by C Cato
To his relief, she came without question. He picked her up and glared at the newcomers. “We appreciate your help just now, but we’ve had a lot of hostility in the past few weeks, so you’ll excuse our caution.”
The stranger nodded, his frown softening. The others with him removed their head coverings, and Cole took the opportunity to study their leader. Lean and cut with hair that would qualify as pure platinum, hanging to his ass. Storm-cloud eyes regarded his team with suspicion. His skin was exceptionally pale, but with a shadow of stubble at his jaw. It was the perfect offset to keep him from being “pretty”.
“Uncle Ray won’t hurt you,” said Elise. “He was Momma’s friend.”
“Do you think we can trust these people?” asked Risa.
“No choice. Elise trusts him, and we are out of our element here. We can’t just kill everyone.”
“Sure, we can,” she replied. “It’s really easy, too. These Valkyrie are pushovers.”
Ray appeared to track each of them as they spoke.
The hairs on the back of his neck stood up, then he shook it off. I’m gettin’ paranoid if I start thinking shit like that. He shifted Elise from his hip to his back.
A woman came to stand alongside Ray, and the pair were backed by five other, semihostile, men.
She was short, matching Risa’s five foot, but stockier, with a long, rounded nose like a hawk. Her severe ponytail pulled her face tight and made it hard to guess her age. Her hair was a deep auburn and reminded him of a blood ruby.
“You have me at a disadvantage,” said Ray. “Elise has told you who I am, but I don’t know your names.” His voice was rich, smoky.
“I’m Cole. This is Risa, Soren, and Ditre.”
“They saved me!” said Elise from his back. Cole smiled up at her.
Ray did the same. He went from handsome to gorgeous in Cole’s assessment.
Well I gotta give the man points for sex appeal, but there are more important things to be thinking about.
“Monkey, where’s your momma? Your daddies? Why aren’t you at home?” asked Ray, moving closer to address the girl.
Little arms tightened around his neck. “Dead now,” she said, with a wet sniff.
“Oh, baby girl. Come here.” Cole pulled her off his back and into his arms. Warm tears tracked down his neck where she buried her face and he stroked her hair.
Color leached from Ray’s face. “Dead?”
“We can’t stay here,” said the woman. “They’ll come back with reinforcements.”
Ray buried both his hands in his hair. “Give us a minute, Tessa.”
She rolled her eyes, and Risa snorted. They’d probably get along like long-lost sisters. Cole agreed with her though. They did need to move. “The Valkyrie came. They were…were looking for us.” That stuck in his throat like thick oatmeal. “Celene, Alex, and the others died when they captured one of ours. We were able to get away with Elise.”
“I’ll assume there is more to this story,” said Tessa. “Let’s get away from here and then we can find a safe place to camp for the night.”
Scanning the area, Cole frowned. “You don’t have horses?”
A small, but cocky smile lifted Ray’s lips. “No. Not everyone lives in the dark ages like the Valkyrie,” he said.
Cole couldn’t help the healthy dose of skepticism. Elise’s family didn’t even have indoor plumbing or electricity.
One of the strangers had been holding the reins of the four horses, and Ditre had ventured into the open, checking the bodies on the ground. Probably to see if anyone needed help.
Cole sighed. When they’d gone to work for Ian, he made a promise to his gentle friend; there would be no more combat. Then they wake up in a violent and primitive future. Not what he’d promised at all.
When he was done and confirmed they were all dead, Ray and his band moved in the opposite direction Cole and his group had just come.
“This is a big risk, Sarge,” said Risa, coming to stand beside him.
Cole couldn’t take his eyes off Ray, from his place at the lead. Head bent toward Tessa as they whispered together.
“Can you hear them?”
“Yeah. They’re discussing security for...” she tilted her head to the side. “They just stopped.”
Ray glanced back at them, but his gaze didn’t betray anything.
“Do you get the impression Ray can hear us?”
“Hmm. I don’t see how, but we could always conduct a test to find out.”
“What do you have in mind.”
“Oh, just answer a couple of questions.”
Cole narrowed his eyes at Risa. She had that playful tone. Nothing every good followed that tone. “Fine.”
“Goody!” She didn’t rub her hands together, but she might as well have.
“So, you’ve been eye-fucking this guy since he took his headgear off.”
Cole cleared his throat and prayed to anything and everything that he was just being paranoid about Ray hearing them. “Hardly. Your point?”
“Party-pooper. What’s the dirtiest thing you can imagine doing to him?”
“Is this really necessary?”
“Of course! Need something shocking to knock him off his high horse.”
“What would you do, Sarge?” asked Soren.
Cole rolled his eyes. He’d forgotten to close the channel, and Ditre and Soren were eagerly awaiting his answer. Ditre, who was slightly ahead of them, had even turned around to walk backwards, a goofy grin on his face.
“Fine. You want to shock. Here goes. When I first saw him, my first impulse was to throw him on the ground and rub my face all over him, then fuck him until he drooled.”
“Always knew you’d be too intense for me, Sarge,” said Ditre with a small salute and a smile, he turned off his comms and turned back around.
“Haven’t scared me off yet,” said Soren. “Continue.”
“I think I’ve humiliated myself enough for one day. He didn’t respond. I’m not going to keep talkin’ dirty for your amusement.”
“Aww!” Soren and Risa intoned at the same time.
Cole chuckled and buried his paranoia back in the depths of forgotten emotion where it belonged.
For the next two hours, they traveled in relative silence, broken occasionally by the cheerful questions of Elise or her happy humming. Cole was glad to see her thinking of something other than her dead parents, but he couldn’t help the stabbing pain her happiness caused. After all, it wasn’t him who’d brought a smile to her face.
They hiked until they reached the base of the larger peak they’d seen in the distance. Tessa and four of the men broke away from the group, and they quickly lost from sight. Ray and the rest found wood they could burn and made a large pile. The trees were sparse, but after the recent storms, there were plenty of broken limbs and felled trees for them.
Cole put Elise down to help gather and Soren sat with her to teach her how to play Rock, Paper, Scissors. Then everyone else found places to sit comfortably while Ray used a flint to start the fire. So not entirely as modern as he’d boasted.
“Aren’t you worried about the fire being seen by the Valkyrie?” he asked Ray.
“Not really. We’re more mobile than they are, and they just don’t do subtlety and subterfuge well. If they do attack, we’ll have plenty of notice.” He went back to building his fire.
“They have horses and you’re on foot. How much more mobile can you be?”
Ray didn’t answer.
“Um… Sarge?” said Risa, to gain his attention.
He turned to her, but she was pointing away from camp. He knew his mouth had to be open. There was only so much shifting and accepting a brain could do.
Coming toward them were three vehicles. Each of them had massive tires that were suitable for all-terrain use. The cab was a sling with four sunken seats, floating on a suspension system. There was no roof to protect against the elements. They came to a halt, the only noise from them a pleasant
hum of electricity. Cole moved closer to inspect them as they all parked in a half circle around their primitive camp, forming a barrier.
Each tire was easily as tall as he was, like for a monster truck, but the tread was different. An engine was attached to the back and was covered by black panels. “They’re solar,” said Ray. Cole tried not to jump.
“If the Valkyrie have access to vehicles, why do they use horses?”
“They don’t.”
Cole swiveled his head between the car and Ray a couple of times. “Who are you?”
Ray sighed and offered his hand. Cole took it without a second thought. It was warm against his palm. Slightly callused, more than likely from the sword worn on his hip.
“We got off on the wrong foot,” he said, pumping Cole’s hand once. “I’m Ray of Stone Peak Village, and you are?”
“Cole Bennett.”
“Mm. Okay, Cole Bennett. We have some things we need to tell you, and I’m sure you have the same. Let’s sit by the fire and have a civil conversation.”
At the fire, only Elise spoke. Cole’s team sat on one side of the flames, Elise draped in Ditre’s lap as he tickled her, and Tessa and Ray’s men sat on the other side. Ray took up a neutral position between the two groups and Cole sank down beside him. Elise rolled away from Ditre, giggling, and skipped over to plop down in his lap. The medic kissed the top of her head and hugged the girl close.
There was no missing the intense gaze Ray gave them. “If you wouldn’t mind, could you tell us what happened with Celene? As you have already guessed, we knew her, and her husbands and it breaks my heart to learn of their passing.”
Cole gave an abbreviated version of their time on the farm, leaving out what they’d shared about being Sentinel and their own odd history. Occasionally, Elise would chime in with her own perspectives, often making everyone laugh. It helped to ease the tension. What she didn’t do was tell them about the night at the barn. Cole had explained the importance of keeping their secret no matter what, and she was taking that very seriously.
“That is truly tragic,” said Tessa, when Cole had finished. “But you haven’t explained why the Valkyrie were chasing you. Why they continue to pursue you and lose precious resources?”
“Precious?” mused Risa. “One of the ones I took out last night said ‘sacred’. Celene had told us that women are rarer now, but seriously, precious?”
“Now?” Tessa exchanged a confused glance with Ray. “Yes. The Valkyrie represent the largest and last population of human women on the planet.”
“Careful. We don’t need to be givin’ anything away,” warned Cole.
“I thought Celene said they were all infertile,” said Soren.
This time Tessa traded glances with four of the men. All but one gave small affirmative nods. “We are.”
Cole stiffened. His body going on high alert. Risa shifted, ready to jump to her feet and fight. Ray placed a hand on his knee and the fight instantly left him.
“She’s not a threat. Please, just listen.”
“Yes, I’m a Valkyrie,” Tessa continued. “I was born in the north on the other side of the Barrier, but I couldn’t sit idly by and see women abused the way they were in Haven. That was back when we still had trade agreements with Haven.”
One of the men passed out jerky and dried fruit, while another passed around a metal container. When it came to him, he found cool water inside and took a drink, before passing it on to Ray.
“When I was young. Only twelve. A man came to my village. He was in rags, and near death. My mother nursed him back to health, and eventually, they fell in love. He told us that he was from Haven and that he loved a Valkyrie. Along with other men. They’d been assigned to work together.”
“There are men in the Valkyrie?” asked Soren.
Tessa narrowed her eyes, and the man next to her shifted to lay a hand on the hilt of his sword.
Cole caught Soren’s gaze and gave a slight shake of his head. He tried to send him a message but found the tech’s comm disabled.
“We aren’t Valkyrie,” said the man beside Tessa.
“I’m sorry, we haven’t been introduced,” said Cole, wanting a name to put with the face, and a distraction to take attention from Soren.
“Nor,” he said, touching his chest. “That’s Riley, Morgan, and Dallas. We’re Tessa’s Hounds—and her husbands.”
“Hounds? Is that a common practice?”
Cole wanted to throw a rock at Soren’s head. His natural curiosity was going to get them killed. Did his professional distance rot away over time?
“No,” replied Tessa. She didn’t respond to the first question. “I’m a Hunter. They are my Hounds. Units like ours are few and not many men choose to join.”
Cole shot a hard glare at Soren when he opened his mouth to ask another question. He tapped his temple to tell his friend to turn his comm on. When the channel was open, he let the man have it. “Have you lost your ever lovin’ mind? Stop with the fuckin’ questions!”
“Oops! Sorry about the comm. As for questions, we won’t learn anything if we don’t ask.”
“It’s bad enough those Valkyrie want us. Do you think these people would be so generous if they knew we were meta-humans that were over two hundred years old?”
“Maybe?” Soren’s voice rose at the end.
Risa snorted and tried to cover it with a cough. Cole wanted to pinch the bridge of his nose.
“Tell us about you and your group Cole,” said Ray.
Cole shifted in the dirt enough to see the man clearly. “We’re from the east.”
Nor reached for his sword again, and Tessa sat up straighter.
“This is why we never left diplomacy up to you, Sarge,” teased Soren. “What would you like to know?” he said, taking up the thread.
“Is there no east anymore,” Cole grumped.
“How do you know so little of the Valkyrie? They have been the authority for a hundred and fifty years,” asked Dallas. His voice was a deep baritone and so at odds with his small stature, Cole almost gaped at him.
Recovering quickly, Cole crossed his arms and glared at Soren.
“Boys! Just tell them. If they turn hostile, Cole, you can get Elise away, and Soren and I will take care of the threat,” said Risa. Her face remained calm, but she scanned the group. No doubt searching for any weakness she could exploit.
“What’s with this ‘we’ again? You’re the goddamn assassin!”
“Jesus, Ren! It’s not gonna kill you to get your hands dirty now and then.”
Ray had gone stiff. Cole noted the hand drifting to his sword hilt. The set of his shoulders. The man was ready for a fight. “You can hear us, can’t you?”
Slowly, he nodded his head.
For the benefit of the others, who had begun to appear uncomfortable, he spoke out loud. “How?”
“How what?” asked Tessa.
“Not relevant,” Ray said, his voice low, threatening. “What are you?”
Tessa and her men’s gazes shifted between his Sentinels, and hands started to drift to hilts.
Cole set Elise on her feet. “Baby girl, why don’t you go sit with Risa.”
“No,” said Ray, his hand shooting out to take hers. He softened his harsh words with a smile. “I haven’t had a chance to cuddle with you.” She giggled and fell into his lap.
Ray glared at Cole over her head, but Cole could only hear the beating of his heart in his ears. Nothing would bring him to his knees faster than seeing that little girl come to harm.
“Please don’t hurt her,” he begged.
“I would never. I love her like she’s my own.”
“So do I.”
Ray nodded. “Then we have some common ground.” But out loud he added, “Now answer Tessa’s question, please.”
“We’re from the past,” said Cole with a resigned sigh. He wished Sonya was there to explain it, and his insides twisted with renewed pain at her absence. “It sounds real stupid to say ou
t loud like that.”
“What does that mean?” asked Tessa. “You traveled through time?”
Dallas snorted, and Nor narrowed his eyes.
“It means we were put into stasis in the year 2025, and we woke up a few weeks ago.”
Ray opened his mouth twice before closing it and shaking his head. Even Elise had stopped playing and settled quietly into Ray’s lap. “You should be dead,”Ray said finally. “Technology was never perfected that would preserve a human in suspended sleep over extended periods of time.”
It was Cole’s turn to gape. “How do you—?”
“Things are different in the north,” he said, cutting Cole off. “Don’t change the subject. How did you survive?”
“We’re enhanced,” said Ditre. Ray whirled on the medic so fast, the gentle man flinched away.
“Enhanced?”
“We’re known as Sentinel. Prototype super soldiers,” finished Cole. He hated calling himself that just as much as Sonya did, but what else were they. Ian had perverted his work, and they were the proof.
Tessa’s hand flew to her mouth. “That can’t be.”
“I guess our reputation precedes us,” joked Soren.
“Yes,” she said, seriously. “We’ve been hunting you for years.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Cole
“What do you mean hunting?” asked Risa, her back ramrod straight. She was on high alert.
“Stand down,” warned Cole. The last thing they needed was a fight.
She replied with a terse nod. It would have to do.
“Celene had mentioned that she and her husbands had been sent out to hunt for the legend of the Sentinels. Were you the same?” asked Ditre.
Tessa frowned, but answered. “Yes. We’re a Hunter team.” She indicated the men sitting close to her.
“And you?” Ditre asked the loan man, who hadn’t been introduced.
He lounged on a low rock. Legs kicked out in front of him. Peppered black hair, and a few days of scruff on his chin made him appear older than the others. “I’m Laughlin. I work with Ray, and before you ask, he and I are retired Hounds, and no we won’t talk about it.”
