Dad Panther (Alien Guardians of Earth Book 3)

by Donna McDonald

  Axel grunted. “Your blade liked me. I was never afraid of it. I was only afraid of what it would do to any threat we encountered. It showed little mercy. Not all bad guys are created equal.”

  Sugar lifted a hand. “Thanks, honey. I love knowing you consider me a cold-blooded killer.”

  “Your blade is a killer,” Axel said as patiently as he could. “You are not and never have been.”

  “Maybe that was once true, Axel, but the blade and I are one now. Every day that becomes more the case.” A throat clearing made Sugar shift her attention away from Axel and back to Lake.

  “And what I’m saying, or am trying to say, is that my blade differs from yours, Sugar. It is capable of love—or was capable—and maybe it knew a kind of love few people find,” Lake stated calmly.

  Gina rose and walked around the room. “This could mean that you’re meant for Reva Hunter.”

  “No,” Lake said in shock, staring at Gina. “What kind of logic is that? I’m only saying that whatever the connection is between my blade and Reva Hunter’s blade has existed from the beginning of their creation. They go all the way back… and I mean way, way back.”

  “That makes no sense,” Gina said.

  “Maybe not,” Lake replied. “But I still think I’m right.”

  Sugar stood. “Well, there’s only one way for us to find out. We need Reva Hunter to wake up and talk to us.”

  “Waking her should be fine. Forty is a good age for a woman,” Rodu chimed in to say. He laughed when his fellow blade hosts turned glares his way. “Well, it is.”

  “I need this resolved before my children come out of incubation. I want to be a mother who doesn’t have this kind of problem hanging over her head.”

  Rodu shook his head. “You must learn to parent around the other demands of your life, Sugar. All parents do this, even those who do not host blades.”

  “Marta,” Sugar said firmly. “We’ll speak to Marta. If she wants to wait a few more weeks, we’ll do that.”

  “I can’t believe how great the woman looks. How old is she now?”

  Marta trilled softly when her sister glared at Lake for asking in just that precise way. “I would estimate she is somewhere between thirty and forty in human years. Her age becomes determined by her body’s reaction to the process. It takes Father’s body many, many months to reach this level of regenerating because his cells have slowed their turnover in more than a thousand years. Mother said she felt trouble coming and insisted he stay in the cylinder longer last time. When Father came out, he looked like Axel. The amount of change was surprising to all of us.”

  Rodu grunted. “I have no lust for youth. Aging is an honor. I do not wish to go back into the death machine at all. I do so only for love.”

  Sugar lifted a hand to hide her smile when all the children of Rodu in the room discreetly rolled their eyes. She shifted her gaze to the host of the Creator Blade lying in the regeneration cylinder. “I’m sure Reva Hunter will be shocked by the way she looks. Even her short hair has grown out to her shoulders now.”

  Marta nodded. “Everything about the body is affected during this process. One day you will experience it for yourself.”

  Sugar didn’t like the idea, but she didn’t argue against it either. They didn’t need another Rodu complaining about the Lyran miracle of life extension.

  The glass enclosure divided and slid down into the side of the cylinder. Marta unfolded a light cloth and draped it over the woman’s nude body.

  Sugar leaned over and stared down at the woman’s serene face. “She looks younger than me and with not a wrinkle in sight.”

  A pair of brown eyes with a golden hue opened to look up at her. Sugar smiled down into them. “Hello, Reva Hunter. How are you feeling?”

  The woman in the case blinked several times before moving her gaze to Marta. When Marta bowed her head respectfully, the woman’s eyes widened in alarm.

  “Is this heaven or did I go to the other place when I died?” Reva asked.

  Sugar chuckled at the woman’s question. Heaven. Hell. A lot changed once you realized many ancestral gods were aliens doing a job. “You’re not dead, Reva Hunter, but you were shot and injured. There’s nothing to be concerned about though. We brought you here to fix you. You’re safe now.”

  Reva reached up and grabbed Sugar’s wrist. “Are you one of the thing’s friends? Are you an alien too?”

  Sugar wasn’t surprised that the sentient blade was the woman’s first real concern after learning she was still alive. “No, I’m not an alien. I’m a human like you,” she explained in a calm tone. “There are some aliens here, but I swear they’re all friendly.”

  “Did the bad guys find it? I hid it as best I could. I thought the stone vault in the hotel room would be a good place.”

  “Find what?” Sugar asked. She wanted to hear Reva Hunter confirm her relationship to the blade. She needed it for her own peace of mind.

  Rodu and Lake moved closer to listen.

  Axel and Gina lifted an eyebrow at their actions but kept their distance.

  Sugar watched Reva’s gaze take in all the blade hosts. There was no fear in her eyes, only concern for the being she’d saved. Sugar’s mouth lifted into a satisfied smirk at Reva’s bravery. That’s what they all had in common—a certain level of selflessness—a certain predisposition to being open to hosting a sentient blade.

  “We’re all friends here, Reva. Tell us what you put into the safe,” Sugar ordered softly.

  Reva lifted a weak hand. “It’s some sort of living green liquid metal that can turn itself into gold. I wore it like jewelry for a long time. It kept changing designs. In the end, it became something that looked like a ritual athame blade and then I couldn’t talk to it anymore. I missed its company. Before it changed, it told me it was from an alien source.”

  “I’m an Ancient Earth historian. I’ve studied the blades and their origins. I’ve concluded their maker was from somewhere other than Earth,” Sugar said quietly. “Anything else you want to tell us?”

  Reva’s head moved slowly up and down. “Yes. The blade has a name—a Greek goddess name.”

  “A name?” Sugar asked, surprised by that information. Her blade specifically said it did not have a name nor had it ever had one.

  Reva brought both hands up to her aching head. “The blade’s name is Athena—or at least it once was. What happened to it? I’d really like to know.”

  Sugar drew back in shock. She looked at Rodu and Lake. Both shrugged. Didn’t they understand what this meant? She patted Reva’s bare shoulder. “You hid your blade well. The bad guys didn’t find it and we got there in time to rescue it. Your smart thinking saved the sentient blade.”

  “That’s exactly what it called itself—a sentient blade. I just want to know it’s okay. Will I ever see it again?” Reva asked in a whisper.

  Sugar swallowed hard. Reva Hunter would have to learn the truth sometime. Right? Before she could reveal the situation, Lake stepped forward and put his hand on Reva’s foot.

  “The Creator Blade is safe, Ms. Hunter. I found it and brought it to safety. You were very brave to risk your life to hide it.”

  “So I really saved it?” Reva asked, her confusion receding as she took in all their nods. “Good,” she said, closing her eyes again. “God only knows what those military guys would have done with it.”

  When she drifted off into a healing sleep again, Sugar walked to the far side of the room. Lake and Rodu followed. They huddled together to whisper.

  “There is no metal around Reva Hunter’s chest yet. Next time she wakes, we probably need to prepare her.”

  “Shit... my blade is coming forward…” Lake said as he shook his head and put a hand on Sugar’s shoulder.

  Lake hissed as his blade pushed forward for the first time since they healed him. As the painful conversion continued, he remained mostly aware. He felt his eyes clouding over, and then he could suddenly see everything with remarkable clarity.

>   “Protector Sugar.”

  “Protector Lake,” Sugar replied, nodding slightly. This couldn’t be good. Why wasn’t her blade coming forward too?

  “It saddens me to be the deliverer of this news. The Creator is not coming forward in Reva Hunter. The symbiosis between them has ceased. She asks that you let the host live out a normal life and then come collect the blade at the host’s death.”

  Sugar shook her head. “Reva Hunter will never have a normal life again. They know who she is, and that she found a sentient blade.”

  “Yes. A new identity will be necessary. Gina of Rodu will also need to create something to mask the frequency of the Creator Blade to prevent it from being recognized by anyone’s technology.”

  Sugar shook her heard as she whispered. “The Creator Blade—the essence of Athena who likely created all the blades—wants me to lie to Reva Hunter?”

  Lake’s head moved up and down. “Yes. The one you call Athena the Ancient created the blades. Each took a century or more. Yours was first. I helped Athena. I was present at your creation and the Destroyer’s. I rejoiced when your life sparks joined with hosts for the first time.”

  Sugar stepped back and away from Lake’s touch—from his blade’s attempt to soothe the turmoil assaulting her soul. “It’s not like I wanted my blade. I wasn’t given a choice to merge or not. Lake Allen Wright wasn’t given a choice to host you.”

  Protector Lake drew himself up stiffly. “Energetically, we gave you both choices. Lake refused the Creator but accepted being a Protector. You spent your academic life seeking the Protector Blade you found. The only host not given the same kind of choice was Rodu. The Destroyer Blade found him worthy and merged to save his life at the expense of living without the rest of the blades for over a thousand years. Host Rodu and the Destroyer were the least natural joining. This is why it took him so many years to adjust to having a blade.”

  “Why is this happening now?” Sugar asked. “Why are the blades determined to wake up after all this time in hibernation?”

  Protector Lake blinked at the question. “The sentient blades were created to serve humankind in their darkest times. Those times have come again and again throughout the history you know and the history that is long forgotten. If we do not redeem the people of Earth, the Lyrans will have no choice but to eradicate the current species and begin terra-forming again. This is a destiny that our blades were created to avoid.”

  Hearing the absolute certainty her fellow Protector Blade infused into the annihilation threat, Sugar backed up and glared at him over the news. She looked over at Axel, who was staring hard at her. She summoned all the human courage she had. “Do the Lyrans have an annihilation plan for Earth, Axel?” she asked, her voice barely audible.

  “Your fellow Protector Blade is offering one interpretation of a very advanced Lyran protocol,” Axel said.

  “Earth is my planet, Axel. It does not belong to Lyrans—guardians or not. You have no right to pass that level of judgment on all of humankind. Lyrans have no right to have protocols about killing us.”

  Axel frowned as he answered. “Many options exist in our directives of how to protect Earth from itself. What he mentions is but one of them—a very drastic, last resort type of consideration. We have not spoken about such a measure among my people in many years. The last time we brought it up was during what you refer to as medieval times. Earthlings persecuted scientists and healers then. Many tried to keep Earth technology from developing.”

  Sugar closed her eyes. Oh, God. She’d brought children into this fucked up situation—alien hybrid children. Would Axel allow his children to be eradicated if they didn’t show proper Lyran thinking? She was living among strangers—strangers she’d thought of as family. But a real family didn’t keep Earth annihilation plans secret from you.

  Sugar spoke to everyone in the room. “Reva Hunter needs to accept the Creator Blade and fulfill her destiny. The Earth needs all four of us to fix what needs to be fixed. The Creator Blade may think Reva has a choice, but she has no choice.”

  “I must disagree, Protector Sugar. The host has the choice the Creator Blade granted her. The Creator is not coming forward and will not save her host’s life again. It will return to its original form and search for a new host. This is why Reva Hunter needs to be monitored. The Lyrans are quite capable of keeping track of her. They do not require for you to do so.”

  “That’s a fine attitude for an alien to have but it’s not fair to the humans on Earth,” Sugar said firmly.

  Her fellow Protector did not respond. He’d delivered the message he’d needed to deliver. The blade was receding and Lake was already returning. What would the real Lake think once he knew?

  Sugar looked at Rodu. His gaze was on the wall.

  When she glanced at Lake again, he looked ready to throw up. There was also terror in his gaze, which meant he’d heard the discussion.

  Her gut tightened, but the only emotion she felt was a keen disappointment in herself for not finding out about this sooner.

  Sugar turned once more to the male she had allowed herself to love. How could Axel have not warned her about this possibility? Despite his glaring, he looked like he wanted to run from the room. Bastard probably knew just how upset she was. Maybe not black dust gun mad, but she wasn’t far from it.

  “Before I destroy everything around me, I need to go think about what this means to all the humans that Lyrans seem to think so poorly of,” Sugar said coldly.

  She walked out of the regeneration room and never looked back.

  16

  “I want the truth. Were you ever going to tell me?”

  Before she spoke, Nyomi thought about what human words might soothe her angry mate. “I would have told you, but only if that level of protocol was genuinely being considered. As Axel explained, it is a last resort and one that would never be done without great deliberation and much planning.”

  Rodu felt the shock of her statements run through him. “So all this time you’ve known me, you’ve had orders that would have sanctioned the destruction of all of Earth’s people. How can you call yourselves guardians?”

  “Guardianship comes with a broad range of responsibilities. We have allowed Earthlings to evolve. We keep our distance and barely interfere at all. I don’t understand why you’re so upset about this one point of contention.”

  “Because you would carry out that edict if your people decided it was necessary, wouldn’t you? It means my life is not my life. You assume you own me just as my pharaoh did.”

  “Rodu…”

  He held up a hand and walked away from her. “And our children? Our grandchildren? They are not just Lyrans, Nyomi. They are part of humanity. What would you say to them if you were ordered to kill their people?”

  “I hope never to be put in that position. Why do you think I am so determined for our son to become the next Lyran leader? Axel brings a human balance to the darker side of guardianship.”

  “I don’t understand, Nyomi. You have sentenced our children to their potential deaths without me having a say in the matter. If I knew, there would have been no children between us. I would have never chosen this fate for anyone human. I have fathered four beings over the last thousand years. Not once did you mention that you might one day have to kill all my people and theirs.”

  Nyomi lifted her chin. “Do you think I would place my family in peril on purpose? I thought you knew me better.”

  Rodu swung back to face the woman who seemed like a stranger to him today. “I no longer know what you’d do. Can you even imagine how betrayed I feel? You obviously still consider me the uneducated pyramid builder I once was.”

  “I swear the Lyran protocol is not as bad as the Protector Blade made it sound. It is merely one of many options.”

  “Alien annihilation of my planet is not an option, Nyomi. I agree with Sugar. Lyrans have no right to make such a decision. Know now that I will fight you and your people to my real death if you try. This
is not about any love between us. This is about survival and humans are quite resourceful.”

  “Rodu—it’s not like that. I would never harm you or anyone in our family.”

  But he didn’t want to hear any more of his mate’s half-truths, so Rodu closed his heart to her explanations and left.

  Sugar packed a bag with clothing and personal supplies. When she finished, she stored it in the library. Then she went to see Lake.

  “Are you okay?” she asked him.

  “No. I’m sorry my blade caused so much trouble. I had no idea my blade knew all that stuff,” Lake said. “Do you think the Lyrans really would kill all the people on Earth?”

  Sugar hung her head and nodded. “Yes, but they would say they were doing it for the highest and noblest of reasons.”

  “High and noble Lyran reasons,” Lake grumbled.

  Sugar nodded as she rose to pace. “Earthlings often seem hell-bent on self-destruction. Few care about the preservation of our natural resources. I’ve often thought humans would one day destroy the Earth with their lack of caring. But as bad as that is, the idea of some arrogant group of aliens deciding to wipe us all away is far worse. They have no right to act as judge and jury on how the Earth conducts itself.”

  Lake blew out a breath. “This is the worst nightmare situation imaginable with so many aliens living among us. Lyrans are not the only aliens on our planet. Do you think the others have protocols like the Lyrans do?”

  “Not really,” Sugar admitted. “Nyomi seems to run the primary alien show. All the aliens check in with her before they set up a base camp on Earth. I’m sure if there were a bad group with ulterior motives she would know.”

  Lake sighed. “Do you think alien invasion and potential annihilation efforts is why Athena created the blades?”

  Sugar dropped into a chair to brood. “I don’t know. If that’s why, Athena must have believed some other alien culture might not allow Earth to grow up. It’s an interesting theory because it means Athena, who was probably an alien, sided with us instead of against us. Since what’s left of her spirit has chosen not to talk to us about anything, unfortunately, we might never know if that’s right or not.”