Even then, probably not.
Char turned to the others—Ted, Timmons, Sue, Shonna, Merrit, and Aaron. “Today we practice our hand-to-hand skills. We train, because not only do we have to be the smartest to help this town, we have to be the fastest. We can’t let anyone beat us to the punch, do you get me? So we’re going to train with the Forsaken, with Joseph, to get better. And even our large, unmannered friend will join us.”
Gene approached, wiping his mouth with one big, hairy arm. He assumed his happy-go-lucky guy persona. “Where is party?” he bellowed, but they knew that he preferred to be alone. Bogdan had been in the square whining because everyone had gone inside. Now that all his friends had returned, he sidled up next to the Were-bear to assume his rightful position. Gene scratched the beast’s head.
“Time to go, Gene. Time to meet Joseph,” Char stated emotionlessly. Reviewing combat forms and moves, she drilled herself mercilessly until nothing else remained within her mind.
Terry also steeled himself, but he was thinking about sex. He found it was the easiest way to occupy his full mind to complete distraction.
Sergeant James formed the platoon and they marched behind the colonel and the Were folk. They turned south on the road leading from the base and heading for Joseph, who seemed to be waiting patiently.
When the pack arrived, Terry nodded tersely.
“Today, it’s hand-to-hand combat practice, and you’re training with us,” Char told Joseph through half-closed eyes. Her mind worked diligently through the combat forms.
“Well now. One thinks of combat and the other is obsessed with sex. I see that you two think very much alike, judging from what I see in his mind,” Joseph said sarcastically. He seemed to be going out of his way to be disliked by everyone. Gene was the most put out.
He strolled forward and with speed belying his size, he removed his clothes and changed into his Were form. He launched himself at the Forsaken and Joseph was instantly afraid, dodging away. Gene slapped at Joseph as he passed, ripping his shirt with his outstretched claws.
Gene thundered to a stop and turned. Terry rushed to get in between the two. “STOP!” he ordered, but Gene’s black eyes were fixated on the Vampire. He charged again.
Terry jumped straight up and twisted in the air. He came down astride Gene’s neck and clamped his legs tightly as he wrapped his arms around Gene’s head. The Were-bear roared its disapproval of the human rider. He stopped and shook like a dog, trying to throw the human off.
He rolled over backwards and pinned Terry to the ground. Gene wormed back and forth, crushing Terry into the pavement, until the human let go. The Were-bear rolled away. A shadow cast over them, and everyone stopped.
Joseph looked at the descending pod in alarm.
Akio had arrived.
“You bastards!” Joseph yelled, looking for an escape route. Gene rolled to the side and changed back into human form. He didn’t bother to put on his clothes.
Terry stood up and stretched. His ribs popped back into place with an audible snap. “Settle the fuck down, Joseph. Akio is going to check you out. If you told us the truth, you have nothing to worry about. If you lied, well then, that would make you a lying bastard. If that’s the case, then you should be worried and better make peace with the creator because your life expectancy can be measured with a stopwatch.”
Terry stood next to Char, finding her hand and squeezing it. Char leaned close to his ear. “Your mind control trick is to think about sex?”
Terry grinned sheepishly in response. “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Joseph had no clue, right?” Char conceded the point.
The back hatch of the pod opened and Akio walked out, hand on the hilt of his ever present katana.
Terry and Char walked forward to meet him.
“Akio-sama, ohayo gozaimasu,” Terry said in Japanese—good morning, honored master—and bowed, bending almost ninety degrees at the waist.
“Ohayo gozaimasu, Anjin-san,” Akio replied, bending to forty-five degrees, but never taking his eyes from the Forsaken. “And Charumati, good morning, and may I add that you look stunning, glowing even.”
Kaeden joined his parents and took Char’s hand. Akio kneeled to be closer to eye level with the boy. “Ame futte chi katamaru,” Akio said. “Adversity makes one stronger, and in you, I see great strength. I see the power of your adopted parents. Honor will be the wings carrying you on your journey.”
Akio put a hand on the boy’s head and smiled.
“Can I see your sword?” the boy asked, head held high and a smile on his face.
“Not today, my son, but someday I will show you.” Akio stood and returned to the business at hand.
“His name is Joseph,” Char offered. Akio acknowledged that she’d spoken with a tip of his head.
Even with Terry’s enhanced vision, he never saw how the sword came to be in Akio’s hand or how Akio had covered the distance between the pod and Joseph to hold the blade at the Forsaken’s throat.
Joseph didn’t move to defend himself, but his lips trembled and he blinked rapidly.
Akio didn’t say anything. The Japanese didn’t go for the bravado that Terry stooped to on occasion. They considered it to be less than honorable. Akio continued to teach, even when he wasn’t teaching.
The two Vampires engaged with each other’s mind. Akio was orders of magnitude more powerful than Joseph, in all areas. The Forsaken took his medicine and within his mind, he begged for his life. Akio’s sword tapped Joseph’s neck and a thin red line appeared. A single drop of blood dripped free, disappearing behind the Vampire’s leather collar.
Akio pulled the katana away and slowly sheathed it.
Terry was disappointed because he’d been there when Akio saved him in Syria. He hadn’t been close enough to see Akio in action and he wanted that to better visualize what the best looked like. Terry was good, but nothing compared to a true master.
Akio made eye contact with Terry for only a moment, enough to let Terry know that there would be no fighting that day.
Thirty years ago, we would have killed first, asked questions later, Terry thought. Akio would have killed the Forsaken simply for being what he was, but today is a new day in a new world.
Gene’s lip curled as he looked at Akio. The Were-bear continued to ruffle Bogdan’s furry head and round ears. The grizzly cub sat, completely at calm. Only Akio knew why.
Aaron wouldn’t look at him until Akio stood in front of the Were-tiger and looked up at the man. There was almost two feet of height difference between them.
“Alone you are strong, together you are stronger,” Akio told the man. Aaron pursed his lips and nodded one time, before bowing and almost head-butting the Vampire. He mumbled an apology, but Akio had already moved on.
The Were-bear drew the full attention of the Vampire. Gene was even less transparent with his facial expressions than Joseph. Gene’s violent side dominated nearly every aspect of his being. It had saved his life on occasions too numerous to mention. The Vampire made him uncomfortable and put him over the edge. He roared and changed to Were form, shredding his clothes as the Were-bear burst forth.
Bogdan threw himself to the side as the great beast lunged forward, jaws wide to take Akio’s head.
But the Vampire wasn’t there. No one saw him move, but he was to the side, legs wide as Akio stood in his ready stance. Akio struck, and then returned to his perfect form.
Gene staggered, stumbled, and dropped to his front knees. He shook his great shaggy head, growling as he let the violence within return to the surface. Akio didn’t wait. He took one step forward and axe-kicked the Were on the top of his head.
Gene’s jaw slapped against the ground first, as the kick drove the bear’s head downward. The Were-bear flopped onto its side, breathing slowly as if asleep. Bogdan nuzzled his big friend and laid against him. Akio smiled at the grizzly cub.
He looked at the other Werewolves, one by one. Char was in good graces with the Vampire, and her
pack had no choice but to follow her lead. Akio saw that in their minds—they respected their alphas.
Ted’s wolf pack was lounging in the grass nearby. Akio sent them a feeling of internal peace. Lids drooped over yellow eyes and soon they were all asleep.
Akio returned to Terry and Char. “Would you please come with me?” he asked. Neither of them thought it was a question. Kae walked with them, but Akio stopped and waved at Aaron. The Were-tiger joined them and took Kae’s hand. The boy struggled only for a moment before Aaron lifted him onto his shoulders, where the boy could see so much more of the world. Akio waved to him, and Kae waved back.
A Japanese woman and a shorter girl were waiting in the back of the pod. Without hesitation, Terry walked up the ramp after Akio. Char had flown in the before time, but on commercial jets, just like everyone else. She’d never been on anything like a pod. She stood for a moment at the bottom of the ramp, looked back at the pack and then to Terry. He waved her forward.
“It’s okay,” he said soothingly.
Once Char was inside, the ramp door closed. They took their seats and the pod lifted smoothly into the air.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Kae waved at the retreating pod.
“I’m sure they’ll come home, Kaeden. What do you think we should do today?” Aaron asked casually, still watching the pod as it disappeared into the distance.
The boy scrunched his face up as he tried to decide. “Fishing with Uncle Ted,” he finally committed. Aaron looked at Ted. Ted looked at Gene.
Gene didn’t look at anyone because he was still unconscious.
“Okay,” Ted said and started to walk away. Timmons reached out to stop him.
“Our alpha gave us a plan for today. We practice, individual combat training. That’s what we do whether Char is here or not,” Timmons explained.
Ted put his hands on his hips. To the untrained eye, he looked like a fit young man, a hair over six feet tall, but within, Ted wasn’t a fighter. He’d taken on the wolf pack alpha out of necessity, but the wolf was grossly overmatched by a Werewolf, even a weaker one. On Ted’s worst day, he could still end the fight with a single wolf in seconds.
Against humans, he had no desire to raise a hand. In the new community, he felt safe and swore that he wouldn’t fight if he didn’t have to. The desire to fight was gone from his psyche. “I politely decline. If I have to make fists, then we’ve already lost. Aaron, Kae, the boat awaits.”
Timmons didn’t try to stop him a second time. He couldn’t imagine how the giraffe-like man fought. He saved himself the visual by letting the group go.
Joseph’s neck had healed, but he kept rubbing the area where the injury had been. Maybe the katana was special. To Timmons, it looked old, probably some samurai’s sword from the ancient times. Vampires had a way of collecting the best artifacts, because many of them had lived during those times.
Timmons slowly approached the Forsaken. Sue, Shonna, and Merrit joined him.
“I don’t like you, not one bit, but my alpha said that we’re to train with you, so that’s what we’re going to do,” Timmons sneered, unhappy with the prospect but knew he’d have to report to Char when she returned.
She wouldn’t tolerate anything less than what she asked for.
Joseph looked at the Werewolves and decided not to continue his snark. Terry Henry Walton had accepted him into the fold and the Vampire Akio had let him live, so he must have seen that he didn’t have duplicity in his mind. But none of them were here to convince the others.
“What style will you be practicing today? You see that I am a little less practiced in certain forms,” Joseph offered.
Timmons started to laugh. “Less practiced? You tried one wimpy-ass kick and ended up face down on the pavement. Dork.”
Joseph raised one eyebrow.
“James! What forms are we practicing today?” Timmons asked while still chuckling at the Vampire.
“Marine Corps Martial Arts Green Belt, Gunner, arm bars, choke holds, throws, lower body strikes, and counterstrikes,” James called out in a loud voice.
“You lead, Sergeant. Pair people off and let’s get to it,” Timmons ordered. He wondered if they called him Gunner Fuckface behind his back.
Joseph couldn’t control himself. “Gunner Fuckface, now isn’t that one to write in the books.”
Timmons lost all humor and paired himself with Joseph for the practice sparring.
***
Terry and Char sat silently wondering where they were going or how long they would be gone.
It wasn’t more than a couple minutes before Akio and the other two passengers joined them.
“I’d like to introduce Yuko and this is Eve, a product of Yuko’s friend, ADAM.”
“Pleased to meet you,” Char said first, looking kindly at the woman and when she gave Eve her attention, she was surprised to see how the metal flowed seamlessly around the creation’s body.
“I am pleased to make your acquaintance, Yuko-san, and you, too, Eve! We spent so much time talking about door codes, I feel like I know you,” Terry quipped.
“Thank you, Terry Henry Walton,” Eve started in an almost musical voice. “That effort took only thirty-one percent of the estimated timeframe for a calculated ninety percent chance of success. I was pleased with the result.”
Terry nodded. Only one-third as long as it could have taken. He hadn’t realized how lucky they’d been. It was all a matter of perspective.
Akio waited until the pleasantries were finished before he started to talk.
“I wanted to show you something before I asked for your help,” Akio said in a soft tone with a slight bow to his head.
“I’m not sure how we can say no,” Terry replied, watching Akio while holding Char’s hand. She squeezed lightly to let him know that she agreed. They didn’t feel pressured, but there was no way they could turn Akio down.
“We have future plans for New York City and there’s something disturbing ongoing that we need nipped in the bud sooner rather than later,” Akio said conversationally. It made the situation seem less extreme, but this was Akio. It was a big deal for him to ask. Terry understood that.
“Please continue, Akio-sama,” Terry urged, fighting the desire to put a hand on the man’s shoulder as a friendly gesture. He expected that Akio didn’t like to be touched.
He had no desire to test his theory.
“An individual has set himself up as a warlord. This by itself wouldn’t concern us, but he has surrounded himself with a number of humans, including women and children. We’d like to see those people liberated, if possible, and the warlord disposed of,” Akio said. “We need New York City to be reestablished, so killing as few of the humans as possible is important to us. The population needs to grow.”
“Is the warlord special in some way?” Char asked. Terry was thinking about the innocents and what he needed to do to make sure that his people treated them as refugees and not enemy combatants.
It was a difficult task and one where hesitation could be deadly. The FDG needed to identify friend or foe at a glance, then act accordingly. Every single member of the platoon needed to get it right. It was a significant undertaking.
“He is a Forsaken, not a daywalker either. I will join you for the sole purpose of removing the Forsaken from power. I need you to do the rest, deal with the humans and save them.” Akio sounded like he was pleading.
For the sake of humanity, Terry and Char had to take the job.
***
Ted unfurled the sail and it snapped tight in the brisk breeze. Aaron hung halfway outside the boat to avoid getting hit by the beam as it whipped back and forth with Ted’s tacks.
Kae was at home in the boat since he’d been in it before; he had just enough experience to give him an artificial level of confidence. Ted made him sit down so he wouldn’t accidentally fall out. “Can you swim, Aaron?” Ted asked.
“Yes, but for some odd reason, I really don’t like getting wet and I don’t flo
at at all, too skinny, I guess,” Aaron answered, looking at himself as if the answer would be there.
“You’re a cat. Of course you don’t like getting wet,” Ted said matter-of-factly. “But you should love fish.”
“I do. Speaking of that, when are we going to start fishing? I’m hungry. That big oaf messed with my breakfast.”
Ted shook his head. He hadn’t gone into the chow hall when he saw that Gene was there. He expected some level of discord any time the Were-bear was around.
Ted had taken the boat south. The base was still in sight. The wind was strong, probably more like the usual wind as opposed to the mild winter winds they’d had that year.
They’d gone not more than two miles when they ran across a larger container vessel that had run ashore, probably right around the WWDE. It was settled into the lake shelf and created a large reef. The growth on the hull drew the fisherman in Ted. He suspected it was home to many different varieties of tasty fish.
“We need to catch at least ten so I can feed my wolves,” Ted said, setting the performance standard.
“And leave nothing for us? Twenty, Sir Theodore, or bust!” Aaron said grandiosely, waving one arm over his head, hitting the sail. “Oh, sorry.”
“Twenty or bust!” Kaeden called in his small voice.
“Okay, twenty then,” Ted conceded, all the while keeping a weather eye on the horizon.
***
Joseph’s mouth was bleeding. He ran a dark tongue over his lips to collect the blood before it got away. He smacked his lips and waved Timmons forward.
They were supposed to be working on leg strikes and defenses, but the intensity of their engagement had become an anything-goes sparring session. The rest of the platoon and the pack surrounded the two fighters, who appeared to be equally matched.
Timmons had underestimated Joseph’s abilities based on how easily Terry Henry had beaten the Forsaken. Maybe Timmons overestimated his own abilities, when he should have known better. He lasted less than one second against the colonel. At least Joseph was able to get up on his own after his fight.
Nomad Omnibus 02: A Kurtherian Gambit Series (A Terry Henry Walton Chronicles Omnibus) Page 30