Drifter

by Leslie Georgeson

  Ronin had shown up at the crater.

  Kate recalled fleeing from the soldiers.

  Running into Ethan in the drifters’ lair.

  Climbing up the dirt wall.

  Then the drifters entering the tunnel.

  Screaming and stumbling back.

  Then…falling.

  She flinched. Where had she landed? How had she landed? Who had saved her? Where was she now? Where was Ethan?

  Where was Mitch?

  Kate slid her legs over the edge of the cot and picked up the lantern. She peered out of the small room. Nothing greeted her but darkness and eerie bones in the walls. She stepped out into the first tunnel and followed it. Then another one and another, circling back and around, then coming out in new places. Tunnel after tunnel after tunnel. The cool, moist air filled her lungs, the smells of damp earth and an otherworldly strangeness filling her nostrils. Water continued to drip down the walls. Mud squashed beneath her shoes. How did the drifters know their way around down here? Everything looked the same. It was like a damn maze. Desperation clawed at her. She was lost in the drifters’ lair. How long before the drifters found her and killed her?

  Calm down, Kate. Take a deep breath. You’ll get out of here.

  Filled with a new determination, she backtracked, carefully navigating her way, searching for a way out, trying her best to memorize the length of each tunnel by counting her steps and remembering where it came out.

  She rounded another corner and came to an abrupt halt, sensing another presence. Glowing golden eyes turned toward her.

  “Kate?”

  “Mitch?” The breath whooshed out of her lungs. She rushed forward, overwhelmed with emotion. Setting the lantern down, she flung herself into his arms.

  Mitch groaned softly, squeezing her against him. “Thank God you’re all right. I searched everywhere for you.” He set her away, gazing deeply into her eyes.

  She swallowed hard, forcing back the emotion, unable to speak. He drew her back into his arms, holding her tight, running his hands gently up and down her back.

  “It’s all right. You’re safe now.”

  Kate clung to him, her friend, her rock, the man she was falling in love with. Her breath hitched at that thought. It was true. He might be part drifter. He might think he was a beast. He might even act like one sometimes. But he was a good man underneath. And she was falling for him.

  He wiped the tear from her cheek. “Let’s get out of here and you can tell me what happened, all right?”

  Kate nodded. Snatching up the lantern, she followed him from the room. “I’m sorry about…bombarding you with emotions like that.”

  He paused, lifted her chin. “It’s all right. I can handle it. Don’t ever think you can’t be near me or be afraid to talk to me for fear of overwhelming me with your emotions. I wouldn’t want you to hold back from me, Kate. Not anymore.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead.

  Kate stared at him. Was this the same man who’d told her earlier to keep her distance from him? What had changed since then?

  She cleared her throat. “I thought you wanted us to keep our distance.”

  He smiled. “I do, physically. But that doesn’t mean we can’t still be friends, right? Come on, let’s get out of here.”

  Kate didn’t want to be just friends. She was half in love with him already. She’d never been in love before. Why was Mitch so determined to push her away?

  Maybe it’s just his strangeness, his uniqueness you’re fascinated with. Maybe it’s nothing to do with love, but just a simple fascination for a person you don’t know hardly anything about.

  Isn’t that what love is? Interest. Fascination. A desire to get closer and know more about someone?

  Mitch cleared his throat. Kate glanced up at him. Color had crept up into his face. Her own face heated. Had he read her mind again? She hadn’t blocked her emotions.

  “I don’t know what’s between us, Kate.” He spoke softly, gently. “And maybe someday we can pursue it, see where it leads. But not right now.” He tugged her forward. “I think this is the way out.”

  Her heart sank. In other words, he was saying he wasn’t interested. She lowered her gaze, following after him. Fine. But something that had been eating at her refused to be ignored now. When he’d chased her earlier, pushed her up against the wall, touched her so intimately and drove her insane with longing…he’d never kissed her. Not once. She’d desperately wanted his mouth on hers, but not once had he even attempted to kiss her. Did he not like kissing?

  “Why didn’t you kiss me?”

  He halted, his eyes filling with wariness as he turned to face her. “What?”

  “In the tunnel earlier. When you pushed me up against the wall and touched me. Why didn’t you kiss me?”

  His face turned redder. “I didn’t plan what happened earlier, Kate. You ran and the drifter in me demanded that I chase. I couldn’t help myself. I said I was sorry.”

  “That doesn’t explain why you didn’t kiss me. On the mouth. You know…lips against lips, tongues touching tongues. When males are interested in females, don’t they first want to kiss?”

  He groaned. “Kate. I can’t…I don’t want to talk about this.”

  “You’re afraid.” Realization dawned. He was scared to kiss her. Why? And then she knew. “Kissing is very personal, isn’t it?”

  He turned away from her, letting out a deep sigh. “Yes. Kissing is very personal. It’s a highly emotional experience. At least for me.”

  Now she understood. As an empath, Mitch was more sensitive to his and others’ emotions. He felt things deeper than others. What would he feel if they kissed? What would she feel? She wanted to find out. Desperately. But she sensed she’d pushed him to his limit. Any more pushing right now might be too much. It would create a huge gap between them. And she didn’t want that.

  But she had one more thing she needed to say.

  “Sex without kissing isn’t personal, right? You almost had sex with me against the wall. Without kissing. I’ll admit I wanted it, that I was totally turned on and ready. But I don’t want sex without the kissing. Next time, I expect kissing.”

  He made a sound in his throat that sounded like a mixture between a groan and a snarl. “Drop it, Kate. There’s not going to be a next time.” He strode down the tunnel away from her.

  Whatever. He could deny it all he wanted, but Kate knew there would be a next time. She would make sure of it. She followed after him again. “When you’re ready, you can kiss me,” she whispered. “You don’t have to ask. I want you to know that I want you to. When you’re ready.”

  Silence stretched, the only sound, their shoes squishing in the mud. Had she gone too far? She’d embarrassed him, made him uncomfortable. Sometimes her boldness embarrassed her. But she couldn’t change who she was.

  Kate cleared her throat. “I’m guessing you didn’t find Ethan, because he’s here in the drifters’ lair.”

  “What?” Mitch spun around, his gaze boring into hers. “He’s here? Where?”

  She shrugged. “I don’t know where he is now. When I was running from the soldiers, I ran into Ethan. He helped me escape.” She told him about climbing up the narrow tunnel to the top of the ground, then falling back in when the drifters entered the opening. “When I woke up, I was laying on a small cot in a tiny room with a lantern. Ethan was gone, so I took the lantern and searched the tunnels until I ran into you.”

  Mitch was silent a moment, contemplating. “If he’s hiding out in here, then he must have discovered something important. I have to find him.”

  Kate figured he would say that. “I’ll help you.”

  Mitch shook his head back and forth. “No. It’s too dangerous. I’ve been bitten enough times that the drifters respect me as one of their own now. But you’ve only been bitten once. They will continue to attack you in an attempt to either kill you or make you stronger. I can’t worry about trying to keep you safe and trying to find Ethan at the same time. I nee
d you someplace safe.”

  “I’m going with you.”

  “No.” Mitch strode away from her, halted, then strode back.

  “I know my way around in here,” Kate argued. “At least a little. I spent hours figuring it out. I think I can lead you back to where I found Ethan.”

  Mitch groaned. “It’s not safe, Kate.”

  “I survived it once.” She lifted her chin. “I can do it again. Besides, you need me. Two sets of eyes are better than one.”

  He sighed. “Fine. It’s daylight now, so the drifters will be sleeping. You are one stubborn woman, you know that?”

  * * *

  “Bonding only seems to work among humans if it’s between a male and a female and the couple have an emotional connection prior to a physical connection.”

  Ronin scowled, tossing that note aside and flipping through several pages until he came to another one that intrigued him.

  “The three cones, Kibo, Shira and Mawenzi must come together as one to release the mountain’s power.” Ronin scrunched the paper in his fist, smashing it into a tiny ball. “What the fuck does that mean?”

  He flipped through a couple more pages, then read aloud, “Mitch said the mountain speaks to him. It calls him ‘Shira’. The mountain has told him that the answer lies with the Honest One. Last I saw Mitch, he was searching for the Honest One.”

  “Son-of-a-fucking-bitch!” Ronin slammed his fist onto the table, sending the stack of papers sliding off the edge and onto the floor. The Honest One could be none other than Honest Gabe, who Ronin had tried to kill, but had apparently failed. Was Gabe one of the three cones? If so, which one was he? And who was the third cone?

  Maybe it’s me.

  “No.” Ronin let out a snarl. “I’m not working with those bastards. I’m going to gain control of the mountain on my own. All by myself. I’m not sharing with anyone.”

  Who had written these notes? And where was he now? Whoever this person was, he seemed to know more about the drifters than even Ronin did. Ronin needed to find this person. And extract from him everything he knew about the drifters. Then kill him.

  Ronin bent and retrieved the fallen pages. He had learned almost everything he knew about the drifters from his dreams. But some of this information was new to him. Had the mountain spoken to this other person through dreams as well?

  Ronin skimmed through several more before he found the one he was seeking.

  “There is another way to control the mountain and release its power. It will be more difficult than joining up the three cones. It requires complete control of the drifters.”

  “I knew it,” Ronin whispered. “I knew if I controlled the drifters, I would control the mountain.” But controlling the drifters wasn’t as easy as it sounded. He’d attempted to control them once already, but then Honest Gabe hadn’t died or had somehow come back to life, and the drifters had bolted off, no longer malleable. If Ronin wanted to control them again, he would have to head out and start murdering drifters one by one until he killed the leader and the pack started to worship him. That could take days, weeks, months...There were hundreds, possibly thousands of drifters living out on the savannah. If he killed too many of them, there might not be enough left to help him control the mountain.

  Ronin bolted to his feet, shoving the table over. It crashed to the floor, the papers flying in every which direction.

  He would find Mitchell and demand that he tell Ronin everything he knew. He would use Mitchell to help him in any way possible to control the mountain. He would also find the person who’d jotted down these notes, whoever he was. He was obviously working with Mitchell. The two of them would help Ronin. And Honest Gabe, the bastard. Ronin couldn’t forget him. Somehow he’d find Honest Gabe again. And eliminate him once and for all.

  Once Ronin learned everything that they knew, once they’d helped him achieve his goal, he would kill them all.

  One way or another, he was going to rule Africa.

  The mountain and all its powers were destined to be his.

  And no one would stand in his way.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  Shira.

  Mitch jolted, lifting the lantern to glance around the dark tunnels, not that he needed it. Because of his night vision, he could see quite well at night. Kate had brought the lantern in the tunnels with her when she’d fled the soldiers earlier, and he used it now to light the way.

  Shira.

  The mountain called again, its voice speaking through his mind.

  Shira. Come to me.

  The mountain had been silent, not speaking to him for over a week. Now its voice had returned, echoing through his mind like a shout bouncing off the walls of the narrow tunnels.

  Shira. Come.

  He and Kate were now deep in the drifters’ lair. They’d traveled down one tunnel after another, moving steadily deeper into the earth. Was that why the mountain was speaking to him again? Whatever was in this lair was powerful. He could feel it like a low hum through the earth, vibrating beneath his feet and spreading out around them.

  Kate’s gaze bounced to his. “Do you feel that?”

  So she felt the power of this place too. What the hell was Ethan doing down here? And where, exactly, was he?

  “Yeah.” It was probably time for him to tell her about Mount Kilimanjaro and the power it was capable of wielding.

  “What is it? An earthquake?”

  “I don’t think so.”

  Kate grabbed his arm, her fear sinking into him.

  “Dammit, Kate, I can feel that.”

  “Sorry. I’ll block it.” She stepped away from him, her face scrunching. Then her fear went away, giving him immediate relief.

  “Thanks,” he whispered.

  Shira. We’re waiting for you. Shira, come.

  Mitch tried to ignore the voice in his head. He handed Kate the lantern. If they became separated, she would need it. “Come on. We’re getting closer.”

  Kate’s eyes widened. “Closer to what?”

  “I don’t know. But I can feel it. And if we get separated, you’ll need the lantern.” He paused and turned to her. “Whatever we encounter in here, try to keep your fear blocked, okay? The drifters are drawn to fear and will sense you out just from your fear. I don’t know what else might be in here, but I can sense something powerful. I just want you to be safe, Kate.” He squeezed her hand. “Okay?”

  She nodded, swallowing hard.

  “Stay behind me.” Mitch moved forward again, the mountain’s voice echoing through his mind.

  Shira. Shira. Shira.

  Mitch had a hard time concentrating with that damn voice in his head.

  The tunnel suddenly opened into a larger room where a single lantern burned from high up on the wall. Mitch halted, his senses taking everything in. Drifters didn’t use lanterns. This room had been set up by a human. By Ethan. Water dripped slowly down the opposite wall, puddling onto the wet floor. Small egg-like capsules pulsed and vibrated with life from within a nesting area about ten foot by twelve foot, each capsule giving off a faint yellow hue. He moved closer, his heart nearly stopping when he realized what he was looking at.

  “What is that?” Kate whispered from directly behind him. “Oh my God. It looks like…eggs.”

  “It is.” Mitch cleared his throat. “This must be the nesting ground. And those must be drifter eggs.”

  “Is Ethan the nursery attendant?” Kate’s eyes were wide as she stared at the huge nest of eggs. “Why would he want to take care of baby drifters? That’s almost creepy.”

  Mitch shrugged. “Ethan has a tendency to get a little obsessed with things.”

  Kate continued to stare at the eggs, slowly venturing closer. “Why would he want to help something so evil to grow? Why wouldn’t he just destroy the eggs and block off this place so the drifters have nowhere to go?”

  Mitch sensed movement behind them, his ears picking up the faint hiss that could only be a drifter. He spun around as a very large drift
er, its eyes glowing a bright greenish-blue, stepped toward them. The thing was much bigger than a regular drifter, standing at least four feet at the shoulder. It flipped its frill up and hissed again, its gaze focused on Kate.

  Shit. He pushed Kate behind him and faced the beast.

  “What is it?” she whispered. “The queen?”

  “No.” Mitch stared at the beast, noting its familiar green-blue eyes. “It’s Ethan.”

  * * *

  “What?” Kate stared, her heart pounding with a mixture of fear and curiosity. Ethan was a giant drifter? What the heck was going on here?

  “Ethan, we won’t hurt the eggs,” Mitch soothed, his gaze intent on the large beast as it crept closer. “I’ve been looking for you. I found Kibo. And I’ve come to the conclusion that you are Mawenzi.”

  The Ethan-drifter halted, its eyes flaring. It glanced at Kate again. It let out an angry hiss, then spun on its heel and disappeared into one of the dark tunnels. Kate shivered, then heaved out a sigh of relief.

  “That was scary. Where did it go?”

  Mitch touched her arm. “Wait.”

  Moments later a man strode into view, the man who’d helped her escape earlier. Ethan.

  His face contorted with anger. “Why did you bring her here?” He glared at Mitch. “She’s not a part of this.”

  “She is now.” Mitch eyed his friend cautiously. “She’s been bitten.”

  Ethan flicked a glance at Kate. “I know. I can sense the drifter in her. I helped her escape. And when she fell back into the crater, I caught her before she broke her damn neck.”

  Kate met his gaze. “You did? Thank you.”

  He gave a curt nod, his gaze darting back to Mitch. “So you found Kibo? What makes you think I’m Mawenzi?”

  Mitch held Ethan’s gaze. Instead of answering, he asked, “Why didn’t you tell me you had a brother? You’ve been keeping secrets. How are we supposed to beat this thing if you’re not sharing everything you know?”

  Ethan flinched, his gaze narrowing. “I don’t have a brother. That son-of-a-bitch is dead as far as I’m concerned.”

  A long silence stretched. “I don’t know why you hate him so much, and frankly, I don’t care,” Mitch murmured. “But he’s Kibo. He’s the key to unlocking the mountain’s power. I think you knew all along that he was the Honest One. Why did you keep that from me?”