Damian's Oracle Read Free Page A

database
that the company’s owner uses. They have a file on her. Her phone
and computer are monitored. They have records of her vitals – like
her body temperature and shit like that – and copies of her medical
records. I found an email the owner sent to an email address we
know Czerno uses. It says they want to force the
transformation.”
    “She’s a Natural,” Laney said, frowning at
him. “Treat her like any other. We’ll assign her a Guardian and
bring her in.”
    “No,” Jake objected. “The email said she’d be
ready soon for the procedure Czerno wants her to undergo. A medical
procedure where he’s going to drain all her blood and replace it
with his.”
    Damian held up his hand. He’d begun to think
their recruitment standards were slipping, until Jake mentioned the
operation. Surprise trickled through him.
    “Did it say why?” he pressed.
    “No. Just said he wanted it done soon,
because he wasn’t taking any risks, even if she hadn’t started
transforming yet. I gave her your number, but I doubt she
called.”
    Only an oracle ’s blood was drained to
force her to bind with her master. The measure was taken to give
him unfettered access to her visions. Century-long wars had been
fought in his father’s time over who claimed a discovered oracle,
no matter how competent the oracle turned out.
    He met Laney’s gaze.
    “It’s virtually impossible,” Laney voiced his
same thought.
    “There haven’t been any in tens of thousands
of years,” Damian said slowly. “What else, Jake?”
    “That’s it. I just have this feeling … ”
    “You have a Traveler assigned to station,
Laney?” he asked.
    Most stations had one of the Guardians – or
Naturals – capable of traveling great distances the way he did.
Laney lifted his chin towards Jake, who nodded.
    “Watch her. If anything funny happens, bring
her in, straight to my headquarters outside of Tucson. Don’t take
any chances with this one. Got it?”
    Jake nodded again.
    “Laney, tell Dustin what’s going on. He gets
pissy when you all call me directly without letting him know,” he
said.
    “Will do.”
    Damian closed his eyes and opened them,
materializing in his suite in Tucson. He stood before the low
burning fire, golden eyes swirling as he thought quickly.
    A few Naturals were found every year, and he
didn’t bother to remember their names in an organization his size,
leaving that level of detail to the regional and sector commanders.
An oracle … now that was worthy of his attention. There had
been none since Claire, whose powers had been so weak, she was
useless to them.
    He who binds the oracle, binds the
future , his brother had once told him.
    His phone dinged, and he flipped it open.
    Bro, ur supposd 2 tell me when u visit.
    Damian grunted, expecting Dusty’s message.
There were only two people in the world who would challenge him:
the cold master assassin in charge of the western hemisphere and
the warm master negotiator in charge of the eastern hemisphere. As
different as night and day, they were his best friends – and the
only men in the universe he trusted with his life. Of the two,
Dusty was more likely to call him to the floor when he crossed into
his business. As their king, Damian owed them nothing. As his
adopted brothers in the war against evil, he owed them
everything.
    He typed a response.
    Next time, boss.
    He left his room for his office. The
quarterly conference held four times a century with the major
regional commanders was coming up soon, and he had more pressing
issues to resolve before it launched. He entered his office and
froze.
    “Y’all need to learn to ask before
setting foot in my house,” he warned.
    The middle-aged man with bright green eyes
standing in his study looked harmless. His frame was slight, his
hair silvered, his smile fatherly. Damian knew better than to trust
the deceptive appearance of this type of creature. They were some
of the most ancient beings in the universe, those