Touch of Danger (Three Worlds)

by Strickland, Carol A.

  Londo still reeled in shock. Had she really talked to the dead?! Was she so insane, or was this real? “What?”

  She shook her head, her lips tight. “He said that the way off this island lay within us. ‘Within you,’ he said, and I don’t think he was talking about you.” She grimaced. “I don’t know; maybe I got it wrong. Maybe he means that your powers will come back soon. I’m sorry that I can’t be more exact.”

  Londo blinked and nodded. He hadn’t expected to be able to get anything out of dead men anyway. Hearing her grill ghosts—and somehow he knew that that’s what she’d been doing—had chilled his bones.

  “All right,” he finally said. “They haven’t answered their check-in call, there’s been an explosion and a mangled vehicle is sitting out front, visible from the air. Someone will be out here soon. They’re still a couple miles away, on the road. Let me try the phone and then we’re out of here.”

  Surprised to find a dial tone, he punched the international ParaNet emergency number. When it picked up on the first ring, the tightness in his back relaxed slightly.

  “ParaNet emergency.” Tara’s voice.

  “They say we need to leave, Lon,” Lina said urgently.

  He nodded, not pausing. “Code Armageddon, Londo here. I’m on—”

  The phone went dead.

  “Maudit!” he exclaimed. “Okay, we’re really on our own now. Let’s move.” He reached over to the table where he’d put the men’s rifles and slung one over his shoulder, shoving two extra clips of ammo in a pocket. He held out his hand to her. “Lina?”

  With a shaky nod she gathered up the supply bag and ran after him, out the back. They had known she was a telepath. Somehow she wasn’t just a civilian caught up accidentally in all this. They were after her, too. She looked at Londo and knew that he’d either caught the thought or had realized the same thing.

  Why? They both asked themselves as they ran.

  Chapter 6

  Within a half-hour the forest tops clattered with the sound of helicopters: ten in a perfect row, flying in a low search pattern. The two of them huddled under the thickest leaf cover they could find.

  “Will they find us?” Lina whispered to Lon. In her fear of being discovered she didn’t notice his protective arm around her.

  “No, not in this place,” Londo lied. “Even if they use scanners, there’s a lot of heavy growth and we’ve been keeping under it.”

  “But still, a human registers differently than plant life.”

  He nodded grimly. “We can only do what we can do.”

  Lina ducked her head as the helicopters thrummed overhead. She pulled the lines of force, the lines of nature, like a blanket to cover the both of them. Hide away. You don’t notice us!

  Londo studied the skies. Of course they could track them. Surely they had sophisticated enough equipment to do this much. But the helicopters stayed on track, never wavering. No, wait—one of the helicopters slowed, breaking formation. It hung over where they’d been about twenty minutes ago. Londo’s hard eyes sized up the situation as Lina’s fingers dug into his shoulder. He could feel her heart pound against his chest.

  “Sh-should we make a break for it?”

  “Non. We stay here. The copters that went past us didn’t seem to see us, but they could very well have motion detectors.”

  “Oh god.”

  The helicopters circled back, regaining their formation as they backtracked. Lina tucked her head under Londo’s chin and hid them under a thick blanket of earth energy.

  Puzzled, Lon watched as the copters cut by them and did not pause. Did they not carry IR scan units? Those sure looked like Heinzig-Barre models, but his view was from below—not a good angle. He couldn’t imagine anyone not equipping a search squadron with them.

  Damn not having powers! He wanted to fly up and take some of those copters out of action with his bare hands before they could even react. Throw them into the Pacific, put the fear of god into them!

  Lina whimpered only once as the helicopters returned. Lon held her close, watching for any hesitation in the copters’ courses. Preoccupied, he rubbed her back to calm her. “It’s okay, it’s okay,” he murmured in a sing-song.

  Finally he began to believe it, too. The helicopters continued westward above the forest. “They’re gone,” he could finally announce.

  He let out a breath he didn’t know he’d been holding and there was Lina’s head under his chin. She was plastered against his body, clinging for life. Slowly she raised her eyes to the sky, and then looked down to see her hand on Lon’s shoulder, her arm wrapped around his back. How she’d almost crawled onto his lap.

  “Oh,” she said.

  He kissed her. They were already in a tight embrace, and now he kissed her hard. His fingers sank into flesh that resisted his touch instead of disintegrating at it, and he pulled her even closer. Her arms locked around him. Her hands pressed against the muscles of his shoulder and back. Her mouth answered his. She gasped a little when they broke apart, but so did he. He didn’t let her think as he kissed her again and again.

  He didn’t care if the little sounds she made were of protest or passion. She was kissing him back. He let his hands explore her now. He was eager for her, unleashing the ardor chained for so very many years. He could have her now. Here.

  She smelled of sweat and dirt, her hair tangled with the odor of crushed leaves. He moved down her neck and she clutched helplessly at him. Her breasts were so soft. Her heart fluttered under his hand. This was what he wanted; human-to-human contact, no fear of hurting her, no terror that the slightest misstep could kill. For once in his life he could let go completely!

  “Londo...” she whispered. Was it a warning or a plea for more?

  He wanted her now. No time for preliminaries. Now, now, now! He pushed up her skirt and kneaded her butt.

  She squirmed. “Londo. Mmph. No. Londo...”

  He began to pull her panties down.

  “Oh! Stop. Stop it, Londo!”

  Kissing her on the mouth muffled her protests. She tried to push him away, but he held her head steady with one hand and stroked her inner thigh with the other. He rubbed her soft, fuzzy warmth.

  “Londo!” With a sudden burst of strength, she pushed his shoulders away.

  Londo blinked. With a start, he flashed from a warrior’s frenzy back to realization.

  She slapped his face. Hard. “Stop it, dammit!” she hissed.

  “Augh!” The sharp sting woke him further from his primal fantasy. He touched his chin as the wave of unfamiliar agony pulsed in his cheek. Lina rolled away from him.

  “Aw, jesus,” he groaned. “Ah god, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I don’t know what came over me.”

  Lina lay there on the ground, staring at him in shock. “Ohmigod,” she whispered. Remorse bubbled like a cauldron in him, the animal in him pushed back down to wherever it had come from, leaving bitter embarrassment. She saw the mark of her hand against his cheek. Valiant’s cheek, and she had slapped him!

  His face turned stark red from shame. Lon couldn’t look at her. “I’m sorry,” he repeated. “I didn’t mean it. Not that way. I’m not like that. I’m not!” And yet a small, dark corner of his mind whispered, So close... He shunted that down, pushed it as far away from himself as he could.

  He didn’t watch her as she straightened herself. “Are you all right?” she finally managed to say.

  He glanced at her and then away. “How can you ask me that? I practically mauled you.” That tiny voice in his mind whispered rape, and he cringed from the thought as if it were a knife pointed at his very soul. “Forgive me. I’m so sorry. I am so sorry.” He finally managed to look at her and knew that she was back to being her untouchable self, so separate from him. “It won’t happen again. Not that way. Please believe me!”

  She licked her lips as she considered. “I believe you,” she said after a very long moment.

  Londo dragged his hand down his face. “I don’t know what came ove
r me. All of a sudden, I... I...”

  “I understand,” she said shakily. She reached for their bag. “Let’s get going, shall we?”

  He stood up alongside her, but when he went to take her hand she pulled away from him. With a nod, he led the way through the forest. Heading north.

  The next time the copters came from that direction, a double line. The two shrank back into the forest, and this time the fact that Lina didn’t hug to Londo for protection seared his conscience. They hid under the exposed roots of a huge cluster of banyan trees and watched what they could of what was happening in the sky. Londo reached for Lina’s hand, pausing just inches from her. She took it. As the copters got closer and closer she squeezed it and inched to Londo’s side. He pressed his other hand around hers, rubbing her knuckles as she shut her eyes.

  “Angels and devas protect us,” she whispered.

  Even Londo offered up a prayer to protect this innocent girl who was under his care. She trembled against him, and he put his arm around her waist gently, as a comfort and nothing else.

  “It’ll be all right,” he murmured to her. “It’ll be all—” Suddenly he tensed.

  “What—?”

  **Be quiet,** he told her. **Mercs coming.**

  She pressed a fist to her mouth.

  **When I leave, stay put. Stay still. Wait at least twenty minutes before you move, and then you go north. Take your time, keep your antenna up, and don’t take chances.**

  **Londo—**

  Quickly he checked his rifle and replaced it on his back. **Do as I say, chérie.**

  Lon didn’t wait for the nearest soldier to come into sight. If they were going to spot him, they were going to do so out of range of Lina. He crept through the undergrowth. He still held the advantage of being able to see his enemy while they couldn’t see him.

  Gunfire would draw too much attention. Londo hefted some rocks and kept two, one in each hand. Now was not the time to play the dainty megapara who had to hold his punches. Now was not the time to stun them for a few moments. These men had orders to kill Lina, and there was no way in hell he was going to let them do that.

  He melted into the shadow of one tree, blending into the landscape like Jae or Kuttr would have done. The mercenary didn’t even notice him until Lon slammed the rock into his skull from behind. The man dropped with a grunt, but that was all. Blood streamed from the back of his head and Londo forced himself to remember what the man had planned for Lina.

  Past a stand of slender trees stalked a second soldier in the squad of four, spread out in their search. Londo experimentally tossed the second rock in his hand. Motion was a hazard, but he’d only get one chance at this. He wasn’t para in strength now. He tossed it again, trying to figure how much power he still had as a mere norm, and then crouched motionless, watching and waiting.

  The merc scanned the forest using a hand sensor, moving it in an arc. The sensor swung closer and closer until Londo finally loosed the rock. It hit its target square on and the soldier fell, his body letting out a soft clump as it hit the earth.

  Where was the other one?

  A heavy-booted foot slammed into his back. Londo fell forward, rolling, his mind racing. Don’t stand up where they think you will. He pivoted to the side and kicked out, targeting the ribs. A double-fisted smash into the mercenary’s jaw sent him reeling backward. The merc regained his feet. He ducked unsteadily to butt Lon in the belly with his head and got in a hard punch as a follow-up. Lon staggered.

  A small “Oh!” distracted the mercenary even as he reared back to connect with Lon’s jaw.

  Blood shot in a spit from the merc’s nose as Lon’s fist cracked against it. Lon followed through with a battering of blows to the man’s head and stomach, using his knee to deliver the telling stroke. He secured the merc with a hard press to the familiar nerve center in the neck. If nothing else, that much guaranteed unconsciousness for at least an hour.

  Lon crouched on the ground trying to catch his breath. **I told you to stay put,** he accused.

  **I did.**

  Sure enough, Londo had unknowingly circled back. The fight had been within sight of the banyan stand.

  **One more,** he told her.

  **Londo! Behind—**

  The sharp butt of a gun barrel poked into Londo’s spine. “Hold it right there, Valiant,” a gruff American-accented voice told him. “Not a move, or I’ll kill you where you stand. Or at least injure you so you wished you was dead.”

  **Get ready!** Lina’s clear voice rang out from the foliage: “Your orders are that no harm is to come to Valiant!”

  Londo seized the moment of hesitation. He rotated his body against the gun so it swung away from Lina’s position. The barrel seared his back as it fired past him. Lon continued the smooth motion, using the momentum to add force to a smashing blow.

  Before his eyes the fight concentrated into slo-mo: the Australian hat falling away from the man’s face, a stream of spittle flowing out of his surprised mouth as it opened, the hands releasing their hold on the rifle.

  Londo kicked him hard in the side, kicked him in the balls when he was down and then kicked him under the chin. Blood spewed out of the man’s mouth as Lon gave the final blow to the nerve cluster.

  Gasping for breath, Lon wiped the sweat off his brow. He surveyed the area, searching for more soldiers—there were none—and estimating the extent of injuries he’d inflicted in the enemy. Good enough. He yanked the rifle from the mercenary beside him and then removed its ammunition. A knife and more ammo clips he stowed in his belt and vest. Finally he straightened and held out his hand toward the banyans. Lina’s relieved face appeared in the foliage. She darted out to him, taking his hand.

  “You’re hurt,” she said. “Let me—”

  “Later,” he told her between gasps as he caught his breath. His ribs throbbed. Lon bent down to the soldier who’d come after him hand to hand and took his gun, too. All extra clips he could find went into his vest or their supply bag. The extra knife he threw into the deep woods.

  Lina followed him as he examined the remaining two. “These men. I don’t think—”

  “This is war, Lina. Sometimes men die.”

  He could see worry and fear and uncertainty mixing in her face. By now she must think him a monster. He couldn’t help being what he was. Lon turned back to strip the other soldiers of their weaponry. The one’s walkie-talkie didn’t take much to decommission: throw its battery pack down a ravine. He handed extra clips of ammo to Lina and she stashed them in their overstuffed bag.

  “We don’t set up a Red Cross station for them,” he told her.

  She nodded reluctantly and then reached into their pack to hand him a water bottle. He hadn’t realized how thirsty he was. Now he drank half the bottle before he recapped it and passed it back.

  She looked everywhere but at the downed mercs. Black blood streamed from a huge knot on the second one’s forehead.

  Lon put his hand reassuringly on Lina’s arm. “These men aren’t the type to obey orders they don’t agree with,” he told her. “I don’t think they’re just going to leave us alone because we’re together. It’s too easy to separate the bodies after the deed is done.”

  She nodded again, but she didn’t look at him, either.

  He squeezed her arm and she met his eyes. She didn’t pull away when he leaned forward; his lips brushed hers and then kissed very softly. His hand stayed precisely where it was, and he didn’t touch her with the other.

  “Forgiven, chérie?” he whispered when they were done. “Please.”

  She said nothing. Then she reached up to touch both palms so lightly to the sides of his face. She kissed him now, and it was all he could do to restrain himself. He rubbed her arm only the tiniest bit.

  It was a gentle kiss, but a long one. The tension in his shoulders began to drain away. The sting of the bruises on his face started to—

  “Hey!” He broke them apart. “You were healing me!”

  “Maybe
.”

  “I said to save that for later.”

  “And I thought you wouldn’t object if we got two things done at once.”

  “There’s a time and a place for efficiency,” he growled—but softly and with a smile, hope in his eyes. “Not just after a gun discharges. We need to clear this area.” He glanced around and pointed with his weapon. “North,” he said.

  They disappeared into the deep forest.

  Lina clutched at the outcropping hiding her from the next patrol. She hated guns. She hated the anger and fear associated with guns. Londo crouched next to her, peering through his rifle gun sight at these living, breathing men below them. They all had guns.

  Men and their games! They took them much too seriously. People could get hurt. People had already gotten worse than hurt this afternoon. She knew that two of those last men Londo had taken care of wouldn’t last much longer. One had already died maybe twenty minutes ago. She could sense angels waiting patiently and lovingly to take the others away. No one ever died unloved.

  Angels, make it so Londo doesn’t have to hurt anyone else! She knew deep in her heart that he didn’t like this. No one wanted to hurt people, not really. He hurt himself whenever he hurt others, and she couldn’t stand to see that.

  There was something about him that wailed in the etheric wind, crying and howling of loneliness and a soul so injured it bled. Angels, don’t let Londo hurt any more!

  Londo eased back on his heels, lowering the rifle. **They’re moving on,** he reported. **We rest here for fifteen minutes, make sure they’re away.**

  Lina waited three before she reached to hand him the water bottle. He was a soldier now and she carried his battle supplies. Tonight she was supposed to be the camp follower to service his other needs.

  This Londo scared her. He was all war and fighting efficiency, his nerves taut, his senses alert. He didn’t need these skills normally. Brute, undiluted mega-force should accomplish everything he needed to do. He must have had extensive training somewhere. Who would train Valiant for this?