David's Debt (First Wave Book 11)

by Mikayla Lane

  “He is fine.”

  David turned to look at the Night Walker who appeared beside him.

  “How can you say that? Even you have been quiet since we left that place. Jodi barely speaks, and when she does it’s through gritted teeth unless she’s talking to Tiernan!” David growled low so his wife and son wouldn’t hear them.

  “You forget who he is and all he has seen. I am only disturbed by the speed in which this world has succumbed to evil. I had hoped we’d have centuries to prepare, but it appears we only have decades,” Dizarion whispered, his eyes moving to the boy that held the fate of the world in his hands.

  “You don’t get out much, do you?” David snorted and shook his head.

  “What do you mean?” Dizarion asked with a quirked brow.

  “The alliance I work with has discovered an evil ancient Prime who is blanketing the world with towers to disrupt the beast and create anomalies. Major governments and corporations are working with him and even the Relians to create a global government where the elite can enslave humanity. They use drugs, mind control and even torture to find better ways to turn everyone into puppets for their amusement,” David growled out, surprised that the Night Walker didn’t know. He figured Dizarion would have encountered one of the offenders in the dark realms by now.

  Dizarion was silent for so long that David had to look to see if he’d fallen asleep. He was surprised to see the Night Walker’s eyes swirling with rage as Dizarion shot to his feet. He was going to ask what was wrong when the Night Walker turned to him.

  “We’ve felt the disruptions in the energy but never suspected Satalis had come. Nor did we anticipate the Relians,” Dizarion snarled, angry at himself for spending so much time in the dark realms while he awaited Ashacanna’s awakening.

  David snorted and threw his hands up in the air.

  “What the hell are you worried for? You work for a guy who leaves notes in stone to Goddess’s! What the hell is my son? Is he a God?” David snapped, sick and tired of feeling like he was a few steps behind everyone else on this mission.

  Dizarion looked taken aback for a moment before he burst into laughter. David looked at Jodi and Tiernan to make sure they didn’t wake up before he glared at the Night Walker, ready to throttle the man.

  Dizarion decided it’d be best if he explained things a little better before he pissed David off. He wasn’t too afraid of what the ex-Seal could do to him, but Dizarion didn’t want to see how Tiernan would react if he offended his father.

  “You’re looking at the hierarchy all wrong. There are no Gods or Goddesses. There is but one being you call God. Beneath him are his host which are separated by tiers of power. Each tier commands those directly beneath them until the fifth. That is the one commanded by Tristan and Tiernan, and they take care of the rest of the levels. What you think of as a Goddess is merely another Guardian of lesser power than your son or Tristan.” Dizarion was pretty damn proud of his explanation and thought he’d done a good job until the ex-Seal turned furious.

  David was pulling his weapon and rising from the couch when the Dark Warrior suddenly appeared behind the female with a sword at her pure white throat. Dizarion held another at her chest before David had even cleared his holster.

  “For what reason would you come to me? Do you give up so easily?” Tiernan growled at the woman.

  David was surprised to see that the beautiful, delicate girl appeared to be unconcerned with the deadly weapons centimeters away from killing her. Her golden eyes and facial expressions seemed bored yet wary.

  “Who the hell are you?” David asked, determined to know who or what could invade the ship without warning.

  The woman turned cat-like golden eyes to him as she smiled warmly. No more than five feet five inches tall, the woman had perfect curves and not one long black hair was out of place. David was instantly alarmed at the strange energy that emanated from her.

  “I am Mastema, and I am here only to issue a fair warning. The item you seek is within the domain of the Dark Prime. The new French president has aligned with him and holds the relic you seek. If you continue your search in an area that we control we will not interfere,” Mastema explained as a half-smile played on her face.

  “Who are you?” David demanded.

  “I am Mastema, the counterpart to your son. Sort of. You are David Jacobs. A prime. Father of the Dark Warrior, the Guardian of humanity. We will not interfere with your son retrieving his relic so do not be concerned,” Mastema stated evenly, her body held perfectly still so the blades wouldn’t cut her.

  David growled in frustration. The woman wasn’t telling him anything that he could understand, and the energy she emitted was beginning to make him feel nauseous. He obviously needed to try being much more direct.

  “What do you mean his counterpart? Like Tristan?” David snarled as he stepped closer to the petite woman.

  He was a little bothered that Mastema didn’t even flinch at his movements. The warrior Seal in him and his beast warned David that this woman was dangerous. He could well imagine her using her small stature and pale good looks to her advantage and people dying for the mistake. He wouldn’t be fooled.

  “Mastema likes to pretend she’s not the evil me. Dad, meet Mastema, Queen of the Terran Daemon Kyn. This bitch is not a friend to anyone. Not even her own is safe from her,” Tiernan warned with a snarl and lunge at her neck with his mouth. He stopped a hair's breadth away from ripping out her throat with his teeth.

  David was almost impressed by the woman’s ability to roll her eyes when Tiernan baited her. But he’d seen the small flash of fear in her eyes and decided to use it to find out why she was really here. And who the hell the Daemon Kyn was, though he had a good guess.

  “You don’t look like the kind to do anyone a favor. So why the warning? What’s in this for you?” David asked, folding his arms across his chest.

  “Fuck this.” Jodi appeared from out of nowhere and punched Mastema in the face.

  Blood spurted from a corner of Mastema’s lip, and she looked at Jodi in shock. So did everyone else. If David had things right in his head, this woman was of equal power to his son on the evil side and was destined to fight with Tiernan in the last battle. It was suicidal for Jodi to have hit the woman.

  “Tell me why the bitch who wants to kill my son is giving him help and warning him!” Jodi snapped, clenching her fists at her side as she glared at Mastema.

  “I would have told you without the animalistic behavior,” Mastema replied, her nose rising as she attempted to snub Jodi.

  Before anyone could stop her, Jodi hit the queen several more times. By the time David dragged her away, Mastema had the beginnings of a black eye, a split lip, and a swollen cheek. It was the rage in her golden eyes that worried David the most as he pulled Jodi into her room.

  The second the door shut, David let go of her and turned to leave when Jodi launched herself at him to get back outside. He caught her around the waist and struggled to hold his angry wife.

  “Stop! You’re going to get Tiernan killed if he’s more worried about you than keeping Mastema under control!” David growled in her ear and was grateful when Jodi immediately stopped fighting him.

  “She’s going to try and kill him no matter what! That’s his enemy! That bitch is the bad guy! We kill her now, she can never hurt him,” Jodi argued, although she didn’t make another rush at the door.

  David actually considered it for a long moment before he shook his head at Jodi and pulled her in for a hug, glad when she didn’t resist.

  “For some reason, I don’t think it works that way. Besides, I’m more worried about what has Mastema scared enough to let Tiernan have a relic that will only give him more power to defeat her,” David whispered in Jodi’s ear as he rubbed her back in gentle circles.

  Jodi quickly pulled away from David and looked up at him in surprise.

  “You’re right. What the hell could scare a woman like that?” Jodi’s brow was furrowed in thou
ght.

  “Keep calm and let’s find out,” David suggested.

  He waited until Jodi nodded her head before he let go and led her back outside. They were both surprised to see Mastema was gone and Tiernan was a little boy again.

  “Where is she? Did she say why she was here?” Jodi asked, looking around for any sign of the Daemon Queen.

  “We knew why she was here and where the relic is,” Tiernan replied, his foot swinging as he sat beside Dizarion on the couch.

  David waited a few minutes, but when Tiernan and Dizarion didn’t offer an explanation, he blew up.

  “So why the hell was she warning you? Where is the relic?” David demanded. “And just so you know, I’m getting really damn tired of feeling like I’m chasing you all over the place! A team works together! That means sharing information!”

  Dizarion looked at David in surprise before he nodded his head in agreement.

  “I apologize. There was no intention of leaving anyone out. You must understand, this is the first world we’ve been on that has required the involvement of those that aren’t like us. It is an adjustment for us all.” Dizarion bowed formally at David and Jodi before he turned to Tiernan. “They must be included if they are to be prepared.”

  Tiernan sighed heavily, the mature air of authority he exuded slipped for a moment before he straightened his shoulders and nodded his head.

  “Mastema is willing to give up the relic because she fears the loss of her power to Satalis. It’s about the souls. Each soul she turns evil is consumed by her at the moment of their death. The more Mastema collects, the more power she achieves,” Tiernan explained as his eyes swirled with darkness.

  “How is Satalis taking her power? Is he consuming the souls?” David knew the Dark Prime was evil, but he never suspected the ancient was so bad he could frighten a Daemon Queen.

  “You’re looking at this wrong. You know what the Dranovians do and why they are called warrior priests?” Tiernan asked, his head tilted adorably.

  Dizarion could feel their proximity to the relic and knew they needed to speed up David and Jodi’s learning curve on this.

  “Satalis turns the beast anomalous. What that does is cause the beast to possess the soul of the human, making them act as a puppet to the beast. Mastema can’t consume a soul that is already possessed. The Dranovians are the priests who exorcise the beast possessing the human,” Dizarion explained glad that he saw the understanding reflected on the faces of Tiernan’s parents.

  “The Dranovians are part of the lower tiers that are commanded by Tristan and Tiernan, aren’t they? Like Adrasteia and Ashacanna?” David thought he already knew the answer but needed confirmation.

  Tiernan nodded his head enthusiastically, his foot still swinging.

  “Yup! You got it! But I don’t think the Dranovians fully understand that yet. Mikal might because he’s the Sotier of Terra and so close to Tristan,” Tiernan agreed.

  “Those possessed by an anomalous beast, what happens when they die?” Jodi asked, her voice trembling as she remembered the horror she’d gone through.

  “Upon the death of the body, the beast dies, therefore releasing the soul. Some remain trapped in the dark realms, others go to where they were meant to be before their possession.” Dizarion could feel the relief wash over Jodi at his explanation.

  “So the soul isn’t punished because of the possession of the anomaly?” Jodi had to know for sure.

  “Aww, Mom,” Tiernan whispered and ran over to hug Jodi around the waist. “No one will punish you for something that was beyond your control. I swear it. There is a beautiful place that awaits you when you finally leave this realm, and I will be there with you.”

  David heard Jodi’s muffled tears of relief and couldn’t help but put his arms around both she and Tiernan. He hugged them close as Jodi cried and felt the energy bonds between the three of them converge and strengthen. It wasn’t until Dizarion cleared his throat that the family separated and looked at the Night Walker.

  “We must prepare. We’re close to the relic. I believe this time we should go with the Seal’s advice and do some reconnaissance. I don’t believe it will be as easy to get in as it was in Germany,” Dizarion warned. The last thing they needed was for Tiernan to do something rash. Again.

  David looked down at his son with his sternest stare until Tiernan sighed and nodded his head.

  “Fine. We’ll do some recon and figure out what to do from there,” Tiernan acquiesced, apparently unhappy with the decision.

  The three adults took a collective breath of relief before David moved to the coffee table and tapped on his comm. Moments later a 3D image of the ground below appeared on the table top.

  “Where the hell is this?” David wondered, expanding the view a little to try and find something recognizable.

  “It’s Le Tourquet in northern France. Where the president has his vacation home. It’s 43 miles from Calais,” Dizarion stated from behind David.

  David looked at the area for a moment as he expanded then zoomed in on the home directly beneath the ship. He studied the streets surrounding the mansion and noted the fence and heavily armed security in and around the outside perimeter. He knew there would be more inside.

  “Is the president even in residence?” David wondered aloud.

  “No, he’s at the Élysée palace,” Dizarion assured him.

  “How do you know that?” David needed to know for sure what they were facing if they were to safely retrieve Tiernan’s relic.

  “His wife is a child predator and one of Mastema’s Daemon Kyn. Mastema told us where they were,” Dizarion said surprising David and Jodi.

  David whistled low and shook his head.

  “Nice family. He’s aligned with Satalis, and she’s a Daemon Kyn. I bet that makes for interesting dinner conversations,” David muttered.

  David looked at the map again and studied the security measures in place at the home.

  “There’s definitely something here for this kind of security,” David said, more to himself than anyone else.

  Dizarion reached toward the table and mimicked David in expanding and zooming in on the map before he stood back.

  “There are two no-go zones that we must be concerned with. The last thing we need to do is get caught in one of them,” Dizarion warned.

  He could feel the evil that resonated in those areas even from this distance. Although Mastema had said she and her kind wouldn’t interfere, Dizarion would feel better not testing the claim.

  “What does that mean?” Jodi asked.

  “He means they are areas overrun with souls that belong to Mastema. People who are truly evil and resonate with it. We rarely find them in the dark realms because they aren’t afflicted with evil, they choose it,” Tiernan explained as he smiled at his mother. “Don’t worry, Mom, they can’t hurt us.”

  Jodi looked surprised and nervous, and David couldn’t help but reach over and gently squeeze her hand.

  “Why don’t you stay up here and warn us if you see or sense anything?” David suggested, not wanting his wife in the middle of this.

  Jodi’s eyes flashed with anger, and she yanked her hand away from David’s.

  “I’ll go where my son goes. I can take care of myself,” Jodi snapped.

  David sighed and looked back down at the map on the table quickly formulating a plan.

  “We’ll drop here,” David pointed at a wooded area a half mile from the house. “Once we get on the street, the three of us will pretend to be a tourist family. Dizarion, can you go into your shadow form and get past the guards while the ship scans the electronic security measures at the mansion?”

  “Why do we need to do that at all?” Jodi fumed, not happy with the plan. “All of us can just get in. You have your chameleon abilities, and we can blend in the shadows.”

  David sighed, wishing Jodi wouldn’t turn everything into a personal argument between them.

  “Mom, they have drugs and weapons that can neutr
alize us. Mikal has been thrown from his wind form through the use of the technology they’ve created. Dad’s just trying to make sure we won’t get trapped inside. It’s a good plan.” Tiernan gave his mother a beautiful smile and squeezed her hand.

  “How do you know what happened to Mikal?” David asked.

  “Tristan told me. He knows that the same technology can displace the Night Walker energy as well,” Tiernan replied. “Are we dressed OK for a tourist family?”

  David watched as Tiernan looked down at himself and Jodi and his heart clenched in sadness that the small boy wasn’t even sure how to dress in public. The life Tiernan had led for 10 years had been one that David wouldn’t wish on an adult, much less a child.

  He vowed to himself that he would find a way to fix his family and give Tiernan some semblance of a happy childhood. It was the least he could do for the boy who would eventually battle for the whole of humanity.

  “You look fine, son,” David said as he knelt in front of Tiernan and tucked his long-sleeved shirt into his pants. “We’ll wait for the report from the ship and Dizarion, then make our plan to gain entry. OK?”

  “OK, Dad. Let’s go.” Tiernan grabbed David’s hand and Jodi’s with his other. Moments later they were swept out of the ship and into the forest below.

  “Tiernan,” David growled when his head stopped spinning.

  “We were going to drop anyway,” Tiernan said with a grin as he began skipping towards the road that would lead them to the mansion.

  David saw the smirk on Jodi’s face and tried to suppress his irritation at Tiernan’s penchant for throwing him around. He jogged to catch up to the boy with Jodi on his heels. David reached Tiernan at the edge of the road and took his hand, pulling him away from the street.

  “You’re supposed to act like a kid, remember? Not an ancient warrior here to save the world,” David muttered as Jodi wiped a smudge from Tiernan’s face.

  “Aw, Mom,” Tiernan complained, scrunching his face in displeasure.

  Jodi stopped fussing over him and stood, straightening her shoulders.