Roxi sat quietly as Odintar pressed his fingertips against her temples. Elias, on the other hand, looked ready to dive over the chair and tackle Odintar to the ground.
“Wow.” Roxie blinked several times and then opened her eyes. “What did you just do? The pain is just—gone.”
“Pressure points,” Odintar told her. “Western doctors scoff at the concept, but they really do work.”
Roxie didn’t argue, but she wasn’t totally convinced. She stood, swaying a bit as she walked over to Jett. “Go cancel the rest of the appointments for today. I don’t think either of us is fit to work.”
“You got it.”
He disappeared into the back and she turned on Odintar, gaze flashing. “What the hell are you?”
“What am I?” He laughed, genuinely caught off guard by her hostility. “I’m a human. What are you?”
“Humans can’t materialize out of thin air or heal with a touch. And it wasn’t just you. I saw the others. Don’t bother denying it. I know what I saw.”
“The weapon Nazerel used on you can cause hallucinations,” Odintar told her.
“All right. Let’s talk about whatever kicked in my head. Why didn’t it work on you?” When he had no ready reply, she shifted her gaze to Elias. “I’ve had it with this bullshit. Who are you people and what are you doing on my planet!”
Lor flashed into view behind her, wrapped both arms around her, and flashed out before she could do more than gasp.
Jillian looked at Odintar. “Did you tell him to do that?”
“She has to be debriefed and likely kept in protective custody until we figure out what the hell Nazerel was talking about.”
Elias nodded, obviously in complete agreement. “Tell Jett she left with me.” He motioned his men from the room, leaving Jillian and Odintar alone in the reception area.
“That was not cool. She was terrified and now—”
“It couldn’t be helped.” Odintar placed his hands on her shoulders and kissed the tip of her nose. “I don’t think Jett saw anything, but Roxie obviously did. The situation had to be contained before she made things worse.”
Jett returned a few minutes later, his concerned gaze sweeping the room. “Where’d everyone go? Where’s Roxie?”
“Her headache got worse,” Jillian told him. “They have a medication that reverses the effects. She’ll be released as soon as she’s feeling better.”
“Where’d they take her? I want to make sure she’s okay.”
“We’ll have her call you as soon as she’s able,” Odintar told him.
“No way, man. I want to go there.”
“I understand, but it’s a private facility. No visitors allowed.”
“This is bullshit!” He stomped right up to Odintar and glared into his eyes. “You’re going to take me there or I’m calling the media.”
“Roxi will call you in two hours or less. There is no reason for your hostility.”
The pissing contest was getting them nowhere. She touched Jett’s arm and waited until her looked at her. “Jett, you know me. I’m not a stranger. I have a history with this town. Roxi is going to be fine.”
Gradually a bit of the fight melted from his posture. “Do you know where they took her?”
“I know you’re worried about her, but I won’t let anyone harm her.” She looked right into his eyes, meaning every word. “I’ll make sure she calls you and you can hear it from Roxie herself.”
“It has to be a video call. Voices are too easy to fake.”
She looked at Odintar and he nodded. “A video call in two hours or less. It’s a deal.”
“I really will call the media.” He crossed his arms over his chest and glared at Odintar.
“There will not be a need.”
She took Odintar by the hand and hurried him from the shop before the situation could escalate. “And what are we going to do when Roxie tells us to go screw ourselves?”
He finally smiled. “We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”
Jillian triggered the locks on her car then slipped in behind the wheel. Odintar joined her, in the front this time. “Do you know how to drive?”
“I do, but I don’t mind. I gave myself a headache too.”
After carefully backing out of the parking space, she headed off down the street. She couldn’t forget the image of Roxie’s terrified face as Lor appeared out of nowhere and grabbed her. At least when Odintar first teleported with Jillian, she’d had some sort of warning.
She was just about to turn onto Tropicana Blvd when something or someone pulled at her mind. “Did you feel that?”
“Only because our link is wide open. He’s trying to reach you.”
The driver behind her laid on his horn, so she pulled into a small parking lot on the right instead of entering the busy flow of traffic. “He? How could you tell that was a man?”
“Much can be learned from energy patterns. I’ve been deciphering them for years.”
She searched inward, trying to understand what she’d felt. “It’s gone. Whatever it was is—” Fear and pain stabbed into her brain and she saw the lighted canopy of Fremont Street. “He’s downtown. What should we do? Can you tell who he is or what he wants? All I sense is desperation.”
“Lor and Blayne will meet us there. We’re to approach with extreme caution.”
Yeah, no shit. No one needed to tell her to be careful. The real question was should she approach at all. Was this one of the Shadow Assassins? “Are all of our people accounted for? Who else could send that signal?”
“His energy feels similar to my mother’s.” Odintar looked at her meaningfully. “I think he’s battle born.”
To her knowledge there was only one battle born hybrid left on Earth—her father. “Why would he reach out to me?”
“It feels like he has no choice.”
Even with the recent restoration efforts, downtown Las Vegas was a pretty scary place. “All right.” She turned off the car, put the keys in her pocket and stuffed her purse under her seat. Then she held out her hand and braced for the sickening rush of acceleration. “Let’s go.”
The quick jump across town felt like nothing now that she knew what to expect. They materialized in an alley and she quickly unbent her knees.
“His signal is weak, but it’s still there,” Odintar told her. “Can you feel it?”
She closed her eyes and let her emotions surge, a lifetime of resentment combined with the fundamental desire to assist those in need. Air swirled up through her, bringing the sensation closer to the surface. “He’s over there.”
Checking the street for cross traffic, she hurried toward the area from which she sensed the signal. A three-story parking garage formed one side of the alley while the back side of narrow businesses lined the other. Late-afternoon shadows had given way to twilight, so she hurried. If they lost the light completely, they might never find him.
“Trust your abilities,” Odintar urged. “Focus only on the signal. Tune everything else out.”
Easier said than done. The pavement was slimy and the scent of rotting garbage and bodily fluids hung heavy in the air. She had to do this or her father could die. Did she care? The one and only contribution to her life had been seducing her mother. Why should she care if his life ended? Shame gave her a stubborn shake. Every life was precious. She had to help him if she could.
She paused, tuning out the rank smells and the distant pulse of muffled music. Air swirled around her, driving away the stench. She inhaled deeply and let the energy wash over her. Asshole or not, she needed to find her father.
“There!” She locked on to the signal and didn’t let go.
Gerrod crouched in a corner created by a stairwell inside the parking garage. His legs were drawn up to his chest and one of his feet was bare. The front of his shirt and one side of his pants were soaked in blood, but the cause of the bleeding wasn’t obvious.
“You came.” He forced a weak smile. “I wasn’t sure y
ou would.” His head dropped back against the brick wall and the signal blinked out.
With a worried cry, she fell to her knees, amazed by the fear and sorrow surging within her. “Is he dead?”
Odintar quickly scanned him then shook his head. “Unconscious. He’s extremely weak.”
Suddenly Blayne and Lor stood behind them. Their big bodies blocked most of the light in the narrow alley. “Can we move him? We’re too exposed here?”
Odintar examined him more closely, searching for the cause of the blood. An alloy band encircled his neck. Odintar gingerly pushed the band upward and blood gushed from a long nearly surgical incision concealed beneath the band. “Shit! Someone slit his throat.”
Someone handed him a wad of cloth. Jillian glanced back and found Lor had taken off his shirt.
Using the shirt as a pressure bandage, Odintar attempted to stop the bleeding. “This is pointless. Let’s get him out of here.”
Blayne pushed past her and scooped up her father as if he were a child. Odintar kept the shirt pressed tightly against his throat, but blood was already seeping through.
Odintar motioned toward her with his chin. “Will you—
“Go,” Lor urged. “I’ve got her.”
She rushed to Lor’s side and he wrapped his arm around her waist, teleporting with staggering speed. She had time for one startled gasp and then they arrived inside the Bunker.
Blayne had carried her father into the clinic. Uniformed medics rushed around the bed, fighting the Mystics for much-needed space.
Suddenly Odintar ripped off his T-shirt and spread his arms. Fire ignited deep inside his dragon sigil, making the entire mark glow vivid red. Tension rippled up his back then rolled across his shoulders. Then he shouted, “Get back!”
The medics scrambled out of the way as a thin stream of Fire arced from Odintar’s fingertip and cauterized the wound in Gerrod’s throat. The stench of burning flesh filled the air, but the wound stopped bleeding. Unfortunately the pillow beside his neck burst into flames. Someone ran for a fire extinguisher. Odintar switched gears with practiced fluidity, showering the pillow with Water before the flames could really get going.
“That’s one way to do it,” one of the medics muttered with a dry laugh.
“It worked. His blood pressure has stabilized,” another pointed out as she waved her hand in front of her face in an effort to dissipate the smell.
“I think we can take it from here,” the first medic asserted. He was probably a doctor not just a medic. He seemed personally affronted by Odintar’s actions and the intrusion into his domain.
“He needs blood and I’m your best bet for a match. He’s a Rodyte/Bilarrian hybrid.”
The female medic mouthed the words “A what?” But the doctor didn’t seem surprised by the revelation.
“Kim type his blood. Let’s hope we get lucky.”
Kim, the female medic, gathered the supplies and drew a small sample of Odintar’s blood. Jillian hurried to his side as Kim went into the adjoining lab. “How’s your back? Does it hurt to activate the sigil?”
He chuckled. “Burns almost as badly as when she put it there.”
“Well, thank you. I can’t help feeling that this is important. The Shadow Assassins leave town and he ends up nearly dead. That can’t be a coincidence.”
“I don’t believe in coincidences. Someone tried to kill him. We need to know who and why.”
“And how he got away,” she added with a helpless shudder.
Kim returned with some sort of vacuum-sealed kit clutched in her hand. “Doctor Reyes said you’ll have to do.” She smiled at Odintar. “That’s a direct quote.”
“No doubt it is.”
“Could you move your chair over here by the bed. Some of these tubes aren’t very long.” She pulled a wheeled silver tray to the foot of the bed and opened the packages without removing what was inside. “According to Doctor Reyes, your blood isn’t a perfect match, but your blood type is tolerated well by people with the other types.”
“Like a human with O negative blood?” Jillian crept closer to the bed without getting in Kim’s way.
“Exactly.” She looked at Jillian and then Gerrod. “You should probably wait in the lounge. This will take at least an hour.”
“You’re transferring blood from my husband to my father. I’m not going anywhere.”
Her claim made Odintar smile and Jillian realized it was the first time she’d referred to him as anything other than lover.
“If Blayne or Lor can give him energy, that will help as much as the blood,” Odintar said. “I could use some too. It’s been one hell of a day.”
“I’ll go find one or the other, or both.”
Kim tried to conceal her curiosity and failed.
“First time you’ve worked with Mystics?” Jillian asked, suddenly feeling quite superior.
Kim nodded. “The orientation doesn’t even begin to explain what just happened.”
Jillian leaned over and gave Odintar a kiss. “I’ll be right back.”
“You know where to find me.”
She was nearly out the door when she heard Kim ask, “Is the image on your back some sort of tattoo?”
Again Jillian smiled. She had learned so much in just a week and her education had just begun. Soon she’d have a Bilarrian mentor and access to something called the Wisdom of the Ages. It sounded like a truly interactive version of the internet.
Blayne and several soldiers were clustered in the corridor outside Elias’ office.
Blayne saw her approaching and broke away from the others. “Lor is catching everyone up. Were they able to save him?”
“The bleeding has stopped and Odintar is about to give him more. He asked if someone could feed him energy.”
“Odintar needs energy or Gerrod needs energy?”
“Actually both.”
“Not a problem. I can at least get things started.”
She turned around and headed back toward the clinic, Blayne at her side.
“Wait.” She skid to a stop. “Roxie needs to call Jett. If he doesn’t hear from her in under two hours he’s going to notify the media.”
Blayne chuckled. “And tell them what? He doesn’t know anything and can prove even less. They’ll think he’s a nutcase.”
She crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him. “I promised him I’d make this happen. Where’s Roxie? I’ll tell her myself.”
“I never argue with that look. Give me a minute. I’ll have Elias arrange the call.”
“It’s supposed to be a video call.”
He shook his head with a muffled laugh. “Anything else?” he tossed the question over his shoulder as he headed off down the hall.
“That will be all—for now.”
He waved without turning around.
She wasn’t even sure what time it was. Hopefully they were still within the two-hour window.
Blayne returned a few minutes later, but all playfulness had evaporated from his demeanor. “Elias was not amused by your assignment. Apparently, Roxie has been giving him hell ever since she arrived.”
“Go Roxie,” she whispered under her breath, earning a startled look from Blayne.
Kim was back in the lab when they reached the clinic. Odintar sat beside the bed, his head resting back against the wall. A blood-filled tube ran from the bend of his elbow into a small device. The device hummed and a small divided screen displayed several sets of numbers that meant nothing to Jillian. Another tube ran from the opposite side of the device and into Gerrod’s arm.
“What’s the gizmo do?” She moved to Odintar’s side and stroked his hair back from his brow. He was still shirtless, a state of affairs the female medics were enjoying no doubt.
“Not a clue,” he muttered sleepily.
“Has Gerrod stirred at all?” Blayne asked as he moved to the far side of the bed where it was less crowded.
Odintar shook his head. “I’ve sensed several spikes of awareness,
but he hasn’t made a sound.”
Without another word, Blayne pressed his hand against Gerrod’s forearm and sent him wave after wave of energy. It didn’t take long for Gerrod’s color to improve and his breathing seemed less labored. Blayne looked up and smiled at her. “Next.”
She stepped away from Odintar long enough for Blayne to feed him. “If he needs more, I can come back later. They both seem pretty peaceful.”
She looked at Odintar and found his eyes closed, his body relaxed. “Thank you.”
“Anytime.” Blayne winked at her then left the clinic.
She moved to the far side of the bed so she could see Gerrod and Odintar. Her father and her mate. She wasn’t sure which was more surprising. She studied Gerrod’s face, searching for something of herself in his features. This was her father. The man who had captured her mother’s heart then stomped it into the dirt. Did knowing he had an in-depth ulterior motive make it better or worse?
Gerrod moaned and his eyelids fluttered.
Odintar jerked awake, coming up out of the chair before he remembered where he was and sat back down. “Where’s Kim? I’m feeling pretty woozy?”
“I’ll go get her.” There was a large window in the door leading to the lab and Kim saw her approaching.
“Is everything all right?”
“Odintar is feeling weak. Can you make sure he’s not giving too much?”
Kim moved to the bed and checked the readout on the device. “If blood volumes in Rodyte/Bilarrian hybrids is similar to humans, we better call this good.” She powered down the device then quickly gathered what she’d need to disconnect Odintar.
“Shoe.” Gerrod said without opening his eyes. His voice was rough and raspy. Had the blade damaged his vocal cords? Or had the damage been done by the fire Odintar used to cauterize the wound? It didn’t matter. He was alive.
After clearing his throat, Gerrod tried again. “Where is my shoe?”
He’d nearly bled to death in an ally and he was worried about losing his shoes? Both of his feet were bare now, so she looked at Kim.
“It’s in a bag in the closet.”
Jillian retrieved the bag and pulled out the shoe. “Safe and sound.” She held it up so he could see it.
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