by J. C. Diem
Kendricks followed closely behind her. When they were outside, they stepped off the path onto the grass. “Go in and watch Loki and his allies from a safe distance,” Lexi instructed her minion. “If you see the opportunity to take a shot at Loki, do it. If you find yourself in danger, return here.”
Nodding once, Kendricks saluted her. She returned his salute, then he sank into the ground. A guard held the door open for her. Using the speed that her vampire aspect gave her, she returned to the Boardroom a few moments after Kendricks emerged inside Vegas.
They watched the monitor as the view on Kendricks’ camera showed them the glittering city. Humans were fleeing in every direction with Grimgorg warriors and Frost Giants chasing after them. Some civilians and police officers were fighting back. A blast of ice was enough to end their resistance. A few large blue bodies lay on the ground sporting holes in their heads or bodies. Puddles had formed around their slowly melting forms. It seemed the Frost Giants could be killed by normal bullets. A few Grimgorg soldiers had also fallen during the battle.
Searching the area, Kendricks saw a small ice palace on a frozen lake and trotted towards it. When he drew closer, he slowed to a walk and hid behind a parked car to keep watch as he’d been instructed.
Loki was hunkered next to a stack of silver mirrors. His expression was intent as he imbued them with magic. Once blue light began to pulse from the edges, he placed it on a stack to his right. The Grimgorg king sat on his bronze throne, looking bored. The leader of the Frost Giants stood next to the palace, soaking up the frigid air. Both of them were staring at the werecat that lay on the warm ground next to the lake of ice. Her light blue eyes were fixed on her master. Her tail twitched slightly, as if she knew neither of the aliens trusted her.
Seeing that he would never have a better chance of taking a shot at Loki, Kendricks took the gun out of his pocket. Back at the PIA headquarters, everyone held their breath as Kendricks aimed. Looking through her minion’s eyes, Lexi lent him her expertize. Her father had taught her everything he knew. Her accuracy with a handgun was exceptional even at a distance of several hundred yards. Her minion fired and she knew the shot was good. Her lips curved upwards in anticipation, but her smile evaporated when the bullet hit an invisible barrier only millimeters away from its target.
“Uh oh,” Kala breathed when their foe’s head whipped around. His gaze settled on Kendricks and he stood fluidly. The Asgardian was standing in front of the zombie before he even had a chance to sink into the ground.
“I have a bad feeling about this,” Flynn said when Loki’s hands clamped down on the zombie’s shoulders and he stared into his eyes.
“So do I,” Lexi said in trepidation. Zeus materialized beside her as he sensed danger approaching. Then another mind invaded hers and she lost the ability to speak.
~~~
Chapter Nineteen
~~~ Alpha World ~~~
Moving slowly towards their destination, the Viltaran mothership reached Texas long before nightfall. Invisible and undetectable, it hovered high above the city. The citizens had no idea they were about to be invaded.
News had spread about the attack on New York. So many people had tried to flee from the country that riots had broken out at the airports. Foreign countries had closed their borders and were hunkering down in defense. Left with no means to escape other than to drive to Mexico or Canada, most Americans had reluctantly returned to their homes during the past few days.
The military hadn’t put any procedures in place to deal with an alien invasion. Their jets and other weaponry had proven to be ineffective so far. Their only other option would be to unleash nuclear missiles, but they were understandably reluctant to do so. They’d seen time and again that any resistance was dealt with swiftly and harshly. From the footage they’d seen, the captives weren’t being harmed. They were simply being collared and taken away. The fate of the civilians who were turned into horrible clones was far worse. There was no help for them and they were effectively doomed.
Looking at Dallas on a monitor from the bridge of the mothership, it was greener than Bianca had expected. It seemed Texas wasn’t as arid as she’d thought. For now, the civilians were huddled inside their homes, waiting for the apocalypse to arrive. Pandemonium would break out the moment the invaders showed themselves. Then the screaming and fleeing would begin all over again.
When the last rays of light left the sky, Uldar unleashed a deadly ring of gas around the city. He wanted his allies to see that he didn’t need to rely on the Grimgorgs’ magical dome to control a large population. Moving in a wide arc just outside the city limits, he blanketed the area in a toxic yellow cloud. It hung heavy in the air and it wouldn’t dissipate until long after the inhabitants had been rounded up.
Loki and Rho exchanged frowns. Neither could hide their annoyance at Uldar’s highhanded decision to use his own method to take control of this city.
“Keep your distance from the gas,” Uldar warned them. “Unless you wish to suffer and die horribly.” His personal droid translated in both Grimgorg and English so Loki’s pet human would also be able to understand him. He took pleasure in seeing the feeble human’s fear.
Loki noted the look of pure hatred that Bianca flashed his ally. Strangely, her hands were hovering near her hips, as if seeking invisible weapons. “Thank you for the warning,” he said in a slightly mocking tone. He didn’t need to breathe in the gas to know it was highly poisonous. The Viltaran overlord had already explained how the substance worked. Loki was irked that he hadn’t been consulted before Uldar had used it. Their plan had been for King Rho and his shamans to use their dome to pen in the humans this time. The magical shield would apparently be able to withstand even nuclear missiles.
Perhaps Uldar was flexing his proverbial muscles to show off how powerful he was. Apparently, destroying the bridges in Manhattan hadn’t been a strong enough message. Or maybe Uldar’s ego outweighed his common sense. If this was the case, it would explain why most of their population had killed each other off, leaving only a small number of them behind.
Their urge to wage war and dominate was even stronger than he’d realized. Perhaps it had been a bad idea to form an alliance with the Viltarans. Unfortunately, it was far too late to break their deal now. He was stuck with them until the bitter end.
Bianca couldn’t tear her eyes away from the screen. Dallas was completely surrounded by a yellow cloud. As tiny as ants, people were fleeing towards the center of the city to escape from it. Anyone who couldn’t outrun the fog fell and didn’t rise again.
“Bianca,” Loki said impatiently and she realized he’d been calling her name. He made an imperious gesture and she followed him from the bridge, wheeling her suitcase behind her. Uldar and his personal droid were already gone. The Viltarans would lead the assault against humanity this time.
When they reached the hangar that held the transport ships, Loki exchanged a nod with King Rho. They were both well aware of how dangerous Uldar and his kin were. Their mutual wariness meant they were more likely to stick together against their powerful foes. Uldar respected their magic, which was probably the only thing that was preventing him from turning on them.
Betrayal was inevitable. Time would tell which of them would be victorious in the end. Loki intended to be the last man standing, with a vast army of slaves to do his bidding. Once his allies were out of the picture, he would have the Grimgorg portals, Viltaran ships and their nanobot weapons at his disposal.
Striding over to one of the ships, Loki rudely pushed his way through a group of Grimgorg soldiers to climb on board. Seeing the glares that were directed at his back, Bianca followed in his wake. The hideous green minions would turn on him in an instant if they no longer thought they needed him.
All the chairs were taken, but Loki stared coldly at a soldier until he wisely vacated his seat. Hoisting himself up onto the far too large chair, Loki held his hand out to Bianca. Unsure what he intended to do, she hesitantly took his hand
, then let out a startled gasp when he pulled her up onto his lap. His grin was mischievous and his wink took her breath away. He pulled her back against him and buckled them in and she held in a hysterical snigger. She’d heard of Stockholm Syndrome, where the captives fell for their captors, but she’d never imagined she would ever suffer from it herself. Why else would she find him so frightening, yet so irresistible?
Glancing down at her suitcase, it looked almost forlorn sitting on the floor. It reminded her of a faithful hound that had been abandoned by its master. She shifted to make herself more comfortable on Loki’s hard leather armor. His arm settled around her middle to hold her still. “Stop squirming around, or you might give me ideas,” he said in a low voice. She froze and he chuckled in amusement.
Loki knew he shouldn’t torment the poor girl, but it was in his nature to be perverse. Fate’s order to keep Bianca Caldwell safe was chafing on him. Following commands had never been his strong suit. He railed against being controlled. In this instance, he needed to fight his instincts to disobey.
They only had to wait a few minutes for their turn to depart from the mothership. The droid that was piloting their vessel followed the others down to the city. They landed in the middle of a road, forcing the small amount of traffic to come to a screeching halt. Aware that they would soon be facing the Apocalypse, few people had been brave enough to leave their homes.
When the hatch opened, Loki wrinkled his nose in distaste at the faint smell that wafted from the edges of Dallas. Even a small whiff of the toxic gas was enough to disturb his senses. He could now see why some cities on Viltar had been deserted when he and Rho had spied on the planet through a portal. Nothing could survive in an environment that had been subjected to this noisome substance.
Bianca’s stomach churned when she smelled rotten eggs, or something even worse. She clapped a hand over her nose while Loki extricated them from the harness that had been holding them in place. The Grimgorg soldiers showed no reaction to the poison. Their planet stank almost as badly as the gas and they didn’t seem to be affected by it.
Terrified screams came from the people who had witnessed their arrival. Panic instantly began to spread. Civilians fled from their homes as Viltarans, Kveet and human clones, droids and the Grimgorg left the transport ships.
Uldar roared a challenge that echoed throughout the entire neighborhood. His inhuman bellow was taken up by his kin as they spread out to hunt. Savages despite their technological advances, the Viltarans would need to satiate their desire to kill. Only after their urge to rend and tear had faded would they begin converting the populace into clones.
Tiny, yet ferocious, the Kveet clones swarmed over anyone who was too slow to outrun them. They could strip a body down to bone in seconds. The much larger human clones tended to tear limbs off and eat them like wings that had been torn from a roast chicken. The droids felt no emotion and had already begun shooting nanobot darts at the fleeing humans.
Meanwhile, Rho and his army were capturing and collaring more slaves and sending them to Asgard. They didn’t have the technology to control the robots or clones. They would have to rely on humans to help them conquer the worlds they had either spied on through their portals, or the planets that Loki would sacrifice to them.
Freezing at the frighteningly familiar sound of animalistic bellows, Bianca huddled as close to Loki as she could get. He glanced down at her, but he didn’t push her away as she’d expected him to. Instead, he bent down and grabbed her suitcase, then took her by the elbow and escorted her down the ramp.
Loki shimmered, then his leather outfit was replaced by the black suit, shirt and tie that he’d worn in New York to help him blend in. While his magic could keep him safe from bullets, Bianca didn’t have that protection. It wouldn’t be wise to draw attention to themselves. Now that he was in disguise, they looked like a normal couple.
Bianca hurried to keep up with Loki as he strode towards the heart of Dallas. She’d never been here before and it was hard to take anything in as they rushed along the sidewalk. Civilians fled, screaming in terror. More than a few were fighting back and gunfire sounded from every direction. The cacophony added an even more nightmarish quality to the invasion.
A Viltaran roared in pain when he was hit in the side. Holding what looked like a remote control for a futuristic television, he fired a ray at a haphazardly parked car. Violet light flared, blinding Bianca momentarily as Loki drew her into a recessed doorway. Blinking white spots away, she saw that the car had disintegrated. The rebellious humans hiding behind the vehicle were left exposed. The Viltaran’s attention was on his weapon and he seemed to be making an adjustment to it. Panicking, the humans opened fire again and the hulking alien went down with multiple bullets to the head.
Two droids who had accompanied the alien fired their nanobot guns at the offending men. Darts full of yellow fluid flew through the air. In seconds, the rebels became gray skinned, red eyed monsters.
Loki prepared to use his magic to defend himself and his ward when the ravenous clones turned towards them. Before he could blast them with a spell, Uldar trotted into view and barked a command in his guttural language. “Not those two,” he ordered. “Hunt down the other humans and bring them to me.”
Bianca trembled in fear even after the newly converted clones turned and loped away. If Loki hadn’t been with her, she would have either been torn apart and eaten, or turned into a monster. She hated being his captive, but she was also grateful that he was keeping her alive. He sent her a significant look. It was a silent reminder that she would remain safe as long as she stayed with him. She nodded in wordless agreement and they continued their trek. She had no idea where they were going, but he seemed to have a destination in mind.
With a lingering look at the pair, Uldar loped off to continue his hunt. He wasn’t about to let his pets have the honor of defeating the Asgardian. Loki was reserved for him. The girl could watch on while he tore her master to shreds. He would need a snack afterwards. After all, killing his foes always made him hungry.
~~~
Chapter Twenty
~~~ Lexi’s World ~~~
Feeling hostile eyes on his back again, Loki knew he was in danger even before a shot rang out. The invisible magical barrier he used to shield himself with didn’t fail him. It stopped the projectile that had been aimed at his head. Turning, he saw a man standing about three hundred yards away. Even from a distance, he knew there was something very wrong with the human.
His wereleopard guardian sprang to her feet and arched her back. She let out a menacing hiss, but he decided to handle this threat himself. Using magic to move with astonishing speed, he crossed to his attacker and clamped his hands down on his shoulders. Up this close, he could see that the blond man wasn’t breathing. His flesh beneath his dirty black suit was cold. He was undead, just like the corpses that had been reanimated by the Viltarans’ strange technology so long ago.
Staring into the lifeless eyes of the corpse, he sensed someone watching him through the zombie. The presence was female and she was somehow linked to this minion. Latching onto her thoughts, Loki felt a kinship with her. It seemed she was a shapeshifter, but she was different from the wereleopard. If she could control the dead, then she had to be a necromancer as well as a shifter.
Being one of his creatures meant he was her rightful master. Seizing hold of the shifter’s mind, he took control of her and delved inside. “You must be Lexi,” he said out loud and into her head. “Where is your other half? Reece, I believe is his name.” Her head turned and he saw through her just like she had with the zombie. She was surrounded by shapeshifters, the undead and what looked like random humans. The man she thought of as her mate stood next to her. Young and handsome, Reece was frowning. Loki was keeping him out of Lexi’s thoughts. He wasn’t aware of the danger they were all in yet.
Rummaging through her mind, he saw that she and her mate were indeed supreme alphas. They were linked to all the shifters in this count
ry. Through her, he could sense his pet leopard and other shapeshifters in Las Vegas. Testing Lexi’s strength, he used her to send out a mental call. His leopard was the alpha, or rex, of a pride of werecats living right here in Vegas. She’d instructed her pride to remain in hiding, but now they were compelled to find him.
Lexi struggled against the hold he had over her mind, but she was his creation and his supremacy held sway. He could sense other powers within her mind and wondered how he could exploit them. For now, he would focus on his shifters. Sending a pulse of power through her, he used her link to connect with every shapeshifter in the country. “Transform,” he commanded them. Mental howls, yips, screeches and other animal noises sounded as their true master’s order forced them to change before it was the full moon. “Come to me,” he ordered next. They would have no choice but to obey him now.
Releasing his hold on Lexi, he saw that his summons had already brought the rest of the wereleopard’s pride to him. Eleven more werecats took up sentry duty. While he was distracted, the zombie took the opportunity to escape. He stepped off the sidewalk and disappeared into the soil without a trace. It was a neat trick and Loki intended to learn how to use himself. Once Lexi and her mate arrived, he would examine her necromantic abilities in far greater detail.
King Rho and General Kretu exchanged wary looks. If they’d known Loki could call on supernatural creatures to be his guardians, they would have rethought their plan to become his allies. Clearly, he wasn’t going to be as easy to dispatch now once they no longer had need of his magic.
Returning to the stack of portals that still needed to be changed to doorways, Loki made no effort to hide his smug grin. He was well aware of how unsettled the Grimgorg and Frost Giants were. He was far more powerful than they’d anticipated. These twelve beasts were just a small fraction of the army he would soon have at his beck and call.