I opened my mouth to say, “Nothing is going to happen,” but I didn’t get quite that far. A strange tingling sensation took over my body, not at all how it felt when the creek’s energy was working through me. No, this was more like tiny insects were crawling all over my skin.
The world flickered, my mother’s face disappearing even as she reached out toward me, as if in an attempt to prevent me from leaving.
That was impossible, though. Gideon was summoning me to him, and my mother and the surrounding landscape were gone before I had a chance to blink.
CHAPTER TWENTY
When the world resolved itself around me again, I saw that my surroundings were familiar enough — a room lit by dim reddish fixtures, walls of perfectly planed stone. I blinked, trying to shrug off the last of that creepy-crawly sensation on my skin. Then I realized that, although this had to be the alien base out in Secret Canyon, I’d actually never seen this chamber before.
It was very large and echoing, with a sort of raised dais at one end. On that dais were two large metal chairs, and on those chairs sat Gideon and Lir Shalan.
I stared. When he’d left me at the cottage, Gideon had been wearing jeans and one of the T-shirts I’d bought him. Now, though, he was back in the high-collared flowing robes the Reptilians preferred. What that meant, I didn’t know for sure. I only knew that his altered appearance sent a sudden chill through my body. The Gideon I looked at now seemed far too much like the cold-eyed half-alien I’d first met, not the lover who’d caressed me in the shower earlier that morning.
And then I saw Kelsey, standing a foot or so to the left and slightly behind Lir Shalan’s chair. Her eyes were glassy, blank, with black smudges of smeared mascara and eyeliner under them. God only knew what Lir Shalan had done to her to make her look so catatonic. I just had to hope that whatever it was, it would wear off quickly once Gideon and I had gotten her away from here.
She was still wearing the tight jeans, high-heeled sandals, and thin-strapped top she must have put on to go to the party the night before. Something about the getup made her look that much more vulnerable, and I wished I could go to her and give her my jacket.
Lir Shalan stood, and Gideon followed suit. I still wasn’t all that good at deciphering Reptilian facial expressions, and of course I couldn’t “read” the alien leader the way I might a normal human being. However, it really didn’t take a psychic to perceive the cloud of triumph that seemed to hang around him.
“Taryn Oliver,” he said. “How good of you to join us.”
“It’s not like I was given much of a choice,” I replied, then risked a quick, slanted glance in Gideon’s direction. His expression was blank, his eyes shuttered. I couldn’t get anything from him, and another of those cold little tendrils worked its way down my back. I’d known going in that he would have to keep everything tightly tamped down, that he couldn’t risk revealing anything of what we had planned, but still, I’d been expecting to see at least a flicker from him, something to tell me that the Gideon I knew and loved was in there somewhere.
“True.” Lir Shalan descended from the dais, Gideon a few steps behind. They paused when they were a pace or two away from me. “To be honest, I was not sure whether he would really bring you here. When he disappeared like that, with no word….” The Reptilian leader paused and looked over at his son, then back at me. “I had my doubts. But he assured me the time spent with you was only so he might gain your trust.”
“It seems that trust was misplaced,” I said then, my throat suddenly dry. “Or he would never have brought me here.”
“Perhaps.” His gaze flicked toward Kelsey and then back to me, the ruby eyes seeming to glow with a hunger I didn’t want to acknowledge. “But he has shown himself to be a true son, because you are here. And here you will stay.”
I’d been expecting Lir Shalan to say something along those lines. What I hadn’t expected was what he said next.
“You can keep your friend company, for she will stay as well.”
“What?” Even though I’d guessed he might pull something like this, I couldn’t keep the shock from my voice. I should have known he would never agree to our bargain. Why give up the one, when he could keep both of us as his captives?
Gideon spoke for the first time. His voice was cold, almost a stranger’s. There was nothing in his body language or expression to show that he had any feelings for me at all. “My father welcomed me back. He’s always wanted you for me, Taryn…but since I also brought a woman for him, I’ve proven my trustworthiness.”
My brain didn’t seem to be properly processing his words. Stammering a little, I asked, “W-what do you mean, you brought a woman for him? She was kidnapped off the highway in the middle of the night!”
“Yes, but it was because of you that I knew she would be there. You don’t do a very good job of locking down your phone, Taryn. I saw the text Kelsey sent you, asking you if you wanted to come to the party in Cottonwood with her. From that text, it was easy enough to extrapolate where she would be last night, and at what approximate time. Because I had access to her text and her number, we were able to tap into her phone as well. She sent a text to her mother at approximately eleven fifteen, saying she was on her way home. After that, it was merely a matter of waiting for her to arrive.”
No, that couldn’t be true. I did have a habit of leaving my phone lying around, so Gideon could have easily found it. As far as locking it down, well, I used the same standard five-digit security code that anyone else might. Those codes were supposed to be almost impossible to crack — unless you happened to have extraterrestrial technology and tools at your disposal.
I stared at Gideon in horror. He returned my gaze, ruby eyes never looking more alien than they did in that moment. So had the whole thing been a lie? Had he and Lir Shalan been plotting all along, knowing they would have to maneuver me into a place where they could easily snap me up?
My stomach churned, the meager breakfast I’d eaten going sour within. “I don’t believe you,” I whispered.
His expression didn’t change. “Believe what you wish. My father sent me to Sedona to bring you back, and that’s precisely what I did. All the rest — that was nothing.”
I wanted to ask how he could have faked everything — his words of love, the way our energies had meshed. The way he’d stood in Oak Creek and wept as the healing waters washed his sins away.
But then I realized he was half Reptilian, and they were masters of deceit, of manipulation. For all I knew, the legends of Eve and the serpent sprang from humanity’s early interactions with the alien race. Yes, I’d gotten twinges of emotion from him, emotions I would have sworn were genuine, but how could I have known for sure? I’d never had interactions with any one of his people before. I didn’t know how they were supposed to feel.
All this so he could circle back and bring me to the place where he and his father thought I was intended to be. Just another one of their stolen women, perhaps slightly more important because of my psychic abilities.
Psychic. There was a joke. Those supposed “abilities” sure hadn’t done much to help me out here.
Lir Shalan smiled, his lipless mouth lifting in something that seemed more like a grimace. Just looking at him made me want to be sick. “You seem shocked, Taryn Oliver. Did you really think you held such sway over him? Yes, he did show a moment of weakness when he let you go, but it seems he has more than redeemed himself now.”
“Damned himself, you mean,” I retorted, but my voice shook, and I knew Lir Shalan could see how weak my defiance really was.
“Go ahead and hate him,” the Reptilian leader said, the words a silky taunt. “Do you think your hatred matters to any of us?”
“I don’t know,” I replied. My voice did sound firmer now. Where I’d gotten that strength from, I didn’t really know. But now it seemed as if everything was lost, and so it didn’t really matter what I said…or how I said it. I crossed my arms and glared at him. “Did Elizabeth hate yo
u?”
“Elizabeth?”
“The woman who bore your son,” I told him, hating that he’d even asked the question. “Have you forgotten her name already?”
“It is not that I have forgotten her name, but more that it holds very little importance for me. She was here for a time, and she served her purpose. What she felt or thought of me has no relevance.”
Nothing could have driven home to me how alien Lir Shalan was more than the way he spoke of Gideon’s mother. She truly had been nothing to him, nothing at all. It didn’t matter that she’d given him a healthy child, or ultimately died because she couldn’t force her body through one more brutal pregnancy.
But then I remembered how Gideon had said his father had held her that one time, put his arms around her as if to comfort her. Or had that story been a lie, too? That seemed the most plausible explanation; he’d wanted me to see some spark of compassion, of humanity in his father, even though it was clear enough that Lir Shalan possessed none.
I looked from him to Gideon. “Is that how you want it to be between us? Only the ruthless dictates of biology, with no love, no warmth?”
The slightest shudder went through his body. His eyes narrowed as he said, “You are looking at this as a human would. That is understandable. But those sorts of weaknesses are only an impediment when it comes to reestablishing our race.”
“It won’t even be your race, though, will it?” I asked desperately. I was trying every possible angle of attack in the vain hope that maybe something I said would make him reconsider his course of action. “In a few generations, will you even be able to tell from looking at the offspring of these unions whether they have any Reptilian blood at all?”
Lir Shalan spoke then. “You are human, and so have no understanding of these matters. Appearance is not important. What is important is that our children and our children’s children will still carry the seeds of our bloodlines within them. That part of us will still endure. I recognize my son as my son because he carries my blood within him, even though he resembles his mother far more than he does me.”
So he remembered that much of her, was able to recognize her features in his son’s face. Or was he even looking that closely at all? Maybe all he saw was someone who appeared human, or nearly so.
Gideon came closer, so close that the hem of his long robe brushed against my foot. I shivered but forced myself to stand my ground, even though every instinct was telling me to back away. He must have detected my disgust, because his mouth lifted in a humorless smile, and his eyes took on an unpleasant glint. “So fastidious, Taryn? It wasn’t so long ago that you were more than willing to have me touch you. Just a few hours ago, come to think of it.”
God, I really was going to be sick. But then I thought of how my mother had stood in this place and let the energy of Sedona work through her, blasting every Reptilian and hybrid within.
Well, almost all of them. One of those hybrids had survived to stagger out into the desert, to find help and love, if only for a little while. If it hadn’t been for the man who’d called himself Grayson, Grace Rinehart would never have been born.
I doubted this current scenario would have anything close to that kind of happy ending, but I had to try.
When I reached for it, though, the energy wasn’t there. I forced myself to recall how it had felt to have the power surging through me, willed it to come at my command, but it had fled, or had never been there in the first place. Well, at least on its own. I’d shared that energy with Gideon, so I knew it existed. But if it only worked when the two of us were summoning it, then I was in even more trouble than I had thought.
“Take her,” Lir Shalan said. “Show her that it is pointless to resist.”
Before I could even attempt to flee, Gideon was there, pulling me into his arms. I struggled, trying to free myself from his grip, but I’d noted how strong he was even when he was merely hugging me, and that strength seemed multiplied now that he was intent on preventing me from getting away. Bile rose in my throat, and I shifted my weight, thinking I might at least manage to knee him in the groin even if I couldn’t tear my wrists from his grasp.
Then, shockingly clear, his voice came into my mind. Taryn, my love, don’t fight me. This is our moment.
What the hell are you talking about? I flung at him. Right then I didn’t have the resources to ask how in the world he was able to communicate with me like this. I’m not going to fall for any more of your lies!
Those were lies, this is not. I had to put on that act so I could get you close like this. We had to be touching so we could use the energy against him.
There was such conviction in his inner voice that I stopped struggling and stared up into his face, attempting to determine whether this was another trick or whether he truly meant what he’d said. Just past him, I could see Lir Shalan’s alien features take on a satisfied leer. He thought I had given in, had finally realized there was no point in trying to resist.
You mean that?
Of course I do, my love. I would never betray you. But I need you now so we can put an end to this.
An end. This conflict had been playing out for longer than I’d been alive. Could we do it? Was our combined strength enough to defeat Lir Shalan and send the Reptilians away from here for good?
Only one way to find out.
I’m here, Gideon.
His fingers interlaced with mine. At once I could feel the energy begin to surge, seeming to come from the very ground beneath our feet. Maybe the earth truly was its source, flowing up from the vortexes that gave Sedona its particular power. Some people scoffed at the very notion of the vortexes and the energies associated with them, said that there was nothing particularly special about the region except its extreme natural beauty.
I knew better. And so did Gideon.
Brilliant yellow-white light flared, swirling around our limbs and sparking into the cold, still air, the illumination shocking in the dimly lit room. Lir Shalan recoiled, then hissed something in the Reptilian language. A curse, a command for his son to let go of me? I didn’t know, and right then I really didn’t care. I just wanted him to know what it felt like to be helpless.
The light spilled out in a wave, striking the Reptilian commander in the chest and knocking him to the ground. That sort of blow would have killed a human outright, but of course Lir Shalan wasn’t human. Face contorted with pain, he uttered another incomprehensible phrase, his eyes glaring red death at us. His clawed fingers scrabbled for something at his waist, even as he struggled to pull himself upright. What was he reaching for? A weapon?
I didn’t know, but apparently Gideon did. Without even stopping to think, he raised his hands.
Gideon, let me do it, I pleaded. Maybe Lir Shalan wasn’t worthy of my pity or compassion, but I still couldn’t bear the thought of his son being the person who must kill him.
The briefest of hesitations, and then he shook his head, his jaw set. In that moment, I knew he had to be the one to strike down his father once and for all. Otherwise, Gideon would never be truly free of him.
Brilliant, glowing fire engulfed the alien leader, flowing outward from Gideon’s palms. The unearthly illumination surrounded Lir Shalan before knocking him flat once more. His head hit the rocky surface with a sharp crack, and black blood began to trickle its way across the floor. Even that wasn’t enough, though. Breath hissing from his lipless mouth, he pulled another cylinder from his belt, subtly different in shape from the conveyor/communications device I’d seen Gideon use.
And he pointed it at me.
I raised my hands to summon the energy, but Gideon was too fast for me. The light crackled and flared once again, this time exploding away from him and enveloping Lir Shalan in a glowing cocoon of light. This time, the alien leader collapsed like a balloon that had had the air let out of it, the cylinder falling from his limp fingers and hitting the ground with a clatter.
The light shimmered and pulsed once more, as if making sure he woul
dn’t move again. Then it disappeared altogether, dissolving into the stony ground beneath our feet. Gideon and I stared at one another for a long moment, and he swallowed once, hard, then hurried over to the prone form of his father and knelt next to him. The alien’s red eyes were shut, and I couldn’t tell if he was breathing. His thin slash of a mouth gaped open slightly.
“Is he…?” I began, then stopped. I didn’t know what I should say. Yes, I’d wished for Lir Shalan’s death, but I worried how Gideon would live with the knowledge that he’d delivered the killing blow, even if he’d all but told me that he should be the one to do it.
He looked up, expression bleak, and shook his head. “No. He’s still alive…barely.”
I didn’t know how to feel about that. Relieved? No, not really, because sooner or later the Reptilian leader would have to wake up. I knew that Gideon and I had better be long gone from the alien base before that happened. And what would happen after that, I really had no idea.
A woman’s voice broke in then. “What — where am I?”
Kelsey, putting a hand to her head and blinking around in obvious befuddlement. She took a few tottering steps in her ridiculous high heels, then stopped, obviously staring at Gideon’s green skin.
“Who?”
“It’s okay, Kelsey,” I said, hurrying over to her. “This is Gideon. He’s helping us. Do you remember how you got here?”
She rubbed at her temple. “Not really. There was a bright light, and then there were these horrible faces peering down at me. But I can’t remember much more than that.” Her gaze shifted to Lir Shalan’s motionless body. “Oh, God, that’s one of them!”
“Don’t worry,” Gideon said grimly as he got to his feet. “He’s not going anywhere.”
sedona files 06 - enemy mine Page 25