CHAPTER 36
Faith followed Pausanias into the dark corridor. “What do we
do now?” She really meant: what do I
do now. She couldn’t be locked down here. Not now. Not with the information
If he sensed her distraction, Pausanias didn’t comment. “Now, Lieutenant, we will speak with the troops and set more guards and increase patrols. Whatever our employer thinks, there is always a threat.” Striding quickly through the torch-lit gloom, Pausanias led them back to the arena. The sand teemed with soldiers.
Faith ran to keep up with the General as they dodged sparring pairs. Their end goal appeared to be the platform where Pausanias normally watched his men.
“Ring the bell, Slayer.” A muscled arm appeared from beneath Pausanias’ cloak, indicating a small silver bell mounted at one end of the platform.
For once not questioning an order, Faith leaped onto the wooden surface and gripped the woven cord dangling from the clapper.
Magic had to be involved. The first note of the bell pealed out, rising over the din of clashing swords and the shouts of the combatants. It continued to rise, mixing with the next wave of sound as Faith rang the bell a second time. The chime echoed in the vast cavern, and Faith barely restrained the urge to cover her ears.
The soldiers in the arena moved instantly at the summons. More poured in from the various entrances around the large area. As the clang of the bell began to slowly fade, Faith watched row upon row of crimson-cloaked vampires come to attention.
The ringing stopped.
There was no sound from the assembled army – until Pausanias mounted the steps to the platform, his armor creaking faintly.
“Comrades,” Pausanias did not shout. Whatever had controlled the sound of the bell also seemed to amplify his voice. “The waiting is over. Tonight and tomorrow may well be the end of this contract.”
Someone shifted. Torchlight flickered off armor.
Pausanias frowned and glared at the crowd, unhappy with the break in discipline.
Faith scanned the room, too. She kept a rushed headcount. Thanks to her raised position, each row was visible. Banners and symbols marked a few locations. At the third one, Faith realized they marked a unit within the army. Leaving off the individual counting, she concentrated on just those. Five…six…
Pausanias’ speech faded. A sound like the ringing bell echoed in Faith’s head, and she locked her knees to keep from dropping to the wooden planks beneath her feet. There was no way. They were doomed.
Her first count of the army had been wrong. Very, very wrong. Three hundred vampires was bad. Six hundred was impossible.
Sharp, snapping movement shocked her back to the present.
The rows of soldiers marched past in regimented waves. Barked orders and the sound of hundreds of feet merged with the rustle of cloaks and the creak of leather. Faith watched numbly until only a handful of vampires remained in the room.
“Lieutenant?” Faith turned her head and looked at Pausanias. “I see you have never experienced a parade before.”
He was amused. Clenching her fists around the wide belt at her waist, Faith fought to hide her anger. This wasn’t funny. They were about to die. “No, ain’t a lot of parades in the Big House, Soldier Boy.” She was amazed at how calm her voice sounded. Screams pressed against her throat.
“It is impressive.” He smiled at her. “I was a boy when I saw the army for the first time. After all these centuries, I still remember it clearly.”
“You’re better than me, General.” If Faith couldn’t leave yet, maybe she could get more information. “I ain’t been here a week, and I’m pretty sure I’ve already forgotten a lot.” She waved at the exit the soldiers had used. “Coulda sworn there were only three hundred or so the last time I checked. You packed the place today, though. Five or six hundred, at least.” She was so taut, Faith wondered how she hadn’t simply flown apart.
Pausanias jumped off the platform and looked up. He didn’t say anything.
Maybe the explosion wasn’t that far off. Faith noticed
tremors in her muscles as she looked back.
“Are you coming, Slayer?” One of Pausanias’ eyebrow rose sardonically. “We have rounds to make. My senior staff has had time to get the new guards in place. Let us check to see if my orders have been carried out.
“Oh.” Nothing was going to hide her blush. “Thought I’d done something wrong the way you were eyeing me.” Like pushed so hard she blew her cover. Faith stumbled off the dais, nearly face planting in the sand as her shaking legs gave out.
A hard hand gripped her shoulder, saving her from the fall. “You seem less than stable, Lieutenant. Are you well?”
“Uh…Five by five, General.” Faith straightened in his grasp. “I guess the thing with Dru got to me more than I thought.” They began walking across the sand. “She scares the fuck outta me,” she admitted.
Pausanias released her and lightly smacked her on the back. “You are not the only one. Lady Dru’s powers are immense, and I do not believe even the Lady herself understands them completely.” He fell silent for a minute, and Faith saw him glancing at her. “About what happened…I feared she would turn you in the throne room.”
“Me, too.” Faith watched her booted feet displace sand as they walked. “It was like I couldn’t move.” Hadn’t wanted to move, really. She smirked to keep up appearances. “Maybe that’s what B saw when she was riding Angel or Spike.”
She had said the wrong thing this time. Pausanias glared at her, and she saw his hand creep toward his sword hilt.
Fuck. Rushing to repair the damage, Faith looked up and shrugged. “Sorry, Sir. I keep forgetting you’re a vamp.”
The glare slowly softened until a small smile tilted Pausanias’ lips. “Indeed. In the future, Lieutenant, you might wish to keep that thought firmly in mind.” He stopped and waited until she turned to face him. “Should the time come that you wish to give up your humanity, our tradition is that each recruit be turned by a member of the Phalanx.”
“Keep it in the family. Wicked.” Faith was missing something. She could tell from the intent way Pausanias watched her, and the hint of disappointment at her answer.
“On those occasions when the recruit is a descendent or already a comrade in arms, we count it as a privilege to turn that recruit. It is a symbol of our bond and our respect.” The look sharpened further. “I would consider it the highest honor if you would allow me to truly make you one of us.”
He was serious. Faith’s head came up, and her shoulders squared. She’d never be a vampire. She’d stake herself first. Looking into Pausanias’ eyes, Faith admitted that didn’t matter. The offer itself…the implied approval and acceptance… “I decide to grow fangs, yours’ll be the first number I dial, General.”
There was no handshake to seal this deal. Pausanias pulled her into an embrace, kissing her cheeks. “I will wait for that call, Lieutenant.” Stepping away, he tilted his head at the corridor at the edge of the arena. “If we do not arrive soon, the others will mount a search for us. It would not sit well were we found in such close proximity.” Pausanias laughed as he resumed walking. “However, I would certainly gain respect in the eyes of the recruits. You have created quite an impression.”
Faith was still reeling from his request – and his embrace. It took her a minute to regroup enough to smirk. “I’m young, I’m hot, and I can kick ass like you’ve never seen. Of course your boys are drooling.”
The corridor Pausanias chose was new to Faith. The rough-hewn hallway led away from the Throne Room as far as she could tell. It was still difficult to judge direction in the underground passageways.
As they walked, Faith realized the General had never commented on the number of soldiers in his command. Should she push? Faith grimaced. She didn’t have a choice. If she managed to reach Phoebe, the gang would need all the information she could give them. Letting her eyes roam the hall and trying to keep her voice casual, Faith said, “You didn’t answer me about the miscount. Three hundred or six hundred? I know it’s been a while since my last math class, but I’m pretty sure I remember how to count.”
Yellow eyes flicked her way. “I am shocked that you were not a dedicated student, Slayer.” A brief smile edged Pausanias’ lips.
“Yuck it up, old man. I had better things to do.” Boost cars, booze… Faith raised her head and looked back at Pausanias.
“Be glad you were not a citizen of
Faith rolled her eyes at the less than informative information. “You been hitting the hospitals and turning the nearly-dead then? ‘Cause that’s a lot of newbies you got all of a sudden.”
Guards at the end of the hallway snapped to rigid attention as they spotted Faith and Pausanias.
“We are a bit more selective than that, Lieutenant,” Pausanias said dryly. He returned the guards’ salutes, and continued through an archway into a small, brightly lit chamber. “The additions have traveled here from several of our training locations. Our liege may dispute the threat, but we have made our reputation on always keeping our employer alive. The Charmed Ones are not to be trifled with.”
Concentrating on his explanation, Faith was most of the way across the room before she realized what it contained.
A dozen guards stood at attention, hands holding the hilts of swords whose tips rested on the stone floor. In the center of the circle they created hung a large steel cage. Inside, like a large, red-haired bird, sat a woman.
CHAPTER 37
“You got something you want to tell me, General?” Faith asked, staring at the unconscious figure in the cage. “Like maybe why it takes all the big swords and the cage for one unconscious woman?”
A smile flickered briefly on the lips of the vampire guardsman in front of Faith.
It disappeared quickly when Pausanias moved directly in
front of the guard. “This is our
Snorting, Faith mumbled, “She don’t look like much.” Paige. Her mind raced. This had to be Paige. “But I bet this is why he thinks Phoebe and her sister won’t go after him. He’s counting on them coming here first.”
Pausanias regarded her closely. “We may make a strategist out of you yet, Slayer.” He put a hand on her shoulder and steered her back toward the entrance. “Indeed, that is exactly what Lord Cole has in mind. That is why I have increased the guards here; there will also be a new patrol checking on the guards and the witch every thirty minutes.”
“What about the rest of the vamps? This can’t be the only thing you got going?” She tried to make the question sound admiring and not part of an interrogation. Gripping her sword hilt, Faith scanned the corridor as they exited the chamber. She had to get out of here. The urgency was back, worse than before. If Phoebe and Piper tried to rescue Paige, they’d walk right into a trap.
“Fear not, Lieutenant. I am old but not yet feeble-minded.”
Pausanias never slowed his stride. He did, however, glance in Faith’s direction
with a curious tilt of an eyebrow. “What would you do, Lieutenant, if you were
in charge of protecting our
“Knock his arrogant ass out and put him someplace safe,” Faith said without thinking.
Laughter echoing off the stone walls, Pausanias stopped and turned to face her. “Yes, my initial thought exactly. However, that is not a possibility. My sword and the swords of the entire army are not enough to tackle Lord Cole and his witches.”
Faith had to agree. She’d seen
Starting down the hall again, Pausanias responded to her almost-question with a question of his own. “Give me plans for both scenarios, Slayer. What would you do to keep the witches out?”
There was only one answer. “Kill them.” Faith’s words were
clipped and cold. “Since they aren’t dead, and I’m standing here talking to you,
that ain’t the plan.”
“No. It is not,” Pausanias responded dryly. “We are inviting the Charmed Ones in for the Coronation. I am unclear as to the reason for their inclusion in the ceremony; however, I have been warned to expect them.”
Trying not to be obvious, Faith considered that information. Cole had only told her today that she wasn’t going to be fulfilling her role as an assassin. If Pausanias had known before… “What the fuck is going on, General?” She decided to gamble. Letting some of her confusion and anger leak out, Faith continued, “Did Cole decide he couldn’t trust me to do my job?”
“Is there a reason he should not?” Pausanias queried, glancing down at her.
“Nah, but that don’t mean nothing.”
Damn it. This was wrong. Now Pausanias was asking questions. Faith struggled to
hide her growing fear – and explain herself. “In case you missed it, me and Cole’s new bed buddy aren’t exactly friends. If Red
thought she could make me look bad or get me out of the way…” She broke off.
Fuck. What if
Pausanias snorted. “I was not aware this was a contest, Lieutenant. We are all here to do a job.” Eyeing her sternly, he snapped, “You would be better served if you stopped worrying about your friend and concentrated on keeping Lord Cole alive.”
“Right.” Right, Faith repeated to herself. It was time to stop acting like a brand new Slayer on her first patrol. “Sorry, General.” Flexing hands cramped from gripping her sword and sword belt so tightly, Faith fought to get her mind back on track.
“There are several details which need my attention,” Pausanias continued. “Are you able to take care of some of them for me or shall I assign another officer?”
That, more than anything, jerked Faith out of her panic. She’d earned the General’s trust; this wasn’t the time to lose it. “Whatever you need, I’m your girl.” Throwing her head back, Faith forced herself to meet Pausanias’s gaze.
Eyes boring into her, Pausanias waited a long minute before replying. “Excellent, Lieutenant. Excellent.” His face relaxed into a small smile. “At the moment, I need to arrange a few more patrols and consult with my senior staff. While I do so, you will be doing random checks on the various sentries guarding the portals and other entrances surrounding the Throne Room and the Charmed One.”
Faith’s right arm twitched with a sudden need to salute, her hand rising just above her waist. She regained control before she could complete the gesture.
Amused grey eyes watched the action.
“I’m on it, Soldier Boy.” Smirking, Faith added, “If I catch one of the guards taking a nap, you want me to stake ‘em?”
“It might increase discipline in the ranks.” Pausanias quickened his pace, moving away from Faith toward a hallway to the left. “However,” he called over his shoulder, “it would also diminish our numbers. If you find a problem, you may do whatever you wish short of eliminating the soldier.”
He disappeared from view, and Faith slowed her pace as she continued on her way back to the arena. Check on the guards. Easy enough. Too easy. She was going to be missing out on the rest of the planning.
There had to be a way to use this to her advantage, but how? Torchlight flickered off the bracelet around her wrist. With Pausanias out of the way, she could use the portal to reach Phoebe and get back before anyone noticed.
If running in uniform wouldn’t have garnered attention, Faith would have sprinted through the tunnel.
She had to lay a trail. If Pausanias or Cole came looking for her, they had to believe she was still in the Underworld. Spinning abruptly, Faith returned to the room where Paige was being held in ground-eating strides. She never slowed as she barreled into the room. The guards were still at attention. They stiffened further at her entrance, and the vampire in charge snapped off a sharp salute.
Faith nodded in acknowledgement mere seconds before she backhanded him to the ground.
Blood trickling from his mouth, the soldier stared at her from his prone position.
“The next time the General comes to visit you, I don’t want to see a smile on the face of any of your men,” Faith snarled. Her booted foot lashed out, and a sharp cry mingled with the crunch of bone. “Got it?”
“Yes, Lieutenant.” Yellow eyes blazing with hatred, the downed vampire managed to sound respectful. “It won’t happen again.”
Sweeping the room with a glare, Faith saw that her actions had improved the already rigid posture of the soldiers ringing Paige’s prison. “Better,” she grunted before leaving the room.
Now. Now she could find a portal. Vampires dove from her path as Faith hurried toward the nearest portal. With each step, her heart pounded harder and faster. She had to hurry…and she couldn’t draw too much attention.
The trip seemed to take forever.
Finally, Faith rounded a bend in the dim corridor and spotted the portal ahead. She started to trot toward it when a pair of soldiers marched in from the other end of the hallway.
Faith forced herself to continue past the portal toward the two. She couldn’t wait for the vampires to clear the area, and they couldn’t see her use the transportation device. As she got closer, Faith’s hand slipped to her spatha.
The vampires marched by.
In one smooth movement, Faith drew the short sword and clubbed the vampire on the left. He went down in a rattle of armor. Her sword continued, the blade flattening out just before it sliced cleanly through the neck of the second. Dust drifted to the floor.
One more swing took care of the vampire on the ground.
Alone in the corridor, Faith wiped her sword on her cloak and sheathed it. She sprinted back to the portal and stepped inside. Her skin tingled and the world seemed to spin. When the feelings faded, Faith stood three blocks from Phoebe’s home.
She whispered the words of
No one seemed to be downstairs. Faith tilted her head and strained her ears.
Voices and scuffling sounds emanated from the upper levels of the house. Taking the stairs three at a time, Faith ran in that direction. The sounds got louder as she went up, and Faith wasn’t surprised when her trip ended in the attic. She burst into the room. “Hey, I ain’t got a lot of time so listen up.”
She was so focused on getting the information out, Faith barely noticed the mess in the large room or felt the tension from the four New Scoobies in the room.
“Faith…” Piper started, hand out and eyes wide.
Shaking her head, Faith interrupted. “Just listen. I got a lot of information about the Coronation. The trick worked, Wes. Cole’s moving up the ceremony to tomorrow night. Get this – Red told him the magic wouldn’t be as powerful because of some moon shit.”
Everyone merely stared at her.
Faith smirked. “I got more.”
No one moved.
“They’re doing some big preparation tonight. While Red and Dru count herbs or whatever, Cole’s a sitting duck. If you go after him, he won’t be coming back again.” Faith ended her tale and turned. “I got to go. I’m supposed to be checking on the guards for the General.” That reminded her of one more thing. “Fuck. Almost forgot. Your sister’s in a room away from where the Coronation’s gonna be. Thirteen vamp guards and a big birdcage thing hanging from the ceiling. Tell Moonbeam I love her and I’ll see her real soon.”
That was it. Faith started to run down the stairs.
Her legs froze – literally.
Arms, head, fingers…everything else worked. Not her legs. “What the fuck?” She craned her neck to look back at Piper.
Tears streaked the other woman’s face, and her eyes glittered with pain and rage. “Faith, Phoebe’s not here.”
Cold fingers gripped Faith’s heart. “Yeah, I noticed. Is she out hunting something down?” The fingers tightened as Faith saw Piper shake her head.
“No. Angel…Angelus showed up a few hours ago. He…” Piper’s voice broke, and she turned away, hand over her mouth.
Wesley picked up where she had left off, staring at Faith with a sympathetic half-smile. “I’m so sorry, Faith. Angelus took Phoebe, and it appeared he was either draining or Turning her.”
CHAPTER 38
There was a moment where Faith felt nothing. She simply stared at Wesley while sunlight shone through the attic windows and birds chirped in the early evening air.
Shaking her head in denial, Faith responded, “Fang wouldn’t do that.” Her voice was barely more than a whisper. “He wouldn’t,” she repeated. She couldn’t force any more words out. Her denial continued soundlessly inside her head. Angel was still one of the good guys. He’d come to her, warned her.
“I’m so sorry, Faith.” Wesley walked toward her. “I know you were…very close to her.”
Very close? Very close? If she hadn’t been frozen in place, Faith might have killed him. Rage poured through her, quickening her breathing and causing her heart to pound. The room behind her ex-Watcher flickered in and out as her focus narrowed to just him. I loved her! Faith wanted to scream. Instead, she gritted out, “Why don’t you keep walking Wes? Maybe I can demonstrate just how…close I was to Phoebe?”
The name hurt to say, slicing Faith’s throat and tongue until she was surprised she didn’t taste the copper of blood in her mouth
Wesley came to an abrupt halt. “My dear…”
“Shut up.” Faith fought the pain and the rage. She knew those emotions. More than that, she knew where they led. There wouldn’t be any more human corpses in her wake, no more blood on her hands. The effort left her shaking even inside her magical bonds. “You got the information about the Coronation. Let me go. The General and Cole can’t know I’m playing both sides.”
“I’m afraid that would not be wise, Faith.” The anger crept higher again. Wesley’s clipped tones scraped like a file on her nerves, the sound eerily reminiscent of those early days in Sunnydale.
“Shut up!” This time, Faith’s voice cracked on the command. “Just shut the fuck up, Wes.” Balancing on the edge of control, Faith looked at him. “I don’t give a shit about wise. This is the way it’s gonna go down. I’m going back Downstairs. You and the gang are going to get all the Juniors in town.” Letting some of the anger and bloodlust out, Faith bared her teeth in a cold smile. “We get together and slaughter as many vamps as we can, but Angel is mine.” Her mind raced ahead, considering and discarding options at lightning speed. “I’ll get you some portal keys.”
An inner growl rose at that. In order to get the bracelets, Faith would have to get rid of the guards at the portal locations. Anticipation rose at the thought of the kill.
She dug in her belt pouch and retrieved the crumpled map of
the
It was time to go. Turning her head and shoulders back toward the stairs, Faith tried to move. She was still frozen.
Faith rotated her head again to glare at Piper. “Let me go. Now.”
Reluctance in every slow movement, Piper raised her hands and flexed her fingers.
There was no new sensation to mark the change. However, when Faith took a step this time, her legs moved. Thundering down in a clatter of steel, she paused just long enough to repeat the invisibility spell. She had plans – and they didn’t include getting caught
Another quick run down the block, more tingling and blurred vision, and Faith stepped back out of the portal. This time, she didn’t reverse the spell.
Her exit point was in a slow traffic area. The only vampires in sight were the two guards bracketing the transporter. They spun when the sound of Faith’s sword clearing the sheath broke the silence in the tunnel.
Anger (and the need to keep her opponents alive for at least a few seconds) gave her unseen attack a brutal edge. Faith shoved her spatha into the stomach of the soldier on the right and twisted the blade to inflict the maximum damage. He toppled to the ground, and Faith moved on to his companion.
Yellow eyes wide and confused, the heavily tattooed vampire peered into the portal. Even with his desperate search, the guard never saw the blade that removed first his hand and then his head.
Faith stepped over the pile of dust and bent down, picking up his hand and yanking the portal key from his wrist. The other vamp watched the maneuver with pain-dulled eyes, not even flinching when she stepped back and beheaded him.
Wiping the bloody short sword on her cloak, Faith slid the weapon back into its sheath.
The bracelet in her hand tinkled against stone when she tossed it onto the portal pad. Lights flashed briefly when she pressed the control panel. Seconds later, the bracelet was gone. Grabbing the second armband from the severed arm on the floor, Faith gripped the hilt of her spatha and stared at the floor of the passageway. She didn’t feel any better. The Slayer still roared and twisted inside, begging for more action. Faith removed the invisibility spell and promised the voice inside as much bloodshed and violence as it wanted. Just as soon as everything was in place.
***
Now that she was back in the Underworld, Faith knew the clock was ticking. That meant getting back into character even as she retrieved the portal bracelets. A frisson of satisfaction snaked through the churning anger. Maybe she wasn’t playing a role anymore. Dark Faith pressed close to the surface and Faith welcomed that. That Faith had never been afraid. She’d been strong and confident. She was strong and confident.
Riding the wave of dark emotions, Faith began to fulfill her duties as Pausanias’ lieutenant…with a few minor changes to his orders. Her first stop was the barracks.
It hadn’t been on the General’s agenda. It was on Faith’s.
“Hey!” she snapped when she walked in to find a group of soldiers lounging around the common room.
As one, they jumped up and came to rigid attention.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” Stalking forward, Faith snatched a handful of cards from the scarred wooden table. “Gambling. Perfect. We’re about to get hit with an army of Slayers, and you’re trying to make a buck.”
A few feet shuffled guiltily, but no one broke ranks to respond.
Faith tossed the cards back on the table. “I tell you what…I’ll forget to tell the General about this little problem.” The vampires seemed to sag in relief. “If you can do a little favor for me.”
“Yes, ma’am!” they responded.
“We need to set up sentries on the surface,” Faith lied. “Put together two-man teams and post them at each portal location.” It was a risk with the Slayers heading for the same places; however, even new Slayers should be able to manage a pair of vamps. If she couldn’t send enough portal keys through, the gang could steal them from the guards as they reached the surface.
“But…” one of the vampires was dumb enough to protest.
Faith was actually happy about Pausanias’ ban on dusting this time. Leaving her sword safely sheathed, she grabbed the protestor by the neck of his tunic and heaved him into the stone wall.
With a grunt and a clang of armor, he slid to the floor. He didn’t stay there for long.
Military discipline – and the Slayer – demanded a physical example of Faith’s displeasure. The soldier had volunteered himself with his inability to follow orders. Leaping after her victim, Faith let her darker side out to play.
Lost in the sheer pleasure of the fight, she pummeled the vampire while his comrades tried to stay at attention and not watch.
With each punch, images flickered in front of Faith.
The vampire soldier with blood streaking his face and his eyes silently begging her to stop…Allen Finch and the stake protruding from his chest…The common room still covered in cards and money…Her hand just touching the knife Buffy had shoved into her stomach…
The memories and the sights and smells of the barracks were too much. With one last blow and a savage yell, Faith stepped away from the unconscious body of the vampire. Her breathing sounded loud and harsh in the small stone-walled room. Blood stained her hands and the front of her uniform.
As she stared at the evidence of her actions, Faith’s stomach cramped and her fingers shook with fine tremors. She swallowed back the sickness in her throat. Gripping her sword belt in a desperate attempt to hide the shakes, Faith walked slowly over to the remaining group of soldiers.
“Anyone else have something to say?” she asked in a deadly voice.
The uniformed soldiers pretended to be statues.
Too bad. The thought floated through Faith’s mind as she continued through the room to the exit. “Then the next time I use a portal to check on Lord Cole’s enemies, there better be two of you right there to help me out of the fucking thing.”
This time, she got a response. A shouted, “Yes, ma’am,” thundered through the room.
***
The Slayer kept a macabre count of the number of vampires they killed as Faith continued her check of Pausanias’ new guards. Three in a quiet passageway behind the training arena. Another five at various portal locations.
Work had been more difficult near Paige and the Throne Room.
That hadn’t kept a dozen more soldiers from decorating the stone floors with their last earthly remains. Faith leaned against a rough-hewn wall and closed her eyes. Time had lost all meaning. She had no idea how long she’d been striding through the labyrinthine corridors.
“Lieutenant?” Pausanias’ voice was hesitant.
Shoving off her resting place and reaching for her sword, Faith spun to face the General.
Pale eyebrows rose as Pausanias held his hands out from his body. “Easy, Slayer. You looked unwell. I was concerned.”
Unwell. It didn’t even come close to describing Faith’s condition. “I’m five by five, General.” She met his eyes. “Got your boys all straightened out. Just took a little strong arm shit.” Gesturing to the bloodstains on her uniform, Faith smirked. “They got the message pretty quick.”
“Yes, I have heard tales of your escapades,” Pausanias said.
Faith wasn’t sure how to take the softly spoken comment. Her right hand dropped to the hilt of her sword, and she balanced on the balls of her feet, just in case those stories had included a body count. “You said no dusting,” she reminded him.
“And you followed my command?” There was disbelief in Pausanias’ tone.
“Um…yeah. I did.” Winking at the General, she relaxed a little. “I can play by the rules, Soldier Boy. Just don’t always count on it. I like to keep people guessing.” Faith walked over to join Pausanias. “I got to all the new guard posts and most of the portals. The vamp who decorated my shirt got sent up top. I figured if you were watching the portals here, having another team on the surface wouldn’t hurt.”
Pausanias clapped a heavy hand on her shoulder. “Your initiative is impressive, Lieutenant. Perhaps we will keep Lord Cole in one piece after all.” He steered Faith down the corridor. “Come, Slayer. The Black Witch has scheduled a rehearsal for tomorrow’s ritual.”
To be continued…