“That’s cheating,” Dekker objected. “We’re testing teleportation. None of the hunters can command fire.”
“That we know of,” Blayne chimed in. “We don’t really know what they can and can’t do.”
“As long as they’re incapacitated there will be no need to restrain them. Even the Taser will keep them from accessing their abilities and a pulse pistol works even better.” Lor rolled his shoulders, obviously feeling the aftereffects of their tests.
“The Taser can’t be used for an extended period of time without risking serious damage,” Elias told them.
“But it could trap one of the hunters long enough for someone with a pulse pistol to shut them down completely,” Blayne countered.
“Inside.” Lor’s tone snapped with impatience and authority. “I’m going to pass out if we stand here much longer.”
They quickly made their way back inside the ship. Elias looked around in obvious wonder as they stepped beyond the concealment shields. Dekker headed for the armory so he could rid himself of his armor. When they reached the galley, Tori rushed to the dispenser and filled a tall glass with ice water.
“You’re an angel,” Lor murmured as he took the glass from her outstretched hand and raised it to his dry lips.
“Make mine ale,” Blayne said as he scooted into the booth.
“Make that two,” Odintar joined in.
“Hell, pour a pitcher,” Sid suggested and everyone laughed.
“Not ’til the briefing is over,” Lor cut them off with a scowl. “And Tori’s not a waitress.”
A hush fell over the galley as everyone found a seat. Lor had shut down the cry for booze, but Tori filled a pitcher with ice water, gathered glasses, and set it all in the middle of the table.
“We only have one chance at this,” Lor stressed. “Once they see or sense us they’ll flash to the gods know where.”
“Which means round two is going to be a hell of a lot harder.” Sid spoke for the first time in hours.
“One round at a time. Stay focused on tonight.”
Dekker returned from the armory, a towel draped around his neck. Everyone scooted over and almost gave him enough room to sit on the edge of the booth.
Tori tried to stay out of everyone’s way, which wasn’t easy in the crowded galley. “What are you going to do with the hunters once you’ve incapacitated them?” The men distributed the glasses. It took two pitchers to fill them all, but soon everyone was enjoying a cool drink.
“They’ll be taken to the Conservatory so they can be interrogated,” Lor told her. “I’ll need to arrange for an evacuating team ahead of time. Once the hunters are unconscious, they’ll need to be moved immediately.”
“What is the Conservatory?” Elias wanted to know.
“It’s the planetary headquarters for Ontarian Mystics,” Lor said. “That’s where each of us was trained.”
“I was told only half of you are Mystics. May I ask which half?”
“Isn’t it obvious?” Dekker chuckled. “The hair alone should give them away.”
“My hair is as short as yours,” Odintar challenged.
“Yeah, but you’re twice as arrogant,” Dekker returned.
Elias’ speculative gaze moved from face to face until he made his selections. “Lor, Odintar and Blayne?”
“Very good.” Lor took a final drink of his water then set his glass aside.
“Who will conduct the interrogations?” Tori tried to keep her tone casual, but Lor would likely read the hope in her eyes. She wanted to play an active role in all of this regardless of the possible danger. The hunters might be from Ontariese, but this was her fight too. Nazerel had invited her participation when he targeted her sister.
“That’s up to Tal.”
Tori crossed the room and lowered her voice. “I want to help with the interrogations. The hunters will be safely restrained by then and my gift makes me uniquely qualified for the job.”
Tension sharpened his features, making him appear more aggressive. Still, when he spoke, his voice was soft and low. “I don’t want my mate anywhere near the hunters. It’s too dangerous.”
“But,” she prompted with a teasing smile.
“But the head of the Mystic Militia recognizes the truth in your words. Your gift makes you the ideal assistant for an interrogator. Tal has the final say, but I won’t object.”
Suddenly Morgan’s voice came over the intercom. “Showtime, boys. I have a signal.” Everyone hustled from the galley. Tori followed the Mystics to the command deck while the soldiers rushed to the armory so they could suit up and retrieve the spare pulse pistols. “As always it was just a flash,” Morgan told Lor. “But I was ready this time thanks to the sensor grid.” She started to explain more, but Lor stopped her.
“Wait until everyone’s here.”
She nodded.
The soldiers entered a few minutes later fully armored, helmets tucked under their arms. They each passed a Mystic a pulse pistol. Tori felt left out as Lor accepted his from Dekker. She wasn’t a soldier or even a trained operative. She had no business rushing headlong into a fight with mercenaries.
“Point and shoot,” Dekker said. “I already checked the settings. That’s as high as we can go without killing them. So what’d we miss?”
All eyes shifted back to Morgan. “There’s not much to tell. The signal came from a house in one of the newer subdivisions. Unfortunately, I can’t tell you more than that.” She activated a three-dimensional map of the city and showed them the location of the house. “Preliminary scans indicate four life forms, but I can’t be more specific while the ship is on the ground.”
Lor shook his head. “It’s not worth the risk to take off. I’ll make a final assessment onsite.” He looked at Elias. “How long will it take your people to reach the target and form a perimeter?”
“Twelve, maybe fifteen minutes. It will take me a few minutes longer.”
“Then head out, but no one makes a move until the rest of us arrive. This isn’t your fight. You’re a second line of defense only.”
“Understood.” Elias turned and departed.
“I need to arrange the evacuation. I’ll be right back.” Lor flashed out of sight.
“Where’d he go?” She felt foolish asking, but weren’t they in the middle of a crisis here?
“He has to open an interdimensional portal to contact the Conservatory,” Blayne told her. “He didn’t want to draw attention to the ship.”
She pictured the swirling, colorful tunnel he’d used to shuttle them to Ontariese. Not to mention the lightning and thunder! “Good call. How long will he be gone?”
“If you miss him too badly, I’ll keep you company.” Blayne winked, assuring her his offer was playful.
Before she could think of a smartass response, Lor flashed back to the ship.
Everyone stood more or less where they’d been when he left, so he simply continued on as if there hadn’t been an interruption. “We’ll work in pairs. Sid you’re with Odintar. Blayne take Dekker. Kris, you’re with me. Incapacitation is the name of the game. We need these assholes out and out fast. Telepathic communication only. Radio waves are too easy to intercept. Once we’ve determined exactly what’s waiting for us, I’ll give specific orders.”
“Understood,” the men chorused.
“What about me?” Tori knew the answer, but she needed to hear the words.
“You stay with Morgan.”
She wasn’t happy with his decision, but she knew it was the right thing for both of them. She didn’t yet have the skills to be useful and he didn’t need the distraction.
“I’ll keep you company,” Morgan said cheerfully, patting the seat beside her. “We can even watch if you want to. The soldiers’ armor has built-in surveillance.”
Tori sat next to Morgan as the soldiers checked their weapons and the Mystics centered their minds.
“Ready?” Lor asked and everyone nodded, so Lor began the countdown. “Three, two,
one.”
Chapter Twelve
Lor grabbed Kris’ arm and flashed them to the east side of the target property. Telepathic pings told him the other two pairs had arrived as well.
Elias has his people in place, Odintar informed.
Lor acknowledged the report with a telepathic pulse, glad he hadn’t needed to break his own rules by contacting the human with his audiocom. The element of surprise was paramount to this raid and radios really were too risky.
Kris used the sensor array built into his visor to assess the situation. “Five occupants, sir. Three in the southeast corner, lower level. Two upstairs, southwest corner.” He activated a small holodisplay of the house, so Lor could see the hunters’ exact positions. “Their energy patterns are unusual. They’re definitely not human.”
All of the hunters were hybrids, most Ontarian/Rodyte mix. Apparently they’d come to the right place and the potential take had just ticked up by one. We have five targets not four. Sid and Odintar flash in from the front. Kris and I will enter from the back. We’ll trap the group of three between us. Blayne, you and Dekker take the upper level. The remaining two are close together in the corner bedroom. Should be a simple ambush.
Copy, Odintar said.
Copy, Blayne echoed.
No kill shots unless they leave you no other choice. We need information.
Another round of “Copy” followed and then Lor set the plan in motion with a sharp telepathic pulse.
Staying low to the ground, Lor and Kris crept toward the house. Half brick and half wood siding, the house was nearly indistinguishable from countless others in the area. Hiding in plain sight was a common strategy for good reason. It usually worked.
The wooden blinds were closed so Lor couldn’t see into the rooms. Kris used hand gestures to indicate where the hunters were located. Two were seated on a couch, the third restlessly moving about the room.
Snag the walker, Lor told Odintar. We’ll try a two-for-one on the couch.
Copy.
“Ready?” Lor whispered to Kris and the soldier nodded. Then he grabbed Kris’ arm and flashed them into the room. Sid and Odintar appeared at exactly the same time.
Sid and Odintar pivoted toward the standing man as Lor and Kris focused on the coach. “To the right!” Lor shouted. Kris shifted his pistol and took a shot. Lor aimed at the other hunter and pulled the trigger. A sizzling stream of energy arced across the room and caught the hunter in the chest right as he started to fade. He jerked and twisted, undulating in and out of focus. Lor triggered a second pulse and the hunter collapsed onto the couch beside his equally unconscious comrade.
Odintar and Sid were behind Lor, so he turned to verify their success. Odintar had cast a Mystic net over Lotan, Allenton’s lieutenant, who was thrashing like an enraged animal. Apparently the pulse pistol hadn’t been enough to render the hunter unconscious.
“Stop fighting and I’ll stabilize the strands so it’s less painful,” Odintar offered. Lotan ignored him and kept right on struggling.
“Are these Allenton’s men?” Dekker asked.
“These three are. I recognize them from before.”
Blayne stormed into the room, obviously frustrated. “Bastard flashed out before I could zap him, but Dekker bagged an alpha.”
Dekker entered at a more careful pace, Allenton slung over his shoulder.
“Good job.” Lor smiled at Dekker then repeated the phrase for everyone. “Keep them covered. Make sure they’re not playing dead.”
After a perfunctory knock, Elias swung the front door open and stepped inside. “Did you get them all?”
Had the door been unlocked or did Elias have some interesting skills? “Four out of five, but we have one of the alphas.”
The human nodded, then asked, “What now?”
“We’ll flash them out to the desert then back to Ontariese where they can be questioned.”
Elias smiled. “I meant for my team. What else do you need from us?”
“How much time do you have?”
“As much as you need. We’re entirely at your disposal. At least for now.”
Lor refused to analyze the stipulation. The mission had gone off with only a minor hitch and he was going to focus on the positive. “Then give us a few minutes to relocate the hunters, then search every inch of this place. Take anything with even the potential of importance back to the ship.”
“You got it.”
“Thank you.” Lor turned back to the living room. Lotan had finally succumbed to the pressure of the Mystic web. There were four hunters and only three Mystics—
“I’ll go twice,” Blayne volunteered, easily guessing Lor’s quandary.
“Good. Let’s get this done.” Lor picked up the closest hunter then formed a detailed image of their destination and pushed it into the minds of the other Mystics. The soldiers covered Lotan as his three friends were teleported out to the desert.
With the hunter still over his shoulder, Lor summoned a communication vortex. He only had time for a three-word message. Transport four now. As soon as his signal reached Ontariese the conduit expanded and intensified. Lightning branched out from the portal and thunder shook the ground. Colors spun and twisted, blinding yet beautiful. Two robed Mystics emerged from the expanded portal, and then two more. One of the Mystics took the hunter from Lor as the others relieved Odintar and Blayne of their burdens. Then the three smoothly stepped back through the opening and returned to Ontariese.
“I’ll be right back,” Blayne told the fourth Mystic then flashed out of sight.
Before Lor could decide on his next move, Tal dar Aune appeared within the spinning vortex then seemed to float to Lor’s side. As always he looked pale and unearthly, his long black hair tightly coiled down his back. “I thought there were four hunters.”
“Blayne just returned for the fourth.”
Tal waved one of his hands toward the vortex and the luminous opening seemed to disappear. Lor could still feel the churning power, knew the conduit was still there. Still, he was thankful for the camouflage.
“Are you going to interrogate the prisoners yourself or shall I arrange for their questioning?” Tal asked.
“I’d like to question Allenton and Lotan. Please have someone else interrogate the other two.”
“And we’ll see how well their answers match?” Tal nodded, obviously approving of the strategy. “I’ll see to it.” He started to leave then paused. “Bring Tori with you. Her gift could be quite helpful.”
The suggestion was a pleasant surprise. “But she’s not a Mystic.”
Tal smiled. “My life mate disagrees and I try not to argue with my life mate. Tori is untrained, but she is a Mystic.”
“Thank you, sir. I’ll see you shortly.”
Tal inclined his head then disappeared into the vortex. The portal blazed back to life, shifting and changing like an ambitious light show against the desert sky.
Blayne delivered the final hunter to the waiting Mystic and then the Mystic closed the portal on his way out. Night closed around Lor and his friends, dark and quiet after the eruption of light, color and sound. At least the air had begun to cool after the sun went down.
“Was this a win?” Odintar asked. “I hate that one got away.”
“All he can do is tell the others that we found the house,” Lor replied. “That will be obvious anyway. Even with one escaping, this was a win.”
“If you can get one of Allenton’s men to tattle, the win will feel a whole lot better,” Blayne predicted.
“That’s the idea,” Lor assured.
“Where do you want us?” Odintar asked.
“I don’t anticipate a problem, but why don’t you both head back to the house and see how the search is going. If Elias has everything under control, as I expect, escort our soldiers home and start analyzing whatever Elias brings over from the house.”
“Can we buy the soldiers a car?” Odintar grumbled. “I am so sick of playing chauffeur.”
&nb
sp; “And I’m sure they’re sick of being carried around like luggage,” Lor countered. “Find out if any of them can drive. I know Dekker has been to Earth before. Hopefully he can be their new chauffeur.”
“I can drive,” Blayne told them. “Worst case scenario, I’ll teach Dekker and he can teach the others.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Lor agreed.
“And by ‘escort the soldiers home’ did you mean the ship or Ontariese?” Blayne sounded a tiny bit wistful.
“Home sick already?” Odintar chuckled.
“No. I’m just a very literal person.”
“To the ship,” Lor clarified. “None of us are going home until every last Shadow Assassin has been apprehended.”
“Four down, sixteen to go.” Odintar muttered.
“I still have to go get Tori, so I’ll see you two when we’re finished interrogating the hunters.”
“Have fun.” Blayne waved and they both flashed out of sight.
* * * * *
Tori crossed her arms over her chest, feeling vulnerable despite the transparent barrier separating Allenton from her. Allenton couldn’t escape, couldn’t reach her. Both Lor and Tal had assured her that the containment cell neutralized Mystic abilities. Allenton was helpless. Besides, Lor stood beside her and Lor wouldn’t allow anyone to harm her. So why was she still crawling out of her skin?
Allenton paced the tiny room, which only took two steps in each direction. His hands were fisted at his sides and he glared with open hostility. Her first trip to Ontariese had been much more pleasant.
Silence lengthened, escalating the tension. Was Lor waiting for her to speak? She thought all he wanted her to do was judge the truthfulness of Allenton’s answers.
The night she’d first seen Allenton seemed like another lifetime. She’d thought he was so handsome then. Not as handsome as Lor, but sigh worthy all the same. His features hadn’t changed, but now she knew the tightness in her belly and the bitter taste in her mouth were her gift warning her of his corrupt nature, his cruelty.
“Are we just going to stare at each other until one of us blinks?” Allenton drawled. “And why is that human here?”
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