Ethan’s gaze returned her love in equal measure. But his grin was playful.
“Hold that thought.”
Awareness returned to Asia with the sudden snap of a breaking dream. She opened her eyes to find the inside of the hogan unchanged, except, perhaps for the heavier scent of sweat and sage, of piñon pine and red rock. Many of the women sat with eyes closed, swaying or nodding in rhythm with the drums and their own pulses, some walking in the Spirit World, as she had been.
Geneva Twohawks, however, sat watching her. “You have seen something?”
She hardly knew where to begin.
At that moment, a young woman came to the doorway of the lodge and worked her way around to where they sat facing the stone fire pit. “Elder Twohawks. There are some people here to see you. One man says he is the Timewalker’s husband. Sheriff Begay is with them.”
Her heart expanded to break through her ribcage. “Ethan!” What Ethan had said in her vision made perfect sense now. She moved to get to her feet, but Geneva held her in place with an iron grip on her forearm.
“Wait. We cannot be sure it is him. The evil ones—”
“It’s him! That’s what he was trying to tell me in the vision.”
“Then you cannot see him until you have washed.” Geneva nodded at the girl, dismissing her. The girl went with a short bow.
“What? I haven’t seen him in days! I’m sure he won’t mind that I haven’t had a shower!” Asia made as if to stand again and again was pulled down. The old lady was stronger than she looked.
“The sweat lodge is for purifying the body. Removing poison—fear, heartache, weakness.” Geneva’s stare probed deep. “Would you pass all that on to him now? Already he will have to carry his own poison with him into battle—there will be no time for him to go into the sweat lodge before we go to war. It would have been better if he had not come here, but since he is here you must go to him clean. It is the best you can do for him.”
Asia didn’t want to wait another second to see Ethan, but the old woman was adamant. The two of them rose and left the lodge, emerging into the heat of the late afternoon, a heat that felt almost cool on her skin after the sauna of the hogan. Geneva led her around the back of the lodge to a screened-off area equipped with buckets of water and basins, soap and towels for washing. The cool water felt like heaven on her overheated skin, but she hurried through her bath, spurred by the sound of Ethan’s voice, arguing with several of the men in the outer compound.
God, she had to see him; she had to feel his arms around her. She wanted him so badly she was shaking and breathless, barely able to manage the heavy basins of water. But at last she had washed the heavy sweat from her body and shampooed the shine back into her hair. She dressed in the clean jeans and tee-shirt someone had laid out for her and ran for the center of the compound.
Jack was already there, his small, pale arms slung around Ethan’s neck as Ethan knelt to enfold him. The man she loved stood with their son still wrapped around him and held out an arm to include her. She ran to him, buried her face in his chest, put her arms around him and Jack and tried hard not to fall apart. She breathed, and every breath carried his scent deep into her being. So familiar. So real and present, where for so long he’d been nothing but a distant dream.
She looked up at last to see his face. “I can’t believe you’re really here.”
His eyes, dark with concern, met hers. “They wouldn’t let me see you. Are you okay?”
She started to explain about the ritual, or to make some joke about the bath, but the words wouldn’t come. Tears slid down her cheeks as she nodded.
He pulled her back into his chest and held her, his voice a gentle murmur in her ear.
Geneva Twohawks approached them, wearing a grin that seemed unsuited to her usually solemn face. “Come. She and the boy need food and drink. We can talk as we eat.”
They began to move toward a big open-sided tent at a distance from the compound, where tables and chairs had been set up and food was laid out for the many people attending the ceremonies. Asia turned her head to see Rayna and Sam trailing along with them and stopped long enough to receive hugs from both of them.
Rayna squeezed her hard. “How many times are we going to have to save your ass, girl?”
“How did you find us?”
“We heard from Gabriel a couple of hours ago. He should be here soon.”
Asia couldn’t fault her friends for coming. God, she needed Ethan so much. But she feared for him, too. She couldn’t protect him here.
“I told Ethan to stay away until this was over.”
Ray shook her head. “You ought to know by now you couldn’t keep him away. He wouldn’t hear it from us either. Nothing would do but we all come out here in the freaking desert to bring you home.”
Asia sighed, close to tears again. “Damn it.”
They entered the tent and found seats at one of the long tables with Geneva, Leonard Begay and several of the other elders. They were brought plates of food and plastic cups of water. Asia found she was both famished and parched after her time in the sweat lodge. She did the food justice despite her emotions, washing it down with cup after cup of water.
Ethan sat between her and Jack, his thigh tight against hers under the table, as if he had to be in constant contact with her. His warmth, his nearness, resonated in her body in tiny tremors. She wanted all of these people to disappear so she could be alone with him. Selfishly, she didn’t even want Jack to come between them. She just wanted Ethan. She wanted all of this to be over so she could feel him holding her, so she could feel him moving inside her, so they could sleep at night safe in their own home once again.
One glance at her and Ethan must have known it. “Asia, let me take you away from here.” His hand touched her hair. “You’re tired, you need to rest. If you don’t think it’s safe at home, we’ll stay on the ship with Ray and Sam.”
She wanted to, God knew she did. But she shook her head.
“I can’t.”
His lips compressed, though he said nothing. Asia didn’t want to fight with him. Not now. Not here, in front of all these people. Her heart shrank in her chest, shriveling in despair. How to make him understand?
“Ethan, this place, these people—this is our only chance against what hunts Jack.”
“How can you be so sure?” He glanced around, then spoke so only she could hear him. “These people aren’t fighters, Asia. I don’t see any weapons, any places to hide. Why are you here?”
“Something bigger than we are brought me here because this is where Jack needs to be. Yet despite everything, we may still fail.” Anger rose to meet his stubborn resistance. “That’s why I asked you to stay away. If you came hoping to change my mind, there’s still time for you to leave.”
His whole body went taut. “I came because I couldn’t stand to wait at home while you were in a fight for your life two thousand miles away. I came because I’m your husband and Jack’s father, and I’m supposed to protect you. I came because that’s what a man does. Can you understand that?”
His voice had not risen above a low rasp, but the way his gaze had locked onto hers, the way the two of them were entwined in an intensity of emotion, could not be missed, even in the noise and conversation of the tent. Faces turned in their direction, then looked away. Conversation dropped as people held their breath.
Asia ignored them all, held by the hurt—and the love—in Ethan’s eyes. “Yeah, baby. I can understand that.” She reached out to touch his cheek. “And I’m sorry we have to stay, but I’m so, so glad to have you with me.”
The late afternoon sun hung low in the western sky, spreading deep yellow light like melting butter across the valley floor. The heat rode the light in waves that washed across her skin and dropped deep into her lungs with the air. Lana squinted behind her sunglasses, unsure whether it was the light or the heat that pinholed her vision.
“That must be Miz Twohawks’s ranch up ahead.” She pointed
off to the left. “There’s nothing else for miles.”
Behind the wheel, Gabriel lifted an eyebrow. “Looks like half the county is here.” He slowed and turned off onto the dirt drive that led up to the property.
Trucks, Jeeps, horse trailers and old dented cars of all descriptions lined the road and sat parked in the desert leading up to Geneva Twohawks’s home. A number of permanent outbuildings huddled behind the house—sheds, a barn—as well as several pens for livestock. There were also two of the rounded huts used for traditional ceremonies by the Navajo people. Fires built outside the hogans indicated they’d been used recently.
Gabriel parked the car and looked at Lana, waiting.
She nodded at an open tent outside the compound’s perimeter. “Everybody’s out back.”
They left the car and made their way toward the tent. Lana ignored the impulse to keep her right hand near her shoulder holster and let it drop to her side. She could sense Gabriel’s state of mind as if it were her own. He felt no threat here among these people, though he knew they were all in danger. She found herself relaxing under his influence.
Several people noted them as they passed and nodded, but no one stopped them. Lana tilted her head.
“Would you think I was crazy if I said it was as if they were expecting us?”
“No. They’re preparing for something.”
“And we’re part of it.”
“Yes.”
Their link told her he was disturbed by the idea. “That’s what Sam meant when he said Asia was convinced she was safer here, that these people had some idea how to fight Kinnian.”
Gabriel met her eyes, and suddenly she understood. These people were allies. Her bondmate hesitated only because he feared he couldn’t protect them, because his sense of responsibility now included them.
Lana sent a wave of warmth along their bond. Together we are stronger, k’taam. All of us.
They entered the tent, and all conversation stopped. Every face turned to stare at them, not in hostility, not even in curiosity, but in expectation. Sam and Rayna jumped up from the table nearest them and came to greet Gabriel with smiles and hugs, while everyone else at that table stood waiting.
Gabriel wasted no time in explaining the change in Lana’s status. He tucked her under his arm.
“Sam, Ray. You’ve met Alana before. She and I are bonded now.”
Sam’s jaw dropped. Ray elbowed him before she smiled and stepped forward for a hug.
“Something told me you two would hit it off. Or kill each other. Congratulations.”
Lana laughed and hugged the tiny woman back, registering the strength of her grasp with some surprise. Rayna had scarcely moved when Sam rushed in and scooped Lana up into a bear hug, a huge grin on his face.
“God knows he needed this! Nice job, Lana!”
Lana felt a strange hollow twinge in the vicinity of her heart and turned to see Gabriel watching her, pride and love warming his dark eyes to the color of sweet chocolate. He allowed her a small, private smile and a wave of intimate feeling through their bond before he turned to face Ethan and the woman and small boy that had been the focus of their desperate search.
Gabriel nodded to Ethan, his face solemn. Ethan, caught in the same mood, returned his nod, but did not speak. The tracker turned to the slender woman beside Ethan and again inclined his head.
“Ma’am. Believe me when I say that Agent Matheson and I did all we could to find you and bring you to safety. It seems that circumstances have brought us all to this place and time. Perhaps that is for the best. I pledge my life to your son’s protection in what is to come. And to yours.” He shifted his gaze to Ethan. “If you will allow it.”
Ethan held out a hand to him and when Gabriel took it, he offered a brief smile. “In these past couple of weeks, my family has valued your help, and Lana’s, more than you know, Gabriel. We need you more than ever now. Thank you.”
Asia smiled and reached up to hug him, then turned to hug Lana, too. “Thank you, both. You have no idea how much it helped to know you were looking for us.”
Lana looked down into the biggest pair of blue eyes she’d ever seen—and met more wisdom than she could ever have guessed. “You must be Jack.”
“The Holy Ones said you’d be coming.” He stared up at Gabriel. “With him.”
Gabriel got down on one knee to speak with the boy. “And what did they say about me?”
Jack grinned. “They said you can kick butt!”
“Jack Roberts!” Asia looked appalled. “You haven’t said a word in days and that’s what you choose to say first?”
Gabriel only laughed, but Lana felt she had to answer the boy. “I can tell you from direct experience that the Holy Ones are correct.”
“The Holy Ones have much to say about these two.” Geneva Twohawks had risen from the table to join them. “Much that everyone should hear.”
Asia drew her closer. “This is the woman who has been sheltering us, Geneva Twohawks. Her people have devised a strategy.”
Gabriel nodded. “We’d like to hear it.”
Geneva held up a hand. “Elders, hear this. People, listen to what the hawks have told me. The help we have been waiting for has come. These two stand now as one, bringing the strength of heart’s fire. But we face a battle to the death. And if heart or mind fail and even love cannot hold, the Nameless One will be loosed upon the waking world with none to stop him. Then even the Old Ones will not be able to help us.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Trin, Minertsa, Sector 10
Ardis slipped through the doors of the Public Records Archive a mere segment of a solar cycle before closing time. Mrillingas take it! She had little time to finish what she’d come to do, but there was no help for it now. Sennik had kept her in the office long past closing time working out the final details of his plan—the plan she sought to divert.
At this time of night, there were few researchers in Collections Building II and none in the area of the archives she chose. She found the most isolated desk in the loneliest corner of the room, one she knew was out of sight of the monitoring equipment. Then she initiated interaction with the compscreen and proceeded to nullify the system’s security protocols.
Somewhere in the vast web of communications linking Minertsa with the galaxy beyond was an elusive, nearly invisible thread tied to an organization so secretive even Ardis did not know its name. Her goal tonight was to gain access to that thread and make direct contact. Her usual contacts with the group, so long maintained only by meetings at the Lavenda Venue, had been cut off since the night of her partner’s arrest. But an emergency contact had given her what she needed. And tonight, she hoped to speak by internodal link to the human who could tell her what to do.
There! All barriers were down. Ardis entered the correct codes and sent the initializing message. Her aura flared with the intense aquamarine of her excitement.
Madam. Excuse the interruption, but we will be closing the Archives in half a segment.
Though Ardis rushed to dampen her aura back to lavender, she failed to bleach all of the tell-tale color from her emissions. She turned to acknowledge the staff member, but did not dare respond.
The male was young, a guard in uniform. Are you all right, madam? You seem unwell.
--Oh, yes. Forgive my excitement. It seems I may have found the information I have been seeking for some time. Archival research can be so tedious, you know.
Now the young male’s own aura was tinged with the light blue of amusement. I quite understand, madam. I will complete my own degree program in the next quadracycle. I am pleased for you.
Ardis inclined her head. Thank you. Perhaps you wouldn’t mind if I just finished up here quickly?
He caught the hint and bowed out. Not at all. I’ll try to give you a few extra hundredths.
Her pulse pounding, Ardis went back to the compscreen and found an answer to her opening greeting. Miracle! The humans had found the man she sought.
&n
bsp; --I am Martin Blake. How can I help you?
Ardis stared at the compscreen. Such a simple question. Such a complicated answer.
--My superior has recently commissioned a second prototype of a device you once designed to his specifications on behalf of your former employer. It was a type of EM transmitter keyed to human brainwave patterns. The first example was destroyed during the attack on Minertsan facilities at Del Origa VII. Are you familiar with the device to which I refer?
--Yes. Are you certain the second device can be delivered?
--It has been guaranteed by your former employer. A great deal of credit depends on it.
--Then it will be delivered. Xe never misses a chance for profit. When?
--Two solar cycles now.
--There’s no time to stop the shipment.
--That is why I contacted you. You must tell me how to sabotage the machine from here.
--Impossible. If your boss is who I think he is, he won’t let anyone near that thing. He has a lot invested in this. A whole team of Rescue commandos couldn’t get to it.
--He will be expecting a whole team of commandos, Martin Blake. He will not be expecting me. However, I acknowledge that it would be easier to disable the machine from a distance, as I would not have a legitimate excuse to be in the vicinity. Would that be possible?
There was a pause in the telemetry as Blake considered the request. Then a single line appeared on the screen.
--How good are you with reflexive, multipartite synthesizing program coding?
Ardis’s aura began to glow a fierce gold.
Navajo Nation Indian Reservation, Arizona, Earth, Sector Three
Trevyn watched the desert sky grow dark over the cluster of shacks that sheltered his brother’s prey. Red and orange and deep purple threw the ragged edges of the rooflines in sharp relief against the horizon, while behind him squad after squad of men dematerialized from the ship and reformed in ranks in the draw. When the light was gone they would attack.
“Where is that piece of shit you found in town?” Kinnian’s black eyes glittered in the dying light. “He should be here to join the fun.”
Trouble In Mind (Interstellar Rescue Series Book 2) Page 31
