“Aren’t you anxious?” Kate demanded. “Aren’t you worried they won’t come back? It’s been eight days.”
“Of course I’m worried,” Claire said gently. “But I have faith they will return. I have to. Being worried and anxious doesn’t help anything.”
She was right. Kate dropped to the floor and leaned back against the tree trunk. She put her face in her hands and sighed. “I just miss him. I’m afraid I’m going to lose him.” Her cheeks heated at the admission. “He’s the only person who gets me, who understands me. The only one who cares.”
Claire crossed the distance between them and sat next to Kate, putting an arm around her shoulders and giving her a gentle squeeze. “I never asked how you and Mitch met.”
Kate relaxed. Talking about Mitch always made her feel good. “He was hiding in my vegetable cart when I entered Aftermath a few weeks ago.” She let out a soft laugh in memory. “He scared the crap out of me. He was so fierce looking with those intense, lizard eyes and that scruffy beard. I thought he was going to kill me.”
Claire and Kate had already determined they’d met before when Kate had come to Aftermath with the traders. Claire had traded a hand-made shirt and jeans for some of Kate’s vegetables the last time Kate had been there.
Claire’s gaze filled with concern. “Mitch didn’t hurt you, did he?”
Kate shook her head. “He threatened to if I didn’t help him, but I think he was just bluffing. He didn’t hurt me. Mitch isn’t like that. He just needed a way to sneak into Aftermath without Ronin seeing him.”
Claire’s face filled with curiosity, and concern. “I’ll admit I don’t know him very well, but he saved me from Ronin, so I figured he must have some good in him somewhere.”
Kate nodded vigorously. “Mitch is a good man. He would never intentionally hurt another person. He hates violence.”
Claire smiled. “I always felt I could trust him, though I wasn’t sure why. It was just a vibe he gave off. Gabe is a little more hesitant to trust him. He’s not sure what Mitch really wants.”
The sudden desire to defend Mitch coursed through Kate. Should she tell Claire what she knew or would she be betraying Mitch’s trust if she did? Mitch obviously trusted Gabe and Claire or he wouldn’t have come here. If Mitch trusted them, Kate knew she could too. How could she convince them to trust him more?
“At first he wanted revenge against Ronin. And I think a part of him still does. But now it’s much more. He wants to stop Ronin. He wants to save the world. He’s very determined.”
Claire’s eyes filled with kindness. “You don’t think his story about the three cones and the mountain sounds a little crazy? As much as I like Mitch, he’s a little strange.”
Kate had thought so too. At first. Before she knew him. “If he was the only one saying that and the only one trying to control the mountain, then I would say yes, he’s crazy. Yes, he’s strange. But Ronin wants control of the mountain too, and he’ll stop at nothing to get it.” She glanced over at Honor and lowered her voice. “He cut off Ethan’s arm. I saw it. It was horrible. Ronin is evil and will do whatever it takes to win control of the mountain. And I’ve seen some really strange things these past few weeks. The drifters attacked me right after Mitch and I escaped Aftermath the first time. Mitch told me I almost died. He nursed me back to health and we…” Kate lowered her gaze. “We fell in love. I know it might seem too soon, but it’s real. I know it is. I love him. I would do anything for him. I believe in him.”
Claire smiled. “I fell in love with Gabe the day I met him. I didn’t admit it at first. I kept fighting my feelings for him, because I was dating Ethan at the time. But you can’t stop love. It just…happens.”
Kate nodded. Claire understood.
Kate cleared her throat. “I know it’s none of my business, but when we were in that crater with Ethan, Mitch told him Gabe was waiting for him at the mountain and Ethan got angry and said he didn’t have a brother. Why is that? What happened between them?”
Claire glanced over at Honor, but her daughter was stroking the jackal pup and not paying any attention to them.
“That’s a story for another time,” Claire whispered. She jerked her gaze toward Honor and back, letting Kate know she didn’t want to talk about it in front of Honor.
Kate nodded. She just hoped whatever was between Gabe and Ethan wouldn’t interfere with their task when Ethan arrived at the mountain, for they would all need to cooperate if they were going to control the mountain and defeat Ronin.
“So how is Ethan, really? Do you think he’ll survive?” Claire’s gaze filled with concern.
“I don’t know,” Kate answered honestly. “But he’s got drifter in him. He supposedly heals really fast, so I would imagine that as long as Maddy manages to keep him from losing too much blood that he will pull through.” She hesitated. She pulled her gaze back to Claire’s. “I talked with Ethan a little while we were hiding in the crater. He seemed…sad, lonely. I think he might be a bit misunderstood.”
Something that looked like guilt flashed across Claire’s face. She looked away. “I think so too.” She glanced over at Honor, but the girl was now standing up, holding a piece of meat for the jackal pup and waiting for him to rise on his hind legs.
Kate and Claire exchanged a smile. “She’s adorable,” Kate murmured.
“Thank you.”
A moment of silence passed.
Kate cleared her throat. Then asked what she’d been too afraid to ask until now. “What happened to Gabe’s leg?”
Claire lowered her gaze. “The first time the drifters attacked him, he was badly injured. Mitch found him lying out on the savannah with a hyena chewing on his leg.”
Kate shuddered. “That’s horrible.”
“Yes, it is. But Gabe’s a fighter. He survived out here on his own for nearly ten years.” There was pride in her voice. It was obvious she loved Gabe.
“How many times has Gabe been bitten?”
“Twice now.”
“And you? Have you been bitten?”
“Yes. Once. Years ago.”
They eyed each other for a moment, then blurted at the same time, “What are your gifts?”
They both laughed. “I have visions, predictions of the future,” Claire said. “And Gabe shared his night vision with me.”
Kate nodded. “I can block my emotions. And Mitch shared his camouflage ability with me.”
Claire quirked a brow. “Camouflage? How does that work?”
“We can blend into an object or thing that we touch. And when we do, we disappear.”
“Wow!” Honor shouted from across the small treehouse. “That’s cool! Will you show us?”
Kate chuckled. “Sure.” She closed her eyes and imagined herself as part of the tree trunk behind her. When she opened her eyes moments later, she had disappeared, blending completely into the tree.
“Holy crapoly!” Honor stepped forward, peering at Kate. “Where are you?”
“Same spot.” Kate reappeared, smiling at the girl.
Honor glanced at her mother. “That’s so awesome, isn’t it, Mommy?”
“It is,” Claire agreed. “The world is definitely a different place than it was ten years ago.” She glanced back at Kate. “You must have been pretty young when the asteroids struck. What were you doing in Africa?”
Kate rose. “I was seventeen at the time. I was here with my family on a vacation. We had planned a safari trip and a climb up Mount Kilimanjaro, among other things. An asteroid struck the back of our safari Jeep and my entire family was killed.”
Claire gently squeezed her hand. “I’m so sorry. How did you survive?”
Kate shrugged. “It wasn’t easy. Every day was a struggle. Then I met Mitch.” She smiled. “Now I have something worth living for. He makes me happy.”
A noise from below had them all tensing.
“That’s probably the drifters,” Claire said, and Kate nodded. There were thousands of drifters here. They heard
them every night, on the prowl, attacking and eating whatever they caught.
Kate recalled the night she’d witnessed Mitch hunting with the drifters. He’d seemed almost animalistic that night. But he still hadn’t hurt her. She knew in her heart he would never hurt her, no matter how much drifter coursed through his veins. She’d helped calm him that night when the urge to hunt had tried to overtake him. And she would do so again. She would do whatever it took to protect him from the beast lurking inside. Whatever it took to make sure he didn’t lose his humanity.
Kate sensed Claire would do the same for Gabe. Loving a drifter man wasn’t easy. There were times when Mitch still frightened her a little. But she believed in him. And as long as she believed in him, she knew he would believe in himself. And in them.
No matter what happened over the next few weeks, Kate would remain by Mitch’s side. She would help him defeat Ronin.
And then they could plan for a future.
* * *
Mitch and Gabe followed the baby drifter to a large hole in the ground near an outcropping about halfway down the mountain. The hole was well hidden behind some bushes. They probably wouldn’t have discovered it on their own.
Mitch turned back to Gabe. “I’m guessing that leads to their lair. I figured we would find a crater, but maybe the crater is somewhere close by. I think we should go in and see where it goes.”
Gabe nodded slowly. “What are the chances of us coming back out of there alive?”
Mitch shrugged. “Ethan’s injured, so he’s lost his control over them. I’m not sure what Ronin is up to. If the drifters are leaderless and searching for some guidance, right now would be a good time to go in and see if we can figure out how to control them.”
“And if they aren’t leaderless?”
“Then we may well die in there.”
Gabe scowled and turned away, staring off into the darkness. “I’ll have a harder time crawling around with one leg. It would be too easy to lose my prosthetic. You’d have better luck getting in and out of that tunnel than I would. Maybe I should just wait here and keep a lookout.”
Mitch contemplated their options. “Or you could shift into a jackal and come with me. You’ll be able to traverse the narrower tunnels as a jackal more easily than either of us could as a human.”
Gabe made a face and pulled his gaze back to Mitch. He didn’t look too happy about that suggestion.
Mitch chuckled. “You should embrace your gifts, learn how to use them. You have them for a reason.”
Gabe snorted. “That’s easy for you to say. All your gifts are cool. Mine are a pain in the ass.”
Mitch quirked a brow. “You don’t even know half of my gifts, and they aren’t all cool.”
Gabe’s gaze filled with interest. “The only gifts you’ve told me about are the teleporting with the speed of a cheetah and the night vision. Claire said you also have superhuman strength. What else do you do?”
Mitch produced the flame with his hand, showing Gabe the power of fire. “I can create fire with ease, and I can’t burn. Neither, I would imagine, can you, since you’re Kibo. Ethan and Ronin can’t be killed by fire either. That’s something to remember when this all comes to a head. We will have to use our strengths and play off Ronin’s weaknesses in order to take him down. I can also camouflage myself and disappear into an object or background.” Mitch closed his eyes and imagined himself as part of the ground beneath him. When he opened his eyes moments later, he had disappeared, blending perfectly into the earth.
Gabe whistled softly. “I told you your gifts were cool. If I could trade you, I would.”
Mitch reappeared. “Not all of them are good. One drifter attack from several years ago turned me into an empath. It’s not something I’d wish on anybody.”
Gabe’s gaze probed his for a long moment, searching. Mitch didn’t bother trying to block Gabe’s emotions with the gift Kate had shared with him. Like Kate, Gabe gave off a good vibe, a positive energy. There was no need to block his goodness.
“That…sucks,” Gabe said after a moment. “How bad is it? Can you feel every emotion someone else experiences? Can you read minds? How does it work, exactly?”
“I can feel emotions in particular. They swirl around and sometimes if they are too strong, too intense, it causes me pain. If I’m around too many emotions at once, like in a large group of people, it can be extremely painful, especially if I’m surrounded by negative energies. That’s why I avoid being around a lot of people. I prefer staying at the edge of the crowd so I’m not overwhelmed by people’s energies. Negative energies are the worst. Positive energy is actually good. I can feed off of it. It gives me strength, whereas negative energy hurts. It weakens me.”
Gabe nodded. “Makes sense.”
“As far as mind reading, I have been able to do it on a few occasions, but not intentionally. I don’t like to invade people’s privacy. For some reason, certain people’s thoughts flow into me, but usually only if they are thinking something really intensely.” He thought of Kate the day she’d woken from her fever and how her thoughts had swirled into him. His lips twitched. He hadn’t told Kate that he’d read her thoughts a few other times as well, when she’d been thinking really hard about something. He didn’t think she would appreciate that.
“You said Kate helped you deal with it. How?”
“Her gift from the drifters is the ability to block her emotions. After we bonded, she shared that gift with me, except it works in the opposite way for me. Instead of blocking my emotions, I am able to block other people’s emotions.”
“No shit?” Gabe’s eyes widened. “With all your powers, you should be Kibo, not me.”
Mitch shrugged. “We each have our purpose, no matter what our gifts. Since you’re Kibo, I would guess that you’re the one who will be able to control the volcano when the time arrives. That’s pretty powerful, and frankly, I’m glad it’s not me. Since I’m Shira, my role is smaller, yet no less important. I’m more drifter than human and the drifters tend to listen to me. I’ve hunted with them before, killed for them, fed them. I think my purpose may be to control them when the mountain erupts.”
Gabe was silent a moment as he absorbed that. “And Ethan? What’s his purpose as Mawenzi?”
“I’m not sure yet. But he can duplicate himself. He can shift into a giant drifter. I don’t know what else he can do, but if he survives, I’m sure we will soon find out. I believe his purpose may be to release and control the ancient beast trapped in the mountain, or maybe to fight off Ronin, keep him back while we free the mountain’s power. But I’m just speculating on all of this. I honestly have no idea what each of us is supposed to do.”
“Ancient beast? Jesus.” Gabe rubbed a hand over his face. “How do you know all this? Do you know how crazy all of this sounds?”
Mitch sighed. “The mountain speaks to me in my dreams. I’ve seen something in there, some kind of beast. In my dreams. But if I’m crazy, then so are you and Ethan and Ronin. I’m not the only one who hears the mountain in my head.” He eyed Gabe. “Or in my dreams. Is it calling to you right now?”
Gabe nodded. “It always does. I do my best to block it out. And I’ve seen the beast too.”
The ground rumbled beneath them. Gabe stumbled, then caught himself. Mitch glanced down at the hole just as a drifter emerged.
The beast’s gaze locked on Mitch. It came forward, pausing before him. Then it sat back on its haunches. It flipped its frill back and hissed.
Mitch stared it down, waiting to see what it would do. Gabe stood silently by and watched.
The drifter turned and went back into the hole.
Mitch and Gabe exchanged glances. “What was that all about?” Gabe asked.
Mitch shrugged. “Not sure, but I think it wants us to follow it. You might want to shift into a jackal before going in there.”
Gabe gave a reluctant nod. He removed his prosthetic and hid it behind some bushes. “Don’t look while I’m shifting.”
>
Mitch smirked and turned away. Moments later, Gabe appeared in front of him in jackal form. Mitch caught a glimpse of Gabe’s clothes peeking out from the bushes where Gabe had hidden his prosthetic.
Mitch headed into the hole first. Though the opening was narrow, only about two and half feet wide, once inside the tunnel, it widened. Mitch crawled for several minutes with Gabe directly behind him. At last the tunnel opened into a large room with several tunnels leading off in different directions. Mitch was able to stand up. The room was warm, much warmer than the earth should be inside. But then, they were inside a volcano.
The sounds of drifters echoed off the walls of the tunnel, indicating the beasts were there somewhere, though Mitch didn’t see them. He sensed them moving close by, he could smell them. Lots of them. Where were they?
Gabe nudged his leg and Mitch glanced back.
Gabe pointed his long jackal snout toward the tunnel to Mitch’s right. Mitch nodded and motioned Gabe in front of him. If Gabe wanted to lead, that was fine with Mitch.
Gabe entered the tunnel and this time Mitch followed him. They followed the tunnel for a long time, deep into the mountain. It was much hotter than the last tunnel. The deeper they traveled, the hotter it became. About a half hour passed before the tunnel opened into another room. This one larger than the last one. It reminded Mitch of the dinosaur dig, minus the moisture. Encapsulated in the walls all around them were what appeared to be bones. Dinosaurs? Instead of water dripping down the walls, hot magma flowed in a steady stream, bubbling up from the floor and flowing downhill, gravity pulling it away and out of sight around the corner. They had to be getting close to Kibo’s core, the hottest part of the volcano.
Mitch glanced at Gabe. “Ethan would shit if he saw this place. Are those dinosaur fossils?”
Gabe shook his head, but Mitch couldn’t tell if it was an affirmative or a negative response. He stepped back, away from the magma flow.
The floor vibrated beneath them.
The mountain suddenly screeched in Mitch’s ear, Shira!
He jerked his gaze back to Gabe. “Is the mountain speaking to you?”
Drifter Page 30