by Mikayla Lane
Tara grinned and held her hands up in the air.
“I’m not saying anything!” she promised.
Lauren wasn’t quite as kind.
“She’s just going to kick your ass when she wakes up. I can’t keep knocking her out to save you either. The shit is hitting the fan above ground,” the doctor said before disappearing down the hallway.
Tara rolled her eyes.
“Some prisoners escaped and a thousand year old energy barrier with half a mountain were obliterated by an adorable little boy, and you’d think it was the end of the world!” she grinned as she fluffed her hand through Leif’s charred hair, giggling as bits off soot and singed hair rained down.
Leif groaned and pulled his head away from her as he headed down the hall to his personal quarters, needing a safe place to put True now that she’d set her room on fire.
“Wait . . .” he said, stopping short and turning to Tara. “Did you say a small . . . boy?” he asked, sure he heard her wrong.
Tara smiled and nodded.
“We saw the little guy clearly at the old entrance. He looked . . . I don’t know . . . like he wasn’t all there. In his mind . . . you know?” she asked, uncomfortable with how to describe the beautiful child.
Leif looked at her in exasperation.
“No. I don’t know. Is it a midget hybrid or something?” he asked, heading back down the hall again, hoping to get True settled before the sedative wore off.
“Leif, I don’t know what he is, but he looks like a disabled human child—one who blew through our energy barriers and took out half of the old section,” Tara said, still stunned at what she’d seen.
Leif stopped and turned to Tara again, expecting to see her grin and was surprised at how serious and concerned she looked.
“Are you serious? You’re not just randomly jerking my chain or mocking Lauren?” he asked incredulously.
“No. If I hadn’t seen it myself, I wouldn’t believe it either. And your legends,” Tara mocked. “Are currently trying to stop not only the disabled child, but a pregnant woman and a dozen Sibiox from ruining a thousand years of their barrier system,” she admitted, even more stunned once she heard herself say it out loud.
Leif snorted.
“A disabled child and a pregnant woman? What kind of fool do you take me for, woman?” Leif asked before Tara grabbed hold of his head and reaped the images of what she’d seen into his mind.
She pulled away, and Leif stood there gasping and reeling from what Tara had shown him.
“They took out the entire old section? And no shot was fired from a craft?” he asked.
Tara shook her head and crossed her arms over her chest before she looked at Leif with narrowed eyes.
“Don’t you think we need to start considering the darker things I’ve seen now?” she asked.
Leif rolled his eyes and turned back down the hall to his room.
“No, I still think that a lot of what you’ve seen in the minds of the enemy is their personal fantasies or nightmares,” he said, refusing to tell her that True had thought he was one of the mythical creatures Tara had heard of—a prime.
Tara slapped his arm.
“You’re a fool! Just like your legends! What the hell else do you think can make a disabled child take down a damn mountain? Huh? Got any other suggestions, son of legend?” Tara challenged with her hands on her hips.
“Tara, why is it so important that it be true? You’ve said yourself that the bad you’ve seen is beyond bad. Why would you want to be right about that? Besides, I’d hardly call the kid disabled if he took out a mountain,” Leif pointed out, arching a burnt brow.
Tara’s mouth fell open.
“Are you really as blind as they are? Yes, the bad is really bad. But, the good . . . would more than make up for it! Besides, if it’s true then we need to be prepared for it, not bury our heads in the sand! And you have a point,” she said, then quickly added, “about the boy not being disabled if he could take down the mountain.”
Leif sighed and turned to his lifelong friend.
“Are you positive the child did it? Have you heard these mythical people mentioned by the other captives?” he asked. He wondered if Tara might actually be right, but was frightened for them all if she was.
Tara nodded her head, trying to quell her excitement.
“Yes! Gibly, the talking Sibiox, told me of the prime and dark prime when I showed him the way out. The other ones that the legends just captured with the mutant . . . I don’t know, but I can check the security vids. Did your mate mention anything,” she asked, suspicious as to why he was asking this stuff now when she’d been telling him about it for years.
Leif juggled True in his arms and nodded at the door to his room, hoping Tara would take the hint and open it for him. He was grateful when she did. He damn sure didn’t want to answer her question while they were in the hallway.
Out of pure meanness, he made Tara wait for his answer while he gently laid True on his bed and pulled the blankets over her. He considered undoing the tape on her hands and sighed, pulling the blanket over them as well so he wouldn’t have to see them and feel guilty about it—for now anyway.
Leif exhaled loudly as he walked over to the sitting area and dropped into one of the chairs across from Tara.
“So . . . you’re telling me that you think these mythical creatures that the Relians fear so much . . . is this disabled child and a pregnant woman?” he asked, still thinking her theory was crazy.
Tara snorted.
“Don’t be an ass just to be an ass. We have the legends for that. And no . . . yes! I don’t know,” she admitted, knowing how crazy it sounded.
Leif sighed and looked at his best friend.
“Tara, as much as we need a miracle right now, I’m not seeing a kid and a pregnant woman being it. This isn’t the Bible and our mountain ain’t a manger,” he said trying to cheer her up.
Tara wasn’t done though.
“Tell me, smart ass . . .” Tara paused and looked around as another violent tremor shook them—this one much closer than the last.
Leif narrowed his eyes, watching the room shake and wondering what the hell could break through the energy barriers and hit them.
Tara waited until the tremors stopped and continued,
“If none of it is true, then what’s the tablet that Legend Sr. found when he discovered the original cave? The one in a language none of us can understand? The one that radiates power? And tell me how a little boy and a pregnant woman are wreaking havoc on this place while we face off against our own people?” Tara said, exasperated with all the men in the Erikson family.
And Tara wasn’t the only one annoyed with the Erikson men. This ridiculous standoff between their own people over some past grudge that Fiorn had was on the verge of getting them all killed, and tensions among the people of Fiorn’s Folly were really high.
The tremors rocking their base as the woman and child blew through their energy protections were only escalating the fear and misgivings among their people about what they were doing.
Leif was on the verge of responding when the internal alarm systems went off.
“Warning! Intruders are within 12 hours of breaching the main level.”
Another alarm sounded.
“Warning! Docking bay door barriers are activated. Initial ship deployment is in progress.”
Leif shot to his feet and looked at Tara with concern.
“We’re deploying ships? Against what? A child and a woman?”
Tara shook her head.
“No, they’re already inside. The legends have deployed strike teams to intercept them. Strike teams for a child! But I don’t know why we’ve deployed ships,” Tara said as she went to the comm in Leif’s room and pulled up the security screens.
She entered her passwords and pulled up and image of the outside of the mountain range they were in and gasped.
“Oh my God!”
Leif stared, stunned at the
sight of their ships facing off with another group of ships over the mountain range that they called Base Alpha, Fiorn’s Folly. He looked to where the cave entrance used to be and was shocked to see parts of the mountain still sliding down.
The mountain was gone all the way past the original comm center, with parts of the living area actually exposed to the daylight. He trembled slightly when he saw that Fiorn’s room, where True had been sleeping only hours earlier, was completely gone.
Leif looked over at Tara as the surreal scene unfolded before them.
“A boy did that?” he asked, incredulous that a small child could bring down a mountain that was over 300 million years old.
Tara shook her head and just stared at the screen.
“I’m telling you Leif, this is it. Do it now or seal our fate,” she said, never looking from the screen.
Leif cursed a colorful streak.
“I’m going to get the little firefly somewhere safe and find the legends,” he said with a sigh as he turned to the bed.
The now empty bed.
“Damn it!” he roared as he stormed to the door, completely forgetting his partially burnt and exposed ass, and stomped out to find his escaped mate.
Chapter Two
Countdown Clock to Human Discovery
23:00 Hours
This is a WSBC news special alert. Unconfirmed reports of a landslide and serious weather conditions near the Burnt Tree Ridge area of the White River National Forest continue to roll in. We are currently trying to contact local authorities to confirm. Please be aware of potential serious conditions in the area and take precautions to ensure your safety.
Ivint stood in Grai’s cabin nearby, their temporary command center, and watched in horror when he saw the vid of the mountain disappear with Tricia, Tristan, and the cats inside. The room erupted in gasps and shouts of denial. He turned to the room and roared for silence.
He spoke the second it got quiet.
“Can anyone get hold of them?”
Ivint looked around for David or Jax when no one answered, and he noticed Tricia’s teams—as well as Traze and Koda—were gone.
Ivint was just getting started on a long string of curses when more gasps were heard, and he turned to see the ships come over the mountain. He knew they weren’t his or Koda’s ships and knew that the hybrids in the mountain were responding. Moments later he smiled when he saw that Koda’s ships were facing off with the unidentified crafts.
“Look!” Someone yelled and zoomed in on the ground.
A large team of their hybrids, led by Jax and an entire forest of bears, mountain cats, birds, and other woodland creatures, were heading towards the mountain.
Reven roared in anger when he saw his pregnant mate, and he stomped over to Ivint.
“We can’t let this go on!” he said.
Ivint shook his head.
“It won’t. Gracus!” Ivint yelled looking for his recently grounded commander.
“Sir!” Gracus Adrastor said from behind Ivint.
The Valendran leader turned and smiled at the man and his mate, Rebecca, who stood at the ready to help. Ivint had just the thing and was getting ready to speak when everyone turned toward the sirens and blue lights that were pulling into the driveway outside of the cabin.
Ivint ran a hand down his face.
What now? He wondered.
Before he could think of an excuse for their presence, Sheriff Joe Scarborough walked through the door without knocking. The room was silent, everyone thinking of what to say when Joe saw Scaden and walked over to him, talking loudly so everyone could hear.
“Boys, the fact that I got a shitload of UFOs over my mountains and Grai not being here tells me all I need to know. I’m trying like hell to keep pictures from getting to the press, but there are people in those mountains, and I can’t stop them all. So tell me what the hell you need me to do to help you get this shit under control before the whole world knows you’re here,” Joe said as he looked around at the largest group of aliens he’d ever seen in one place.
Ivint looked at Scaden, who cleared his throat and made introductions.
“Commander Ivint Torenson, this is Grai’s friend, Sheriff Joe Scarborough. He’s the local law enforcement in the area and he helps Grai. And obviously knows all about us too,” Scaden said.
Joe snorted and held his hand out to the older man, who was obviously in charge.
“It’d take me several lifetimes to make up for all the help that Grai has given us. It’s a pleasure to meet you. I called in a favor at the park service, and we’re getting all routes in and out of the park near that mountain closed, calling it a natural weather disaster, but the governor will call the national guard if we don’t get control, and the humans will start coming too, then your secrets are out,” Joe said warningly.
Ivint couldn’t believe how damn lucky they were to have the local law to help them. The people that Grai had befriended never ceased to amaze him, and this older, but smart man was no exception and Ivint eagerly shook his hand.
“You have no idea how much we appreciate this, Sheriff,” Ivint said.
Joe looked around.
“So, we heading to the mountain for a war? I brought all my heavy gear in my car,” he said.
Ivint erupted in hearty laughter and slapped the brave human on the back.
“We can use all the help we can get, but I think we’d do better letting you run everything here locally and we’ll head out there to try and get this under control, if that’s ok with you?” Ivint asked. He hoped to keep the man away from the real danger where he’d be much more useful preventing the humans from learning of their existence on the planet.
The sheriff nodded his head and Ivint called for several hybrid teams to come forward.
“You will report to the sheriff and assist him in keeping the humans out of the area and safe. Cristali!” Ivint yelled out.
“Sir?” her small voice came over the comm seconds later.
Ivint grinned when the shy, but very talented woman answered.
“I need you to help the sheriff to keep those photos from getting out!” he said, knowing she’d be able to help.
“Yes, sir!” Cristali said.
Ivint turned back to the sheriff.
“Thank you, so much,” he said again, truly grateful for the man’s help.
Joe looked around, noting the serious expressions on everyone’s face.
“Where is Grai?” he asked Ivint.
Ivint sighed.
“He’s a prisoner in that mountain,” he said, pointing to the screen.
Joe shook his head, immediately concerned for his longtime friend.
“How is Tricia taking it?” he asked.
“She disappeared into the mountain with Tristan before it came down,” he said in a hushed tone before quickly adding, “We have every reason to believe they are fine.”
Joe was too stunned to speak as he watched another large chunk break away and slide down the partially destroyed side of the mountain. Ivint could feel the man’s fear and sorrow and he squeezed his shoulder.
“They will be fine. We’re going in to get them,” Ivint assured the man before he turned back to Gracus.
Ivint sighed, wishing he didn’t have to do this to the man, but he knew he didn’t have a choice.
“Gracus, I need you to lead a team back to where you came out. Can you do that?” he asked.
Gracus and Rebecca looked at each other and nodded.
“I don’t know how to get the door to open and we don’t have another Tristan to blow it up either,” Gracus said, wondering how it would help if they couldn’t get in.
Ivint nodded.
“Take Lagor and Randor with you. An engineer and a scientist may see something you didn’t. If it’s energy-based like Grai thought it was, then maybe Tricia, Jax, or David can bring it down so we can get in. We need to be ready if it does,” Ivint said.
Rebecca cleared her throat and spoke up.
&n
bsp; “We came out of a place that’s a tourist attraction. In a few hours that place is going to be crawling with people,” she told Sheriff Scarborough
“I’ll tell the owners there’s a potential for more earthquake activity and have them close for the day for public safety precautions,” the sheriff said.
Ivint smiled, impressed by the human.
“That would be perfect. Thank you,” he said.
“Uh . . . sir?” Rebecca asked, hating to bother the commander again.
Ivint swung around to look at Gracus’s mate and smiled at the nervous but charming girl.
“Please, call me Ivint. What is it, Rebecca?” he asked, trying to put her at ease around him.
“It’d be really helpful if we could take a few cats. It took forever to get out and we never saw the way, but Gibly did. Another cat—or cats—could maybe smell where Gibly has been . . . maybe lead us back there?” Rebecca said. She found Ivint intimidating, but knew she had to say something.
“I do it! I do it! Dog’ee find it! Dog’ee do it!”
“Umph!”
“Hey!”
“Damn it, Dog’ee!”
Rebecca looked around the room as people began moving, yelping, and complaining until she saw one of the girls in front of her almost trip as a black blur scampered across the floor between her legs and stopped in front of Rebecca. The cat literally bounced up and down as Rebecca stared at calm Gibly’s polar opposite.
Ivint sighed and leaned down to the excitable and young Sibiox cat.
“Dog’ee, shouldn’t you be with Lara?” he asked.
Dog’ee bounced even higher with excitement and smiled broadly.
“Gibly was training me before I went back to Lara!” he said proudly.
Ivint rubbed his eyes and looked around at all the people who had turned away, leaving him to disappoint the cat.
Being a leader sucks sometimes, he thought as he looked into Dog’ee’s eager, sparkling black eyes.
Gracus and Rebecca had been through a lot, and going back where they’d just been held captive was going to be enough without the excitable—and sometimes clumsy—cat going along.
Rebecca leaned down, completely charmed by the cat now that she was over her initial shock at how he differed from Gibly.