Tremors of the Past

by Jamie A. Waters

  He didn’t show up to the meeting with Director Borshin and wasn’t answering any calls. His commlink was offline, and they couldn’t even track it. Contrary to initial speculation by the head of security, who was now on her shit list, she refused to believe Carl had been a willing participant in helping Lisia escape. The whole idea was absurd. Carl had too much integrity, and he was still furious about how Lisia had betrayed all of them.

  Although, she could understand why Elyot would have rescued his sister. If it had been Veridian, she would have done the same thing and damn the consequences. Family was family. Desperation drove people to do bold things.

  Her own desperation was reaching a crescendo. She knew something had happened to Carl. He wouldn’t have left her unless he had no choice.

  Alec looked over the technician’s shoulder to the screen in front of him. “Pull Carl’s account history records and find out where we are on reviewing the security feed. I want to know every movement he made from the time he left here this morning.”

  The technician nodded and entered a few commands into the computer.

  Having had enough, Kayla stalked over to Alec. “I want a computer terminal set up. I’ll double-check the security feeds myself. Can we get into his commlink records to check his messages? Maybe it’ll give us a clue.”

  Alec hesitated and then nodded. He waved at Brant. “Set her up with something.”

  While Brant called someone on his commlink, Kayla went back to pacing. There had to be something more she could do. She wished she could just reach across her bond like she did with Alec and—

  “Alec,” she whispered and spun around to face him. He lifted his head from where he’d been watching the screen, a question in his eyes. She ran over to him and grabbed his arm. “The energy! You told me one of my abilities is finding lost or hidden objects. Carl’s not exactly an object, but he’s missing. Can’t I find him?”

  Alec’s brow furrowed as he considered her words. “I don’t think so. For the most part, we use objects as focal points. People, or rather their life forces, are made up of energy. Since it’s a fluid thing, it’s extremely difficult to latch onto without a bond to lead you there. That’s why we form connections with each other. It’s not impossible, but it usually requires some form of touch.”

  Kayla nodded, remembering how he’d touched Director Borshin to communicate wordlessly with him. In fact, he’d even touched her in the beginning to show her how to create energy connections. “How does the focal point thing work?”

  Alec paused for a moment as though trying to decide out how to explain. “Do you remember when you located the glass globe in my quarters?”

  When she nodded, he continued, “You were able to find it because you channeled energy into the object itself. When our energy touches an inanimate object, it responds differently. I believe that’s one of the reasons you’re able to locate missing objects so easily. Your energy focuses on life or spirit, but by definition, an inanimate object is the absence of life. You’re able to find these items because it conflicts with your own ability.”

  She frowned. “Could I latch onto an object Carl has with him?”

  “It’s a possibility, but the distance may be a factor. Is there an object he usually carries with him?”

  His commlink.

  But if he had that, she would have heard from him by now. She couldn’t think of anything else he routinely carried with him. Looking down at her hands, she wondered about the point in having this ability if it couldn’t help when she needed it most.

  Alec sighed and took her hands in his. He wove a subtle thread of soothing energy over her. “We’ll find him, Kayla. They’re doing everything possible.”

  Commander Thomas snapped his commlink shut and gestured to the monitor on the desk. “We’ve traced him to the basement area. He bypassed the meeting room and went to one of the conference rooms. That’s the last sighting. Three other individuals exited from that room several minutes later. Trader Carl Grayson wasn’t with them.”

  He motioned for the technician to pull up the video feed on the screen. A moment later, the image displayed three familiar individuals. Two of them were pushing a conveyor cart down the hall while the other followed. Based on their body language, it was apparent the cart was unnaturally heavy. Kayla’s heart thudded as she looked at the images of Lars, Miranda, and Elyot. Panic gripped her.

  Alec’s eyes hardened. “Which way did they go?”

  Thomas frowned. “They went directly to the detention room, where they met up with two other individuals who were also previously exiled from the towers. During their efforts to free Lisia Carpan, one of our security officers was killed. They then proceeded to one of the sub-basement levels. We believe they managed to escape the towers during the chaos of the trading camp arrival.”

  Fury and wild fear ripped through Kayla. They’d taken Carl from the towers, and she had no way to know if he was alive and unharmed. Energy swirled around her, growing in intensity as her emotions became more turbulent. She was going to kill all of them if they hurt Carl.

  Alec’s arms immediately encircled her, and he whispered into her ear, “Breathe, love. You need to calm yourself before you do something you’ll regret. Close your eyes and release the energy.”

  Kayla didn’t want to calm down. She wanted to go after them. Alec quickly began weaving a stronger blanket of soothing energy around her. She was tempted to smack aside his efforts to temper her anger, but he was right. If she didn’t get herself under control, she might cause another earthquake or worse. Kayla took a deep breath and tried to slowly release the energy, struggling under the weight of it. Alec quickly threaded his energy with hers and helped her release it.

  Once it was gone, she turned her face into his chest and clutched his shirt. “We need to get him back, Alec. I can’t lose him.”

  Alec tightened his arms around her and began issuing instructions to the men in the room. “I want surveillance drones dispatched. Find out what direction they headed and start tracking them. They couldn’t have gotten inside the towers again and released the woman in detention without assistance. Find out who’s been helping them.”

  Kayla shook her head. “It’s not enough. I have contacts on the surface. If we go down there, I can reach out to some of the people—”

  “Absolutely not,” Alec interrupted, grabbing her arms and holding on to her. “I will not risk anything happening to you.”

  “I can’t just sit by and let something happen to Carl,” she argued, pulling away from him. “We’re not doing everything possible if there are untapped resources still on the surface. I know people in dozens of different camps. If I reach out to them, they can help us look for him. We can even offer a reward.”

  “No,” Alec declared, his tone firm and unyielding. “If those people are willing to be bought, there’s no way to know whether they’ve already been compromised. We don’t know who the Coalition has working for them.”

  Kayla’s eyes narrowed. “Those people, as you call them, are my friends, Alec. They’re some of the same people I grew up with and who raised me. I spent my life around them, and I trust them. Be very careful what you say about them.”

  “I’m not debating this with you. The answer is no. One of those former friends of yours just helped kill one of my security officers. We’ll find another way.”

  Kayla’s jaw clenched as she glared at him. Their mutual frustration coursed along their shared bond as they stared at each other. Their differences and similarities had never been more apparent than that moment. She might care for Alec, but she wouldn’t allow him or anyone else to force her into abandoning her past or being someone she wasn’t. Alec’s protective instincts were roaring to the surface, but so were hers. What Alec didn’t understand, though, was that she didn’t want or need protection. She needed a partner.

  Kayla knew she didn’t always have the right answers, and she frequently made mistakes, but she knew the surface and the people on it better t
han he ever could.

  Alec’s commlink buzzed. He reached down and pulled it out of his pocket. “Yes, Sheila? What is it?”

  “I apologize for the interruption, Master Tal’Vayr. The High Council has requested your presence in the council chambers, along with Mistress Seara Rath’Varein. They’ve received notification about the breach in the detention area and the possible involvement of the Coalition. They’re requesting an update on our alert status.”

  Alec hesitated and looked down at Kayla. It was obvious by his conflicted expression that he didn’t want to leave her, especially after their heated words. He reached up to brush his thumb across her cheek. She squeezed her eyes shut and allowed the contact, not wanting to leave things unsettled between them. Wrapping her hand around his wrist, she nodded at him, letting him know she’d be fine.

  He sighed. “Very well. I’ll be there in ten minutes.”

  He closed the commlink and looked over at Brant. “Stay with her. I’ll be back as soon as possible.” He gazed at her again, worry etched along his face. “If you need me, just use our bond. I’ll come to you immediately.”

  She shook her head and waved him off. “I’ll be fine. Brant can always zap me if the energy gets crazy again.”

  Her words didn’t appear to reassure him. He gave Brant a few last-minute instructions before he left. Kayla sighed and turned back to the screen to watch the launch preparations for the surveillance drones. Unfortunately, even if they found the direction they’d taken Carl, the drones were limited in how far they could track him.

  Kayla leaned forward, resting her hands on the desk, and contemplated her options. The only reason Lars would have taken Carl was because of her. If he was trying to draw her out of the towers, it was an effective tactic. But no matter what, she couldn’t let anything happen to Carl. A plan began to form in her mind, but it was risky enough that she didn’t dare mention it to Alec, especially given their last words to each other.

  The likelihood of the drones finding Carl was slim, but no one outside the towers knew the surface like her former ruin rat camp. Even if Alec didn’t trust them, she knew them as well as she knew herself. If they were desperate for supplies, Kayla would make sure they got them. In return, she’d insist they pass along any information they had on the whereabouts of Lars and the Coalition. After all, ruin rats were born to barter… and she’d learned from the best.

  Chapter Eight

  Kayla glanced over at Brant, who was watching her and Veridian from across the room. Although he had stubbornly refused to let her leave her family’s quarters, he’d finally relented and allowed Veridian to visit. In light of Elyot’s betrayal, Brant was reticent to allow anyone else near her without Alec’s permission. The restrictions grated on Kayla’s nerves, but given her new plan… it was better to pick her battles.

  “You sure about this?” Veridian whispered, running a hand nervously through his frizzy, brown hair. “Leo’s desperate for the supplies, but I’m worried about Alec’s reaction when you leave the towers.”

  She turned back to Veridian, careful to keep her voice low enough so only he could hear her. “Yeah, I’m sure. I don’t see another option. I cross-checked the manifest with Jinx’s list of supplies. The shipment for Leo’s camp was already prepared for delivery. It’s sitting on a pallet down in the sublevel basement.”

  Veridian nodded. “All right. What’s the plan?”

  Kayla looked over in Brant’s direction again. He crossed his arms over his chest and continued to watch them, suspicion clearly etched on his face. Unable to resist, she gave the security officer a brilliant smile. At his scowl, she turned away, angling her body so he couldn’t read her lips. They probably only had a few more minutes before Brant came over to see what mischief they were brewing. “Have Xantham hack into the transport system to transfer the shipment to the docking area. Just make sure he wipes his computer clean afterward so they won’t know he initiated the transfer. I’d do it myself, but I won’t have a chance with Brant breathing down my neck.”

  Veridian’s eyes flickered to the security officer. “How are you going to get out of here?”

  Kayla gave him a half-hearted shrug, hoping her cavalier attitude reassured him. “I’m going to take him with me. He just doesn’t know it yet.”

  Veridian raised an eyebrow but didn’t dispute her words. Instead, he reached over and gave her a hug. “Give us thirty minutes to set up. I’ll send a message to your commlink when we’re ready.”

  Kayla nodded and watched him head out. There was too much room for error in her plan, but she didn’t have many options. She’d likely only have one opportunity to do this, and the window was rapidly closing. Once Veridian was gone, she turned back to Brant. “We need to talk.”

  He arched a brow. “What would you like to discuss?”

  “A couple of things,” she admitted, motioning for him to join her. Without stopping to see if he was following, she walked into her bedroom. Her emergency bag was still stashed in the corner within easy reach if she ever needed a quick escape. Kayla tossed it on the bed and began rummaging through it, glancing up briefly as he entered.

  “At some point, we need to talk about the whole shadow energy thing. I want to do some tests to figure out if you can use my energy. We can start with me trying to channel energy to you and see what happens from there.”

  Brant froze next to the door. An indiscernible emotion flickered across his face but was quickly gone. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea. Your— Alec may have an issue with that.”

  She dismissed his objections with a wave of her hand. “Later. I don’t want to try it right now. I need to focus on finding Carl first.” She located her UV-protective gear and pulled it out of the bag.

  Brant’s eyes narrowed on the clothing. “What are you doing with that?”

  She didn’t bother to answer. Instead, Kayla pulled off her shirt and let it fall to the floor. Brant inhaled sharply, cursed, and spun around. She rolled her eyes at his modesty and kicked off her pants. There was no difference in what she was wearing now and what she wore to the pool. She’d never understand the way these Omnis worked.

  Kayla pulled on her UV pants and fastened the belt, tapping the buckle of the hidden blade for luck. “I’m going to the surface. I figured I’d give you a chance to go with me this time. You know, just in case I start another earthquake.”

  “Out of the question,” Brant declared and turned back around. His eyes lowered to her bra, lingering on her cleavage for a moment. He squeezed his eyes shut and muttered something under his breath about hazard pay before meeting her gaze again.

  “The Coalition is using Carl as bait to get you back onto the surface. It’s too dangerous. We have over a dozen people working on locating Carl right now. Once he’s found, OmniLab will send in a team to extract him.”

  Kayla pulled a tank top out of the bag and shook her head. “I can’t just sit here and not do anything. The Coalition’s cloaking technology is really advanced. The only reason OmniLab found us when we were captured was because I created that earthquake. They’re not going to find Carl without help.”

  Pity crossed his face, but he remained firm. “I’m sorry, Kayla. I can’t allow you to go.”

  Kayla huffed, resisting the urge to roll her eyes. If she accepted it when people told her no, she wouldn’t have gotten anywhere in life. She pulled the tank top over her head and grabbed her boots.

  “You don’t have a choice. I’m going. You know I’ll get out of here one way or another. The only option on the table is whether or not you come with me to keep me from blowing anyone up.”

  At his scowl, she added, “Look, Leo’s camp worked with the Coalition before. I think I can barter with them for help in finding out their location. Believe it or not, I’m not going into this without a plan.” At least not without a partial plan, but she didn’t need to share that tidbit. Improvisation was a ruin rat’s way of life. “Once I get the location, I can give it to Alec. I’m not planning
on rushing into a dangerous situation unless there’s no other option.”

  Giving him a moment for that to sink in, she finished tying her boots. She didn’t want to have to resort to threats, but desperate times called for desperate measures. Reaching into her bag, she pulled out the weapon she’d borrowed when she was last in the towers. It was a little big for her hand, but its sleek design made the size irrelevant. The only important thing was the trigger, and her finger fit easily over that. Holding the weapon in one hand and casually waving it in his direction, Kayla put her other hand on her hip.

  “So what’s it going to be? Are you going to come with me, or do I need to put you down again, Fluffy?”

  Brant looked upward as though seeking divine intervention. Finally, he let out a long sigh. “Fine. I’ll help you. You have to promise me you won’t put yourself in unnecessary danger though. We’ll contact OmniLab the moment your friends give us a possible location.”

  With a huge smile, Kayla walked over and gave him a hug. He stiffened at the sudden energy transference that shot through them at the contact. They both jumped away from each other. She couldn’t help but laugh at his wary expression.

  “Yeah. We’re definitely going to need to talk about that.”

  Kayla peeked around the corner in the sublevel basement. According to the security feeds, three guards were stationed in the room. Once Xantham transferred the shipment into the docking area, they needed to find a way to get the doors open. A distraction was going to be necessary. She eyed the beams spanning the length of the warehouse area and grinned at the sight of the mounted equipment.

  “Crap, I know that look,” Veridian muttered.

  She pulled back from the doorway and motioned for Veridian and Brant to follow her into a nearby storage room. Once they were inside, Veridian dropped the bags he’d been carrying and began checking the shelves for any other useful equipment.