Niklosi's Nightmare (First Wave Book 10)

by Mikayla Lane

  “Figure what out? Who wouldn’t what?” Grai asked thinking everyone had lost their minds.

  “Why don’t you ask the one who does get it,” Bess told Grai haughtily before she moved back to the stove.

  When BJ looked to move to the table with Traze, Nik pulled her into a corner with him and shook his head.

  “This looks like something we need to stay out of,” Nik whispered in her mind.

  BJ looked at her mom, Traze, and Grai, and moved closer to Nik.

  “I think you’re right,” she agreed.

  Grai glared as Bess before he moved to the table, pulled out a chair, and sat down in front of his brother.

  “What is she talking about?” Grai asked in frustration.

  “Kyle,” Traze said, still stirring the batter. “He’s not betraying anyone. If he can’t be shown a bad future, it’s because he hasn’t earned one. We know he’s a hybrid; what if he’s there for the same reason we were . . .” Traze said with a shrug.

  “What do you mean?” Grai asked, shocked by his brother’s insight.

  “We went into Fort Huachuca looking for Koda. What if he’s in the military, and that unit in particular, looking for someone too, just in a different way. We know Kyle Morris didn’t exist until right before he joined the military, so it’s possible. Can’t show a guy a horrible future he didn’t earn,” Traze said, his little feet swinging as he sat.

  Grai’s eyes widened in understanding, and he turned to Bess as he stood slowly.

  “He’s an innocent? He’s looking for family or a friend?” he asked.

  Bess only shook her head, keeping her back to the room.

  “I’ve already told you, we cannot say anything. But,” she said turning to Grai, “your brother is wiser than you think.”

  Grai was stunned by the woman’s wink before she turned back to the stove. He was more shocked by the potential new information.

  “Well, fuck!” he growled. “How the hell can we defend ourselves if we have to worry about hitting someone who isn’t only innocent, but is one of our own? Fuck, fuck-”

  “We should try to help,” Traze mumbled as he stirred the bowl of pancake batter.

  “What? How?” Grai asked turning to Traze again.

  Traze just shrugged a small shoulder and looked at Grai with big brown eyes.

  “Contact him. Offer our help in finding who he’s looking for. See if he wants to join us. Can’t get more insider than him,” the boy suggested.

  Nik and BJ looked at one another in surprise at the idea, but both nodded in agreement that it was worth a shot.

  “What if you’re wrong?” Grai asked, daring to believe his brother might be right. “What if he’s here because of another reason?”

  Traze shrugged again.

  “Won’t know unless we reach out. Besides, with our technology we have nothing to lose and a lot to gain. Worst that happens is you lose another burner phone number, and we know where we stand with him,” Traze explained.

  Bess came over and brushed the hair off Traze’s forehead before taking the bowl from him.

  “You’ve done a wonderful job,” Bess said as she looked directly at Grai.

  Grai knew it was her way of being able to help them without helping them, and he nodded his head in renewed respect as he considered the best way to try and contact the major without putting any of them at risk.

  “If you’re only talking about a contact number, put a note in his pocket,” BJ said. “Or find something on him you know he’ll look at, like his wallet.”

  Traze nodded his head, still kicking his feet as he sat in the chair.

  “He’s gotta be wearing contacts; put a note in the case,” Traze suggested.

  Grai nodded his head, liking the idea the more he thought of it.

  “But he’ll know we were here,” Grai said with a curse.

  It would have been perfect if it didn’t mean the unit would stay, Grai thought. We can’t take that chance.

  “Trust me,” Bess said with a laugh. “That boy is leaving. He won’t stay even if he knows you’re living right here.”

  “How can you be sure?” Grai countered. “How can we take that chance?”

  “How can we not?” Traze asked. “Besides, the military is no match for these people, and now they know it. They won’t be back.”

  Grai looked at his brother in shock as the small boy danced his fingers across the table nonchalantly and kicked his feet. He turned to see Bess smiling at him.

  “Your brother is a very smart boy. You should listen to him,” she whispered in his mind.

  “What did you do to him?” Grai asked hoarsely.

  “I took away the haze that clouded and oppressed him. I freed him,” Bess told him.

  “Freed him from what?” Grai asked, unsure what the cryptic woman was telling him.

  “I freed him from himself. From his own doubt, his own disbeliefs, and his self-criticisms. I showed him the magic and returned his faith. You gave me a boy. Now see the man,” Bess explained aloud and with a wave of her hand Traze again sat as the man.

  Traze grinned as he looked down at himself and turned to Bess.

  “Thank you, ma’am. For everything,” his voice cracked on the last, and in a second he was out of the chair and hugging Bess tightly as tears slipped out.

  Grai looked on in shock as Bess hugged Traze and stroked his hair as she whispered words to his brother in a language Grai couldn’t understand. However, Traze appeared to understand perfectly and nodded his head.

  “I will, I promise,” Traze whispered as he pulled away from Bess.

  Bess reached up and dried the tears from his face with the corner of her apron and shooed him to the table.

  “You’re starving, and we’ve time for breakfast before we must finish this,” Bess stated then turned back to making breakfast as Mojo came into the room.

  “What did I miss?” he asked as he rubbed his growling stomach and looked around the room.

  Grai stood with his mouth open as Traze walked to the table and slowly became the little boy again with each step he took until he sat down and his little feet began to kick again.

  “The glamour remains until you all leave,” Bess answered Grai’s unanswered question.

  “You need to write a note,” Traze said as he looked up at his brother. “Something that won’t scare him.”

  Grai just nodded as he sat across from his brother and stared at him.

  BJ took the hint and ran to a cabinet before going to the table and setting down several sheets of paper and a pen beside Grai.

  “How did you make him so smart?” Grai whispered in Bess’s mind.

  “You’re a fool, Grai T’Alq,” Bess angrily replied. “He was always smart but too clouded by self-doubt and self-recrimination to ever try to see what existed in himself. You didn’t help by your own thoughts regarding his character. Do not undo what I’ve done by thinking anything you see is new. It is only now showing.”

  Grai blushed, deeply embarrassed that the woman was right and grateful she’d chastised him privately and not in front of his brother.

  “You’re right. I’m sorry,” Grai admitted, even though it hurt to do so as realization dawned on him.

  He’s always assumed that because his brother acted foolish most of the time, that he wasn’t mature and ready to be a man. He always knew Traze was smart and wasn’t living up to his potential, but he’d always thought his brother would grow out of it. He had no idea Traze was hiding it under layers of doubt and pain.

  “Give yourself time to understand the true man that he is, and you will be surprised at what you find,” Bess said softly. “Do not blame yourself either. What happened to him was not wrought by you or any failing in raising him. I was able to save him solely because you did a wonderful job with him. But now you need to loosen those bonds and let him be his own man.”

  BJ smiled at Nik and pulled him to the table before sitting him down beside Traze and Mojo.

 
“Let’s get breakfast going,” she said, starving as well and more than ready to get the military out of there.

  Grai nodded at Bess and looked across the table at his brother, Mojo, and Nik.

  “OK, what should we put in the note?” Grai asked.

  “What note?” Mojo replied looking around for someone to explain what happened while he’d been asleep.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Kyle suddenly jerked awake and looked around him. He sucked in a sharp breath as he tried to get to his feet and stumbled a few times before he finally stood. The memories came rushing back to him, and he checked himself out as he panted in fear. When he knew he was alright, he knelt down to the nearest man.

  “Captain?” Kyle asked as he shook Greg then checked his pulse to make sure he was alive.

  When Greg wouldn’t wake up, Kyle moved the next person that was laid out on the pavement in front of the police station.

  “BJ?” Kyle asked, lightly shaking the cop before checking her pulse.

  When she wouldn’t wake up either, Kyle stood again and ran his hands over his head as he looked out and saw his entire unit passed out on the ground in front of the police station.

  He looked at his watch and was stunned to realize that it was morning and the sun would be coming up soon. He moved through the bodies towards one of their vehicles when he heard a groan. He turned and saw a few of his men begin to sit up, and he sighed in relief that he wouldn’t have to call in to his commanders. He wasn’t sure how he could explain any of it.

  “Sir?” one of the men asked as he sat up.

  “Oh my god! Was it real? Was it real?” another man shrieked in a panic as he patted himself down.

  Kyle felt like he was going to hyperventilate as each of his men awakened in a state of fear and panic. Some were more profoundly fearful than others, and Kyle began to wonder what was real and what wasn’t.

  When he saw the cop begin to rise, he moved through his men to her side and pulled her to her feet. He’d barely let her recognize who he was before he propelled her into the station and slammed the door shut behind them.

  “What the fuck was that? What did you do?” he demanded, his fear and panic taking over.

  “Did you see it too?” BJ asked breathlessly before she turned away from him. “It was so beautiful, wasn’t it?”

  “Beautiful?” Kyle asked incredulously, remembering the shrieking and heat at the giant made him watch the creatures destroy one another.

  BJ turned towards him with wide eyes.

  “You didn’t see anything?” she asked.

  Kyle just stared at her, unsure what to say and unwilling to talk about what he’d seen before a sense of peace had befallen him and he woke up. He was saved from answering when Greg barreled through the door.

  “Sir!” Greg said, his hands trembling. “We need to go, sir. We need to go now. The men won’t stay. Some said they’re quitting when they get back. If we don’t leave soon they’re threatening to walk out of here.”

  If they’d seen what I did, I can’t blame them, Kyle thought.

  “Tell them to get everything packed. We leave in the hour,” Kyle ordered then turned to BJ when Greg left. “What happened?”

  BJ gave him a quizzical look.

  “I’m not really sure to be honest. I didn’t count on any of that happening,” she admitted honestly.

  “Was it real? Is this the shit you have going on around here?” Kyle asked in frustration, trying to understand what happened to him.

  BJ nodded her head.

  “Can you help us? Do you know what’s going on?” she asked, knowing he was leaving.

  Kyle just shook his head vigorously and paced the office.

  “I don’t know anything. But if I were you, I’d get out of here. I’d get everyone else out of here too,” Kyle warned, trying to stop his body from trembling at the memory of what he’d seen.

  “But what I saw was beautiful! Didn’t you see something like that too?” BJ pressed, trying to judge the major’s mood and tone.

  Kyle’s body trembled and he shook his head.

  “No . . . no, I didn’t see anything beautiful,” he admitted as the horrible scenes flashed in his mind.

  BJ stepped over to him and put a calming hand on his arm.

  “These things . . . these visions . . . or whatever, are supposed to only be warnings,” she told him as she sent him calming energy.

  Kyle snorted, pulled away from her, and resumed pacing.

  “How would you know if you didn’t see what I did?” he asked as he tried to control his panic.

  “I heard Jacob’s story too. It was only a warning. If you aren’t doing anything wrong, you have nothing to fear,” BJ said gently, trying to calm the panicked man.

  Kyle shook his head as he remembered the large man’s words as he took him. Traitor to his people. He almost choked on his emotions as he turned away from the cop and put his hands on his knees, taking large gulps of breath as he tried to calm down.

  “Major,” BJ said as she put a hand on his shoulder.

  “Don’t touch me!” Kyle roared as he quickly moved away from her to the other side of the room.

  “Kyle,” BJ tried again, sending him calming energy.

  “You don’t understand,” Kyle said, shaking his head.

  “Yes, I do,” BJ rushed to say. “I do. Sometimes things happen in order to lead you in the right direction. You know, give you an avenue of help you didn’t think was available to you before.”

  Kyle laughed bitterly.

  “There is no help for me,” he whispered as a single tear slipped down his cheek before he angrily swiped it away.

  “Maybe there is,” she whispered and cursed when Greg came barging back in the door.

  “We’re ready now,” Greg said, not even sparing BJ a glance as his eyes implored Kyle to leave.

  Kyle nodded his head and looked at BJ.

  “We can’t help one another. I’m sorry,” he said then stormed out of the door.

  “Damn it!” BJ growled to the empty office before she followed them out of the door.

  She’d barely opened the door when she saw the last of the vehicles drive past her and head down the street out of town. She walked out into the middle of the street and watched the last vehicle roar out of sight.

  The moment it was gone, BJ saw Nik come out of the mercantile and head towards her. His glamour receded with each step he took until it was the real Nik that stood in front of her.

  “Are you OK?” Nik asked as he gently took one of her hands.

  “I’m doing a lot better than the major is,” BJ admitted as she walked with him down the street towards her mother and the others who were all standing in front of the mercantile.

  “I hope he calls,” Nik admitted.

  “I do too,” BJ agreed as they reached the others.

  “Was the major all right?” Grai asked BJ.

  BJ nodded her head.

  “I think so. There’s no doubt he was scared, but I think he’ll be OK,” she said, hoping she was right.

  “Well, I think that means it’s safe for us to leave,” Grai said, ready to leave.

  “The sibiox, Blade, and Discorian have already been transported to your ship,” Bess assured him. “Mojo and BJ will be ready to leave when you come back for Nik.”

  “What?” Grai asked, turning to Nik.

  Nik only blushed and shrugged his shoulders.

  “I was going to ask for some time off so I could spend time here with BJ before we get settled at Dillon,” Nik told Grai, but he was looking at BJ as if to get her approval instead.

  BJ blushed and smiled up at Nik.

  “I think that would be great,” she whispered.

  Grai wasn’t about to come between the couple and knew it’d be easy to replace Nik in the team rotation while he bonded with his mate.

  “Sounds good. Why don’t you guys let me know when you’re ready for pick up, and I’ll have someone come by?” Grai sugge
sted, not knowing how much time they’d want to bond before returning to work.

  “We can do that. Thanks, Grai,” Nik replied with a grin.

  Grai was getting ready to port to the ship when Traze ran over to Bess and hugged her.

  “This place belongs to you now too, child, and you are welcome back here any time,” Bess whispered as she placed a gentle kiss on his cheek.

  “Thank you,” Traze whispered back before he turned away from her. “Port!”

  Grai watched his brother disappear before he looked at Bess quizzically.

  “He’s going to be just fine,” Bess assured him.

  “Port!” Grai said.

  “Well, now that they’re all gone,” Bess said as she turned back to the mercantile. “We need to get you guys prepared for your trip in the cave. Now I made a map that will lead you to the mating cottage; just follow the directions.”

  “The what?” BJ asked in shock.

  “It’s where all of our people have completed their mating. The place was built as a sanctuary by Queen Lamoratri and was where she bonded with her mate. Since then, all of our descendants have completed their mating there. It is believed that if you are truly mates and bond in the sanctuary, the gods will bless your union,” Bess explained. “It is where your father and I bonded, and we were truly blessed by the gods.”

  BJ looked over at Nik, not sure what he thought about all this talk of bonding when they’d barely begun to like each other and was surprised to see him listening intently to his mother.

  “This isn’t going to be some turn-by-the-stump directions guaranteed to get us lost is it?” Nik asked with concern.

  Bess only laughed at him.

  “No, I definitely don’t want you to get lost,” she admitted.

  “How come we’ve never heard of a mating cottage before?” Mojo asked, curious where the place was located.

  “You’ve never been to that part of the cave before. You would have known if you’d found it,” Bess assured her son as she entered the kitchen of the mercantile.

  She went to the table, grabbed a piece of paper, and handed it to Nik.

  “These are the directions. If you get lost, BJ should be able to understand it. Here are some provisions, and there are horses already saddled and waiting for you at the river. Everything else that you need is at the cottage. Be respectful; it is a sanctuary,” Bess told them as she handed a heavy basket to Nik and shooed them out of the door.