“I ran into one a week or so ago, and we ran into another one within the past few hours. There’s something weird about them. Those files will help me figure out what to plan.”
“All right, if you say so.” She typed some more on her keyboard. “I’ll see if Arnia can sneak them out. Anything else?”
“No, that’s it. Have fun not sleeping.”
She laughed and then cut the line. I handed the communicator back to Seda and stretched.
“So, what is going on?” Genesis asked.
“We ran into some freak show of an experiment at the club,” Ryoko said. “Some super-strong Brute class. He snapped Laz’s wrist as if it were made of paper, and even I had difficulties with him.”
Genesis placed a hand over her mouth. “That’s horrible.”
I shrugged. “Azriel patched me up, so I’m okay. Now we just need more information on him and another one Raikidan and I ran into outside the club.”
She nodded. “Agreed. We need to know what kind of trouble these Brutes could cause us. I’ll leave you all to rest, then.”
She walked off and Ryoko looked at me. “You gonna take a shower?”
“That was the plan.”
“Okay, I thought about taking a bath, but I can wait.”
“Or you can take your bath and I can take my shower. They are two separate units, after all.”
Ryoko shrugged. “All right. Just knock before you come in.”
I headed for my bedroom. “Sure.”
I didn’t bother closing my door after I entered. I knew Raikidan would be in shortly after, and if I was going to take a shower, I wouldn’t be in here long. I took off my jewelry and laid the pieces down next to my daggers on my large dresser. I picked up the armor cloth, so it would be a fast switch to my nightclothes and turned around.
As I did, I noticed Raikidan sitting on my windowsill. He leaned on his arms, with his jacket under them, and watched me. I was really confused. I hadn’t heard him walk in, and as I looked toward the door, I realized I never heard him close it.
His gaze was intense and I couldn’t look away. Slowly I walked closer to him. He stood up and met me halfway, paying no mind to his jacket as it fell to the floor. He stared down at me as we stood close to each other and I stared back. I wasn’t sure what was going on with me.
Slowly he lifted his hand and touched my chin with his finger. In an instant I felt self-conscious and a little uncomfortable. “W–what are you doing?”
“I don’t like his scent on you.”
I blinked slowly. He didn’t like a scent on me? Was he talking about Zo’s? It made sense. Zo had touched my chin multiple times. But if that was true, why was he touching my face?
Raikidan touched my bangs in the same fashion Zo had, and it clicked. He was covering Zo’s scent with his own. Raikidan touched my chin once more, and as he pulled his hand away, I grabbed it with mine. I pulled it back and forced him to cradle my cheek.
I closed my eyes and opened them a moment later. “I’d prefer your scent on me over his.”
Without warning, I let his hand go and walked out of the room. As I made my way to the bathroom, I thought deeply over the situation I had just been in. I couldn’t figure out why I had been unable to look away. It was like some stronger unseen force was compelling me to do it. It was like the second day I had been with him at the waterfall. That compelling sensation was the same.
With an ordinary person, these reactions I was having would have been disturbing to me, but they weren’t with Raikidan. He hadn’t reacted when I placed his hand on my face. He had reacted only when I spoke. I felt the brief stop of his pulse before I let his hand go. His reaction was primal—almost subconscious. It wasn’t a reaction a human would have had. A human would have reacted to the touch.
Did my reaction to him really have to do with the fact he was a dragon? Was Ryoko right in claiming I had some sort of bond with him? Would I ever find out? How would I react if I did?
I knocked on the door and then entered the bathroom. Peeling my clothes off quickly, I jumped into the shower stall and let the steaming water wash over me. As I stood there, my mind went back to those questions. But then, one bigger one came to mind.
Do I want to find out?
Chapter Thirty-Four
Keeping low in the shadow of the building, I listened carefully. Genesis had sent me out on an assignment in Quadrant Four to snag a few documents from some business tycoon deeply involved with Zarda. The building was said to be heavily guarded, but as I listened, I wasn’t so sure about that.
I decided to take a peek, only to find the grounds empty. There wasn’t even a heartbeat reading on my modified sunglasses. Strange… For such a wealthy woman with connections, I couldn’t understand why there weren’t any security guards or soldiers, either patrolling or just hanging around pretending to do some important job. I knew better than to trust this situation, but I had to do this assignment, so I slunk around until I found a window leading to a dark room on the first floor to pry open.
Once I was inside, I listened only to find the place as silent as outside. I proceeded cautiously and found every room I entered to be as dark and empty as the last room. I stopped abruptly when I caught sight of a security camera and pressed against the wall, out of view. The camera had been strategically placed in the foyer leading up to the next floor. There wouldn’t be a way to get around it without disabling it, and even though it may alert some sort of security system, I had to take the chance.
Quietly rummaging through my supply pouch, I pulled out a special finger gun and a supply of darts. Removing a dart from the container that carried them all, I pressed a button on the side of it and then loaded it into the gun before peeking around the corner and aiming for the camera. The recording light stopped blinking when I fired the dart and it landed in the wiring, but I didn’t move. I waited to make sure the light didn’t come back on. Some cameras were equipped with a backup power source because of this type of disabling technique.
When the light didn’t come back on after several minutes of waiting, I moved on and up the stairs to my target room. I took a left at the top and kept my ears peeled for any sounds as I looked for the room. I ducked into a dark doorway quickly when I heard something, but then ventured on when nothing happened.
I was cautious when I finally made it to the room I needed to be in. This room was also dark, save from the light filtering in through the window from the crescent moon, showing just enough to identify the room as a study. It was also quiet, but that didn’t mean it was safe. I’m no amateur.
Careful to not disturb much in order to keep my presence a secret, I looked around for the documents Genesis and the Council wanted, but I kept getting distracted by various priceless objects that seemed out of place in this room. Rings, necklaces—all expensive looking and very shiny. Focus, Eira. I couldn’t afford to be distracted by such trivial things, but as I filed through documents that looked to be of importance, I couldn’t stop glancing at the jewelry.
One necklace in particular caught my eye, even though it wasn’t something I’d wear. In the end, I picked the necklace up, but caught myself and set it back down immediately. You dealt with this childish habit before—focus! I really wasn’t sure what was up with me. I hadn’t been so easily distracted by such things in a long time. Why now?
I groaned inwardly when I touched the necklace again and decided to stow it in a pouch. Might as well get something out of this… I continued searching and found the papers I was looking for, along with some other pieces of jewelry, including a large diamond ring I was sure I could pawn off for a good sum of money.
Just when I thought I had finally accomplished my assignment, I stopped moving and listened. Something in the air didn’t feel right. As if… as if I wasn’t alone anymore.
I narrowly dodged the claws that sliced through the air near my head I retreated to the far end of the room and eyed the two men nearby. With deformed ears and noses, fangs, and talon-
like hands, neither man was exactly pleasing to look at. Hunters.
One snickered. “Look at what we have here. A little mouse?”
“More like a fox,” the other said. “I knew I caught a strange female scent here. Our mistress will be pleased we stopped this one.”
Great. It would figure this business woman would use Hunters to guard her estate. They were almost as stealthy as well-trained assassins, and if an intruder got away, they’d just be tracked down and dealt with anyway. It made sense now that intel warned us about the security, and it made sense that I had been picked to do this job. I may not like killing, but I had no quarrel killing Hunters. I never had the greatest… past with them.
“This one is rather cute,” the first Hunter said. “I’m going to enjoy killing her.”
The other Hunter glared at his companion. “Oh no you’re not. You got the last one. I’m killing her and giving her to the mistress.”
I rolled my eyes as the two squabbled. Typical Hunter behavior. It was why it was never recommended to have any of them work together. Neither wanted to share a reward or take turns with receiving one. This drawback had become my benefit.
Taking advantage of their complacent states, I drew a dagger and attacked. The Hunter closest to me was too slow to dodge the attack and choked as my dagger plunged into his chest. He attempted to attack me with his claws, but I was quicker and withdrew my blade from him as I evaded his counter. I then plunged the dagger into his back. He fell to the ground with a thud, and I removed my dagger from his body as I focused on the other Hunter.
He was already coming at me, trying to catch me off-guard, but I was far too experienced for him. I ducked under his arm and sliced my dagger through his throat—blood splattering everywhere. The smell of his sweet blood enticed my senses, but I ignored it. I couldn’t allow myself to be consumed by that side of me.
Although bleeding out profusely, this Hunter wasn’t going to go down without a fight. He held his neck and sliced his talons at me. I stayed light on my feet and out of reach as I danced around him, looking for an opening. There. I went for his exposed side and sliced into his body. Quickly removing the blade, I sliced his arm as he whipped around to defend himself. Looking him in the eye, I knew this wasn’t going to be easy. He was bleeding at a rapid pace, and yet was showing no signs of going down. I suspected he had enhanced pain suppression or had a rare ability of rapid blood replenishment. It didn’t matter, though. I needed to take him down and get out of there. For all I knew, more would be coming, bringing up another issue I’d have to address after this.
Drawing another dagger, I launched a furious attack on the hunter who struggled to keep up. I sliced into his body over and over and slowly wore him down until the Hunter was on the ground and unable to get back up. He was still alive and struggling, but he wasn’t a threat—not at the moment, at least.
I looked around as I thought of a plan to cover my tracks. If this woman had two hunters, she either had more or could at least get more; especially if it was found out I had taken important information. Grabbing any papers I could, I crinkled them up and placed them strategically around the room. I then moved around the house and did the same.
Once I was sure there was enough, I breathed a small flame into my hand and tossed the fire about, lighting drapes and the wads of paper. Moving quickly through the house, I set more paper and cloth-like material ablaze until I made it back into the study. I only briefly looked around before igniting this room as well.
The living Hunter breathed heavily on the floor and glared at me—his neck wound preventing him from speaking. I grinned at him and then jumped out the window. Rolling on my landing to absorb the impact better, I took off for the back of the yard. I hoped the burning smell would mask the scent trail I left from entering and exiting the home, but to be sure, I ran through the city at a fast pace to hopefully throw off any would-be followers later that night.
I slipped into my room through the window and tossed my spoils onto the bed. I’ll put them away later. My first order of business was to wash up. No one paid me much mind when I entered the living room. Raikidan stared from where he sat on the couch, but I ignored him. I was sure he was noticing the blood on my clothes, but he would have to learn that this was what I was designed to do, whether I liked it or not.
Entering the bathroom, I turned on the faucet and did my best to wash up. My skin was easy enough to clean, thanks to a special soap we had for such times, but my clothes proved to be more difficult. My belt and boots cleaned up okay, but nothing worked on my denim jacket or low-rise jeans, and my white midriff-cut tank top now had large pink splotches as if it had gone through the wash with some red clothes and bleach.
I was a bit irritated by this. I liked this set of clothes, and I knew I should have prepared for a worst-case scenario similar to what had transpired, but it didn’t make me feel any better knowing I might have to throw them out because of the stains.
With a sigh, I gave up and put on the armor clothes I’d grabbed before my shower. I headed for my room to hide my new jewelry, but just as I reached the doorway of my room, a door flew open down the hall, and tiny feet stomped into the living room. “Eira, are you ready for another assignment?”
I looked back at Genesis. “I’m always ready.”
“Good, because I need all of you on top of your game.” She was in a foul mood, which told us this was a big deal. “Team Four had been assigned a simple mission, but, come to find out, it wasn’t as simple as it had been first thought to be, and now they’ve come under some heavy artillery.”
“Where is this happening?” Argus asked.
“Sector Three, on the line of Sector Four.”
“All right, everyone get ready,” I instructed.
“She hasn’t given us any other information,” Raikidan said.
“She doesn’t need to. We know the location, what team needs to be helped, and that there will be enemy fire. Those three pieces are all we need. Moles assigned to fight against us won’t shoot us, just in our general direction, and are aware they’re not going to be given similar treatment from us due to various reasons.”
Raikidan grunted. “If you say so.”
Ryoko jumped to her feet. “Guess I’ll go change.”
Rylan, Argus, and Blaze looked at each other. “As will we.”
I sat down on the back of the couch to wait, since there was no need for me to change. I glanced over at Raikidan when I realized he had yet to move. “Aren’t you going to change?”
“Why would I need to?” he asked.
“Same reason we change our appearances for undercover work. So we’re less likely to be identified.”
“Okay, that makes sense, but I don’t know what to wear.”
Right. I had gotten into the habit of picking everything out for him. I looked him over. What he was wearing would do fine for the most part. “Add a vest to wear over your tank top, fingerless gloves for your hands, and boots on those bare feet of yours, and you should be good.”
“What about my face? You have those weird things on your head.”
“They’re sunglasses, and you’ll get a pair as well. Since we’ll be in close proximity, we won’t need the communicators, so we’ll use these special glasses. They work like the communicators except for the communication part.”
“All right.”
As I expected, he was wearing the armor cloth already, and it changed at his will. He seemed to like the armor more than normal clothes, although I wasn’t sure if it was due to their convenience or because it felt different than regular clothes.
When he had the clothes I instructed him to have, he looked at me. I nodded in approval as I looked him over. The cover of darkness would also aid in his disguise.
Ryoko came out of her room with a smile. She had pulled her hair back into a loose pony-tail and had added a blue plaid zip-up jacket over her top and shorts. She also wore what looked to be fingerless gloves that cut off mid-forearm and were s
trapped at the top with three belts, but I knew better. Argus had worked on that glove design. It would cushion the impact of her close combat blows for her only, improving her chances to maintain her stamina in a dragged-out fight.
Tied to her back was a holstered wrench almost the size of her. To most, that would be odd to look at, but there was a reason. The wrench was actually a siege weapon Argus crafted for her. He chose the shape design for kicks, and made the joke that our living siege weapon needed to carry a siege weapon of her own.
Argus, Rylan, and Blaze came into the living room soon after. They all had chosen a similar look to Raikidan’s, only Blaze had chosen a sleeved jacket and Rylan had chosen to go with a T-shirt and trench coat.
Ryoko headed for the basement door. “Laz, choice of weapon?”
“Pistol and finger gun.”
“Close range combat?” She laughed. “Daring tonight, aren’t we? You, Raikidan?”
“Carbine, I suppose.”
She nodded and dashed down the stairs. Rylan followed to give her a hand. While they were gone, I made my way to my room and grabbed the rest of my daggers since I had made the risky choice of only taking one with me on my prior assignment. I made sure I had my special one strapped to my arm. I was going to need it. By the time I came back out, Rylan and Ryoko were back.
Ryoko tossed me a pistol and finger gun, which I caught with ease and strapped to my thigh and hand. I then watched Raikidan carefully as he loaded his carbine. It had been a while since he had done so, so I wanted to make sure he’d be all set.
Ryoko tossed a small pouch to me. I opened it and nodded when I noted the contents. Inside were an extra clip of rounds for my pistol and finger gun, and several magazines for Raikidan’s carbine. Even though I wasn’t planning on running out of ammunition, Raikidan more likely would, and there would be only so much he could carry.
Strapping the pouch to my belt, I looked up as Seda approached with sunglasses in her hands. Using her psychic power, she handed them off to everyone but me. “Be careful. It is not the numbers of the opposing army that is hindering the other team. It is the choice of firepower. The last report indicated the military had two tanks at their disposal, and the other team is running low on ammunition. It would be wise for someone to carry extra to hand off to a few of them.”
Destiny (Experimental Heart Book 1) Page 55