The ride to the president takes thirty minutes. I feel the presence of the Warriors running with the tank. It’s a mental connection of sorts. I can’t communicate telepathically or anything like that. I can however feel their energy and right now it’s telling me they’re on high alert. This gives me a sense of comfort even though I can’t see them.
When we stop rolling, we disembark, and Officer Daniels leads me inside. I have time to make quick eye contact with Labyrinth. He gives a very small nod. I inhale a deep breath and follow Daniels. The show is on.
President Barnes is waiting inside the first metal enclosure. He casts nervous eyes behind me at the closing door that separates us from the Shadow Warriors. He gives a long exhale when the door closes and we’re alone. No, he doesn’t like the Warriors. President Barnes is dressed in a suit that looks so incredibly out of place after living with the Warriors. Wearing a suit with uncomfortable shoes is not the Shadow Warrior’s idea of combat-ready.
It’s no longer mine either.
“Ms. Church,” he says congenially and wraps me in a surprising hug. His touch revolts me and it’s all I can do not to ask for an immediate shower. King warned me that I wouldn’t like being touched by the opposite sex and this feeling, unlike the mating rage, will never leave me. Even so, I’m unsure if the hug bothered me because it came from this specific man. He was a scientist and knew what we were facing. He kept the human population he’s sworn to protect in the dark. He is not my friend.
When he releases me, I paste a thousand-watt smile on my face. “Mr. President. Thank you, sir, you honor me by seeing me today.” I could actually gag at the wimpy sweetness rolling off my tongue and fight the reflex.
“Nonsense,” he says with an insincere smile. “You’ve done exactly as we’ve asked. It took more time than we expected, but we’re happy you’re back and especially glad those savages didn’t harm you.” His brow raises just the slightest bit and I almost wonder if it’s a question. I also wince at the word “savages” and Ms. Beast makes a soft rumble beneath my skin.
“I was treated reasonably well for the most part,” I say with as much sincerity as I can muster knowing I need to improve in the deception part of this game. “They are very suspicious of us and I was as thrilled as you when King agreed to send his Warriors.”
We talk while walking with several of his staff members. We enter a door leading into a large boardroom that I visited once before I left the U.S. “Please be seated, Ms. Church,” the president says. He pulls out a chair for me and lightly places his hand on my shoulder and squeezes before he takes his own seat.
Is it my hooker clothes that make him think he can be handsy?
President Barnes adjusts his stupid tie before he starts his part of the game. “Ms. Church, you have the appreciation of the entire Federation for what you’ve accomplished.” He looks around the room at his men and they all nod or smile trying to make me feel appreciated. It only gives me the creeps. “There will be a much longer debrief tomorrow,” he continues. “We wanted you rested before it begins or,” he adjusts his tie again, “you could give us the vital information you gained from staying in Cuba for months with the Shadow Warriors and the extended debrief might not be unnecessary.”
What he actually means is tomorrow’s debriefing will be unpleasant if I don’t pony up with good information right now. King and Axel prepared me for how to answer their questions. I look at the president and give my shy, insecure voice with a bit of quiver for effect. “They are savages, as you called them before. I wasn’t treated badly, but I was terrified and I’m so thankful to be back home.” I decide to take them down another path and control this situation a bit more. “I noticed no one is using my new title that once belonged to my father. Will my old job be available if I’m unneeded as defense secretary?”
His eyes go a tad bit narrower. He doesn’t like being questioned and a warm feeling fills me that has nothing to do with Ms. Beast. “Nonsense,” he says with his fake smile firmly in place. “You won’t be going back to your old job, we’ll find something for you here. You’re a hero to our people and we take exceptional care of our heroes.”
No mention of my title or why I’m losing it. I bat my eyes in an attempt to make them water. “You’re so thoughtful. More than anything I was worried about putting on a red stripe. You’ve relieved my mind so much.” He’s sitting beside me and I touch his sleeve, tugging gently. I don’t miss the look of distaste that momentarily crosses his face.
“Now, now.” He pats my hand and moves it back to the table, keeping his over it. “Their technology, can you tell us anything about it?”
I shake my head and give a large shudder for his benefit. “They’re smart like us and don’t use anything that will attract hellhounds. I was so worried just talking to you on that machine they used to communicate.” The whiny scared girl act is grating on my nerves and I do everything I can to keep it in place. “For the most part they live in the dark ages and don’t have the luxuries we enjoy.” I’m surprised I can say this without vomiting. “Cuba,” I add with a larger smile, “was the perfect place for them.”
“You flew back on one of their planes?”
“Yes,” I say with a nod. “Their only operational plane. They have another they’re working on and it should be ready in a few months.” I lean closer to the president and whisper. “They sent food with me as a sign of good faith. They don’t share the good food with their people, though. Only King and his private guard get the good stuff, it was quite disheartening to see.”
Saying this is not something King and I discussed. I just refuse to allow the opportunity to pass without a jab at the Federation’s food supply, which they keep to themselves while making the underlings—anyone without a title—eat an endless supply of MRE’s. I’m satisfied when the president gives an almost imperceptible grimace. If I weren’t watching for it, I wouldn’t have noticed.
Even though I accept King’s vision of my government, everything I believed has turned upside-down and it’s just now truly hitting home. These men are not my friends and I am not theirs.
I place my hand on my chest, covering a bit of exposed cleavage. “President Barnes, I’ve had a long few months and I haven’t slept well since leaving home. I need to eat and see if I can relieve this headache,” I add after sliding my hand up from my neck to forehead. The president watches the move and licks his thin lips. Yuk.
With his eyes heavy on my cleavage, he replies, “Yes, of course, Ms. Church. We have new quarters set up for you with added privacy that I think you’ll find accommodating and more to your liking.” The president turns his head and waves to Daniels. “Officer Daniels, would you see Ms. Church to her room?”
It worked. I guess I’ll be sitting in the hot seat tomorrow. No way was this the information the president was looking for.
I stand and teeter slightly, playing the bimbo klutz to perfection. The president grabs my arm and makes sure I’m stable. “It’s good to have you back, Ms. Church. Rest and prepare for tomorrow. It will be a very long day.”
“The Shadow Warriors, Mr. President. I’ll need to see their leader tomorrow and assure him we’re keeping our word and that they are in no danger. I should do it now, but I’m just too tired.”
His thin lips tighten. “You won’t need to worry about the Shadow Warriors, Ms. Church. We have people in place to deal with them and they’ll be treated accordingly. You have my word on it.”
Accordingly… right. His word… a complete lie!
“Thank you so much. After I catch up on sleep, I’ll be an entirely different person.”
His eyes return to my chest. “I wouldn’t want you to change too much, Ms. Church.”
I wonder what he’d think of my hairy breasts in beast form?
Chapter Fourteen
King
THREE PLANES AND three hundred additional warriors take off on schedule. Beck is on one plane, Nokita on the second, and I am leading the third. We have different d
estinations with my plane delivering me and my men closest to Washington, though still about three hundred miles away. Beck is landing near the northwestern Canadian border, and Nokita will be in the Florida panhandle. We plan to gather information on the human population as we head closer to Washington.
Mate, my beast whines when I try to fall asleep the first night without her. We’re in an old barn, where some of the men are sleeping on mounds of hay outside while trying to keep warm. The days are mild and nights cold. After living in Cuba with the wonderful year-round temperatures, cold is not in my vocabulary or at least it wasn’t.
I miss Marinah and can’t help being worried for her too. If our plan goes accordingly, she can handle herself. She also has Labyrinth for backup. It’s the unknown pieces of this puzzle that worry me.
As a Shadow Warrior, Marinah has come so far in such a short amount of time. She’s simply amazing and she discovered there are other female warriors with her unique ability to control their beasts in our history texts. Even so, she’s special. I often wondered why so many of the females left the first colony so quickly after landing on Earth. After dealing with Marinah and watching her change almost by the minute, I think those women didn’t agree with the men and when the men didn’t concede to their demands, they left. Only a small amount of information was available on the subject and maybe someday, if we can trace Marinah’s mother’s roots, and find more texts written by those women, it will reveal the truth. Ours was a planet of war and with Marinah as my example, the women wanted nothing to do with war. Their leaving had a huge effect on the men left behind. It may have been the catalyst that changed them from killers to the placid farmers who eventually became my ancestors.
Marinah changed my thinking about humans too. Even when I had no idea she was Warrior, she proved there are good humans out there. Her father proved it before her and I needed a reminder of his lessons. Marinah assures me there are more like her and I believe her.
The ache from being away from her is steadily growing worse. I need my mate.
***
With my thoughts and dreams filled with Marinah, sleep was impossible. A heavy ache in my chest starts the day on the wrong foot. We clear from our overnight camping spot an hour before sunup. The men move quickly and quietly through the devastated countryside. We haven’t run into humans, or hellhounds for that matter, which is surprising. Humans surviving outside of Washington is the basis behind what we currently believe about the Federation and their lies.
Within an hour of the sun rising, we find our first small group of hellhounds. They’re dispatched quickly with no injuries to my men and we keep moving. Farmhouses along the way provide valuable resources. At first glance, nothing remains behind. We’re farm boys, though, and know where farmers hide their stash. We don’t find much, but what we do find will help our food stores if this mission runs longer than expected.
My men keep their distance from me and when I’m forced to speak I either metaphorically snap someone’s head off or I growl. Beast and I are both on the same page and it’s impossible to pretend we’re anything but devastated over Marinah’s absence. The men who have mated understand perfectly. Marinah will be suffering the same way and it doesn’t help my temper or Beasts.
At noon, we enter what was once a small American town. Most of the buildings are rubble. Even though it’s been two years since the end of the first war with hellhounds, death is in the air. In a church at the edge of town, we discover the reason. Hundreds of decaying bodies are located inside. These people were killed weeks ago, not years and they’ve been shot, not killed by hellhounds. It looks as if they were led into the church and executed. There are women and children among the dead. It’s hard to do, but we behead them all to ensure they don’t become hellhounds. In a building across the street, we find two bodies in Federation uniforms with red stripes on their sleeves. They’re lying with folded towels beneath their heads, like someone tried to make them comfortable before death. They’ve bled out from their wounds and from what we can tell their deaths were slow.
Adding together the clues leads us to believe the Federation soldiers attacked the town, killed the residents, and left their dead soldiers behind when they moved on. What we feared most is now fact. The Federation is murdering U.S. citizens and Marinah is in the middle.
Mate.
We’ll find her.
Adding to these thoughts, the Federation sent men to kill Marinah. We’re banking that the Federation will want to use her knowledge now that she’s back under their control. There are too many “ifs” in this entire scenario and it’s tearing me apart inside. Beast doesn’t help in the least and if my guts remain in place it will be a miracle.
Chapter Fifteen
Marinah
I’M UNSURPRISED AT the early knock on my door. I quickly dress in military pants and a sky-blue T-shirt making me better prepared for what’s coming today. I would throw the darned short skirt and see-through blouse away if questions wouldn’t be asked. Officer Daniels’s displeasure at waiting at my door has his lips pressed into a thin, unpleasant line. I’m also realizing he’s older than he appeared at first. His snotty disposition brings his true age of around thirty to the forefront, pimply face aside. He isn’t my friend.
“The Shadow Warrior’s leader refuses to deal with anyone but you,” Daniels says. “The president wishes you to solve the matter immediately.”
It’s so hard not to snap my heels together and salute his idiocy. Instead, I scrunch my nose trying to act scared and concerned at the same time. “Oh dear, this isn’t good,” I say, wringing my hands for added effect. Okay that may be laying it on a bit thick. “I know I’ve been living with them, but they still make me nervous. It’s their size.” I put my arms around my stomach and shiver, adding a brave smile to complete my act. “I’ll do what I can,” I add with another long shiver. Who knew my college acting classes would come in handy after most of the world was annihilated?
Labyrinth also played his part to perfection. If I’m taken out of the loop, his job is to insist on dealing with me alone. King brought one of his human men from Cuba. His job is to carry messages between King and Labyrinth. As human, he should be able to live on the outskirts of the city with other humans who stay near for protection.
President Barnes is not waiting for me when I arrive at the Shadow Warrior quarters, it’s General Smyth. He and my father weren’t exactly friends and it caused trouble in my father’s career. Smyth is in his late sixties, clean shaven, with green eyes that see too much, sports a round face from eating good food that he isn’t inclined to share with his troops, and his face features a bulbous nose that desperately needs hairs plucked from it. He has trouble keeping his dislike of me hidden. Oh goodie. I also don’t miss the fact that twenty heavily armed soldiers are standing by to keep the Shadow Warriors “safe.” If that isn’t a joke, I don’t know what is. Smyth is even a bigger idiot than I thought him if he thinks I’m falling for his crap.
“Miss Church,” the general says when I approach. I notice he doesn’t even give me the respect of the “Ms.” title.
“General, so good to see you again,” I lie through my teeth. The last time I saw him was at my father’s funeral and he had trouble keeping the glee off his face. I just may hate the man.
Kill.
Oh, how I wish.
The general is done with small talk. “The Shadow Warrior in charge is being difficult and refuses to deal with my authority. Straighten this out so I can do my job without interference,” he all but spits.
He isn’t happy that I’m causing the “interference” and needed to be brought in to handle this delicate situation. I fight like crazy not to grin and only manage it by biting down on my tongue until I bleed. “I’ll do what I can, General, but the Warriors don’t trust those they dealt with after the war and you could be the problem.” There take that you slimy strand of unplucked nose hair.
His expression says it all and I’m actually surprised when t
he lightning bolt he’s hoping for doesn’t come from above and strike me dead. He also doesn’t bother answering. Opening the door in front of us, he leads me into the Shadow Warrior quarters. Military-style bunk beds line the walls with an aisle down the center. There appears to be bathrooms at the back of the room and an open door on the right shows an area with tables and chairs. For a prison, it could be worse.
Labyrinth approaches and actually looks me in the eye, which he hasn’t done since King and I mated. I force Ms. Beast to calm down and hold his gaze. “Defense Secretary Church, thank you for coming. There seems to be a problem with who’s in charge. We were under the impression it would be you. Has that changed?”
I really needed the president here for this. Pulling out the actress in me, I fidget from one foot to the other appearing weak and indecisive. “There’s been a misunderstanding, I think. It seems my title was honorary and given only for additional clout in dealing with your kind.” Yes, I cringe at that. Labyrinth knows what to expect, though, so I continue. “The president informed me I’m just plain Ms. Church now.” I cast an eye at the general and then look back at Labyrinth and wink. “You can trust the general.” I add a large smile to coax him to do just that. “He’s here to make sure you’re comfortable,” I say knowing Labyrinth understands every word I’ve said is a lie.
It’s a slam at the general as far as the “comfort” comment goes. His idea of comfort for the Shadow Warriors would be a mass grave. Getting under his skin gives me a sense of satisfaction and I fight even harder to contain that grin.
“Men, attention,” Labyrinth says. One hundred Shadow Warriors doing various things come to attention. He turns to the general. “My orders from my commander are to deal only with Secretary of Defense Church. Without her at the helm, we are to return immediately to our island.”
The general steps forward with his face twisting into a sneer. “That would be a mistake,” he threatens.
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