by Mikayla Lane
“What the fuck, Mikal?” Dante demanded, turning on his brother. “We don’t know if anything he’s saying is true! You could be sending the humans to slavery or worse.”
“Haruki, check on your mate. Shane and Gun go inside the pyramid and ask Tarona if he’s telling the truth about his worlds and the humans. Siggy and Dante, go check the communications room and make sure the mercenaries aren’t coming. Luca and Grant go make sure Trick and Dread are OK. I’m going to contact Declan to keep everyone else away from here,” Mikal ordered and watched his brothers leave the mess hall.
A half hour later they were all assembled back in the dining area.
“Tarona showed us the tri-worlds,” Shane said with a satisfied nod. “He wasn’t lying, the humans are treated really damn well. They’re protected and live better than any humans on this planet. It would be a blessing if the scientists went there.”
“That settles the scientists then,” Haruki said with a nod, glad the humans would be happy.
“Tarona also stated that Alderic isn’t talking about a mind wipe or anything for Dread and Trick. It’s her power that will be used to obscure this place and the location in their mind. She said it won’t hurt them in any way. It’ll be like being knocked out with a fuzzy memory,” Shane said with a shrug, thinking it didn’t sound so bad when Tarona explained it.
“What about Mike and his men?” Elias asked.
“They should be destroyed,” Alderic interrupted as he strode into the room and grabbed a cup of coffee.
“Why would you say that?” Shane snapped.
“Because the man you speak of is an anomalous one and it’s your duty to destroy him,” Alderic said casually as he sipped his coffee, closing his eyes in pleasure at the taste.
“They’re human,” Elias argued, looking at his brothers to make sure.
Alderic pointed his cup at Haruki.
“He knows better. He saw the darkness,” Alderic countered.
Haruki’s mind whirled as he tried to figure out what Alderic was talking about, then he remembered.
“That black aura-like mass that surrounds him?” Haruki asked.
“Yes. It is the early signs of an anomalous beast beginning to dominate a host,” Alderic said with a nod.
“Wait, I didn’t see anything around the guy,” Shane said, looking to his other brothers to see if they had.
“I didn’t see it at first either,” Haruki admitted. “It’s there. I’ve seen it with other humans before as well.”
“I have too,” Mikal added with a nod. “I didn’t see it on Mike, but wasn’t looking for it either.”
“I saw it too and wondered what it was. I just thought it meant they were evil or something,” Shane muttered with a shake of his head.
“They are evil, and it’s growing inside of them,” Alderic said. “It’s your job to destroy them whether the bond is fully formed or not.”
“Wait a minute!” Luca growled. “Are you saying we have to hunt humans?”
“They aren’t human, they’re beast species and capable of just as much destruction and havoc as any other anomalous one whether they are bound or not,” Alderic countered. “How much damage had Mike done in his life? How much more can he do once he bonds with his anomalous beast?”
“So does the damaged mind cause the anomaly in the beast?” Grant asked.
“In most cases, yes, it does. For those beast that don’t self-terminate and refuse to bond, the evil and darkness in the mind it resides in can wear on its defenses and twist it. Once it’s turned anomalous, it will eventually force the bond with the host to ensure its continued survival,” Alderic explained. “You’re merely eliminating its chance to become a ruthless killer.”
“Holy fuck,” Dante whispered as he sat in his chair with a thud.
“Humans,” Siggy added with a shake of his head.
“They aren’t humans,” Alderic reiterated. “You need to stop thinking of them as such. The scientists you are so concerned about, are humans. Mike isn’t a human, and neither are four of his men. They are anomalous beast killing machines, who haven’t bonded yet.”
“Why doesn’t that make it sound any better?” Elias asked aloud.
Alderic grunted in frustration and stormed towards the door.
“Let’s go! Now!” he yelled out as he held the door open.
Mikal narrowed his eyes at the man but went ahead and followed him out, his brothers on his heels. They headed past the pyramid and over towards the door where Alderic entered a large building and flipped the lights on.
Shane and a few of the others looked up and laughed before congratulating Haruki.
“It is easier to do this when they are awake than when they are unconscious,” Alderic stated cryptically as he threw a bolt of light at Mike, striking him in the foot.
Mike looked around, his eyes wide with fear. He was tied to his bed and suspended upright from the forks of the forklift in the storage room. He screamed behind the gag stuffed in his mouth, secured by duct tape, as his eyes pleaded with the angry looking men below him.
“Pay attention to me, not him,” Alderic warned, staring at the brothers until they focused on him. “Pull your power within and while you build it inside of you, ask the energy to show you his deeds. Try it!”
The brothers sighed in irritation but went ahead and tried it to see if it would work. Suddenly a flash of something appeared in front of Mike.
“What was that?” Luca murmured.
“That was a glimpse of what you asked,” Alderic said with a pleased grin. “You must focus harder and add more power.”
The brothers concentrated more intensely, and within moments they saw a much clearer image in front of them. It was Mike and half a dozen men beating and raping a young girl.
“Move on, let it play and don’t react,” Alderic warned in a low voice. “You cannot fix the past, but you can make the future safer.”
The brothers tried to shake off the disgusting image and were almost grateful when it moved on to show Mike maliciously silencing anyone who sought to stop his corporate agenda. Nothing seemed to be beyond the man as they watched him pay for bribes, murders, child labor, rapes, and corruption of every kind imaginable.
“Damn, I can sure as hell see that black aura now,” Luca admitted.
“Yeah, I do too,” Elias whispered while the others confirmed they did as well.
“This is what he’s done without the benefit of a bond,” Alderic said. “What would he do once bound?”
“I think we get it,” Mikal said with a nod.
As much as he hated it, he knew that Alderic was right. If Mike were let loose and allowed to bond with his beast, he could do untold damage.
“Good! Then this is your duty,” Alderic said.
Before he could be stopped, Alderic drew his sword and plunged it into Mike’s upper abdomen. He ignored Mike’s screams as he pushed upward, driving the blade into his chest cavity.
“That was fucking cold,” Dante whispered, shaking his head.
“What he’d done with his life was fucking cold. That was kind,” Haruki said, not the least bit sorry for the bastard.
“There is no need to awaken the others to see their deeds unless you choose to,” Alderic explained.
“You said only four more were like him,” Luca countered.
“That is true. However, the others can’t be allowed to leave here, and there is no place on my worlds for hired killers. They die here, as they would on my worlds,” Alderic growled.
“What did you do with Dale?” Haruki asked.
“He attempted to kill one of the Dranovian guards and received a terminal blow to the head. He didn’t make it, and I ordered no extraordinary measures be taken to save him,” Alderic replied.
“Too bad we can’t make it look like the place blew up,” Shane said with a chuckle. “It’d make Mike’s company stop searching for him and this place. Kill two birds with one stone.”
“Trick might be abl
e to pull that off,” Mikal said, beginning to like the idea.
“You mean the Tezarian who can perform the illusions?” Alderic asked, wondering if it was possible.
“Yeah, we’ve seen him, and his siblings create some world class shit. If anyone could make it convincing, he could,” Haruki admitted.
“Well then! Let’s go steal his power!” Alderic had said with a grin before he headed out of the building and towards the bunk where Dread and Trick had been placed.
The brothers looked at the body of Mike for a moment before they started running after Alderic, afraid of what he meant when he said he’d steal Trick’s power.
They found him standing over Trick with his hands glowing a bright blue while he chanted something under his breath. Haruki grabbed one of his hands and pulled him away from Trick.
“You aren’t doing anything until you explain yourself,” Haruki demanded, glaring at Alderic.
“I’m not going to hurt him. You mean you’ve never borrowed one of their powers before?” Alderic asked incredulous that they wouldn’t have tried it by now.
“What are you talking about? Why is it every damn time I think I understand something you skull fuck me again?” Shane muttered, followed by a string of curses.
“I don’t think my English is good enough to understand what he just said,” Alderic said with a shake of his head. “Anyway, I mean only to borrow his powers for a moment. It will not hurt him and will have no effect on his abilities. It may, however, fix the problem with Mike’s people and the discovery of this place.”
“Explain it,” Mikal challenged.
“In the same way that you could pull the memories from Mike, you can draw the Tezarian’s ability from him. You don’t take it completely, you borrow the energy from him that creates it. Focus on bringing his energy into yourself, when you think you have it, build something,” Alderic said, then closed his eyes.
He heard the gasps around him before he opened his eyes and saw the small pyramid in his hand. He concentrated again, and this time, he added a mountain surrounding the pyramid.
“That’s so damn cool,” Elias whispered as he watched Alderic.
“This is what I mean,” Alderic said, and with a snap of his fingers, the mountain exploded and when the dust cleared only rubble remained.
“Damn! You think we could do that on a larger scale and actually convince Mike’s company he’s dead and this place destroyed?” Luca asked his brothers.
Haruki shook his head.
“I don’t know. We’re going to need it to be big enough that they won’t try to dig through the rubble. It’d have to set off seismic sensors and withstand at least a cursory exploration of the debris to be convincing. The energy would have to stop so they wouldn’t be able to measure it with instruments,” Haruki said, trying to think of any other details.
“Tarona can send a shockwave that can cause a geologic disturbance and slow her energy manipulation until it’s undetectable,” Alderic said as he displayed another pyramid in his hand. “She can also help you to magnify the Tezarian’s energy to make it as real as we need it to be.”
“Make sure he’s all right,” Mikal said to Grant as he gestured to Trick.
He watched Alderic carefully while his brother checked Trick to make sure he didn’t suffer because of the energy taken by the Sotier.
“He’s good. There are no indication’s that he’s had any power depletion at all,” Grant said in surprise.
“Good! That will take care of . . . Wait. There’s something wrong. Can you feel the disruption?” Alderic said, his eyes glowing blue before he was gone.
“What the hell?” Shane muttered, looking around for Alderic.
Haruki sent out his energy and cried out in fear.
“Ainsley! He feels Ainsley! She’s here!” Haruki called out as he tore out of the bunkhouse and ran as fast as he could towards Deanna’s pod.
“No!” he screamed out when he saw blue and gold lights sparking through the window of the pod.
Chapter Fifteen
Deanna struggled through the hazy veil of sleep, drawn towards the soft voice speaking to her and the gentle pushing against her arm. She slowly opened her eyes, shook her head and closed them again, assuming she was dreaming.
“It’s OK to wake up. I’m Ainsley, and I won’t hurt you. Do you know where my dad and uncles are?” Ainsley whispered.
Deanna sat straight up and rubbed her eyes as she looked at the young girl sitting beside her.
“How did you get here?” Deanna whispered in surprise, not sure if she was still dreaming.
“You know my dad isn’t normal right?” Ainsley asked, wondering how much Haruki had explained to her.
“Yeah, yeah, of course,” Deanna replied, swinging her legs over the side of the bed before she stared at the girl in shock. “Are you a Dranovian too?”
“No! I’m not one of them, but I am different, and that’s how I got here. Do you know where my dad is? I’m having a hard time using any energy in here,” Ainsley complained, unsure why her abilities were going wonky, and she felt sick to her stomach.
“Yeah, he said that he’d be in the mess hall or the pyramid, but you can’t go looking for him!” Deanna called out as Ainsley stood and headed towards the door.
“Why did my dad let you be put to sleep?” Ainsley asked, wondering if she’d made a mistake by waking the woman.
Ainsley wasn’t sure what else to do, though. She’d tried looking for Haruki and the others on her own, but she hadn’t found him, and the energy in the mountain was making her dizzy and queasy. She stumbled near the door and was caught by Deanna.
“Hey, are you OK? Are you sick? Your dad is going to kill you if you put yourself in danger,” Deanna whispered as she led the slight girl to the bed and sat her down.
She put her palm on Ainsley’s forehead and was a little surprised at the heat she felt.
“I’m OK. What is this place? Are my dad and uncles all right? Where are they? No one has heard from them in a while, and we’re all worried,” Ainsley said as the room spun and nausea swamped her.
Deanna watched the girl sway for a moment before she pushed her to lay on the bed. Ainsley was as white as the sheets on the bed, her eyes were unfocused, and her forehead was burning up.
“Honey, you don’t look very well. I’m going to go find your dad. You need to stay here,” Deanna said with concern as she forced a smile and pulled a blanket over the girl.
Deanna began to make her way to the door, keeping her eyes on Ainsley to make sure she was still alright when the door burst open behind her with such force it slammed shut behind Alderic. She took one look at the expression on his face and immediately ran to Ainsley and stood in front of her.
“You need to leave,” Deanna said in a shaky voice as she stared at the dangerous looking man.
“Don’t touch her!” Ainsley growled weakly from the bed. “She’s my dad’s mate, and he’ll kill you if you touch her.”
“Step away from the bed!” Alderic roared, his blue eyes glowing eerily in the small pod.
“Get behind me,” Ainsley whispered as she struggled to move her sluggish limbs so she could protect Deanna.
“Just rest, honey. I can handle him,” Deanna replied, shaking in fear as she prayed for Haruki to come quickly. “She’s just a child, Alderic, and very sick. Leave her alone and get Haruki.”
“I know she’s sick! It’s this place and the energy that’s causing it, now step away from her!” Alderic snarled as Haruki and Mikal burst into the room.
Deanna had no doubt more of the brothers would have come inside if there had been any spare room left in the pod.
“Alderic, get the hell away from my mate and my daughter,” Haruki snapped as he pushed past the Sotier and went to the bed.
His breath caught at the paleness of Ainsley’s skin and the heat he could feel emanating from her.
“Oh, baby, what happened?” he whispered, seeing her glazed blue eyes trying to
focus on him.
“I don’t feel so good,” Ainsley whispered, her voice trembling.
“I need to get her to Amun,” Haruki said to Mikal as he started to scoop the girl into his arms.
“If you remove her now, she will die. Set her down!” Alderic roared in a fury.
“What are you talking about?” Mikal demanded, unwilling to put up with the man’s crap while his niece was so ill.
“She’s anomalous, and you’ve not seen fit to help her! This place isn’t meant for anyone other than Dranovians, and you’ve just brought the one thing you’re supposed to kill in here! The energy we use kills them, and she’s surrounded by it!” Alderic snapped.
“So she’ll be fine if we get her out of here,” Haruki growled back as he stood with Ainsley in his arms, ready to take her to Amun.
“No! She’s infected with the energy, you fool! The only reason she’s still alive is that she’s a Prime. If you don’t fix her anomaly, it will kill her!” Alderic argued, taking a few steps towards Ainsley.
“Don’t go near her until you explain what you mean about fixing her,” Mikal warned, his hands on Alderic’s shoulders to keep him from Ainsley.
“She hasn’t reached maturity, which means her brain isn’t fully developed yet, and neither is her beast. You have a chance to repair the anomaly, but we have to work quickly, or she’ll die from the energy,” Alderic explained, hating the distrust he saw in their eyes. “Think what you will of me, but I would never harm a child. Especially not one that can be saved. I’ll not wait while you kill her.”
Seconds later, Alderic disappeared, and Ainsley quickly followed.
“No!” Haruki screamed in fear as he tore out of the pod.
“Oh, my God!” Deanna cried out as she ran after him.
Haruki scanned for Ainsley’s energy and ran straight into the pyramid, harnessing the power to go as fast as he could to get to his daughter. He flew through the chambers and down to the bottom where he saw Ainsley suspended in the air in front of the Talunaha. Her small body hung limply, her back was bent unnaturally with her arms and legs dangling in the air above the floor.