Mystic Militia (22 page)

“Wait until everyone’s here.”

She nodded.

The soldiers entered a few minutes later fully armored, helmets tucked under their arms. They each passed a Mystic a pulse pistol. Tori felt left out as Lor accepted his from Dekker. She wasn’t a soldier or even a trained operative. She had no business rushing headlong into a fight with mercenaries.

“Point and shoot,” Dekker said. “I already checked the settings. That’s as high as we can go without killing them. So what’d we miss?”

All eyes shifted back to Morgan. “There’s not much to tell. The signal came from a house in one of the newer subdivisions. Unfortunately, I can’t tell you more than that.” She activated a three-dimensional map of the city and showed them the location of the house. “Preliminary scans indicate four life forms, but I can’t be more specific while the ship is on the ground.”

Lor shook his head. “It’s not worth the risk to take off. I’ll make a final assessment onsite.” He looked at Elias. “How long will it take your people to reach the target and form a perimeter?”

“Twelve, maybe fifteen minutes.
It will take me a few minutes longer.”

“Then head out, but no one makes a move until the rest of us arrive. This isn’t your fight. You’re a second line of defense only.”

“Understood.”
Elias turned and departed.

“I need to arrange the evacuation. I’ll be right back.” Lor flashed out of sight.

“Where’d he go?” She felt foolish asking, but weren’t they in the middle of a crisis here?

“He has to open an interdimensional portal to contact the Conservatory,” Blayne told her. “He didn’t want to draw attention to the ship.”

She pictured the swirling, colorful tunnel he’d used to shuttle them to Ontariese. Not to mention the lightning and thunder! “Good call. How long will he be gone?”

“If you miss him too badly, I’ll keep you company.” Blayne winked, assuring her his offer was playful.

Before she could think of a smartass response, Lor flashed back to the ship.

Everyone stood more or less where they’d been when he left, so he simply continued on as if there hadn’t been an interruption. “We’ll work in pairs. Sid you’re with Odintar. Blayne take Dekker. Kris, you’re with me. Incapacitation is the name of the game. We need these assholes out and out fast.
Telepathic communication only.
Radio waves are too easy to intercept. Once we’ve determined exactly what’s waiting for us, I’ll give specific orders.”

“Understood,” the men chorused.

“What about me?” Tori knew the answer, but she needed to hear the words.

“You stay with Morgan.”

She wasn’t happy with his decision, but she knew it was the right thing for both of them. She didn’t yet have the skills to be useful and he didn’t need the distraction.

“I’ll keep you company,” Morgan said cheerfully, patting the seat beside her. “We can even watch if you want to. The soldiers’ armor has built-in surveillance.”

Tori sat next to Morgan as the soldiers checked their weapons and the Mystics centered their minds.

“Ready?” Lor asked and everyone nodded, so Lor began the countdown.
“Three, two,
one
.”

Lor grabbed Kris’ arm and flashed them to the east side of the target property. Telepathic pings told him the other two pairs had arrived as well.

Elias has his people in place
, Odintar informed.

Lor acknowledged the report with a telepathic pulse, glad he hadn’t needed to break his own rules by contacting the human with his audiocom. The element of surprise was paramount to this raid and radios really were too risky.

Kris used the sensor array built into his visor to assess the situation.
“Five occupants, sir.
Three in the southeast corner, lower level.
Two upstairs, southwest corner.”
He activated a small
holodisplay
of the house, so Lor could see the hunters’ exact positions. “Their energy patterns are unusual. They’re definitely not human.”

All of the hunters were hybrids, most Ontarian/Rodyte mix. Apparently they’d come to the right place and the potential take had just ticked up by one.
We have five targets not four
.
Sid and Odintar flash in from the front. Kris and I will enter from the back. We’ll trap the group of three between us. Blayne, you and Dekker take the upper level. The remaining two are close together in the corner bedroom.
Should be a simple ambush.

Copy
, Odintar said.

Copy
, Blayne echoed.

No kill shots unless they leave you no other choice. We need information.

Another round of “Copy” followed and then Lor set the plan in motion with a sharp telepathic pulse.

Staying low to the ground, Lor and Kris crept toward the house. Half brick and half wood siding, the house was nearly indistinguishable from countless others in the area. Hiding in plain sight was a common strategy for good reason. It usually worked.

The wooden blinds were closed so Lor couldn’t see into the rooms. Kris used hand gestures to indicate where the hunters were located. Two were seated on a couch, the third restlessly moving about the room.

Snag the walker,
Lor told Odintar.
We’ll try a two-for-one on the couch.

Copy.

“Ready?” Lor whispered to Kris and the soldier nodded. Then he grabbed Kris’ arm and flashed them into the room. Sid and Odintar appeared at exactly the same time.

Sid and Odintar pivoted toward the standing man as Lor and Kris focused on the coach.
“To the right!”
Lor shouted. Kris shifted his pistol and took a shot. Lor aimed at the other hunter and pulled the trigger. A sizzling stream of energy arced across the room and caught the hunter in the chest right as he started to fade. He jerked and twisted, undulating in and out of focus. Lor triggered a second pulse and the hunter collapsed onto the couch beside his equally unconscious comrade.

Odintar and Sid were behind Lor, so he turned to verify their success. Odintar had cast a Mystic net over
Lotan
, Allenton’s lieutenant, who was thrashing like an enraged animal. Apparently the pulse pistol hadn’t been enough to render the hunter unconscious.

“Stop fighting and I’ll stabilize the strands so it’s less painful,” Odintar offered.
Lotan
ignored him and kept right on struggling.

“Are these Allenton’s men?” Dekker asked.

“These three are. I recognize them from before.”

Blayne stormed into the room, obviously frustrated. “Bastard flashed out before I could zap him, but Dekker bagged an alpha.”

Dekker entered at a more careful pace, Allenton slung over his shoulder.

“Good job.” Lor smiled at Dekker then repeated the phrase for everyone. “Keep them covered. Make sure they’re not playing dead.”

After a perfunctory knock, Elias swung the front door open and stepped inside. “Did you get them all?”

Had the door been unlocked or did Elias have some interesting skills? “Four out of five, but we have one of the alphas.”

The human nodded,
then
asked, “What now?”

“We’ll flash them out to the desert then back to Ontariese where they can be questioned.”

Elias smiled. “I meant for my team. What else do you need from us?”

“How much time do you have?”

“As much as you need.
We’re entirely at your disposal.
At least for now.”

Lor refused to analyze the stipulation. The mission had gone off with only a minor hitch and he was going to focus on the positive. “Then give us a few minutes to relocate the hunters, then search every inch of this place. Take anything with even the potential of importance back to the ship.”

“You got it.”

“Thank you.” Lor turned back to the living room.
Lotan
had finally succumbed to the pressure of the Mystic web. There were four hunters and only three Mystics—

“I’ll go twice,” Blayne volunteered, easily guessing Lor’s quandary.

“Good. Let’s get this done.” Lor picked up the closest hunter then formed a detailed image of their destination and pushed it into the minds of the other Mystics. The soldiers covered
Lotan
as his three friends were teleported out to the desert.

With the hunter still over his shoulder, Lor summoned a communication vortex. He only had time for a three-word message.
Transport four now
.
As soon as his signal reached Ontariese the conduit expanded and intensified. Lightning branched out from the portal and thunder shook the ground. Colors spun and twisted, blinding yet beautiful. Two robed Mystics emerged from the expanded portal, and then two more. One of the Mystics took the hunter from Lor as the others relieved Odintar and Blayne of their burdens. Then the three smoothly stepped back through the opening and returned to Ontariese.

“I’ll be right back,” Blayne told the fourth Mystic then flashed out of sight.

Before Lor could decide on his next move, Tal dar Aune appeared within the spinning vortex then seemed to float to Lor’s side. As always he looked pale and unearthly, his long black hair tightly coiled down his back. “I thought there were four hunters.”

“Blayne just returned for the fourth.”

Tal waved one of his hands toward the vortex and the luminous opening seemed to disappear. Lor could still feel the churning power, knew the conduit was still there. Still, he was thankful for the camouflage.

“Are you going to interrogate the prisoners yourself or shall I arrange for their questioning?” Tal asked.

“I’d like to question Allenton and
Lotan
. Please have someone else interrogate the other two.”

“And we’ll see how well their answers match?” Tal nodded, obviously approving of the strategy. “I’ll see to it.” He started to leave then paused. “Bring Tori with you. Her gift could be quite helpful.”

The suggestion was a pleasant surprise. “But she’s not a Mystic.”

Tal smiled. “My life mate disagrees and I try not to argue with my life mate. Tori
is
untrained, but she is a Mystic.”

“Thank you, sir. I’ll see you shortly.”

Tal inclined his head then disappeared into the vortex. The portal blazed back to life, shifting and changing like an ambitious light show against the desert sky.

Blayne delivered the final hunter to the waiting Mystic and then the Mystic closed the portal on his way out. Night closed around Lor and his friends, dark and quiet after the eruption of light, color and sound. At least the air had begun to cool after the sun went down.

“Was this a win?” Odintar asked. “I hate that one got away.”

“All he can do is
tell
the others that we found the house,” Lor replied. “That will be obvious anyway. Even with one escaping, this was a win.”

“If you can get one of Allenton’s men to tattle, the win will feel a whole lot better,” Blayne predicted.

“That’s the idea,” Lor assured.

“Where do you want us?” Odintar asked.

“I don’t anticipate a problem, but why don’t you both head back to the house and see how the search is going. If Elias has everything under control, as I expect, escort our soldiers home and start analyzing whatever Elias brings over from the house.”

“Can we buy the soldiers a car?” Odintar grumbled. “I am so sick of playing chauffeur.”

“And I’m sure they’re sick of being carried around like luggage,” Lor countered. “Find out if any of them can drive. I know Dekker has been to Earth before. Hopefully he can be their new chauffeur.”

“I can drive,” Blayne told them. “Worst case scenario, I’ll teach Dekker and he can teach the others.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Lor agreed.

“And by ‘escort the
soldiers
home
’ did you mean the ship or Ontariese?” Blayne sounded a tiny bit wistful.

“Home sick already?”
Odintar chuckled.

“No. I’m just a very literal person.”

“To the ship,” Lor clarified. “None of us are going home until every last Shadow Assassin has been apprehended.”

“Four down, sixteen to go.” Odintar muttered.

“I still have to go get Tori, so I’ll see you two when we’re finished interrogating the hunters.”

“Have fun.” Blayne waved and they both flashed out of sight.

* * * * *

Tori crossed her arms over her chest, feeling vulnerable despite the transparent barrier separating Allenton from her. Allenton couldn’t escape, couldn’t reach her. Both Lor and Tal had assured her that the containment cell neutralized Mystic abilities. Allenton was helpless. Besides, Lor stood beside her and Lor wouldn’t allow anyone to harm her. So why was she still crawling out of her skin?

Allenton paced the tiny room, which only took two steps in each direction. His hands were fisted at his sides and he glared with open hostility. Her first trip to Ontariese had been much more pleasant.

Silence lengthened, escalating the tension. Was Lor waiting for her to speak? She thought all he wanted her to do was judge the truthfulness of Allenton’s answers.

The night she’d first seen Allenton seemed like another lifetime.
She’d thought he was so handsome then. Not as handsome as Lor, but sigh worthy all the same. His features hadn’t changed, but now she knew the tightness in her belly and the bitter taste in her mouth were her gift warning her of his corrupt nature, his cruelty.

“Are we just going to stare at each other until one of us blinks?” Allenton drawled. “And why is that human here?”

“Cooperation is your only option.” Lor moved closer to the barrier, partially blocking Tori with his body. “And the human is not your concern.”

“Why am I in this cage? I demand to see Director
dar
Aune or better yet Varrik. I won’t be treated like a criminal.”

“You are a criminal. And Varrik is the last person you want to see. If I summon Varrik, it will be to strip the information from your mind. I know he’s skilled, but I doubt he can extract everything I need without causing some sort of damage.”

“Why are you threatening me? I saved your worthless life.” Allenton’s indignation was almost believable. He made a helpless gesture with his hands as emotion trembled through his voice. “If I hadn’t convinced Nazerel I switched sides, you would both be dead. Say thank you and let me out of here!”

He’s lying
.

Allenton’s gaze snapped toward her, narrowed with accusation. “How did you…” Then back to Lor. “Did you bond with her? Does Director
dar
Aune know you’re fucking the human you’re supposed to be protecting?”

This was getting them nowhere. Allenton would simply deny every charge and claim he’d been doing his job. Tori moved beside Lor and drew Allenton’s gaze back to her. “I’m only half human and I can sense the truthfulness of each word you utter. So stop lying to us. Where are the other hunters? Have any females been captured yet?”

Allenton raised his chin and smirked at her. “Like your precious sister?”

“This is a waste of time.” Lor lightly clasped her upper arm. “Let’s see what
Lotan
has to say.”

“I was playing a role, working my way into their confidence. Surely you understand that I—”

The rest of his impassioned speech was cut off by the door as Lor pulled her into the corridor outside the observation booth.

“He’s full of shit and we both know it. All that was doing was pissing me off.”

Tori chuckled. “You’re starting to sound like a human. Maybe you should teach me Ontarian.”

“I’d be glad to, but not tonight.”

She stopped walking and gave him a hug. “Allenton has the most to lose. Of course he’s going to fight the hardest.”

“He betrayed us. He betrayed me. I want to beat the truth out of him.”

Even with their empathic link closed, she could sense his agitation. “That comes later, after we turn off the surveillance cameras.”

He finally returned her smile. “Let’s see if
Lotan
is any more reasonable.”