Thea added. “We also need to go home to collect the tomes. They are hidden on land, not in the sea. You also need to know that there are four other books, two placed with each of the remaining portals.”
Hawk almost jumped on this piece of information. “How much do you know about those?”
Caia’s silence told him volumes, not only about Caia and Thea, but Sage and Sahara. No one had been completely forthright in giving out their information, for it sounded like these women had a very good idea about what were actually inside of those books. The Emperor Lothriel needed to know about this as soon as possible.
Caia and Thea looked at Hawk and Adriel in horror, although they knew they shouldn’t be surprised that their Life Mates were answering directly to the Emperor in person. The girls weren’t so certain how to feel about this piece of news. Then again, they supposed the Emperor Lothriel was the type of ruler to confront trouble head-on. Considering what was happening around them, this would fall into that category.
Caia was the first to recover her composure. “I presume you will want to send a message to your Emperor the moment we get to the surface.”
Hawk shook his head. “We can reach Emperor Lothriel well enough from here. Unfortunately he will not be able to reach us from where he is because of the boundary as well as the rock formation that surrounds us. He has travelled across the barrier too many times in the latest bit of time and will need time to recover.”
Thea immediately stood. “Then it is time we left. We should take a different route home than usual though, or if you believe we are being that closely monitored, we should go to a friend’s house.”
Adriel immediately followed Thea, even as he asked. “What will your friend think if we show up unannounced?”
Thea replied. “Nothing. Tank won’t be home for another two weeks. He is at work.”
Adriel looked at Hawk with a puzzled expression and asked. “Tank? Someone called a person Tank?”
Caia laughed as she replied. “It is a nickname. We sometimes crash at his place when we are too tired to cross the distance between our homes, or don’t feel like being alone.”
Hawk wondered, “Where are these volumes you were talking about?”
The only thing Caia would say about this matter was that the books were safe. Caia then dove into the water and caught a ride on a dolphin until they were close enough to land to catch sight of their destination. It seemed to Hawk that the mammals never quit chattering the whole way. Unlike Caia, he had no idea what was being said. It was the first thing Hawk asked about when they were alone. “Was that a report, or just chatter?”
Caia replied. “A report. It seems like our mermaid friends aren’t the only ones who eavesdrop on conversations. The dolphins said that our enemies are getting braver. They broke into our cottage and ransacked the place.”
This concerned Hawk and Adriel. “Would they have been able to find anything incriminating there?”
Thea replied. “I doubt it, unless you call my red bikini incriminating.”
Caia teased, knowing it would trigger Adriel’s curiosity, “You mean criminal. That scrap of material is barely enough to cover you.”
Thea defended herself. “As if your burnt orange one is much better. You have half the men on the beach howling after you when they see you in that outfit.”
Hawk wasn’t so sure he like the new direction of this conversation and ordered. “Enough. First we find out how dangerous your place is, then we will contact our Emperor.”
As Hawk spoke, Caia and Thea smirked in amusement at his tone of voice. It seemed to them that their Life Mates would be no happier about other men seeing them in scanty swimsuits than they had been about Caia and Thea seeing the mermen in their natural forms. Well, as far as that went, Caia and Thea couldn’t claim to be much different, but they were not about to point this out to Hawk and Adriel.
CHAPTER XI
As Caia and Thea paddled their boards onto the beach in the semi-darkness, they signaled to Hawk and Adriel to be extra-careful. They could see armed men watching the shoreline close to where they had their home. In this case, Caia and Thea considered it to be a good thing they weren’t heading in that direction.
Hawk, Caia, Thea, and Adriel had noticed the schooner anchored close to the shore where Caia and Thea lived and had immediately known they had made the right decision. The ship looked like it had weathered a hurricane and could barely stay afloat. However, despite this it still could be used. They were not about to make the mistake of going within a mile of their house under these circumstances. Instead, Caia and Thea decided to wait out the rest of the day on their boards out at sea where no one would notice them. They would come in at night when they would be even more difficult to spot, especially under a glamour that made it look like they weren’t there at all. When they got to shore, Caia and Thea would disguise themselves as dark-haired girls, something the guards would not be expecting or interested in. Because of this, Caia and Thea would be able to walk down the beach openly and no one would be any wiser. Although it sounded like a good plan, it was something they were not foolish enough to try, in case the enemy had told the guards to shoot anyone who came ashore who didn’t belong.
Hawk and Adriel weren’t familiar with the modern weaponry that was being used by the warriors on this side of the boundary, but Caia and Thea were. Caia and Thea also know how to judge the type of men who wielded those guns. These men were not the type who would be concerned about who or what they hurt, or whether their targets were innocent or guilty. If the wrong people died, well, they were just unfortunate casualties of war. This made them a must to avoid as far as the girls were concerned. It wasn’t looked at in the same way with Hawk and Adriel.
Hawk and Adriel listened in on Caia and Thea’s conversation shamelessly. The two Elven men could tell their Life Mates didn’t want them to know all of the details about what was happening. Caia and Thea didn’t believe Hawk and Adriel were equipped to handle this form of warfare. Caia and Thea were right, but Hawk and Adriel were determined to prove their Life Mates wrong.
Caia and Thea were so involved in their own need to sneak past their enemies safely that they didn’t even notice when Hawk and Adriel slipped into the darkness of the night.
Hawk and Adriel might not have guns or other modern weapons, but they knew how to take down an enemy in the most primitive and quietest fashion possible. It was this type of attack they planned to use against these soldiers.
The enemy had been just as canny about seeing to their protection as they were patrolling the shoreline. The soldiers had been provided with night vision equipment and had been sent out in pairs, so they could keep track of more than one direction at a time. The troops were also close enough so that no one would be totally out of the sight of the second pair who were on patrol.
Hawk and Adriel studied the pattern of the guards for a couple passes, then slipped soundlessly up behind the first pair, as these were the least likely to be noticed. With quick twists of the head of the soldiers, Hawk and Adriel snapped their necks before lowering them to the ground. This type of kill didn’t give the men enough time to raise an alarm to notify anyone of the danger. In fact, Hawk and Adriel doubted if these men would have recognized how lethal the enemy stalking them now was, even if they would have faced them. The men they killed were so sure of their superior training that the thought of anyone being able to best them would be beyond their belief.
As Hawk and Adriel slipped away from their first set of kills, they spoke into each other’s minds, with Hawk taking the lead. “There are eight teams watching the entrances and corners of Caia and Thea’s house. There are six more inside of the house itself. We will leave the six inside of the house alive, but not the others. Those inside are the leaders, I want to be able to track them back to the men they answer to, so we can find out who they are, and where their headquarters are situated. I can tell these men are not the masterminds of this operation.”
Adriel nodd
ed his understanding as they worked through the lineup of beach guards and completed that part of their plans. When they were finished, he voiced his concern about the heavily guarded building. “They have good vantage points set up. What if things don’t go the way we hope?”
Hawk shrugged, “Then we kill our enemies in a noisier fashion. Unfortunately that will probably mean the men who are in the house as well.”
It sounded like a good plan to Adriel, a lot swifter than what they had done so far. From what Adriel had learned about the people hunting them what Hawk and Adriel did would probably spook them. It wouldn’t take them long to figure out how their men had died, but it would have them questioning how the enemy had been able to do it without raising even one alarm. Hawk and Adriel agreed it wasn’t going to be easy, but it would be satisfying. This next step was going to take patience. All they needed was for one man to leave his post for whatever reason, and then the rest would fall like dominoes. By the time it was over, the guards would look like they were at their posts, but they would be leaning against the side of the house, dead.
It took two hours before any of the guards on duty broke the seal they had on the outside of the house. One of the corner guards announced his need to relieve himself, then went into the building to use the facilities. When he returned, he noticed the man who should have been guarding the entrance wasn’t there. As the door closed behind the soldier, he opened his mouth to call out to his friend but wasn’t given time to utter a word before death took him into its embrace. Hawk and Adriel placed the man into the position they wanted him in, and then went to rejoin Caia and Thea.
Hawk and Adriel didn’t have far to go to find Caia and Thea. The girls were standing in the shadows wearing twin expressions of dismay on their faces, and with their arms crossed before them.
Hawk and Adriel shrugged, as they exchanged unconcerned looks, and listed to Caia’s comment. “You are such dead Elves.” The reprimand reminded them of their youth in the Elven Empire.
Thea added. “Do you have any idea of how much trouble something like this can cause if the authorities get wind of it?”
Hawk replied. “I have a feeling they will never get to learn about what happened here.”
Caia sighed and then agreed, “Probably not, but this definitely throws a curve in what we were going to tell your Emperor.”
Adriel corrected, “Our Emperor.”
Caia tossed Adriel a hostile look and replied. “He might be to you, but we have only your word to go by that the Empire actually exists.”
Hawk assured Caia and Thea, “You can be certain both the Empire and the Emperor Lothriel exists, and to prove it, you will meet him tomorrow.”
Caia declared. “Not unless this mess is cleaned up first.”
Adriel assured Caia and Thea, “We will be here to see what effect our actions had before the sun rises. I doubt if we will need to wait much longer to know what these people will do.”
Thea, not liking Adriel’s attitude, replied. “Well, we know what we will do. Until further notice, you sleep alone.”
With that said, Thea and Caia stormed off toward the house they would be spending the night alone in. When Hawk and Adriel got there the door was locked and barred.
CHAPTER XII
Shortly after dawn the next morning, Norton walked out of Caia and Thea’s house to notice that the man who was supposed to be guarding the front door resting against the side of the house. When Norton touched the body, it tumbled over, to lie upon the ground in a crouched position. Norton immediately went to check on the others who had been on duty throughout the night. The first thing he noticed was that they had been all placed into the same position, the second, they were all dead. The soldiers who had been assigned to the beach to stand watch there were lying where they fell. There were no strange marks on them or odd tracks in the sand to say that anyone else had been around.
The moment Norton was finished checking on the corpses, he disappeared into the house to make a call. “David, we have a problem, and it is bigger than the one we first thought.”
The voice that came over the connection wasn’t David’s, nor was it clear. “I guess the sharks will feed well again today. I suggest you get busy cleaning up the beach before anyone arrives and reports what happened. I wouldn’t expect help from this end either, Norton, for there will be none coming. Also, the next time we hear from you, I expect good news. If I don’t, it will be you in the water with those sharks. Do I make myself clear?”
Norton immediately signed off and cursed. Norton couldn’t be one-hundred percent certain that the man at the other end wasn’t David, but his instincts were telling him David had not been there. What did this mean? Norton didn’t know what to think. Norton wasn’t about to go racing over to the schooner to see what was going on there either. Before Norton panicked, he had to get rid of these bodies. Then he would see who was in charge on the schooner. Norton figured he would be lucky to get away with his life if he didn’t move quickly. Whoever had given the order was right about one thing, there was no better place to dispose of the dead than in the ocean. The seas off of this coast were not friendly, they were rough, and more often not, filled with predators.
Norton woke the men who had spent the night in the house with him and ordered them to help him with the bodies. It didn’t take long to load the dead into the two rowboats they had come ashore in and take them past the reefs where the sharks and barracudas hung out. They then went back to the house to call David’s cell so they could report and receive further instructions about what to do next. Norton wasn’t foolish enough to think that he might be able to get away with acting on his own, not until he knew who was on the other end of the line.
Hawk and Adriel felt smug about their predictions about what would happen with the bodies. What they didn’t understand was why Norton and his crew returned to the cottage. Their first thought would have been that those men would have boarded the schooner to leave the area as fast as they could. Something was not right. A mental nudge coming from the direction of the schooner supplied them with the answer.
“Hawk?” Arad’s mental signature registered in Hawk’s mind.
“Arad?” Hawk responded, as he wondered what had brought the merman this close to the shore.
Arad replied. “The schooner has been secured. Would you like it as a bonding present? Or should we send it to the bottom of the ocean?
Hawk didn’t think the latter idea was such a good one. First, Hawk wanted to know what had happened to the men who had been onboard. “What of the crew?”
Arad replied. “The men on the ship took one look at us and decided they would rather take their chances with the sea. This is not a very friendly coastline. There are more than sharks in these waters, although they get the blame for most of the attacks. There are enough barracudas here that it would make a smart shark question the wisdom of spending much time in their territory. Those buggers are more trouble than they are worth.”
Hawk understood what Arad was telling him. They were not to expect any unexpected surprises coming at them from the sea. Those who were in Caia and Thea’s house were all that were left of the enemies in this area, or so Hawk hoped. This gave Hawk the choice of dealing with the intruders now, or waiting for later. Hawk decided not to pursue this avenue of thought any further. If Hawk showed his hand to Norton any more than he already had, it would give the enemy too much information about what and who they were. As it was, Hawk figured no one suspected that Adriel and he were on the scene. “We appreciate your help, Arad. Don’t expect any reaction in that direction anytime soon. As far as the schooner goes, it might suit our purposes better if it is left abandoned. I would suggest waiting until the feasting is done in the waters before you leave, though. I am sure you will find enough to entertain you during your visit.”
Arad replied. “What I have found makes for interesting reading. You might be surprised at how much information they have managed to amass about your people. Not the Empire
itself, but those who live amongst us. Even we didn’t know this much.”
Hawk thanked Arad once more before adding. “I will make a point of visiting the galley before we fully abandon the project.”
Arad nodded in satisfaction, pleased that his message had been understood. Hawk and Adriel would know what to think about what he had found onboard when they saw it. Personally, Arad would have been tempted to destroy all of these papers. There were maps showing three different locations that Arad suspected no one should know about but the Elves, and that was only a beginning.
Hawk didn’t wait to return to where Caia and Thea were waiting for them. Instead, he contacted the Emperor Lothriel, who Hawk knew would arrive within minutes of hearing what he had found out, along with those he felt he might need. The Emperor Lothriel might even want to go to visit the schooner in person to check out the paperwork Arad had found.
Hawk and Adriel were certain that the two who would be ordered to go to the schooner with Emperor Lothriel would be Caia and Thea, for those girls knew more than they were telling. If anyone had hopes of getting any information from them, it would be the Emperor Lothriel and those who made up his entourage.
As Hawk thought about these things, Lothriel’s mental touch connected with his. “You have something to report?”
Hawk sighed and answered. “I have more information for you than I know what to do with. I believe you should come to see what is going on here in person, along with those you think would be best suited to share this with. The merpeople have helped us capture a ship filled with papers about us that we never thought our enemy might possess. Also know that Caia and Thea are not willing to share all of their knowledge with Adriel and me. It doesn’t seem to matter to them that we are their Life Mates and can be trusted for that reason alone. We will need you to pull the report directly from them. They might tell you what they refuse to pass on through us when they are sure of who you are.”
Water Bonded Page 5
