Prophecy (Book One in the Prophecy Series)

by Lea Kirk

  “My mom.”

  His eyes widened. “I hab imbense respect for your mudder.”

  Alex couldn’t hide her smile. “Sorry about breaking your nose.”

  Graig gave her a cocky grin. “Dat wad the best brawl I’b had in a long timeb, sora.”

  She couldn’t stop the chuckle that bubbled up. “May I heal it for you?”

  He dropped his hand and nodded. In less than thirty seconds, she had set everything back in place. He scrunched his nose a few times, then leaned forward with a grimace. No matter how bad that body part hurt, she wasn’t going to offer to heal it for him. He’d have to endure, or fix it himself.

  Graig stood, a resolute look in his eyes. “Your enemy will show no mercy, Alex, and neither did I. I’d be a piss-poor teacher if I had. You may have been influenced by Kotas’s anger, but the skill you displayed was entirely your own. I would be honored to fight at your side any day.”

  Her mouth fell open. He would? Wow.

  “Alexandra Bock,” Graig said. “You have earned the privilege to come to the range unaccompanied.” He raised his left hand, fingers curled to his palm, touched the back of his thumb to his forehead and then to his heart, inclining his head in her direction.

  Ectu belltur, the respect of warriors. A Matiran salute used between soldiers and warriors, and Graig had just honored her with it. She returned the honor with the requisite slow, deep inclination of her head.

  Graig received his blade from Gryf, and it disappeared into his boot. “As much as I would like to say my ass kicking went unnoticed, I am afraid that’s not the case.” He jerked his head in the direction of the entrance to the range. Simone, Nicky, Ora and Dante were all there, watching. “I strive not to make mistakes, Alex,” Graig continued. “Yet I made one today by not giving you full credit for your capabilities. You understand that won’t happen again.”

  Oh, she knew all right. Today their relationship had changed. He’d given her his friendship out of duty, but today she had earned his respect. And she’d have to strive as hard as he did not to make mistakes. No pressure there. Still, it felt good to have his respect.

  “I think Dante will want to check us both now.” There was a smile in Graig’s voice.

  She swept her arm in the direction of the target. “What about the puff balls?”

  A smug look crossed his face, and he gave a sharp whistle. Three camp children, Juan, Wilson, and Kunao, scampered onto the range. The boys immediately set to collecting the practice ammunition.

  Well, that was just about right. “You think of everything, don’t you?”

  “I don’t believe in doing things half way, sora.”

  Alex smiled at him. “Thank you, magister, for not allowing me to wallow in self-pity.”

  “Thank you, disipula, for keeping me humble.”

  Chapter Twenty-nine

  Gryf ran his palm over the silky smooth curve of Alexandra’s bare shoulder. Her hair fanned over the pillow and her pale skin glowed in the soft light of the lutep. And, sweet Mother, her skin seemed to glow from their earlier love making. His loins stirred.

  “So, what did Admiral Cael have to say today?” she asked.

  Not exactly the topic he wanted to pursue at the moment, but she was entitled to an answer. “Even though we were on a secure channel, we did not discuss details. Cael will handle the fleet. Our assignment is to disable and infiltrate the slaver.”

  “And free the prisoners?”

  “Yes, and free the prisoners. If we fail, the fleet will do everything within their power to rescue the children and anyone else remaining at Camp One.”

  “Good. But we won’t fail, Gryf. We can’t.”

  He wanted to believe that, with all his heart. But he had been a soldier long enough to know the unpredictability of even the most carefully laid plans. “We can only do our best, animi.”

  Alexandra cupped his cheek and the flame of desire flickered to life in her eyes. “For now—”

  The chime of his personal comm cut her off.

  “Ska. Only one person in the universe could have such timing.” He leaned over the edge of the bed to grope through his discarded clothing. Where in the hells is that comm? His hand closed around the tiny device. Ah. “What is it, Ora?”

  He hadn’t meant to snap, but private time with his wife had been harder to come by since their first viscomm with the admiralty. Behind him, Alexandra snickered. He reached for the sleeping bag covering her and gave it a yank. She yelped and grabbed it back, her eyes narrowed in warning. Sweet Mother, he loved this woman.

  “Gryf, we found them.” Ora’s voice came from his personal comm. “Or, more accurately, they found us.”

  “You’re in San Francisco already?” He rolled himself into a sitting position on the edge of the bed. They had only left four days ago. Even on horseback, it should have taken a minimum of six days.

  “No, we’re in the great agricultural valley between Camp One and San Francisco. That is where they found us.”

  He exchanged a concerned look with Alexandra. “Any problems?” Perhaps it was more than he should hope for, but he had to ask.

  “Nothing we could not handle,” Ora replied.

  This meant something had happened. Gryf frowned at Alexandra, and she made a calming motion with her hands.

  “Their leader is Moises Alexander,” Ora continued. “A former military man who knows how to keep people alive.”

  “How many are with him?”

  “Seventy-eight.” He heard the smile in Ora’s voice. “All of them trained to handle weapons at a level even Graig would deem acceptable. Plus eleven untrained due to age or physical impairments. We are on our way to the rendezvous now.”

  His mouth fell open. Eighty-nine more people? This he hadn’t expected. “Ora, I don’t like this. It almost sounds as though they were expecting you.”

  “On my honor, sobin, these people are no threat.”

  “On her honor” and “cousin” in Matiran—the code words she was to use if all was well. So it must be. “All right, we will meet you at the rendezvous in six days. And, Ora...be safe, sobin.”

  ~ * ~

  The silence of the empty tunnel surrounded Alex, and she rolled her shoulders as she approached the operations room. The camp was so much quieter now that eighty percent of the refugees had migrated to the mine. Tonight’s group was ready to depart after dinner. It was hard to believe that she’d be leaving in four more days with the final group. Damn, she would miss the kids.

  She ducked through the operations room entrance ready to absorb more silence. After a week of upheaval, she needed a break. A few minutes to reenergize before she jumped back into the chaos.

  “Hola, Alex.”

  Her gaze darted in the direction of the unexpected voice. Crap. Were a few moments of alone time too much to ask for? “Hi, Kelly. You ready to leave tonight?”

  “Pretty much,” the other woman replied, her feet propped on a table, ankles crossed.

  A guilty conscious poked at Alex. “Look, Kelly, I’m sorry about attacking you the other day.”

  Kelly waved her hand in a dismissive gesture. “Ancient history. I understand you weren’t quite yourself.”

  “No, but that’s not an excuse.”

  “It’s not your normal MO either, so don’t worry.”

  This was too easy. Kelly must have an agenda, she always did.

  “You can sit if you want.” Kelly gestured to a vacant camp chair.

  Want, yes. Want with Kelly around, not so much. Alex’s wariness warred with her need to take a load off for a few minutes. She allowed an internal sigh. It wasn’t as though she couldn’t defend herself if Kelly attacked her. And Kelly wasn’t that stupid. Alex sank down into a chair away from the table, and swallowed back a groan. Cripes, it felt wonderful to be off her feet.

  “I am wondering,” Kelly said. Here we go. “What do you plan to do about her?”

  “Her?” Kelly would of course be referring to K’rona. Kelly ha
ted the Anferthians in the way Sarah O’Conner hated the Terminator. And it appeared she was also a vendetta-wielding stalker.

  “The ’Ferth woman you’ve become so chummy with.” This time Kelly’s voice dripped with acid.

  Bingo. “I’m not sure what you’re getting at, Kelly. K’rona is on our side, and has proved herself a valuable asset to us.”

  Kelly dropped her feet to the floor. “She’s an Anferthian—an alien. She can’t be trusted. She’ll turn on you, you know. And when she does, we’re all screwed.”

  Talk about having your words come back and bite you in the butt. Had she really felt the same way about aliens once upon a time? What an idiot she’d been. But that was before Gryf...and soul mating...and the Profeti. Before she fell in love with an alien and was bound to him in ways deeper and more profound than she’d ever imagined.

  Kelly didn’t have that experience. All she had was her bitterness and guilt over the death of her son. It was a devastating story, but who in camp didn’t have a similar story? They’d all lost everything they’d ever known. And Alex wasn’t Dr. Phil; she couldn’t fix everybody’s problems. Kelly would have to find her own peace.

  Alex blew out a sigh. “You know, I came in here to get away for a few minutes.”

  “I just knew you had sold out.” Kelly’s words were laced with bitterness. “You’ve bought into the whole prophecy thing. You think you’re ‘the great voice of your people’.” She threw air quotes around that with her fingers. “You have been blinded by what you’ve been told by aliens and have ignored what is best for your people.”

  “Are you kidding me?” She gaped at the insanity of Kelly’s words. She could almost hear her mother say, “Close your mouth, Alex, sweetie.”

  Kelly slammed her fist on the table. “Do I look like I’m kidding? You’re their sheep, Alex, and they’re leading you—us—to slaughter!”

  Alex compressed her lips. Don’t let her get to you. Remain calm. No, nix that. She needed to get away from Kelly and her brand of poison, fast. “Let me give you the cold, hard facts, Kelly. Without the Matirans—and even the Anferthian dissenters—we have zero chance of taking back our planet. We simply do not have the resources or people to do so.

  “As for K’rona, I don’t plan to do anything about her. She sees our goal, and shares it. She is willing to fight to the death for it. The real question is, what will you do? Do you stand with your people?”

  Kelly’s eyes glittered with malice. “I am with my people until we have our planet back. After that, the rest can all go to hell. And you, Alex, are not my voice.”

  “I can live with that.” And she could. Her goal was to free her planet and spare Gryf’s from the same fate. And there were plenty of people in the universe who were not happy about that idea already—namely the players on the opposing team. “For the record, I haven’t bought into anything, Kelly. I never asked for any of this. Once this is over, I intend to live a quiet life with my husband.”

  Kelly barked a short laugh. “You won’t live that long. They’ll make sure of it.”

  There was no getting through to someone who didn’t want to listen. Alex pushed out of her chair. “I gotta go, Kelly. See ya.”

  She stomped up the tunnel to the main cavern, and paused. Gryf would want to know about that little conversation, and K’rona would need an extra person or two for protection. She wasn’t going to like that, but tough. Since joining Camp One, the Anferthian factoress had become something more to Alex than just a dissenter. She had become a friend.

  ~ * ~

  Alex sat on the ground outside the main cave. She sighted down the inside of her telum, making sure it was clean and clear, then reloaded her kagi. Tonight was it. She’d leave at full dark with Gryf, Nicky, Graig, Alta, LaShawn and K’rona. The final group.

  I’m going to miss this place. Around her, the others prepared for departure. The late afternoon sun was warm, the atmosphere subdued. Nicky sat a short distance from her sharpening his knife. He had grown up. Become a man through circumstance. And she was so proud of that man, although her heart grieved for the abrupt loss of his youth.

  “Miss Alex?” Thin, pale freckled arms snaked around Alex’s neck from behind, and a bright red head pressed against hers. Ah, Flora. And where Flora was…. Maggie slipped into Alex’s lap and snuggled. This was one of life’s happy moments. If only she could cling to it for all of eternity. Holding these girls in her arms brought her peace and contentment, and she could almost forget what lay ahead. Almost.

  “Hey, girls.” She kissed each of their heads.

  “I wish you didn’t have to leave,” Flora declared, her voice small and sad.

  “I know.” Alex swallowed against the lump in her throat. “Me too. I will miss you both.”

  “Maggie wants to know if you’ll come back. I told her you would.”

  Since Maggie had yet to utter a word, it wasn’t a stretch to figure out which of them really wanted to know.

  “I hope so, Maggie.” She wasn’t going to make promises, not about this. The girls would know it rang false anyway, and they deserved better than that.

  Flora snuggled against her side, and Alex drew her into the protective circle of her arm. “You girls listen to Miss Li-Min, Grandma Beck and the other adults who are staying behind, okay?”

  “Except for Mr. Trimble,” Flora said. “We know he’s a bad man.” Maggie nodded vigorously.

  Alex stroked Maggie’s dark curls. “He’s not bad really, he’s just scared. Sometimes people make wrong choices when they’re scared. Captain Gryf and the rest of us will do everything we can to get his daughter back to him.”

  “Will that make him not scared again?”

  “He will be better.” But never not scared. James Trimble would live in fear for his daughter’s life until the day he died.

  “At least he has his family still.” Flora’s blue eyes tracked K’rona as the Anferthian woman walked the perimeter of the gathered Terrians and Matirans.

  It was time to plant another seed. “We are lucky to have K’rona and her dissenters, Flora. With all the information they’ve given us, and the risks they’ve taken...our attack on the slaver would not be possible without their help.”

  Flora remained silent, just as Alex expected. Would her words germinate and take root in the young girl’s mind?

  “Look, Miss Alex.” Flora pointed up at a dark spot making lazy circles above the camp. “Is that a bald eagle?”

  Alex blinked, and a slow sense of wonder filled her. “It sure is, Flora.”

  If there was such a thing as a good omen, this was it. Five minutes later, the bird of prey disappeared beyond a stand of pines, and the girls excused themselves to finish saying their goodbyes to the other adults.

  Alex studied the deep alpine-blue sky. Somewhere not too far away, the Matiran Defense Fleet lay in wait for their signal. It was wishful thinking that everything would go perfectly. Glitches were inevitable, and once the attack began, there would be no going back.

  And no time to grieve the fallen until it was over.

  But she was a warrior for her people now. A scared warrior. How did Gryf, Ora and Graig deal with the gnawing fear? Or Gunner and his platoon? They were all trained soldiers, so they must have their ways. Little rituals, maybe? Good luck charms? A lot of prayer?

  “Miss Alex?”

  Alex turned her head toward the small voice. Juan stood a few steps from her. This brave little boy had never known a family. He’d been a foster child until the Anferthians unwittingly freed him from the system. What would happen to him if they were successful in routing the invaders?

  Juan’s bottom lip trembled. Oh! She opened her arms, and he collapsed into her embrace.

  “We’ve been through a lot together, haven’t we?” Her hand stroked his dark hair as she rocked him.

  Juan’s head nodded against her shoulder. “I’m sorry, Miss Alex.”

  She tilted her head to one side and frowned. “For what?”

&
nbsp; “For what happened in the meadow.”

  There were tears in his voice, and she pushed him back far enough to make eye contact. “That was not your fault, Juan. You were tricked, and I’m not angry with you. In fact, I’m very relieved that you’re safe.”

  He nodded and sniffled, but doubt lingered in his eyes. What could she say or do to convince him?

  Nothing.

  “Promise me one thing.” She waited for him to nod again. “Don’t blame yourself. You are a good person, and you’re going to grow up into a fine young man. I want you to focus on growing up to be that man, okay?”

  “I will, Miss Alex,” he promised. “Will you be careful too?”

  “You have my word, Juan.”

  He leaned in again, and she hugged him close.

  Chapter Thirty

  Alex gazed at the gold and orange wisps of clouds glowing in sunset. Their first day at Silver Valley Mine had been grueling. Plans reviewed, revised and reviewed again ad nauseam. Assignments dispersed, weapons cleaned and loaded, target practice. The quiet and solitude of the Sierra foothills, and the toasty warmth from the rock under her bottom, were her reward for the tedium.

  But even though her day was done, Gryf’s wasn’t—not by a long shot. When she’d left him an hour ago, he’d had a strange gleam in his eyes as Mitch explained how gel pack explosives worked. One corner of her mouth twitched. Guys and blowing stuff up—a universal phenomenon.

  There wasn’t much else to do but make herself comfortable while she waited.

  She raised her eyes. The first stars already twinkled in the purple-blue sky above. What was it like out there in space? Would she get a chance to see it for herself?

  The hair at back of her neck prickled. Someone was close by, and it wasn’t Gryf. She turned her head to look over her shoulder. Moises Alexander, San Francisco resistance leader extraordinaire, stood several yards from her, his face raised to view the stars. She’d met him after she’d arrived this morning, and had been impressed with his humble demeanor. For a man who’d pulled nearly a hundred people out from under the Anferthians’ noses, he seemed so calm. The man was a freaking hero, yet his attitude and appearance weren’t at all super-heroesque. He was probably in his early fifties. Definitely Latino in heritage. Trim, but not tall—a good couple of inches shorter than herself, in fact. Handsome, with a deep tan and salt-and-pepper hair brushed back from his face.