Destiny (Experimental Heart Book 1)

by Shannon Pemrick

  “I guess…”

  The waitress returned with our drinks and I placed our order. She blinked when I was done. “Um, miss, the Jalea and Lomo Saltado both feed two people each, and the House Special Platter feeds five.”

  “We eat a lot.” I handed her the menus. She wordlessly took the menus and left. When she was out of earshot, Raikidan spoke. “So… what are we eating?”

  I smiled. “The Jalea is deep-fried fish, breaded shrimp, squid, and marinated onions. The Lomo is beef that is sautéed with onions and tomatoes and served with rice. Lastly, which I think you’ll like the most, is the House Special Platter, which is a combination of chicken tikka, tandoori chicken, lamb kebobs, and tandoori shrimp served with fresh vegetables.”

  Raikidan just looked at me wide-eyed. It really was a lot for two people to eat, but, from what I’d gathered in my time spent with him, we wouldn’t have a problem.

  Twenty minutes later the waitress returned with our large order. I didn’t worry about putting anything on my own plate. It was just the two of us. Raikidan didn’t start eating when I did. He just looked at the food skeptically, and I sighed.

  “Here.” I stabbed some chicken with my fork and handed it to him. “Just try it.”

  Hesitantly he took the fork and popped the chicken into his mouth. After a few chews, he became more interested in the food in front of him. Knowing full well he wasn’t going to give me my fork back, I reached over the table and took his.

  We quietly ate for a while until something across the room caught his attention. “What are those two doing?”

  Glancing to where he was pointing with his fork, I saw a young couple laughing and sharing their food. Uninterested, I went back to eating. “Probably on a date.”

  “What’s a date?” he asked.

  I had to think about this for a moment. “Well, it’s when you go out somewhere nice with someone else.”

  “So, we’re on a date?” he questioned.

  I bobbed my head as I tried to figure out how to word my response. “Yes, and no.”

  He raised his brow. “Huh?”

  I giggled. “Technically we’re on a date, but it’s a non-romantic date. Those two are on a romantic date.”

  “What’s the difference?”

  “A non-romantic date is when two or more people get together for activities with no amorous or sexual intentions. A romantic date has those romantic feelings in mind when engaging in activities during the date.”

  He nodded, understanding what I was saying. “How do you know it’s a romantic date just by looking at them?”

  “The way they act. They sit close together, share their food, talk quietly, and stuff like that. It’s… hard to explain, really.”

  I wasn’t knowledgeable on the topic, and with Raikidan asking about this topic as much as he did, it really put me out of my element. I was glad when he accepted my answer and didn’t ask any more questions, so we could finish off the rest of our food in silence. But as we ate, something didn’t feel right about the stillness between us. When Ryoko and I used to go out together she’d chat up a storm, so maybe that was it.

  I found myself glancing over at the couple on their date. They were sharing a dessert and seemed to be really enjoying themselves. The strange feeling I had grew, and I realized it was located in the center of my chest.

  “You can have that too, Chickadee.”

  Tannek?

  I casually scanned the restaurant so as to not alert Raikidan of my suspicious state, but everything was the way it had been all night. I was just hearing things. Shaking it off, I went back to eating dinner until the two of us had finished every last bite.

  To say the waitress was surprised by our appetites was an understatement, and she became more so when I ordered some chocolate cake and ice cream. Raikidan abstained from eating more, and once I was done with my dessert, I pulled out a few silver coins and paid for our dinner. As we left the restaurant, we ran into the couple from earlier, embracing each other next to a car.

  “What were they doing?” Raikidan asked when we were out of earshot.

  “Kissing.”

  “Kissing? What is that?”

  I sighed. “It’s a type of affection. Depending on how you kiss someone, it shows how you feel about them.”

  “What does it feel like?”

  I shrugged. “I don’t know.”

  “Oh, c’mon.” He leaned in close to my face.

  “What?” I pushed him away. “I really don’t know. Why don’t you believe that?”

  “Oh, I don’t know, maybe because you’re an attractive female who has had several males show some sort of interest in you.”

  “No one has any interest in me.”

  Raikidan threw up fingers as he rattled names off. “Xye, Ken’ichi, Blaze, in a weird way from my observation, and according to Ryoko, Rylan.”

  My brow furrowed. “Ken’ichi doesn’t see me that way, and Blaze doesn’t count because he’s willing to hump any female he finds attractive. And Rylan… we’re not going there.”

  “Why, because he would count?”

  My eyebrow twitched. “He had interest in me for a brief time—a very brief time—but now he doesn’t, and I like it that way. I prefer him to be a friend.”

  “Means he still counts. And Ken’ichi counts, too, because it’s obvious by the way he acts around you.” I scoffed at the idea and he shook his head. “Now, with so many interested, I find it hard to believe none of them have tried to give you one of these kisses to prove to you they are.”

  I shoved my hands in my pockets and kept walking. “No.”

  Even though I didn’t care about finding someone, Raikidan bringing up this subject was really starting to bother me. I didn’t need to be reminded how much of a lie those feelings were.

  I was pulled out of my brooding thoughts when a loud booming noise echoed though the air and dark smoke began billowing up into the sky. Raikidan stood by me as I stopped to look, as did many others in the street.

  “What’s that?” he asked.

  “I’m not sure.” I suspected it had something to do with the rebellion. Based on where the smoke originated, I calculated that area to be a military outpost.

  Suddenly the night sky lit up in that area, and the sounds of gunfire filled the air. People began talking more, and when the sounds grew louder they started to panic.

  “Eira, what’s going on?” Raikidan asked.

  Before I could reply, a light on my communicator, a device designed for long distance talking with others, began flashing. I unhooked it from my belt loop and attached the device to my head. The device was only long enough to wrap halfway around my head, but its design clipped around my ear and curved perfectly with my head to create a perfect fit. Zo had something similar when we met him, but more compact, a design I suspected was new and for military personnel only due to its discreet nature.

  With a quick adjust of the microphone, I pressed a button on the frequency dial and a holographic visor slid out of the dial and over my eyes.

  “Babe, you there?” came the voice on the other end.

  “Hey, Aurora,” I greeted. It didn’t matter how long I’d been gone, I’d always recognizes the cadence of our personal Underground computer tech. “What’s going on?”

  “Are you in a good spot to talk?” she asked.

  I glanced around. “No, let me get to a quieter place. Too many panicking people.”

  “Sounds like you’re close to the action, then.”

  So, there is something going on with the rebellion. I grabbed Raikidan by the wrist and dragged him into an alley. I didn’t stop until we were halfway down and hidden from prying eyes.

  “All right, what’s going on?” I asked Aurora.

  “There’s been a screw-up with one of the assignments,” she said.

  “I can see that,” I muttered.

  She chuckled. “Part of Team Three was assigned to take out a few supply bases, but they didn’t want to listen t
o the approved ones. They ended up taking on a high security outpost and it’s caused a battle.”

  I sighed with aggravation. “Of course, they would. Now they need the cleanup crew to bail them out of their mess, right?”

  “Yeah. I already have Ryoko and the others on the move. You’re the last to be contacted.”

  I glanced at Raikidan. “How soon am I needed?”

  “Well, immediately, of course. Why, what’s up? You’ve never been hesitant to jump in where needed in the past.”

  There was no point in lying to her. “I have a new recruit with me, and he hasn’t been exposed or trained for our kinds of battles yet.”

  “Eira, don’t worry, I can help,” Raikidan said in a low voice.

  “There really isn’t any time for you to get him somewhere safe unless you send him home on his own,” Aurora said. “But if you’re talking about the guy Genesis sent me info about recently, then I can see why you can’t just do that.”

  “Yeah, that’s my dilemma.”

  “Eira, I can help,” Raikidan insisted a bit louder.

  “What kind of fire power are they packing?” I asked. “I don’t have much for weapons myself.”

  “The basic stuff, so you should be fine, but Ryoko said she was grabbing something for you just in case.”

  “All right. I’ll figure something out.”

  “Okay, good luck. I’ll send coordinates to your communicator.”

  I deactivated my communicator and thought. What was I going to do?

  “Eira,” Raikidan said. “I am here to help. Let me join.”

  I sighed. “Raikidan, it’s not that simple. The battles here are different than the ones we fought outside the city. We use guns here, and you’ve never been exposed to that. I’m not signing your death warrant because some idiots decided not to listen.”

  “It can’t be much different than arrows, right?”

  I shook my head. “See, this is what I mean. They’re far different than arrows. They’re faster, more destructive, and can be shot off in rounds far quicker than any archer could dream of doing.”

  “I came here to help, so let me prove that to you. Bark out any order you want, and I’ll do it without question.” He placed a hand on my shoulder. “Trust me.”

  I ground my teeth and then sighed in defeat. “Fine. We’re wasting time arguing. You listen, and be cautious. If you have to do more hiding than fighting, fine. And if you die, don’t you haunt me saying it’s my fault.”

  He chuckled. “Deal.”

  I jerked my head and started moving. “Then let’s go.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  I ducked behind the remains of a crumbled wall and steadied my breath. This battle had gone from bad to worse before Raikidan and I had even arrived, and I wasn’t sure how we were going to come out of this alive. My team had really screwed this up big time. They had to go and pick the biggest and most well-armed military post in the entire city. They had pushed us far from the outpost and nearly surrounded us. If we got out of this alive, I was going to be skinning a few people.

  Bullets flew over my head, and I peeked around the rubble to gauge how many soldiers I was up against. Three were visible, and I suspected a few more were hiding. I checked my ammunition count for the handgun I had picked up off a fallen rebel, to find only four bullets left. I had to make them count, and I wasn’t nearly as great a marksman as Rylan.

  Taking a deep breath, I left my cover and took three quick shots, only to have to take a fourth when I missed the last target, and then quickly pulled back to hide when more soldiers came out of hiding. They opened fire, and I rolled until I was hidden and temporarily safe behind a building. Other rebels on the street had my back and opened fired on the military, while I thought about how to help now that my weapon was useless. I could use fire, but I was losing energy the longer this dragged on, and that meant I wouldn’t be able to produce much fire for long.

  I nearly jumped out of my skin when something cold and wet touched my arm. I whipped around to defend myself, but stopped mid-swing when the gray wolf behind me flattened his ears and backed up. By his feet was a carbine, and strapped around his body were ammunition cartridges.

  “Raikidan?” I asked.

  He shifted and held up his hands. “I didn’t mean to sneak up on you.”

  I sighed in relief. “You have got to be more careful. If this had a bullet left, I would have shot you.”

  “Sorry,” he repeated. “I just thought you’d want the weapon Ryoko picked for you. I even have extra ammunition for you.”

  I picked up the loaded carbine and unloaded a round on the military in the street. When my magazine was empty, I pulled back so I could reload. “So, tell me, why did you leave the spot I ordered you to stay in?”

  “You told me not to die, so when my alley was overrun, I figured it’d be best to get out of there,” Raikidan replied after I unleashed half of my second round. “I went searching for Ryoko at that point, since I figured you could use the weapon she got for you. I was able to get a good view from the sky from time to time, so I also gave position information to our side.”

  “Smart moves. Learn anything while you were doing all that?”

  “Don’t challenge Ryoko to an arm wrestling contest.”

  I laughed far harder than I should have, stalling me from unleashing the last half of my magazine. “Well, at least you learned that. Far too many others are still learning.”

  He watched me as I fussed with my carbine and insulted it when it jammed. He found it mildly amusing, but was otherwise useless, not bothering to give me a hand. I really wished Ryoko hadn’t given me this particular weapon. We all had our own preferred weapons, and extras just in case, and she had grabbed the wrong carbine. Mine was better taken care of and would have had less chance of this happening.

  “Look out!” Raikidan shouted.

  Everything happened so fast. He pushed me. A gun went off and he yelled in pain, and I pulled an ember from my lips and tossed it at our attacker. She dropped her weapon and screamed as her skin burned, but I had more important things to focus on. Raikidan was leaning against the wall clutching his shoulder, blood running down his arm.

  “Let me see,” I ordered as I reached for his arm.

  Raikidan hesitated, but then revealed a large, nasty gash, going from his upper arm to his shoulder. I sighed with relief. At least the bullet had only grazed him. This was easier to deal with than a full bullet wound.

  I started ripping my shirt. “We’ll have to get you stitched up when we get home, but this will help with the bleeding.”

  He flinched as I tied the cloth strips around his arm. “I can heal it myself.”

  “I know, but it’ll be easier and will come out better if we stitch you up first,” I said. “Sorry you had to get hit because of me. I should have been paying more attention.”

  “I’m not complaining,” he replied. “You had to get your weapon working.”

  “Yes, although I should have just abandoned it. I know better than to waste time in a battle like this to fix something like that.”

  “How else will you fight these men?”

  I stood up and pulled the remaining fire from the woman’s charred, lifeless body. “With this. Stay put so you don’t get in the way or lose any more blood.”

  I charged out of the side street and unleashed a fury of fire. I put everything I had into my attack, without fear of returned fire. The soldiers who hadn’t been hit by my first attack took cover, but that didn’t protect them from my ability. My control over fire when I first left this city was nothing to sneeze at, but the training I had done with the shamans had taught me things I never thought possible.

  Just when I thought I couldn’t hold out any more and had to fall back, the military miraculously pulled back. Rebels flooded past me, and I moved back to where I had left Raikidan and collapsed on my knees against the wall, exhausted.

  “Are you okay?” Raikidan asked.

  “Yeah
, just tired.”

  Just then, someone appeared at the mouth of the side street. Raikidan and I readied for a fight, but relaxed when we recognized the young man as a rebel. He knelt down in front of me and handed over a bottle of water.

  “Don’t feel that you have to join back in,” he said. “What you did helped us push them back on this side, and the others are doing well on the other side, finally. We’re going to win this one, and you deserve a rest after that display.”

  I took a swig of water. “Don’t tell me what to do.”

  He chuckled, and then ran off to join the fight.

  “Are you going to join them?” Raikidan asked.

  I shook my head. “I put everything I had into that attack. I need time to rest.”

  “That was impressive to watch.”

  I chuckled. “You’re so terrible at listening.”

  “Like you’re one to talk.”

  I laughed and he joined in after a few moments. It was cut short when my communicator began flashing.

  “Yeah?” I answered once it was on my head.

  “They retreated,” Ryoko said.

  I sighed with relief. “Good. I was starting to worry about our chances for a bit.”

  “You’re not the only one. How did you hold up? Did Raikidan ever find you?”

  “Yeah, he found me. We’re a little banged up, but in one piece.”

  “Good to hear. We’re all gathering up on Coral Street if you can make it over to us.”

  “We’ll be right there.”

  I hung up and struggled to stand, refusing help from Raikidan when he offered. Once I was sure my legs would hold me, we made our way to Ryoko’s location. We were the last to arrive, but no one appeared to mind. They were too battle weary to care, and there was still more to do. They looked to me for direction. That’s when I realized I was the highest ranking member here. Well, here we go.

  But before I could open my mouth, someone stumbled out of an alley. He was a tall, muscular young man with mocha skin, who looked to be on death’s door.

  “Derek!” Ryoko screeched.

  She and I both ran over to him and he collapsed in my arms. I fell to my knees from his weight and my weariness, but I made sure he didn’t hit his head.