Expecting The Unexpected (Nakaka Book 3)

by Cree Storm

  “But wouldn’t these ancestors have to have true knowledge of our existence? How could they? We haven’t been out in the world in centuries... well, not really,” Hron questioned.

  “I don’t think it would be a problem to make them believers,” Doctor Oleander softly said.

  “How so?” Hron asked.

  Shrugging, Doctor Oleander replied, “If the shifters that were involved in the attack kept in touch with the children of the attacked, and the ancestor children know or have seen a human shifting into an animal, it isn’t a far stretch to believe that a gargoyle was real.”

  “But why wait hundreds of years to start the war all over again?” Groth asked in confusion.

  “Maybe they weren’t ready for some reason. Maybe, because they feared us... or maybe it took them that long to find us. We have been in hiding for over two hundred years. If you ask me, they needed a way to find us and somehow it happened,” Krerr said.

  “The Sorti,” Turq muttered.

  CHAPTER 10

  “What?” Hron asked.

  “The Sorti. They’re the reason that damn group found us. It has to be them. It’s the only way that hate group could possibly know where all the Nakaka clutch houses are located,” Turq answered.

  “You’re saying that Nakaka actually joined up with these... these haters?” Hron asked incredulously.

  Petree whispered, “It makes sense, Hron. It was Nakaka that attacked our clutch, not humans, and not shifters. It was Nakaka that killed the people of my clutch. I think Krerr and Turq are on to something.”

  “The thing is, I think they’re in it for an entirely different reason,” Spencer said, tapping at his keyboard, looking for something he’d read not too long ago.

  “What do you mean, Spencer?” Hron asked.

  “I think the Nakaka want to destroy the humans, and to do that they have to go against the gods’ decree. They have to break Nakaka law, that you were created to protect the humans, and no harm shall come to them. In order to do anything about that law, they would have to take out those that made the laws in the first place,” Spencer answered.

  Hron nodded. “And to do that, it would mean taking out the ancients and those they have taught... those we learned from as children.”

  “Yes. I think they went in search of the ancestors of two hundred years ago and found them. I think they somehow got these people to work with them to take out the ancients and the families, but somehow believe they can destroy the humans and shifters that want to continue the war where it left off, and then go after their own form of revenge,” Spencer stated.

  “So, you’re saying that two hate groups joined together to take us out for good?” Hron said in surprise.

  With a lift of his shoulder, Spencer said, “It’s the only thing that makes sense.”

  “But, as my Viata says, it was the Nakaka that attacked this clutch house,” Hron stated.

  Nodding, Spencer replied, “I think Chantal’s attack on this clutch house was a rush thing. Something he did on his own. I don’t think the Sorti ordered it. The man was a power hungry fucktard. He saw an opportunity and took it. It’s why no one helped him when you guys came in and took over.”

  “So, how do you think the hateful humans fit into this?” Groth asked.

  Spencer shrugged, “I’m not really sure. They could be the ones behind the computers. Aum wasn’t bad on a computer, but I don’t think he was nearly as good at working the keys for what they had to do, in order to figure out where clutch houses were and where the ancients could be found. It would require a lot of planning, strategizing, and legwork as well as knowhow on what to do with all the data brought in.”

  “Where are we with those damn flash drives?” Hron snapped at Throg.

  Throg licked his lips and started to speak, “Uh we...”

  Spencer stopped Throg’s stumbling around. Spencer hadn’t been very communicative on what he had been up to. It had just been too hard to work with a mate that refused you, and Spencer had thought it completely unfair of Hron to ask that of him, or Throg. “I found a couple of encrypted e-mails and we have Chad working a theory.”

  Hron turned to Spencer, “Chad? The shifter that brought us here?”

  “Yes. I finally got through Chantal’s computer, and found some people he was chatting up along with his e-mails. I thought Chad might be able to check around a little bit, and we might get lucky, and while he’s doing that it would give me an opportunity to crack the encryption. I would have told you sooner, but I hadn’t had an opportunity,” Spencer answered, without looking at Throg.

  “You shouldn’t have had Chad go anywhere alone. I don’t like it. He could get hurt. We don’t know who to trust, Spencer. Where is he?” Hron asked firmly.

  Spencer clicked a few keys on his computer keyboard then looked up nervously. He had told Chad he shouldn’t go alone, but the damn raven shifter had refused to wait. Ever since he had been kidnapped along with Spencer and the others, the man had made it his personal mission in life to take out the people responsible. “He went to the Pendleton clutch house.”

  Hron turned to Groth, “Isn’t that where Ancients Dralol and Sterr are holding up?”

  Nodding, Groth answered, “Yes, Caliph.”

  Turning to Throg, Hron asked, “Who are their guards?”

  “Kona and Valig,” Throg answered, without hesitation.

  Hron pursed his lips. “I want them notified of Chad’s—”

  “I don’t think anyone should be notified or Chad’s presence, Hron,” Turq said, before Hron could finish.

  Hron turned to the gem brother, asking, “Why not?”

  Turq looked at Spencer, “I take it your friend is looking around without introducing himself?”

  Nodding, Spencer replied, “Yes. I tried to get him to wait for backup, but he’s kind of... well... he’s kind of on a mission, and not much will stop him.”

  “A mission? What the fuck kind of mission can the man be on besides a death mission. If he’s caught in a clutch house without an invitation, he will be killed. Especially with ancients being there,” Throg snapped.

  Spencer felt his anger rise. How the hell could any of these people understand what he, Petree, Mason, Abe, Bryant, and Chad had gone through. The constant terror, the pain, the violation of their minds and bodies. They sat in those chairs judging Chad, when if it weren’t for what he had been able to do, no one would even have known what was going on to be trying to stop anything.

  Spencer stood up, his chair flying behind him. He pointed at Throg, then Hron, Garth, and the others, snapping, “Don’t you dare! None of you have any right to say anything about what Chad is doing! Not a damn one of you!”

  Doctor Oleander calmly said, “Spencer, calm—”

  Spencer whipped in the shrink’s direction, practically snarling, “Stay out of this, Doctor Oleander, because you have no clue either.”

  Looking around the room, Spencer said, “If it weren’t for Chad and his willingness to risk his life, I wouldn’t be here today.” Turning to Hron, he said, “Neither would Petree, and you know it. By the time you got to us, Petree was almost dead.”

  Spencer turned to Khall, “You wouldn’t be calling Elijah your mate either, because he would have soon followed Petree, as would the rest of us. When Chad came to us and was tossed in the cell, he was damn near dead. His wing was broken, tail feathers had been ripped from his body... It took time for him to heal enough to even shift back to his human part, and when he did, his only thought was getting help. We are under the fucking ground! Do you know how dangerous it was for him to take that chance? It isn’t like we have a lot of birds down here.”

  Spencer sat down hard on his chair and shook his head. “He risked everything for us, and yes, he wants the people responsible for our terror to pay.”

  “Chad is a raven shifter. He’s smart, cunning and capable. When he gets his mind set on something he doesn’t falter from it, and right now his mission in life is to take down the
ones responsible for our suffering,” Petree softly said.

  “But the ones responsible are dead,” Hron stated.

  Shaking his head, Petree said, “No, the ones directly responsible are dead. When he found out about that group trying to take out the Nakaka... the Sorti... he wanted them all. He felt like we did... the Sorti were the reason for our clutch-house attack. Chantal and his buttheads might have been the ones that did to us what they did, but none of them would have been here if not for the Sorti.”

  Turq quickly jumped in. “Look, the point is, the Sorti is Nakaka. That means we don’t know who we can trust and who we can’t. If this Chad could get out of this underground hideaway and get help, then I have no doubt he can get around in the Pendleton clutch house without raising any alarms. Hron, if you warn the clutch house of his being there, you could be signing his death warrant.”

  “He’s right, Hron. We don’t know who we can trust,” Groth insisted.

  Sighing heavily, Hron said, “Fine, but I want regular reports from Chad. We need to know everything he sees and finds.”

  “I’ll get a hold of him. It won’t be easy. He doesn’t exactly carry a phone on him when he travels,” Spencer muttered.

  “I don’t care if he needs to use a carrier pigeon. I want a daily report from the raven, or I’m going to presume he’s dead and send my own men there, and that would really fuck things up,” Hron stated firmly.

  Hron let out a loud sigh, finally saying, “This shit is getting complicated real fast. I hate not trusting my own people. I hate that our people can’t trust the Nakaka walking around them. We need to get this under control, and we need it done fast.” Turning to Spencer, he smiled. “The Nakaka are feeling hope once again. First with being granted our Viatas, and when Spencer gives us the okay to inform the clutch house of his grand news of being pregnant... our people will find hope in a future once again. They need to know that they can once again live their lives, not just exist in them.”

  “Um, Hron. I think I may know where a few other flash drives are. Well, it looks like that’s what they are at least,” Spencer quietly said.

  Hron turned to Spencer. “Explain.”

  Spencer clicked on some keys. “I asked Throg a while back to get me some pictures of the other clutch houses if he could. He did that in spades. His men really came through. I just can’t be sure it’s what we’re looking for.”

  A picture came up on the big screen. Spencer got up with a clicker in hand. “This is one of the guards at the Dorson clutch house. If you look here, he’s wearing a necklace of sorts. Normally...” Spencer clicked and another picture of the same man was shown. “...if you look the necklace is under his shirt. However, in this one...” He clicked again. “...it is out, and it looks like the same flash drive I have here.”

  Spencer clicked another time. “This is the library at the Nakima clutch house. Now on first look it doesn’t seem anything is out of place, but...” He clicked once more and the picture of a shelf with two gargoyle busts on each end of the shelf came into view, “...if you look at this one, the base is maybe a half-inch thick, and on that one...” He clicked once more. “...the base is more than an inch thick. I think it would make a great spot for a flash drive. Kind of like a hideaway-key thing.”

  “You mean like the Hide-a-key fake rock we use to keep our spare house keys in?” Elijah asked.

  Nodding, Spencer answered, “Exactly.”

  Clicking again, a picture of another man came into view.

  “Wait, isn’t that ancient Urr and Blinn’s son, Tumm?” Stok said in surprise.

  “I don’t know who he is. I wasn’t able to ask Throg if he knew him just yet,” Spencer answered.

  “It’s him. They’re currently holding up at the Brais clutch house,” Throg said with a nod.

  Spencer felt his discomfort rise. “Well, that makes things a bit awkward now, doesn’t it?”

  “What do you mean?” Hron asked.

  Clicking once more a close up of the man’s wrist came into view, highlighting a bracelet he wore. “At first I thought it was a medical alert bracelet, you know? Then it came to me. He’s Nakaka. He can’t get disease or ailments from anyone. He would have no reason to have one of those, so I looked closer.” He clicked once again and the picture enlarged even more. “His name is engraved on it, but where it’s engraved is also large enough to hide a flash drive.”

  “How do you know it isn’t just a gift from a boyfriend or something?” Groth asked.

  “I don’t. I just figured we shouldn’t let anything go without a closer look, and if this is really the son of an ancient... it kind of makes sense that he might want revenge against the humans,” Spencer said a bit hesitantly.

  Groth sighed, “I hear what you’re saying, but we have no way of knowing if he does have one, or is a part of all this shit. We can’t just go and accuse an ancient’s child... especially their oldest son, if he’s working with the humans to kill off the ancients.”

  Nug and Jory started pushing and hissing at each other. Everyone turned to them. Hron firmly saying, “Knock it off you two!”

  “But I can—” Nug started to say.

  “No you can’t!” Jory snapped, shutting the guy up.

  “Jory...”

  Jory did a swipe of his arms almost knocking Groth in the face. “No you cannot!”

  Nug sighed, “I have to, Jory.”

  “Would you two stop this back and forth and just say whatever it is you’re trying to say,” Groth insisted, although not quite as harshly as he would have said to anyone else.

  Nug sighed, “I can get in and check out the bracelet.”

  CHAPTER 11

  “Have you lost your mind? There is no way in hell—”

  “Groth, let the little man speak.” Hron ordered.

  Growth, however, wasn’t having it. “There is nothing for him to say. He isn’t going to put himself in danger like that, Hron. I won’t allow it.”

  Throg watched as Nug and Jory looked at Groth like he had two heads, and then turned to see Hron sitting there with a raised brow. “Is that right, Groth. If I’m not mistaken, I’m the Caliph here, not you. Now if you wish to challenge my position...”

  Shaking his head Throg said, “No, Caliph. Excuse my disrespect. It’s just that I gave my word... I vowed to both Jory and Nug that I would be there to protect them, and I can’t do that if he’s off alone at another clutch. It’s too dangerous.”

  “Let me be the judge of that,” Hron said, then asked, “Nug, how is it you can get into the clutch house without attracting attention?”

  Sighing heavily, Nug answered, “My brother moved there to be closer to a Nakaka he had the hots for. Before the attack on our clutch, I used to go and visit there at least once a month, and he’d come here one time a month. We were just talking about me going there to visit.”

  “And he told you not to. Nub told you that things were really strange over there, and he didn’t think it was safe.” Jory hissed.

  “Strange? How so?” Hron asked.

  Nug shook his head, “He didn’t—”

  “Yes, he did,” Jory snapped, then looked at Hron. “Nub said that he’s heard whispers about another clutch attack, but this time on his. He said that he doesn’t know all the Nakaka in on it, but he’s heard talking and... well... he doesn’t know what to do.”

  “He doesn’t know who to trust, is more like it. I told him, on our last conversation to come here, but he’s scared. He doesn’t want to bring attention to himself by leaving,” Nug softly said. “I could go there, and no one would think twice about it.”

  “What does your brother do at Brais?” Krerr asked.

  Nug answered, “He’s a messenger for the Caliph.”

  “A messenger? I don’t understand,” Spencer said in confusion.

  “The clutch house is really big, and has about a hundred more Nakaka living on the mountain than the one we have here, and not everyone lives in the main house. When the Caliph nee
ds to get a private message to one of his people, he sends Nub with the message and vice versa,” Nug answered.

  “Isn’t that what phones are for?” Spencer said, with a laugh.

  Shaking his head, Nug was serious, when he said, “Caliph Redmen doesn’t trust easily. He watches human television a lot, and says that phones can be tapped. He prefers person-to-person delivery.”

  “You’re not going,” Groth practically growled.

  “But, I can help,” Nug said anxiously. “You guys keep saying how important these flash drive thingy things are, and I can help get you one. It won’t be all that hard... at least I don’t think it will. I can...”

  “No!” Groth snapped.

  Stok’s voice loudly interrupted the two Nakaka, “I do know something that can work, and Groth, it will mean you can be there.”

  Everyone looked at Hron’s seed father, and the man continued, “You’ve been Caliph here for quite some time. In the old days, when a new Caliph was brought in, he would make his rounds to the other clutch houses, so that each Caliph could meet and talk clutch affairs with each other. Hron, you can say that Nug wanted to come and see his brother, and with all the strife you felt it would allow you to accompany him and introduce yourself as well as your second and new Viata.”

  “Yes. That’s a wonderful idea,” Krerr said, with an excited nod. “You wanted to show each clutch house that the rumors are true, and Viatas are once again possible. You found it to be an opportunity to bring hope into every Nakaka’s eyes.”

  “This will allow you to bring Groth, Throg, and whoever else you wish to bring, and no one will think twice about it,” Stok stated.

  Hron sat there looking at his mate longingly, “I don’t want to place you in danger, little one.”