Stuart’s face twisted in disgust.
“I’m not going to fight you, Drifter. I don’t want you near me. I might catch some disease from that orphanage you crawled out of. Originals don’t mix with the help.”
“What’s the matter?” taunted Zoey. “Too proud to fight a girl? Or are you afraid I might actually win? I’ve fought guys much bigger than you and won. Admit it—you’re afraid of me— you know I’m going to win.”
She glanced over to Tristan who stood with his arms wrapped around his chest, grinning. She gave him a smile and caught Claudia glaring at her.
Stuart’s laugh was ice cold. “You won’t win. Okay, you’re on, Drifter.”
Zoey flashed him a small smile.
“Good. There’s a perfect spot at the back of the Wander Inn. The agents won’t see us there.”
She led the way around the back of the Wander Inn.
Stuart laughed and boasted how he was going to crush the drifter. He made sure that Zoey could hear him. Claudia bounced beside him, clearly looking forward to seeing Stuart do a number on her.
Zoey stood with legs apart in a fighting stance, and raised her hands, curling them into fists. Simon and Tristan stood behind her.
“You’re going to regret this, Drifter.” said Stuart. He made his way forward and stood in front of her. “I’m going to send you back to the medical bay.”
“We’ll see.”
Stuart took off his jacket and handed it to Claudia, but he kept the bracelet. He twirled it in his fingers. “This is way too easy,” he said.
Simon snickered.
Stuart looked at him. “Why are you smiling, Brown? Are you happy that I’m going to ruin your only friend?”
He laughed and turned to his friends who joined him in a chorus of overdramatic laughter.
Simon sighed lazily. “It’s just—this is going to be the best day of my life.”
Stuart lowered his eyes. “What do you mean?”
With a sudden roar, a thunderstorm erupted all around them. Twelve low-riding motorcycles crashed through the woods. Their emerald-green frames glistened in the sun as they circled the operatives. Despite the cold, the small men riding the motorcycles were dressed only in leather vests and pants, and tattoos covered most of their exposed skin. They circled around the operatives, making them cough on the gasoline fumes. After a few more turns, they stopped and killed their engines.
Most of Stuart’s gang stepped away slowly, trying not to make any sudden moves. They were frightened, and Zoey was pleased to see that Claudia’s beautiful face had become an unattractive mask of fear. It suited her.
A four-foot-tall man with a green top hat and orange, braided hair slowly dismounted his motorcycle. His long, green leather coat billowed around him like a cape as he stepped between Zoey and Stuart. His yellow teeth flashed as he smiled at Zoey.
“Hi, Zoey. It’s been too long since last we met.”
“Hi, Rusty,” said Zoey. Her smile widened when she saw the shock on Stuart’s face. “It has been way too long. I missed you guys.”
Rusty McFearsome’s eyed the bracelet in Stuart’s hand.
“So you’re the thief, eh?” he said, glowering deeply. “No one steals from the leprechaun gang and gets away with it. BOYS!”
The eleven other leprechauns leapt off their bikes and flexed their muscles dangerously. They looked ready for a fight.
Stuart backed away slowly. “I’m not a thief!”
Rusty raised an eyebrow. “Are you calling me a liar?” His voice rose ferociously.
“No—but—but I didn’t take it.”
“What’s that you got there in your hands, then? That’s my bracelet, that is. It went missing this morning, and my spies told me that I’d find it here—along with the thief that stole it.”
Stuart looked at Zoey as he slowly realized that he’d been trapped He pointed his finger at her.
“You! You did this to me! You set this up!”
Zoey shrugged and looked innocent. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“She’s the one who stole it, not me!” cried Stuart. “She’s trying to frame me, to get back at me!”
“Never seen our king look so scared before,” whispered Simon so that only Zoey and Tristan could hear. “This is like an early Christmas present. Thank you, Santa.”
“I’m telling you. I didn’t steal it—she did.” Stuart pointed to Zoey. A cold sweat broke on his face. “I just took it from her to report that she stole it.”
“Do you hear that, boys?” said Rusty. “He’s trying to put the blame on a girl to save his own skin. If that’s not cowardly, I don’t know what is.”
“This is ridiculous,” spat Stuart, “I’m going to get Agent Ward.”
He started forward, but a bald and heavily scarred leprechaun with a serial-killer look stood in his way. He crossed his arms over his wide muscled chest and shook his head.
“I don’t think so,” said Warty O’Wicked. “Not if you know what’s good for ya.”
Rusty cracked his fingers. “You know what we do to those who steal from us?” he asked.
He smiled. “We put them in the Cage.”
“The what? What are you talking about?”
Stuart was suddenly surrounded by eleven leprechauns. “Stop this at once! What do you think you’re doing? Get out of my way!”
A leprechaun with a green Mohawk waved a large club at him. “Move, and I’ll pound ya, pretty boy,” said Crusher O’Looney.
Stuart looked around in a terror. The tiny men with tattoos, and piercings, and big ugly weapons had him cornered. He looked at Zoey, and for a moment she thought she saw a silent plea for help in them. But when she didn’t respond, he lowered his eyes and coldness returned to his voice.
“I hate you,” he growled.
“Well, at least we have one thing in common,” Zoey answered, just as coldly.
Rusty took the bracelet from Stuart. “I’ll take that now.”
The leprechauns bound his hands and feet, and Stuart’s panic turned to rage.
“Don’t do this,” hissed Stuart, his face twisted. “Zoey, tell them! Tell them we were just playing around. Tell them that this is just you’re idea of a joke!”
Zoey smiled calmly. “Yes, this is a joke. Jokes on you, King.”
“NO!” He bucked wildly as Warty heaved him onto his ride.
“HELP! Someone help me! HELP! HEL—”
Crusher stuffed a cloth in Stuart’s mouth. “Man, the gab on that one. We’re going to have so much fun with him. Thanks, Zoey.”
Zoey smiled at the leprechauns. “No, it’s me who should thank you.”
She looked over at Stuart and lowered her voice. “You’re not actually going to hurt him, are you?”
Rusty winked at her. “Of course not, we are civilized leprechauns, after all.” He clapped his hands together. “All right, boys. Ride on out!”
Crusher dropped his club and spread his arms wide. “Come and give us a hug.”
She laughed and embraced the leprechaun. She felt someone hug her from behind and looked down to see Warty, his eyes filled with tears.
“Will you come visit us?” said Warty, his voice wavering. “We miss you, you know. You remind us so much of your mother.”
He let Zoey go and blew his nose noisily into a handkerchief.
“I will,” she said. “Promise.”
Crusher wiped his eyes on his arms and both he and Warty made their way back to their bikes.
“See you, Zoey.”
Their engines roared into life, and the leprechaun gang disappeared back into the forest, with Stuart draped over a seat, and Claudia chasing them and screaming like a banshee.
“Got to get this on film!” Simon ran after the motorcycle gang with his cell phone.
Zoey smiled. Payback was awesome.
“Where are you going now?” asked Tristan after a moment of silence.
Zoey sighed heavily. “Management’s expecting me.�
�
Tristan looked back towards the forest. “I’ll go after Simon to make sure he’s not going to do anything too stupid. I’ll see you later then.”
“If I’m still here,” said Zoey sounding a little deflated. She turned around and started back towards the hive, then halted.
“Tristan?” she called.
“Yeah?” he said as he turned around.
“Can I ask you something? I mean, if it’s not too personal?” Her cheeks burned and she wanted to kick herself for blushing so easily.
“Sure.”
“What part mystic are you?” She waited, her heart in her throat.
The fact that he didn’t answer right away made her feel like a fool. “Sorry,” she blurted out suddenly, “I’m an idiot—none of my business—forget I said anything.”
Tristan smiled. “It took you long enough. I’ve been waiting for you to ask me.”
He paused for a second and then answered. “My mother is a Seventh, but my father’s an álfar—he would look like mountain elf to you, I guess—with blue skin.”
Zoey didn’t know much about elves except for what she had read. Tristan’s ears weren’t pointy, but it would explain his high cheekbones and the blue halo and veins.
“They met while my mother was on an assignment for the agency near the Apennines in Switzerland,” he continued. “They fell in love, and the rest is history.”
Zoey bit her bottom lip. “So how does your mystic side work? Your skin glowed blue and you had these veins all over your arms—how do you control it?”
“Well, I’m just as human as I am mystic. Both are part of who I am. Most of the time I’m the me you see before you,” answered Tristan.
“Like my father, the mountain elves have a super strength. It’s a kind of adrenaline that pumps into my veins that gives me the strength of three men. It’s dormant until I need it.”
“Do you have any brothers and sisters?”
“Yeah, I have a little sister. She’s eight.”
“Can she do the things that you can?”
“You mean, is she strong?”
“Yeah.”
Tristan laughed softly. “Yes, she’s like me. She’s a lot to handle at the moment though, I feel bad for my mom.”
Zoey looked to the ground. “I envy you. Your family sounds amazing. I wish I had a family.”
Tristan took Zoey’s hand in his and squeezed it gently. “You do now. The agency is your family.”
Zoey looked into Tristan’s dark eyes, and blood rose to her cheeks. She quickly looked away.
“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” She pulled her hand away.
Chapter 23
Resolution
Zoey climbed up to the third floor and stopped in front of the door with the inscription: Mystic Laws and Regulations, room 3B. From what Agent Barnes had told her that morning, management wanted a full report. She wasn’t sure what they were going to do with her. She felt a little nervous because the hive had become her home, and she didn’t want to leave. She had prepared a speech when she’d been lying in bed, but now she couldn’t even remember how it started.
Letting out a shaky breath, she reached out and knocked three times.
“Come in,” said a voice.
Zoey pushed in.
The directors were seated on one side of the large table. Agents Barnes, Ward, and Vargas sat across from them.
Director Hicks smiled as Zoey closed the door behind her. “Please take a seat, Zoey.”
Agent Barnes lifted his crutches to make room for Zoey at the empty seat beside him. He didn’t look at her.
“Your timing is perfect,” said Director Hicks. “Were we just about to discuss the events following your encounter with Agent Barnes when he had been injured at headquarters. But I’d like to go back first. I’d like to know how you spotted Agent Stokes as the traitor. Please tell us what happened after you saw him at the Wander Inn, and what led you and your friends to take that dangerous trip to London.”
Zoey folded her hands in her lap and recounted her story. She told them how Nazar had locked them in the basement, but she left out the part about the fire stallion she had freed. She explained how they had made the jump to London and had arrived in the middle of a full battle against the Alpha Nation. She told them how she had found Agent Barnes, and then finally, how with the help of Tristan and Simon she had destroyed the two interlopers. When she was done she sat back and waited.
“So you believe that the people in red uniforms were with the Alpha Nation?” inquired Director Hicks.
Zoey frowned. “Of course—who else could they be? They are the Alpha Nation—and they were following the orders of Mrs. Dupont.”
“Right, the cat-faced woman of your previous stories,” interjected Director Campbell.
“They’re not stories,” said Zoey, her temper rising.
“No, of course they’re not,” said Director Hicks. He gave Director Campbell a stern look.
“I believe that you believe what you saw was the Alpha Nation—of that I am positive. But you see, Zoey, we’re not entirely sure that what you saw was indeed the Alpha Nation. Perhaps these murders were committed by another terrorist group, one led by Agent Stokes, a very deranged individual—”
“No,” blurted Zoey. “No, you’re wrong. It was the Alphas, I’m telling you.”
Director Hicks gave Zoey a kind smile. “But we don’t have any proof. No one saw these individuals but you. Frankly, what makes it so hard for us to believe that those responsible for this terrorist attack were the Alphas is because we don’t accept that they would be part of a scheme to let mystics into our world. They have been opposed to the idea of mystics coexisting with us for centuries. I’m afraid it’s quite impossible that those you saw were the Alphas.”
“Without any evidence,” interjected Director Martin, “we cannot take the word of a girl that the people she thinks she saw were actually Alphas. You told us you saw a group of persons dressed in red.”
Zoey lowered her eyes. “Yes.”
“You saw them kill our fellow agents, but where is the proof that they were actually Alphas? There isn’t any. We couldn’t question any of them, because there was no one to question. There were no bodies to be found, and no captives. The only real evidence is the remains of the interlopers and the body of Agent Stokes. That is all the evidence we have. That is what we must take into account. The facts. The proof.”
“But, I’m telling you, I saw—” The rest of Zoey’s sentence drowned in her throat because the look on Agent Barnes face said, stop it.
Zoey stared at her hands in her lap. She was angry they didn’t believe her, but she was afraid that her attitude might jeopardize her chance to stay in the hive. She pressed her trembling lips together.
“Don’t look so distraught, my dear girl,” said Director Hicks. He had a great smile on his face. “You have done a great service to the agency. You and your friends have shown enormous courage for ones so young. We are greatly impressed by your skills and cleverness. Your true devotion to the agency will not be forgotten. We are very grateful for all that you’ve done and sacrificed for the sake of all of us.”
Zoey felt a tightness in her chest—something was off. She remembered how the administration in the orphanage would complement her, right before they told her that her adoptive parents didn’t want her anymore—reverse psychology. Were they doing the same now—preparing her gently for the fall? She didn’t want to leave the program.
“Rest assured, my dear,” said Director Hicks, “we will be investigating these attacks further. And I promise you—we will discover the culprits behind this. Thank you for your time, Zoey.”
His voice was kind. “You may go now.”
Numb, Zoey got up and walked to the door. She didn’t say good-bye because she was afraid she would start crying. With trembling fingers she pushed open the door and closed it behind her. She shuffled down the corridor, feeling like her life was over. Would she ever see Tristan
and Simon again?
“Zoey!”
Zoey halted and turned.
“I was calling you,” said Agent Barnes hobbling behind her on his crutches. “Didn’t you hear me?”
Since she couldn’t trust herself to speak she only shook her head.
Agent Barnes gave her a kind smile. “Don’t look so upset. They didn’t believe me either when I told them what you told me. And since we don’t have proof yet, we have to be satisfied that what you’ve told them is on record. That’s a start. We can find the proof later.
“But for now, there are more important things that require our attention. Those mystics that crossed over need to be found and sent back to the Nexus. From what I’ve gathered so far, they’re the worst hostiles you can imagine—a demon lord and his cavalry—we’ll have a lot to catch up on.”
Zoey’s mouth fell open.
“What? You mean I’m back in the program? I’m an operative again?”
Agent Barnes smiled. “Of course you are. You’re probably one of the best operatives the agency has seen in years.”
He pulled out a file from the inside of his jacket and handed it to her.
Zoey smiled and opened it. Her mother’s picture was exactly how she remembered it.
“Thank you for giving it back to me, and for keeping it secret.”
Agent Barnes hesitated for a moment. “I know you still have lots of questions about your mother—and your father. But at least for now you have a location to start looking.”
He tapped the top of the file with his finger.
“See you later, Little Red.”
Zoey watched him hop away on his crutches until he disappeared around the corner.
She looked down at the file and grinned.
“New York City,” she whispered. “Here I come.”
MYSTICS
* Book Two *
THE ALPHA NATION
By
KIM RICHARDSON
THE ALPHA NATION
Mystics Book 2
Mystics 3-Book Collection Page 26
