Hector: Outback Shifters Book One

by Chant, Zoe

  Hector had finished putting the blankets and food away, and stood a short way off, waiting to greet the man who was now rappelling down from the helicopter. He looked exactly how Myrtle would have expected someone in this situation to look: dressed all in black tactical gear, his face obscured by a helmet and dark goggles.

  She approached as he landed on the ground.

  Just over the sound of the helicopter, she heard Hector say the words, “Did you call Mario?”

  She was confused, until the man in black responded, “Yeah, extra pineapple, no onion, right?”

  Oh, it’s codewords, she realized. Random phrases that would verify someone’s identity. Evidently the man had given Hector the correct response, because Hector gestured her over.

  “Time to go,” he said in her ear. “You want me to take Ruby while you go up?”

  “Probably for the best,” Myrtle said. She swallowed. The helicopter obviously wasn’t going to land, so she guessed she knew what Hector meant when he said go up.

  She passed Ruby over to Hector, and, sure enough, in the next moment, she felt the man in black’s arm wind around her waist.

  “Hold on tight, miss,” he said, but before she could move, she felt herself lifting up into the air, her feet leaving the ground with a frightening swiftness.

  The strange feeling only lasted a moment, however, and then she was being lifted into the helicopter, another man placing a helmet on her head before helping her into a seat, strapping her in. She’d been in a helicopter before – sometimes it had been the only way to get out to a remote location she’d be doing fieldwork in – but the whole ‘men in military gear’ thing was new, and kind of intimidating. Aside from the man who’d rappelled her aboard, two more men sat across from her, dressed the same way: black from head to toe, their faces obscured beneath their gear. She gave them a small smile. They didn’t respond.

  Hector appeared a moment later, holding Ruby in one arm and the sports bag containing the things he’d brought from the base in the other. Ruby was still wide-eyed with fear. Myrtle imagined for a moment that she could feel it, pressing against her own mind: a wild, fluttering feeling, like a bird trapped in a cage.

  Maybe I really can feel Ruby’s fear.

  It would make sense, given what they’d already learned about her psychic abilities.

  “We should put that thing in a cage,” one of the men in black said, his voice crackling over the headset in the helmet. “We can’t have it getting loose in here.”

  Hector frowned slightly. “A cage?”

  “It’ll be for its own safety,” the man said. “It could get hurt if it’s not secure.”

  Hector hesitated a moment longer, before nodding. “Okay. But she stays where she can see us.”

  “Wait –” Myrtle started to say, but the man in tactical black had already turned away, sliding a large cage out from beneath the bench seat. He opened it up, and Hector reached forward, Ruby in his hands –

  A sudden, tearing burst of fear ripped through Myrtle’s mind, so strong she initially thought someone had blared an air horn directly into her eardrum. She lifted her hands to cover her ears, only to find the helmet was in the way, and she struggled with the chinstrap, fingers fumbling.

  No, no, no no nonononono!

  The word repeated itself over and over again in her head as Myrtle gasped, her heart thumping, her vision blurry.

  What on earth was that?!

  It took her a moment to realize that the blast of fear had come from Ruby, who was now struggling desperately in Hector’s arms, crying out in terror.

  Hector had pulled her back against his chest and was trying to soothe her, while the man in the tactical suit had dropped the cage and was shaking his head, clearly affected by the same explosion of psychic terror that Myrtle had felt.

  “It’s okay, sweetheart, you don’t have to go in there. C’mon, it’s okay. Don’t worry. No cage, I promise.”

  Hector’s voice was soothing, but Myrtle could hear the way it shook. Clearly, Ruby’s dread of the cage had ripped through them all.

  “What the fuck was that?!”

  A man’s voice sounded in her headset, loud and panicky.

  “Was the fucking – what is that thing?!”

  Myrtle blinked, trying to organize her thoughts. Clearly, no one was going to be able to do anything if Ruby was broadcasting her fear to everyone – Myrtle didn’t want to think about what another blast like that could do to the pilot’s concentration. She didn’t blame Ruby for being frightened – suddenly being thrust into a world of loud noises and strangers and cages would freak anyone out, let alone someone who was literally born yesterday – but the men were right when they said she needed to be secured.

  “I can hold her,” Myrtle said, her own voice sounding weak and shaky. “I think I can – I can keep her calm, without the cage.”

  One of the men glanced at her, his lips below his dark goggles frowning. “I don’t think –”

  Hector interrupted him, his voice low and clear. “She’s not going in the cage. Clear?”

  The man hesitated again, looking like he was about to argue.

  “Just do it,” barked a voice over the headset. “We need to go, and if it does that when we try to put it in the cage then we don’t exactly have much choice.”

  The man nodded, and Hector brought Ruby over to where Myrtle sat. Ruby’s eyes were wide, the whites showing around them. When Myrtle placed her hand on Ruby’s chest, she could feel her heart beating wildly.

  “C’mon, baby, it’s okay,” Myrtle said, as she took Ruby from Hector’s arms. “I’d never hurt you – you know that. When we get to where we’re going, we’ll give you all the apple puree you like. Deal?”

  Ruby looked up at her, her sides shivering.

  Frightened. Frightened.

  “I know, honey, I know.” Myrtle felt tears springing to her eyes. She wished she could do more to convince Ruby she was in no danger, but for now, all she could do was stroke her neck, and hope she could pick up the waves of calm Myrtle was trying to project to her. “But we’ll be out of here soon. Right?”

  She looked up at Hector for confirmation, who nodded.

  “Not too long. A couple of hours.”

  That seemed like quite a long time to be stuck on a helicopter to Myrtle, but she supposed there wasn’t any way around it.

  “Okay. I can keep her calm for that long. As long as we follow up on that apple puree promise, or she’ll never trust us again.”

  “Deal,” Hector said. He looked up at the men in tactical gear. “We’re fine now. We can go.”

  “Don’t let it do that again,” one of the men said gruffly.

  Myrtle didn’t like the way they kept referring to Ruby as it, but she supposed perhaps they didn’t know what she was – to them, maybe she was just an animal, though she assumed they had to know what shifters were if they worked with Hector. Nonetheless, she nodded.

  “She’s calm now, so it’ll be okay. I’ll make sure she stays that way.”

  “You better,” the man grunted.

  Myrtle ignored his tone. Maybe this was just how macho military men talked. She didn’t have much experience of them to know.

  In her arms, Ruby seemed at least a little more settled than before. Myrtle glanced across at Hector as he settled on the bench next to her, strapping himself in before giving her a small, tight smile.

  Myrtle wished she could take his hand to reassure herself – to feel how large and solid it was – but with all the men in black around she wasn’t sure it was a good idea. For the moment, she contented herself with closing her eyes, feeling Hector’s shoulder bump against hers as the helicopter flew them out of the desert.

  * * *

  Myrtle awoke with a jolt. She wasn’t sure how much later it was – and to be honest, she wasn’t sure how she’d even managed to fall asleep in the first place, given the noise and the bumpiness of the flight… but she supposed she’d had an exhausting day yesterday, a
nd she was used to sleeping in some pretty uncomfortable places.

  Ruby seemed to have taken a cue from her and was curled up in her arms, head resting on her hooves, her sides rising and falling in sleep.

  Thank goodness, Myrtle thought. Maybe Ruby had exhausted herself sending out the blast of fear earlier. Or perhaps growing pegasi just needed their sleep. Either way, it was better for everyone that she slept through the remainder of the journey.

  Myrtle looked around for Hector. He hadn’t moved from her side, but he wasn’t looking at her. Instead, he had his head slightly cocked to the side, a stony expression on his face.

  Myrtle raised an eyebrow and lifted her hand slightly to get his attention, gesturing Everything okay? when he looked across at her.

  In response, Hector’s frown only deepened, his eyes narrowing. He shook his head slightly.

  Myrtle felt a chill run up her spine.

  That was not the universal signal for everything’s fine, go back to sleep, honey.

  Swallowing hard, Myrtle glanced uneasily at the men sitting across from them. They didn’t seem to be paying much attention to them, but who would know where their eyes were? They were hidden behind the black goggles of their helmets.

  Hector’s hand pressed against her thigh, and she looked down to see him holding the phone he’d brought with him from the abandoned base. He had the notes application open, and there was text on the screen.

  The way their bodies were angled shielded it from the view of the two men sitting across from them, and intuitively, Myrtle knew better than to make a big deal out of what she was seeing. She lowered her eyes, turning her head slightly, reading the text from beneath her lashes.

  Problem

  helicopt fling in rong direct

  we need to get out

  wait

  Myrtle swallowed. She hoped the men across from them couldn’t see the way the blood had just drained completely out of her face. Despite the fact that it was obviously a quick, typo-riddled note, she understood it loud and clear. Something was wrong.

  She glanced up at Hector, but he wasn’t looking at her. Instead, he was studiously staring at the wall. She felt his hand move, and when she glanced down again, there was more text for her to read.

  checking

  be ready

  Myrtle barely had time to read what he’d written before he’d covered it with his hand again, and then, barely moving, he slipped the phone away.

  The next thing she knew, Hector had cleared his throat, his voice crackling on her headset.

  “So, where exactly are we going?”

  The man closest to them swung his head around to look at them.

  “We’re taking you back to HQ.”

  Hector was silent a moment. “No, you’re not. HQ is in Sydney. We’re heading too far north for that.”

  The man paused. It was only a beat, but to Myrtle, it seemed a damning, endless silence.

  “There was a change of plan,” the man said. “We decided Brisbane would be –”

  “I don’t think so,” Hector said, his voice low and calm. “We just flew east over Lamington National Park. Too far north for Sydney, and it’s the wrong direction for Brisbane. So how about you tell me where we’re really going.”

  There was complete silence over the comms.

  Myrtle saw the uneasy way one of the men sitting across from them glanced at the other. His eyes were shielded, but she thought she knew exactly what kind of look she’d see in them if they weren’t.

  “Bit of a smartarse, aren’t we?” A hard, low voice crackled over the headset. “But there’s not a lot you can do about it now. My advice is to sit there and belt up. You don’t wanna try anything stupid right now.” There was a harsh chuckle. “And next time, don’t accept rides from strangers.”

  Myrtle felt cold panic ripple through her.

  What the hell is going on?!

  She’d heard Hector check that these men were from the agency, and she knew he’d never have let her and Ruby get into the helicopter if he’d sensed any danger whatsoever, or had even the slightest idea that these men were people they shouldn’t trust. So why was this happening?

  She glanced at Hector, her eyes wide with growing fear, and found him sitting stock-still, mouth set in a thin line, expression hard.

  “Who are you working for?” he asked.

  The man simply chuckled again. “You’ll find out soon enough. We’re almost there.”

  “Where are we going?” Myrtle blurted out, instinctively tightening her arms around Ruby.

  Wildly, she wondered if Ruby might be able to sense the tension in the air and let fly with yet another of her psychic blasts – one that was just long enough to let Hector take control of the situation – but Ruby simply snuggled against her, seeming to know something was wrong, but otherwise doing nothing.

  Myrtle recalled back at the camp, how Ruby’s first attempt to mind-whammy Hector into getting her some more apple puree had been irresistible, but her second had barely made an impression.

  Maybe the psychic blasts are the same, she thought. Maybe she can only manage it once before she needs to recharge.

  The blast of fear Ruby had broadcast before had been so overwhelming that Myrtle could well believe it had left her depleted for a while. They wouldn’t be able to count on it happening again.

  Then I’ll keep you safe myself, Myrtle promised Ruby in her head. No matter what it takes. No matter who these men are. I’ll protect you.

  And somehow, she could tell that Hector was thinking exactly the same thing.

  Whatever happened next, she knew she’d have to wait for Hector’s cue. She had no experience of this kind of thing – there was no academic short course she could have taken that would have prepared her for this. Hijacked Helicopter 101 was simply not something that her college offered.

  But it was, she assumed, exactly the kind of thing Hector was trained for. Questions about who or what these men were could come later – right now, the only thing that mattered was getting out of this helicopter.

  Beside her, she felt Hector tense.

  Whatever he did, she would trust him. There was no question of it.

  Thank God he transforms into something that can fly.

  “I’m warning you again – don’t do anything stupid,” the man’s voice came again, just as, in a blur of movement, Hector shot forward toward them.

  The first man was taken out before Myrtle had any notion of what was going on. But the second one had time to call for help, his voice loud in her ear, before he dodged Hector’s attack, ducking his head to the side as Hector’s fist shot past it.

  In the close confines of the helicopter there wasn’t much room to maneuver, and Hector had to pull back quickly. Myrtle hunched over, lifting her legs onto the bench seat, curling her body around Ruby. She was sure the little creature could hear her heart hammering, but there wasn’t anything she could do about it for now – she could only do what she could to try to reassure Ruby that no matter what, she and Hector would look after her.

  Hector grabbed the man who rushed at him by the shoulder, slamming him into the wall with a BANG that seemed to ricochet around the hold. Myrtle caught her breath, hyper-aware of how fragile the thing they were flying in was; what it could mean if it were to lose control.

  And are there buildings below us?! What would happen if we crashed?!

  “Myrtle! Here!”

  Hector held out a hand to her, the other poised on the handle of the helicopter’s hatch. Curling her arm around Ruby, she smashed at the buckle of her strap, releasing it. She grabbed his hand.

  “When I say jump, jump. I won’t let you fall, I promise.”

  Myrtle sucked in a breath, terrified, but she trusted him. She knew that once they were out in the open air, he would shift and catch her on his back, flying her and Ruby to safety.

  She trusted him totally, but it didn’t do much to counter the queasiness in her stomach when she thought about the fact she was
about to leap out of an airborne helicopter.

  Gritting her teeth, Myrtle nodded, hoping Hector could read her trust in her eyes. He started to yank the handle of the hatch down –

  – And at that moment, another man burst out of the helicopter’s forward section, brandishing something in his hand.

  Myrtle didn’t get a good look at it before he leapt forward, slamming into Hector’s side with a terrifying speed and ferocity.

  “Hector!”

  Myrtle stumbled back, her legs hitting the bench so she sat down hard, still protecting Ruby with her body. She could feel Ruby squirming in her arms, but she couldn’t do anything to comfort her just now.

  Hector and his attacker were moving too fast for her to see, but she knew they were struggling against each other, grappling and trying to get the upper hand – and then the man’s arm flashed down, smashing into Hector’s shoulder, before he tore himself out of Hector’s grip, backing away.

  Hector stumbled back, bracing himself against the back wall of the helicopter’s hold. He was panting hard, clutching his shoulder.

  Myrtle gasped as she saw what was embedded in it: a large, silver syringe. It was what the man must have been holding when he’d dashed out of the forward compartment.

  A chill ran through Myrtle.

  Oh, God. What –

  With a rattling snarl, Hector snatched the syringe out of his shoulder and threw it to the floor, where it fell with a soft rattling sound.

  “What the fuck did you do?” Hector’s voice was low and rasping. It made Myrtle shudder to hear it.

  The man laughed. “Just a little something to slow you down. Don’t worry – there’s no side effects. Except for the fact that you won’t be shifting for a while.”

  Hector frowned, staring at him.

  “What do you –”

  “Try it if you like – go on, jump. See what happens. I’m sure you’d be willing to bank your own life on it, but are you willing to bank theirs?”

  He jerked his head in Myrtle and Ruby’s direction, a cruel smirk on his lips.