Damian's Oracle Part 26

"Pierre doing good by you?" he asked.

"Oh, yeah. He's got a great sense of style," Linda said with a laugh.

"He'll do," Sofia answered.

Jule's smiles were less reserved than those of the other men despite his unfriendly appearance. The skin around his eyes softened. She saw the thaw from the cactus daring anyone to touch him to the man she'd spoken to on the phone. He took in her features with pa.s.sive curiosity.

"Hey, boss," Pierre said, holding out his hand.

"Good to see you, Froggie. Enjoying your new a.s.signment?"

"Mon dieu, non! I can't believe you sent me here to babysit."

She gave him a harried look, and Jule chuckled.

"If he's complaining, he's happy," he told her. "He's the best in my sphere of command, though Han's shoes are hard to fill."

"Han had manners," she replied.

"And you're alive because of who?" Pierre responded.

"Glad to see you're getting along," Jule said with a grin. "Dusty warned me you were a handful, Sofi."

"Me?" she asked, surprised.

"Oui," Pierre agreed.

The men around her were smoking crack. She rarely left the house and lived in the library. She wasn't sure what she could do to be more boring.

"Since we're here ... " Traci said, eyes going to a Chinese buffet.

"Go ahead. We'll wait," Jule said. His gaze returned to Sofia, and she crossed her arms under his scrutiny.

"I think I'll go with her," Linda said, looking between the two.

Jule glanced at Pierre, who obeyed the silent command and moved away.

"How you holding up?" he asked.

"Better."

"Reconciled things yet?"

"Working on it. Linda is putting me in contact with the support group she belongs to. I'm reading their blogs. Haven't worked up the nerve to post. I'm different, Jule, even among you all."

"That you are," he agreed. "Dusty says you stopped D from annihilating the planet. That's a good thing."

"I saw that you shared his history ... " she stopped, not sure how comfortable he was with a stranger reading his mind.

"You're definitely not gonna stress me out, ok? Just say what you need to."

"He was upset about his brother."

Jule nodded, a dark look crossing his features.

"That was a bad time for all of us," he recalled. "A very bad time. That was right after I met them, before the Schism and being paroled to earth. When it rains, it hails."

"I know."

"I'm impressed. You're doing well. I bet D didn't tell you that only ten percent of oracles ever get as far as you have."

"No, he didn't."

"Most of them kill themselves. Some go crazy. Some go crazy then kill themselves. The rest we kill when they start going crazy."

"Are you ... " she paused then plowed forward, gaze on his choker. "Are you the same kind of ent.i.ty he is?"

"Sort of. We're cousins, several times removed. We both inherited our powers while Dusty was like you, a human meant for something much greater."

"We found the traitors in your hemisphere," she said, looking away.

"I know. You saved thousands of lives."

She was silent.

"Sofia."

She looked up at his soft tone. His gaze was warm.

"You did the right thing."

"I hope so," she replied. "I'd do anything for Damian."

"Dusty said I'd like you," he said with a smile. "He's right. You're what D needs. It's taken thousands of years, but I'm glad you finally show up."

"Let me guess, if you didn't like me, Dustin would take me out back and kill me."

"Something like that," Jule said with a laugh. "He's really protective of the people he cares about."

"You didn't come all the way to Tucson for an errand," she said, recalling their phone conversation.

"I did not," he confirmed.

He said no more, and she lost the nerve to pursue.

"I'm going for Frenchie fries," Pierre called. "You want anything, Sofi? Perhaps an American hamburger? Where are you from Jule, so I can get you ethnically stereotypical food?"

Jule laughed, looking at her to see how she'd take it.

"That man has issues," she muttered.

"Let me guess, you asked him if he wanted a croissant?"

Jule bristled suddenly, the smile disappearing as his face turned predatory once again. Sofia watched him, surprised at the quick change.

"Pierre," he called.

Her Guardian was rimrod straight as well, sensing whatever Jule sensed. They exchanged a silent communication, and Pierre moved through the crowd towards Linda and Traci.

"C'mon, sweetheart," Jule said. "It's time for us to go."

Fear swept through her, and he offered a tight smile.

"No worries. Nothing here can get through me. I'm not D, but I'm as close as they come."

He strode beside her, whipping out his cell as they headed towards the nearest exit.

"D, it's me. We're headed back."

The sense of normalcy faded as they moved through the mall. She looked back to see if Pierre followed. He and the girls were gone, though three men in sungla.s.ses moved purposefully towards her and Jule. She knew them for Czerno's men; if they revealed their eyes, they'd be red. She looked up at Jule. He appeared relaxed despite the danger.

"Just another day at the office," he said with one of his warm smiles.

"Will I ever get used to this?"

"Maybe someday."

A car awaited them when they exited. Jule ignored the three men trailing them and ushered her into the armored Tahoe. The driver sped away before the door closed, and she twisted around to see the three men watching them.

"They can't risk killing you," Jule said. "Or they'd have razed the whole mall. Czerno has no restraint when it comes to collateral damage."

"What does he want with me?" she asked, hands shaking.

"In our time, whoever controlled the oracle, controlled the battle. You're a weak point for Damian, and Czerno has been waiting for him to develop an opening."

"I don't like the sound of that," she said, sitting back in her seat.

"What's done can't be undone," he said. "It's a good thing."

"Doesn't seem like it."

"But it is," he said firmly. "Oracles were rare in our time. Blood bound oracles your age and ability? Almost unheard of. Oracles blood bound to a man in Damian's position? Incredible. That he's chosen you as his mate with will basically ensure the continued existence of life as we know it. Trust me - it's a good thing."

"His what?"

Jule looked at her.

"Shouldn't have said that. Pretend I didn't."

"Jule, you opened this can of worms."

"And I'm closing it."

She recognized his tone; it was one Damian used when making her boundaries with him clear. She didn't like those boundaries one bit.

"You're on my s.h.i.t list with Damian and Pierre," she said.

"At least I keep good company," he said with a chuckle. "Is Dusty there, too?"

"Not yet."

"I think I like you, Sofia."

She shook her head. She liked him, too, even though he was different from Damian and Dusty. He patted her leg with another of his friendly smiles and turned his attention to the world racing by them.

It was dark before they returned to the mansion. The driver had driven in circles and down every back alley he could find until Jule was confident there was no one tailing them.

Damian and Dustin awaited them. Their faces lit up at the sight of Jule, and Sofia trailed him in, watching as the three clapped each other on the shoulders and hugged. The energy around them was lively; they were brothers whose bond was formed during their years in the bowels of h.e.l.l.

She closed her eyes, the home videos playing in her thoughts. These were happy images of shared exploits, battlefield victories, and tender moments crying on each other's shoulders as their world grew uglier. They touched her, and she smiled.

"Sofia," Damian said in a warning tone.

She opened her eyes to find all three gazing at her with similar guarded looks. She crossed her arms, agitated.

"Damian, Dustin, Jule, I'm an oracle. Get used to it."

And she went to the library, their pride be d.a.m.ned.

"d.a.m.n oracles," he said under his breath, watching her.

He wasn't sure if he should be angry at her defiant insubordination or amused by it. She was harmless to him, like a trash talking flower. Then again, most men had some level of respect for him and his position. He shook his head, returning his attention to Dusty and Jule. Dusty's gaze was on the ground, his smile partially hidden while Jule's amus.e.m.e.nt was less discreet. He grinned.

"Look on the bright side," Jule said. "She's accepting her role."

"Exactly," Dusty agreed.

Damian glared at both of them, suddenly aware they were laughing at him.

"You'll get your turn," he a.s.sured them both. "And I'll be there to laugh at you when you do. C'mon."

He strode down the hallway to his office, trailed by his two friends. Han had laid out a few maps on the table near his desk. He flipped the lights on, and the three of them gathered at the table.

"Our evac plan was to take everyone here," Dusty said, indicating a point in the Utah desert. "But we don't know how much information Claire had access to and what she pa.s.sed to Czerno."

"I didn't stop to ask her," Damian said in a cold voice. Dusty and Jule knew better than to pry what happened when he confronted Claire. He'd done as he promised Jule and eliminated the threat.

"We'll evac elsewhere."