by Donna Steele
While Dusty was out of town they had been constant, a damn bombardment.
She forced herself not to delve any deeper into dream interpretations of scaled reptiles. It only made everything seem more real.
The problem was, at times the dreams were the only things that did seem real. Occasionally things became . . . fuzzy. Concentrating at work was more difficult and thinking she was seeing scales on her patients now was disconcerting.
By the time Dusty returned, the dreams hadn’t improved much.
She wasn’t going to admit that to him, either.
Chapter 34
Home World of the Malveks
Braxal waited until both mind talkers had completed their ritual cringe before speaking. “Report.”
The older mind talker, the one Braxal now knew was his spawn, dipped his head once more, then spoke. “We believe progress is being made, Warrior.”
“You have located the individuals who worked with the Guardians?”
The two mind talkers exchanged glances. “No, Warrior. We do not believe such a feat is possible.”
“Explain!”
“Warrior, we are concentrating in the area the time changes emanated. You should know this area contains nearly one hundred million of these humans. Approximately ninety-seven percent are unaware of our efforts at all. Of the three percent left, that leaves three million individuals.”
Braxal brushed the numbers aside and growled at the mind talker.
He cringed again but continued. “To date we have . . . pushed so hard we have broken the minds of some of these humans.” The mind talker shifted and looked again at his partner.
“We have searched for any realization of collusion with the Guardians but have found none. We theorize humans are unaware of the Guardians, possibly even the ones used for the process. We believe they think they are alone in the galaxy.”
Braxal kept quiet for a moment, though he glanced at Gsark. It had been the same for Malvek prior to the invasion by the Tavs, though he would not speak of it here.
“How many of these humans would have been necessary to cause the changes we have seen?” Gsark asked.
The younger mind talker bowed slightly. “Warrior, it could have been done by a single individual.”
“A single . . .” Braxal thought furiously. He understood two mind talkers would never locate a single perpetrator among three million individuals.
“We have paid close attention to the ones whose minds have broken, though it is difficult to investigate closely. This species does not have a stratified civilization structure. All individuals have access to all possibilities. None we have studied have knowledge of the Guardians. Of that we are confident. We will attempt to increase our efforts, Warrior.”
Braxal nodded. These two mind talkers could not do more alone. He needed to consult with Gsark to determine if other mind talkers should be added to the project. The larger the project became, the more chance of other warriors becoming aware.
A non-stratified civilization? There was little wonder the mind talkers were unable to locate the warrior or warriors who had carried this out.
How could the Guardians be located?
Chapter 35
Washington, D.C.
They’re everywhere.
Dee attempted to hide the shiver coursing through her. The reptile people were following her now. Though it was hard to concentrate, she’d finally realized what was going on.
They wanted Dusty.
That was the reason Angie contacted him in the first place. She was one of them. Disguised, but unable to hide completely from Dee. When the plan had not worked out, they began to focus on Dee as a means to get to him, infiltrating her place of work.
They must have discovered I’m able to discern them.
Dusty was the scientist, he worked with NASA, and now he knew something they needed to know. Were they searching for the ability to travel through time?
Neither she nor Dusty could help them there. Dusty didn’t know how they had done it. His engineering degree didn’t cover such knowledge. Would the reptile people believe them?
Why can’t I think more clearly?
People were watching her as she worked. Reptile people had replaced most of the staff, though no one saw it except her. The only people who didn’t seem to have scales were Sherry, Gail, and Nancy. Were they more adept at hiding them because they were closer to her?
Dee had finally spotted scales on the resident she was working with today. They’d gotten that close to her.
He had reached past her to aid in moving a patient and she’d seen his arm when the sleeve had been pushed up. She’d managed not to react. This wasn’t someone she passed in the hall. They worked right beside one another. She relied on him. Now . . .
Why did no one else see it?
For the same reason no one else time traveled? Damn it, they would not get to Dusty.
She had to protect him.
~ ~ ~
Dee’s decision made, she spoke to no one regarding the plan. There was no one she could trust.
She should have realized sooner, but her mind continued to cloud.
It was difficult because the thought of leaving her husband was nearly unbearable. No, it had to be done to save him. She would lead them away from Dusty. While working with a patient or a student, she could better concentrate which kept her grounded when Dusty wasn’t around. But Dusty didn’t see them either. She hadn’t told him. How could she convince even him of this takeover by the reptiles? His reassurances were futile now. He wasn’t aware of the proximity of the reptiles, or that he was being hunted.
I’m alone.
And she couldn’t warn him of the danger. He would put her first, her and their daughter, wanting to protect them, and therefore allow himself to be in harms’ way.
Now she finally understood.
Dusty, in his naiveté, kept reminding her the baby would be here any day. His protests only convinced her time was running out. He tried to convince her to go on maternity leave, but her doctor said the best thing for her and the baby was to continue working. Going into labor on her shift would be no problem. She’d already be where she needed to be and Dusty could join her.
He would never be safe here. The place was utterly infiltrated.
Besides, if she were home alone, the doctor said she’d only sit in front of the refrigerator to eat and worry. Dee hadn’t slapped him for his misogyny. He wasn’t human anyway, replaced sometime prior to her last appointment. There was no way she could allow him anywhere near her or the child during delivery.
But her doctor was right about how she would sit and worry. It was all she seemed capable of right now. Dusty was in danger, and she was the only one who understood, the only one to guard him.
She didn’t know why it had taken her so long to realize what was going on. Her mind was unclear so much of the time now, concentration nearly impossible. She knew others dreamt of reptiles, they had joked about it in the lounge on occasion. No one else seemed to take them seriously, and the idea of so many people dreaming nearly the same monsters hadn’t shaken most of them. If anything, they’d thought it funny.
Dee settled herself in the car. She would have laid her head on the steering wheel if she could have. The baby made that impossible now and she was too tired to cry. Her back had hurt all day, making it harder to understand what she was seeing.
She wanted . . . what did she want?
To protect Dusty and the baby. That was her only task. She pressed the start on the car and buckled herself in. She had no choice.
Dusty would be safer without her to lead them to him. That was the solution for him and their daughter as well. She would survive somehow.
I’ll go to Dad’s house.
She hadn’t packed, they might notice if she did. Dusty’d certainly notice.
This would give her some space to get her act together. And her father could help her through this crisis. At least he was trained for something like this if she turned out to be insane, though she might be too far gone for help.
Why didn’t I realize any of this sooner?
She had nothing with her. Anything she needed could be purchased after she got to her father’s house. Dee adjusted the belt and again tried to find a comfortable position.
“Destination home.” The vehicle automatically turned toward home. She allowed the car autonomy for a few minutes, then spoke again. “Enter shopping center.”
Once the car parked she took as deep a breath as she was able. “Turn off all tracking and GPS equipment.”
“Current request is considered inadvisable and a possible danger to the rider,” the computer replied.
“I said turn it off, all of it.”
There was a slight pause, then the computer requested her thumb on the monitor, ensuring she was the requestor. Finally, the computer relayed, “All tracking mechanisms have been rendered terminated until further notice.”
Dee nodded. Damn, but her back hurt. She so wanted to be able to get comfortable.
That was no longer possible.
~ ~ ~
“Dee?” Dusty hadn’t spotted her car when he parked, but she should have beaten him home. He would have to chastise her again about working too much. The baby was due any day, and even if her doctor didn’t mind her working, Dusty did.
He dumped the bags of dinner on the counter and headed toward the bedroom. Maybe she was taking a nap and he’d missed seeing her car.
She wasn’t here.
And he didn’t like it. Dee hadn’t been herself for some time. She tried to hide the fact she wasn’t sleeping. Most nights when he could tell, he’d pulled her into his arms where she would finally relax and get a little rest.
Holding her was no chore. He wanted to chide her for not asking for him whenever she was anxious, but she was stubborn, never wanting to admit when something bothered her. At times he wanted to pick her up and shake her except for fear the baby would fall out. He grinned at the thought. A couple of childbirth classes had disabused him of that notion.
Childbirth classes. A year ago, he would have scoffed at the very idea, now he eagerly attended each one. His child, the child he and Dee had created together, would be here soon.
He would be a father.
After all this time to grow accustomed to the idea, he still found himself as incredulous as Leonard at the thought of taking on such a responsibility.
Where the hell was she?
~ ~ ~
A half an hour later the warm anticipation of her arrival had worn off. He’d called her link multiple times. He had finally persuaded her not to turn it off at work any longer. Even if she weren’t in a position to answer it, the sound of his tone would let her know he was thinking of her, which seemed to relax her a little.
He was no longer relaxed at all. Knowing he’d get a scolding from Dee, he pressed the contact for Sherry.
“Dusty? Didn’t expect to hear from you tonight. Everything okay?”
“No, Dee’s not home yet.”
“Not home? Are you serious? She left the hospital just before I did. I saw her heading to her car.”
The bottom fell out of Dusty’s stomach. “Something’s wrong.”
“Have you pinged her?”
“A dozen times.”
“What about the GPS on the car?”
“It’s not responding.”
“I’m on my way.”
“No, you don’t have to—”
“I’ll be there in a few minutes. I was already out.”
“Thanks.” Dusty broke the connection, sinking onto the couch. He would have heard if there had been an accident, wouldn’t he? Yes, the car would contact him after contacting emergency services.
Why couldn’t he pull up her location? He tried again.
He leapt for the door when Sherry buzzed and before he could close it behind her, Leonard raced up.
“Leonard?”
“I pinged him. I was going to meet him anyway. You said you couldn’t locate her car. I thought he could help.”
Dusty nodded, cycling back to fear, and handed Leonard his phone without a word.
Leonard didn’t say anything, either, but grabbed a chair and began manipulating the device.
Rousing a little with the support, Dusty glanced over at the dinner he’d sat on the counter nearly an hour ago. “The food’s cold, but I could—”
“We’re not hungry. Don’t worry about us. I’ll just put this away for now.” Sherry was very familiar with their kitchen after so many meals together. She brought a protein drink over to Dusty and pushed it toward his lips. “Drink it. You need this.”
Dusty didn’t argue, swallowing the drink without tasting it, his eyes locked on Leonard.
“It’s been disengaged and her phone is turned off. This was deliberate.”
“What? I didn’t know disconnecting was possible,” Sherry said.
“It shouldn’t be. It had to be a direct order with safety disengaged to do this.”
“I’m calling the police.” Dusty reached for his phone.
“It hasn’t been long enough for them to officially help,” Leonard pointed out. “But call them anyway.”
Several frustrating minutes later, Dusty handed the phone to Sherry. Using her medical credentials, she did make a little headway. He was ready to smash something.
When Sherry broke the connection, he saw the way she looked at Leonard. Panicking, Dusty swung her toward him, gripping her shoulders. “What?”
“I didn’t make much more impression than you did. They moved up the priority, but they told me to contact hospitals myself.”
“Let Sherry go.” Leonard’s voice was right behind him. “Dusty, you’re hurting her.”
Stunned, and more than a little embarrassed, Dusty loosened his grip on Sherry, stumbling through an apology.
“It’s okay. Go splash some water on your face, take some deep breaths, then we’ll think of something else to do. Make some calls.” She thought for a few seconds. “Have you talked to her father?”
“No. I didn’t want to upset him.”
“I think it’s time to do just that when you get back.”
Dusty headed for their bedroom, attempting the deep breaths Sherry recommended. Dee was in danger. He wasn’t going to try to figure out how he could be so certain.
Instead of heading to the sink, he slumped onto the bed, closing his eyes for a moment. The woman, the one in the robes that appeared to them during crises in the past, where was she? Why hadn’t he thought of her before?
Concentrating, he called out silently. “Dee’s in trouble and I can’t find her. You’ve helped us before, please help us again.”
Chapter 36
Guardian Enclave
The Guardian jerked from her meditation and, reeling, reached for the wall. What? She could almost hear . . .
Dusty?
Impossible. There was no way the human male had the ability to call out to her.
Except he is.
Was the Essence involved? Cael searched for the Essence but couldn’t make contact. What was Dusty asking?
She closed her eyes, both to block out any stimuli and to concentrate. He was worried, frantic about his female, Dee. She was in danger, missing. The Guardian began searching for her, attempting to use the Essence. She found herself blocked.
Blocked? The Essence had never done that before.
The Elder would know.
Fisting her hands in her robes, C
ael hiked them up. Breaking all protocol, she raced through the hallways, careening around other Guardians who turned to stare after her, mouths hanging open.
Reaching the Elder’s quarters, Cael barely slowed before entering against all propriety.
“Cael?” The Elder didn’t sound angry as much as shocked and rose from her seat.
“My apologies, Elder. There is a problem with my couple.”
“The Essence contacted you?”
“No. The male did.”
Stunned, the Elder stared at her, Cael realized she had rendered her temporarily speechless.
The Elder approached her finally, and Cael bowed her head. After receiving the Elder’s touch, she looked up again.
“Tell me what you know.”
“I was meditating, and the male reached out with his mind to beg for my help. The female is missing and in danger.”
“What kind of danger?”
“He doesn’t know, but he is convinced. I tried to contact the Essence but . . .”
“What, my child?” The Elder lightly touched her arm.
“I couldn’t communicate with her. She was . . . frightened.”
The Elder drew back, her eyes wide. “Do you know where the female is?”
“I wasn’t strong enough to find her.”
“Link with me. She must be found.”
Link with an Elder? Cael had no words, no emotions to cover this development. The situation could be meditated on at a later time.
Time—where it all began.
The Elder held out her right hand, cupping Cael’s left cheek. Cael copied the motion, forming the link with their minds. “Search for the female.” The Elder’s words sounded strongly in Cael’s mind, and she allowed herself to soar to the task.
Using the Essence as a guide, Cael homed in on the pair. The Essence was rarely any distance from the female any longer, but the Essence made no response to any of Cael’s attempts to communicate.
