Victor

by Romi Hart

  The other New Breed entered it one after the other until Riley’s turn came. When she peered inside, she discovered a blank concrete stairwell plunging downward. The group descended a single flight of stairs and emerged into another hallway so unlike the first that Riley questioned her own senses.

  Shafts of light illuminated dozens of chambers. People of every description, some obviously not human, worked in every room. They wrote at desks and held meetings at conference tables. They passed each other messages and ordered each other around. They wore decent clothes and Riley didn’t see one drunk anywhere.

  Cameron passed all the way down the corridor. On the way, his companions split off. They disappeared one after the other until only Cameron, Victor, and Riley remained. Riley didn’t see where they went. At the far end, he came to a massive double door set into the concrete wall.

  When he pushed it open, the two oaken sides folded back to reveal a gargantuan war room like something out of a bygone era. Hundreds of people worked and discussed and talked and swirled everywhere. They pored over maps and pointed at diagrams on display boards. The cacophony of dozens of voices washed over her and staggered her mind.

  Cameron approached the nearest table. “What do you got?”

  A tall black man turned around to face him. He wore military fatigues over his broad shoulders with his pant cuffs tucked into lace-up shiny black boots. He nodded to Cameron and Victor, but when he faced Riley, she almost gasped out loud. Half his head was gone. It wasn’t disfigured or mutated. It just wasn’t there. He had one eye, one ear, one side of a mouth and one side of a nose. A flat swath of skin covered the vertical edge where the rest of his skull should have been.

  She gaped at him in shock. He paid no attention to her and pointed to the map. “We shot down two more of their planes over the Atchafalaya. That makes five this month. They’re definitely stepping up their assaults.”

  “Anything within the city?” Cameron asked.

  “Not that we know of, but they could have people undercover. We just don’t know if they’re onto us yet.”

  Cameron turned to Riley. “What do you say? Did you hear anything at Barksdale about infiltrating New Orleans? Did you hear anything to indicate that the military knew about us?”

  She didn’t answer. She couldn’t stop staring at the strange figure in front of her. Her brain kept trying to put the rest of his head back where it wasn’t. She never saw anything like this before.

  The guy watched her. All of them watched her and waited for her to answer, but she didn’t. Cameron’s shoulders slumped and he sighed. “This is Lieutenant Riley Strickland of the US Navy. She was the fighter pilot shot down over False River two weeks ago. She turned and she proved herself in battle last week.”

  The tall man nodded once. “Lieutenant.”

  Cameron turned to her and murmured in her ear. “This is Colonel Horace Weeks. He’s in command around here. He’s responsible for all Anarock’s defenses against the US military.”

  Riley snapped out of her trance. “Excuse me, Colonel. I’m new to all this.”

  “Never mind, Lieutenant. You’re here now.”

  “Colonel Weeks turned at the height of his military career,” Cameron told her. “He was on a transport truck crossing the state line to Port Arthur almost fifteen years ago. Another vehicle ran into the oncoming lane and overturned his transport. The truck plunged into Sabine Lake. The water and turned him. It made him the way you see him now. He had to go on the run from the military and wound up here.”

  Riley’s jaw dropped. “Port Arthur! Do you mean the contamination traveled all that way? It could have spread twice as far since then.”

  Colonel Weeks scowled at her and pursed his lips. He looked so much more intimidating with only half a head. “The contamination goes a lot farther than that. No one wants to admit how serious the situation is. They think if they can get rid of us that the problem will go away.”

  “Which brings us back to Barksdale,” Cameron interjected. “Did you hear anything at the base to suggest the military is onto us? Did you hear or see anything that would make you believe they had people on the ground in Anarock? You were there most recently. You can give us the most accurate information.”

  Riley’s head swam with everything she was seeing and hearing. “I didn’t hear anything like that, but like you say, they were probably keeping us in the dark. I was just a pilot. They didn’t even want to tell us about the spill, but they had to in order to explain why we had to fight dragons. If they infiltrated Anarock, I doubt they would tell me or my crew. They would keep it strictly classified.”

  The colonel nodded again. “I figured as much. That puts us back to square one.” He turned back to his map. “We put out scouts here and here. We have recon teams canvassing the surrounding neighborhoods, but nobody’s talking.”

  Riley couldn’t keep quiet. “Excuse me, Sir, but what’s this all about? You don’t really think the military will try anything here—not with all these humans around? It doesn’t seem possible.”

  Cameron rounded on her. “If you asked me ten years ago if I thought it was possible the US military would be sending fighter jets to battle dragons in the sky over Baton Rouge and Lafayette, I would have told you that was impossible. Now it’s a common occurrence. The same willful denial that keeps us safe from the humans noticing us could blind us to any danger. We want more than anything to believe they don’t notice us. We want to believe they’re ignorant cattle. An operative could blend in and see things we don’t want them to see just by playing it cool and pretending to be normal. Our people wouldn’t even know they were there. Now you two go home. I want to see you both back here at oh-eight-hundred tomorrow.”

  “Yes, Sir.” Victor took Riley’s hand, but she didn’t want to go. She dragged her feet on the way out of the war room. She wanted to sink her teeth into this war. She wanted to get her boots on the ground and find out how close the military came to blowing Anarock’s cover wide open.

  19

  Victor led Riley back upstairs. He never let go of her hand. He observed the interplay of her emotions and startled impressions taking in the whole astonishing reality of Anarock’s existence. He grew up with it all his life. To him, it was all normal and everyday. Now he saw it through her eyes.

  He led her back upstairs to the building entrance. He conducted her between the battered remnant of New Breed to another stairway leading to the second floor. Here, he conducted her to the back of the building out of sight of the street.

  When the pair entered the rear corridor, she gasped again. Light tubes lit up the rooms. Carpet covered the floors and tiled frescoes decorated corners and alcoves. People lounged around on upholstered furniture.

  She gaped at it all with her mouth open. She no longer tried to hide her astonishment and Victor didn’t try to mitigate it for her by explaining anything. The sooner she saw it all, the sooner she would adjust.

  On the way there, a tall woman emerged from a side room. Her black braids hugged her scalp to reveal delicate features chiseled out of black marble. She wore a business blazer and a tight-fitting skirt ending just above the knee, but no shoes.

  She hesitated on the threshold when she spotted Victor and his spirit plunged into his shoes. He expected this. He just didn’t think it would happen right in front of Riley.

  The stranger sauntered forward and held out her hand. “Good to see you again, sweetheart. How did it go out there?”

  Victor kept a firm grip on Riley. He didn’t let go to offer his right hand to the newcomer. Instead, he extended his left so he could grasp her right. He didn’t even try to make the situation less awkward. “How’s it going, Alexa? This is Riley Strickland. She’s the one who brought me back.”

  Alexa Weeks turned her piercing black eyes on Riley. She nodded and kept her voice even, but the temperature dropped several degrees when the two women faced each other. “I heard all about it. I should thank you for bringing Victor back to me.”

>   Riley didn’t blink even though she had to look up to make eye contact with Alexa. “You don’t have to do that.”

  Alexa’s eyes flashed. Victor recognized the signs of her temper rising even though Riley didn’t say anything rude. Normally, he would have been worried about a woman being able to handle Alexa and her notorious attitude. He didn’t leap in to save Riley, though. He didn’t have to. Her dead calm manner told him she could deal with this all by herself.

  Alexa scanned Riley up and down. “They say you’re a pilot with the military. Is that true?”

  Riley shrugged, but her gaze never wavered from Alexa’s face. She kept her voice soft, but her features and her body posture told a different story. Victor saw her gathering herself in on herself to respond to a threat in the blink of an eye. “I’m not a pilot anymore. I’m just New Breed like everyone else.”

  Alexa measured her for another frigid second before returning her attention to Victor. “We should get together again sometime, now that you’re back. I haven’t seen you since you left.”

  Victor nodded. “I’ll check with my family and see what’s up. For all I know, Pop will want to send me straight back out.”

  “I doubt that,” Alexa countered. “He’ll want you in the war room.”

  Victor pushed past her to the farthest end of the second floor. He spoke over his shoulder. “I’ll have to let you know. I’ll see you around.”

  He continued on. Once he turned away from Alexa, he didn’t look back. He didn’t want to see her, not with Riley around. He dreaded the next part of the encounter that he knew would come.

  He halted at an inconspicuous door and took out his keys. If Riley didn’t get distracted by Alexa, she would realize this was directly above the war room. He turned the key in the lock, but Riley laid her hand on his wrist to stop him. “What was that about?”

  “Nothing.” He lowered his gaze. “Just someone I know. I know pretty much everyone around here.”

  She tightened her grip on him. “I’m guessing you did more than just know her. She called you ‘sweetheart’.”

  He grimaced over his shoulder. “Yeah, well, I can’t help that.”

  He tried to enter, but she didn’t move. “If you want me to do this, you better explain what’s going on around here. Are there any other women around here I should expect to call you ‘sweetheart’ and ask you out?”

  Why did he fight it when he anticipated this? He faced her and puffed out his cheeks. “A lot of women around here would be very interested in marrying into the Crest. My brothers get the same thing. We get women throwing themselves at us in the hopes of marrying into our family. That’s all it is.”

  “Are you sure?” She arched an eyebrow. “I’m not going to find out something about you later that contradicts what you just told me?”

  He dared to raise his eyes to her face. He couldn’t ignore her when she pierced him to the marrow like that. “I won’t lie to you. I had my fun with a few women around here. I’m no nun if you really want to know the truth. In my younger days—and even in my not-so-younger days, I took advantage of women wanting to get close to the Prometheus Crest. I used it to enjoy myself. Shit, since I’m bearing my ass to you I might as well tell you I did that right up until recently. I let them believe I was more interested than I was. I let them think they had a chance so I could get them to do what I wanted. Now you’re here and everything is different.”

  “How is it different?” she asked.

  “Because the rules bind us together. I would be with you even without the rules. We have something the others don’t have. I never bonded with anyone the way I bonded with you. I don’t want them anymore. I want you.”

  “What does that mean?” she persisted. “Does that mean the rules require us to get married?”

  He bowed his head and closed his eyes. He could think of all kinds of hedges and dodges he could say to her right now to soften the blow. He could spin another woman’s head full of lies, but he couldn’t do that to her.

  When he opened his eyes again, he confronted her with his head up. “If I take over the Prometheus Crest when my father dies, we would have to get married. The rules require it, but that doesn’t mean you have to. If you find someone else or break it off before that, you’re free. We won’t owe each other anything and no one will make you do anything you don’t want to do. We don’t work that way.”

  She cocked her head. Her fierce gaze left him nowhere to hide. “Is that what you want? Do you want us to get married?”

  He swallowed hard. “I want us to stay together regardless of whether I take over the Crest. I don’t want to do anything without you. I don’t want another woman. I don’t ever want to break the bond and I pray to God you don’t break it, either. I don’t think I would ever recover if you did.”

  She inspected him a moment longer. The suspense racked his nerves, but at least he said what he needed to say. She knew where he stood.

  At last, she softened. Her fingers tightened around his arm. “I feel the same way. It’s hard to think about marrying anybody, but the thought of breaking the bond makes me sick. I don’t think I could survive that.”

  A palpable wave of relief swept through him. He lunged forward and kissed her. “I’m glad. Don’t worry about Alexa or the others. They’ll get over it in time and I can promise you that we’ll have just as much trouble from other people that I never fooled around with. In time, those women will be the least of our worries.”

  He swung the door open on a large apartment and stepped inside. No windows illuminated it. Solid walls blocked any view of the city outside, but an enormous, cut-glass window in the ceiling made it bright and cheerful.

  He drew Riley to a stop in the living room. She turned in a complete circle to gape at the couches and wing-backed chairs, the high bookshelf rising to the ceiling, and the marble kitchen counter separating the living area from a modern kitchen with all the appliances.

  Victor’s heart skipped a beat. He waited days for this moment and she didn’t disappoint him. Now she knew what Anarock really was—or most of it. She saw everything it could be behind its veneer of destitution and ruin.

  Riley swallowed hard, but before she could say anything, Malachai Griffin barged out of a back room. He dwarfed Victor by a hundred pounds and he wore his usual tailored suit with an immaculate fuchsia tie.

  He rushed Victor with both arms out. He clapped his overpowering embrace around his brother and swept him up in a crushing bear hug. He pounded Victor on the back and laughed his big, deep, belly laugh. “There he is! What the hell have you been doing out there, nearly getting yourself killed?”

  Victor coughed to catch his breath, but he couldn’t help laughing at his brother’s antics. “So you heard about that?”

  “How could I miss it? When are you ever going to learn?” Malachai shot a grin at Riley. “He’s always getting himself hurt and needing a rescue.”

  Victor waved between them. “Riley Strickland, this is my little brother Malachai. Would you believe he’s the youngest?”

  Malachai settled down immediately. He rounded on Riley with as serious an expression as he could muster under the circumstances, which turned out to be just a slightly less mischievous grin. He took Riley’s hand and pressed it between both of his. “We heard all about you, too. I’m delighted that I could be the first to welcome you to our humble home.”

  She cast a fleeting glance around her. “Thank you, but it doesn’t look all that humble to me. How do you live like this with so much poverty and devastation around you?”

  “That?” Malachai made the walls vibrate with his hearty laugh again. “That’s just our cover. We get all those people to camp out around the building so no one knows what’s really going on.”

  “Who are they?” she asked. “Are they all New Breed?”

  Victor spoke up. “They’re all New Breed, but not all of them really look like that. Some are changelings. Some have other abilities like Jules. Some deliberately make t
hemselves look like that so they can stand guard over the Crest.”

  She lowered her gaze to the floor and shook her head. “I can’t believe it.”

  “You will. Just wait until you see some of the other Crest houses.” Malachai hustled to the kitchen. “Hey! Are you two hungry? Tessa and Courtney won’t be back until tonight. They left enough food to feed the whole squad.” He kept casting excited grins over his shoulder while he yanked dishes out of the fridge and slapped them on the counter. “There’s boudin blanc and chicken jambalaya with dirty rice and blackened catfish and sweet potato pie. What do you say?”

  He paused in his tornado of activity to look back and forth between the two of them. Riley glanced at Victor, but he only shrugged. “Well? Are you hungry?”

  Riley stared back at Malachai and a hint of a smile crept over her lips. “Okay. I’d love some.”

  Malachai cackled with glee. “My mama’s gonna love you! She’s a dedicated Cajun cook so be prepared to be stuffed like a Christmas turkey.”

  20

  “We got it!” Colonel Horace Weeks barged across the war room waving a piece of paper. He stormed at Victor and Riley the minute they showed their faces.

  “What do you got?” Victor asked.

  “We got solid proof that the military sent their people into Anarock to infiltrate us.” The Colonel slapped his paper onto the nearest table. He flattened it with his enormous hands. “Take a look.”

  Riley and Victor flanked him. The paper didn’t look like anything special. Since she showed up in this crazy building, Riley didn’t see any modern technology—no computers, no cell phones, no high-resolution monitors displaying power grids or infrastructure layouts of the city.

  From what she could make out, the whole vast network of Anarock operated on a primitive scale of written documents, spoken communication, and runners. This posed an interesting contrast to the Griffin family home with its modern gas range and electric refrigerator. She wondered if all the New Breed lived like the Crest leader and his family, or if some status system kept some people down while privileging others. She didn’t want any part of a system like that.