Secrets

by Shannon Pemrick

  I watched as people ran from the building; most of them rebels taking advantage of the situation and getting their drop packages out without being questioned and caught.

  I looked at Ryoko to find her leaning against the doorway with her arms crossed and a smug look on her face. She was getting way too much enjoyment out of this. “You going to help me here?”

  “No,” she replied. “I’m waiting for the cavalry to arrive, for me to explain the situation to.”

  “Don’t you think it’ll look bad if they saw my dogs attacking soldiers?”

  “They’re doing their job and protecting you. We have their protection paperwork in the truck, so don’t worry about it.”

  Protection paperwork? I suddenly had a feeling this whole attack situation with the boys had been set up by Ryoko. Protection paperwork was certification that a dog was trained for protection, and was allowed to be used as a form of self defense. Due to the training, all owners with trained dogs were required to carry the paperwork on them at all times when they brought their dogs out in public. I hadn’t grabbed any paperwork like that when we left to do this assignment, so either Ryoko had packed it, or it had been given to her during the information drop without me being aware it was going to be needed.

  “Rage, Raid, let go!” I ordered.

  Raid let go immediately and looked at me. He panted and wagged his tail as if he were proud of what he had done. The soldier he had just let go of tried to move away, but Raid growled at him and the man stayed put.

  Raikidan didn’t listen to my command, however, and I suspected it was because the soldier he had was still trying to force him to let go.

  “Hey, moron, stop hitting him so I can get him to let go!” I yelled.

  The soldier glared at me. “He should have let go on your command.”

  “Not if you’re showing to be a threat he won’t,” I replied. “Now stop hitting him.”

  The soldier didn’t listen, triggering Raikidan to clamp down harder and start shaking his head. I sighed as the soldier cried out in agony.

  I looked out of the building when several vehicles came to screeching halt. I sighed again. Great. The vehicles that had arrived were military, and, while I knew they’d show up with all the calls from scared civilians, along with rebels pretending to be so, I didn’t want to deal with this. This part of the assignment had really gotten out of hand.

  I watched as a general and a psychic walked into the building, while several soldiers looked over the one Ryoko had tossed.

  “What’s going on in here?” The general demanded.

  I recognized him. I didn’t know him well enough to know his name, but he was one of the few high-ranking officers we had on our side. I started to feel more relaxed. Things might not be as out of hand as I thought.

  Ryoko leaned against the wall and looked at her fingernails. “Your buddies decided to abuse their power.”

  The general stared her down. “So you used dogs on them?”

  “No, the glass of my truck broke when I threw one of the men into it, and they got loose.”

  “Are they trained?”

  “Paperwork is in the truck,” I managed to say as Rylan started to get excited all of a sudden.

  “Why is there still one attached to one of my men?” he asked.

  “Your man keeps struggling and hitting my dog on the head,” I said.

  “Galos, stop struggling,” the general ordered.

  The soldier glared at me, but listened to the order. Raikidan remained latched on until the soldier ended his struggle. He let go and trotted over to me, with his tail wagging. I just shook my head and grabbed his collar.

  “Well, now that we have that under control, anyone care to tell me how things got this out of hand?” the general asked.

  The psychic next to the general looked at him. “I already have the answer. It seems Galos was told of a possible suspicious dealing between this woman with the dogs and a man while at the park, and followed these ladies when they left. Their approach was too aggressive, and the woman became defensive. Events escalated from there because Galos and the men didn’t handle the situation well enough.”

  The general nodded and looked at me. “What were these supposed suspicious dealings?”

  I let go of Rylan so I could grab my key, and he and Raid started playing as if they were totally unaware of the serious situation at hand. Raikidan luckily wanted nothing to do with it, allowing me to trust him enough to let him go as well.

  I held up my box key. “My friend was returning my key.”

  “Did you have clearance to allow him to use it?” the general questioned.

  I nodded. “I even told these men that, but they didn’t care.”

  The general noticed the bag of spilled chocolates. “What’s that?”

  “That would be my thank you, from my friend and his wife for going through the trouble of loaning them the box. She makes her own sweets.”

  The general nodded and looked at the two soldiers in front of me. “Get up and get moving. We have a nice mess to clean up thanks to you three.” The general looked at Ryoko and then me. “Ladies, I do apologize for this.”

  I nodded. “It’s fine. Do you want to see the paperwork for my dogs?”

  The psychic smiled. “I’ve already had a discussion with your friend, and she showed me where they were. You’re cleared.”

  I smiled back. “Thank you.”

  Raid barked and wagged his tail at the psychic as if to give his own kind of thanks.

  The general looked over the boys. “Strange pack you have, but well trained. Nice job.”

  He then turned on his heels and marched out of the building to start barking orders.

  The psychic looked over at the remaining civilians in the building. “You all might want to grab your things and go. We’re going to have to shut this place down for a bit.” When they went about grabbing their things from their boxes, the psychic looked at Ryoko. “I’ll go fix your truck.”

  She smiled. “Thanks. I hadn’t intended on throwing the guy into it.”

  He chuckled. “Yes, I know.”

  The psychic left with the two trouble-making soldiers close behind him. The one Raikidan had latched onto looked back at me and shot off an ugly glare that I could only assume was to tell me to watch my back, but I didn’t care. I just stuck my tongue out at him, and Raikidan barked in warning. The soldier glowered and turned to face ahead again, just as Ryoko stuck out her foot and tripped him.

  “Oops,” she said.

  He glared at her as he stood back up and dusted himself off as if he were fixing his dignity and left the building. I bit my lip so I wouldn’t laugh, and decided to pick up my dropped bag of chocolates. We needed to get out of here anyway. Ryoko and I were now the last ones in the building, and I was sure the general we were lucky enough to deal with, while on our side, wouldn’t be pleased with us dawdling.

  Once I had my treats all bagged up again, I headed out of the building and met Ryoko on the sidewalk, watching the psychic as he pulled out the dents with his ability. He was also able to clean up the glass all over the ground and inside the truck at the same time.

  When he was done, he looked at us. “All set. There are a few mechanisms that are broken beyond what I can fix, so you’ll need to take care of that, but none of them are major issues.”

  Ryoko smiled at him. “Thank you. This saved me a lot of work at my boss’ shop.”

  He chuckled and nodded before going about his business. I opened the back door for the boys to pile in, and then jumped into the front seat. Ryoko climbed up into the driver side and started the truck up.

  I let out a sigh of relief when we pulled away and were finally cruising down the street. “That was a bit more chaotic than I had expected.”

 
Raid shifted and sat forward. “I’ll say. Can I have one of those chocolates?”

  I placed the bag on the floor. “No. None of you deserve any chocolate after that stunt you all pulled.”

  “We were just doing what Ryo told us,” he defended.

  I shot her a dirty look. “So you did have something to do with that.”

  She held up a hand defensively. “Hey, whoa, hold on a minute. I didn’t have anything planned. While you were inside that building, I was going through the papers I was given for my end of the assignment, and noticed the protection paperwork. Around the same time, those soldiers followed you in and I didn’t like their body posture, so I told the guys they may need to jump in. I didn’t expect Raikidan to break down the window.”

  Rylan shifted. “So because it wasn’t planned for us to keep you out of the loop, and we did our job right, we deserve some of the reward.”

  “Yeah, besides, if you want to be angry with someone, be angry with Raikidan,” Raid insisted. “He’s the one who broke the window, after all, and as dogs, we follow the leader.”

  “Suck up.”

  I froze when Raikidan spoke. He did not just shift in this car. I knew I should have just kept looking forward, but my curiosity got the better of me, and I definitely regretted it.

  “Rai, seriously?” I shrieked as I looked away with embarrassment.

  “Whoa, Raikidan, dude,” Raid warned.

  “What? What’s going on?” Ryoko asked.

  “Don’t look!” I told her as she went to look behind her.

  “What, why?” she asked.

  “He’s not wearing anything.”

  Ryoko’s hand flew up to the rear-view mirror to cover it, and her face reddened a bit. “Seriously? Why?”

  I noticed the way her hand was positioned on the mirror and it almost looked like she was peeking. Of course…

  “I wasn’t wearing any when I shifted,” Raikidan said.

  Ryoko shot me a questioning look and I shook my head. “He was wearing a towel.”

  “Okay, that makes more sense. Please tell me one of you guys is wearing some armor cloth to give him.”

  “Yeah, already on it,” Rylan said. “Here, streaker.”

  I stared out the window while Raikidan changed into something. He was such an indecent creature. I glanced at his hand when he laid it over the console, with his palm facing up. “You’re not getting anything.”

  “I did my job. Share the reward,” Raikidan said.

  No way was that happening, but that didn’t mean the others couldn’t have a chocolate or two. I reached into the bag and pulled out two and handed them to Rylan, far out of Raikidan’s reach.

  “Share with your brother,” I told him.

  He sighed. “Yes, mom.”

  “Yeah, they’re truffles!” Raid exclaimed when he popped his into his mouth.

  “Oh, oh, I want one, please!” Ryoko begged.

  I chuckled and handed one to her and then ate one myself. Raikidan continued to hold out his hand for one.

  “You’re not getting one,” I told him.

  “I deserve one too,” he said.

  “Like hell you do. You caused the assignment to get out of hand.”

  Raikidan narrowed his eyes and lunged forward. I tried to push him back, and even Ryoko tried to protect me, but he managed to steal two chocolates and sit back roughly in his seat. I glared at him and then sourly stared out the window.

  Ryoko looked at me funny. “Are you legit mad at him?” I glanced her way and she focused back on the road. “Okay…”

  “Dude,” Raid whispered to Raikidan. “If I were you, I’d sleep with one eye open for a while.”

  Raikidan snorted and Ryoko giggled. Rylan also found his brother’s lack of knowledge amusing and I found myself smirking a little as the two’s laugher filled the vehicle.

  “What did I say that was so funny?” Raid asked.

  Ryoko quieted herself down. “You’ll find it rare for a day to go by and he hasn’t upset Laz in some way.”

  “And he’s still alive?” Raid asked.

  “Laz hasn’t seemed to want him dead yet,” Ryoko mentioned slyly. “So some of us think she secretly likes that he’s a pain.”

  I snorted and she laughed.

  Rylan tapped me on the shoulder. “So, are we still going to lunch? ‘Cause I’m super hungry.”

  “Yeah, me too,” Raid agreed.

  I chuckled. “Yeah we can go out for lunch, but I need to change up my look if you guys are going to eat as humans.”

  “We can go to the shop,” Ryoko said. “I need to change out the truck anyway.”

  I nodded. “Good idea.”

  I looked at Raikidan’s hand when he dropped it on the console again. I glared at him, but he held my stare until I sighed and gave in.

  Ryoko giggled. “See. She likes it.”

  “Shut up, I do not,” I muttered.

  “Oh don’t be like that, Laz. There’s not a single woman out there that doesn’t mind being the damsel in distress.”

  I snorted and stared out the window. “No woman but me. I have no desire to be weak and pathetic.”

  “I didn’t say—”

  “Ryoko,” Raikidan said in a stern tone. “Stop.”

  “But—”

  “Drop the subject.”

  “I can see how he’s still alive,” Raid commented.

  I snorted but continued to stare out the window. That is, until Rylan tapped on my shoulder. I glanced back at him and the moment we made eye contact, I knew what he wanted. I chuckled and handed him a piece of chocolate before going back to watching the city pass by.

  Chapter 14

  Ihuffed and sprawled out on the couch. I hated summer. It was far too hot, and today was no exception. Not even shorts and a cropped tank top were helping. The urge to expel the rising heat in my body was great, but I was too hot to move, and I wouldn’t let others see it come from my throat. “Summer can go to hell.”

  “You said it,” Blaze muttered as he sprawled himself out in front of a small fan that kept shutting off. “Stupid fan.”

  “At least you have the breeze from that fan,” I shot. “Can’t feel that over here.”

  “Dude, Raikidan, how can you sit there and act like you’re not overheating?” Blaze asked.

  Raikidan grunted. “Your human bodies are weak, and easily affected by the smallest change. Ours are not.”

  I snorted. “Don’t let him fool you, Blaze. He’s just as hot as the rest of us. He’s just trying to be Mr. Tough Guy.”

  Raikidan glared at me and Blaze chuckled. “You’re good at reading him.”

  “Someone has to, or no one would understand him.”

  Raikidan tossed a couch pillow at me, but I didn’t defend myself or retaliate after it bounced off me. I didn’t have the energy. I looked up and smiled when Rylan stood over me and handed me an ice disk.

  “You look like you could use this,” he teased.

  I sighed with relief when I placed it on my forehead. “Thank you.”

  “Hey, where’s mine?” Blaze demanded.

  “What do I look like, an ice box?” Rylan retorted as he walked back to the kitchen.

  “Yes,” I teased with a smirk.

  “Don’t make me take that away. You know I will.”

  “I’ll bite you.”

  He shook his head in response. I chuckled and went back to cooling myself off. I brushed the water from the melting ice all along my neck and placed the disk on my stomach to melt a bit.

  “Okay, I’m getting out of here,” Blaze announced as he rolled off the couch.

  “Pervert,” I muttered.

  Ryoko and Shva’sika sauntered out of the hall a
s Blaze disappeared down it.

  “What’s with him?” Shva’sika asked.

  Ryoko pointed to me as I shoved what was left of my ice disk down my shirt. “That’s what’s up.”

  Shva’sika shook her head. “How do you deal with that all the time?”

  “You just learn to,” Rylan said. “Especially when you’re stuck with him as long as we have been.”

  Ryoko nodded and then joined him by the bar. “Can you hand me an apple?”

  Rylan reached for the bowl of fruit and meticulously searched for the right apple. When he found the right one, he handed it to her and waited.

  Ryoko bit into the apple and squealed when she was overwhelmed with juice. “That was juicier than I expected.”

  Rylan chuckled. “You’re welcome.”

  Shva’sika sat on the back of the couch. “Impressive. You can pick out water level in objects. I’ve seen few water or ice elementalists and shamans who were capable of doing that.”

  “I can only do it sometimes, and it’s not all that special,” Rylan muttered.

  Shva’sika crossed her arms. “You sound ashamed of what you can do.”

  Rylan pushed away from the bar and left the kitchen. “I’d like to be normal for once.”

  He made an attempt to head down the hall, but Ryoko grabbed his arm, and from the quick tweak in his face, it was tight.

  “You are normal,” she murmured.

  Rylan looked at her and she held his gaze. Shva’sika looked at me and I shook my head sternly. She was to stay quiet and wait it out. I could tell by the bond’s pull that this interaction was something they needed, but it was short-lived when Raid came bounding down the hall. He wore boxers and board shorts, piquing my interest on where he was planning on going.

  “So, Ryoko, what did they say?” he asked.

  Ryoko let Rylan go and looked away. “I haven’t had the chance to ask.”

  I sighed mentally. Leave it Raid to mess it up. I knew he had done it on purpose. Something deep within told me so. I looked at Ryoko. “What’s he talking about?”

  “Well, since it’s so hot, we figured we’d do what everyone else is doing and hang out at the park by the lake.”