Audra returned with Elara tucked against her like a nursing football and sat in the armchair as casual as can be. She didn't appear disturbed or upset, just concerned like the other two.
"Are you okay, Vey?"
"I'm okay. Tired."
"She took the full hit of a sonic blast which I'm pretty sure was a cannon," answered Nalea. With her surety in my wellness now solidified as evidenced by my usual path of recovery, she immediately began making phone calls. "And I want to know who did it."
"Me too," whispered Harlow. She tossed the soiled towel in the waste basket beside the front door and brushed my hair from my forehead. "Because if you hadn't been with me, I might not be here right now."
"Don't think about that." I pressed my finger to her lips. "Don't. That's my one rule. We don't think about the coulda-shoulda-woulda sides of situations. Okay?"
"Okay." Her eyes misted over, and she pressed her forehead to mine. "Okay."
I grabbed a handful of her hair and held her to me.
"Audra, turn on the news," said Nalea while holding her phone to her ear.
She obliged and immediately the breaking news banner streamed across the screen. The newscaster reported everything similarly to what we just experienced. A sonic blast by the pier, no injuries reported, but no information available at this time.
Nalea faded off down the hall, though I could hear both sides of the conversation.
"What's going on, Chief James?" demanded Nalea. "I saw the news."
"Offlander showed up in the streets causing a disturbance," said the snarky voice of the woman on the other line. "Patrol tried to stop him, but he got more violent. Tasers didn't take him down. Newbie misfired a sonic meant to take him down."
"Well, that's just fucking lucky, isn't it? It could've killed him and anyone else it hit. Firing a sonic at a refugee? What the fuck is the matter with you?"
"Easy, Spooner. It was a mistake, and no one was injured. Just the pier."
Nalea made to shout back, but she glanced at me, the rage evident in her gaze. "Fine. What happened to the Offlander?"
"He was subdued and he's all right. He's speaking with an interpreter now."
Nalea sighed and held her braids in her fist like she usually does when she's ready to tear them off and use them to strangle someone. "Fine. Don't even think about calling me in to clean up this mess."
"Good night, Detective Spooner," said James, shutting down the shouting match before it could continue.
Nalea hung up and swung around to face us again. My attention wasn't on her, however. I gazed up at Harlow as she sat beside me with her hand rubbing soft circles on my stomach. It soothed me as much as her closeness.
"As the city settles itself to sleep tonight, some folks are asking about the infamous Shadow Protector often seen assisting the Seattle P.D." The newscaster on the television continued her broadcast. It drew our attention as footage of me, decked out in my shadowed gear, standing on the roof of the van when I captured the fleeing suspect a few weeks ago. To me, it felt like an intrusive video capturing me in a private moment. "Will the Protectors continue to aid the police? Crime in the city is at its lowest ever, despite the seemingly daily disturbances. But what about this Seattle Protector often spotted the most? Sources say there is a contract brewing at City Hall to request Protectors be made official members of the police department. News Forty-Thousand will continue to follow this story as it develops."
Harlow's lips parted as she appeared to temper her shock as she stared at the television.
"Fucking hell, that looked like a video montage for a comic book movie trailer," said Nalea when she rejoined us. "Landing on top of that vehicle though, Veyda, was a new level of showboating, even for you."
"Don't tease me. I'm sleepy." I pouted at her then returned my gaze to Harlow. "See how mean she is to little ol' helpless me?"
"So mean." Harlow scrunched up her nose. "Want me to punch her?"
"Yes." I couldn't help snickering then laced my fingers with hers. "You okay?"
She nodded and squeezed my hand. "It's been…an interesting date night to say the least. That video of you, Veyda…" She glanced at the T.V. again as if expecting it to return to the screen. "You looked like a superhero comic book person. With shadows swirling around you, whipping air."
"Sometimes I can't escape the lights," I said, reaching up to stroke her cheek. "Tonight was scary for a moment. Are you sure you're okay?"
Nalea sat with Audra after Elara fell back to sleep and settled in her basinet. Audra rubbed her wife's shoulder while the two looked in on us.
"Honestly, Veyda, I didn't know what was happening. I didn't see or hear anything, only you protecting me then flying us away. I'm more worried about you."
"This is somewhat of a normal day, a normal life for me." I puffed my cheeks while holding her gaze. "Unfortunately."
"She's right," added Nalea, a small yawn joining her lack of enthusiasm. "For as much as it makes me angry or upset when Veyda bears the brunt of shit, it's normal."
"What the newscaster said about Protectors being made part of the police force…" Harlow glanced between us. "Would you do that?"
I shook my head and Nalea joined me in the gesture.
"I won't. We'd have to reveal our identities to be legally protected. I'm not doing that. I might have the guise of shadows to support my nighttime flying habits, but the last thing I need is my name on public record. Some people know I'm Hybridian. Doctors, teachers, family, and friends, but only a select few know I'm a Protector. Being an Offlander or a Hybridian offers certain protections. Being a masked vigilante, even if aiding the police, does not." My monologue ended with Harlow stroking my stomach in soft circles. Sadness softened her expression, and she rubbed her thumb over mine.
"Little Veyda in primary school must've been so cute," she said, a smile tugging the corner of her mouth.
"She was. We have pictures," offered Audra.
I groaned and covered my face.
"Let me see." Harlow grinned and turned to her. "Where?"
"You're a day too late, girl." Nalea pointed to the stacks of boxes. "All the memory caches are lost in that tower."
"All the more reason to help you move." Harlow nipped my elbow and I peeked at her.
"Very funny." I poked her nose and she smiled.
"What can I do?" she asked, her question dipping our conversation toward serious. "To help."
"Watch a movie with me in bed? Or listen to an audiobook together."
"Done." She kissed my hand then stood up, urging me with her. "C'mon."
I rose with her, squeezing her hand then kissing Nalea and Audra on the cheeks, and Elara on the forehead. "Night."
"Night, Little Boo." Nalea pretended to kick my ass and I scurried away.
Chuckles carried us into my room, and I closed the door behind us. Harlow and I abandoned our shoes, and she watched me remove my bowtie with a smile plastered on her face.
"Don't give me that cute look," I teased.
"You're cute. I love your style."
"I love yours more. You're very versatile. If I wear a red dress, I look like a scrawny bottle of ketchup."
"Veyda." She laughed out my name. "You do not. Do you hate dresses?"
"On me, yeah." I stripped down to my boxers and sports bra, then hopped onto the bed.
Harlow undressed, leaving her in only her lacy purple panties as she climbed in with me. I held my arms to her, and she snuggled close to me immediately. I pressed my lips to her forehead when her arms slid around me.
"It's been a rough few days," I said while she nuzzled me. "I'm sorry. First, you bore the brunt of my expansive hearing abilities, and then being rushed away from a sonic attack."
She squeezed me to her before answering. "To be fair, both situations are independent of you. The domestic violence has been a problem that I tried to solve within the community. And the sonic attack would've killed me if you hadn't heard it. Either way you look at it, you've protect
ed me twice."
I thought about what she said while stroking her back.
"You're quick to blame who you are for putting me in danger, Veyda, but that's not true. You've stopped danger, and I just happened to be involved."
"I just…don't want things to get messed up between us. I really, really like you." The confession left me with teary eyes and heavier emotions than I intended.
"I really, really like you, too." She nipped my chin. "You and Nalea work together all the time. Do you feel this way about her? That you put her in danger?"
"No." I chuckled at the thought of it. "The opposite usually. I have taken a bullet or two for her, though…"
Harlow's brows lifted. "How many bullets have you taken in your time?"
"A lot. A handful of sonic blasts like today."
"How do you heal from all that? Like…is your skin thicker or something?"
"Nope. It's just the regeneration speed is enhanced. Everything about being a Hybridian for me is simply enhancement. Strong senses, faster healing, faster movement. The elemental piece with the wind and such isn't too different from humans. Some people learn magics, some are born with intuition or psychic abilities. For me, I can manipulate elements. I don't know how it works. I never really cared to find out. But, it's almost like magic…"
"Element bending, but with limits based on your energy cycle, right?"
"Right." I nodded and brushed my lips over hers. "When my energy is less and I'm tired, like right now, if I get hurt, it heals more human-like. That's when I need to be careful."
"Good to know." She leaned up on her elbow, her lips an inch from mine. "Tomorrow I'm taking you shopping for gear after the move is done."
"Okay." I smiled at her and thumbed her chin. "If you insist."
"I do insist." She closed the gap between us, and my body lurched with the rush of warmth. She quaked beside me, her fingers digging into my abdomen. "So good. Kissing you is so good."
I licked my lips, gazing at her through half-lidded eyes. "You're delicious to me. Like candy. The best candy."
"Right back at you." She bumped her nose with mine. "We'll have to practice kissing in public because I ached to do that today so many times. But going weak in the knees while in the middle of the street isn't ideal."
I chuckled and ran my knuckles down her cheek. "Kissing while flying would probably lead to a crash."
"Don't even say that." She laughed hard and rolled on top of me. "Imagine that? Falling to our deaths because we had mid-flight orgasms."
I cracked up, my hands tangling in her hair when she kissed down my chest toward my navel.
"Best and worst way to die."
She gripped the waist of my underwear and I wriggled out of them. "Time for me to help regenerate some of that superhero energy."
"Honey." I gasped when she flicked her tongue over my clit, my toes curling into the bed. "Oh my God."
"I'm looking forward to the round of applause we'll get in the morning," she said, before disappearing between my thighs.
"Harlow!"
Chapter Fourteen
"You come here alone?" I glanced around us as Harlow led me down the darkened streets toward a sketchy alley downtown. The thought of her traipsing through here, in one of the highest crime-ridden areas of the city, by herself worried me.
"With weapons. C'mon." She linked her arm with mine, and we headed around a corner into the alley where drones filled the space above us. They carried small packages with them, zipping and spiraling off faster than I could ever.
"Speeding drones…"
"Harder to see in the dark. Their radar is incredible." She wiggled behind the garbage bin and pushed open a creaky wooden door. "Watch your step."
"This is shady business." I followed her, the heels of her boots clicking on the torn up floor ahead of me.
"It's the best kind." She glanced back at me. "Turn on your voice thing."
"Right." I flicked the distortion switch on my face mask as we headed down the hall.
Three more doors and two flights of stairs down took us to a part of the building that did not appear as dilapidated as the entryway. The old floors morphed into neat tiles, and the creaky wooden doors became solid steel. Sharp, bright lights turned the place into a sort of underground bunker.
"How'd you learn about this place?"
"When I returned to Seattle, it was during the time of all the immigration protests. The nationalists turning into terrorists and all that. I needed to protect myself in the streets and I met Mahrulo." She pulled the door open for me after punching in a passcode on the keypad of the first door.
"Mahrulo is the owner?"
"This is his trade post, yes."
Once inside, the creepier, sterile feel faded and to my surprise, a set up like an Army Surplus store appeared. Camouflage clothes and accessories, bulletproof vests, cases of knives, and a wall full of guns greeted us. A few people shopped, but the man behind the counter looked our way. The triple ridgeline of his forehead coupled with ice-blue hair and a near-purple skin tone spoke of his Offlander heritage. He smiled at Harlow, shifting around the counter to greet her.
"Back again, Doc?" He chuckled while they shook hands.
"Brought a friend with me this time." Harlow smiled and glanced between us. "Mahrulo, this is my friend. She's a Shadow Protector and needs better gear in light of recent events."
"Ah." His yellow-flecked eyes flickered over me before landing on mine. "An Andromedan Hybridian Protector."
"Yes," I said, glancing over my shoulder at the other shoppers.
"I've seen you on the news. Welcome." He waved for us to follow him through a door to the right of the counter.
A second door followed, and he pressed his finger to the bio lock. Harlow's hand fell to the small of my back as he led us inside.
Unlike the first showroom, the next one rushed me with the buzzing of technology. I glanced around at the mannequins that lined one wall adorned with high-tech suits. Some of them appeared comic-book classic and ready to tumble over the shoulders of a caped superhero. I smirked, knowing neither of them could see it.
"You have alien technology in here," I said as the unusual scents of a leather-like material made to my nose.
"I do. From all over the universe." He paused beside a vacant wall, pressing his palm to it before it pushed open. "I always wondered how you survived out there without protection. You're the only one who wears a sweatshirt without any protective gear hidden beneath."
"How do you know?"
"Who do you think suits the others?" He winked at me, and Harlow smiled. "Last room," he said, and we followed him through the secret passage.
The door swung shut behind us, leaving us in a blue-lit, long, brick-lined hallway. Mahrulo tapped twice on the walls, and the illusion faded, revealing a gallery of otherworldly equipment. My jaw fell slack as I took in the sight of the scale-like armored suits that filled at least a thousand square feet of space to our right. Weapons and tech joined the fray to the left.
"None of this is Earth-made," I said. "I can feel it."
"I'm sure you can. Doc here says you need a suit to protect against typical human-made bullets and sonics. Yeah?" He folded his arms over his chest, a single brow cocked in my direction.
"That'll do." I nodded and glanced to Harlow who offered me a comforting nod.
"What about one that protects you against laser tech, too? Infrared? Quantum canons?"
"I doubt you have a single suit that—"
"Ha!" He tossed his head back, a grin curving his lips. "Girl, don't challenge me."
"He means it." Harlow snickered and squeezed my shoulder. "What've you got for us, Mahrulo? Show us the best."
"Ah. She makes demands, this pretty little human, doesn't she?" Mahrulo pretended to grumble, then motioned for me to follow him. "This section of suits are DNA matched for Andromedans and will work best if we know your planetary origin." He stopped in front of a row of six mannequins, all of which shimmere
d under the lights.
"What would you show a Hybridian with family origin from Praxar?" asked Harlow. Her cool, calm demeanor spoke nothing comparatively to mine which was the exact opposite.
For most of my life, I've avoided knowing too much about the alien side of myself. Being human was easier for the most part. Being Hybridian meant I could help others, the way my mother did, while maintaining the balance of a normal life for myself.
"We would go with this." He paused in front of one of the mannequins wearing a blue-green-black hued body suit. With concentration, the scale-like pattern rolled in waves of color as the technology made itself known. "These are bio-tech."
"I can see that." I stared, astonished by the intricate patterns, and shifting color scheme. "It's vacillating in the light."
"This type of light makes the suit visible to all of us. When I turn it off, only you'll be able to see it until you're wearing it. Then it looks like a thick leotard to the rest of us. It'll fit itself to you."
"What does it feel like to wear?" I pressed, looking the suit up and down.
"Like stepping into a loose-fitting stocking. When it meets your skin, it adheres until you will it off. There's no need to undress or anything."
"It's…conscious?" My eyes widened as I stared at him.
"Somewhat." He patted my shoulder, his eyes twinkling with delight. "It's part of your Starseed."
"Starseed?" I looked between him and Harlow. "Explain."
"The basis of all life comes from the stars," he explained. "Starseeds are like what humans call atoms, or the basis of all things. Something like that. As a Hybridian, you carry Starseeds from both the Milky Way and Andromeda." Mahrulo motioned to the suit. "This piece here knows both."
"This is…insane." I held my breath for a moment. "Who makes these?"
"Weavers." He shrugged as if we heard about this sort of thing every day. "It's part of their elemental powers. Fabrics willed from Earth and from the stars, coupled with what's survived their planets or galaxies of origin."
"So, each one is unique?" I asked while attempting to control my breath. Every part of me buzzed with anxiety and I feared that the excess energy would burst forth in a tornado.
Jawbreaker (Four Point Universe Book 14) Page 23
