Mystic Militia

by Cyndi Friberg

  I’m here, love. And he’s not getting to me. I won’t let him.

  Good. He only does it because it drives you crazy.

  Untrue, little love of mine, Odintar cut in. Lor is fun to provoke, but I’d much rather drive you crazy.

  She looked at Odintar, confused about how he’d heard her, much less responded. Hadn’t she used her private link with Lor?

  He’s reading your mind, Lor warned her. Bilarrians are sneaky as hell when it comes to telepathy.

  It will be much more believable if she licks my lips for me.

  Tori tried to warn Odintar to back off but he wasn’t looking at her.

  Touch her and I’ll scorch your hands. You know I can do it.

  Odintar laughed, inadvertently spitting cappuccino over half of the kitchen. “Damn, that’s hot.” He tried to cover for their telepathic banter, but she could hear the laughter in his tone, which meant anyone watching them could too.

  She grabbed a washcloth out of the drawer beside the sink and knelt to mop the cappuccino splatters.

  “I can do that. I made the mess.”

  “You’re a guest in my home. Relax and enjoy your drink.”

  Suddenly Odintar snapped his head toward the front of the house. They’re here.

  Before Tori could scramble up off the kitchen floor the doorbell rang. That was strange. I don’t think a hunter would ring the bell.

  Odintar motioned her toward the front of the house then fell in close behind. Her heart thudded double time and her hands shook as she inched aside the lace curtains so she could peek out of the narrow window beside the door. “There’s no one there.”

  “I don’t sense them anymore.” He nudged her aside. “Let me.” He eased the door open and looked around. A manila envelope rested on her stoop so he reached down and picked it up.

  Her name was printed on the envelope but there was no postmark or return address. A knot formed in the pit of her stomach winding tighter as the seconds ticked away. “Do I even want to know?”

  He held it up to the light and then sniffed it. Could he smell explosives or drugs like an army dog? She had no idea what he could or couldn’t do.

  Without asking her permission, he tore open the flap and pulled out a color photograph. “Shit.” He looked at her, dread clear in his expression.

  “What is it?”

  “Is this Angie?” He turned the print over and her knees went weak. Suddenly Lor was there beside her, his arm supporting her.

  He took the picture of Angie form Odintar and helped Tori to the couch. A clear, perfectly focused image of her sister stared back at her. Panic buzzed in her ears but she battled back hysteria. She would not fall apart after all she’d been through. She had to stay strong for Angie. “Does this mean he has her? How do we know when that was taken?”

  “It was date stamped a couple of hours ago,” Odintar told her.

  “Date stamps can be manipulated,” Lor argued. “We don’t know that he has her.”

  “Well, we sure as hell know they know we’re here.”

  “You’re right.” Lor raked his hair with his fingers and swore in Ontarian. “No more stealth and subtlety. This means war!”

  “That sound great, but where do we point our guns,” Tori snapped. “We don’t know where they are!”

  Lor pulled her off the couch and wrapped his arms around her. He handed something to Odintar. “Call that number.”

  “You really want to go there?” the other Mystic asked.

  “What choice do we have?”

  Charlotte’s contact, Tori realized. He was calling in the human cavalry.

  * * * * *

  Lor and Odintar exchanged startled expressions as Tori ushered Charlotte’s contact into the kitchen. Dressed in a dark business suit with a gun strapped to her side, Charlotte’s contact was obviously a government agent—and undeniably female.

  “Morgan Hoyt.” She stuck out her hand toward Lor as he rose to greet her.

  “Lor dar Joon.” He fought back a smile. Charlotte’s omission had been intentional. She was obviously having fun with him.

  “Are you the one who called?”

  “Near enough. Odintar made the call at my request.”

  “So what can I do for you?” She nodded toward Odintar as if to acknowledge his existence. “Odintar wasn’t specific. He just indicated that it was urgent.”

  “Would you like something to drink?” Tori asked, looking lost and miserable.

  “I’m fine, thanks, but you look like you’re about ready to fall over.”

  “This is about her sister.” Lor gently pushed Tori toward an empty chair and she sank onto the seat.

  “It involves a lot more than one woman,” Odintar cautioned.

  “This could take awhile,” Lor agreed. “Why don’t we all sit?”

  It took over an hour to answer all of Morgan’s questions. She listened attentively until Lor finished his explanation and then she began her inquisition. She was clearly used to interrogations and stressful situations. The more assertive she became the more closely Odintar watched her. Was he contemplating seduction or violence? Lor couldn’t tell.

  Morgan took a picture of Angie’s image with her phone and then made a call. “Hey. I just sent you a picture. There’s a building in the background with part of a sign visible. See if you can ID it for me.” She ended the call then looked at the picture some more. “It was still light when the photo was taken, which means the time stamp is bogus.”

  Lor felt foolish that it had taken a human to realize something so simple.

  Morgan looked at Tori and asked, “Have you tried to contact her?”

  Tori nodded. “I’d arranged to call her boyfriend’s phone with her cell phone, sort of a code so she’d know it was me. He didn’t pick up. By the third time I tried, calls went straight to voice mail.”

  “Which still doesn’t mean Nazerine has her.”

  “Nazerel,” Odintar corrected.

  “Nazerel.” She smiled at Odintar then turned her compassionate gaze back to Tori. “You need to get some sleep. You’re our best source of information and you look like hell.”

  Lor couldn’t agree more and he was delighted when Tori agreed to go lie down.

  I’ll watch over her, Blayne assured. Lor wasn’t sure when the other Mystic had arrived, but he’d remained shielded so Morgan was unaware of his presence. Always a wise precaution.

  Thank you.

  Morgan waited for the click of the bedroom door before she said what was really on her mind. “This, gentlemen, is a middle finger in your face.” She held up the print meaningfully. “Nazerel has her. There’s no doubt in my mind.”

  “My thoughts as well,” Odintar said.

  Morgan had protected Tori, who was traumatized enough, yet she’d been brutally honest with them. Lor liked the way she worked. Even so, frustration was eating away at his calm. “We can’t just wait around and hope your staff can identify that building.”

  “I have a few more tricks up my sleeve, but they’ll work best if I can combine my toys with yours. You do have a ship stashed away somewhere, don’t you?” She rubbed the back of her neck and rolled her shoulders. “Please tell me you guys didn’t do the thunder and lightning shit.”

  Lor surrendered to a smile. “We have a ship. What sort of resources are at your command?”

  “What sort of resources are you hoping for?”

  “A secondary support team would be quite useful, preferably with ground transportation.”

  A faint smile curved her lips as she admitted, “I have an eight-man team on standby. They can slip in unnoticed or make quite a ruckus, depending on what we need. Now can I see your ship?”

  Odintar stood and held out his hand. “I’ll take you there.”

  “I just bet you will.” She placed her hand in his and Odintar pulled her into his harms. Before she could react to his forwardness they flashed out of sight.

  Chapter Ten

  “Have you always liked to
watch?” Allenton slipped his arms around Sevrin’s waist and nuzzled her neck, sending shivers down her spine. She’d finally shown him her favorite room in the house, the communications hub from which she could monitor and record anything that happened in all of the other rooms.

  “I like all sorts of things.” He cupped her breast, but she moved his hand back to her waist, more interested in the scene playing out on the main monitor. One of Allenton’s men was in the blue bedroom, unaware that every move he made was being recorded. He’d spent the past two hours systematically eroding his captive’s defenses. The young woman would soon be his mate. She just didn’t know it yet. The only thing these men liked more than hunting was foreplay. The poor woman had been senseless and begging for cock by the time he’d finally shoved it inside her.

  “What happens now?” she asked Allenton.

  He laughed. “Would you like me to show you?”

  She rolled her eyes. “I don’t mean sex. I’m well aware of how that works. How does he form the bond? Will I be able to see what he’s doing?”

  He moved to her side so he could see her face. “There’s nothing to see. It’s all done within her mind.”

  “How are the nanites injected?”

  He smirked. “Do you really need to ask?”

  Through his semen, of course. It was a stupid question. “Is she really the first? No one has tried the conversion without bringing the woman here?” He looked away and she had her answer. She wasn’t surprised. These fools were starting to act like frat boys in town for spring break. “How many?”

  “Three.”

  She hadn’t expected that. With great effort she controlled her expression and managed to appear annoyed and mildly curious. “What happened to them and why didn’t you tell me?” She muted the sound on the recording. The grunts and gasps were suddenly disgusting. “You’re supposed to keep me informed of everything that happens. That’s part of the reason I promoted you.”

  “I learned about the first two when I found out about the third, and that was only this morning.”

  “Were they approved mates?”

  “One was. Two were selected by the hunters.”

  “Don’t those fools realize what goes into the selection process? I haven’t compiled a random list of hot chicks for them to hunt. Each has been carefully screened with specific criteria.” She sighed. “Which team is disregarding my orders?”

  “Again, do you really need to ask?”

  “Team South.” It wasn’t really a question, but he nodded anyway. “Does Nazerel have any intention of abiding by my rules?”

  “He’ll only push you so far. He knows he needs you.”

  And she’d make damn sure it stayed that way. In fact, she’d just misplaced Nazerel’s papers. Without documentation he’d be limited to manual labor or mindless tasks no legitimate citizen wanted to do. Without an adequate source of income, he’d find out that Earth wasn’t such a welcoming place after all.

  If he chose to continue this power struggle, she’d introduce him to the creative functions she’d added to the new nanites.

  “They’re just working off their frustration, mistress. Nazerel will come around.”

  She wanted to believe Allenton, but it was just as possible that he was telling her what she wanted to hear. Allenton had kept her sexually satisfied. Still, she didn’t trust him. Didn’t trust any of them.

  “What happened to the women?” she digressed.

  “Nazerel muddled their minds and returned them to their homes. No harm was done.”

  A certain hesitation in his voice made her ask, “All of them?”

  “One had a strange reaction to the process.” He was avoiding her eyes again.

  “What sort of reaction?”

  “She…mutated.” He shuddered.

  Did she even want to imagine something so horrible it made an assassin shudder? “Did she survive?”

  “Initially, yes, but the hunter panicked. Believe me it was a mercy.”

  This was a disaster. She scrubbed a hand over her face and struggled for calm. “Where’s the body? It needs to be examined. We must figure out why she ‘mutated’ when the others only… What exactly happened to the others? Why were they considered failures if there were no ill effects?”

  “Their minds wouldn’t accept the bonding link so the nanites were never injected.”

  She took a deep breath, sorting through the facts. “Then there has actually only been one attempt.”

  “I think that makes two.” He pointed to the monitor where the hunter was quaking so violently he looked like he was having a seizure.

  At least this attempt had been made in a controlled environment, which brought her back to the unanswered question. “What did those idiots do with the body?”

  “Incinerated it.” Allenton cringed.

  “Are they complete imbeciles?” She swept the desktop with her forearm, showering the room with a colorful barrage of office supplies. Then she kicked over one chair and sent another hurling into the nearest wall. Momentarily soothed by the outburst, she glared at Allenton. “Go get Nazerel and bring him to me. Now!”

  * * * * *

  Lips pressed against Tori’s neck, drawing her gently from sleep. Lor pressed against her back, one arm curved around her waist, the other beneath her neck.

  “Go back to sleep, love,” he whispered. “I didn’t mean to wake you.”

  She felt sleepy and peaceful, so she snuggled into his warmth. Angie’s image focused within her mind and her eyes flew open. “Wait. What’s going on?” She sat up and turned so she could see him. “Where is everyone?”

  He propped himself up on his elbow and moonlight silvered his hair. “Odintar and Morgan went back to the ship. One of the soldiers is still outside. I’m not sure where Blayne went, but I dismissed him so we could get a couple of hours of sleep.”

  “But what about Angie. We can’t sleep while she’s—with him.”

  “We don’t know that Nazerel has her and we’re doing everything possible to locate the hunters. We both need to sleep so we can hit the ground running tomorrow.”

  With a frustrated sigh, she lay back down and stared at the wall. Apparently her catnap had recharged her enough to let her mind race again. She couldn’t get Nazerel’s image out of her mind. His cruel smile and consuming gaze. Angie wouldn’t stand a chance against a focused seduction. She had a weakness for bad boys.

  “Do I need to put you in sleep thrall?”

  She rotated in a tight half circle so she faced him without disturbing his position. “It’s a game to them, right? As long as she resists, he won’t force the issue?”

  He brushed her hair back from her face, his expression lost in the darkness. “We don’t know for sure that he has her. Worrying about it is a waste of energy.”

  “But she can be so provoking. I’m afraid she’ll—” He cut her off with a kiss, his mouth firm yet unhurried.

  Rolling her to her back, he arched over her, holding her arms above her head as his mouth made love to hers. No more talk. His kiss went deeper, compelling without coercing, insistent yet gentle. If you can’t sleep, I’ll help you relax, but there will be no more pointless speculation.

  Thankful for the distraction, she abandoned herself to the kiss. Odintar would call if they learned anything important. There really wasn’t much they could do right now.

  Not bothering with pajamas, she’d taken off her jeans and bra and just crawled into bed. Lor pulled the T-shirt off over her head then went right on kissing her. Worry slipped further and further away until it was a whisper in the back of her mind. Lor’s lips were all that mattered, his taste and the fortifying strength of his character. For the first time in her life, she had someone to lean on, someone who’d fight with and for her. It was liberating.

  She wiggled her fingers out from beneath his, needing to touch him. He liked to hold her down, to help her focus entirely on the pleasure. Tonight she needed something different. She needed a more intera
ctive role.

  “We’ve both had to be careful and quiet on the ship,” she whispered against his parted lips. “Are you sure we’re alone?”

  “I’m sure.”

  “It will be nice not to have to hold back.”

  He wrapped his arms around her and rolled to his back, taking her with him as he rotated. She bent her knees and straddled his hips, emboldened by the position. He was naked beneath her, leaving only the thin barrier of her panties between her heat and his hardness. She pushed against his chest and moved her hips in a circular motion that created friction in all the right places.

  Their empathic link activated and consuming need rushed into her mind. The intensity of his desire always surprised her. She smoldered, building gradually until she blazed as brightly as he did. But Lor ignited like C4 and maintained incendiary heat throughout each of their sexual encounters. He was a phoenix. A creature of fire that grew stronger within the flames.

  After only a few seconds, he pulled her forward and latched on to her breast. She couldn’t move as well now, but she continued to rub against him. He sucked hard, pausing from time to time to circle her nipple with his tongue. Growing more aggressive with each passing moment, he reared off the bed and held her still as his mouth moved from one side to the other then back.

  She let him have his way for a while, closing her eyes as sensation bathed her in tingling heat. She couldn’t change his dominant nature any more than he could change her need for tenderness. They flowed together, bending and compromising, filling in the spaces where the other had weaknesses. And they each grew stronger because of their willingness to sacrifice.

  She ran her fingers through his hair and arched her back. She’d never realized how sensitive her nipples were until Lor took one in his mouth. He pushed each sensation to the brink then released a hair’s breath before she felt real pain. It was an intense teeter-totter of urgency and retreat orchestrated by a master.

  Suddenly he lay back then scooted away from the headboard. She grinned, easily guessing what he had in mind. Sixty-nine was one of his favorite numbers. He lifted and turned her so they pointed in opposite directions. She quickly wiggled out of her panties and tossed them to the floor then he helped her move into position, one knee on either side of his head.