Paranormal Payload

by Paranormal Payload [lit]

  Nina put her hand on the door panel. It slid open quickly. Sevan stopped and grabbed hold of the wall for support when he saw the mass of tubes, and medical equipment hooked into the tiny frame on the bed. It was barely recognizable as human. Had he not seen the tiny girl standing before him only moments earlier he would not have associated such a beautiful, radiant young child with what lay before him.

  “What … what happened to her?” Sevan asked, moving forward slowly and reaching out to touch the white sheet that covered her tiny body. The compulsion to prove that it wasn’t the young girl was great. The need to know that Lorelei hadn’t suffered a blow as big as what lay in the bed was greater. It was her baby sister there. The thought of that ripped at Sevan’s gut.

  Nina touched his hand and shook her head. “She says that it hurts when people touch her.”

  Puzzled, he shook his head. “How did she project her image outside?”

  Nina glanced around at the machines that filled the room. “Christian built this all after we found her … umm … after the incident. Jacquelyn came to him first, in a vision. He is our healer, our Chieftain. With that position comes the power of the shamans and the strength of our greatest warriors. He was able to sense her near him. He knew what must be done. Her body may be useless and comatose, but her mind is very active, Captain. Of this, I am sure.”

  Sevan had a hard time believing that the large man who Nina had accused of attacking Lorelei could build such a thing, but it was clear by the way Christian stared at the child in the bed that his love for her was great. Had Sevan misjudged him? Had he let petty jealousy blind him to who Christian truly was?

  Not wanting to think too hard about the answers, Sevan focused on the situation. Panel upon panel of computers lined the walls, each one seeming to be activated. A few screens were littered about, almost appearing random in the room but as he watched the code moved over them, he knew they were there for a reason.

  He heard a giggle and turned to look at the door. Jacquelyn’s apparition stood there grinning at him. Christian walked over to her and put out his arms. She ran into them and for a moment, Sevan could have sworn that she was real.

  “How?”

  “Christian loves me and he made it so I can still run around and play, when I want to, and….”

  “Get into mischief,” Christian said, pulling her head against his chest.

  “I wish things could have been different, Christian. I saw Samson again today. He is well … or as well as he can be now.”

  Christian stiffened at this statement, but forced a smile to his face. “Any news of pending attacks?”

  “Yes, I overheard some of the others, ones that wandered near the outer edges of our village.” Jacquelyn glanced at Sevan. “They spoke of the prophecy and the warriors from the sky that would come to aid in the fight against evil. Stegian tells them that the prophecy is a lie but they aren’t so sure.”

  Christian exhaled loudly as he set Jacquelyn down to stand on her own. “I see. What else did they say?”

  “Nothing,” she said quickly.

  Nina ran a hand over the markings on her left forearm again. “Jacquelyn.”

  Jacquelyn’s face scrunched up and it was easy to see the resemblance to her sisters. “I hate that you can sense a lie, Nina.”

  “Yes, I know. Now, what else did they say?”

  The young girl glanced nervously towards Christian. “They said that they know of Lorelei’s mate coming from the vessel and that Stegian tried to control his mind fully but failed.” She pointed at Jordan. “They know of you as well and believe you to be a great threat. Their instructions had been to kill you on sight and capture Sevan if at all possible. Stegian no longer wishes Lorelei dead either.”

  “What?” Christian asked, putting his hand on Jacquelyn’s tiny shoulder.

  “He wishes her brought to him alive so that he may have his hags drain the life force of the child she now carries. Stegian refuses to acknowledge that the prophecy is true, yet he is going out of his way to assure that the child of light be brought to him immediately.”

  Christian stepped back quickly, clenched his fists and tipped his head back. “Lorelei is with child?”

  Oh, shit. It’s about to get ugly in here.

  Sevan took a fighting stance, ready and willing to fight Christian if need be. Much to his surprise the attack didn’t come from Christian. It came from Nina. She kicked out fast, catching him in the gut, sending him tumbling back into a wall of computers. He struck it hard and then hit the ground. He clutched his stomach and fought for breath.

  Nina came at him fast, her eyes burning with a fury he’d never seen a woman hold before. “How dare you show up here out of nowhere and use my sister? You’re nothing but an outsider, an offworlder who doesn’t belong here and cannot wait to be rid of us.”

  Sevan refused to fight back. There was no way in hell he was going to strike Lorelei’s sister. She came at him again and Jordan stepped in front of her, blocking her path. “Enough.”

  A slow smile crept over her face as she swept her arm out. The next thing Sevan knew, Jordan was airborne. He hit the floor with a thud and moaned. Christian appeared and wrapped his arms around Nina. He lifted her off the ground as he rolled his eyes. “Nina, control yourself. Do you not see what has happened?”

  She snarled. “All I see is a fast talker who couldn’t even wait an entire day before sinking his cock into my sister. He used her, Christian, and now she will bear his child and spend her life protecting it from Stegian and his people while this … this,” she spat at him, “outsider goes back to his Commission life. It is my sister who will give her life for his need to sate his sexual appetite. You were to be her mate, Christian.”

  Christian shook his head. “No, Nina. I was not originally chosen. Samson was and I think we learned a hard lesson about pre-selecting mates from that, do you not agree?”

  “Samson?” Jordan asked, rubbing his head.

  Jacquelyn moved in close to him and touched his forehead lightly. A spark of light emanated from her hand and Jordan’s eyes widened. “Thanks.”

  She smiled. “You’re welcome. And to answer your question….”

  Nina snarled again. “Tell them no more. They are leaving. I do not care if their ship is airworthy or not.”

  Jacquelyn giggled. “I never understood why Christian mumbles about the Janelle girls’ tempers until now. He is right. You are the worst of the lot of us.”

  Jordan chuckled, earning a rather threatening look from Nina in the process. “I am not the worst of us all. Lorelei is.”

  Sevan got to his feet slowly, a bit achy and bruised. The woman packed a hell of a kick, that much was for sure. “Speaking of Lorelei, does she normally spend this long getting ready for her day?”

  All eyes fell upon him. Nina’s expression went from livid to concerned. “What do you mean?”

  “She woke me and told me that she was going to get cleaned up and stop in to let Christian know that we were spending the day together. She mentioned wanting to show me the temples of Shamenia.”

  Christian ran quickly towards the panel at the far end of the room. He touched the pad and keyed in a set of numbers. “Attention, this is the Chieftain, all personnel report to your posts--the High Priestess is missing. I repeat. The Devi is missing.”

  High Priestess?

  Jacquelyn nodded. “Yes, brother-in-law, Lorelei is a high priestess, a Devi as the villagers call her. She is capable of great things. Yet, her abilities make her vulnerable to Stegian.”

  “You don’t talk like a child,” Jordan said, getting to his feet.

  She smiled. “Because I am not really a child. My mind has been free to wander the computer systems since the day of my attack. Christian built the system to project the image of me as I was then. It has been many years since then. If I were still walking among you, I would be approaching my eighteenth birthday.”

  “Still, you sound even older than that at times but young at othe
rs.” Jordan reached out and touched her tentatively.

  She winked. “It’s a programming flaw that Christian is trying to overcome. He is a genius so he’ll have it figured out in no time. I think, one day, he’ll be able to build me a new body, one that will let me run and be free to roam further than the outer limits of our village.”

  Christian moved past Jordan and headed straight for Sevan. “Lorelei never made it to meet me this morning. We need to split up into teams to search for her. I’m unable to get a lock on her location.” He looked back at Jacquelyn. “Run a scan of the village. She’ll be easy to find if you search for new life forms. The child within her will trigger that.”

  A sick feeling crept over Sevan. “Wait, are you thinking that this Stegian guy got his hands on her?”

  Nina shook her head. “Not him personally, unless he’s found a way to travel about during suns up. He’s a vampire and a sorcerer. Your people feared him so much so that legend tells he arrived in chains and that it was the other supernaturals aboard the vessel that imprisoned him.”

  Jacquelyn closed her eyes and put her hand out, appearing to scan thin air. She squinted and then gasped. “No.”

  “No, what?” Nina asked.

  “I’m picking up residual blood spots near the fourth gate to the outer limits. My sensors indicate it is Lorelei’s blood. If that’s true then she is badly injured.”

  Sevan charged toward the door only to find Christian grabbing hold of him. “Let go of me. I’m going to get my wife.”

  “We are all going to get her. Trust me when I say it will take the entire group to ensure we get to her.”

  “What if that guy fucks with your head again? Huh?” Sevan needed to lash out at someone. Christian was the closest target. He shoved hard, breaking the man’s hold on him. The beast within roared dangerously close to the surface. It felt as though it might actually break free. Unsure if he could really control it, Sevan looked to his brother with wide eyes. “If something goes wrong and I shift, don’t let me hurt anyone.”

  “If you shift?” Nina asked. “You mean you are not straight humans?”

  “No,” Jacquelyn answered for him. “They both carry the gene of a lion within them. It was a recessive trait, one that had been thinned to the point of barely registering. That’s why my sensors didn’t pick it up when their ship entered our atmosphere.”

  “Then how are you sensing it now?” Nina asked.

  Christian touched Sevan’s shoulder and squeezed it gently. “Because the prophecy is true. The warriors that will help in the fight have been summoned to what was meant to be their home--they’ve come to grow into their full power and potential.”

  “Will we shift fully?”

  “I would assume that in time you will. And I share your concern about not knowing if you will be able to control yourself the first time out.” Christian narrowed his gaze on Nina. “Gather your men. Have them each cover an area and report to one another on their progress. Also be sure that each team is equipped with tranquilizers, should Lorelei’s husband and the father of your future niece or nephew lose control and shift, they are to shoot him with them and get him back to the compound. He can be put in a holding chamber until morning.”

  Nina shook her head. “He’ll never stand for that.”

  Sevan’s nostrils flared. “Listen, lady. I don’t know or care what your problem with me is but I can tell you this. I am not now, nor am I ever leaving Lorelei or our child. She is my wife and I love her more than life itself. If I become a threat to her you have my permission to shoot me in the forehead with a silver bullet.”

  “He means it,” Jordan said, backing him up.

  Nina smiled. “Good to know.”

  Chapter Eight

  Lorelei lifted her head slightly and tried to make sense of where she was. The minute her gaze fell upon the bladed torture chair she knew right away--she was within Stegian’s compound, or castle as he so often referred to it. In its hundred and fifty years it had played home to countless murders and torturous acts. In fact, only six months prior Lorelei had found herself in a similar room, only Christian had been strapped to the torture chair while Stegian fought for control of his mind.

  “There is my Lorelei,” a deep, familiar voice said. “I didn’t think you’d wake yet today.”

  Lorelei did her best to sit up but her entire body ached and lying on the cold stone floor hadn’t helped that any. “Samson?”

  “Yes,” he said, stepping over her body.

  She stared at his shiny black boots and did her best to focus on them, not him. The pain in her chest wasn’t from a wound but from the knowledge that the man before her had owned her heart at one point in her life but was now a puppet for evil.

  “Why do you not look at me, Lorelei? Have you not missed your chosen mate?”

  “You gave that right up when you….” There was no way she could bring herself to say it.

  Samson laughed, sounding so very much like his brother, Christian, that Lorelei forced her guard up, afraid she’d trust or believe him. “Are you still upset about our last meeting, Lorelei?”

  He bent down and for the first time in six months, Lorelei looked into the face of the man she had mistakenly trusted with her life. While Samson had Christian’s same long blond hair and muscle bound body, he had a face that had often left him being razed for being as smooth as a baby’s bottom. It had also been one of the many things she’d loved about him. Sadly enough, his innocent good boy looks were the reason she’d fallen into Stegian’s trap six months earlier.

  Samson ran his cool hand over her arm and tipped his head. “Your markings are gone. Why?”

  He doesn’t know?

  He jerked his hand away as if she’d burned him. “He has done it, hasn’t he? My brother has claimed you and planted his seed deep within you.” Samson stood quickly. Sharp, dagger-like finger nails shot out as his incisors lengthened before her eyes, leaving fangs in place of his normal teeth. “Tell me, does he fuck you better than I did?”

  Lorelei knew better than to answer. The thing that stood before her was no longer a Shamenian royal, it was a monster--a vessel for pure evil. Somehow Stegian had not only managed to break Samson mentally, he’d converted him physically as well. Samson now possessed his powers as a Shamenian and those of a vampire. If that wasn’t bad enough, his sire had been none other than Stegian himself.

  Where once there had been emerald green eyes, there now lay black pools of hate focused solely on Lorelei. She shifted a bit and cried out as the open gash on her upper right thigh pulled slightly.

  Samson smiled, looking every bit as evil as she knew he could be. “So sorry about that leg, Lorelei. My men tell me it was necessary, that you tried to fight them all single-handedly. Is this true?”

  Narrowing her gaze, Lorelei let it go hard. “I won’t let you hurt Christian again.”

  “Ah,” Samson tipped his head back and laughed, “It is so like you to be more concerned about others than yourself. What if I told you that my master has a new set of targets in mind?”

  Sevan.

  Lorelei?

  The sound of Sevan’s voice in her head sent a surge of hope through her. Doing her best to hide her joy, Lorelei continued to stare at Samson with a hard look.

  Lorelei, baby, where are you? We’re all looking for you. Jacquelyn says you’re injured and it’s bad.

  It’s just my leg. I’ll be fine.

  Sevan’s worry was so great that Lorelei actually felt it through the mental link they’d managed to forge. True mates did that. Powerful true mates could do that and so much more.

  The air around her grew heavy with the smell of stagnant water. For a moment, the scent of death seemed to coat her tongue, bringing her dangerously close to vomiting. She closed her eyes and did her best to control herself.

  “Hag, what business have you here?” Samson asked.

  Hag? Stegian was rumored to have a set of hags at his disposal. It was rumored that they were just
as evil as he was. No Shamenian had ever lived to tell if the rumor was true or not. Now, Lorelei knew it was.

  Think. How can I defeat a hag?

  “The master has sent me to drain the child’s life force. His power can be harnessed and used to fight the rest of the group,” a shaky, old voice said.

  Lorelei didn’t open her eyes. Instead, she did her best to clear her mind of worry, of fear and most of all of hate. A pure mind was the only answer. If the hag fed off power, energy and emotion, Lorelei needed to be a blank slate.

  Concentrating, the things around her seemed to amplify. The cold, hard stone floor now seemed to have a distinctly musty order. She’d smelled something similar as a child. The lagoons near the edge of the red sea were known to emit odd odors dependent upon the way the winds blew. Stegian’s castle wasn’t near the lagoons.

  What was going on?

  Opening her eyes, Lorelei found herself surrounded by overgrown foliage in shades of red, green and yellow. The red leaves, so long as they weren’t attached to a tree with a sage green trunk were safe. If they were and she was somehow nestled in a patch of poisonous ollenna trees then she wasn’t much better off than she’d been in Stegian’s dungeon. It was still a mystery how she’d even ended up outside to begin with. Could her own, inborn powers have kicked in and removed her from harm’s way or had it been the baby?

  Concern for the safety of the child she now carried kicked in and Lorelei struggled to sit up. Pain rippled through her upper leg, causing her to cry out. The slightest ruffling in the bushes behind her told her she wasn’t alone. “Who’s there?”

  “Me,” Jacquelyn said, appearing next to her quickly. The young girl put her hand out and covered the wound on Lorelei’s leg. “This is deep and it’s infected.”

  “I’ll heal.”

  Jacquelyn’s penetrating gaze suggested otherwise. “I’m picking up traces of ollenna poison. You might have cut yourself on one of their razor sharp thorns when struggling or….”