Veiled by Caris Roane Page A

cells.”
    “Yes. I’m certain all seven men were Third Earth Warriors of the Blood.”
    Merl turned toward Duncan, his face paling dramatically. “You have to be mistaken. I mean, how could you know these men are What-Bees?”
    “Because of the nature of the vision. They seemed to be a team as well since each of the men had the same tattoo running down his spine.”
    Merl weaved on his feet, and uttered a string of curses. He then stunned them all by folding off his maroon battle harness and turning around. His back was fully exposed. “A tattoo like this one?”
    Luken nodded to Duncan. “Is this what you saw in the vision?” The black tattoo was composed of a long line of stacked blade points, traveling from a broader design at the top where the harness formed a T at the neck. At the base was a similar configuration to the initial one, but wider.
    “Exactly,” Duncan said. “There’s no doubt in my mind. This is the tattoo I saw in the vision.”
    Merl turned around slowly to face Duncan, but his gaze now had a wild, almost panicked look. “Not my men. She fucking promised me. Yolanthe said she’d leave them in peace if I left Third.” A keening sound came from his throat. It was a high screech that slowly descended in timbre and turned into a resonant roar.
    The team backed swiftly away from him as he began to pace. He folded and levitated, shouting his rage. Somewhere in the middle of moving around, his wings launched, the lavender and black bands taking him into the air. He flew erratically near the branches of the sycamore. All the while his agonized voice raged.
    Luken felt a breeze next to him, the first clue Endelle had mounted her wings as well. She could change their color whenever she liked, one more instance of her enormous power, and right now they were a deep red. She rose into the air and began to track beside Merl. At this distance, beneath Merl’s pained roars, Luken heard Endelle’s voice as she began talking him down.
    Luken joined Jean-Pierre and the rest of the team as they moved to stand close to the redwood paneled walls, getting out of the way. No one said a word, but a terrible vibration of pain had filled the entire room.
    Somewhere in midair, Merl finally drew in his wings and levitated close to Endelle. To everyone’s surprise, she surrounded the powerful warrior with her arms, supporting them both with the waft of her own wings. The man’s ensuing sobs tore Luken to shreds.
    Luken turned to Jean-Pierre. “Got any beer in your fridge?”
    “ Oui, of course.”
    Luken gestured for the team to file out. No one protested.
    ~
    Rachel wasn’t as surprised as she might have been that Merl lost it. Through the vision Duncan had shared with her, she’d seen the warriors chained up, no doubt tortured as well. If the veiled woman was his sister and if his fellow warriors had been imprisoned despite his efforts to save them, it was no wonder he’d taken it hard.
    Because of Rachel’s brother, Gideon, and his warrior-like qualities, she’d been around fighting men her entire life. She understood them, the camaraderie, the depth of devotion each had to the land they defended, the unspoken commitment to never leave a man behind, the love they held for each other.
    Apparently, Merl had left seven of his brothers-in-arms behind as well as his sister. It was also clear Yolanthe had lied to Merl. She’d taken Merl’s team when she’d promised to leave them alone.
    Her own throat tightened at the sight of Endelle holding Merl in her arms. Her massive scarlet wings wafted slowly, keeping her in place and away from the upper canopy branches. Rachel took Duncan’s hand in a tight grip.
    These men gave everything they had in service to others. They battled hard, trained their bodies mercilessly, and were prepared to lay down their lives. Merl had lived in the cold for five decades, not knowing the fate of either his sister or his brother-warriors.
    His prior behavior became clear to her, why