“I might drop you if you don’t stop that,” Kyle said, but her warning held little force.
Then she was lying on a cooling mattress covered by a soft cotton blanket. The scent of forest and smoke, sweat and pheromones filled her senses. Kyle or Phyrrhos? She was hungry, but not for food. She blinked sleepily at Kyle.
“Something’s bunched up under me,” she said, squirming her right shoulder. When Kyle stretched over her to tug at the blanket, Tan locked her legs around her and flipped Kyle over onto her back. Kyle gripped Tan’s hips, encouraging her when she massaged her swollen sex against Kyle’s taut belly. A spasm grabbed and held her. “Mother of Dung.” The first breeding hadn’t taken. It was starting again. She moved lower and ground against the hard bone of Kyle’s pubis.
“Lift yourself up, baby, and let me get inside you.”
It wouldn’t be enough this time. “I need more,” she moaned.
“I’ve got more.” Kyle sat up and gently reversed their positions. She reached to the side of the bed and retrieved a phallus, large and black, and a harness that she quickly strapped onto her hips.
Tan’s muscles clenched and her body bowed upward with a second spasm. “Stars, hurry.”
Kyle popped a tube, and Tan thought she’d orgasm as Kyle’s hand pumped up and down to spread lubricant liberally along the latex phallus. “Mother jumper. Don’t bother with that.” A third spasm brought her shoulders off the mattress as her hands, held tight by the cuffs, clenched into fists.
Tan sucked in large gulps of air when the spasm began to release. Kyle’s face was close to hers, her eyes laser bright. Wordlessly, she moved over Tan. She felt the phallus bump against her cuffed hands. She pulled her knees up and guided it, slick and fat, to ease her tortured ache. She needed her hands. She wanted to dig her nails into Kyle’s ass and yank her forward. Instead, she dug her heels into Kyle’s thighs. “Please. Fill me. Fuck me. Harder.”
Great wings fluttered around her, and dragon calls tore at her ears as Kyle filled her again and again. Kyle’s sweat dripped down to mingle and run with her own. Her hot mouth and burning tongue covered hers, but Tan broke away. “More.” She growled and dug her teeth into Kyle’s shoulder until she tasted blood. Kyle’s thumbs dug into her jaws and she released the flesh in her mouth. The cavern was a dizzying jumble of light and dark, images and reality, need and emptiness…Kyle was gone. “No, please.” Did that sob come from her?
Rolling. Hands were rolling her onto her stomach. Kyle’s breasts pressed into damaged skin on her back. The salt of their sweat stung anew. An arm around her waist raised her hips, and she cried in relief as she was filled again.
“You are mine.” Kyle’s primal growl called to something deep in Tan, and she gave herself up willingly. Every stroke pushed her higher, brought her closer to that place she knew she had to reach. When their chorus of cries rose above the slap of flesh, a great beating of wings and triumphant dragon screams two mountain peaks away joined them.
Chapter Seven
Cyrus stood on the dock and eyed the eighty-four-foot yacht moored in the bay. A short, deeply tanned man in white pants and a white epaulet shirt was tying up a skiff that had arrived from the yacht. This might not be so bad after all.
He was tired, though, and unhappy that Ruth and the other women had been left behind. Simon said they would rescue them later, once the furor died down, but Cyrus doubted they were high on Simon’s list. He wouldn’t forget. No, sir. A man couldn’t easily find a woman who understood her place like Ruth did. He would personally send someone for her once he had settled in the City of Light.
“I’m Robert,” the man said, extending his hand. “You are Moses?”
Cyrus nearly rolled his eyes at the fake name Simon had given him for the trip, but he answered. “Yes. And these are my assistants.” He turned to indicate his two guards, but only one was visible. He stood nervously by the open door of a warehouse and yelled inside to the other guard, who came out a minute later, hastily fastening his pants. They approached, red-faced.
“Had to take a leak,” the missing guard mumbled, avoiding Cyrus’s glare.
“The boat is this way,” their escort said, picking up Cyrus’s duffel and leaving the guards to carry their own.
Cyrus didn’t miss the young woman who slipped out of the warehouse, glancing their way and checking her IC. Cyrus shook his head. His guard had probably paid her credits for quick sex in that dark warehouse. When would women stop enticing men to soil their souls? That was where it all began to break down, wasn’t it? If women could be brought back to their natural purpose, then men would again respect them and resume their natural purpose as protectors and providers rather than abusers.
He sighed. He would call these two men to him tonight and counsel them. Then they would pray for the wayward man’s soul. The Prophet would have no rest until he had shone his light into every corner of this dark, misguided world.
❖
“The Natural Order appears to be sticking to the plans Kyle said they have to take the central warehouse in Brasília. We know that Cyrus’s second in command, a fellow named Simon, has secured air transport here.” Diego pointed to the halo map. “We just have to figure out who his contacts are there and when they plan to hit the warehouse.”
“It could be a decoy,” Second said.
“Possibly, but we won’t know unless we have someone on the ground there,” Furcho said.
Jael remained as still as stone when five of The Guard looked to her for instructions. She followed the debriefing with her eyes but hadn’t spoken since they entered the room.
Tan dropped her gaze to the table before her. She couldn’t look any of them in the face. She had violated both her oath to The Guard and her friendship to Jael. Breeding frenzy was no excuse. Kyle and Toni also had been summoned but waited outside the headquarters office.
“What about Cyrus?” Second asked when Jael didn’t respond.
“We lost him in San Pedro Sula,” Diego said.
Silence again hung heavy in the room. Finally, Alyssa spoke. “Could all of you give us a minute? We won’t keep you waiting long.”
Jael didn’t move, but her eyes flicked to Alyssa.
Tan stayed in her chair as the others filed out. Jael’s silence was about her, and she might as well face it now. She was an impediment to their mission, so she must resign and leave The Guard, who had been her family for several lifetimes. She withdrew her hands clasped before her and slid them under the table to hide their shaking.
“Tan?” Alyssa’s voice was soft.
She just shook her head. No words could repair what she’d done. If they existed, she couldn’t have spoken them around the tightness in her throat.
“Oh, Tanisha.” Alyssa rose from her chair. Her hands were cool on Tan’s neck, stroking the bare part of her scalp. “Jael knows your heart. The Guard knows the captain to whom they have always trusted their lives.”
Pride and respect permeated her. Thank the stars Alyssa hadn’t projected sympathy. She already felt pitiful enough after awakening that morning naked and sore with Kyle fully dressed and watching her from where she sat on a feed bucket in the corner of the cave.
The gate was unlocked and sunlight shone through where it had been opened wide enough for a person to exit. Her hands were no longer shackled. The thin blanket covered her, and her clothes were folded neatly beside her. The memory of giving herself wantonly to this pup of a warrior—a blazer for sure, but pup nonetheless—was a deep wound in her sizable ego. She pulled on her shirt and realized that Kyle had dressed the welts on her back and thighs while she slept. The scabs were softer and no longer wept. She felt Kyle watching as she dressed. She looked around. Everything but the mattress and blanket where she’d slept was stowed in a pack.
“Are you okay?” Kyle’s words were soft and careful.
“Fine.” Her answer was harsh and clipped. What did this puppy expect? A scratch behind the ears? A treat for a trick well played?
/>
“Second is waiting for you outside.”
Tan stiffened. “Does half the camp know what we were up to last night?”
Kyle stood, her arms crossed over her chest. “She only knows that I managed to restrain and drug you to keep you safe after releasing Phyrrhos.” When Tan finally met her gaze, Kyle’s lip twitched as if she wanted to smile. “And that you’re probably pretty pissed about it.”
Tan didn’t answer. She walked past Kyle into the sunlight and silently down the hill with Second.
Jael, however, wasn’t some pup she could ignore. She was the First Warrior. They’d trusted their lives to each other in many lifetimes, and Tan had fractured that bond when she’d darted her. She shook her head again, finally finding her voice. “No, Alyssa. I’ve violated our trust, and you can’t go into battle next to someone you can’t trust.” She stood and straightened her shoulders to finally face her old friend. Jael’s face was stone, her laser-blue eyes unreadable. “I’ll track your Prophet and send him to his next life myself as penance, but I’m clearing out. Take Kyle to the wild herd. I have little doubt she’ll bond and easily take my place in The Guard.” She turned to go but paused without looking back. “I’m sorry, my friend. I would rather have cut off my arm than defy you.”
She was almost to the door when Jael spoke. “I’m still First Warrior, and you’re still a member of The Guard. I have not dismissed you, Captain.”
Tan turned back to them, her relief tentative. Jael sighed and scratched at her belly. She indicated for Tan to sit, then stood and lifted her T-shirt to expose an angry red rash. She scowled at Tan. “As soon as I sort this all out, your first orders are to go get another antihistamine injection for me from the clinic. I’m apparently allergic to whatever you had in that dart.”
“And please make a note in her medical records so you’ll remember to use something different next time.”
Jael’s intimidating glare apparently was wasted on Alyssa, who added a grin to her cheeky comment.
Tan relaxed a bit. She still had a lot to mend, and she could sense that Jael had lost her taste for righteous executions. “Let me go after him alone, Jael. This is like the later wars—no front lines, no battlefields. Take the army to protect the supply lines, and let me hunt Cyrus for you.”
Jael walked to the window. She stared out for a long moment, then turned back to the map and studied it. “Could you bring Kyle and Antonia in?” she said to Alyssa.
The two young women filed in, only their white faces giving away their nervousness. Kyle stood tall and met Jael’s eyes. Toni glanced about, her eyes holding only when they found Alyssa’s warm gaze.
Jael sat at the head of the table and indicated for them to also sit.
“Tell me why you released Phyrrhos when your orders were clearly to keep her in the cave.” Tan was surprised to hear no accusation in Jael’s query. Did Jael know something she’d missed in her frenzy?
Toni seemed surprised, too, by Jael’s tone, but Kyle’s answer was immediate.
“I was convinced, and persuaded Toni, that Phyrrhos was going to damage herself if we didn’t release her. Specter was in the paddock throwing flame, and she began breathing flame inside the cavern. The door and the cave were superheating. I could smell singed hide.” Kyle paused, glancing at Tan. “Captain Tanisha was present outside the stable, but her skin was also superheating because of her bond with Phyrrhos. I concluded that, under the circumstances, release was the best option to keep them both from harm.”
Jael nodded, steepling her fingers before her and contemplating them. “Corporal Antonia, do you concur?”
“Yes, First Warrior.”
Jael scanned the faces of each, and Second quietly entered the room. She’d been summoned telepathically, Tan assumed, because Jael was about to issue orders she wanted recorded.
“The frenzy of Captain Tan’s bonded obviously would have affected her judgment, and Kyle hasn’t been with us very long,” Jael said. “But I’ve observed Corporal Antonia quietly make several sound decisions for the good of the entire unit. So, I’m going to trust that you did what was necessary.” Her mouth relaxed into a faint smile as she looked over at Alyssa. “Commander Second, although Toni already has been acting as The First Advocate’s assistant, I want you to promote her to the appropriate rank that will give her the authority she needs to fully function in that capacity. Those duties should also include official hospital quartermaster. She seems to have a knack for keeping track of things.”
“As you command,” Second said.
“Thank…thank you, First Warrior,” Toni said, looking from Jael to Alyssa and back to Jael. “I won’t let you down.” She looked to Alyssa. “Or the First Advocate.”
“It’s well earned, Toni,” Alyssa said, smiling.
“You are dismissed,” Jael said. “Kyle and Tan must remain for their orders.”
Second led Toni from the room, and Jael’s hand moved over the controls at her end to project a holo map over the table. San Pedro Sula lit up in red.
“Cyrus was last seen here. It’s a big city with lots of places to hide, an airport, train station, and lots of roads leading out. We also know that his second in command is headed in the opposite direction to Brasília, which Kyle said was their original destination.” Jael highlighted another location, this one in the Rocky Mountains of the Third Continent. “In addition, we have reports of some kind of activity here. If you are unable to locate him in San Pedro, you may want to consider travel routes toward the activity in the Third Continent. We suspect they may be building a stronghold there.”
“Jael, let me hunt alone.” Tan felt Kyle tense next to her but still refused to look her way. “I can be quicker and less conspicuous than two people. I’ll find him and be in and out before his ashes cool.” It was a callous thing to say, considering the man was Kyle’s father, but the rookie needed to face the hard reality of the mission. To her credit, Kyle showed no reaction.
Jael shook her head. “The mission is more than just about Cyrus now, Tan. Some information Furcho gathered from a clinic where Simon, the man Kyle injured, sought treatment indicated that he might be a new threat as well.”
“Simon’s never pretended to buy into my father’s ranting, but he’s the general organizing the war,” Kyle said. “And, he’s a dangerous man with no conscience.”
Kyle’s scowl and the darkness growing in her eyes surprised Tan. This blazer could be an intriguing puzzle if she didn’t have more important things to do. At the moment, she was just a complication.
“He’s also proved to be a good strategist so far, so we have to anticipate that he has another mouthpiece ready to put in place should Cyrus fall,” Jael said.
Kyle stood as Jael approached her, and her cheeks flushed when Jael reached up to clasp her shoulder.
“Trust Tan to find Cyrus. And when she does, I want you both to follow him to his destination. We suspect it will be their stronghold. I saw your thoughts, so I know how much you hate the role, but we need you to go back into their fold and find out as much information as possible.”
“And Cyrus?” Tan would prefer to incinerate the man the instant she found him.
Jael gazed down at Tan, her eyes serious. “You are to summon me. It’s my duty, not Kyle’s and not yours, to judge and sentence her father. You are authorized to take matters into your hands only if circumstances demand it.”
Tan stood and nodded briskly. She wouldn’t screw this up, like she had everything else lately. “As you command.”
“You are dismissed to prepare for departure tonight. If Pyrrhos still won’t accept a second rider, another of The Guard will fly Kyle to San Pedro with you.” She waved them toward the door. “Please send the others in for their orders.”
If Tan had any doubts about her place in The Guard, those fears were erased when each offered words of solidarity as they filed back into the office.
“Good hunting, amigo,” Diego murmured.
“Go get ’em, Tan,�
�� Michael said, touching her arm briefly.
“Eyes of a hawk, wind at your back, my friend,” Raven said quietly, her gaze steady and sure.
Furcho and Second stopped together and addressed both Tan and Kyle.
“Take care of my young friend,” Furcho said to Tan. He grasped the back of Kyle’s neck and gave her a soft shake. “And you take care of Tan. She’ll never ask for your help, so you’ll have keep your eyes open for opportunities to assist.” He looked at Tan but spoke to Kyle. “And don’t let her bully you. She’s all bark and no bite.”
Second chuckled. “Some people might dispute that, Furcho.” Then her expression grew serious. “Tan, I know Kyle is green, but she’s got skills and a good head on her shoulders. Use her. Let her watch your back.” She turned to Kyle. “A military operation is not a democracy. You are to do everything she orders. Do you understand?”
“Yes, Commander.”
She clasped both their shoulders. “Go get a shower and a few hours of bunk time. I don’t care if you just lie there and stare at the ceiling. Report here at zero-five-hundred for chow, and I’ll have light packs ready for you. Bring two clean T-shirts, two changes of underwear. You can also bring one small personal item.”
Kyle looked confused. “Like what?”
“You’ll be issued a wrist IC,” Second said. “Tan, I know you’ll want to take your own…so, something you might need.”
Tan studied Kyle, thinking of the pack she’d brought to the cave. The sparkler had obviously put some thought into being prepared, and she’d seen the disassembled lock that had allowed Kyle to open the gate from the inside the next morning. “I’ll bring a medical kit.”
Kyle nodded. “I have a small set of tools that could come in handy.”
“Good,” Second said. “Zero-five-hundred.”
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