The Sacrifice (5 page)

Kam
burst into laughter. “The only way you
’
re going to hurt my
feelings is by leaving me out of that rotation.” Everyone in the room laughed
and grunted their agreement.

Cy
smiled and shook his head at Kam. “Okay, down boy. Don
’
t
make us have to neuter you on day one.”

Cy and Oz gave the Protectors their
assignments, sending half out to search until dawn, and the remainder taking
the day rotation. The forecast for clear skies tomorrow would render the
feeders immobile, one advantage Protectors held over the enemy.

After
Cy left the meeting, he headed to his apartment at the Protectors
’
lodge.
As he passed the building housing the trainees, a fierce need consumed him to
go inside and find Riana. Why was he so drawn to someone he
’
d
only briefly met? It didn
’
t make sense. He stopped and looked up at the
balconies outside the rooms, knowing she was up there. Although he couldn
’
t
see her, for some reason he felt her with every fiber of his being.

The need to go inside worsened with
each passing second. A tingle started in his groin, and his jeans grew tighter.
Confused by the sensations taking over his body and mind, Cy forced himself
toward the lodge and away from the stranger he craved.

He
went inside the vacant game room and straight behind the bar. The Protectors
gathered there to relax and blow-off steam. He poured a double shot of Patron
Silver, killed it, and then poured another. His head fell back and his eyes
closed. As if on cue, her face popped to the forefront of the darkness.
What
the hell is going on? I
’
m acting like a hormonal teen.
His eyes sprang open and he stared at the bottle.
“Man, I might need you to sleep tonight,” he mumbled to the tequila. Cy picked
up his drink, shoved the bottle under his arm and headed upstairs.

Riana and Elle walked to the long,
brick building for their first class. As Elle opened the door, an animated grin
crossed her face.

“Check
out this gym!” She dashed to the other side and pointed to a glass enclosure
filled with workout equipment. “I
’
ve never seen some of these weight machines
before.

They entered and walked through a room
holding every type of exercise device imaginable.

Riana
’
s
medical mind went into action. “Neither have I, but it does make sense. We
’
re
so much stronger than humans we
’
d never reach our maximum strength on their
equipment. To stand a chance against a feeder, we
’
ll
have to spend a lot of time in here.”

Elle pick up a set of weights and
began doing reps.

Riana decided to try one. After one
rep, her muscles protested against the strain and she dropped the load back
into its resting place.

Man,
I should
’
ve worked out with Elle more. I have tons of
lower body strength. Hell, I could probably kick the head off a donkey. Long
hours as a hospital intern saw to that. But flipping the pages of a medical
text book doesn
’
t require much upper body strength.
“Come on Elle, we need to find the classroom.”

They entered an auditorium styled
classroom large enough to hold the entire class of fifty students. The group of
girls who had been at the gate with her and Elle were huddled together talking
in hushed tones. As they glanced up, their chatter stopped, and a smirk crossed
most of their faces.

What
’
s with them?
It
wasn
’
t her fault that the hot Protector had stared at
her and not them.

Kyra sat at a desk down front. She
looked up from her book and pinned Elle with a hard stare.

“Man,”
Riana whispered. “
We haven
’
t
gotten off to the best start with this group.”

“Does
it really matter?” Elle shot the group of girls one of her infamous ‘I
’
ll
kill you and make you like it death stares,
’
and then proceeded
to an empty seat directly in front of Kyra
’s desk.

Riana
took a seat behind Elle, and then squirmed as Kyra and Elle proceeded to have
another stare-down. She leaned forward and whispered in Elle
’
s
ear, using her best ventriloquist impersonation. “Would you cut that out? We
have to live with these people. And I
’
d prefer not to be
found dead in my bed while we
’
re here.”

Elle
chuckled as if Riana had meant to be funny. She hadn
’
t.

Thirty minutes later, Kyra finished
going over their class syllabus. She turned and glanced at the wall clock
behind her. “Take a fifteen minute break until Commander Oz comes to speak with
you about Sivadia. He runs the League of Protectors, and was on the ships that
came to Earth. He was the most decorated warrior on Sivadia and continues to be
a warrior for our race on Earth. Please accord him your highest respect.”

Riana and Elle went outside to stretch
their legs before the next class. The compound hummed with activity. A group of
girls entered the gym at the other end of the building.

“I
’
m
not looking forward to the self-defense classes,” Riana said.

“Why?
You
’
ll be fine. I
’
ve taught you all the
moves I know.”

“Yes,
but we
’
ve also made that Kyra chick mad enough to kill us
both. Did you see that look when we got to class?”

Elle
chuckled.
“You mean me, don
’
t
you? I
’
m not so sure she really
is
a chick.
”

“You
’
d
better not let her hear you say that,” a small voice chimed in.

Riana
and Elle
’
s eyes met before glancing around for the tiny,
disembodied voice. They both stepped back as a young girl jumped from behind a
shrub next to the building. Long, dark hair in loosely braided pigtails framed
a face so perfect all she needed were wings to look like an angel.

“Why
is that?”
Elle asked.

“Because
I
’
ve seen her mad, and it
’
s
not
pretty,
” the child said in a singsong voice.

 
What
on earth is a child doing at the compound? And from her warning, she
’
d seen their ill-tempered instructor become violent.
Riana plastered on a fake smile to cover her
surprise. “How old are you?”

“I
’
m
nine. My name
’
s Lily Magnolia. Kyra is my sister.”

Riana and Elle looked at each other
with wide eyes.

“Hi.
I
’
m Riana, and this is Elle. Are you visiting your
sister?”

“
No, I live here.
”

“Do your parents live here, also?”

“No.
They
’
re dead,” Lily said in a matter-of-fact tone as
she skipped around the shrub. “Feeders killed them. That
’
s
why Kyra and the Protectors are going to kill them all. Just for me.”

Riana
’
s
heart clenched at the thought of such a young child losing both parents.
Feeders had taken her father
’
s life. Even though her mother stayed focused on
work, at least she
’
d had one parent.

“I
’
m
sorry.” Riana kept her head down so the girl wouldn
’
t
detect the pity in her eyes.

Lily
grabbed two of the branches and began dancing as if the shrub was her partner.
“It
’
s okay. I like it here. The Protectors are my
family now. I
’
m going to marry Cy when I grow up and become a
Protector like him and my sister.”

“That
’
s
cool. Is Cy your boyfriend?” Riana asked.

Lily
’
s
warm brown eyes flashed and her face lit with a smile. “Oh, yes! He calls me
sweetheart, and beautiful, and his special girl.”

Riana
smiled at the child
’
s crush on the Protector. “Well, it sounds like he
’
s
very special. You
’
re a lucky girl.”

 Lily
’
s
small chest puffed out. “Yes, I am.”

Kyra
came out one of the other doors and called Lily
’
s name.

“Bye,” Lily yelled over her shoulder
as she ran toward her sister. She reached Kyra, took a leap and landed
piggyback on her. The sisters laughed and headed across the compound toward the
Protectors’ lodge.

“Man…my respect for Kyra just shot way
up,” Riana said.

Elle
nodded.
“Mine too. With her
job, it couldn
’
t be easy raising a child.”

Riana
and Elle went back inside to wait for the next class to begin. A
serious-looking male strode through the door, and a hush came over the room.
His large, muscular frame dwarfed the auditorium. A ruggedly handsome face and
short, caramel colored hair with matching eyes did nothing to soften his look.
A stark, black mustache and goatee added to the intensity. When you looked at
him, a voice in your head screamed, “
Do not mess with me unless you
’
re ready to die.”
He sat down on the edge of the desk and it actually had the nerve
to creak under his weight.

A deep, rumbling voice echoed through
the room. “My name is Ozeas. You can call me Commander.”

Commander.
How appropriate. When this man spoke, he commanded your undivided attention.

“I
’
m
going to tell you a little about our planet and why we were forced to come to
Earth. I do this for each new class. I believe hearing it firsthand from
someone who was there, gives a better understanding of what your ancestors
faced.”

The
commander
’
s gaze scanned the room, and then froze when he
reached Riana. Her breath caught, and she wanted to shrink further into her seat
under the scrutiny of his stare. His mouth parted as if he were about to speak
directly to her, but instead gave his head a slight shake and continued his
lecture. Riana released the breath, more than a little thankful for whatever
pulled the intensity of his stare away.

 “The
world we came from was beyond anything you could ever imagine. For those of you
who have witnessed the lights of the Aurora Borealis, that
’
s
what every night was like on Sivadia.”

He
walked over and dimmed the lights, picked up a remote control and turned on an
overhead. “These are works of art done from memory by an artist who came to
Earth. Although nothing could compare to being there, they give you an idea of
Sivadia
’
s splendor.”

Riana
’
s
eyes widened as a picture of lush mountainsides flashed on the screen. Instead
of the deep greens of Earth, the trees were vivid shades of teal, some almost
blue. The picture changed to a city. Muted sunlight reflected off tall, golden
buildings, the streets crowded with people going about their day. When it
changed again it was night but not dark. The sky was lit by swirling colors
similar to those found in a rainbow. It looked so… enchanting. The next slide
was of a glistening ocean lit by three moons hanging over the horizon. The
beaches sparkled as if diamond chips were strewn throughout the sand.

As the next picture popped on the
screen, Riana took a sharp breath along with the rest of the room.

The
commander
’
s voice boomed in the silence. “This is a Haagon.
The head of a jackal on a body like ours. Only they ranged between seven to ten
feet tall and averaged five to seven hundred pounds. These creatures were
monsters. When they invaded Sivadia, their massive size and numbers made them
impossible to defeat. If you were lucky, they killed you outright. Those who
survived capture were placed in bleeding camps and used to feed their enormous
population, while they raped our planet of its resources.”

As the commander stared at the hideous
creature, tension pulsed in his jaw. His gaze returned to Riana, and his
features softened, giving her a glimpse inside the outwardly hard exterior. The
sadness in the depths of those caramel eyes took her breath. It must have been
horrible to see so much violence, death and suffering.