Morgan's Mercenaries: Heart Of The Warrior

by Lindsay McKenna

  Heart pounding, Inca zeroed in on her mother’s gleaming face as she slowly sat down on another blanket with the help of her husband, and then reached out for her babies. She had a broad, square face and her eyes were the deep green color of tourmaline gemstones. Her hair was long, black and slightly curly as it hung around her shoulders. She was smiling through her tears as her husband knelt and placed each baby into her awaiting arms. Both parents were crying for joy over the births of their children. The exultation that enveloped Inca made her injured heart burst open with such fierceness that she cried out sharply, pressing her hand against her chest. She felt her heart breaking.

  For so long she’d thought her parents did not want her, did not love her. That that was why they had abandoned her, to die alone.

  But she was not alone! No, she had an older sister! Inca watched with anxious anticipation as her father, whom she most closely resembled, put his arm around his wife and his babies. He held them all, crying with joy, kissing his wife’s hair, her cheek, and finally, her smiling mouth. It was a birth filled with joy, an incredible celebration. That realization flowed like a healing wave of warmth through Inca’s pounding heart. She was loved! She was wanted! And she had a sister!

  Staggered by all the information, Inca could no longer stand the rush of powerful emotions that overwhelmed her. She opened her eyes, her gaze fixed on Maya’s serious, dark features.

  “Enough!” she whispered raggedly. “It is so much…too much….” And she held up her hand in protest.

  Maya nodded and stopped sending the telepathic information. She threw her shoulders back, as if to shake herself out of the trancelike state. When she looked up, she saw Inca’s face contorted with so many conflicting emotions that she whispered, “I’m sorry it had to be revealed to you like this. You’ve been through a helluva lot…almost dying…but they said you needed this information now, not later.”

  Staring at Maya, Inca whispered unsteadily, “Who are ‘they’?”

  Smiling a little, Maya lifted her hand. “The Black Jaguar Clan. The clan I come from.”

  More shock thrummed through Inca. She sat there feeling dizzy, as if a bomb had exploded right next to her. She’d heard talk of this mysterious clan, and of those who volunteered their lives to work on the dark side knowingly, in the service of the Sisterhood of Light. Blinking, she looked strangely at Maya. Hundreds of memories came cascading through her mind. For several minutes, she sat there trying to absorb them all. Finally, Inca rasped, “I remember you now…. You saved my life, didn’t you? I was shot in the back of the head and Roan was carrying me to your helicopter. You came around the end of the compound fence and shot two drug runners who were taking aim at us.”

  With a slight nod of her head, Maya said, “Your memories of that night are coming back. Yes, that’s right. I couldn’t let them kill my little sister, could I?”

  Maya’s teasing threaded through Inca’s continuing shock. The rest of her rescue avalanched upon her, the memories engulfing her one after another. She saw the helicopter she was flying in, with Maya at the controls. She felt the urgency of Maya, her worry for her life as it slowly slipped away. And then she saw Maya standing at her bedside, opposite Roan. “Y-you saved me….”

  Maya shook her head. “No, I can’t take credit for that one, Inca. Roan saved you. I was under orders to tell him that he had to give up his life in order to save yours. Of course, that was a lie. It was really a test for him. And you know how tough our tests are.” Her mouth pulled downward in a grimace. “He didn’t know it was a test, of course, but in order to get you back, it had to be played that way. Those were the rules of the Sisterhood of Light. I told him the truth—that he had to love you enough to surrender his life. The elders of this village set up the conditions for him, not me or my clan. If Roan could pass this test, they knew he was worthy of being trained here, at the village. Of course, he willingly said yes. I had him place his hands on your heart and the top of your head, just as we do when we transmit a catalytic healing energy into a patient with the help of our jaguar spirit guide.”

  Her smile was gentle. “He did it. It was his love for you that brought you back. All I did was facilitate it by sending him to the Threshold to retrieve you. Then I teleported all of us here, to the Village of the Clouds. Helluva job, I gotta say. I did good work.” She flexed her fist, pleased with her efforts. “I don’t have many metaphysical talents, unlike you. But I’m a damn good teleporter when I set my mind—and heart—to it.”

  Maya shrugged, her eyes brimming with tears. “In my business, I work in the underbelly of darkness. It was something else to see Roan’s pure, undiluted love for you pull you back from the Threshold. He doesn’t have memory of this—yet. He will when it’s right for him to know. Right now, you need to know that I’m your sister and that our parents loved us—fiercely. They surrendered their lives for us, so that we could come into being, to help a lot of other people. Our destiny was ordained long before our births. We agreed to come, to fight for the light, to fight for the underdogs and protect them. And we both do this in our own way.”

  Gulping back tears, Inca whispered, “Tell me more about our parents. I have to know, Maya…please….”

  Wiping her eyes, Maya said, “Our parents knew who we were, spiritually speaking, and why we were coming into a body for this lifetime. Our mother was a member of the Jaguar Clan. Our father, a member of the Black Jaguar Clan. They met, fell in love and married. The elders who married them here, at the village, twenty-seven years ago, told them of their destiny—that they were to give each of us up. To trust the Great Mother Goddess and surrender their two children over to her. They were told they would then be killed by drug runners shortly after our births.” Maya frowned. “They accepted their fate, as we all do as clan members. We know we’re here for a reason. They knew ahead of time what those reasons were. They had two wonderful years together, before we came. They were very happy, Inca. Very. After we were born, they kissed us goodbye, and our mother took you and went east. My father took me and went off in a westerly direction. They were told where to leave each of us.”

  Shaken, Inca moved a little closer. Close enough to reach out and touch Maya, if she chose. “Who killed them?” she rasped thickly. “I want to know.”

  “Juan Valentino. The father of the two Valentino sons, Sebastian and Faro. And Faro damn near added you to his coup belt,” Maya said grimly. “We’re in a death spiral dance with the Valentinos, Inca. They murdered our parents. And now Sebastian has been captured and faces a life in prison in Brazil. That’s one down, and one bastard to go. Faro nearly took your life.” She flexed her fist again, her voice grim with revenge. “And shortly, I’ll move into a death spiral dance with him. He’s fled to Peru in his gunship. He thinks he’s safe there. But now the bastard’s on my territory…and I promise you, dear sister of my heart, I’ll find him and avenge what he did to you….”

  Staring disbelievingly at Maya, Inca whispered, “This is all too much. Too much…” She dropped her head in her hands.

  Gently, Maya reached out and slid her strong fingers along the curve of Inca’s shaking shoulders. She was crying, too. “I know,” she said in a choked voice. “You don’t know how long I’ve waited to finally get to meet you in person. To tell you that you weren’t ever alone, Inca. That you weren’t really abandoned. That you were loved by our parents—and by me….” Smoothing the cotton material across Inca’s shoulders, Maya inched a little closer to her. Sniffing, she whispered brokenly, “And how long I’ve dreamed of this day, of being here with you…with my own blood sister….”

  Inca heard the pain in Maya’s husky voice. Turning, she allowed her hands to drop to her sides. Tears ran freely down her cheeks as she stared into the marred darkness of Maya’s gaze. “You really are my sister, aren’t you?”

  Maya nodded almost shyly. “Yes…yes, I am, Inca. We came from our mother’s body. Greatly loved. Given over to a destiny that needed us for a higher calling.” Reachi
ng out, she slid her hands once more over Inca’s shoulders. “And all I want to do right now is hug the hell out of you. I want to hold my sister. It’s been so long a time in coming….”

  Inca moved forward into her twin’s arms. The moment they embraced, her heart rocked open as never before. When Maya tightened her arms around her, Inca understood for the first time in her life what family connection truly meant. She wept unashamedly on her sister’s shoulder, and so did Maya. They cried together at the Pool of Life, locked in one another’s embrace, saying hello for the first time since they had been separated at birth.

  Chapter 14

  Inca gripped Maya’s hand after her tears abated. She felt that if she released her, Maya would disappear into thin air and she’d never see her again. Oh, that was foolish, Inca realized, but her heart was so raw from learning she had real family that she couldn’t stand the thought of Maya being ripped away from her again.

  Squeezing her fingers in a gesture meant to comfort Inca and allay her worries, Maya said, “Listen, from now on you’ll see so much of me you’ll be sick of me.” And she gave a wobbly smile as she brushed the last of her tears from her cheeks. The clouds parted for just a moment and sent golden, dappling sunlight glinting upon the quiet surface of the pool at their feet.

  Inca laughed a little, embarrassed by her sudden clinginess, and released Maya’s hand. “I know my response is not logical. And I will never tire of seeing you, Maya. Not ever.”

  Maya reached out and patted Inca’s arm. “Well, you’re stuck with me, little sister. And I only found out about you and our past a year ago. Grandmother Alaria told me. I wanted to see you right then, but she said no, that you had the last of your karma to work through.” Maya frowned. “She said you must experience death, but that I could be there to help save you. That’s why we were waiting at a nearby secret base we use. I didn’t know how your life might be threatened. When the time drew near, Grandmother Alaria told me when to go and where to fly in order to help you through all this.”

  “It must have been very hard for you to wait and say nothing,” Inca whispered painfully.

  Maya sighed and held her compassionate gaze. “I gotta tell you, Inca, it was hell. Pure torture. I wasn’t sure I could abide by the rules of the clan and stay away from you.”

  “You are stronger than I am,” Inca acknowledged.

  “Not by much.” And Maya smiled a little.

  She turned and looked over her shoulder. “Hey, I think Grandmother Alaria and Roan are coming our way. I know Grandmother had more to tell us after we got over our introductions. Are you ready for them?”

  Inca realized that she was so torn up emotionally—in shock, in fact—that she hadn’t even felt their energy approaching the secluded glen. Her jaguar guardian had manifested and was lying near the pool, his head on his paws, asleep. She looked up. “Roan is coming?” Her heart beat harder. With love. With the anticipation of sharing her joy over her newfound sister. A sister!

  Grinning, Maya said, “And Grandmother Alaria, too.” She reached out and playfully ruffled Inca’s hair. “I can tell you’re head over heels in love with that hunk of man.” She smiled knowingly. “Wish that I could get so lucky. All I know is Neanderthal types from the last Ice Age who are out to squash me under their thumb because I’m a woman. I envy you, but you deserve someone like Roan. I like him a lot. He definitely has my seal of approval.” She winked wickedly. “Not that you need my okay on anything. You’ve got excellent taste, Inca!”

  Blushing fiercely, Inca absorbed her sister’s playful touch and teasing. It felt so good! Almost as good as having Roan in her life. As Inca impatiently waited for him to appear on the well-worn dirt path that led to the pool, she realized that there were different kinds of love—what she felt for her sister, what she felt for Roan. And for Grandmother Alaria. All were different, yet vitally important to her.

  Grandmother Alaria appeared first. There was a soft smile on her face and tears sparkled in her eyes. Roan appeared next, an unsure expression on his face. He hung back at the entrance to the grove.

  “Come on in,” Maya invited with a wave of her hand. “You’re supposed to be here, too, for this confab.”

  Roan looked over at Inca. Her eyes were red and she’d been crying. Not wanting to assume anything with her, he looked to her for permission to join them. Even though Grandmother Alaria had coaxed him into coming with her, he felt like an outsider to this group of powerful women.

  “Sit by me?” Inca asked, and she stretched out her hand toward him.

  Roan nodded and held her tender willow-green gaze. He felt such incredible love encircling him and knew it was Inca’s invisible embrace surrounding him. Carefully moving around the group, he sat down next to her. She smiled raggedly at him.

  “I have a sister, Roan. A sister! Maya, meet Roan. He holds my heart in his hands.”

  Maya grinned broadly. She reached across the small circle they had made as they all sat cross-legged on the earth. “Yes, we’ve met. But official introductions are in order. Hi, Roan. It’s good to meet you—again.” And she gripped his proffered hand strongly, shook it and released it.

  “Same here,” he said. “I never got to thank you for saving our lives when those two drug runners had a bead on us. Nice shooting.” He liked Maya’s easygoing nature. She was very different in personality from Inca.

  Maya nodded and grimaced. “We knew there was going to be danger for you two. I’m just glad I got there in time.”

  Grandmother Alaria settled her voluminous cotton skirt across her knees. “Children,” she remonstrated, “let me pick up the threads of why you are here. Inca, I’ve come to tell you all that happened, and why. I know some memories are returning to you, my child.”

  Inca felt Roan’s arm go around her shoulders, and she leaned against his strong, stalwart body. “I have many questions,” she said.

  Inca listened as the elder told her everything, from beginning to end, about that night she’d nearly died. Alaria smiled kindly as she finished. “It was Maya who was able to teleport you, herself and Roan here, from that hospital in Manaus. Members of the Black Jaguar Clan are the most powerful spiritual beings among our kind. She had our permission to transport.” Alaria gave Roan a gentle look. “And it could not have been accomplished without Roan. His heart is large and open. Maya needed to tell him to give his life for yours, Inca, because it required that kind of surrendering of his energy, his being, in order to try and affect this transport. If the heart is not engaged in such an activity, teleportation will not work for all concerned.”

  Maya laughed softly. “And I’ve gotta tell you, folks, it wasn’t easy. Oh, I’ve teleported when I managed to get my ducks in a row, but nothing like this…not when it was my sister involved. I’ve never had to overcome so many fears as I did that day, Inca. I was crying inside. I was afraid of losing you. Roan here helped keep the stability of the energy pattern, whether he knew it or not. His love for you was so pure, so untainted, that it held this paper bag on wheels together so I could affect the transfer.”

  Inca nodded and felt his arm tighten slightly around her waist. “His heart is pure,” she whispered, and she gave him a tender look. “I was saved by people who love me.”

  “I thought I was going to die,” Roan admitted quietly. “I was ready to give up my life for Inca. She was far more important than I was. The things she was doing in the Amazon far outweighed anything I’d ever done in my life.”

  Grandmother Alaria looked at him for a long moment, the silence warming. “My son, you are far more powerful than you know. Your mother was a great and well-known medicine woman among us.”

  Roan gave her a startled look. “What do you mean?”

  Alaria reached out and touched his arm in a kindly manner. “She was a member of the northern clan, the Cougar Clan, which is related to the Jaguar Clan here in South America. When she died, she sent her chief spirit guide, a female cougar, to you. What you did not know was that this cougar
was in constant contact with us.” She patted his arm in a motherly fashion. “We were watching, waiting and hoping that you would make the right decisions to come down here, to meet Inca and, hopefully, fall in love with her, as she is beloved by us.”

  Inca nodded, overwhelmed. “When I met Roan, I knew it was not an accident, Grandmother. I knew it was important. I just did not know how important.”

  “We’re faced with many, many freewill choices,” Alaria told them gravely. “Roan could have chosen not to come down here. He could have hardened his heart, because of the loss of his wife, and not given his love to you. You also had choices, Inca.”

  “I know,” Inca whispered, and she looked down pensively at the green grass before her. “From the moment I met Roan I felt this powerful attraction between us. It scared me—badly. I did not know what love was then.”

  “You do now,” Maya said gently, and she gave them a proud look. “You made all the right moves, Inca. Believe me, it was hell on me waiting, hoping, praying and watching you from afar.”

  Inca looked over at her. “You knew all along that if I made the right choices, I would be wounded out there in that valley that night, did you not?”

  Glumly, Maya nodded, then gave Grandmother Alaria a pained look. “Yeah, I knew. And it was hell on me. I didn’t want you hurt. I was told that you would have to go through a life-death crisis. I didn’t know the details. I was able to get permission from both clans to fly my helos into the area and be ready to help you when it happened. I was told when I could fly into the valley, and that was shortly after you were shot by Faro Valentino. It took all my training, all my belief and trust and faith, to stand back and let it happen. It was one of those times when I seriously considered breaking a clan law. I didn’t want to have you go through all that stuff.” She managed a crooked smile. “But I was told in no uncertain terms that if I didn’t abide by the laws in your karma, I’d never get to see you, and that’s something I didn’t want to happen.” Maya reached out and gripped Inca’s fingers briefly, tears glimmering in her eyes.