Kyele's Passion: A World Beyond Book 4 (5 page)

Chapter 7

“Kyele, what’s your call?”

The question came from his team mate, Creed. It wasn’t Kyele’s first time leading a mission but it was his first as the official Team Leader for Team Two without Jaron along. Team Leader wasn’t a role he’d wanted but Kyele couldn’t turn it down once he knew Torkel had more than likely worked hard behind the scenes to secure the spot on his behalf.

“It’s pretty simple.” Kyele met the gaze of each of the males kneeling in a semi-circle around him. “We move in quiet. No weapon fire if possible.”

Kyele checked the time. Less than thirty before their shuttle would return to take them away. They were on Ruandin to rescue the Ambassador of Trin’s daughter. The war between Bexe and Trin had been going on for nearly a year but both countries were close to coming to an agreement for a cease fire.

Revolutionaries from Bexe had snatched the little girl right from her bedroom in the Ambassador’s secure residence three days ago. The kidnappers hoped to influence his decision in the upcoming election by holding Suravi Ilamon hostage.

Kyele pointed upward to the barely visible balcony. Jaron’s intel confirmed it as the room the captors assigned little Suravi. “I’m going in that way to make the grab.”

“Where do you want me?” Creed asked, his blue eyes narrowed beneath the hooded mask they all wore.

“You’re covering the front door. Markus, Stefin and Savi will secure the perimeter.”

They all nodded and faded back into the underbrush, the darkness aiding their efforts. Kyele tapped the comm in his ear and activated his mic for one last sound check. “Ready on three?”

“Ready.” Markus and Savi’s voice.

“Affirmative.” Stefin’s response.

Creed’s trademark tap came across the line. Kyele rose to his feet and slid his sniper laser over his shoulder in the custom holster. He wasn’t as good a shot as Faruk but he didn’t often miss his target. The decision to not use weapons if possible was a last minute change. Kyele didn’t want to scare the child more than necessary. He focused on his inborn gifts and assumed his other form, reaching the thin ledge of the balcony moments later.

A quick twist and the cheap lock on the glass door snapped between his fingers. He dropped low as he entered.

“H-hello?”

Kyele froze as soon as he crossed the threshold.

“Is anyone there?” the tiny voice asked and a side light flickered on.

Kyele rose from his crouch and came face to face with Suravi who knelt at the bottom of the bed. Her nut brown skin blanched at the sight of him. Someone had twisted her midnight colored mane into a single braid that lay over the shoulder of the blue sleep gown she wore. Thin blue stripes bisected her face denoting her lineage.

“Jutak warrior. Don’t be afraid,” Kyele whispered for fear she’d cry out.

He assessed her condition to determine if she was well enough for travel. Then taking him by surprise, Suravi flung back the covers of the narrow bed and shot toward him with a high pitched squeal. Only his quick reflexes had him catching her slight weight in his arms before she tumbled to the floor.

“Did my
pita
send you?”

Keeping his voice low, Kyele cradled her in his arms and glanced around the room decorated for a girl’s comfort. “Yes, and we need to leave right now.”

He didn’t have Arak’s shifter senses but his gut warned him that they needed to go.

Suravi’s brown eyes sparkled as she looped her thin arms around his neck. Her relieved smile reminded him of another brave woman in the face of her rescue. “I’ll be so quiet the bad men won’t hear me.”

“Too late.”

Kyele didn’t hesitate. He palmed one of his knives from his thigh, flinging it in the direction of the voice in the doorway. The shaft buried itself in the intruder’s throat and he hit the floor with a thud a second later.

Suravi didn’t cry out but she tucked her face close to Kyele’s neck and her entire body trembled.

“Fuck.” He propped her hip on one arm and tapped his comm. “Coming out with the Ambassador’s daughter.”

“You shouldn’t use bad words.” Suravi’s mumble overlapped the acknowledgement of his team.

The need to hurry prodded at him. He spun on his heels and retraced his steps. Easing the cracked door to the balcony wider, Kyele scanned the trees and their surroundings to make sure all remained clear. “Hold tight.”

Her arms squeezed in a punishing grip and her long slender tail curled around his waist but he didn’t complain. She wasn’t strong enough to do him any real harm. Kyele’s steps shuffled to the edge as he leaned over the barrier surrounding the small space. The distance to the ground seemed greater with the precious burden in his arms. He cancelled his original plan to rappel down.

“The two patrolling guards outside are out,” Markus announced in his ear. “I must have tripped an alarm though. There’s activity in the house.”

“Lights are going on,” Creed added.

Steps thundered up the stairs from inside along with muffled shouts.

“Hurry, Kyele,” snapped Stefin.

Kyele set Suravi in the furthest corner of the balcony and pointed a gloved finger in her face. “Stay here and close your eyes.”

She giggled, brown lids closing. “Eyes closed.”

Her sweet voice did something to him and rage gathered like a gale force wind. This wasn’t his first mission dealing with children but it was his first with one this young. She couldn’t be more than five and was smaller in size due to her race. Terrorizing children was a sore point for Kyele. He patted the top of her head, then made sure to close the door behind him as he re-entered the room.

Calm settled over his nerves. Bending to grab his knife from the dead man, Kyele stepped over the body into the main hall. At the top of the stairs three men halted abruptly, bumping into one another. Definitely Bexe. They wore they hair shorn, eschewing the natural lengths of their mane. Harsh yellow stripes bisected their feline features, drawing attention to their glaring dark eyes.

“Who are you?” The one in the lead barked out, his tail whipping about.

Kyele gave them their only warning. “Jutak warrior, lower your weapons.”

They didn’t listen, much to his satisfaction. Kyele misted before their eyes and tore into them. They screamed and begged. With nothing more than the energy it took to breathe, he slid from one form to another, pausing only to swipe out with his blade.

One of them coiled his tail about Kyele’s leg and slammed him against the floor on his back. His attacker sneered and leaned over him thinking he had the upper hand. Kyele stared and raised his right arm, deliberately taking his time. The dark eyes shifted, following the motion and Kyele brought his knife down into the meaty flesh of his throat. Blood spurted as Kyele turned his face away and pushed the limp body off of him.

He jerked his leg back and the tan-colored tail fell from his booted ankle. A roar of misery and anger sounded behind him. Kyele ducked and the second kidnapper flew over his head to plow into the railing. An ominous crack followed and the body continued over the edge falling to his death on the lower level. Kyele shifted to his alternate form and faced the next.

The last man dropped to his knees, palms up. “Please. You’re Jutak. I’ll face the justice system.”

Kyele stopped, and resumed his physical form, chest heaving. Jutak code dictated he take the man in to face formal charges for kidnapping and a barrage of other claims. He thought of the little girl tucked away in the cold, far from her family and her home because of this man.

Forcing back his personal feelings, Kyele straightened and sheathed his weapon. “You will be remanded under Jutak custody. We will take you in for the kidnapping of Suravi Ilamon, daughter of Ambassador Ilamon of Trin. Do you confess your crimes?”

Eyes wide, the kidnapper nodded eagerly. “Yes. I confess.”

“You will be restrained for transport.” Kyele gestured for him to stand, never letting his gaze stray from his target. “What is your name?”

“Sooner.”

Kyele’s brow dipped into a frown and he couldn’t hide the doubt in his voice. “Sooner?”

“I’d sooner die then give into Jutak slime.” The man leaped to his feet, hands forming claws as he headed directly toward Kyele.

Kyele whipped the sniper laser from his back and shot him dead center. An alarm blared overhead. Not bothering to give the body a second look, he rushed back through the room and toward the balcony to retrieve the Ambassador’s daughter.

Suravi whined at his approach, curling into a tight ball with legs bent to her chest, tail flickering about. Kyele crouched beside her and thumbed back the loose black curls escaping her braid. “It’s me. Time to go.”

“Open eyes?” she asked, coming to her haunches.

“Yes.” After her bright eyes confirmed his identity, he picked her up.

“You didn’t leave anything for us to do?” Markus complained, coming up the winding stairs and meeting Kyele as he came back through.

Kyele shrugged, careful of the girl in his arms. He angled his body to keep the dead guards from her view as he made his way down. “There is always disposal if you feel the need to do something.”

Creed snorted. “I vote we leave the trash to be picked up by their own.”

The other men grunted and took up position around Kyele, weapons out as they all made their way back to the shuttle.

Suravi chose that moment to pop her head up. Fear darkened her gaze as she took in the armed men in masks surrounding her. Kyele waited for her cries. Instead, she faced him and rubbed her small hand on his cloth-covered jaw. “I want to be a Jutak when I grow up.”

Though she couldn’t see it, Kyele smiled in response. There weren’t any female Jutak warriors. “It is a good goal.”

***

“I have something happy to announce.” Faye’s statement dispelled the dark mood. Bouncing on her knees, she picked up Lissi’s daughter, Aya, and said, “Torkel and I are expecting.”

Sylvie released Joni to run and drag Faye to her feet. “Me too. But I was going to wait because I haven’t told Arak yet.”

Joni winced from the volume of Faye’s scream and shook her head when the two held hands and danced in a circle, arms swinging.

Lissi turned to Joni. “They
are
happy, right?”

Laughter bubbled up, pushing back the bite of jealousy. “Yes. We can call that the universal sign of happiness.”

Lissi got to her feet and joined the women, hugging Sylvie first. “Congratulations on your gift.” She embraced Faye longer, swaying for a moment. “I am beyond happy you are in my brother’s life.”

Sylvie skipped back to Joni’s side. Brushing the leaves from her skirt, Joni came to her feet and held up her hand for a high five. “Way to get your animal love on.”

Flushing, Sylvie ignored her hand to lean in and squeeze Joni tight. “I want you to be this happy one day.”

Joni wasn’t sure that was in the cards, but she wouldn’t spoil the moment. “I think we need to plan a baby shower. Wait, since Arak doesn’t know about impending fatherhood, does Torkel?”

They all looked to Faye, who hunched a shoulder and slid her hands into the pockets of her white wide-legged pants. “He knows, but I think he’s scared to death, so I’ve been trying not to say anything until he processes it.”

Lissi nodded wisely. “Smart decision and the longer you delay the longer you can escape maman’s coddling.”

Faye winced, and they all shared another bout of laughter. Lissi and Torkel’s maman was a force to be reckoned and adored her children.

“Guess birth control and Enotian don’t go together.” Joni winked.

Sylvie’s cheeks pinkened. “Arak’s muata lasted a
really
long time.”

They glanced at Faye whose lips curved in a secretive smile. “Torkel wants children.”

“Papan’s back! Is he training?” Boid’s excited question broke into their talk of all things baby.

Joni shielded her eyes to follow where the little boy pointed. One after another, men dropped from swinging ropes in the trees onto the lawn of the Jutak property. The blood chilled in her veins. She counted six before adrenaline kicked in. “Hurry! Get inside!”

This was her fault. She’d turned off the perimeter security.

Boid took off running. “Papan!”

“Noooo!” Lissi jumped into action and chased her oldest.

Sparing the necessary seconds, Joni ran toward the doorway and keyed her code in for the alarms. Crouched over, men raced in their direction with weapons cradled in their arms. To the right of her, Faye’s face paled and she stood frozen. Sylvie didn’t have the same problem and dodged across the blanket strewn grass, knocking over food and drink as she grabbed Aya to her.

The little girl screamed, arms reaching for her mother. “Maman!”

Faye snapped out of it but it was too late. A figure in dark clothing, wearing a colored mask of some sort grabbed for her. Joni withdrew her two Marenian knives from her thigh sheaths and sprinted into action. She used the moves the Jutaks taught her, kicking and punching.