by Mikayla Lane
Moments later he was at the bottom of the stairs and looking into Dree’s excited eyes. “This is the only place it could be,” she said as she led him into the back corner of the basement and opened a small door, half the size of a normal door.
Drago kneeled down to look inside and saw a few pieces of mechanical equipment for the home, and a very large, empty space as well. He memorized the small room and stood to study the rest of the basement and where the rooms above were situated in relation to the small room. So he could find it easier the next time he went to Devon’s house. Although, he wasn’t quite sure when that would be. Yet.
He turned to Dree and smiled wickedly. “Yes, this would be the place.”
Dree grinned proudly back at him. “My thoughts exactly. How do you plan on getting in? Because I may have an idea,” she said, hoping that he would listen to her.
Drago put a hand on her shoulder and gave her a gentle squeeze as he grinned broadly. “I would love to hear your idea.”
Chapter Nine
Devon paced the lower floor of the house, coffee cup in her hand. She’d had yet another fitful night of sleep, thanks to one big and gorgeous alien. Like she didn’t have enough going on with the boss in town, she thought with a snort.
No matter how much she tried to convince Drago otherwise, she knew the boss was a wild card. One that could kill them all on a whim unless she walked a very thin line. One that Drago was threatening to make her falter on.
Ugh! Devon thought, forcing away the desire to throw her cup at the wall in frustration. Calm, breath in, breath out and focus, she thought as she tried to control her emotions. Damn if the man didn’t piss her off!
Here she was, the ice queen, the terror of humans and alien-kind alike and she was scared. Not only for herself, but for those she cared about and Drago was now among those few. How the bastard had wormed his way inside of her so quickly was obscene! She’d known people for dozens of years that she didn’t care about as much as him! How the hell did that happen? She thought in puzzled irritation.
So wrapped in her own thoughts, when the pounding and screaming began at her door, Devon almost dropped her coffee cup. Thinking it was Drago trying to embarrass her in front of the neighbors to let him inside, she was determined to vent some of her frustration by giving him a piece of her mind and showing him just how little she cared about the damn neighbors.
She flung open the door and turned white. Drago looked at her with pleading eyes as he held the heavily bleeding little boy in his arms. “He’s bleeding badly, he doesn’t have much time,” Drago said, hoping she’d let him in.
Devon looked at the sobbing little girl and boy and recognized them as the trio of children who must be visiting relatives nearby since they’d been playing outside the last few days. She turned to the deathly pale little boy, gently cradled in Drago’s arms and winced at the deep gash in his forehead that was bleeding badly. Her heart clenched in fear for the boy.
The startling resemblance between them left no doubt in Devon’s mind that the children were brothers and sister. They looked like triplets, she thought fleetingly as her mind registered the pain and fear they felt for their fallen brother.
Without another thought, she stepped aside and let Drago and the children come in. She closed the door behind them and followed them into the living room where Drago had placed the child on the couch. He was kneeling beside the eerily still child, holding what looked like a blood soaked t-shirt to the boys forehead.
Drago turned worried blue eyes to hers and she knew he was looking for a way to communicate with her privately through the Shengari’, so as not to upset the two children sobbing quietly near their sibling. Unfortunately, that would require a connection. One that they could never have together because circumstances and fate had decided otherwise for them, Devon thought sadly.
Instead, she kneeled down to the two crying children and took one of their mitten covered hands into each of hers. She waited until they turned watery, green eyes to hers. Wow, she thought for a second as their unusual colored eyes surprised her. Their eyes were gorgeous, but almost so light to look moss with the unshed tears in them.
Clearing her throat to steady her thoughts, Devon gave them a gentle smile. “While my friend helps your brother, why don’t we go into the kitchen and make some hot cocoa for when he wakes up? I think I have some cookies too.”
When two little white blonde heads nodded slowly, Devon stood and led them into the kitchen. She rushed through putting three mugs of water in the microwave and grabbed every box of cookies she had in the cabinet and blushed when she saw that there were six of them. She really needed to back off the cookies when she was stressed out, she thought.
Throwing them on the counter in front of the children, she said, “Can you guys watch the microwave and tell me when it dings? I’m going to see if Drago needs anything to help your brother.”
Devon waited nervously while they nodded their heads sadly, thinking how adorable and sad they looked sitting at the counter with their heads bowed and shoulders slumped.
With one last look at them to make sure they were all right, she ran up the stairs to her bedroom and slid across the floor. She reached under the bed, grabbed the emergency kit and ran back down the stairs to the living room. Drago looked up at her as soon as she came in and her heart flip flopped in her chest at the happiness in his eyes.
She blushed when she realized he was happy to see the kit and she handed it to him. “They are in the kitchen, I’ll keep them occupied while you fix him. But be quick about it,” Devon said, looking towards the hallway that led to kitchen to make sure the kids didn’t come in and see the alien medical equipment inside the kit.
Drago looked at the kit with a blank face. “Devon, I have no idea how to use any of that shit. You’re going to have to fix him while I deal with the other two.” The lie ate at Drago but he steeled himself to do what had to be done to protect her and his own.
Devon looked at him in disbelief. “How can you not use a basic damn med kit?”
Drago blushed deeply. Ok, so he sucked at lying he thought before he tried again. “I… I can’t look at blood on a child.”
When she still didn’t look convinced, he lowered his head and pretended to be choked up. “Not since Kinara…,” he said and left the room, heading towards the kitchen.
“What the fuck was that about?” Devon said to the empty room before she felt a small, cold hand clasp her own.
Eerie, moss green eyes looked up at her own. “Am I going to die?”
Devon’s heart clenched again as she gently squeezed his little hand. “No, little guy, you aren’t going to die. I need you to keep your eyes closed though while I try to fix your head. If you can do that, then when we’re done you can go into the kitchen and have cookies and cocoa with your brother and sister. Ok?”
When the little boy nodded his head weakly and shut his eyes, Devon opened the med kit and started pulling out the things she would need to fix the boy’s wound.
Drago entered the kitchen and wasn’t surprised to find Trick and Dree gone and the door to the basement wide open. Without hesitation he headed down the stairs and was surprised to see the both of them standing a little more than halfway down. The closer he got to them, he asked why.
“What’s keeping you up here guys?”
Dree turned to Drago with wide eyes. “Let me show you,” she said as she nudged against the private path that Lara had made in his mind. He allowed her in and felt the energy rush from her.
“What the fuck is that?” He asked as he took in the basement, through Dree’s energy.
Without taking his eyes off the room, Trick said, “A nightmare.”
Dree just shook her head, almost unable to grasp the magnitude of what they were looking at. Illusions only took up a space the size of a pinhead in the reality they are pulled into. Only seen by those sensitive to the energy realms, they were nothing more than shimmers or small flashes in the sight that disappe
ared as quickly as they were seen.
This, was beyond anything they had ever seen before, Dree thought taking in the floor to ceiling shimmers of energy that crisscrossed every single available space in the basement, starting at the bottom step. They were woven so deep, you couldn’t even see beyond them to where the walls of the basement stood.
The multicolored strands were entwined in a shimmering light display unlike anything Drago had ever seen before. It looked like a beautiful rainbow had somehow packed itself into the confines of Devon’s basement as a jumble of colorful energy.
“How the hell do you get through that?” Drago asked in awe.
Trick turned serious eyes to Drago. “A few thousand years and another forty or fifty of us working in shifts day and night.”
Drago’s mouth hung open as he considered what Trick said and the rainbow of energy pulsing in the room like it had a heartbeat. “Fuck.”
Dree turned to Drago, her look serious. “How powerful must it be, if even you can understand the enormity of it?”
Drago thought about that for only a brief second. “Fuck!” Not having the ability to manipulate the energy in the illusion realms, Drago had never seen anything but the shimmer of the energy around the illusion. He’d never seen through one, like the Brazar siblings could. He couldn’t begin to fathom what they were seeing, if what he was seeing was this explosion of colored energy.
They all heard the warning from Mir in their minds and hurried back up the stairs. Turning their attention to the cups of cocoa and cookies, they had the counter set with everything when Devon came in the room with a smiling Mir.
Devon gave everyone a bright smile, very happy that the boy was healed and would be fine. She watched as he ran over to his brother and sister. He grabbed a cookie and stuffed it in his mouth while his sister grinned and handed him a cup of cocoa. Mouth full, he turned to Devon and gave her a lopsided grin. “Thank you.”
Devon couldn’t help but smile at the little guy who had been so brave. “You’re welcome,” she said, unsure how she felt about the strange, warm and fuzzy feeling in the pit of her stomach. The sight of Drago standing at her counter with those three little ones looked so domestic and family-like that it surprised her. And finally brought her back to reality.
Trying to keep a fake grin plastered to her face, Devon clapped her hands together. “All right! Now that everyone is ok, it’s probably a good idea for you to head home and let your mommy know that you’re ok.”
When the kids looked at her sadly and Drago quirked a brow, Devon added as she looked him in the eyes, “If she looks outside and sees them gone, she will panic. Any decent mother would. Finding your kids gone is a feeling no mother should have.”
Drago nodded his head with an odd look in his eyes. If Devon didn’t know better, she would think it was respect. The thought made her swell with pride for a minute before she squashed it and began ushering the now happy children to the door.
She stopped when she felt Drago’s hand on her shoulder. She turned and looked into his eyes, curiosity reflected in her own. “Thank you. For helping them,” Drago said, his deep, warm voice sending shivers down her spine.
Devon cleared her throat and stiffened her resolve. “You’re welcome. How did you know he was hurt?” She asked suddenly suspicious.
Drago smiled and bowed his head, his cheeks turning pink, which only charmed Devon and made her more curious. “I was heading this way to see if you were here when I saw him fall and hit his head on the sidewalk. You were the closest place with the medical equipment he needed,” Drago lied easily.
He would not regret lying to her to find out what was in the basement. Even if he was more confused about how and if, it was affecting her than he was before.
Devon laughed. Yeah, she thought, she could easily believe he was on his way here. But she needed to break him of this habit of just coming by when he felt like it. It was putting an enormous amount of stress on her and her own activities. She had things to do and he was making that much more difficult with these impromptu visits.
She turned to see the kids run out of the door, slamming it behind them, before looking back at Drago. “Look, I wasn’t kidding about needing a few days. I can’t get done what needs to be done with you breathing down my neck. Just back off ok?” Devon said as she glared at him.
She almost felt bad about the hurt look on his face, but she strengthened her resolve. It was what was best for them all. She had to finish what she started. There was no way around it. And she needed him out of the way while she did it. Then she would never have to worry about seeing Drago again. Devon ignored the painful stab to her heart at that thought.
Drago was more conflicted than ever. The supposedly evil creature that she was supposed to be, had rushed to the aid of an injured child without hesitation and used alien technology to repair the grave injury. She had no choice. He knew because he’d inflicted the wound on Mir’s stomach.
Mir and Trick had assured him that it had to be done in order to convince Devon of the urgency of the situation. Once in his child illusion, Mir had been able to clearly project the wound onto the illusion of the child’s head. Because it was anatomically in the correct location to the illusion child’s forehead, the scanner would only pick up the laceration, not the location if the user didn’t input it into the scanner directly. They had counted on Devon trying to get it repaired quickly, rather than inspecting it.
Obviously, it had worked out perfectly. Mir was healed and they had a lot more information to go over now. Instead of feeling joyous that he had accomplished something, he was more worried than ever about Devon’s safety. The house, which had never really felt differently to him, now felt much more ominous than before and he hesitated to leave her here. With that thing pulsing beneath her feet.
He gently grabbed her hands in his own and looked into her angry blue eyes. “Devon, I would like you to consider leaving this house while you finish your plans.”
Devon raised her brows and yanked her hands from his. “What the fuck? Where do you get off telling me where I can and can’t live? Is there something wrong with Tezarian’s in general or just you? Are you glitched? Who the hell says something like that to someone they hardly know?” Devon asked, more to herself than to the idiot man who was now blushing.
Feeling like a fool and wishing he’d thought about phrasing that better, Drago tried to salvage his pride and his plan. “Devon, look…”
Devon was done listening to him and held up her hand to cut him off. “No, I want you to get out. Now!”
Drago wasn’t sure what convinced him more, the anger rolling off of her in waves or the defensive stance she’d taken up. He rubbed a hand down his face in frustration before walking to the door.
He reached for the knob, hesitated, and turned back to his angry mate. “I worry for your safety and apologize for my lack of manners in my words. I did not intend to offend you,” he snorted and grinned sheepishly. “Again. My feelings, and concern for you seem to override my normally, fully functioning mind. Please do not allow my lack of charm to prevent you from calling me if you need me. For anything.”
Drago looked at her pleadingly, refusing to give voice to the fact that she had reduced him to begging her to turn to him. To let him help her. To trust him. He felt her energy soften, the anger leaving her slowly and being replaced by what felt like resignation. Which confused him, but gave him hope that she would lean on him. For only a moment though.
Devon smiled at him affectionately, then dashed his hopes. “Look, I know you male alien types have this inbred need to protect every female within your radius, but your concern is misplaced. Now get out of here! I have a lot to do today,” Devon said without any anger as she made shooing motions with her hands to get him out of the door.
Drago sighed and without another word, he left. Large, frustrated strides took him quickly to the home down the road where the Brazar were already waiting. He was more confused about Devon than ever and was loo
king forward to hearing their thoughts on her and the mass in her basement.
The silence when he entered the house made him sigh. He knew they had stopped speaking when they heard him enter the house and it annoyed the hell of him. He wasn’t a child and had no intention of being treated like one. Not where his mate was concerned.
He hung up his jacket and entered the kitchen to see everyone pretending to study their comms or the documents in front of them. Although Lara could easily hide her energy from him, his brothers could not. The mix of their fear for him and their sadness pissed him off and he slammed his hands down on the table to make damn sure he had everyone’s full attention.
The Brazar siblings grinned while the others looked at Drago sadly while he spoke. “You have not seen what we have seen, nor have you felt it! There is something completely wrong about Devon. And I may not know what it is yet, but I refuse to assume the worst about her without knowing all of the information. So stop feeling sorry for me and help me piece this Gods Damn puzzle together!” Drago said, breathing hard through his frustration and anger.
Mir cleared his throat. “He’s right. When they left the room, she was as caring as any mother. She took the time to try and ease my fear and was very gentle. There was not even a hint of malice or evil in her energy at all. The continued contact allowed me more liberties to explore her energy and I could not find a trace of the evil that should be in her soul from the deeds she is accused of.”
Trick agreed. “I could sense none of it as well. But there is no way that she is a hybrid and does not feel the presence of the illusion in the basement. She either knows it’s there, even if she may not know what it is, or she’s human and has no idea how much danger she is in,” Trick said with curiosity and concern in his tone.
Drago smiled his gratitude at Trick and Mir for their honesty and support while Dree spoke up. “It’s not just her that is in question here either. That illusion took many years to create. Even someone as powerful as you say Satalis is,” Dree said looking at Lara.
