Reva snorted. “Protector Sugar?”
Dr. Sugar Jennings hosts a Protector Blade. She is Protector Sugar.
“And Lake?” Reva demanded.
Lake Allen Wright hosts a Protector Blade. He is Protector Lake.
“Rodu?”
Rodu of Ancient Egypt hosts the Destroyer Blade. He is Rodu the Destroyer.
“What kind of blade are you? I know you told me before, but I wasn’t paying close attention. Sorry,” Reva whispered.
I am the Creator Blade.
Reva chuckled dryly and ran a hand over her face. “No offense, but right now I wish you were the Destroyer Blade. The bad guys need to be taken out.”
Taken out where?
Reva winced at her slang. “That was a figure of speech. I meant they needed to be stopped before they seriously hurt the others.”
You can stop them, Reva Hunter. We can stop them. But the cost to you will be high.
Reva bit her lip. She’d felt this coming since Cambodia. All her previous resistance had done was to bring her more problems. “What is the cost?” she finally asked the being inside her.
The merging process—symbiosis—will begin in a way that I cannot undo once begun. You will be merged with me until your death. You and I will join to become Reva the Creator. You and I will share a life and a body. We will become one.
“Share my body?” Reva shook her head. “Are you saying you’re some alien symbiotic creature?”
Reference is unfamiliar.
“Never mind,” Reva said, watching as the men started walking toward the cabins by the open space where Lake and Rodu trained.
Soon they’d come to the woods to look for her. Similar to the men who’d tracked her down before, these men were intent on capturing all of them.
Reva started making her silent way back towards the creek and her sitting rock. “Am I going to get shot again? Because the alien cat doctor—I mean, the Lyran healer—had to regenerate me last time and I really don’t want to look Lake’s age. I enjoy being a bit older. God—listen to me talking about my stupid age. Shut up, Reva. You’re panicking.”
Panic is unnecessary. I can protect your body from their weapons. But you can also flee. Your chances of escaping are high because they have captured the other blades and hosts.
Reva considered it for a few seconds. Then she thought of them all smiling down at her when she woke up alive. She had seen in their faces that they’d cared.
She blew out a shaky breath. “This is definitely not the kind of decision I figured I’d be making today. Does symbiosis hurt?”
Yes. I will shield you from as much pain as I can. We cannot avoid some of it. It is an invasive process with many benefits to the host once completed. The price is the pain of the change.
“Sounds awful,” Reva said, stopping by the creek. “But I can’t run away. Well, I could, but how could I live with myself? They saved me. They saved you. I can’t leave them here with the bad guys. Hell, just do it—do the merging thing. The worst it can do is kill me. I’m supposed to be dead anyway. Right?”
I must ask again—do you accept our joining?
Reva heard anxious male voices coming closer. “Yes,” she hissed as quietly as possible. “What is with your need to hear that? I told you—I have to help them. If that means you possessing me like some kind of demon, then possess me.”
I honor your decision, Reva Hunter. We begin from now.
Reva called out in pain as the metal in her chest seemed to electrocute the rest of her. She felt a rush of something liquid shoot from that area to her head.
Then her brain exploded.
The last thing she remembered was grabbing her head and thinking she really would see Hank soon.
19
Sugar woke with a moan and found her hands tied. She forced her blurry eyes open and saw two men in the sitting area of her cabin. They both had weapons and one had a tranquilizer weapon slung over a shoulder.
They must have gotten to Lake and Rodu. If they hadn’t, the men she watched would be dead and she wouldn’t have the mother of all headaches.
Sugar closed her eyes again and drew in a steadying breath. Hey, Artifact. I need you to do your Golden Girl thing.
Conflict risk high. Success of resisting low. Rest recommended now. Escape later.
“No,” Sugar commanded in a fierce whisper. Escape later? Was it crazy? “Reva—I have to save Reva. She carries the Creator Blade. We have to get to her before the bad guys do. They’re probably looking for her now.”
Urgency acknowledged but caution advised. Host Sugar drugged. Energy failure odds ninety-nine point seven percent.
“I understand. Now give me my shiny sword and the men who did this won’t last longer than your point three success rate,” Sugar ordered.
In the other room, she heard one man tell the other to get another tranquilizer dart ready because she was coming around again. She heard swearing and a lot of scrambling as they searched.
Squeezing her eyes shut, Sugar brought her wrists to her chest and touched the trident. Now. Convert me now, Sugar commanded.
The pain of the change was welcome for once. The ropes around her wrist disintegrated. Free at last, she pushed to her feet and stood up on wobbly legs. Extending her hand, Sugar called for her sword. What she got instead was a small shield not much larger than her hand.
“What’s this? Where’s my freaking sword?”
Sword unavailable.
“Damn it, Artifact,” Sugar said.
She made a run at the men and swung her small shield to knock off the aim of their guns. The tranquilizer dart zinging past her head barely missed her. She put one guy on the floor and punched him hard to keep him there. The other turned to flee.
Sugar held up the shield and spoke the word that suddenly appeared in her head. The shield sent a blast of energy that lifted the fleeing guy and blasted him through the cabin door onto the wooden porch.
Sugar looked at the shield in her hand. “Okay. That works. How about the black dust gun? Can I get that?”
Disintegration weapon unavailable.
“Remind me never to get shot with tranquilizer darts again,” Sugar said, leaping over both male bodies as she headed toward the creek in a run.
Unfortunately, she could feel the veil of energy falling away as she ran. Her Golden Girl armor had failed faster than her blade had predicted. Either that or she sucked at statistical math.
She slowed as she saw Lake and Rodu lying motionless on the ground. Her stomach dropped. Each of them had multiple darts sticking out of their necks. Would she know if her fellow blade hosts were dead? She wasn’t sure. Her trust in the being inside her was no longer rock solid.
Sugar glanced around and heard talking in the woods. The men who tranquilized Rodu and Lake were after Reva.
She bent and pulled multiple darts from both Rodu and Lake. Their blades would recover faster if the toxin delivery devices were removed. No matter how badly she was tempted, Sugar didn’t bother checking for a pulse because that would have only delayed her further.
Picking up one of the giant pugil sticks Rodu and Lake had trained with, Sugar hoisted it to her shoulder and started off in a jog toward the creek. The pugil stick was heavy and bulky, but it would at least catch a few bullets or darts. Maybe it would buy her some time until her blade was fully functioning again. She missed her freaking sword.
The hair rose on the back of her neck when she heard men screaming and swearing. She crept through the trees until she found a bunch of guns lying about on the ground. A prickly sensation had her looking up into the branches. Above her, multiple males hung in leafy cocoons with only their eyes and noses showing.
Sugar wanted to feel relieved but… “Reva? It’s Sugar. Are you okay?” she called out.
Moving forward again, she noticed one man tied to a tree with what looked like a hundred vines. One was in his mouth and too large for him to bite through.
Geez—how many of the bad gu
ys had come after them? Two had stayed to guard her. She’d counted at least six hanging in the trees.
Twelve males with guns and one waiting aircraft pilot. Attackers all subdued. Two males are Lyran.
Lyrans? Sugar frowned. They’d be the ones who’d made sure they got found. They must have been spying on the royal family. It had to be someone close to Gina and Axel. Damn it. They weren’t safe either.
“Glad to see you’re talking to me again, Artifact. The radio silence was disturbing.”
Clarify your meaning. Reference not understood.
“Of course not,” Sugar said with a chuckle. “How about this? I missed you when you went away.”
Blade silence does not equate to being gone.
Shaking her head at the nonsensical conversation, Sugar kept walking.
By the creek, she found Reva covered in a green energy veil. She was perched on her favorite rock and trailing her fingers in the stream.
“I forgot how wonderful Earth was. It’s been a long time since I merged with a host. Reva Hunter is wonderful.”
Sugar strolled forward. “Hello, Creator. Or should I call you Athena?”
“Greetings, Dr. Sugar Jennings, host of the original Protector Blade. Symbiosis has begun for me as well. My host and I are becoming Reva the Creator. The attack prompted a change of two sentient minds.”
“Good. Everybody is safer with you and Reva being a real team,” Sugar said in genuine relief, dropping the heavy homemade pugil stick. “I don’t know how Rodu and Lake train with that heavy thing. I’d rather have a big bag of rocks to throw at my enemies. They’d probably be lighter to carry too.”
“We must return to Queen Nyomi’s fortress, Protector Sugar. Many creatures on Earth work against the sentient blades in some fashion. The Lyrans at least have good intentions. They would not annihilate humans without centuries of deliberation. I’m sure this is why their culture was appointed as Guardians of Earth.”
Sugar grunted. Her eyes were still blurry. “Guess I’m not as sure about their altruistic tendencies as you seem to be.”
“Can you trust me to help you find your way, Protector? All the blades were created in preparation for this dark time that has come to the planet. Reva Hunter willingly joined with me to save you and the other blades. Everything with the blades is precisely how it was meant to be. But we need a safe place to exist while we decide what we must do.”
“Fine. Rodu can fly us back when he wakes. I sure hope you’re right about the Lyrans.”
Seconds after her pronouncement, Sugar’s head exploded with sharp pain.
“Damn—that hurts worse than conversion. What did they do to me?”
Sugar’s eyes rolled upwards as she fell to the ground.
20
Axel paced in front of the throne.
“Stop, Axel. We will have to replace the carpet if you keep that up.”
He rounded on his mother. “Are you not concerned about their absence? It’s been weeks.”
Nyomi lifted her chin. “No, I’m not concerned. I’m terrified because they’re out there unprotected. We have enemies here in the palace and they have enemies everywhere in the world. I want to rush to save them, Axel, but it would not help our cause. I cannot undo the choice I made to keep the darker parts of our work from them. Your mate left her children—the children she carried with such joy. Sugar chose being a warrior over being a mother because I gave her no choice.”
“I could have defied you and told her everything. She might have stayed.”
Nyomi lifted a shoulder. “Perhaps you should have.”
Axel shook his head. “No—I didn’t defy you because I believed you were right. If given the same circumstances, I would make the same decision. Wouldn’t you?”
“No,” Nyomi said. “Because in not being brutally honest, I lost the trust of the most honorable and honest male I’ve ever met. You might not exist, but Rodu would still believe that he could trust my words. He and the blades would be safe here. Trust, Axel, is critical to a relationship. Without it, there is nothing. I have wronged us both.”
A guard burst through the door. “Prince Axel, the children are missing.”
“Missing?” Axel shouted. “What do you mean they’re missing?”
“They turned into tiny beasts and ran past the caretaker and me. I do not know where they were going.”
“Get my brother to the throne room and put out a call to watch for them. What beast forms?” Axel asked.
“One black cub and one spotted one.”
Axel turned to his mother. “They’re looking for her. I told them she was gone from the palace, but I guess they didn’t believe me.”
“The human you mated is the most unpredictable creature I’ve ever met. Her children take after her. If they’re smart enough to go looking for her, hopefully, they’ll be smart enough to elude capture by our enemies.”
“I am their father. They will not do this to me. My stomach wants to hurl my last meal across the room.”
Nyomi snorted. “They are not doing anything but being children who want their mother.”
Axel punched a wall in frustration as he and his mother walked down the hallway together.
Gina was sitting her lab when the two cubs came running inside. They came straight to her and started yowling in protest at her feet. She climbed from her stool and knelt on the floor with them. “Don’t you think you two are a little young for your first shift? Your father will be furious and anxious when he finds you gone.”
They tugged on her sleeves and her pants. Gina sighed. “What is it? What are you trying to say? I wish you could speak.”
The black cub—her nephew—went toward the door and started wailing as loudly as his tiny voice could. The spotted cub—her determined niece—kept tugging on her clothing as hard as she could.
Gina touched her wrist communicator. “Axel?”
“I can’t talk now. The children are missing,” her brother said without a greeting.
“They’re in my lab,” Gina informed him. “They’re trying to get me to go somewhere with them.”
“Keep them there,” Axel said with relief. “Mother and I are on our way. The children want their mother.”
Gina smiled when her niece immediately stopped tugging to mewl in approval of her father’s statement. “Well, we know where to find her, Dad Panther. The four of them haven’t yet moved. Are we willing to risk their wrath by going there?”
Axel didn’t answer his communicator. Instead, he burst into the lab in a rush. His son scrambled back to Gina on unsteady cub legs and stood by his sister, who immediately started growling at her father. Gina covered her mouth to hide her smile from her brother.
Axel fisted both hands on his hips. “Are you growling at me—at me? I’m your father. There will be no growling at your father.”
Nyomi laughed at Axel’s outburst. It was rare for her to indulge her humor, but her grandchildren were being so brave. Only Sugar had ever stood up to Axel—until today. She so wished Rodu could have witnessed this moment with her.
“Welcome to parenthood,” Nyomi said, patting her angry son’s chest. “Let me talk to them.”
She walked over and knelt, careful to keep her distance from the cubs who were hiding by Gina’s leg. “You can’t be turning into cats and running around without guards. The world is a dangerous place even here in the palace.”
Nyomi bowed her head when both yowled.
“I know your mother’s gone, but your father is right. She’ll come back. It is just a matter of time. Trust him. He would never let your mother stay gone forever.”
The little spotted one glared at her father and hissed.
Axel narrowed his gaze as he glared right back. “There will be no hissing at your father either.”
The cubs both promptly sat on their butts and started licking their paws.
Nyomi turned to Axel. “Outside of locking them in cages, I have no idea what else to do.”
“Axel
?” Marta’s voice said from the communicator.
“No cages. They’re not wild animals,” Axel said as he glared at his mother.
“Axel? Please pay attention to me. This is important.”
“I have a situation here, Marta. Can’t it wait?”
“No,” Marta said. “I’ve just put Sugar in a regeneration cylinder. Someone has poisoned her. And there’s something else you need to see…”
Axel didn’t wait to hear the rest. He took off running.
The cubs shot out after him, but Nyomi scrambled fast. She snagged each of them by the scruff at the back of their necks. “Oh no, you don’t. I’ll take you to her, but you will behave for me.”
She chuckled and smiled when they dropped their little heads.
Nyomi turned to find her daughter biting her lip. “He’s probably with her, you know. Sugar’s like his mother too.”
Gina nodded.
“Well?”
“I am unsure of my welcome, Mother.”
Nyomi grunted. “What difference does that make? You either want to fight for his affection or not. Either way, lift your chin and confront him head-on. It is the only way you will continue to respect yourself. Love is a blessing. It is also a weakness that must be overcome by bravery. Females feel the worst of it.”
Gina nodded. “You’re right. I know you’re right.”
“Think of it this way,” Nyomi began. “At least you never lied to the boy. Axel and I will face greater issues than just not knowing if we are welcome.”
“Your wisdom humbles me. I forget to look at the positives.”
“I know. You’re just like your father. He doesn’t look at the positives either. Why do you think he’s so upset at me?”
Smiling softly, Gina walked over and took her nephew from her mother. She cradled him in her arms, petted his head, and listened to him purr.
Nyomi did the same for her granddaughter, who continued to grumble and hiss. “Hush,” she ordered. “You need to learn to accept defeat gracefully. Your father has yet to learn that lesson, and you see the trouble it’s causing him. Genetics are what they are, Athena of Axel. You must learn to use them to your advantage.”
Dad Panther (Alien Guardians of Earth Book 3) Page 14