"So Val will be going, too?"
"I don't believe he can be torn from your side for long," Nefrigar chuckled.
"I don't believe this," I dropped my face in my hands. "What about Auggie and the others?"
"By all means, approach them if you want, merely explain that your doings are controlled by you and no other. You may take his suggestions under advisement, but your decisions will be your own."
"I want to kick Matt Michaels' ass," I said.
"Tell him that," Nefrigar said. "Although I doubt you'd follow through with that threat."
"He could have done something to protect Nick and Maye. He didn't lift a finger," I huffed. I was still angry-and sad-about that.
"It is often that way-when the powerful are undecided as to what to do in such circumstances. Whether their interfering will alter the timeline too greatly and affect everything adversely afterward."
"I still think he's a schmuck."
"As I said, tell him so. I believe he may be more troubled by the events of that day than you realize."
"Right. I'll be sure to look him up for a philosophical discussion. When are we leaving-Val and I?"
"You may leave anytime-Val is more than adept at bending time to arrive on a selected date."
"When does he want to leave, then?"
"Why don't you ask him? I believe he would like time alone with you."
"Nothing's going to interfere with this," I touched the ring on my left hand. I'd had to enlarge it, but it was there.
"He has no desire to interfere with that, unless that one places your life in danger," Nefrigar reassured me. "We have no jealousy. Surely you've discovered this for yourself?"
"I know I don't feel it, but Ilya sure did."
"Perhaps it would be best to stay out of his way, while this obsession plagues him," Nefrigar cautioned.
"Yeah. I get that. If I see him, he won't see me."
"That would be best, although it could prove painful for you."
"I know."
"Allow Valegar to help you through this-he is more than fond of you already."
"You'll have to explain that to me, someday."
"Let him-eventually. When you're ready."
"All right. May I take an hour for myself? This is a lot for me to process," I said.
"Take your hour. I warn you, Valegar will be counting the nanoseconds and will know exactly when that hour is over."
"Right."
* * *
Falaca, a herd of wool-bearing animals, nibbled grass about me as I sat on a hillside near the equator of the Larentii homeworld. I could see why the animals liked it here-plenty of grass, tasty flowers and no predators.
Occasionally, a woolly head butted against my arm as I sat there; friendly falaca were asking for an ear scratch. I obliged.
"We remove the wool without harming or frightening the animal, and then weave it for our clothing, whenever clothing is required," Valegar sat beside me. His father was right-he'd counted every second until the hour was up.
"So-everybody runs around naked?" I turned to him. So far, everyone I'd seen had been dressed. For the most part. Val smiled.
"I understand that nudity is unnatural to you in your past lives-those that you recall," he said. "To us, it is easier to soak up sunlight if all our skin is exposed."
"I get that, it just feels strange to me-to wander around with all the naughty bits exposed."
"Naughty bits," Valegar laughed. "There is nothing naughty about any of your bits."
"You find that amusing?"
"I am an Earth scholar. I understand a great deal from those cultures."
"Well, you're probably way ahead of me, then. Some of that stuff I may never understand."
"It only seems overwhelming, because to your past selves, it was. Now, you are Larentii. That is likely no longer true."
"Yeah. I'm tall. I'm blue. Woo-hoo, woo-hoo."
I'll admit, I'd never seen a Larentii lose it before. Valegar practically fell over laughing. He'd almost recovered when a falaca bleated in his face. That brought on a new round of chuckling.
Yeah, it made me laugh, too.
I studied him as he reached out to stroke the falaca's head. For a blue man, he was beautifully made. Not an ounce of fat anywhere, and the corners of his eyes crinkled nicely when he smiled or laughed. I almost reached out to touch the curve at the end of his lips before pulling my hand back.
"You may touch me anytime," he said. He'd read my desire-likely in the movement of my hand.
"I'll have to get used to that," I said.
"I know. If you'd been born Larentii, we'd have had energy sex already."
"Okay, you'll have to explain that to me. Not now," I held up a hand when he opened his mouth. Instead, he took my hand and kissed it before setting it back in my lap.
"When do you wish to leave?" he asked. "I will allow you to choose clothing and shoes for me, as we must disguise ourselves to fit in."
"Okay. I have a question."
"Anything, Lara'Kayan."
"Uh-will Ilya only try to kill me if he recognizes me?"
"I believe that's the way the obsession works. Remember, he has seen you in all three incarnations."
"Yeah. I get that. How should I disguise myself, then?"
"I'll take care of that. All will see you as you desire; only your Ilya will see you differently."
"You can do that? That's outstanding."
"I will do anything for you, my love."
"Wow, that was fast," I said.
"It's the way the M'Fiyah works," he shrugged.
* * *
Vancouver
Ilya
The meeting was set at one that afternoon, after I'd had a phone conversation with the informant during breakfast. I'd gotten an e-mail from Giovanni Carano, too, at an alternate e-mail address. I asked him to check on the villa-I wanted to buy it if the owner were willing to sell.
He asks for a million, U.S., Giovanni informed me.
Tell him yes, I responded and turned off my phone. My bank account had been increased exponentially, shortly before her disappearance. It's as if she'd known, somehow, that she would no longer need money. It was one of many gifts she'd given me, and all I could do was bring her death if I ever saw her again.
My visit to Stanley Park the day before had mired me in melancholy. She was dead. There was no other explanation, yet the obsession persisted. I should have killed the bastard who placed it when he stood in front of me. Instead, I'd allowed him to speak and he'd ruined my life.
I'd watched him die, though, and took much satisfaction from that. She'd kept a promise-one made to me. The manner of his passing, however, had been much too painless for my liking.
If I could, I'd bring his worthless body back to life and beat that life out of him this time. Just as he'd intended for me to beat-her.
Fighting back nausea, I shook myself and turned to other subjects. I had a rental car-the informant's address was on the eastern edge of Vancouver and I had no desire to depend upon a taxi or other transportation to get me there on time.
* * *
After driving through a tall gate, I parked in a circle drive outside a two-story brick house. Shoving a Glock into the back waistband of my jeans, I adjusted my jacket and opened the car door.
It was risky not employing my shield, but even more dangerous to fire my weapon with a shield in place, which would likely result in death by my own ricocheted bullets. No, this time I chose to rely on my skill and reflexes.
The front door opened before I arrived to knock. I barely had time to turn and fire at the man who'd appeared at the side of the house, a rifle in his hand.
That left no time to shoot back at the armed man standing in the doorway, who'd fired at me at the same moment the one at the corner had. My shield would have protected me from outside bullets while my own did the damage. They'd planned this carefully; I was a dead man and I knew it.
Except that wasn't what happened.
<
br /> The bullets from the rifle dropped to the ground halfway between my intended assassin and me. The rifle in his hands began to glow red until he dropped it with a yelp amid the scent of burned flesh.
The one at the corner? I'd killed him cleanly. Someone stepped over his body to take his place.
"Time to stop shooting." Two people I didn't recognize appeared feet away from me. "Go ahead," the male nodded to the scaled creature who aimed a gun at me. "You have been warned. You will die if you fire."
He fired. His bullets never left the gun. Instead, he had the strangest expression on his face as he died, dropping as if he were boneless, to the ground.
The man in the doorway attempted to run. I shot him in the shoulder, bringing him down. He lived because I had questions to ask. Not just of him, but of the two who'd appeared to help me.
"I am Valegar," the blond man nodded without my asking. "This is Rinnelar," he indicated the red-haired woman beside him.
"That's that fucker Merle Askins," Rinnelar exclaimed as she walked toward the scaled man. "Val, I'm surprised he chose scales instead of a more normal appearance."
I barely heard her; lifting handcuffs from a jacket pocket, I jerked the survivor's burned hands behind his back and secured him while he shuddered in pain. "Colonel Hunter," I said the moment I had a hand free to dial his number, "this was a trap. Two are dead; one is alive but wounded. Do you have a team to send?"
"They're on the way," he said, his voice stern, his words clipped.
* * *
"I had no idea you'd be my backup," I said when Opal climbed out of the van ten minutes later. My rescuers-Rinnelar and Valegar-had disappeared the moment I'd called Colonel Hunter. I should have photographed both; they were strangers, although they'd done me a favor. I was at a loss to explain any of it.
"Who's lizard man?" Opal asked as two agents followed her and took charge of the survivor. She'd gone to examine the dead attackers while the survivor was loaded into the van.
"Two strangers arrived to help-the woman claimed the scaled one was Merle Askins."
"Seriously? Two strangers came to help? Did they identify themselves?"
"The man called himself Valegar. The woman was Rinnelar."
"Well, well, well," Opal sighed. "You've been saved by Larentii."
* * *
Notes-Colonel Hunter
"What the hell are you talking about?" I shouted. "Opal said what?"
"Colonel Hunter, I'm right here and I can hear you clearly." Opal had taken the phone away from Rafe.
"Two Larentii were there? What did they look like?" I demanded.
"Colonel, you should know as well as I do that they can look any way they want." Her voice was dry.
I took a moment to consider that. "Yeah, I suppose you're right," I mumbled. "Where are they now?"
"How should I know? Rafe said they disappeared right after they pulled his fat from the fire."
"That brings me to my next question," I said. "Why did they pull his fat from the fryer?"
"I said fire, and I have no idea."
"Does Rafe have injuries?"
"None that I can see."
"Good. Are you riding back with him or in the van with the prisoner?"
"I'll ride back with Rafe-I've already sent the prisoner on-he has a bullet in his shoulder and his hands are burned, so he needs medical treatment."
"How did his hands-never mind. Ask Rafe to write a report and send it in, including all details on Larentii help."
"I will. Do you want to talk to him again?"
"No. Just-have him send the report."
"All right."
I ended the call and set my cell phone on my desk. Yes, I was thinking about having a cursing fit. Instead, I blinked as two people appeared before me. One of them, I recognized.
"Hello, Auggie," she said.
Chapter 2
Notes-Colonel Hunter
"Rinnelar is a nickname of sorts-we call her Corinnelar-it's an honorific as denotes her position as a member of the Larentii race. I am Valegar," the man-Larentii-said. At least they looked human as they sat on my guest chairs-which helped to keep my panic under control.
"I don't work for you anymore, Auggie," Corinne said bluntly. I blinked at her for a moment. The last time I'd seen her, she was eight feet tall and blue-skinned. Now she looked just the way I remembered her before that, with blonde hair and bright-blue eyes.
"How did you keep Rafe from-you know?" I asked.
"He didn't see me this way. I was disguised so he wouldn't recognize me."
"That probably saved both of you," I sat back in my chair and studied my guests. "Tell me, why are you here? I see they let you live."
Valegar snorted at my statement. I didn't ask him to explain his reaction. Truthfully, I was too afraid to ask him to explain it. I knew what Corinne could do. The man who sat beside her-I got the idea he might fry anybody who took advantage or thought to harm her.
"Frying is never an option," Valegar plucked those thoughts from my mind as easily as a child could pick raisins from a cake. "We release particles," he added.
"Auggie, we have permission to do a bit of cleanup," Corinne explained. "But we may not be the only ones here."
"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked. I was getting a headache trying to stretch my mind around what sat in front of my desk.
"It means that the ASD may have sent trackers. Not only will they attempt to find any drug survivors, but any remnants of the drug. You understand that drug survivors are just as dangerous as the drug itself?"
"Yeah. I sort of figured that out," I said, dropping my eyes. He was right. Even one drug survivor could make endless copies of himself-all he needed was a busload of people with the same blood type. "What about Rafe?" I began.
"We can neutralize his blood so the drug won't carry over to any recipients," Valegar explained. "He will have to be made aware of it, however, and grant permission."
"If he doesn't give it?"
"Then we step aside and allow the ASD to do their work."
"What-exactly-is the ASD?" I asked, reaching into a desk drawer for the bottle of ibuprofen I kept there.
"Alliance Security Detail," Valegar explained. Corinne watched him as he spoke-something was between them, that much I could see. Shaking three tablets into my hand, I reached for my cup of cold coffee to down them.
"They'll be asking for your permission to track any survivors from the U.S. Program," Corinne said. "I'm asking you to deny that request. They'll also approach the Russian government for their permission. I don't give a damn what they say. If they say no, Valegar and I will track them anyway."
"I've often wanted to speak as humans do," Valegar offered Cori a blinding smile. "Perhaps I will attempt it and you can tell me if I err."
"Honey, I think you can do anything you want," Corinne smiled back.
"I think I need more ibuprofen," I grabbed the bottle.
"Auggie, I'll take care of your headache," Corinne rose from her seat. Once her hands touched my head, every thread of pain left. I blinked in surprise-why hadn't I asked her to do that before?
"Where-ah-will you be staying?" I asked. "In case I want to get in touch?"
"Just call me on that phone," Corinne nodded to the one she'd given me long ago. "I'll answer." She held an identical phone aloft as she took her seat again.
"James will want to see you."
"I know. Tell him we'll talk soon."
"My father says to remind you that you no longer have any control over Corinnelar," Valegar said. "He is monitoring our conversation at the moment."
"Really?" I reached for the ibuprofen again.
"He is also watching you through my eyes."
"No kidding." The few ibuprofen I had left rattled in the bottle as I worked to remove the lid.
"Auggie, no more," Corinne held out her hand and floated the ibuprofen away from me. The container dropped into her hand. It disappeared, then-to where, I had no idea. She'd sent it to
the Larentii homeworld, for all I knew. Panic surged through me again.
"Cori-I just can't wrap my head around this," I said and stood abruptly, sending my chair rolling into the wall behind me.
"Auggie-I know what I am, and I realize that's hard for you to get," she said. "I really didn't want you to see-well, the taller, bluer me. It couldn't be helped."
"I've missed you," I blurted.
"I know. I've missed all of you, too. I want to cry for Nick and Maye. I haven't had any water in a year, so I can't make tears."
"What the hell?" I huffed. Were they starving her?
"Relax-we live on energy. Sunlight, Auggie. I can eat and digest, but sunlight is so much better and easier for me. I just can't cry if I don't take in fluids."
"That explains the sunlamps."
"Yeah. I burned the first one out, because I tried to pull more from it than it was capable of giving."
"My love, you weren't starving, were you?" Valegar turned to her, then.
"No, I managed," she shrugged.
"You're not drained now?" He reached out to touch her cheek.
"No, I'm fine."
"I will see you get enough light in a moment."
"Have you been to the top of Christ of the Andes?"
"Holy fuck," I whispered as both disappeared.
* * *
"What's the emergency?" Leo Shaw sat across from me at a restaurant he'd chosen. I wasn't sure I could eat after what I'd seen and heard earlier in the day.
"Rafe was almost killed by the creature who once was Merle Askins," I began.
"You're joking? He survived the drug?"
"Yes, but he's dead, now."
"Rafe killed him?"
"With some help, yes."
"Who helped?"
"Corinne-and the Larentii who thinks she's his."
* * *
Opal
"Corinne and Valegar showed up today," I informed Matt.
"Valegar?"
"He's the second son of Nefrigar."
"Oh. I haven't met him."
"Probably just as well; you have no idea how protective Larentii mates can be."
"What's she doing back here? Corinne?"
"I uh, contacted Bree."
"You contacted Bree." Matt went silent for a moment.
Cloud Rebel: R-D 3 Page 2
