I catch her wording. “The?”
“President Barnes.”
“I don’t like this plan.”
Marinah rolls to her side and looks at me. “This war won’t be won with blood. We need answers. The only way to get them is to go after the man who has them.”
“Hmm.” It’s a doubtful sound.
She rolls her eyes. “There are two parts to this plan. We want to fight the Federation on our terms. Here, we have the advantage. When the Federation attacks, we will decimate them.”
“What does fighting on the island have to do with capturing President Barnes?”
“We’re missing something big in the scientific world. Actually, many somethings. The hellhounds were either a government experiment gone wrong, a complete accident, or one hundred percent intentional. We need to find the missing link and put the pieces together, or we’ll never know exactly what we’re up against.”
I toss out the bombshell. “We may have a bigger problem. Knet.”
Marinah doesn’t miss a beat. “He’s our traitor,” she clarifies.
Beck first, now Marinah. “And you said nothing?” Steam fills the words.
“Anger kept me from thinking clearly. Knet wasn’t my biggest fan. The Federation is planning to attack us, and Knet cleared out. That means the attack is eminent, and I’ve wasted time getting my crap together.”
I place my hand on her arm and run my palm over the soft skin there. “The time wasn’t wasted.” This is who she is. This is the woman I mated.
“Once the Warriors begin meditating, you’ll see what a difference it makes.”
I close my eyes and reopen them. I think she said something about the Warriors meditating. “Do you mean metalsmithing?”
She slaps my arm. “I also know where the Federation is hiding.”
“This came to you while metalsmithing?” She pinches me this time. “Where?” I finally ask.
“They went underground.” I’m unsure what she means. “Farther underground,” she clarifies at my silence. “Once my mind was clear, I remembered a story my friends spoke about all the time. It was rumored the Federation had a shelter that would hold thousands of people. If it existed, my friends knew they wouldn’t be part of the chosen. While my father lived, I had a chance. On slow days, we would speculate if it were true or not. Something Landan said back then popped into my head while I was meditating. “It’s probably under our feet.” That was the theory he came up with. When I asked why, he said, “They talk about stockpiling supplies. We collect the products here, but where do they go? I never see trucks taking things away. If they were smart, they would build something in plain sight. We teased him about it until we moved on to another conspiracy theory.”
“Let me get this right.” I barely keep the growl from my voice. “You remembered this conversation now?”
She twirls her hair and smiles. “It was years ago. Conspiracy theories passed the time. At one point we speculated that hellhounds were actually aliens like the Shadow Warriors.”
There is too much knowledge wrapped inside her head. “Is kidnapping President Barnes happening before the attack on the island or after?”
Chapter Twelve
Marinah
After our large breakfast, Callie cuddle time, and a refreshing shower, I call a meeting of my guard.
Beck, Labyrinth, Nokita, and Cabel tentatively enter the meeting room, attempting to judge the atmosphere. Alden is new to my guard. He was previously assigned to Beck because he has difficulty with authority, but the problem has been fixed, and he’s now vital to our team. He’s following the lead of the other men. Axel enters, walks straight to me, and wraps his hands around my shoulders, pulling me in for a hug. He ignores my grumbling and doesn’t release me until he’s ready.
He steps back and runs his gaze from my toes and up. A low growl leaves King’s throat. Axel doesn’t bother looking in his direction. “You look good,” he says. “Rested.”
Axel thinks it’s his personal job to keep me healthy. As Shadow Warrior, I heal fast. As Nova, my healing time is accelerated, leaving Axel with little to do. He moved on to my mental health a few weeks ago. My head would drive any sane person crazy so I have little hope he will fix me, and now that I’m meditating, I don’t need all the psychoanalysis.
“I called you here so we could talk about it,” I say with a smile for my friend.
“Starting the meeting would be a good idea,” King grumbles.
Axel takes a giant step back and winks. He likes pushing King’s mating buttons that say men need to stay clear of me. Since Ms. Beast has the same problem with women near King, it’s hard to find fault with my mate. The mating frenzy is controllable now, but it will never leave.
With King’s glare pushing down on us, we take our seats. I’m at the head of the table with King on my left, Beck to the left of him, then Labyrinth. Axel is on my right, with Nokita to his right, then Cabel, and last Alden next to him. For the first time, it feels…right.
I start to speak when the door pushes open a few inches. This never happens. Eight pairs of Warrior eyes shift to the door.
“Sorry,” Ruth says with absolutely no remorse.
“Have one of your limbs been amputated?” I demand.
She drops her eyes, and I know this will be good. “Oh, wise one,” she begins with. “I wanted but a minute of your time.” She tries to dig up the floor with the toe of her shoe, giving us the “aw shucks” show. We know she’s faking it.
“So all your limbs are attached?” I ask again.
“Yes, wise one.”
I need to order torture devices and build a good dungeon to store them in. “When you’re finished with one thousand push-ups in the training room, wait for me. I’ll be there after my meeting to hand out your punishment.”
Her eyes turn to evil little squints. “A thousand push-ups isn’t punishment enough?”
“Not by a long shot. I’ll make it two thousand if you continue defying me.”
“But—”
I hold up one finger and follow it with another. The door closes with a resounding click, and seven pairs of Shadow Warrior eyes turn in my direction this time.
“A thousand push-ups for a young human is a little overkill, don’t you think?” Axel complains.
“She’ll have them done within an hour. Her arms will feel like falling off, so we’ll work heavy swords. I doubt she’ll interrupt another meeting.” I glance at Beck who lives with the devil child. He shrugs and we finally begin.
I have their full attention. “We will begin each meeting with five minutes of meditation.” At the belligerent looks that immediately cloud their expressions, I add, “This is an order not a suggestion. Once you have the hang of it, we will increase the time to ten minutes.” Now they look like they’ve stepped in horse muck. “Close your eyes,” I say and close mine. I stay quiet for twenty seconds and peek to check on the men. Their eyes are open, staring at me.
“Do I need to explain how to close your eyes?”
“I think you need to explain what hippie chick did to you,” mutters Beck.
Ms. Beast gives a low growl. “I would think the last thing you’d want is for the men to rescue you again from the big bad scary woman who just happens to be your alpha,” I mock. I glance at each man, leaving my mate for last. He looks like he might start laughing any minute. Eating his face off would not look good nor would it accomplish the calm I’m trying to show the men. I inhale deeply, fighting the need to bare my teeth. “You will close your eyes for five minutes. If you choose not to meditate, that’s on you.” This time I don’t shut mine until they comply.
“Can we ask what this will accomplish?” Nokita shows his bravery by speaking.
I peek and his eyes are closed. “It will soothe our minds and allow us to see clearly. Once that happens, it’s easier to sort our problems.”
“If it works, I’m in,” he replies.
“If you’re quiet, it works better.” I give Nok
ita a direct gaze, but his eyes remain closed and he misses it.
“We just close our eyes and wait five minutes for an epiphany?” Labyrinth whines but his strange eyes stay closed. I say strange because one is blue and one green, whereas the other Warriors have blue eyes.
“My what big words you’re able to use now; maybe this does work,” Alden teases his friend.
Teaching Shadow Warriors to meditate may take longer than I thought. I wish I had Cosway’s patience. “Deep breathing is key,” I try again with a clenched jaw. “Clear your mind, take deep breaths, and kill something in your thoughts.” I learned that mentally killing something takes me to my happy place sooner. “Picture your claws ripping through intestines. Bits of gore plop onto your mammoth feet. Imagine the smell of blood as it gushes from a mortal wound.” I’ve lowered my voice so the men feel the softening of space around them and the meditative state taking hold. “Feel your rival's essence fade as you claim victory. Now inhale deeply.” I listen to them breathe with satisfaction. “Now slowly, open your eyes.” The men appear more relaxed. “Now we can begin the meeting.” This was hard for them, but they’ll do better each time. “Don’t you feel much better?” I ask.
Axel cocks his head. “I have this strange desire to kill something.”
That was not the point and Axel is not a fighter. “Maybe we should start over.”
Chapter Thirteen
King
I question Nokita who just let us in on his little secret. "We have a submarine?”
“We may have a submarine. It’s not operational right now,” he explains. “Three things need to work so we can breathe below the surface. Replenishing the oxygen first, releasing the carbon dioxide second, and removing the moisture we exhale last.” He shrugs. “It’s complicated.”
Marinah breaks into our discussion, “How long will it take to be operational?”
“If it’s operational, two weeks. I need parts.”
“Are there other toys you want to share?” Marinah inquires.
Nokita is not enjoying his time in the spotlight while Marinah drills him. I never realized how fun it is looking at things from the outside while someone else leads. I cross my arms and relax somewhat.
“We have a quad mini-sub that is seaworthy once the scrubber is fixed,” he says. “That should take a couple of days at most.”
“What about an update on land vehicles?” she fires at him next.
“We have one hundred and twenty working tanks, a gatling gun that we found in a scrap pile of metal that has promise and comes with ten thousand rounds of ammo if we can get it working. It’s hand crank and from everything I’ve read, the stupid gun breaks down constantly. If we get it working and keep it that way, it will cause damage.”
The tanks were here when we arrived. Most of them Soviet but we found a few older U.S. and British models from World War II. After some work, a few of the older tanks actually ran.
Marinah turns to Beck. “Move every man, woman, and child inland to the citadel and surrounding buildings, using the tunnels.” She commands. “I’ll notify Landan at the main outpost. If he wants to fly his people here for safety, we’ll accommodate them.”
When we took over the island, we built tunnels to safely move people unseen. “If Landan brings all his people, we’ll be thin on supplies,” I point out.
She glances at me, her eyes hot at my challenge. “We will handle all their people if needed.”
She hasn’t wavered once since calling the meeting to order. She’s not asking our advice or giving us options. This is Marinah the Nova.
“We need a distraction.” She glances at Nokita again. “We must know where the Federation will attack first. They’ll stage off the Florida coast. If we locate them, we’ll attack from the air, and hopefully it will buy us time.” She looks up and makes her decision. “You have one week to get the large sub operational. One day on the small one. We need to know if their sub is in the vicinity, and the only way to do that is seeing underwater. Make it happen. Cabel will handle the aircraft while you’re working the subs.”
Cabel, who’s waited patiently without speaking or putting himself in Marinah’s crosshairs, grunts in assent.
Marinah stands. “We don’t know how long we have before the Federation returns. You’ve been preparing for this since you came here, and now it’s time to defend our home. We have firepower, hellhounds under our control, humans with something to fight for, and Shadow Warriors who want blood. This is our home, and no one is taking it from us. I say we end this meeting with another round of mediation. I’ll walk us through it again.” She closes her eyes and we do the same.
Five minutes later, the Warriors say nothing as they march from the room. No one meets my eyes. If they had, we would have broken down in laughter. That would put a very angry Nova Warrior in our path, and we can’t allow it for reasons of self-preservation. Silence wins the day, at least when it comes to meditation.
I stretch my arms over my head and yawn.
“You’re feeling relaxed because of the mediation,” Marinah says, coming up behind me and placing her hand on my back.
“I think you’re right,” I reply without even a hint of a smile.
“I’d like to check on our hellhounds and thought you could go with me.”
Marinah hates visiting the hellhounds. “What brought this on?”
“I’m queen, how dare you question me,” she says with a smile in the words.
“I don’t like the look in your eyes.”
She angles one hip so she’s resting on the edge of the table. “I don’t like to look at hellhounds so we’re even.”
Our two hellhounds were once kept in a locked facility inside the citadel. Now we have two hundred, and we had to find a way to keep them contained and the island humans safe.
Since toxin from a hellhound bite or scratch kills humans within a short time, our biggest fear is the hellhounds escaping. Shadow Warriors inject medication regularly to fight off the toxin. We’ve been unable to discover a cure for humans so we take no chances.
The solution to our hellhound problem came in the form of an old prison west of the citadel. We reinforced the concrete floors with steel to keep the hellhounds from burrowing and the locked cells keep them inside. The old prison yard gives us a secure place to practice with the whistles too.
While Marinah was on Love Island, I placed Elright, one of our elite sniper shooters, in charge of the facility. Our hellhounds were under Knet’s supervision until he made his escape. The fury over Knet’s betrayal eats at me.
Kill, my Beast grumbles.
We agree.
At the hellhound facility, Marinah has Elright bring out a small group of hellhounds. She removes a special whistle from her pocket and blows into it. The hellhounds, in their specially constructed pen, turn their attention to her with snarls and swiping claws that can’t reach her from behind the barrier. She blows two short bursts into the whistle, and they move as one unit to the left.
“Elright, bring our reserve whistles out here.”
Elright does as she says. I’m unsure of what’s happening but hold my thoughts. After Elright returns, Marinah asks the Shadow Warriors, standing at attention during our interaction, to give her the whistles they carry in their pockets. The five men here work daily with the hellhounds as controllers. They quickly hand their whistles over. My focus is on Marinah and her strange request, not the Warriors. She tells Elright to give the men the whistles he brought out.
Walking to the pen. Marinah leaps over the fencing and clears the barbed wire with ease, landing in the middle of the hellhounds. With her whistle, she sends them in the direction she wants. We’ve all practiced this. I’m not sure what she’s trying to prove. She jumps from the pen and turns to the five Warriors assembled in front of her.
“I want each of you to do what I just did. One at a time.”
“Why?” a churlish Warrior named Campbell asks.
The other Warriors glance si
deways at him, the looks on their faces matching mine. We do not question a direct order from our alpha. Beast immediately comes to the forefront but Marinah responds before I do. She’s dressed in her Warrior gear that allows for a quick shift to Beast. With her heightened human strength, she doesn’t bother. She picks Campbell up by his throat, tossing him over the hellhounds and into the cage.
He lands on his side, a look of wild terror in his eyes. He immediately scrambles to his feet as the hellhounds turn toward him. With a yell, he throws down the whistle given to him by Elright, and he leaps from the pen. I’m unsure of what just happened, but Marinah is not. She doesn’t waste time by going into Warrior form. Somehow, she goes straight to Nova.
The monster explodes from her human body with teeth that rival a twenty-foot white shark and claws that tear metal like its tissue paper. Her wild eyes have one target. Campbell doesn’t have time to scream.
The men give her room. She grabs Campbell’s legs out from under him, twirls him around her body, then brings him up and slams him into the ground like he weighs nothing. He screams and his Beast breaks free.
I’m mentally catching up, and the pieces click into place—something is wrong with the whistles Elright handed out, and Marinah knew they were defective. Campbell did too. He’s in league with Knet.
Campbell’s Beast is no problem for Marinah. She literally plays with him. She goes for his shoulder and dislocates the joint. Methodically, she does the same to his other shoulder and moves on to the humerus bone of each arm. They snap like twigs. His legs are next. The horrible gurgling sounds leaving Campbell’s throat are horrific. When she’s finished breaking the large bones, she moves to the smaller ones.
“Should we stop her?” Elright asks.
I glance at him, keeping one eye on Marinah. “If you want your arms and legs broken, go for it,” I say while chewing on a piece of straw, enjoying the blood bath in front of me. Marinah is giving me ideas on what to do when I have Knet in my grasp.
Elright shrugs. “I didn’t like him anyway.” He’s figured it out too.
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