Gale Force

''The Oracles,'' I said. ''What if he goes after the Oracles?''

David was already gone when I turned toward him; a blurred motion was all that was left. Imara.

My daughter was in Sedona, locked for all time in one location. Unable to flee.

I sat with Lewis, holding Kevin's shaking hand, and waiting for the end of the world.

The end of the world didn't come before di

As the hours went by, the FBI decided they'd have a better chance of containing the situation-

ha!-if they ejected those of us not wearing three letters or badges on our outfits. That went for

the Wardens, the Ma'at, and would have gone for the Dji

witness to the FBI forensic team taking Ortega down from the wall, then interring him in a metal

casket that was marked with all kinds of warning signs. Somehow, I felt someone should watch.

He'd been a kind man, a peculiar sort of Dji

Lewis, Kevin, and I were bundled into an FBI helicopter-not my favorite form of

transportation– and flown to the Miami field office, where we were left in a severe-looking

room for a few more hours.

Di

We barely talked. There didn't seem to be all that much to say.

When David reappeared, he came with reinforcements-six Dji

which made me smile in relief; one was the tough-looking specimen David had identified to me

as Roy, when we'd seen him earlier-he'd been Rahel's hypothetical backup. I wondered where

he'd been when he was needed the most.

Zenaya was the third. I didn't know the other three, but they all had the otherworldly grace and

glitter that I associated with the most powerful of the Dji

''The Oracles are protected,'' David said. ''Ashan's taking care of it, and Wardens we trust have

been assigned alongside them as backup.''

''He won't like that,'' I noted.

''He doesn't have to like it. I've explained the necessity. '' There was a cold, angry shimmer in

David's eyes, and I wondered exactly how civil that discussion had been. ''We intend to go and

get Rahel.''

''You can't,'' I said. I was calm about it, and authoritative, but all too aware that David might

not be in any mood to listen to reason. ''She's bait. You go charging in there, that's exactly what

they want– especially you, Conduit Boy.''

He didn't answer me, but he didn't argue, either. He was biding his time. I knew I couldn't get

him to just stand by and risk Rahel's life, not under these circumstances. Time was ru

If I wanted to avoid watching David throw his life away, I needed a plan, and a damn good one.

And all of a sudden, looking at him, I had one. Granted, I was operating on little sleep, too much

adrenaline, and next to coma-levels of caffeine imbalance, but it sounded good. I bit my lip,

ru

convenient corner of the room.

''What is it?'' he asked. He sounded just as stressed as I felt.

''I think I know what will bring them out in the open. We need to get the Sentinels to come after

us again, not the other way around. If we allow them to choose the ground-''

''Yeah, I get it. The Dji

leaned closer. ''It's crazy, isn't it? Your idea?''

''Pretty damn crazy.''

''Tell.''

I did. Crazy didn't really exactly cover it, as I listened to the words tumble out of my mouth.

Insane, that was closer. Also, stupidly suicidal, but that was par for the course with me. At least

it would be consistent.

Lewis stared at me as if he couldn't quite believe what I'd said, and in truth, I wasn't sure if I

was believing it, either. Then he said, slowly, ''It could work. It allows us to assemble all the

Wardens in one place, choose the ground, protect the Dji

can't afford to pass up. . . .''

Oh God, it actually was a good plan. Damn. I'd been half hoping he'd shoot it out of the air.

Instead, it looked as if I was going to have to kick my shopping into high gear.

''Right,'' I said, and turned to David. ''How do you feel about getting married tomorrow?''

I had no idea Dji

of alarm and puzzlement, ''Are you sure she isn't insane?''

David continued with the blank look for a few more seconds, and then the light dawned warm in

his eyes, and he slowly smiled.

''Actually,'' he said, ''I'm fairly certain she is, and that is exactly why I'm marrying her.''

Chapter Thirteen

One nice thing about having the Dji

the rank and file-no arguments of any substance, anyway. The other Dji

were crazy, but generally decided that was our personal business.

What they weren't so wild about was the idea that we weren't going to charge off to Rahel's

rescue, but I knew they weren't tactically inept; they knew if we played the game the Sentinels

had set in motion, we would all pay the price.

I also knew how hard it was going to be for them to stand by and sacrifice Rahel for a tactical

point. I was hoping it wouldn't come to that. I knew David, and I knew that making those

choices was just as impossibly hard for him as it was for me.

Part of what we pla

four o'clock, on the steps of the Miami FBI field office.

We called a press conference. To say it was well attended would be to say that the hottest club in

LA had a bit of a wait to get in. I'd expected to draw attention, but as we walked through the

lobby with a flying escort of FBI agents, Homeland Security, and anxiously hovering, nameless

other governmental representatives, I could hear the roar of the crowd outside.

One of the no-name governmental types, nattily turned out in a nicely tailored suit and a two-

hundred-dollar haircut, pushed in front of us and physically threw himself against the glass doors

leading out, facing us down. ''Wait!'' he blurted. The parade trickled to a halt, and Lewis and I

glanced at each other. We'd had bets on how long it would take for the cold feet to manifest. I

was about to make a cool twenty bucks. Sweet. ''Are you sure about this? You're sure there's no

other way? The chaos-the fear-''

''Let me put it this way,'' Lewis said. ''You had half the news media covering the meltdown out

at the motel earlier today, and every phone line to every possible agency has been jammed ever

since, demanding an explanation. Do you want to try to coordinate some big lie that won't get

found out, at this point? Because I'd be happy to put your name forward as the guy in charge.''

No-Name Nice Suit Guy swallowed and lowered his arms. He straightened his lapels with an

unconscious gesture and stepped out of the way.

''Damn,'' Lewis said. ''Kind of hoped he'd go for it, actually.''

Fat chance. This wasn't a hot potato; it was the entire state of Idaho, fresh out of the microwave.

''Here goes,'' Lewis said, and opened the door.

The noise washed over us in a wave, and we walked out into a whiteout of flashbulbs and video

spotlights. It was like hitting a psychic wall, and if I'd been on my own, I'd have caved fast and

hard. God. I couldn't focus on anything; the crowd was a faceless mass of shouting faces, all

blurring into a snarling, hostile entity. I transferred my probably shell-shocked stare to the