Suddenly, the entire crew was all business. Even Veronica checked to make sure the safety on her weapon was off. Eliza smiled at that. Her companion was beautiful, but she still knew her business.
Outside, a substantial convoy of heavily armed and armored hover-vehicles and military jeeps pulled up. Eliza had already put the base’s anti-aircraft batteries on alert, and every available man and woman on the ground had been scrambled. A transport craft pulled up and set down, and about twenty armed men got out of the cargo area in the back. Then two additional men got out, carrying a wooden crate.
“Put that over on the pedestal,” she said to the men. Once they had done as she commanded, she ordered all personnel not normally stationed at the base out of the hangar. She only wanted people around she were sure weren’t Purity spies. “I guess we’d better get that thing open. Captain, would you do the honors?”
Captain Corbin grabbed a crowbar and pried the top off the box. They looked inside. Sitting in the shadows of the box was a huge sapphire. The gem had been called the Ocean’s Heart by the team of deep-sea explorers that had uncovered it in a sunken vessel in the Caribbean. Eliza stared into the depths of the Ocean’s Heart. She had never been on a cruise or even so far out to see on a boat that she couldn’t see land, but suddenly she knew what it must be like. She felt herself somewhat surrounded by a sense of tranquility. A quick look around showed that she wasn’t alone in the feeling.
“Wow,” said the Captain.
“‘Wow’ is right,” Eliza responded. “Well, we’d better get this thing into its cage.” She and the Captain reached in and grabbed the jewel on either side and began hoisting it out of its container. As soon as the Heart came over the lip of the box, two things happened. First, both the Ocean’s Heart and the Dead Man’s World began to glow. Secondly, both gems began to scream. At least, ‘scream’ was the best word Eliza could think of to describe it. It was high pitched, varied periodically in pitch and was very sharp. She and Captain Corbin quickly place the Ocean’s Heart back in its box. Although the noise stopped, Eliza got the almost overwhelming feeling that the sapphire was . . . grumbling. It knew the Dead Man’s World was there. It couldn’t “see” the other gem any more, but it knew it was there.
Eliza took another look around. Everyone in the room had looks of incredulity of some form or another clearly displayed on their faces. “Someone get Valar!” Eliza said between gritted teeth.
——————- ————–
A few minutes later . . .
——————- ————–
“Incredible,” Valar said, actually using English. With Veronica there, he had to be on his best behavior. He may have been contemptuous of the woman and her relationship with Eliza, but the U. S. envoy was still the one truly in charge. Even Eliza had to answer to Veronica to some degree. “Living gems? I’ve never heard of such a thing! The ramifications of this are enormous!”
Eliza wasn’t happy about this development. “I do NOT like this at all,” she said.
Valar smiled contemptuously. “Maybe you don’t see the big picture. We have been so concerned with trying to find a source of magic so that we could utilize the powers of the gems, but now it seems the gems themselves may have their OWN power. I find it likely that these jewels are self-contained magical systems.”
“And they don’t seem to like each other!” Eliza pointed out. “The reaction we got when they ‘saw’ each other seemed distinctly negative!”
“But it seems to be based on ‘line of sight,’ so to speak,” countered Valar. “It is true that there might me some additional precautions to be taken, but the knowledge that we don’t need an exterior magic source . . .”
“Is a two-edged sword,” Eliza interrupted. “Think about it. If word gets out about this, we have more problems. First, the Purity will step up their attacks and plans to acquire the jewels, either the ones we have or the ones we’re still looking for. They won’t have time to sit back and wait anymore, which will make them desperate. And desperate people are dangerous. Secondly, if the enemy gets a hold of one of the gems before we do, that means they might be able to actually use it against us. What’s bad for the goose is bad for the gander. In other words, we just took an incredibly complex conflict and made it worse!”
Even Valar was sobered by some of what Eliza had said. The members of the female vampire’s security team were all glancing at one another with some concern, and Captain Corbin seemed deep in thought. Finally, Veronica spoke.
“Then we need to make sure this information doesn’t get out,” she said quietly. But that didn’t comfort anyone. Sooner or later, the Purity would find this information out. “I’ll head back to Washington right away and consult my superiors. By the time I get back, I want a detailed list of all the jewels we’re looking for and,” she added, looking at Valar, “your best estimate or estimates of what they do. If Eliza’s right, we might have more than subterfuge and gunships to defend against.”
————— ——————-
Back at the house . . .
————— ——————-
Veronica was throwing her toiletries together in anticipation of her upcoming departure. She heard the door open behind her and glanced over her shoulder to see Eliza walk in.
“Still nervous?” the envoy asked.
Eliza was almost growling. “This situation sucks. Just when I think I’ve got everything figure out . . .”
“Something happens to throw everything off track,” Veronica said with a smile.
“Or someone,” Eliza corrected, wrapping her arms around the human woman. “I wish you didn’t have to go.”
Veronica ran her hands up her lover’s back. Then she kissed the white-haired vampire. “I don’t want to go. It’s funny, you know? Troubled times keep us apart, but if it weren’t for these troubled times, we wouldn’t be together.” She sighed, then the two women kissed again. “I’ll probably be gone longer this time too. This is a big development.” The two separated so Veronica could finish packing.
“Listen, I don’t know if this is something you could do, but I’ve got a favor to ask,” Eliza said nervously.
“What?”
“There’s a Terran ambassador named Kelik Vonahme. He’s sort of an old friend of the family. I haven’t heard from him since the dimensional crack closed, and most Terrans have gone into hiding. I’d really like to talk him, and he might even be of some help with understanding the spells associated with the jewels.”
“I’ll see if I can locate him and bring him on board,” Veronica said, grabbing her luggage and heading for the door. Eliza escorted her to her transport and kissed her one more time. Then the human woman was gone.
Eliza felt a little guilty. She hadn’t told her lover the main reason she wanted to talk to Kelik. Along with being an ambassador and a liberal, particularly by vampire standards, he was also something of an expert on vampire psychology. And being an old friend of the family gave Eliza hope that he might help her understand what was happening between Eliza and Veronica. As she watched Veronica’s transport disappear past the gate, she blew the woman one more kiss, then went to meet with team.
————– ———-
A week later . . .
————– ———-
As soon as Veronica got back off the truck, Eliza knew something was wrong. The blonde woman’s beautiful face was flushed with anger, and she could barely meet Eliza’s gaze. She told Captain Corbin and Valar to meet her in the hangar in fifteen minutes. Eliza was wondering why she and her team weren’t being told to report there. Then Veronica pulled Eliza aside and explained.
The envoy almost had tears in her eyes when she started to speak. Eliza hadn’t seen her lover so angry before. “Before I even start, I want you to know I completely disagree with what the government and the World Council decided to do.” Eliza felt a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach, and Veronica was about to make it worse. “The word is already out about what happened at the hangar last week. We don’t know how, but someone leaked the information. My bosses are pissed off about it, and their pulling in the reigns on runaway information. That means fewer people having access to the jewels.”
Eliza furrowed her eyebrows. “This had better not be going where I think it’s going.”
Veronica looked at her shoes. “Except for Valar, this has just become exclusively a military operation.” Veronica met Eliza’s gaze. “Which means that the United States Government and the World Council, while appreciative of your efforts thus far, will no longer be requiring the services of you or your team.” Veronica’s voice started to break. “The agreed on price for your services has already been transferred to your bank account, and . . .”
Eliza’s ears turned off as she tried wrapping her brain around what had just happened. She and her team had protected the Heaven’s Eye, then the government had lost it. She and her team had protected the Dead Man’s World, as well as the Ocean’s Heart. Now, they were being fired. She turned and started walking back to the house before Veronica got in front of her.
“Eliza . . . sweetie, look at me!” Veronica grabbed both sides of Eliza’s head and forced the vampire to meet her eyes. “This is stupid. You’ve done a better job at staying a step ahead of the Purity than anyone else could, and now you’re getting shafted. My superiors are idiots! Maybe they’re being influenced by the Purity somehow, but there’s nothing I could do!” She wrapped her arms around the vampire’s muscular frame, but Eliza didn’t hug her back.