by Mikayla Lane
“Deacon,” Chris said. “You’ll pilot the transport and keep it cloaked while Mikal and Chance do a close surveillance. The rest of you,” he said, looking at his siblings and the Tezarians.
“We’re doing outer range surveillance heading towards the lab so we can see how big their perimeter is and what security measures they have in place. Deacon will drop us in a circular pattern, and we’ll make our way in.”
Chris turned to Ranger with a smile.
“Would you drop with us on the outer perimeter and scout ahead for us?” Chris asked respectfully, knowing the cat would.
Ranger nodded his head regally.
“We would be honored to kill anything in your path,” the cat said with a fanged smile.
The other Sibiox emitted a mix of cackling growls, startling the Dranovians and Tezarians.
Chris cleared his throat.
“Dante and Siggy, stay in the transport with Deacon and get us as much information as you can as quickly as you can. We don’t have much time before someone realizes that the other lab was compromised and the doctor is missing. So we need a fast pace and no recklessness,” Chris ordered, looking harshly at each of his rash siblings.
He even included the equally reckless Tezarians in his stare. When Ranger snickered at him and the room burst out laughing, he gave up trying to be the serious and responsible brother.
“Screw you all,” he said with a chuckle. “Let’s get our heavy gear and get out of here.”
Chance stood to follow everyone else out of the room, but Mikal held her hand tightly, and she waited with him while the room emptied.
“We don’t need gear,” Mikal said with a smile. “We’re going to drop with everyone else, and we’ll be able to get there long before the Sibiox. I want you to stay with me. Don’t go off on your own; it’s too dangerous.”
Chance knew that he didn’t want her taking chances that could endanger his family and she agreed.
“I understand. I will follow the plan,” she said, nodding her head as she looked in his eyes.
Mikal held her hand, enjoying the feel of her soft skin and the energy that flowed between them like a calm river. It was unlike anything he’d felt before. A feeling of oneness, of belonging that he’d never been able to feel so completely with his siblings. He loved them more than life, but there had always been an empty spot inside of him that he never thought he’d ever fill.
“Do your people always glow like that when you’re together? It’s creepy,” Ranger said from the doorway, surprising Mikal and Chance.
Mikal sighed and looked at the floor, avoiding Chance’s eyes.
“Why are you here?” he asked the annoying cat.
Ranger snickered.
“I volunteered to come get you. Good, you stopped glowing. You shouldn’t do that. It’s creepy,” he said.
Mikal asked Chance in her mind, wishing he knew the answer.
“Did we glow?”
Chance shook her head and looked curiously at the cat.
“I don’t think so,” she said aloud.
“You did. Let’s go,” Ranger said before he flicked his tail dramatically and walked out of the door.
Chance smiled shyly at Mikal.
“I think we better go,” she said, but didn’t move.
Chance was so drawn to him that she wasn’t sure how to break the spell woven through the energy strands they shared. She had never felt this level of intensity or intimacy with anyone before and wasn’t sure if there was a defense against it. Or if she wanted to fight it at all.
“Bro! Let’s go! We got places to go, people to kill,” Reign said as he poked his head in the doorway then left.
The interruption seemed to pull the two out of the mesmerizing energy bubble they’d been enjoying, and Chance pulled away and headed to the door. She turned to look at Mikal and smiled.
“He’s right, we have people to kill. They used to tell us they were our gods, because they created us and could give us life or death. It’s time for me to be the god killer,” Chance said then walked away.
Mikal sighed and followed behind more slowly, giving him time to think about what the hell was going on. Everything was happening so fast that he was beginning to think it would be a good idea to tell his father what was going on just so they could get another perspective.
They were running on emotion and adrenaline. His siblings and the Tezarians were reacting to his need to find out who he was, where he came from, and help the females who were obviously traumatized by their captivity.
Their love and respect for him could easily be clouding their judgment regarding the viability of raiding this lab without enough information. Mikal knew his own judgment was clouded, and he didn’t want to make a mistake that could harm his family or the friends they’d made in the Tezarians.
Mikal walked up to the transport as his siblings and the Tezarians laughed and joked as they loaded weapons and gear into the ship. He bypassed the ship and headed to the one brother he figured he could talk to about his concerns.
“Chris, can we talk?”
Chris looked up from his comm and nodded at his brother.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, putting his comm away so he could give his brother his full attention.
Mikal turned his back to the rest of the team and leaned against the SUV Chris was standing beside.
“Don’t you think we’re rushing this? Shouldn’t we get more intel first?” Mikal asked, seeing the surprise in Chris’s eyes.
“Why the hell would you think that? We’re doing standard surveillance. We’re not raiding the place yet, just looking around. Do you have a bad feeling or something?” Chris asked, becoming concerned.
Mikal shook his head, wishing he’d had one of the strange premonitions that he’d seen in his dreams throughout his life.
“No, I haven’t seen anything. I just think we’re rushing this more than we would any other mission . . .” Mikal said.
Chris put a hand on his brother’s arm to silence him.
“Don’t. Don’t second-guess us; don’t take responsibility or make this more than it is. This is exactly how we would have done this if we thought only Koda could be in there. Your people are a bonus, bro,” Chris said with a grin before he punched Mikal in the chest and snarled at him, his attitude changing that quickly.
“Now get your head in the damn game! I need you to keep your shit together. You know that they depend on your leadership as much as mine, so act like the damn leader you are and not the boy who was lost so long ago and found. If Indrid Cold is your biological father, you both should be proud. Don’t screw that up now,” Chris said before he hugged Mikal close, then grabbed his gear and headed to the transport.
“Let’s go!” Chris called out to everyone that was still milling around.
Mikal turned to watch his brother and shook his head. He knew Chris was right, but he also knew that his past and present were currently colliding, and everyone he loved and cared about was in the middle of the maelstrom. That couldn’t be coincidence.
He saw Chance giving him a curious look from where she stood by the transport, and he mentally kicked himself. Shaking off his negative thoughts, he headed to the transport and gently took Chance’s hand before pulling her inside with him.
Chance allowed him to pull her down into a seat across from Declan but smacked his hands away when he tried to buckle her harness for her. She glared at the chuckling Declan and turned her ire on Mikal.
“Don’t do that!” she whispered in irritation as she buckled her harness, snapping the straps sharply.
The whispering didn’t help around the heightened senses of the Dranovians or the Tezarians, and everyone laughed, making Chance’s creamy skin turn splotchy with embarrassment.
“Mikal . . . maybe you could help me with my harness next?” Cole teased as he batted his eyelashes dramatically and pursed his lips.
“Screw you, troll,” Mikal said as he chuckled at his siblings.
&nbs
p; “Aw . . . be nice, you Neanderthals! Some of us like to be treated like we’re cared about,” Dree said, winking at Liam.
“I have to agree with Dree. I can kick all your asses; that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t hold open a door for me,” Angel added.
Moments later the cabin of the transport erupted into a heated discussion over whether or not Angel could win a fair fight since the boys always went easy on her.
Deacon whistled loudly.
“You’re a go to drop in 10! 9, 8, 7 . . .” Deacon said.
Everyone released their harnesses and stood, securing their gear.
Mikal turned to Chance.
“When the door opens, go to air and go around them,” he said, speaking loudly above the roar of the wind as the door in the bottom of the transport slid open.
Chance didn’t respond; she didn’t need to. She disappeared into air and allowed the pressure to pull her particles out of the ship. She immediately reoriented herself and traveled just above the trees, making a straight path to the location of the lab. Moments later, she felt Mikal’s presence behind her and heard his voice in her mind.
“We need to get a count of security personnel and locations first so we can warn the Sibiox who will be arriving next,” he said, making sure she remembered the plan.
Mikal felt Chance’s nod in his mind, but it didn’t make him feel any better. Especially not when they’d gone less than a mile before they came across the first group of heavily armed security personnel fanned out among the scraggly brush. He immediately sent the warning to Chris and Ranger.
“How far are you from the location?” Chris asked.
“Still another mile at least,” Mikal answered.
Mikal heard his brother’s curse in his mind and knew that Chris was thinking the same thing he was. They were made.
“I’m leaving Siggy and Dante behind to see if they are close enough to hack the systems. We need to know if they are expecting company,” Chris said, warning Mikal to look for signs that the mission was compromised.
“I’m on it,” Mikal said, diving a little lower in the air to get a better view among the dense foliage.
By the time he felt the disturbance in the air around him, it was too late for him and Chance. He screamed a warning to Ranger and Chris as he and Chance tumbled from the sky, their bodies losing the ability to remain in their wind form.
“They charged the air with something and we’re hitting the dirt! They’re expecting us!”
Chapter Ten
Mikal’s body fully solidified and he tucked and rolled as he hit the ground. The moment he stopped rolling, he stood quickly and drew his throwing knives, unwilling to give away his position until he knew where Chance was.
“Where are you?” he asked her in her mind.
“We have company,” he heard Chance whisper behind him.
Mikal whirled around and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that she was not injured and had her own blades drawn. He nodded as they both listened to whispered voices coming from their left.
“Mikal! Are you all right? Where the hell are you?” Chris whispered in his mind, unwilling to distract his brother with harsh words.
Mikal looked over at Chance as they heard more whispers coming from multiple locations around them. She nodded, both of them knowing that they were being surrounded.
“Chris, we made it down fine, but we’re being surrounded and we can’t shift. Whatever was in the air acted like that chelation drug the doctor told us about. Our elements are scattered,” Mikal said as he put his back to Chance.
Mikal heard Chris’s curse in his mind as the first armed man burst through the scraggly brush around them. Mikal threw his blade, hitting the man squarely between the eyes. The blade had barely made contact when Mikal drew another one.
“Can you shift?” Mikal asked Chance in her mind.
“No. You?” Chance asked, her eyes looking in the darkness around them as they listened for the sounds of more security approaching.
“No,” he said.
Mikal leaned his back against hers and slowly knelt to the ground. Chance did the same, keeping their backs together.
“We need to make our way towards the others,” Mikal said, knowing it was their only chance to escape alive.
Chance nodded her head. As much as she wanted to get in the lab and free her people, she had no right to put Mikal and his family in such danger. Somehow, they knew that they were coming.
“Dr. Mussberger must have tipped them off,” Chance said in Mikal’s mind, her anger hard to conceal from him.
Mikal thought the same thing—that the doctor must have warned them somehow during the check in or given them the wrong code.
“Let’s get up and head that way, towards the others,” Mikal said in Chance’s mind as he pointed with his throwing knife which way he wanted them to go.
Chance briefly glanced over her shoulder before Mikal stood back up and then turned them so she was facing the right way. She stepped away from him and immediately regretted the loss of his warmth around her.
She took slow calculated steps, listening for any other security personnel who might stumble on them like the last one had. She checked to make sure that Mikal was behind her before continuing through the brush and trees.
Mikal was also listening carefully to the sounds around them and knew that they were still far enough away from the nearest security member that they could make some headway towards the Sibiox. He could feel the panic in his mind coming from his siblings and knew that they were racing towards him and Chance.
They’d gone a good hundred feet when they heard more than one person off to their left, and they both stopped and dropped into a crouch. The whispered voices were close enough to be heard clearly by Mikal and Chance’s heightened hearing.
“I saw them fall this way.”
“We all saw the disruptor field spark, now shut up and fan out!”
Mikal pulled Chance to her feet and he headed away from the voices and his siblings. He immediately contacted Chris.
“They’re close on our heels; we had to change route. Follow my signal. They do have some kind of energy field up. I don’t know if it will affect you so be careful,” Mikal warned as he pulled Chance along behind him.
“I got you, bro! We’re changing direction to intercept!” Chris said as he and the others ran at full speed to get to his brother and Chance.
Mikal heard a series of loud whistles nearby and knew that they’d been found. He picked up his pace and continued holding Chance’s hand as she ran beside him, matching his stride.
The telltale sound of a projectile whizzing past his head caused him and Chance to duck down and weave between some trees and shrubs. Mikal heard the human radios crackling around them and knew they were completely surrounded. He slowed to a stop and smiled sadly at Chance as they both pulled a pair of 9mms.
Chance leaned forward and gently put her forehead on Mikal’s cheek, her energy conveying her gratitude for all he’d done for her and her sadness that it would there in the woods. She sighed when he pulled her into his arms and held her close for a moment before he pushed her away.
“We fight to the death; we don’t get taken. Now turn around and fight, because I have no intention of dying today,” Mikal said as he turned her around and pressed his back to hers.
Mikal lifted both arms, his weapons pointing in two different directions as he eyes roamed both areas looking for a sign of the security team hunting them.
Chance mimicked Mikal’s stance, her weapons ready to cut down anyone that came near them from her side.
“I have no intention of allowing you to die today,” she teased.
Seconds later, she emptied a clip at the man who had broken through a strand of shrubs and pointed a dart rifle at her. With one hand she dropped the clip, flipped the gun in the air, and pulled out another clip from her vest before popping it in the gun. She quickly used her other hand to pull back the slide then aimed it at the dark
ness around them.
“They’re going to try and rush us,” Mikal warned, noting the silence around them.
Chance nodded her head, listening closely for any sound that would indicate where to start firing when they heard a man scream before it was drowned and silenced by growls and snarls.
“What the hell was that?” one of the security agents asked loudly.
Several more growls and screams were heard before Ranger came flying through the shrubbery, skidding to a stop in front of Mikal as gunshots started to ring out around them.
“Hold your fire, you idiots!” Mikal heard one of the humans yell as he looked down at Ranger.
“We made a hole, let’s go!” the cat said before his feet scrabbled against the ground and he took off in the direction he’d come from.
Mikal wasted no time grabbing Chance’s hand and pulling her after the cat as the air was rent with screams, shouting, and random gunfire.
“What the hell is happening?” Chris screamed in Mikal’s mind, his fear going through the roof at the sound of the screams and gunfire coming from his brother’s direction.
“The little Ranger has created a hell of a distraction, and we’re on the move again,” Mikal said, grinning at the courage of the crazy cat.
Mikal could hear his brother’s sigh in his mind.
“We’re close, brother,” Chris told him.
Mikal was just beginning to think that they were in the clear when he felt Chance jerk violently beside him before she stumbled. He pulled on her arm and helped her steady herself, but he knew right away that she was injured.
“Where and how bad?” he asked her in her mind as he continued running towards his brothers.
“I’m good, go faster,” Chance answered.
Mikal knew she was lying and contacted his two medic brothers, Grant and Luca. Their father had wanted to make sure they were self-sufficient in any situation, and those two chose to become field medics. Grant and Luca had saved more than one sibling since their medical training.
“She’s hurt, probably a bullet, but I don’t know where. Be ready,” he said.
“We’re on it!” Luca responded.