X overlaid my sight with an augmented reality line to the rear of the mansion. Our path led us out a set of wide double doors.
The Martian sun was high in the sky before it began its descent. The cold that came with each night was just beginning to descend on the planet.
Dragon Hold was positioned on top of a high hill, overlooking the city of Athens. The piece of land it sat on ran down the back of the slowly descending hill as far as my eye could see. The land Rose’s family chose to claim as their own was truly massive in scale.
A kind of pen was set up to the right rear side of the mansion. Pen really wasn’t the right word since there were no gates or fences lining the area. Still the fact that this place was set apart couldn’t be argued.
Instead of sand, actual brown dirt covered the area. Nothing green would grow, but boulders had been brought in as well as what looked like fake trees. Not just a few of them either. Someone had taken the time to painstakingly set up hundreds of structures designed to look like real life living trees.
“You know what those are, right?” X asked.
“I’ve never seen a tree in real life,” I answered in awe. “They all died along with the Earth, way before my time. Still, I’ve seen pictures.”
My imagination ran wild with wonder.
Is this what a forest looked like? I asked myself. There were millions of these trees all across Earth?
I reached out, touching the false tree closest to me. It was cold and felt like some kind of plastic. The branches were decorated with deep greens of every hue I could imagine.
A scent rich and musty filled my nose.
“What’s that I’m smelling?” I asked X. “It smells like it belongs here somehow.”
“It seems as though the Cripps family spared no expense when constructing, well when constructing anything,” X answered. “The fake trees were designed to give off the actual aroma of what a real forest would smell like.”
“Man, rich people,” I mused out loud.
Something moved in the depths of the forest to my right.
I looked over just in time to see something large pull back deeper into the shadows.
“X?” I asked, using my enhanced vision to try and pick out whatever had been there a moment before. “What kind of animals live in here exactly?”
“It seems the Cripps family had a fascination with species of animals long extinct on Earth,” X said as though she were reading the information to me from some kind of sheet she had pulled up. “They were involved in everything from trying to resurrect dinosaurs to bringing back—”
The way X’s voice just stopped, in a very unlike X way, put me on high alert.
I placed my right hand on the handle of my MK II.
“Like what?” I tried not to sound rushed. “X, are there freaking dinosaurs in here with us?”
“No,” X said. “Well, at least I don’t think so. They were working on bringing back a species of predators called Canis lupus alces. I think that’s what they have in here.”
“X, that’s not helping,” I muttered. “I can’t even pronounce those words, much less understand what they mean.”
X brought up images that popped up in a small square in the right hand corner of my visions. What I saw looked like a normal wolf to me, but was much, much larger.
The animal pictured seemed as though it could take my face in its jaws in a single bite.
“Wonderful,” I said, not pulling my weapon out but gripping it tighter. “Should I be worried about being turned into dinner?”
“Yes and no,” X answered. “Files say they’ve been domesticated, but only by the Cripps bloodline.”
Eighteen
“That’s not going to help us here,” I said. More motion came from the woods deeper in front of me. There was more than one wolf. Flashes of various grey, white, and black fur streaked by my right and left.
They were surrounding us like any good pack would.
“I’m starting to regret coming out here,” I told X. “Was there a point to this?”
“Bapz gave me a file to read should we head here,” X said in a calm voice. “The Cripps family trained the animals to be friendly to their friends and allies. They taught them a phrase. More than taught; embedded the words in their DNA.”
Howls lifted to the sky above us. It was either my imagination or it was getting darker. The limbs from the trees overhead seemed to shut out the sun itself as the predators yipped and barked to one another.
“We’re going to need that phrase sooner rather than later,” I prodded. “Or there’s going to be a lot of blood spilled here for no reason.”
I lifted the MK II out of the hostler by my hip. My right thumb pressed the area of the handle that would tell the drum to load the knockout rounds. There was no point in killing what Rose’s family had worked so hard to resurrect from the grasp of death.
The howls were coming louder and faster now. So loud, I thought for sure I should be able to get a clear look of at least one of them by now.
That old saying be careful what you wish for came to mind as the first wolf exited the tree line in front of me. To say it was large was an understatement.
The lupine predator was so tall, its ears came up to the bottom of my chest. Yellow eyes looked at me hungrily. So many teeth showed from its mouth, I wondered if Rose’s family hadn’t altered the DNA to add extra.
The wolf was dark grey with white spots on its chest and ears.
I pointed my MK II at its chest. I stood straight and tall and growled back at the wolf.
I wasn’t really sure if that was going to help, but with all the yipping and barking around me, I wasn’t going to just sit there and let them intimidate me.
“What are you doing?” X asked me, somewhat amused. “Trying to communicate with them?”
“No, I heard somewhere posturing and yelling is how creatures show their dominance,” I answered, catching more movement from my left and right as the wolf in front of me was joined by the rest of its pack.
There had to be a dozen of them, all just slightly smaller than the one in front of me I took to be the alpha of the pack.
“The phrase, X,” I said, unable to keep the frustration out of my voice. “You have that phrase yet?”
“Yes, here it is,” X said in a rush of words. “Bow to the moon.”
The alpha wolf in front of me growled then crouched close to the ground, ready to spring. I could see thick coils of muscle ripple under its coat of fur.
“Bow to the moon!” I shouted to the wolf in front of me. I turned to do a complete three-hundred-and-sixty-degree circle. “Bow to the moon!”
The result was instantaneous.
The wolves around me silenced. They looked at me as if they were seeing me for the first time. The alpha wolf actually cocked its head to the side as if it were judging me. It looked me up and down.
“That’s it?” I asked. “Bow to the moon?”
“That’s all that I have here,” X informed me. “It was the phrase used only for family and a very select few trusted friends.”
“I’ve heard that phrase before,” I muttered. “Where have I heard that phrase before?”
The lead alpha wolf sauntered over to me sniffing my boots and pants heavily. I wasn’t the squeamish type, but neither was I stupid. Having a creature made of muscle and teeth like the wolf so close to me made me a little jumpy.
I kept my MK II in my hand just in case the catch phrase wore off or the wolf decided I wasn’t up to its standards.
Soon the whole pack was around me sniffing and jumping this way and that like I was one of their own.
“Okay,” I said, finally holstering my weapon. “I like dogs. Wolves are like dogs, right?”
I reached out a tentative hand to the alpha, who sniffed it. The wolf shoved its head under my palm, giving itself a rough pat on the head.
“There we go,” I said, scratching its scalp and ears. “Niiiice killing machine.”
It wasn’t as if the wolves wore collars or tags of any kind, so their names or gender were a mystery to me for the time being.
The name Butch jumped to mind, as if I had once owned a dog with the same name.
“Easy, Butch,” I said, stroking the wolf’s ears. “Easy, good boy.”
I took my chances, assuming a kneeling position. The wolves came up to me, sniffing me from head to toe. They cleaned my face and hands with their long pink tongues.
The beasts from the forest that had seemed so intimidating minutes before were reduced to a pile of puppies all vying for their turn to sniff the stranger.
Butch growled when one of the other wolves got to close to his spot at my right.
It had been so long since I had interacted with an animal, I almost forgot the joy it brought. I actually heard myself laugh out loud when Butch nuzzled under my arm to stick his head in the crook of my elbow.
“Easy, there’s plenty of pets to go around for everyone,” I said with a grin. “I only have two hands.”
“Have you ever had a pet before?” X asked. “You seem like a natural with them.”
“Not that I remember, but that doesn’t mean much these days,” I answered. “I think someone said we had a pet in the early days of the Pack Protocol while we were going through training, but I can’t remember.”
As the minutes passed and I handed out pets and scratched with abandon, the weight that had temporarily been lifted from my shoulders descended again.
“All right, guys,” I said, rising to my feet. “Time to get back to work.”
The wolves’ ears perked up. A few of them looked at me as if they wanted to go.
“No, no, can’t have all of you following. Stay.” I motioned with my hands with both palms facing toward them. “Do you guys understand stay?”
I don’t know why I was asking. It wasn’t like they were going to give me an answer.
The grey and white alpha barked at them and yipped. The wolf then moved over to my side as if he was telling the rest of the pack to stay put and he would go with me.
“No, no, you all have to stay,” I said, turning to go. “I’ll visit when I can.”
I made it a few yards from the man-made forest before looking down to my right to see the alpha wolf by my side.
He looked back at me with those large yellow eyes of his. He split his mouth in what I swore was a grin.
“Looks like you have a new friend,” X teased.
“No, nope, no.” I shook my head. “This isn’t going to work. X. Is there anything in all that information about how to make them stay?”
“Not that I can tell and I’ve been over it all,” X answered. “Perhaps when you used the phrase, it triggered something inside the alpha. Like it had been waiting to find its master and now you’ve come.”
I weighed my options. It wasn’t like I was able to restrain the animal. I mean, what was I going to do, go try to find a chain or something a tie it up?
Might not be a bad thing to have an extra pair of eyes watching your back, I thought to myself. Maybe I can sic Butch on Atilla and make him pee his pants a little.
I smirked at the idea.
“Well, I guess we’re three now,” I accepted, heading out of the forest. The large wolf fell in step, jogging beside me.
“We make quite the trio, don’t we?” X asked. I could practically hear the smile in her voice.
“Yeah, yeah, I guess we are,” I said as we made our way back to the mansion.
The sun was going down, signaling not only dinner, but the approaching meeting with the heads of the war council.
If all went well tonight, we would not only have a solid plan on how to combat the Voy, but I might also get my answers on what hand the Order had played in Amber’s rescue.
X laid out my path using the augmented reality she overlapped on top of my vision. We passed a few Way settlers, who looked on at me and Butch with dropped jaws.
I just smiled and nodded. For his part, Butch didn’t look like he could care less. He had seen people before.
I made my way up the wide stairs to the second floor, where a massive meeting room was set up for us, complete with a spread of food that smelled so good, I couldn’t help from salivating.
“What in the name of all that is unholy is that?” Angel asked, looking at Butch as we walked in.
“One of Rose Cripps’ little gifts,” I responded, heading straight for the food. “I named him Butch.”
“Ahh, I like dogs,” Jax said, rising from his seat and coming over to Butch with an open hand. “Hey, puppy, hey.”
“That’s not a puppy,” Angel corrected. “That is a freaking werewolf.”
“Canis lupus alces or the Kenai Peninsula Wolf actually,” Bapz amended, entering the room with Wesley. “Brought back from extinction, bred to be loyal and fierce.”
Butch sniffed Jax’s hand then let him pet his head.
“Cute,” Wesley said, heading over to the long wooden table on the far side of the room. “We have larger issues here to discuss than wolves brought back from extinction. The rest of the war council will be here soon and we have a lot to go through.”
“Correct.” Bapz also moved to the table and lifted a right hand. A light projected from his open palm and a blue list appeared over the table. “Here are the items I’ve been able to come up with along with Wesley’s help. We should touch on each of the topics before the council begins.”
The next hour was a lesson in patience. The best thing was the food. I casually slipped a piece of meat to Butch, who sat next to my chair at the head of the table.
Wesley went down the list of assets, Immortal Corp soldiers still willing to fight with us, equipment we both had and would need.
Bapz chimed in with assets owned by the Cripps that would prove useful in the coming fight.
“There are close to fifty members of Immortal Corp still loyal and that contacted us through the back channel,” Jax added. “They’re arriving slowly, making sure they haven’t been followed by the GG.”
“Good, we’ll need them all.” Wesley nodded along with Jax’s words. “Still no word from the Founders. At this point, we can assume they’re dead or so far into hiding, we’ll never hear from them again. With the GG on their scent, they’ll be ghosts for the rest of their lives.”
“So will we,” I said. “The GG think we’re dead.”
“That’ll change when we save their lives from the mess they’re getting themselves into with the Voy,” Angel answered. “I—”
Whatever else Angel was about to say was cut off by a low growl from Butch. We all followed the wolf’s eyes to the closed doors to the meeting room.
The door creaked as if someone either moved to lean against it or moved their weight off it.
The hackles on Butch’s back stood on end. Lips spread back from teeth the size of my thumb.
Nineteen
My hand moved to the handle of my MK II. I saw the others do the same. Everyone besides Bapz, who I wasn’t sure carried a weapon at all, reached for their own.
The door slowly opened. Madam Eternal walked inside with a friendly smile on her lips.
“Easy, friends,” Madam Eternal said, looking at each of us, including Butch. “I’m here as requested to do whatever I can to help.”
I relaxed the hold on my weapon, remembering the warning Alerna gave me in the last dream I had of her.
Butch stopped growling, but he didn’t seem to trust the woman. He followed her with his large yellow eyes through the room.
“How did you—I mean, I should have sensed you approaching,” Bapz said, as confused as the rest of us. “I know you’re staying here, but I’m one with the house. I should have sensed you coming.”
“No one’s perfect,” Madam Eternal said with an easy smile. She came up to me and extended a hand. “I don’t think we’ve been properly introduced. My name is Madam Eternal and you are Daniel Hunt. A very courageous performance you put on to claim the title of leader
ship. I have no doubt you’ll be just as fierce when it’s time to face our real enemy.”
Despite Alerna’s warning, it was hard not to like the woman. She had a strong grip, looked me in the eyes, and spoke like a true friend.
She was older, but that did nothing to diminish her beauty. Her long red robe fell down her, hiding her athletic body.
“I’ll do my best,” I answered. “Thank you for coming.”
“Of course,” Madam Eternal said with a slight head bow. “If I’m not mistaken, the other members of the war council are arriving as we speak.”
“How would you—how did you know that?” Bapz asked. “The Order as well as Commander Shaw from Phoenix are just arriving at the main gate now.”
“Only a feeling,” Madam Eternal replied with a knowing wink to Bapz. “A lucky guess.”
Madam Eternal struck up a conversation with Wesley and Angel as Bapz excused himself to go greet the rest of our guests.
“Alerna was right not to trust her,” X said in my head. “There’s just something off about her. Something I can’t put my finger on.”
“Well, better she’s here with us where we can see her instead of who knows where, doing who knows what,” I muttered under my breath. “Besides, I have bigger problems to worry about right now. Tonight I get my answers from the Order one way or another.”
“Hey, got bad news for you, buddy,” Jax began, joining me at the table by the food. “I don’t think Butch is a he.”
“What?” I said, looking down at the wolf, whose tongue lolled out the side of its mouth.
“Butch is a she,” Jax said, looking at me as if he were spelling something out to a kid. “She’s missing the necessary parts to be a he, if you get what I’m saying.”
“Oh,” I said, looking down at the animal. “I didn’t even notice. I didn’t look. I just assumed since she was the alpha of the pack. Guess I was wrong.”
“In rare cases, a strong female will emerge from a pack to take control,” X explained. “It seems Rose’s pack was led by one of these ferocious females.”
“So, what are you going to name her now?” Jax asked, taking a sip from a steaming mug of caf. “Butchet or Buchess?”
Vendetta: A Near Future Thriller (Forsaken Mercenary Book 4) Page 12