“People are hungry, eh?”
Alyssa stared at Tan. “Hungry?”
“Crop yields are down for the third year, even in the most productive quadrants,” Jael said. “The World Council is concerned that, should the weather conditions continue, they’ll have to impose food rationing.”
“Two types of people you don’t want to deal with are the hungry and the self-righteous,” Tan said.
“This group is reviving some of the tenets of several old religions, playing on the guilt of survivors. They’re threatening the cohesion of our peaceful society. We have information that they’re confiscating and hoarding food,” Jael said. “We’re going to the Sierra Madre where people are gathering to defend and preserve The Collective.”
Alyssa couldn’t imagine it. Sure, their world wasn’t perfect. There would still be crimes of passion and mischief as long as humans were involved, but the world government had rid society of divisive beliefs and political power plays. Women and children were no longer victims of patriarchal societies. The penalty for possessing a projectile weapon was death. People no longer hunted for sport, and animals used for meat were humanely euthanized. Peacekeepers carried only stunners for unruly citizens. “How am I to help?”
Jael shook her head. “I’m not sure. But The Collective Council feels you have a role to play. I guess we’ll wing it and see.”
“How many are gathering and what will we do?”
“That’s all I can tell you right now.” Jael’s tone was dismissive, but Alyssa wasn’t that easily dissuaded.
“You don’t know, or you won’t tell me?”
Jael frowned at her impudence. “I don’t know some things yet, and it isn’t the right time to tell you some others.”
Alyssa didn’t like being dismissed, but she had plenty to mull over until she did find out more. More than a century of peace and now she had been chosen to help preserve that peace for maybe another century? It didn’t matter that Jael wasn’t sure what role she was to play, just that The Collective Council had called them both. Well, summoned all of them.
She hadn’t had a chance to really get to know any of the rest of The Guard before they left, but Tan had mentioned they would all be meeting again at the rendezvous site.
Who else would be gathering there? Defend and preserve? What exactly did that mean? If their purpose was to help disaster victims, they should be traveling to the southeast sector of the Third Continent, where an earthquake just last week had dropped several cities into the ocean and cracked open a sealed underground cache of spent nuclear waste.
But Jael said they were to stop the spread of The Natural Order. They must be headed to a massive convening to reaffirm The Collective’s tenets of diversity and peace. Their destination was probably some sacred place. They would spend several days, maybe several weeks, in meditation and song, then disperse to spread the renewal and redistribute the hoarded food. She didn’t know why it should be a big secret, except that word of it might cause those hoarding the food to hide their supplies. Okay. That made sense. Stars, she hoped they didn’t expect her to lead the meditations. She wasn’t that kind of Advocate.
She eyed Tan, who now sat cross-legged in her seat, her hands resting on her knees as though she was meditating. She could feel Tan’s emotions, sharp and tense like harp strings twanging so loudly with bravado and anticipation that Alyssa had to throw up a shield to keep from being overwhelmed. Even at rest, Tan gave off an aura so fierce that Alyssa couldn’t picture her joining hands with strangers and chanting affirmations, the things people did when they gathered at a temple to refresh their souls.
Alyssa flushed with embarrassment when she glanced up to find herself pinned by Jael’s laser-blue gaze. She hadn’t even felt Jael watching her. Never had anyone been able to so completely block her from reading their feelings. It put her off balance. Jael’s mouth lifted in a slight smile, and Alyssa’s body heated with a different kind of warmth. That was even more flustering. Sure, the woman was physically a goddess, but she’d been around attractive women before. She’d even had a few lovers, but Jael was an incredibly enticing mix of raw beauty, mystery, talent, and…power. Yes, power. She could feel the way the others deferred to her.
She smiled back, then turned to stare at the blur of landscape outside their window. Jael was as unreadable as ever, but Alyssa didn’t think she’d been listening in on her thoughts. She’d felt Jael’s probe before, like a polite knock before entering her mind. Still, it was a good thing Jael could read only thoughts, not emotions. She would have been laid bare if she thought Jael could detect the lust that wet her thighs every time she was near her. Souls above! She needed to get past this attraction.
*
Jael shaded her eyes from the sun’s glare as she surveyed the boarding platform. When she spotted Diego, he was standing with a man and woman, both who wore tattoos that identified them as Advocates of The Collective. Diego waved them over.
“I have transport arranged for myself and three others,” he said without greeting. He indicated Alyssa, then the man and woman who stood next to him. “I’ll apologize in advance, however, because all I could manage was a ride aboard a freight carrier.”
“How’s the response?” Jael wasn’t concerned about the travel accommodations. Her agitation at traveling separately from Specter over the past few days was like a thousand prickling needles, and she wouldn’t settle until she could see him and center herself again with their bond. She knew Tan’s separation from Phyrrhos had caused her grumpy mood, too.
Diego waved his hands at the crowded train station. “Last count was nearly eight hundred, and most of the people you see around you are here for the same reason. It’s becoming difficult to house and feed so many. That’s why I was having trouble securing transport.”
Jael nodded. By her estimation, she would need a thousand candidates to put together an army of maybe a hundred.
The man with Diego offered his hand to Alyssa. “I’m Uri, and this is Nicole. We’ve been sent to accompany and assist you.”
Alyssa’s expression went from surprise to irritation. She turned to Jael. “I thought I was going with you. Diego said he only had transport for three.”
Jael would have laughed at the hands-on-hips glare directed her way, but she didn’t have time for this today. “Tan and I have a side trip. We’ll meet you at our destination.” She turned to Diego. “Raven and Michael have arrived with no problem?”
“Smooth journey. They’re at the camp with Second. Furcho will meet you on the mountain.” He pointed to a transport pulling three long narrow hover barges that were heavily loaded with boxes, buckets, and crates of live chickens. “There’s our ride.” He tugged on Alyssa’s sleeve, trusting the other two to follow. “We should hurry. I don’t think these guys will wait for us.”
Alyssa looked back one last time, her eyes searching Jael’s. Dung. She looked like a puppy some hard soul had just dumped out on the street.
Soon. I’ll find you tomorrow. For now, I need you to trust me.
Jael was used to giving orders and having people follow them, so she didn’t know why she felt compelled to offer this assurance. It was a good thing they were preparing for a battle. She’d obviously grown soft during this lifetime of peace. She watched them climb aboard the barges and find suitable perches for the last leg of their trip. Tan shifted restlessly but didn’t question why they lingered until the transport and its passengers disappeared.
*
It was well past dusk when they broke free of the tree line. They’d traveled by transport past the sugarcane fields and coffee farms, riding as far up the mountain as possible. Then they traveled by mule for another three hours through more rugged terrain before dismissing their puzzled guide to return the mules back down the mountain.
“But it will be night in a few hours. There are many things you do not want to meet in the dark up here.” The guide implored them. “Come back to my home. My mate will make dinner for us. We will
get an earlier start tomorrow, and I will take you to the top in daylight.” Fire-breathing bats bigger than men live here.
Jael didn’t normally listen in on someone’s thoughts, but this man was thinking very loudly. She shook her head. Bats. With so many species of bats in the surrounding forests, it was a reasonable assumption. But hadn’t anyone ever heard of dragons? People just didn’t read classic literature anymore. All they did was watch vids, especially now that the free world-digital network made access available in even the most remote places. She’d seen a lot in her lifetimes, but she still found it odd for a family living in a one-room hut made of mud and straw to be gathered around one of the digital tablets distributed by the world learning council, watching the latest vid.
“What sort of things?” Tan asked.
Jael shot her a warning look. She wanted to keep a low profile and didn’t need Tan inciting the native residents with her teasing. Her Mohawk and fierce features had already earned them more attention than Jael found comfortable.
The man shrank from Tan and turned to Jael. “I will bring you back tomorrow, no extra charge.”
Jael smiled and activated the IC on her wrist to type in a sequence of numbers. “Thank you, but we’ll be fine. I’ve transferred the promised luxury credits to your account, with a generous tip.” She showed the screen to the guide. Medical care was free, and credits for food, essential clothing, and other necessities of life were distributed monthly to every citizen of the world, but people still worked for extra credits to purchase anything beyond those basics.
The guide nodded his appreciation and shrugged. “As you wish.” He unclipped the reins from the bridles of each of their mules and stored them in the saddlebags, then mounted the lead animal. “Should I come back tomorrow with the mules?”
“That won’t be necessary,” she said. “We’ll be hiking back down a different route.”
He shrugged again and turned his mule down the trail. The others followed in single file, tied together only by habit and the promise of a bucket of feed at the end of the trail.
Jael breathed a sigh of relief. Her need to see Specter had grown in intensity as they neared where their mounts were grazing and drowsing away the daylight hours. They were close now. Tan felt it, too. Her eyes were unfocused as the bond called to her. Wordlessly, Jael shouldered her duffle like a backpack and dove into the thick jungle, instinctively finding a narrow animal path. Breaking into a jog, she didn’t need to look back to know that Tan was silently following.
They ran for almost an hour, jumping over jungle debris and ducking low-hanging vines. An occasional snake slithered overhead or underfoot, but the raucous chatter of the colorful avian denizens grew quiet, and the part of Jael that was bonded to Specter swelled with elation. If the jungle’s silence in the presence of a strange new creature hadn’t signaled their imminent reunion, the irritated picture that suddenly appeared in her head of monster-sized, biting mosquitoes would have. She burst from the thick foliage into a grassy clearing and slowed only when she was within a few feet. He stepped toward her and they immediately pressed their foreheads together, both relaxing at the touch.
She finally pulled her face away when he began to twitch and stomp again to shoo the biting insects from his sensitive hide. She shrugged out of her duffle straps and dug in it to retrieve two thumbnail-sized insect-repellent discs. She chuckled as Specter’s suggestion of a plate-sized repellent disc formed in her head. “These will be sufficient,” she said as she telepathed an image of mosquitoes fleeing the clearing. She clipped one in his mane and the other at the base of his tail, and he audibly sighed.
“We’ll be above them soon, Spec,” she said.
“How was your trip?” Furcho had waited for her to reconnect with Specter before approaching.
“Long.” She pressed against Specter’s side, grounding herself in his physical presence as she rubbed her cheek against his silky shoulder. She glanced over at Tan, whose forehead was still pressed to Phyrrhos’. “Restless.” Specter shifted and pushed at her with his head, begging an ear rub and closing his eyes when she complied.
Furcho smiled. “I think that if you hadn’t arrived today, he would have begun terrorizing villages to find you.”
“Fire-breathing bats? Really?”
He glared at Specter. “You can blame your bonded for that. We’ve got more personal repellent discs on the way, but not enough to give every person one, much less livestock.”
Specter opened his eyes, gripped Furcho’s pant leg in his teeth, and tugged so hard he almost upended him. He did understand a few words, and livestock wasn’t one of his favorites.
Jael laughed but slapped Specter on the shoulder. “Behave, brat.”
Furcho took a step back and his horse, Azar, ambled over, pinning his ears at Specter in warning. “Anyway, when the mosquito hordes descended at sunset, Specter decided that incinerating them was a good idea, and the others joined in. I could see them from the next mountain, so I’m sure the native population noticed.”
Jael shook her head. “Well, there’s nothing we can do about it now, but we probably should find a different meadow for them in case some brave soul decides to hike up here to investigate.”
Azar’s silver dappled hide twitched against the biting insects, and Jael dug the bag of repellent discs from her duffle. She handed the bag to Furcho, who talked as he attached discs to Azar’s mane and tail.
“Raven found a long-dead volcano that has formed a fairly flat and well-grassed field inside. The mouth isn’t deep, but enough to hide the meadow unless you’re above it, and it’s a fairly easy hike down to the camp we’ve established for those who responded to The Calling.”
“Good. How far is the nest?”
“A day if you’re marching a hundred strong. You can fly it in about an hour.”
It would take a lot of planning to infiltrate the nest, but they had plenty of time. She needed warriors first.
Chapter Nine
Jael should have been tired, but her night with Specter had refreshed her in a way sleep could not. The hike down into the sprawling valley was an easy one. The climb up was steep, which she hoped would work in their favor to conceal the small herd, but it didn’t bother the members of The Guard, because several clearings where they could rendezvous with their steeds were located near the encampment.
She stood on an outcrop that provided a natural reviewing platform for the valley below. The problem of concealing their remarkable herd was solved, but nearly a thousand more puzzles were busily erecting temporary quarters, a medical clinic, and a headquarters building.
She’d been watching Second ascend but didn’t turn when she stepped onto the outcrop behind her. “Report.”
“One thousand and three have answered The Calling. Some are young, Jael, but Diego and I have culled thirty who are old enough to recall their past military lives. I designated sergeants and lieutenants among them to divide and organize. As you can see, they have our initial task of housing and sustenance well in hand.”
“Good.” She could always count on Second’s organizational skills. She rubbed at her left shoulder absently. Although she’d been wounded there during several lifetimes, it was still whole in this life. The gesture was an old habit triggered by the too-familiar scene before her. She turned to face Second. “The Advocate and her assistants arrived okay?”
Second smiled. “She’s organizing the medical clinic because she has training in natural healing. She’s already assembled a group of medical workers for the hospital from among those who answered The Calling. First-life or not, she’s a natural leader. People respond to her.”
“Very good.” This pleased Jael, but she sensed the happiness that infused her wasn’t all her own. She scanned the valley, instantly finding the slender figure with fiery spiked hair staring up at her. Her smile wide, Alyssa raised her hand in a small wave. Jael self-consciously tucked her hand into her pocket when she realized she was returning the smile and wave.
>
Second didn’t comment on the exchange but continued her report. “We’ll be ready to begin genetic testing tomorrow, but it’s not likely there’s a pureblood in the whole lot.”
“That’s where the elixir will come in. Hopefully, a few hundred have enough genetic material that we can develop the warriors we need from them.”
*
Alyssa watched Jael and Second climb down from the outcrop and disappear into the forest. When she could no longer see them, she returned her attention to the people around her and realized they were unusually happy about unpacking medical equipment, even though the humidity had them all perspiring and the insects buzzed incessantly about their heads.
“What are we so happy about?” Nicole’s smile was blazing. Stars, she needed to get a better grip on herself. She was broadcasting to everyone around her, even though Nicole was the only one nearby who recognized her sudden joy was coming from Alyssa. She had shared her empathetic capability with Nicole and Uri. They were empaths, too, but couldn’t project like Alyssa.
“Uh, the boss of this whole operation has arrived, and she’s promised me some answers about what we’re doing here.”
Nicole’s smile faltered. “She? I thought mucho hottie was in charge. What’s his name?”
Alyssa chuckled. “Furcho.” It hadn’t been hard to read Nicole’s interest when Furcho had checked in with them last night to make sure they had adequate quarters and assistance to set up the clinic. She wanted to tell Nicole that the striking man with dusky skin and soft brown eyes returned her interest, but it wasn’t her job to play matchmaker. They could sort that out between themselves.
“Jael’s in charge. She’s the tall blonde who was ordering people around at the train station.”
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