“We need to find a way to mark you and your warriors so that our Fighters don’t accidentally get one of you with the platinum blades,” Dakota spoke to Argento as they looked over a map of the most recent Brute camps.
“Agreed.” He nodded and rubbed his hand over his face. “So this Anastasia, you say she is with Vincent now?”
“Yes.” Dakota’s jaw tightened. “She gave herself up for me.”
“She is his niece?”
“Yes,” Dakota said again, knowing where this conversation was going. “He kidnapped her as a baby and sent her to live with an abusive man and his wife. She was beaten most of her life and hates Vincent.”
“So you believe she can be trusted? You say this Phoenix, as some of the people call her, is the only one who can take him down?” The grin was in his voice although it wasn’t on his face, and it put Dakota on edge.
“Yes she is. It was prophesized when she was a baby.”
“By an old woman. Are you sure it still stands true today?”
“I wasn’t that old when she was born,” Carmen said from behind them, and both man and beast turned to face her.
“I did not mean any disrespect.” Argento bowed his head towards her and she smiled.
“Oh, easy, Brute, my feelings are not easily hurt.” Dakota could have sworn he saw a smile flash over Argento’s harsh face.
Carmen waved her hand as if to erase what he had said from her memory. “I have visions of the future from time to time; it is part of my power. I saw her defeat him in a way that no one else will be able to.”
“How?” Dakota wondered.
“With her magic, it is fuzzy to me, so I can’t see the location. I only know that her magic is the only thing that will take him down.” Carmen turned to Dakota. “I’ve got something.” He forgot everything that he and the Brute king had been talking about and he turned all of his attention to Carmen.
“You found her?”
“Not exactly.”
Dakota tried to hide the disappointment in his eyes, but Carmen was quick, and she noticed it.
“She is alive. I can’t pinpoint whether she is here or in your Seattle, but she is alive and is not currently aware of her surroundings.”
“What do you mean, not aware of her surroundings?”
“Vincent has her in some form of trance, whether it’s because he feels threatened by her or he has ulterior motives I’m not sure, but either way it’s not a good thing.”
“How can we figure out which dimension she is in?”
“That’s just it, it’s not one of the fifteen. That’s why I say she must be in some sort of a trance somewhere that exists but is not one of the fifteen dimensions.”
“Could there be sixteen?” Dakota asked. “One that we didn’t know about?”
“No,” Argento answered, and Dakota looked at him. “He must have her in a stasis.”
“Stasis?” Dakota asked, confused.
“It’s something we Brutes do when we are having difficulties with a decision, or if we need to deal with a complex emotion such as grief. We go to one of our healers and they put us in a stasis where our minds can be manipulated to make a decision and see all possible outcomes for it. We can also see those who have passed, and it helps us to move forward.”
“Is she aware of what is happening?” Dakota asked, feeling the fear setting in.
“It depends on how he is manipulating her. She could very well be aware and he could be putting her through various tortures without the risk of killing her, or he could be weaving a scenario to help her to make an important decision.”
Argento saw the anger on Dakota’s face and immediately continued, “I apologize for my candor, but I do not see the benefit in lying to you.”
“I appreciate you being honest, Argento.”
“That makes sense as to why I can’t reach her mind again. He must be using your tactic in an effort to hide her from me. How would he have learned this practice?”
“It’s something that my captain would have been well versed on. His father was one of our greatest healers.”
“Is there a way to find her?”
“I’m afraid not, Dakota.” Argento touched Dakota’s shoulder and looked at Carmen. “One of my warriors is a healer; I will send him to you and you can speak to him. He may know something I do not.”
“Thank you, Argento.” Carmen turned to leave the cottage, and Dakota slammed his fists on the table.
“Son of a bitch!”
“Dakota, you love her.” Argento said it, and although the word love sounded strange coming from his mouth, Dakota knew there was emotion behind it.
“Yes, I do.”
“I knew love once. It is a painful and frustrating emotion. One that can both lift you up and knock you down, make you strong and yet can be your greatest weakness. I do not care for weakness.” Argento smiled at Dakota. “But I would take the weakness in an instant if I knew I could feel love again.”
“Thank you, Argento.” Dakota nodded and took a deep breath. They would find her, he knew, and at least they had the comfort of knowing she was alive for now.
“We need to attack tonight,” Argento told him and Tony later. “These camps will be the first on our assault on Vincent.” Argento and his warriors had painted half of their faces red in an effort to separate themselves from the traitors.
As strange as it sounded, the Brutes had managed to actually fit in with the villagers. The healer they had brought with them was working alongside Carmen and Elizabeth, and the others were helping with fortifying the defenses and harvesting the crops. They had been with the village for nearly two weeks, and it seemed like it had been much longer.
“We will come in from the front.” Tony ran his finger up the map following the trail. “You and half of your men flank from the right, and the others from the left. We will leave a group to trail on behind the camp in case any try and escape. We don’t want to leave any witnesses for Vincent. No one needs to know that we are working together, at least not just yet.” Tony and Argento shared a warrior’s smile, one that promised the total annihilation of their enemy.
“We should leave in an hour,” Dakota said, and Tony and Argento both nodded in agreement.
“Dakota, please be careful.” Elizabeth sat across from Dakota at the small kitchen table. She watched as he carefully and methodically checked and then rechecked his pistols. He was so much like his father that at times it hurt her heart to look at him. No matter how long he was gone, George would always be the love of her life.
“Mom, it will be fine.” He set his weapons down and reached across to hold her hand. “We have Argento and the other Brutes with us as well. We have this one.”
“I just have a really bad feeling that something awful is coming. I can’t lose you too, Dakota.” Tears began to run down her face, and he stood to pull her into a hug.
“You’re not going to lose me, Mom. I'm far too stubborn to go anywhere.” Dakota laughed and released her.
“Just be careful, please.”
“I will, I promise.”
“Would you look after Tony as well?” The tone in her voice had him smiling.
“I promise, Mom.”
“That’s my boy. I love you.”
“I love you too. We will be back by morning.”
“You better be.”
She said a prayer as he walked out of the house, just as she had every single day of his life.