Black Orchid (Svatura)

by Abigail Owen

  “Okay. But you be careful. And keep your guard up.”

  “You too,” Adelaide answered softly. Catching a current of wind, she tipped her wings and headed off.

  As she flew, she thought through the fight. Before she’d attacked the wolves with her telepathy, Adelaide had briefly considered attacking the weak spots in their relationship lines. But something had stopped her – a series of disjointed images had flared and flashed in her mind in rapid succession. The deep red relationship line of te’sorthene. Then flashes of that line fading and growing weaker over time. And, finally, of it snapping in half.

  A sharp pain had ripped through her with the last image. It’d all happened in the span of moments. Now that she had a second to really think, she wondered what she’d actually seen. Had those been memories? And whose te’sorthene line had weakened and then broken?

  Something deep inside her told her that she really didn’t want to know.

  Chapter 18

  Nate whistled as he strolled through the underground tunnels of Maddox’s base. He was headed to the dining room. Dinnertime usually put him in a good mood, though lately even food hadn’t made a dent in his ho-hum state. But today… today he felt good. An image of blonde hair and green eyes and the sounds of a delighted laugh popped into his head briefly. Followed by the memory of soft lips beneath his.

  Damn! Why the hell did I help her anyway? he asked himself for the thousandth time. Helping her relearn her powers was not part of the plan. Sure, it helped establish trust. And there wasn’t a ton she could do as a falcon. Still… bad idea.

  Nate frowned. And his good mood had nothing to do with her.

  If anything, he had cause to worry. He wrestled with hazy memories of his previous life with her every time they touched. Layered under that kiss were memories of other kisses and shared moments. Those moments, once grey and lifeless and unreal, were getting clearer, more colorful, gaining detail in his mind. But it had to be Adelaide. She was unconsciously manipulating him again. Or maybe consciously. Maybe her memory loss and inability to work her powers were all part of some elaborate ruse.

  Either way he was having more and more trouble distinguishing truth from lies.

  Nate pushed all those thoughts from his mind. He was in a good mood because his mission was going well. He’d gained Adelaide’s trust. She physically desired him, giving him an added advantage. He had her right where he wanted her. That was all. He wouldn’t let her get her hooks into him again. Ever.

  Nate rounded a corner in the hallway and collided with Talia, He hadn’t seen her in a while. Not that that was unusual, as she kept to herself a lot.

  “Hey, Talia. You okay?” he asked as he reached out to steady her.

  “Fine,” she muttered as she stepped out of his grasp with a little twitch.

  He nodded and made to move around her, only to be stopped by her hand on his arm. “Um. You seem to be in a… good… mood?” she asked. She glanced behind him as though expecting someone else to be there and then returned her gaze to his, a small frown puckering her lips.

  Nate raised his eyebrows at the odd question. “Yeah.”

  “Your mission must be going well?”

  Nate stared at her, confused. How would she know about that? “It is.”

  Talia said nothing for a moment. She searched his face with an intent look. “Good,” she finally said.

  He waited for more, but it didn’t come. Suddenly, Nate felt like a saggy pool raft. Any positive feelings he’d had before bumping into Talia deflated, and the world became colorless again.

  He pulled his arm out from under her touch and felt slightly better. “Well, I’m going to get some food. I’m starved.”

  Talia let him go, but he felt her gaze following him. Reaching the dining hall, he slumped into the room and over to the sideboard. Meals were always provided, but it was a self-serve affair. Nate grabbed a dish and then swore when it snapped in half. He frowned. It’d been decades since his supernatural strength had slipped out of his control like that when he wasn’t upset or angry. He tossed the two halves of the plate into a nearby trash can and then, very gingerly this time, picked up another one.

  He’d been hungry earlier, but now he wasn’t too interested in food. He dished up anyway, since he was here. Grabbing a Coke, he sat alone at the end of the table. It suddenly occurred to him that he barely knew most of the people in the room. Sure, he’d trained beside them. But he hadn’t really befriended anyone.

  “Hi,” a female voice said, almost on cue.

  Nate glanced up to see a girl that he sort of recognized but had never spoken to. “Hi?”

  “Mind if I sit here?”

  Nate shrugged. “Help yourself.”

  She took the seat directly across from him and took a moment to arrange her plate and silverware. She glanced around and then leaned forward and murmured, “May I ask you a random question?”

  Nate raised his eyebrows. “I guess.”

  “Do you recognize me?” she asked, even more softly.

  Nate frowned. Was this some sort of test? “Sure. You’re Sheila. With the intelligence group, right?”

  She grimaced slightly and shook her head. “No. I mean, do you have any memories of me?” Before he could deny anything, she held up a hand. “Sort of like looking at me through a dense fog bank?”

  Nate’s jaw clenched, and he abruptly stood up. He did remember something, although it was more like looking at an old, faded black and white picture. “Is this some sort of test?” he asked, vocalizing his earlier thought.

  “No. I—”

  “Because I’m devoted to my mission, if that’s what Maddox has sent you to find out.”

  “That’s not—”

  But before she could say any more, eight fighters in various states suddenly appeared in the room along with Corin. Nate recognized several from his squad, including his commanding officer and one of Maddox’s lieutenants, Evan. Three of the fighters were supported between their comrades, unconscious and with blood seeping from their ears, eyes, and noses. Corin herself had a bloody trail leading from one ear down her neck.

  “Get Maddox!” Evan shouted. He helped to lay one of the unconscious men on the floor, as three men scrambled to do his bidding.

  Nate leapt from his seat, grabbed a wad of cloth napkins off the sideboard, and rushed over.

  “What happened?” he asked as he applied pressure to one man’s gushing nose while checking his pulse at the same time.

  Evan didn’t answer him. Before Nate could repeat his question, Maddox swept into the room. He assessed the scene in a single glance.

  “Explain!” he barked. He turned to Corin. “Why bring them here?”

  She pointed at her bloody ear. “It was the only place inside the base that I could get them. Whatever she did, it messed with me too.”

  Maddox’s jaw hardened as he whipped his attention back to Evan. “How did this happen?” Before Evan could answer, Maddox’s gaze honed in on the girl seated in front of Nate. “Sheila? You said there were only supposed to be two of them.”

  Evan stepped forward. “There were only two, sir. We found them in the clearing. They were practicing, just as Sheila said.”

  Maddox seemed to calm suddenly. “Only two of them did this?” Maddox mused. He ran his hand thoughtfully over his jaw. “Who?”

  “Ellie Jenner and…” Evan paused. “Adelaide Jenner.”

  Adelaide! Nate almost choked on the fear welling up inside him. Fear for Adelaide’s life that went bone deep.

  What the hell is wrong with me? She’s the enemy. His only concern should be the fact that he hadn’t been informed of this plan.

  “And what happened to these men?” Maddox asked.

  “She used some kind of telepathic maneuver on us. Not even our telepath, Marta, could block her. It was one of the most painful things I’ve ever felt, sir. Like knives being shoved into my head. These three were closest to her and got hit hardest.”

  “Was Gri
ffin there?”

  “No, sir.”

  Maddox clasped his hands behind his back. “Ellie’s telepathic abilities have grown then.”

  Evan shook his head. “Marta doesn’t think Ellie was the one doing it, sir.”

  Maddox didn’t react. His cold gaze swept the room, briefly pausing on Nate. “I sent ten men. Where are the other two?”

  “Ellie shifted and took them while we were incapacitated,” Evan said.

  Everyone, including Nate, held their collective breath, waiting for Maddox to go Darth Vader on them. But Maddox simply nodded. “Take care of your wounded. I expect a full report in the morning.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Maddox zeroed in on Nate. “Come with me.”

  Nate followed Maddox out of the room. He said nothing, even when Zara, Maddox’s pitiful shadow, laid her hand on Maddox’s arm as he hurried by her. She stood for a moment, a dejected slump to her shoulders. Nate sent her a sympathetic glance as he passed.

  As soon as they reached his office and the door closed behind them, Maddox turned around. “Can you explain this?”

  Nate shook his head. “No, sir. She doesn’t use her telepathy on me. And she can barely fly in her falcon form. I have no idea how she suddenly has this ability.”

  “Your mission could be critical to our success. You understand that she and her sisters can’t be allowed to live?”

  Nate knew what Maddox was getting at. “They’re dangerous. And more than that, what Adelaide did to me deserves payback.” The words came out dutifully, but they felt… off. Nate kept that to himself.

  Maddox’s lips thinned. “Find out about this new power of hers.”

  “Yes, sir.” Nate moved to leave but turned back suddenly. “If I may ask, why was I not informed of this attack, sir?”

  Maddox slapped his hands down on his desk. “Excuse me?”

  Nate held his ground. “If I’m to do the job you assigned me with Adelaide, I need to be fully informed of any actions against her.”

  “Are you questioning your mission, son?”

  Nate ignored the warning growl in Maddox’s voice. “No, sir. I’m questioning my not having been informed. I can’t prep properly without full knowledge.”

  Maddox sat down behind his desk. It must’ve been a trick of the light, because he suddenly looked old. He was old, the grey hair and silver temples testified to that, though no one knew quite when he was born. But, for a moment, he seemed truly decrepit, his face taking on an ashen, craggy look that Nate had never noticed before.

  “I don’t have to explain myself to you,” Maddox finally said. “But in the interest of having your mission succeed, I’ll say this…. We didn’t know that Adelaide was the one out there. Sheila only knew two Svatura were in the field regularly but not who they were. Although we should’ve guessed, since your visits home coincided with these two Svatura showing up in Colorado.”

  Nate had a feeling Sheila would be explaining herself to their commander soon. “I assume Adelaide’s new ability will move her up on our target list?”

  Maddox compressed his lips. “Lila, Selene, and Ellie will always be the primary targets, and Lila is the only one we want taken alive. Adelaide’s our bait – which is why we are so dependent on your success. But that entire family needs to be taken out. No matter the cost.” He rubbed his eyes. “They’re too powerful to let live.”

  Nate nodded as though he understood and agreed. But he couldn’t ignore the image of Adelaide’s face in his mind or shake the feeling that he was being deceived. Adelaide was the most likely culprit, but that just didn’t feel right to him either.

  Not any longer.

  He turned to leave.

  “Wait.” Maddox stopped him with a word. “Just one more thing.”

  Nate frowned when Maddox pushed a button on the intercom to the woman seated in the outer office.

  “Send Talia in.”

  Chapter 19

  Alex forced himself to calmly open the door that led outside to the courtyard. He doubted that anyone had seen him running like a madman through the hallways, but if they had, then so what? For the thousandth time in the last twenty minutes, he kicked himself for staying at the castle tonight rather than going with Ellie to Estes Park.

  Lila, Ramsey, and her crew of Louisiana Svatura had invited him to join them in a game of pool. True, they were in the middle of a war, but that didn’t mean people stopped living their lives. Besides, Maddox hadn’t stuck his head out of the ground in ages, and a periodic distraction was necessary in order to help alleviate the tension they constantly lived with. Otherwise they’d all go crazy.

  Alex often hung out with the Louisiana group given his family history with them. His grandfather, Rene Robichaux, had once belonged to that tribe. But tonight… Alex just knew that staying behind had been a bad idea. He hadn’t wanted Ellie to go tonight. She’d had such a hard time waking up from her nap, both of those acts – napping at all and then struggling to wake - were unusual for his energetic te’sorthene. But Ellie had urged him to go have fun with his new friends, and, God save him, he’d listened.

  In the middle of his game against Beau, Lila’s alligator metamorph, Alex was suddenly flooded with the panicked thought that his wife was in serious trouble. He caught flashes of her plummeting through a dark sky, as though he were falling with her, toppling end over end. The next moment she’d been in horrible agony, and there was nothing he could do about it. Then, as fast as it’d started, everything had stopped, and he couldn’t feel her any more.

  “What the hell? Was that Ellie?” Lila asked. She’d apparently tuned into his thoughts when she’d seen his body jerk up suddenly.

  Ignoring her questions, Alex made a break for the door, engulfed in his own terror at the thought that his wife may have just died.

  Lila rushed after him and grabbed his arm. “Wait! I know what you’re thinking, but she’s still alive.”

  He skidded to a stop and grabbed her by the shoulders with white knuckled hands. “How do you know?”

  “You’re te’sorthene. You’d feel it, body and soul, if something fatal happened to her.”

  “You can’t know that for sure,” he muttered, as gave her a little shake.

  “I saw what breaking that link did to Adelaide…. There’s no way you wouldn’t feel it. But give me a moment, and we can know for sure.” Lila’s expression glazed over, and Alex recognized that she was using her telepathy.

  Alex stepped back and ran his hands through his hair. Ramsey stepped in front of him. “I’m guessing that this is similar to the link I feel to Lila,” he said.

  A small part of Alex’s confusion evaporated. When Lila had been captured by Maddox, Ramsey had been able to feel her somehow. It wasn’t a gift either Ramsey or Lila possessed, and yet the connection had seemed to grow stronger with time. The theory made sense. Maybe it was a te’sorthene thing?

  Ramsey continued talking. “I know it seems as if you’ve lost her. But if what you just felt was as intense as I think, then the subtleness of the link when she’s okay will be harder for you to sense. Close your eyes.”

  When Alex didn’t immediately comply, Ramsey reached out and gave his shoulder a little shake. Then he did as asked.

  “Now, you have to be completely calm. Let go of your worries. Think about Ellie, her face, her smile, her laugh, whatever it is that you associate with her and her alone. Concentrate on that.”

  Alex focused on the mental picture of Ellie’s face. Those gorgeous violet-blue eyes that were the window to her soul. If you watched them closely enough, they told you everything she was thinking and feeling.

  He’d just about given up trying when he felt it. Felt Ellie. The connection was completely inexplicable. There was absolutely no reasonable explanation for him to be able to do this. He could feel that she was safe, that she wasn’t hurt, that she was a bit worried. And…

  “She’s heading back to the castle now,” he and Lila said in unison.

  He bli
nked and opened his eyes to find Lila staring at him with her mouth wide open. He glanced at Ramsey and nodded before he waved at Lila to continue.

  “Oren used his astral projection and checked with the house. While they were practicing in the woods, Ellie and Adelaide were attacked by a group of Maddox’s wolves.”

  She held up a hand. “Before you explode, remember we all agreed that Adelaide needs the help and that Ellie has more than enough power to protect both of them. Even without her memory or gifts, Adelaide can still get away. They proved that tonight.”

  “Where’s my wife?” Alex came as close to a growl as a non-wolf shifter could.

  He saw Ramsey tense out of the corner of his eye and knew the firestarter hadn’t appreciated the tone he’d just used with Lila. She might be Alex’s adopted little sister, but she was Ramsey’s te’sorthene.

  Alex cleared his throat. “Sorry, Lils. Where is my wife now?” he asked in a calmer voice.

  She placed a hand on his arm and squeezed. “I talked to Oren. Charlotte went to get her and is bringing her back here. They’ll be in the courtyard any second.”

  Alex bolted for the door. Charlotte was fast, but he beat them there. As he waited, the worry started to mount. Lila, Ramsey, Selene, and Oren showed up and stood quietly beside him.

  Oren gave his shoulder a fatherly pat. “She’s fine.”

  Alex was just on the verge of asking Lila if something had happened when, without warning of any kind, a massive black dragon suddenly materialized before their eyes. Ellie stood up on her hind legs, the giant span of her wings spread out on either side. If she flapped them now, she’d probably knock down walls.

  “Alex, freeze the wolves so I can let go and shift,” Ellie’s composed voice sounded in his head.

  He’d been so grateful to see her alive, even in this form, that he’d missed the two writhing animals held tightly in her talons. Questions would have to wait. He froze the squirming creatures in place and then held them still as Ellie placed them gently on the ground. After a beat of time, her body shimmered as she morphed into her human form.