Succubus Ascendant: An Urban Fantasy (The Telepathic Clans Saga Book 4) (31 page)

Standing abruptly, he paced across the room. “Rhiannon, I wish I could tell you something to comfort you. The Pathfinder is always looking, never finding, because time never ends. But that doesn’t mean you won’t find happiness, or contentment.” He whirled, fixing her with a piercing look that made her understand how he had successfully led a Clan for over a century. “Not all of those who change history understand their role. And the points where history is changed are often not seen or understood at the time. The important thing is that you do what you think is right, and leave it to Brenna to make the final choices.”

“Do you think she’ll always choose the right path? Where does Rebecca fit into all this?”

“It doesn’t matter whether she chooses the ‘right’ path,” he said, making air quotes with his fingers around the word ‘right’. Between you and Rebecca, she won’t take a ‘wrong’ path.” Again, the air quotes. “As for Rebecca, she is there to watch Brenna’s back. In her spare time, she’ll watch yours. And since both you and Brenna have some deficiencies in the arena of common sense, and Rebecca has an overabundance of that commodity, I assume she’ll be your anchor to reality. Probably a very outspoken and profane anchor.”

~~~

Chapter 22

He who is unable to live in society, or who has no need because he is sufficient for himself, must be either a beast or a god. - Aristotle

*Brenna,*
Collin sent,
*the O’Byrne offices in Paris are under attack.*

*Paris? Are you in the command center?*
Brenna asked.

*Yes.*

*I’m on my way.*

Thomas O’Neill met her as she entered the security command center in the basement of the sprawling manor house. The room was half the size of a high school gymnasium, packed with computers, television monitors, screens with flashing lights and graphs, and almost fifty people monitoring it all.

“O’Byrne received a message from Paris about ten minutes ago,” he said. “They contacted us and tied us into their communications.”

“What do we know about it?” she asked.

“Not much,” Collin said, looking up from the computer screen he was watching. “We haven’t had time to start integrating the communications systems, so we’re on a relay. Someone in Paris sends a message to Dublin, then it’s relayed to Wicklow, and only after that do we get it.”

“What about our other offices in Paris?” Brenna asked. “Has O’Neill or O’Donnell been attacked?”

“No,” Collin answered. “We’re in contact with both of them, and things are quiet there.”

“Andrew,” Brenna said. “Son of a bitch!”

Then a thought occurred to her.

“Collin, Rebecca’s in Paris with Carlos.”

“Haven’t heard from her. Hang on. There’s another transmission coming in.”

He adjusted the headphones he wore and listened for a moment, then reached over and flipped a switch on the control board in front of him.

Brenna recognized Jared’s voice.

“...went off in the lobby and killed several people. When the Protectors swarmed the area, another bomb went off outside. That was followed by black-clad commando types with automatic weapons and grenades. We don’t know the size of the attacking force or who they are, but the attack is very open and attracting attention. French police are responding.”

“IRA tactics,” Brenna said. “The first bomb attracts police and medical personnel, and the second bomb delivers the major damage.” Collin and Thomas nodded. “I ordered the security force there doubled to two hundred,” Brenna continued.

“There are two hundred Protectors assigned there,” Thomas said. “Devlin, Collin and I hold a brief conference call every morning and exchange our duty rosters and let each other know the status of any operations we’re running.”

“They were hit just after the evening shift change,” Collin said. “There would have been about seventy Protectors on duty. The O’Donnell forces that augmented O’Byrne aren’t housed there, and neither are the O’Byrne Protectors. They just don’t have the facilities for that. It’s a business office. We’ll have almost three hundred people there within half an hour, but that doesn’t help us now.”

Brenna nodded and wandered away. *
Rebecca, where are you?*

*In Paris. I’m with Carlos. We’re looking at a building he’s considering buying.*

*The O’Byrne offices have been attacked. Go somewhere you can see a TV. I want to know what’s being broadcast. O’Byrne and O’Donnell Protectors are heading to the scene, but so are the French authorities.*

A “will do” somehow came through the stream of profanity that ran through Rebecca’s mind.

*
Whatever you do,*
Brenna sent,
*I don’t want you anywhere near there. Understand me? There have been two bombings already, and we can’t discount the possibility of more. Rebecca, they’re using IRA tactics.*

*Okay. Damn. The hotel we’re staying at is only a couple of blocks from here. I’ll call your cell when we get there.*
Rebecca broke the connection.

Ten minutes later, Brenna’s cell rang.

“Brenna,” Rebecca gasped, “the gendarmes and TV crews showed up and two more bombs went off.”

“Inside or outside?” Brenna asked.

“Outside. Lots of casualties, total chaos. There was also automatic weapons fire from the building into the street. They’re shooting innocent civilians. The authorities are evacuating buildings for a three hundred meter radius. Gotta go. Need to contact O’Donnell HQ here.”

The phone went dead.

“What?” Collin said.

Brenna updated him and Thomas. Their profanity at the news rivaled Rebecca’s earlier. Brenna’s phone rang again.

“Yeah?” she answered it without looking to see who the caller was.

“Brenna,” Jared said, “I detailed Protectors to secure all the family and other high-value targets, but we can’t find RB.”

“What do you mean you can’t find her?”

“She was here a few minutes ago. As soon as she heard about the attack, she came here and then disappeared. We’re searching everywhere.”

“Jared, where is ‘here’?”

“The security command center. She hung around for a couple of minutes, but I don’t know when she left. No one’s seen her and we can’t find her. I had people check, and no one has taken a vehicle out of the estate. Is Teleportation one of her Gifts?”

“No, she’s not a teleport. Jared, is Brian in that building in Paris?”

“As far as we know, yes. I’ve tried to contact him and failed. Rhiannon told me he was there before she disappeared. I think she was talking with him when the second bomb went off.”

“Shit.” Brenna thought furiously. “Jared, where is Lord O’Byrne?”

“In France, as far as I know. Devlin spoke with him a few minutes ago.”

“Check the library,” Brenna said, “or maybe my office—Lord O’Byrne’s office. Call me if you find her.”

Brenna hung up and sent a spear thread to Rhiannon but was blocked. Frustrated, she tried to contact Lord O’Byrne. She found him, but he blocked her. If either of them was standing in front of her, she probably had the power to force communication, but it would be difficult.

“Have Shia contact me if you need me for anything,” Brenna said, and disappeared, leaving Collin staring at the air where his lover had stood an instant before.

“Where did she go?” Thomas asked.

“If I had to venture a guess,” Collin said, shaking his head, “I’d guess Paris.”

~~~

Rhiannon had been in the O’Byrne library reading a typed manuscript entitled
A History of Clan O’Byrne
by Maureen O’Neill O’Byrne. Rebecca had told her Maureen had written a similar history of Clan O’Donnell.

The general alert, broadcast by Devlin, telling everyone on the estate of a security lockdown, sent her flying to the basement command center. Seeing Jared, she approached him and asked, “What’s happening?”

“A bomb went off at our offices in Paris,” he answered. “I’m trying to figure out what the hell’s going on.”

Rhiannon sent a spear thread to Brian O’Byrne. *
What’s going on there? Are you all right?*

*Someone managed to get a bomb into our lobby. I don’t know any ...*

*Brian?*

*Bloody hell! Another explosion just outside. Rhi, I have to go. I’ll let you know when I find out something.*
Brian broke the connection.

“Jared, Brian said there was a second explosion.”

Jared spun from the console he was watching. “How do ... Oh, you have the Gift. A second one? Damn.” He raised his voice, “Someone get me Collin Doyle at O’Neill. And get hold of the O’Donnell offices in Paris and London. There’s been a second bomb.”

The command center turned into a beehive of activity. Rhiannon watched them for a minute. She didn’t see anything that she could help with, so she slipped out of the room, hurrying through the halls to the library. On the way, she called Lord O’Byrne.

*
My Lord? There’s been a bombing at our offices in Paris.*

*Yes, I’ve just been informed.*

*I need to get to Paris. May I trouble you for a ride?*
She tried to keep her panic out of her transmission.

*I’m not sure that’s a good idea,*
Lord O’Byrne answered.

*
I’m going to Paris. If I take a plane, it might be too late. But I’m going just the same.*

*Where are you?*

She trotted into the library and shut the door, then sent an image of the empty space in front of her. Lord Fergus O’Byrne appeared seconds later.

“Do you have a landing spot in Paris?” he asked.

“Yes, my mother’s flat in Montmartre,” she said, sending another image.

“I still don’t think this is wise. What do you think you’ll be able to do?”

“I’m not sure. I’ll figure that out when I get there. I hate to sound egotistical, but there isn’t anyone in Paris who can do what I can. Do you want me to ask Brenna for a ride?”

“Oh, hell no.” He took her by the elbow and the world disappeared. She blinked her eyes and looked around at her mother’s familiar home.

“Do come in,” her mother said. “And to what do I owe this sudden visit?”

“I need your car keys,” Rhiannon said.

“So you can jump into that mess in Le Marais? Not a chance,” her mother responded, waving at the television set. The O’Byrne building filled the screen. The front of the building had a gaping hole where the front doors should be, and debris filled the street. Bodies lay on the front portico and in the street. A commentator was saying that there were reports of two explosions.

The camera panned the scene, showing gendarmes, police vehicles, ambulances, and television news crews. Occasional flashes of light could be seen through the windows of the building and the sound of gunfire could be heard from inside.

An explosion, with smoke and flying debris, suddenly erupted in front of the camera and the screen went black. At least half a minute passed, and a new image appeared on the screen—a studio shot of newscasters sitting at a desk.

“It appears there has been another explosion,” the man on the screen said, then paused and seemed to be listening to something the audience couldn’t hear. “I’m being told there have been two additional explosions,” he said. “We seem to have lost communication with our camera crew. We’ll return to this story when we have more information.”

“I need the damned keys,” Rhiannon said, leaping across the room and grabbing her mother’s bag.

“Morwyn,” Fergus said, touching her mother’s arm, “I’ll go with her.”

“No, you won’t,” Rhiannon said, holding the keys up in triumph. “Your arthritis will slow me down. Besides, I might need you to give me a ride out.”

She drew her mother into a hug, and then hugged Fergus. “I’ll be careful. I promise.”

Morwyn snorted. “If you are, it will be the first time. Fergus, give her your coat.”

Nodding, he took off the black jacket he was wearing. “Protector issue,” he said. “Bullet proof. It’s a little heavy, but it will also help you blend in.” He nodded to the window where twilight was quickly fading into darkness. A bolt of lightning split the night.

She took the coat and rushed out into the rain. It seemed like an eternity since she’d heard from Brian, but her watch showed it had only been fifteen minutes since the first report of an explosion had reached Wicklow.

~~~

Broadcasting aversion at other drivers, Rhiannon drove as fast as she could and still keep the car on the rain-slicked roads. She found a radio station broadcasting from the scene of the attack. The latter two explosions had occurred away from the building, killing dozens and wounding many more. The gendarmes and news crews had taken the brunt of the casualties.

The radio said that all buildings within three hundred meters of the O’Byrne building were being evacuated, and the authorities were keeping everyone well back of the building. Along with the second set of explosions, several gunmen inside the building had sprayed the street with automatic weapons fire, killing and wounding even more. The reporters on the radio traded speculations as to which group of terrorists was responsible.