Chapter 26
Charon returned to the War Room and told Ike and Craven what was happening. "Rachel is going, I can't stop her and I don't think she has much of a plan."
"So…" Joshua drawled as he and Garret joined the Rebel leaders at the head of the table. "Dominic pissed off Rachel."
"Worse," Charon told them seriously. "You didn't believe us when we told you but that Deathclaw was Claws. Rachel really does ride him, she really did raise him from infancy. He's the closest thing to a son that she has. Dominic didn't just piss off Rachel, he pissed off mama."
"I'll go." Joshua volunteered. "She may need some cover fire, hell maybe one of us will get a clean shot at Dominic."
Ike and Craven both sent a squad of fighters with Charon and the large ghoul thanked them before going to see if Rachel had left without them. She was angry enough that he wouldn't be surprised if she had.
He jogged to Maggie's room, hoping Rachel was still there. Charon stopped short just inside the room. Rachel was standing in the middle of the room sobbing into Maggie's shoulder. The smaller ghoulette was holding her sister-in-law tightly, making soft comforting noises.
Maggie caught Charon's eye over Rachel shoulder and the ghoul moved in, taking over. Charon pulled Rachel into his arms. Rachel didn't fight him, she was shaking with rage and sobbing in pain. He knew she'd been worried about Claws and now that he was captured she was going to stubbornly blame herself.
"I should have gone out looking." she blubbered, the amount of guilt in her voice was palpable.
"No." Charon soothed, rubbing a large strong hand over her back. "Claws can take care of himself. And it would have been impossible to find him out in the sandstorms. He's not in immediate danger. Dominic wants him alive. We'll get him back. I promise."
Rachel sniffed and looked up at him. Her face and eye were red and Charon pulled a mostly clean bandana from an inner pocket. He offered it to her and she took it. She wiped her eyes and blew her nose before tucking it into her own pocket.
"I must look like a mess." She choked. "Not at all the hero I'm supposed to be."
Charon leaned down and kissed first one and then the other puffy eyelid. "You're beautiful. You're always beautiful."
Rachel coughed and cleared her throat. "I'm ready, let's go get our baby back."
Charon nodded, picking up the glider from where Rachel had dropped it. She was still furious, but she was more focused now. A cold, calculating kind of focus that Charon hopped would never be turned in his direction.
Rachel left with a quick thank you to Maggie and Charon right behind her. When they met Joshua and the two ground teams at the front gate they all politely ignored Rachel's red tear stained face. Rachel moved quickly, taking the lead with Joshua and Charon flanking her. The first tall building they came to Rachel entered, it was one she'd used before and it only took a few minutes to jog up to the flat rooftop six stories up.
Rachel could see the amp theater lit up just a mile away. The wind whipped through her hair and she gave Charon one last kiss. "I'll see you over there."
Charon started to say be careful but knew it was a useless request. Instead he settled for. "Try not to get shot."
Rachel's grin was cold and predatory. She gave Charon a two fingered salute and gracefully leapt forward, her wings snapping open in midair. Charon hurried to rejoin the group and follow her.
Rachel loved flying. The wind whipping through her hair and the feeling of complete and total freedom was intoxicating. Before she'd broken down in Maggie's arms she'd changed into her Rebel armor and the tight leather kept the worst of the wind chill from her skin.
She caught an updraft and rode it several feet higher, hurtling towards the amp theater with the help of her thrusters. When she got there Claws was gone. Rage unfurled in her chest and she locked eyes on Dominic who was still chattering at the podium.
Rachel plummeted down and landed with a loud boom in a crouched position. The stage must have been hollow under her boots, judging from the long echo. She stood straight, recovering from her landing quickly, while the Baron stumbled back, yelling for his men.
"Dominic!" Rachel snarled, loving the way her voice reverberated around the theater. She shoved her goggles up and tossed a few cherry bombs under the feet of his guards, successfully distracting them with the flashes and smoke the bombs made.
"Where the hell is my deathclaw!?" She demanded, pointing a finger at him.
"Goliath?" Dominic grinned. "He is a symbol of the coming times, just like you. Tell me my dear mystic, have you come to fulfill your true purpose?"
An Idea flickered in Rachel's mind and she forced herself to visibly relax. Rachel grinned coolly, spreading out her hands as if inviting him into an embrace to show she was unarmed. "If I find you worthy, what have you to offer me?"
She gracefully sauntered up to him while a stunned crowd looked on. Dominic put his hand on her bare shoulders, his eyes raking over her toned body. Rachel ran her index finger from the Baron's temple down the side of her face and then let her fingers trail threw his thick beard.
"Promise me the deathclaw," she whispered huskily. "To appease my wicked nature and I'll grant you my gifts." Dominic grinned down into her eyes and Rachel saw without a shadow of doubt that he believed the rumors that she was more than human.
He took her hand and turned her to the crowd, presenting her to his people properly. "I give you your Angel. Who, with the offer of Goliath, has given us her favor. This is the beginning of a glorious new era!"
People cheered but Rachel noticed only a couple handfuls looked pleased, the rest looked terrified and betrayed. She couldn't imagine how Charon felt right now and prayed that he understood. Prayed that he'd be able to get her out later when the time came. But if she played nice she might get a little more freedom to move through the place. Not to mention the ace up her sleeve, or to be more accurately, the ace in her belt buckle.
Dominic bowed to the crowd, placing a hand on her waist. "Come my dear, let us return home to discuss the ceremony."
Rachel nodded, doing her best to smile sweetly. She let him lead her off the stage and to her great surprise he didn't drop his charming face when they were out of the public eye. He led her through the maze of corridors to a carriage pulled by mercs and gestured that she should enter first. Rachel nodded and disengaged her wings.
Dominic joined her, sitting on the seat opposite her rather than next to her. He took her hand in his and smiled into her eyes. "I apologize for my behavior the last time we met. I did not know what you were."
"And now you know?" Rachel asked with mild interest in her voice.
"I believe so. Witch, Angel, Demon, Goddess. You are all these things. A creature from the old world stories. You do me a great honor, choosing me over the past kings. Our son will be the greatest ruler the world has ever seen."
Rachel smiled and nodded rather than verbally agree. He believed in the prophesy he'd told the crowd and that she could use. He was also completely insane but she could use that too.
"You attracted my deathclaw." she told him as though she was explaining why she'd chosen him. "No man has ever attracted him before. Only the strongest kings call legendary beast into their lands."
Dominic grinned, taking her words for praise over sarcasm. "You are a wise creature, a warrior and yet a female. You have proven yourself capable and I in turn respect that."
"It is always wise to respect beings of power." She told him coolly "Be them human or beast."
"Or more," he added with another respectful nod in her direction.
Dominic talked about glory for the future and the importance of tradition during the short trip to his palace. Rachel nodded politely when it was appropriate and complimented him on the firm hand he had on his government despite knowing it wasn't true. Mostly thanks to her and the rebels she'd stirred up.
When they got to the palace Dominic ordered that a meal be brought for both of them to his chambers and that chambers be made ready for Angel. When he caught her questioning look he inclined his head. "As lovely and powerful as you are I know better than to take you into my bed before the ceremony. These are old magic's and I've done much research on the matter since you appeared."
Rachel smiled genuinely. She was delighted that he'd built up her otherworldliness on his own. It would save her a lot of time and charisma now. Rachel wasn't sure she would have been able to convince him she wasn't just a feisty woman if he hadn't.
When they entered his room Gina looked up from polishing a sword. Her eyes widened when she saw Rachel and she scrambled to her feet, bowing low.
"Wine," Dominic ordered without a second glance at the woman.
He snapped his fingers and Severus appeared from a shadowy corner. The ghoul pulled a chair out and gestured for Rachel to sit at the little round table like any seasoned man servant. Rachel wondered if he enjoyed being Dominic's personal slave.
Rachel nodded politely to Severus and accepted the seat. Gina severed them wine and then she retreated while Severus put polished plates and silverware first in front of Dominic and then Rachel. He lit the tall candle in the middle of the table and then bowed, joining Gina behind the servant's curtain.
Gina for the first time in her life wasn't afraid of the big ghoul standing beside her, she was too shocked to see Rachel it the company of Baron Dominic. "She can't have turned," Gina whispered. Severus glanced sidelong at the woman. Gina looked up at him with big, heartbroken eyes. Nobody had ever looked at him like that before. He'd been regarded with disgust, distain, fear, terror but never heartbreak. Never like a person might be looking to him for comfort.
"She just can't." Gina continued in a soft whisper, confiding in him. "She was going to save us all."
Severus almost ignored her but she was still looking up at him without fear of any kind. He thought back and realized he'd never been ordered not to speak with this woman. Severus's lips parted and he hesitated but then, quietly, he said. "She knew my name."
Gina blinked, the ghoul had never spoken to her before. Not in the ten years she'd been in the palace. "You're the only ghoul allowed to walk without a slave collar. Everyone knows your name."
Stiffly, like he wasn't used to moving without being told, Severus brushed his throat with his fingers. "I am still a slave." He said the words carefully, unaccustomed to talking. "She knew my old name. From before the Great War."
Gina didn't understand what he meant about him still being a slave but she'd seen him act under orders long enough to believe he wasn't lying. Gina hesitated, but then she thought about the ghoul husband Rachel talked about. All the ghouls that had been freed and the fact that despite the stories she'd never actually seen evidence that ghouls were rabid animals. Slowly she reached out and slipped her hand into Severus's leathery one.
He flinched but didn't move otherwise. Gina, in a moment of bravado, squeezed his fingers without looking at him. "She'll do it." Gina whispered with confidence. "Rachel will save us all."
Severus didn't comment but neither did her pull his hand out of Gina's grip. He liked that she wasn't afraid to touch him and he wanted her to be right. For the first time in over two hundred years he wanted something for himself. He wanted freedom from the kings of Chicago.
"And what about the ghoul?" Dominic asked, oblivious to the moment of almost friendship between his two oldest servants.
Rachel, aware that Gina was listening, laughed. "Charon? He likes to play lovers and he has served me well in the past but he knows what he really is to me. He will be angry but at the end of all of this…" Rachel trailed off, searching for the right way to put what she wanted to say. "At the end of all of this I'll be just another Carla."
"Carla?" Dominic asked conversationally.
Rachel nodded. "Carla was a woman from the past. Before I met Charon."
"Ah," Dominic leaned back as a knocked sounded at the door. Dominic snapped his fingers and Severus moved to open the door, taking charge of the tray loaded with food.
"I suppose a ghoul who provides protection to a woman may believe whatever he likes."
Rachel nodded again. "Exactly."