Kyros: #12 (Luna Lodge)

by Madison Stevens

  For about an hour, they had gone back and forth before she was given an ultimatum. Raise the grade or find a different job. She decided she’d keep the grade and find a different job.

  Though she didn’t think of herself as super-stubborn normally, some things just crossed the line of right and wrong. She only hoped she was wrong about the military asking her to do something that would go against her conscience.

  Jasmine watched as the two women stepped into the room. At least the colonel had the decency to give an apologetic smile. She assumed the colonel had about as much say in this whole thing as she did.

  Sure, she was military, but Jasmine doubted that she wanted to spend her evening checking out the new teacher.

  A faint unease set into her stomach. Given some of the events of the past, it might be that the military believed that Jasmine was some sort of crazy spy or anti-hybrid terrorist. She’d given some references when she applied and assumed they’d already checked that sort of thing out, though.

  They military women sat on the couch as she settled into an armchair.

  For a moment, she considered offering something to drink but stopped herself. There was no reason she needed to make them comfortable. Her evening was the one being invaded, and she didn’t want this to last any longer than it needed to.

  She picked up her mug of tea carefully and took a sip as the two women waited. After a moment, she set the cup back down.

  “Good evening,” Jasmine said.

  The colonel watched her carefully, as if taking in both her words and her actions.

  Jasmine didn’t know a lot about the Army, but colonel was a fairly high rank. She had to assume this woman had more than a little experience judging people.

  Though, unlike the other day, Jasmine had time to do some watching of her own. The colonel was older than she first thought.

  Up close, she could make out the fine lines of age and guessed the woman must be pushing fifty if not a little over. Her dark curly hair was cut in such a way that it didn’t have the bounce she would expect with curls. Everything was just a bit subdued.

  Though maybe that was due to military requirements. She wasn’t sure.

  “I wasn’t able to formally introduce myself the other day,” the colonel said with a stiff sort of smile. “I am Colonel Maria Hall, and this is my assistant Staff Sergeant Wendy Morris.”

  The other woman was quite a bit younger. Her soft blonde hair was pulled back into a braid, but Jasmine could see little wisps that had slipped out, framing her face.

  Again, the colonel offered another apologetic smile.

  “It’s very nice to meet you both,” Jasmine said politely.

  She wasn’t exactly sure what else she was supposed to say. It wasn’t like she asked them to stop by. This wasn’t exactly a friendly visit. Maybe the only way to end this awkward hell was to just be direct.

  “So what can I do for you?” she asked, hoping it sounded direct, but polite.

  It wouldn’t do her any good pissing off the head honcho around there. She imagined even if Titus liked her that Colonel Hall could make things very unpleasant.

  “I wanted to talk to you sooner than later, but it has come to our attention that you were out past curfew the other night,” the colonel said bluntly.

  Jasmine shrugged. “I was working on the lesson plans for the coming weeks and setting up my classroom. I’ve… not lived anywhere that had a curfew for a long time, so I suppose it slipped my mind.”

  The colonel nodded, but Jasmine noticed her assistant recording what was said into a notebook.

  “I like to keep a tight ship around here,” the colonel said, sitting a little taller. “We have rules for a reason, and I expect that the people under my command will follow my orders.”

  Jasmine frowned. “I’m not under your command,” she said flatly. “I was hired by Titus.”

  The colonel narrowed her eyes a bit. “Who is under my command at the moment.”

  Oh, hell no. She wasn’t about to let this go so easily.

  “I’m not in the Army.” She crossed her arms. “Are you saying that as an American citizen working in a private job that I am under the control of the military, and have to obey your orders?”

  The colonel paused for a moment, as if looking to pick her words very carefully. Jasmine kept a smile off her face. She knew her rights, and she respected the military, but she also wasn’t going to let the colonel push her around.

  “There are many dangers to this place right now, both external and internal,” the colonel said. “It is my duty to make sure you are well protected.” She blew out a shallow breath. “And those that follow my rules are given special consideration. I don’t think that’s unreasonable.”

  And there it was. The root of it all.

  The colonel sat back a little. “You see, we all have a role to play in the safety of the people here and outside these walls,” she said, training her eyes on Jasmine. “There are always exceptions to every rule. Sometimes those exceptions can even be a needed thing to help uphold safety. And all I want to do is uphold safety.”

  If they were doing to do this dance, then Jasmine wanted the colonel to be blunt as possible. She didn’t want her claiming she didn’t mean something later.

  Jasmine frowned. “I’m not sure I’m following you.”

  “You need to understand that I’m not unreasonable.” The colonel sat up. “I realize that some days you might need to work late or visit your students. If, on those nights, you happen to see something unusual, you let me know. Or maybe if one of your students says something odd, you follow up on that. The best way to stop people from getting hurt is to make sure problems are taken care of before they can get worse.”

  Jasmine couldn’t help but let her mouth drop open a little. They wanted to use a school teacher to spy on the hybrids.

  The thought of betraying their trust made her stomach roil. Surely, there couldn’t be anything that bad that they could get up to. From what she’d seen and heard, it seemed like the colonel should be concentrating more on the nutjob protestors or the Horatius Group, especially now that she knew they’d invaded and killed children.

  “You,” the colonel said, leaning in a little, “you haven’t seen anything, have you?”

  Her mind went to the sexy hybrid from the other night. That was what the colonel was hoping for. Information about what the hybrids were doing. And information about whether the hybrids were defying the military.

  Jasmine shook her head. She didn’t like violence, and nothing she had seen indicated anyone was up to something bad. There was no way she was turning someone in for just being out late.

  It was ridiculous the hybrids had to live under such control. They had to live as prisoners of the Horatius Group and deserved freedom, not more control.

  “Good,” the colonel said. “So as long as you make sure to tell me what you see, your restrictions will be lightened. Remember, no clock will work if one of the gears isn’t moving.”

  Jasmine gave her a weak nod but said nothing.

  The colonel stood, the other woman close behind.

  Slightly numb, Jasmine stood and walked them to the door.

  They stepped outside and turned around.

  “Thank you for you time,” the colonel said.

  Jasmine nodded again, still not trusting her own voice.

  The two women stepped away quickly as she shut the door behind them. When it was closed, she stood there for a moment in shock.

  Somehow she was now a spy, as well as a teacher, and she wasn’t really sure which job was more difficult.

  Chapter Nine

  Fuck. This was not the headspace where Kyros needed to be. Hell, being knee-deep in Glycons would have been preferable.

  He had spent the last few days making sure to stay away from the Lodge after he’d helped himself in the shower and pretty much every other chance he thought about Jasmine.

  Just her name summoned a yearning, and even after he took c
are of it himself, it didn’t seem to go away.

  Instead, it felt like it was slowly building up. Eventually, he’d not be able to think of anything but her.

  He didn’t have the time to get distracted. For that matter, the rest of the hybrids didn’t have the time for him to get distracted by memories of Jasmine’s lips and smell.

  Even now he could feel himself getting hard, and it only pissed him off more. A growl escaped his mouth. All he needed to do was wait for a better time. Any time but right at that moment when he wasn’t even supposed to exist, when the threat of the military ending their freedom didn’t hang over their heads.

  Kyros made his way to Sol’s house through the tunnel and waited at the bottom of the ladder to the trap door. If he didn’t come up, he couldn’t give himself the chance to even go by and see her.

  The door flipped open. He tensed at the sight of Titus rather than Sol.

  “Something’s wrong,” Kyros said more than asked.

  Titus nodded and moved closer to the opening. “Is the passage under my place still blocked?”

  Kyros frowned. It had been last week. Some sort of cave-in. It wasn’t that surprising. These tunnels dated back decades, and hadn’t been maintained in as long. It was almost a miracle that they didn’t require a whole team to clear them out.

  The frustrating part was that he’d encountered several cave-ins, but they were mostly from just the earth giving away, rather than solid rock. If he had three spare men and some actual equipment, he could make quick work of the messes, but that wasn’t likely to happen anytime soon.

  “What’s going on?” Kyros asked.

  Titus nodded in the general direction of his house. “I’ve been hearing noises,” he said. “It’s not an animal. Too big for that.”

  Kyros looked down the dark tunnel that led to the passage. “You think it’s the Horatius Group?”

  Titus sighed loudly. “I think if it were Glycons, we’d know,” he said. “But that doesn’t mean those bastards don’t have some new tricks up their sleeves. Things have been really quiet with the Group recently. Who knows what they are up to?” He nodded once, frowning. “Truth is, it doesn’t matter. I need you to check it out. We can’t have the military cutting off our only way out of here. If someone or something is running around the tunnels and not trying to hide itself, it’s going to catch their attention sooner or later.”

  “I’m on it,” he said and gave a nod.

  If anything, at least it gave him an immediate task to concentrate on. Maybe he could finally push Jasmine out of his mind and regain some semblance of self-control.

  Titus moved to shut the door and stopped half way. “She was asking about you.”

  Fuck. So much for concentration.

  Kyros froze. He didn’t know if he should be scared or excited. Just leaving the flowers had been a big risk.

  “What did she ask about exactly?”

  “About flowers left by a K. The boys told her that the only hybrid with a K name died in the Glycon attack.” Titus sighed.

  Kyros scrubbed a hand across his face. He’d been stupid and careless.

  “I’m not going to tell you not to see her,” Titus said. “Hell, I don’t think it’s fucking possible with the way we react, but they are watching her.”

  A growl escaped Kyros before he even knew it. How dare the fucking military harass Jasmine. He sucked in a breath.

  No. Control. He needed control. Kyros looked up at Titus.

  “Hall paid her a visit. Likely asking for her help,” Titus said. “She’s granting her permission to stay at the school past curfew, but she’s likely expecting information on us.”

  “And you think Jasmine will sell us out?”

  “Don’t know. It doesn’t feel like that, but just make sure you know what you’re walking into with this.”

  “It doesn’t matter.” Kyros grunted. “I don’t have time to go falling in love. I have a job to do.”

  Titus let out a loud laugh. “Isn’t that the truth for all of us?” he said. He shrugged. “Until the Group is destroyed, we’ll always be targets. We can’t live for tomorrow by ignoring today. And just remember, love might complicate things, but in all the right ways.’’

  Kyros swallowed hard. How could he resist Jasmine when his own leader was basically telling him to go for her?

  He wanted to just give in to his emotions, but he wasn’t like the rest. If he let his heart win, they might all lose in the end. He just couldn’t let that happen, no matter what Titus said. Besides, Jasmine was safe where she was. Nowhere near him was safe at that moment.

  “I’ll see what’s going on,” Kyros said. “I’ll let you know if it’s something we need to be concerned about.”

  Titus nodded and closed the door overhead, shutting out the light.

  Despite that, Kyros still made his way through the tunnel with ease. His superior vision allowing him to navigate without too much concern. Sure, he couldn’t pick out every fine detail, but it was good enough for walking.

  Kyros moved through the winding tunnels, slowing as he reached the spot near Titus’s house.

  Yesterday, there’d been a pile of rock and dirt. He frowned.

  It was empty. No pile, no cave-in. Not even a sign of a cave-in.

  The whole damn thing had been fixed. It was like someone came in there with machinery and cleaned it all up with no problem at all.

  That didn’t make any sense. He had a hard time believing the military did it without rushing over to Titus and accusing him of plotting something.

  He took a deep breath. With the major options eliminated, that strongly suggested that it might be the Horatius Group.

  Kyros moved with caution now, carefully examining the area. Clean and clear. They didn’t just move some dirt around. They had moved each stone out piece by piece. The project took effort, time, and concentration.

  Kyros listened for a few moments. Nothing unexpected reached his ears. Quietly he slipped farther into the tunnel and turned down a path he had never ventured before.

  He’d explored the tunnels before, but the path had been blocked off in his initial forays, even before the cave-in near Titus’s place. He had been more focused on what was available for their use than worrying about complete mapping.

  The seconds passed, then the minutes. A scent reached his nose. Fresh air. He knew an opening must be ahead.

  As he traveled, he kept alert, waiting for something to come out of the darkness: a soldier or a Glycon.

  A small opening appeared overhead. He looked back and forth. He wasn’t at the end of this passage, as it extended off in darkness. There could be more openings for all he knew.

  He reached up and pulled himself up into a small room.

  He listened for a moment, and when nothing moved, Kyros went to the wall and flicked on the light. He needed to verify he was where he thought he was.

  He cursed.

  It took a moment for his eyes to adjust after being in total darkness, from both the building and the cloak of night outside. This wasn’t some random place or abandoned mining shack. This was one of their main equipment sheds.

  He glanced out the window and could see just how far he was from Titus’s house. Whoever had done this could get inside the walls of Luna Lodge. Or maybe they were inside, trying to get out?

  He considered the possibilities again. Maybe one of the hybrids had gotten worried and tried to find a way out. Unlikely, but possible.

  Still, whoever had done this would have needed to know what was under the Lodge. They would need to know there was a way to get out and that they wouldn’t be stuck wandering in the darkness for days.

  He shook his head. It didn’t make sense. None of it did. If the military was doing this, they would have been guarding this spot. And yet there wasn’t a soldier in sight.

  He flicked off the light and pulled out a small flashlight from his pocket. Going back and forth had messed with his eyes. His night vision was good, but now he wanted
and needed to be able to make out maximum detail.

  Kyros hopped back into the hole. Maybe he could find more clues at the mining house. There were general maps of the tunnels that had been drawn up. None were up to date, but maybe there was something he was missing.

  First, though, there was the rest of the passage to explore. The answers might lie at its end.

  Chapter Ten

  It was Mr. Mystery. Jasmine was certain it was. She hadn’t been so sure of something in a long time.

  So what if it had been a shadow of a face across a field. So what if she couldn’t totally make it out. That didn’t shake her belief.

  Maybe it was irrational, but it was almost like she could feel that it was him, maybe even smell that it was him. She could have sworn she’d detected hints of his woodsy scent, but she was also willing to admit she might be imagining that detail.

  She let out a long sigh. If only he’d come closer and wasn’t in a field far away from her.

  It had been days since she’d seen Mr. Mystery. In fact, nothing much of anything had happened during the last few days besides school.

  She’d worried after the little visit by Colonel Hall that the military would be paying a lot more attention to her, but they’d kept their word and left her alone. The night patrols tolerated her presence in the few days she’d worked at the school after curfew, even if one night they’d still insisted on checking the building thoroughly, just in case.

  The lack of Mr. Mystery or Spy Master Colonel left only school to take all her attention. Not that she wasn’t loving school.

  Jasmine loved teaching the kids. Everything about it was engaging in all the ways she had hoped it would be when she’d gotten into the profession. She realized that their different background was also helping to educate her. Even if she left the job after just this week, she felt she was already a better teacher for it.

  She still couldn’t help the yearning that pulled at her. The more she tried to concentrate only on school, the more Mr. Mystery’s face sneaked into her mind.

  The thought of his lips on hers sent a zip to her center. Her cheeks heated. She was lusting over a man she barely knew.