meant. That much was common. The Silversparks had been hunted down by both those who hated the Atlanteans for the transgression of their High Priest all those years ago and the Atlanteans still loyal to said High Priest.
But this man knew the old, old name for the Atlanteans. Not only that, but power rolled off him in waves, as if he were so powerful that this body was merely a shell he wore for the convenience of the frail mortals around him.
The power alone told her that this was either an angel or demon, and a fairly high-ranking one at that. The fact that he knew what she was so intimately made it even easier to figure out. This was the Acheron Vector, part of the pair her father had warned her never to cross blades with. And from the waves of power washing off the blonde behind him she knew that one was the Radiant Prism, his other half. Judge and executioner, hunter and killer, light and dark.
The two hunted Outsiders and their enablers, something that should appeal greatly to Esther, except they were far too indiscriminate. As evidenced by the scythe currently aimed at her neck.
Except... After seven months of fighting a war on her own, after uncovering how the Invasion had come to pass, who was to blame and how to fix things, having this rabid dog at her throat wasn't scary. It was aggravating.
“Seven months...” she growled and the executioner stopped in his tracks. “Seven months I have been fighting to stop this. Fight after fight after fight, with only the vaguest end in sight. And now for the first time I find people strong enough to help me stop this and the first thing they do is try to kill the one person who knows what's going on here.”
**
“Do you mean to say that you aren't working with the Outsiders?” Kaja asked.
She needed to get an answer out of this woman fast, before Omega did something they might all regret. Lord above, this was exactly why she was so sick of working with him. She knew he was smarter than this but he was also such a sanctimonious prick at times that she constantly had to rein him in.
“She's obviously lying,” he growled and she wanted to growl as well. She would have, too, but Lord Samuel frequently informed her that she sounded like a puppy struggling with a sock when she did, so instead she looked over at Elaine, trying to indicate for her to step in. Except Elaine was faster than her.
**
Elaine shouldered past the asshole angel and placed herself between him and the woman who had just come to save their asses. And the way her breath caught when she looked at the woman had absolutely nothing to do with it.
“Out of the way,” Omega growled.
“Oh shut up,” she hissed. Angling herself so that she could look at the woman without completely turning her back to the angel or stepping out of his way took some doing but she managed it. “Are you saying you know who's behind the Invasion?” she asked the woman.
“Indeed,” the woman said in a lilting French accent that would have had her swooning if the subject matter wasn't so serious. “That is why I am here. One of his Vassals has an outpost in this city.”
“Vassal,” Elaine mused. “Is he named Caulder?”
“Oui,” the woman said and it did extremely interesting things to Elaine.
“Then who is the one behind all this?”
“His name is Dexter,” she said, “and he is the Crown Prince of Atlantis.”
“Your ruler,” Omega growled.
“I serve no one but myself,” the woman hissed.
“Spare us your lies,” he said, trying to advance on her despite Elaine standing in his way.
“She's not lying,” Evelyn said from behind them.
“Did your Akashic Knowledge tell you that?” Elaine asked, not daring to look at Evelyn.
“Yes,” the redhead said. “She is on our side.”
Let's hope she can't deceive Evelyn's ability,” Elaine thought and took one of the biggest risks she'd ever taken.
She turned her back fully on the woman and faced Omega head-on, summoning two blades.
“Are you betraying us?” he asked, his voice cold as ice.
“I don't care how you call it,” she hissed and she felt Typhon's power humming in approval, “but if you want to harm this woman, you're gonna have to go through me.”
**
Any other woman, Esther would have considered a fool for standing up to the Acheron Vector for her. Any other woman she would assume to be far, far weaker than she was. But this woman was different. She was strong. Terrifyingly strong, so strong that the idea of antagonizing both her and Esther gave even the angel pause. And the animal magnetism she'd felt when first seeing the woman was pronounced now. Esther didn't know what it meant. Was this woman using some kind of pheromone to get her to comply? She seemed too earnest for that. Or maybe it was subconscious? It didn't matter. What did matter was the way her pussy had clenched up when the woman had stepped between the angel and her.
Julia, the little sound mage in the resistance, was cute and fun but the attraction Esther felt to her was a muted, feeble thing compared to the lust burning in her core at the mere sight of this woman.
She was pulled out of her musings when she saw the angel's scythe shift. Was he going to attack them both? No. His disgusted expression shifted from the woman to Esther and then back.
“Fine. But if she betrays us, either you put her down or I shall end you both.” At that he dismissed the scythe, turning it back into a lump of iron before making it vanish into thin air.
The woman turned around, catching Esther in her steel-gray gaze. “Hi,” she said.
“Hi,” Esther said, trying very hard not to squeak.
“I'm Elaine,” the woman said. “You?”
“Esther,” she said. “Esther Silverspark.”
Elaine smiled, then turned back to the angel. “She won't betray us.”
The angel just regarded the two of them.
“I have no reason to oppose you if you also seek to stop the Invasion,” Esther told him and the others. “But heed my words, Acheron Vector. If you threaten me a second time, you better follow through. Because there won't be a third time.”
**
Kaja sucked in a breath. Her partner was as stubborn as an ox and didn't take kindly to threats. Things might get bad if...
But he just scoffed and backed off. If she didn't know him better than any other living being in the cosmos, she would think he was scared of facing the two of them. And a good thing, too, because if he attacked Elaine he would have her entire team to contend with and then Kaja would be forced to ask herself a couple very difficult questions.
Thankfully, wisdom had prevailed for now. And the Lloigor girl wasn't meek enough to simply roll over and take it, which was promising.
“Now then,” Kaja said, “I believe we wanted to meet with the resistance here.”
**
“You wouldn't happen to know where they are?” Elaine asked the girl, Esther.
“I am currently working with them,” Esther said to her surprise. “If he promises to come in peace, I can lead you to them.”
Elaine saw the asshole angel stiffen. Somehow, the idea that he might attack humans fighting against the Outsiders rattled him more than Esther threatening to kill him.
When Omega didn't object, she told the girl: “Lead the way then.”