Mastering Their Human

by Ivy Barrett

  “He might not realize the limitation or he’s trying to overcome it.” Fane shrugged. “I honestly don’t care. We need to take him out before he becomes any more proficient with commanding the damn things.”

  “Agreed,” Mal Ton and Kellan said together.

  Having the information they needed, Sean recalled his spybots. It would take him less time to access the apartment through the shadow dimension than it would for the others to work their way through stairwells and utility hallways.

  Kellan pulled Brianna into his arms and kissed her, unable to still the impulse. “Stay hidden.”

  “I will,” Brianna answered. The spirit retreated to the back of her mind, offering them a moment of privacy.

  “Is she still in there?”

  “Yes, she’s just being nice.”

  “We’ll see if we can find this seer for her once this is all over. We owe her that much at least.”

  “One thing at a time.” She kissed him on the lips then gently eased away. “Let’s go slay the dragon.”

  * * *

  Sean tucked the last of his spybots into their protective case and snapped it closed. “Ready?”

  Brianna took a deep breath and nodded. “The spirit is restless. She knows the dragon is near. She can sense him and she has waited so long for this day.”

  “Will she honor our agreement? Will she remain in the shadows and let us do our jobs?”

  “I hope so. I’ll do my best to make sure she does. I’m the first one to admit I’m not my sister.”

  “Thank the gods for that. I have nothing against Lorelle, but you are far more appealing to me than little-miss-soldier-girl.” His arm swept around her waist and he pulled her against his chest. “The others should be in position by now. Let’s get going.”

  Color faded to gray and her feet dangled as the floor disintegrated. She clutched Sean’s back, refusing to be afraid. Her knight held her and her overlord would meet them there. Together they could face any danger and overcome any evil. This was the first true test of their mystic triad and they were ready.

  Gradually color returned, first flickers of blue within the gray then streaks of silver and gold. Her toes touched something solid and a wall formed at her back. They emerged in the bathroom as planned. Sean placed his fingers against her lips, cautioning her to remain silent as he sealed the opening to the shadow dimension.

  “I said no!” Nehalem’s voice penetrated the door, distorted yet shrill.

  The other woman’s terror stabbed into Brianna’s mind and she made a sharp motion toward the door. He’s hurting her, badly! Her fear almost knocked me over.

  Sean rushed toward the door, easing it open far enough so he could see into the bedroom. It’s now or never, people! Sean called. Ceddrik is making his move!

  No longer attempting to be subtle, Sean threw open the door and stormed into the bedroom. “Back away from her!” He pointed his pulse pistol at Ceddrik’s head, steadying the weapon with both hands. Ceddrik ignored the directive. He stood at the foot of the bed, hands wrapped around Nehalem’s throat.

  Brianna stayed in the doorway, not cloaked in shadow as they had intended, but well back from the action.

  Sean shot over their heads and shouted, “Break it up. Now!”

  Renn crouched at Ceddrik’s feet wearing nothing but a spiked dog collar. The long metal leash trailed across the carpet and his arm wrapped around one of Nehalem’s legs. Brianna only noted his odd, unfocused expression before she returned her attention to the struggling couple.

  Suddenly Ceddrik’s head jerked toward her and he sneered. So, spirit, you’re still alive after all. Pure hatred flashed in his gaze as he added, You won’t be for long.

  Sean fired, four fast, accurate blasts, but each was absorbed by some sort of barrier. “Fuck! They’re shielded.” Sean tucked the pistol into the back of his pants and crept closer to the enemy.

  A crash in the outer room announced Fane and Kellan’s arrival. Mal Ton shifted through the wall on the other side of Ceddrik with Lorelle in his arms. As soon as they solidified, she dropped into an aggressive crouch, weapons in each hand.

  “Guns are useless,” Sean warned. “Can you shift through the shield?”

  Rather than deliberate, Mal Ton sidestepped his mate and charged. His body flickered for a moment as he approached then he slammed into the barrier. He ricocheted off and landed in a sprawl halfway across the room. “Apparently not,” he concluded as he struggled to his feet.

  Confident in his defenses, Ceddrik centered his attention on the woman in his grasp. His hands tightened on Nehalem’s throat and she went wild, twisting and clawing at his hands. Renn whimpered and rubbed his face against her thigh, obviously upset by her peril.

  Fane and Mal Ton held out their hands toward Ceddrik, their features tense with concentration.

  Kellan raised his pulse pistol, but Sean grabbed his wrist and shook his head. “I already tried. It just feeds the barrier. We can’t attack until they bring it down.”

  “Shit,” Kellan muttered, obviously frustrated by the delay.

  Similarly aggravated, Lorelle drew a wicked dagger from her boot and threw it end over end at their foe. The blade bounced off the shield and embedded in the carpet not far from her boot. She yanked the knife out and returned it to its scabbard. “Had to try.” She took up a defensive position and covered Mal Ton and Fane.

  Grab the leash, the spirit urged Brianna. Renn’s power is almost gone. We need to snap the weakest link in the chain. I’ll get your hand through the shield, but no matter what, don’t let go.

  If you can punch through the shield, open a hole for Kellan to shoot through. Brianna looked around. No one else was reacting to the spirit’s suggestion.

  The barrier would absorb the energy long before it reached the dragon. Now do as you’re told! We must disrupt their triad and Renn is the logical choice.

  Brianna looked at Renn’s leash. The leather handle lay off to one side. Was it possible the shield didn’t extend that far? No, the spirit had said she’d get her hand through the shield, not that the shield wouldn’t be a problem.

  Dread tore through Brianna. This was going to hurt like hell. Nothing like this ever came without consequences. But she had to do it. They had to slay the dragon!

  Cover me. I’m going to piss off the dog. She sent the thought to her mates as she darted across the room. They both reached for her at the same time, inadvertently blocking each other in the process. Empowered by the spirit, she reached through the shield and grabbed the handle of Renn’s leash.

  Fire shot up her arm, slamming into her shoulder with enough force to rock her backward. She screamed, clenching her teeth against the searing pain. The spirit poured energy into her arm, dulling the agony and giving her strength. Sean wrapped his arm around her waist and Kellan grabbed her upper arm. Together with her mates, she dragged Renn away from Nehalem.

  “Dog, attack,” Ceddrik yelled without shifting his gaze from Nehalem.

  Renn snarled and tossed his head, digging his fingers into the carpet and kicking wildly. When his body cleared the shield, he lunged for Brianna. Lorelle knocked him to the side with a forceful kick. Then she took up a protective stance in front of Brianna while the men turned on Renn.

  Sean blasted him with shadow energy, reducing Renn to a whimpering heap in a matter of seconds. He paused and lowered his arm. Renn lunged for his throat.

  Kellan caught him by the head. Renn’s feet dangled off the floor as Kellan stared into his eyes. “No one threatens my mates.” He lowered Renn until his toes touched the floor then snapped his neck with a vicious twist.

  “No!” Ceddrik’s anguished cry echoed as Kellan released Renn’s lifeless body and moved closer to the barrier. Sean was at his side.

  Ceddrik lost concentration for just a moment, but the moment was all Fane needed. Shooting disruptive energy through the shield, Fane created fissures and cracks. Mal Ton and Sean quickly expa
nded the cracks until the barrier shattered.

  Nehalem shrieked, her body vibrating violently. Ceddrik threw her at Fane as he lunged for Mal Ton. For just an instant, Ceddrik’s hand pressed against Mal Ton’s face then Ceddrik’s eyes flashed amber and he shifted out of sight. Mal Ton stumbled forward, unable to stop the momentum of his charge.

  “Did he just teleport?” Kellan cried, eyes wide with disbelief.

  “Technically he shifted, but the result is the same.” Mal Ton crossed to Fane who was placing Nehalem on the bed. “He barely touched my mind. There’s no way he siphoned enough energy for more than one shift.”

  “She’s dead,” Fane said. “He used the nanites to amplify the conduit until the gift transferred itself into him.”

  “He can gather his own abilities now.” Brianna didn’t elaborate. They all realized the import of what had just happened. Ceddrik was all but invincible.

  The room around her twirled and Brianna’s vision blurred. She reached out blindly for something solid then there was an instant of black. When her vision cleared again, the spirit stood before her, visible if not solid, her ageless face clearly angry.

  “The dragon is not invincible! He is an infant, isolated and alone. He has nothing and no one. I don’t care how many fancy machines he shoves beneath his skin. We have him on the run. What he has is potential, a potential that must never be allowed to develop.”

  “She’s right.” Fane straightened and squared his shoulders. “Nehalem only knew the basics of how the nanites worked and now even she is gone. Without a mentor, Ceddrik is sure to make mistakes, and when he does, we’ll have him.”

  The spirit floated closer to Brianna, white hair rippling around her thin shoulders. “I was drawn to you from the start, but I wasn’t sure why. Now I know you have a connection to the seer. The seer will destroy the dragon.” She sighed and glanced away. “I have waited so long and I want this so badly. I admit I was impatient.”

  “If the seer is the key to destroying the dragon, how do we find them?” Brianna asked.

  “When the time is right, the seer will find you.”

  “So we just wait around until this seer knocks on our door?” Kellan shook his head, clearly frustrated by the spirit’s suggestion. “Do you honestly expect Ceddrik to do the same? He’s out there right now, searching for this seer, determined to destroy them before you can empower them to destroy him. Look what he did to Nehalem and Renn. And they were his allies!”

  “I don’t expect you to do anything, overlord. I only know what the future shows me. The seer will destroy the dragon and no one in this room will be able to find her. She will have to reveal herself to you.”

  “She?” Brianna challenged. “That’s the first time you’ve assigned gender to the seer.” She studied the spirit’s pale blue eyes, seeing wry wisdom and serenity that had never been there before. “You know who she is!”

  The spirit smiled, her image rippling. “When you shoved your hand through the shield, I saw her face, but I don’t yet know where to find her.”

  “Share the image with us,” Fane suggested. “We’ll help you locate her.”

  “She isn’t ready to be found.”

  “Half-truths and riddles. That’s all we ever get from you.” Kellan kicked a chair out of his way and stomped across the room.

  “Every path I see intersects through you.” Her claim brought him up short just before he opened the door. “How’s that for plain speaking?”

  Kellan turned around and glared at her. “It’s vague and useless. My response is, so what?”

  “So you better start taking this seriously. These events will culminate in your backyard. The dragon knows your black zones almost as well as you do. Where do you think he will hide?”

  “If Ceddrik returns to the zones, I’ll know about it. No one can hide from me there.”

  “You better be right, overlord. There will come a time, not too long from now, when that boast will be put to the test.”

  The spirit disappeared, but Brianna didn’t feel her reenter her mind.

  “She is really starting to piss me off,” Kellan muttered.

  “She’s as frustrated as we are.” Defending the spirit right now was probably not the wisest course, but Brianna couldn’t help it. What little success they could claim today had been because of the spirit.

  “How’s your arm?” Sean moved up beside her and carefully raised her wounded hand.

  The skin was an angry red, the fingers swollen, and blisters had begun to form across her knuckles. Without the spirit’s dampening effect, the burn throbbed unmercifully. “It’s not happy.”

  “Let’s get you back to the Underground so a healer can take care of this.” Rather than wait for one of the ships, Sean used the shadow dimension to take her to the corridor outside the infirmary. Ostan, the resident physician, confirmed that she would need a mystic healer, so Sean went to find one while the doctor disinfected the area in preparation for treatment. He also administered an analgesic mist that took the edge off the pain.

  Ostan’s hair was more orange than red and his shimmering skin was almost colorless. The exaggerated angle from his broad forehead to his pointed chin formed his face into a concave triangle. Was he from another star system, or had his appearance been altered by his mutation?

  “Has the painkiller kicked in?” Ostan asked as he set the disinfectant aside. “We’re fortunate that the skin isn’t broken. This makes things less complicated.”

  “I can still feel it, but it’s definitely better.”

  “How did this happen? It looks like you shoved your arm into a vat of boiling water.” He raised his brows dramatically and took a step back. “That’s not what you did, is it?”

  His easy manner made her smile despite the pain. “Not quite that stupid. I reached through a psychic shield.”

  “What in the world made you do that?”

  She told him what happened, and by the time Sean arrived with Alice, she suspected Ostan had kept her talking to keep her mind off her injury. Despite his unusual appearance, Ostan was gentle and skilled. He worked smoothly with Alice, clearly unthreatened by her presence in his domain.

  Kellan arrived as Alice was finishing up. Brianna’s arm was still a bit discolored, but the excruciating pain had been reduced to an annoying tightness. There were no blisters and Ostan assured her there would be no lasting damage to either her skin or the underlying tissue.

  “Dermal regenerators don’t begin to work this well.” Brianna flexed her hand and rotated her wrist. “Thank you.” She smiled at Alice then turned to Ostan. “Thank you both.”

  “That’s what we’re here for,” Ostan assured.

  They left the infirmary a few minutes later. Kellan was conspicuously silent and Brianna could sense the conflict twisting within him. “Are you more annoyed by the fact Ceddrik got away or by the spirit’s odd sense of humor?”

  “I hate games.”

  Sean laughed at the claim. “You hate games that you don’t control.”

  Kellan rolled his shoulders, his features as tense as his muscles. “If she knows who the seer is, why won’t she tell us?”

  “She might not be able to tell us,” Sean said. “I’ve yet to encounter a being who isn’t subjected to a balancing force. She might be able to interfere in our reality, but only so far. If she steps over that line, maybe she’s jerked back or maybe she risks too high a price for her involvement.”

  Kellan shook his head, in no way soothed by Sean’s musings. “All I know is this is driving me crazy. I don’t know how you do it. I’m used to enemies I can see and touch and mangle.”

  “Then focus on Ceddrik,” Brianna suggested. “He’s proven himself worthy of your ire. The spirit said the seer will ultimately destroy him, but that doesn’t mean we can’t keep tabs on him, make sure no one else is harmed until the seer is ready for the final confrontation.”

  Kellan nodded, his shoulders relaxing at l
ast. “If he’s stupid enough to return to the black zones, like the spirit said, it’s only a matter of time before we find him.” He scrubbed his chin as speculation darkened his gaze. “And if we can locate this mysterious seer in the meantime, so much the better.”

  “The spirit said the seer will find us,” she reminded. Kellan was a warrior to the marrow of his bones. She couldn’t expect him to sit idly by while the conflict raged around him. “Even if we find her, this is her battle to win, not ours. We’ve done our part.”

  “I’ve always believed in being proactive.” Kellan softened the claim with a smile. “The spirit didn’t forbid us from looking for the seer. She just said we wouldn’t be able to and that sounds like a challenge to me.”

  Sean ran his hand down the back of her hair, warmth flowing across their link. “Let him try. If events are meant to take place, even our stubborn overlord cannot change them.”

  “True enough. And if events start unfolding within his territory, he will need to feel useful.”

  Kellan scoffed, fists planted firmly on his hips. “You sounded just like her when you said that. Have you forgotten who you call Master and why?”

  Tingles cascaded along her spine and heat gathered between her thighs. “Are you offering to remind me?” They made love slowly at times, savoring each other for hours. Other times they were playful, tickling and pinching as they wrestled and laughed. But Brianna enjoyed it most when Kellan took control and overwhelmed them all with aggressive passion.

  Sensing the hunger swelling within her, Sean wrapped his arm around Brianna’s waist and drew her against his side. “Shall I have the skiff readied, overlord, or would you prefer to travel through the shadow dimension?”

  Kellan swung Brianna up into his arms and smiled at Sean. “Our mate needs a lesson in obedience as quickly as possible. The pleasure pit is out of commission, so it’s up to you.” A warm chuckle finally rumbled in his chest and he buried his face in her hair. “Press against my back, specter. Wrap your arms around my waist and take us all home.”