Archangel's Resurrection (Guild Hunter #15)(56)

“He was very good with the children and was always hopeful for a babe of his own,” Zanaya told the other woman, not clarifying that Gavriel had been nowhere near her inner court. Rather, he’d been part of the pretty and frivolous crowd that softened up the harsh planes of a court helmed by a former general. “I liked him a great deal.”

An important position after all, is it not, lover? The ones who aren’t warriors but who make it worthwhile to go home? With their sweet songs and their colors and their ability to laugh.

Alexander’s gaze flicked to hers. I wouldn’t know, Zani. A tone as tart as a lemon. I seem to be attracted to unsheathed blades.

Hiding her laughter took effort . . . and even that urge to laugh lasted but a moment in time. “I’ll tell you all I remember of your father,” Zanaya promised Michaela, “but I think for now, we must focus on what is happening inside this territory and those of others.”

Michaela inclined her head, regal as a queen. But as she’d gone out into the field with Zanaya and Alexander, and had fought with courage, Zanaya thought there was more to this woman than might be visible on the surface. “What news have you had, Alexander?”

“Lijuan’s army has reached the heart of Raphael’s territory and is a force beyond imagining.” Leading them to the fortress’s battle command, he went to a large sand table and laid out the facts in brutal clarity. “Keemat received the following information on their numbers while we were in the field.”

By now, Zanaya had learned that Senior General Keemat was the most technologically proficient of Alexander’s generals and, as such, was in charge of maintaining communication with the courts of archangels around the world.

“That makes no sense.” Michaela frowned. “My spymaster was in her territory before the black fog, and saw no indication of a force that size. Forget about the mountains and other terrain where she might’ve hidden a troop—there’s simply no place she could’ve hidden a group of warriors this big.”

“Agreed.” Zanaya gripped the edge of the sand table. “They’d have needed food, water, latrines, living quarters while they trained. No, it can’t be done.”

Alexander nodded. “I said the same. Keemat then asked me if I wanted the full nightmare brief while still in the field.” His smile was tired. “I decided on a no. There’s nothing we can do for New York just now and I wanted all our attention on the situation on the ground. It’s terrible enough.”

Zanaya wanted to bristle at his high-handedness in making that call, but in truth she’d have made the same one. Sometimes, even a general couldn’t handle everything at once. Beside her, Michaela hissed out a breath.

Zanaya expected anger from the younger archangel, but Michaela surprised her again. “That bitch has done this to more of her people.” She held Zanaya’s and Alexander’s gazes in turn. “If she can do this ugly thing to her children, she has no moral lines at all, certainly none to stop her from infecting adults.”

Alexander stared at her. “You’re talking of such astonishing numbers as to defy probability.”

“The black fog,” Zanaya said, thinking of the wreck of Antonicus. “Her evil lives within it. She used it in some way to convert her people to these things she calls her reborn.”

“We’ll find out soon enough. Keemat tells me she has moving images captured in New York.”





27


Michaela thrust a hand through her hair, which she’d pulled back in a loose braid at some point but had come mostly undone. “I need to be clean. My gorge roils at being covered in this horror—I’ll be quick.”

“She’s right.” Zanaya picked at her own clothing; it stuck to her skin with sweat and dirt and the veil knows what else. “A few minutes won’t make a significant difference.”

She could see Alexander fighting to gainsay them; he’d always had his little blind spots, had Alexander. They all did. But he gave a curt nod, and they left the command room. A waiting Lemei led Michaela to a guest suite, while Zanaya and Alexander flew up the central core of the fortress until they reached the level with their bathing chambers.

Alexander didn’t invite her into his, and she didn’t invite him into hers.

War didn’t allow for such luxuriant sensation.

So it was that they scrubbed themselves clean as fast as possible and dressed in readiness to meet back in battle command.

Once more, Zanaya found herself pulling on leathers that fit her small and curvy frame to perfection. This time, the color was midnight black, the same shade she’d been known to prefer in her time—and it came with a built-in sheath for her sword. Someone had taken great care to make this for her.

Lover, she said mind-to-mind, this is a minor thing in the scheme of what’s happening right now, but can you ask Lemei for the identity of the people behind my clothing? I wish to thank them.

A pause. Organized by Lemei herself. Made by Shahira and her team. And Zani, it’s not a minor thing that you care to thank them.

She smiled as she left her room, felt even more joy when a sleek orange cat wearing a bejeweled collar walked over to her for affection. “Ah, a cat of the court, I see,” she murmured, giving the creature its due. “You are most magnificent.”

However, the burst of happiness was but fleeting; it faded as she walked into battle command and the reality of war. The command was a cavernous space, but unlike similar rooms in the past, it held not only the sand table and maps on the walls, but plenty of the screens that Zanaya had already witnessed. A number of other devices that flickered with lights and beeped now and then also sat in the room, along with their operators. Several of those operators were thin vampires who would’ve never passed warrior training.