by Mikayla Lane
“We can do this,” Jodi whispered, more to herself than anyone else.
She surprised David by taking his free hand in her own. When he looked down at her, the smile Jodi turned to him took his breath away. As their eyes held, David could feel the love she still had for him emanating strongly in her energy, and he couldn’t help but squeeze her hand.
“We will do this,” David whispered with a smile.
“Then let’s go you two! You can play make-up and kissy face later,” Tiernan complained as he tugged on David’s hand, pulling him across the street.
David had winked at Jodi before he let Tiernan take them across the street.
Chapter Sixteen
David tried to calm his frustration as he sat outside a local coffee house and stared down the street towards the mansion they were unlikely to get into easily. The initial ship scans showed an unprecedented amount of security in the house, and he was wracking his mind for a way to get inside without discovery.
Dizarion hadn’t returned from his reconnaissance yet, and David was hoping like hell the Night Walker had found them a better way into the uniquely secured home. He tamped down his concern that they hadn’t heard from Dizarion yet and turned to his son.
“Anything yet?” David asked for the fourth time since they’d gotten to shop.
Tiernan looked up from his ice cream cone and shook his head.
“Nah, but Dizarion is OK. I would know if he’s in trouble,” Tiernan assured him.
David saw the fear flash across Jodi’s face and reached across the table to squeeze her hand. He was surprised when she didn’t pull away and gently returned the gesture as their eyes met and held.
“Here he is!” Tiernan exclaimed as David cursed the timing.
He reluctantly pulled his gaze from his wife and watched the Night Walker stride down the sidewalk towards them. David’s hope for an easy mission faded when he saw Dizarion’s face was a mask of anger and frustration.
What the hell else can go wrong, David wondered as Dizarion sat down across from them.
“How did it go?” David had to ask even though he knew it couldn’t be good news.
Dizarion waited until a couple walked past them before turning his attention to David.
“It’s a nightmare. I could feel the energy disruptors the moment I breached the interior. Whatever they are using in there, it wreaked havoc on my ability to remain in shadow form,” Dizarion admitted, hating that he couldn’t get the damn relic himself and save them all the trouble.
“How far did you get?” David needed to know just how bad things were for them.
Dizarion snorted and shook his head in frustration.
“Not far. The first level is clear other than security personnel, but any attempts to go to another floor were ruined by the disruptors. I can’t go up or down without losing the ability to shift.” Dizarion ran a hand over his bald head and turned to Tiernan. “The relic is upstairs. Somewhere.”
Tiernan reached across the table and patted Dizarion’s arm before he gave the Night Walker a brilliant smile.
“That was really all we needed to know.” Tiernan turned his dark eyes rimmed with blue to David. “I’ve called those we need to help, but you and I are the only ones that can get past the disruptors without it ruining our chameleon-like abilities.”
David nearly choked on the coffee he’d tried to swallow before Tiernan dropped that bombshell on him. He turned to smile softly at Jodi who’d begun patting his back then looked around to make sure no one was within hearing distance.
“Who did you call and why?” David demanded, not liking that he wasn’t calling the shots on this mission.
At this point, I don’t even know the damn plan, David growled to himself as Tiernan gave him an angelic smile.
“They are nearby friends and can be trusted with our lives,” Tiernan promised. “They can also create the distraction we need so we can get inside. Will the energy inside allow us to port?”
Dizarion shook his head emphatically.
“There’s no way any technology is penetrating the barriers they have in place. I don’t even think an EMP could penetrate the house. What they’re using in there did not come from this world, so you will have to leave the way you go in,” Dizarion warned.
He wasn’t the least bit happy that he’d have to sit this out. Dizarion didn’t like the energy in the place and was afraid to allow his commander in there without him, but there was no other choice.
David cursed under his breath at complications that seemed to be mounting for them. He was still pretty new at using his Prime abilities, and although he’d be all right on any other mission, David knew this one scared him the most because his son’s life would depend on it.
Determination swamped David as he looked into his son’s expectant eyes and he nodded his head in agreement before his mind began formulating a plan. He turned to Tiernan with narrowed eyes.
“For this to work, you have to tell me who is coming and what you plan on doing with them,” David said sternly, willing to call off the mission if Tiernan wouldn’t comply.
“There’s a school for autistic children a few blocks from here. The Light Bringers are currently escaping their caregivers and making their way here. They will distract the security at the north gate to the mansion and allow us to slip through during the commotion,” Tiernan replied with a satisfied grin.
“Oh, Tiernan! You can’t bring children into this!” Jodi protested, her disappointment in her son bleeding from her energy.
David snorted as he remembered thinking the same thing about Tristan until the kid blew up a mountain and turned into a superhero warrior.
“Yeah, they aren’t kids. They’re exactly like Tiernan and Tristan, big warriors in little bodies waiting for the conversion,” David assured his wife and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead.
“All of them?” Jodi whispered in surprise.
“Pretty much.” Tiernan shrugged his shoulders and grinned.
David could see the way Jodi was struggling with the thought of children being in the middle of this and chuckled before gesturing to his son.
“Picture them just like Tiernan only with wings like Tristan,” David suggested, seeing Jodi’s eyes widen.
David tried not to chuckle at the emotions Jodi was broadcasting. He had to keep reminding himself that she’d only just stepped into his crazy world and needed a little time to adjust to all the strangeness. As if their son being an end-time leader of an army wasn’t enough to deal with.
“They all have wings?” Jodi whispered.
David, Tiernan, and Dizarion all nodded and were a little surprised when Jodi burst out laughing.
“What? Oh, come on! I can’t be the only one thinking that’s a pain in the ass!” Jodi snickered. “Or the back. The logistics of personal hygiene have to be awful.”
Tiernan snorted and covered his mouth as he laughed. Dizarion raised a brow at David in confusion as Jodi and Tiernan snickered as if sharing a private joke. David sighed and realized he needed to gain some control.
“When are the kids coming?” David asked using a serious tone of voice. Jodi and Tiernan immediately tried to calm themselves.
“There they are,” Tiernan pointed behind David.
David whipped around, and his mouth dropped open in shock as he saw about two dozen children make their way to the north gate.
“Damn it! We need to go!” David growled, pissed that Tiernan hadn’t given them a better warning.
“It’ll be fine, Dad. Dizarion, guard my mother with your life,” Tiernan warned the Night Walker as his eyes bore into him.
“As you command.” Dizarion nodded once in respect.
David stood and turned to Jodi as she did the same beside him.
“Stay with him. If trouble starts, port to the ship so we know you’ll be safe,” David whispered, hoping like hell she wouldn’t argue.
The children down the street began making screeching noises, and every
one knew Tiernan and David needed to go now if they were going to get inside. Jodi nodded her head and stepped away from David, turning to her son.
“No reckless stuff. You and your Dad come back safe. I love you, little warrior. Now go kick some ass and get your relic,” Jodi whispered, kissed Tiernan’s head and gestured down the street. “Go!”
“You’re the best, Mom.” Tiernan grinned for a second then ran down the street.
David cursed as he followed, impressed that his son had begun to blur his form halfway to the mansion before he blinked out. David did the same and made his way through the shouting, keening and wildly gesticulating children that had converged on the security guards at the north entrance to the compound.
The commotion was near deafening, and David struggled to hear the guards shouting commands to one another. He was relieved when he heard they were ordered to stand down and not harm the children. Apparently, the head of security didn’t want the bad press associated with someone hurting one of the kids they believed to be disabled.
David was beginning to wonder how he’d get through the throng of children when they started shifting imperceptibly, allowing him a clear path to the gate while still appearing spontaneous. He saw Tiernan’s blurred form already waiting for him at the gate and reached his side moments later.
“Wait for a second,” Tiernan whispered through his mind.
David had heard the locks before the gate swung open just enough for several more security personnel to come out to help corral the children farther away from the entrance. He watched Tiernan slip through in between guards and knew he wasn’t small enough to get in that easily.
David couldn’t help but smile when he saw Tiernan’s foot shoot out and trip the next guard in line to get outside the gate. He wasted no time in jumping over the guy when he fell to the ground.
“I don’t think the same distraction is going to work to get us out of here,” David noted through the shengari’.
“I thought we’d go to the garden area and hop the fence. We can port as soon as we clear it. Doesn’t really matter if they know we took the relic by then,” Tiernan said with a sly smile as he moved unnoticed through the kitchen door.
David had already thought of the same plan and hoped there would be no complications to ruin their escape. Knowing the relic was upstairs, he took the lead from Tiernan and began doing a systematic search for a staircase. It didn’t take him long to find three of them.
Tiernan motioned back towards the second one they’d found, and David nodded his head in agreement. There were only a handful of energy signatures felt around that staircase, and both of them knew it was the one they needed to go up.
They made their way back to it and slowly ascended the stairs, keeping their senses open to the multitude of security personnel inside. Once they reached the second-floor landing, David and Tiernan both looked upward at the set of stairs that led to a third floor. Before David could stop him, Tiernan began heading up them.
He could feel the change in the energy the closer they got to the next landing and rushed to catch up to Tiernan. David reached the top just as he heard a thud and turned the corner in time to see a man hit the floor.
“What the hell?” David growled through the shengari’.
“He was an anomalous hybrid and sensed me with his gift. He would have warned the others,” Tiernan replied with a nonchalant shrug.
David moved to the first door and was relieved to see a linen closet. He grabbed a few straps used to keep the bottom sheet to the mattress and quickly bound and gagged the hybrid before shoving his body into the closet. By the time he closed the door, Tiernan was gone.
David muttered a string of curses in his mind as he stalked down the hallway, sending out an energy wave to find his son. He almost passed the partially opened door when he heard a muffled groan.
Peering through the slight crack in the door, David tried to see inside. He knew Tiernan wasn’t in there, his energy was further down the hallway. He heard a whimper and pushed the door open more so he could see inside.
“Dad, we don’t have time for this right now,” Tiernan warned David in his mind.
David ignored his son as he stared in shock and horror at the teen boy who was tied naked to the bed. The room looked like a little girl’s twisted fairy tale. It was covered in pink, lace, and hearts with stuffed animals littering the furnishings.
“The wife is a pedophile. She’s torturing the boy the way she did her husband when he was that age,” Tiernan whispered through David’s mind. “We must get my relic and then we will save him.”
David nodded mutely and backed out of the room. He saw the blurry shimmer that denoted where Tiernan was and moved quickly down the hall to his son.
“In here.” Tiernan went through the door he was standing in front of, and David followed.
David did a quick scan and shook his head at the lack of security in the room. If the relic were in here, they weren’t doing anything to hide it, and that made him suspicious.
“Be careful, it could be a trap,” David warned.
Tiernan snorted and shook his head as he rummaged through the desk that was against the far wall.
“Nah, just arrogance and stupidity. Got it!” Tiernan held up a small stone tablet, and David looked at it in curiosity.
“That’s it? That’s the relic?” David looked doubtful.
“Yes. Let’s get that kid out of here,” Tiernan whispered as he placed the tablet carefully in his shirt.
David wasn’t sure what he’d expected, but the fist sized piece of flat stone was nothing like he’d assumed the powerful relic would be. From the quick look he had before Tiernan put it away, the tablet appeared to be any other artifact taken from an archeological site.
“Are you sure you got the right relic?” David had to ask, stopping his son from heading down the hallway.
Tiernan pulled it back out of his shirt and held it up so that David could see it better. As Tiernan closed his eyes, the relic began to glow, and golden symbols lit up all over the stone before disappearing.
“It is my relic.” Tiernan opened his eyes, and a golden haze lingered among the darkness in the center before he turned back down the hallway. “Let’s free this kid.”
David quickly followed Tiernan down the hall and into the ridiculously childish room. He found his son standing over the teen, shaking his head. Tiernan placed a hand on the kid and whispered something David didn’t hear, but the boy stopped moaning and lay perfectly still.
David and Tiernan easily removed the sadistic straps holding the kid to the bed. Once he was completely free, the boy shot up from the bed, pulling off the blindfold and ball gag before staring in shock at David and Tiernan.
“Please don’t let her get me again,” the kid croaked out, his throat dry from hours of being kept chained up.
“We won’t. Get dressed and be silent and we’ll get you out of here,” Tiernan promised.
David rummaged through the room until he found some clothes for the kid and waited for him to get dressed, wondering how they were going to get the boy out of there.
“We’ll shimmer him,” Tiernan stated as if reading David’s mind.
David nodded, having considered the same thing. It was their only choice to get the kid and themselves out. He had no doubt they could do it, he’d gotten Mikey out of similar circumstances, but Mikey had been a soldier, and this kid was barely 14 and scared to death.
“What is your name?” David asked.
“Phillip. Where are we?” the kid asked.
“France. Where are you from?” Tiernan looked like he already knew the answer.
“Atlanta. How am I going to get home?” the boy looked ready to cry and David rushed forward to stop it. They couldn’t afford discovery now.
“Look, we’re going to get you home again. You have to be silent though, no matter what . . .” David’s voice trailed off when Tiernan went behind the boy and shot a bolt of energy through him.
“Let’s get out of here,” David whispered, anxious to leave now that they had the relic.
They’d just reached the landing when they heard the pounding of footsteps coming up the stairs, and David looked at Tiernan to see if he’d done anything to bring the guards upstairs. They blurred their forms and moved to the side as half a dozen security personnel rushed to the room where the boy had been kept.
Shouting and warnings went up around them as the security personnel realized Phillip was gone. David kept his back to the wall as he watched the guards begin a systematic search of the upper floors for the missing boy.
“Don’t move,” David warned his son through the shengari’ when it looked like Tiernan would trip a guard who came too close to him.
“How odd that they didn’t have the relic secured at all, but move that kid, and they’re all over us,” Tiernan noted with a furrowed brow.
David had also wondered about it as well and wasn’t sure what had tipped off the guards that the boy was missing.
“Do you know what alerted them?” David asked.
“There was video in his room. Apparently, the twisted bitch likes to watch Phillip remotely when she’s not able to torture him. I may have flipped her off before shutting down the video feed,” Tiernan replied with a grin and a shrug.
David cursed in his head, determined to spank his son’s ass the moment they got out of this situation. He had to move several times to avoid the guards that were searching every available space where the boy could hide.
After what seemed like hours, the security personnel gave up and moved to search another floor. David sighed in relief when the last one left the landing, and he sagged against the wall.
“We’re getting out of here now,” David growled at his son.