by C Cato
Soren whimpered, and Cole caught him shoving his fist in his mouth. He wasn’t helping.
Balin laughed, his eyes crinkled. “I’m not offended, and you’d find very few of our kind are. We are very much alike.”
“How do I do it? I don’t want to start markin’ y’all secretly with chalk or somethin.”
Balin doubled over with Soren joining in, and Cole shook his head.
Still shaking with laughter and wiping his eyes, Balin sat down beside him. Ray grabbed a cushion next to the violently shaking Soren.
He pulled his long hair forward and fisted the mass a few inches from the end. “We all dye our hair.”
Balin’s hair faded from a deep purple to a brilliant blue green before fading to white.
“Some will have symbols dyed into their hair as well. The first color is for our clan. The second is for our Cluster, or mate-brother group. If we were mated to a woman, we would have another that represented her.”
“Isn’t it easier to just use tattoos?”
Balin flung his hair back over his shoulder, barely missing slapping Cole in the face with it. “Our skin rejects tattoos. Our cast are all unique, though.”
“Cast?” asked Soren, sobering enough to join the conversation.
The A’amoth rolled the sleeve of his shirt higher, exposing his wrist and forearm. The black of his talons bled into the dark brown of his hands and they faded into the white of the rest of his skin. “We don’t all have cast in the same way. We all have it on our hands and arms, but some have it elsewhere. Tails, genitals, neck, and chest. Kofa’s are lighter and shorter on the arm than mine, and he has a line that travels the length of his spine down to the end of his tail. It’s very sexy,” he added with a wink.
Cole grimaced. “I’m not goin’ to ask every A’amoth I see to strip just so I can check out their colorin’.”
“Perhaps not,” he said with a smile. “You’ll just have to get better at memorizing.”
A few minutes later, Kofa returned with an entourage. Ray was first, behind him was the man Cole assumed was Kofa. The chalk idea wasn’t a bad one. Two women and a man came strode in and made themselves comfortable without any preamble.
He was relieved to notice that they all did indeed have different hair colors, and that no matter how fancy their hairstyle, the ends were left visible. One of the women had black at the end that faded to red and then orange. She wore a sleeveless gown that showed off her muscular arms and the cast that reached her shoulders. The next woman was more covered, making it hard to see how her cast differed, but her fancy braided hairstyle had a topknot that hung down displaying her colors of blue, yellow, and gray. The last was a dour-faced A’amoth and shorter than the rest at a mere six feet tall. He sat with his arms crossed. Like the woman next to him, he was covered enough Cole couldn’t see his cast, a single braid thrown over his shoulder the only identification. It was all red. Did that mean he wasn’t affiliated with a clan?
Cole also noticed a familiar tug toward the angry man. He shifted in his seat as blood rushed to his cock, and the stranger’s sour expression grew darker. What did that mean?
Kofa had disappeared into another room, and Lirra stood with arms folded at the top of the short stairway.
“Why are we here instead of eating dinner, and why have you included humans in an Alliance meeting, Lirra?” The voice was masculine, so Cole assumed it was the male.
“Don’t be rude, Zaro. You know I wouldn’t have called this meeting if it wasn’t important,” said Lirra.
“Sorry to party crash your meetin’, but we need your help,” said Cole, not wanting to wait for formalities.
All the A’amoth, including Kofa and Balin jumped to their feet. Shouting filled the room and his head.
“Smooth,” said Soren, scooting over to sit next to him. “I guess we forgot to tell them this part.”
Lirra growled and slashed her hand through the air, and the frantic chatter stopped abruptly. When she turned her intense gaze on Cole, they all did the same. He tensed to control a shiver. “How can you do this?”
“We’re not entirely human, Lirra. Not a threat, though.”
“Keet has recognized this man as a mate-brother,” said Ray quietly.
Lirra stopped moving. Cole wasn’t certain if she was breathing. A hand rose slowly to cover her mouth. “How?” she asked again, voice rougher with unidentified emotions.
“A device I use to communicate with my team. Still not sure how it works with what you do.”
“Besides defying all reason,” muttered Soren under his breath. Thankfully, everyone ignored him.
“As for Keet. I don’t know. Both Sonya and I were drawn to him when we saw him in that Valkyrie camp. They were using him to track us.”
“Track you? Like an animal?” said one of the other women, her voice rising at the end.
“How did they track you?” Lirra asked, with less vehemence.
Cole grimaced. That was the million-dollar question. “I wish I knew, ma’am, but he was real good at it.”
One by one the A’amoth resumed their seats, and Lirra sat on the edge of the pit. Kofa returned with a large platter that he placed on the low table in the middle of them. Cured meats and various cheeses covered the plate along with some grapes, and apple slices. His stomach grumbled but he didn’t reach for anything. Soren dug right in.
“Explain what’s going on, Lirra,” said Zaro.
“My children, and this man’s woman,” she pointed at Cole,” have been taken by the Valkyrie. “Until now, we have kept a healthy distance from those women, but now they threaten some of ours. My children.”
The woman with the fancy hairdo leaned forward. “My heart bleeds for you, Lirra, but what would you have us do? Our clans are all small. It would take months to garner the support from the larger ones, and with Frathanel screaming for our compliance she will make sure no one raises a finger. An’ra has threatened to go back three times already today and tell Frathanel we will not agree to terms.”
“You are right, of course, Eudala. I can muster one hundred and fifty from my Clan on short notice.”
“Whatever my people can do to help you we will,” said Eudala. “I can probably get you seventy-five or so, but it would take a week to get to the wall.”
The second woman tapped her chin. “You are my allies, and I wish to help but would need to consult with my mates first. Lirra, have you considered that this may trigger a war with the humans? It will most certainly be an act of aggression.”
Lirra got up and started pacing again. “No, I haven’t considered it. I’ve only just learned of my children’s captivity, but they’ve been gone for almost two months.”
“Ah. Well then stranger, we have your timely appearance to thank for advance notice. The Gathering will not finish until next week and it would have been another two or three for our young people to return to us before we had news of their disappearance.”
“Cole, ma’am. I’m sorry for the circumstances but hope it will benefit all of us. As for startin’ a war, I’d like to avoid that if possible. I want Sonya and my friend back safe and sound, and with as little bloodshed as possible. I’m a soldier, ma’am—”
“Please, call me Meris. Ma’am is so antiquated.”
Cole ducked his head. How was he supposed to navigate conversations with these people and not give too much away? He glanced at Soren, who raised an eyebrow at him, but didn’t offer any assistance. Asshole.
“I’m a military leader, or I was before I retired. If I can come up with a way to get our people without using you and yours, I will, but having you there as backup would give me some peace of mind.”
The women nodded, but Zaro jerked to his feet. “Why should I care about your peace of mind, human? How do we know you weren’t involved in stealing Talic and the others, and you aren’t trying to lure us over the wall? Clearly, you humans have become clever enough to mimic Thought; what else do you have in store? You humans are all unethica
l, cowardly, small-minded rodents. I’d rather we had nothing to do with you!”
“Zaro!”
Each question and accusation had brought Zaro closer, until he was within kissing distance. Blood rushing through Cole’s veins caught fire, sending blue heat through him. A snarl curled his lip.
“Come or don’t. I don’t fuckin’ care. That’s on you, you fuckin’ coward. Whether I have an army of your people behind me or just Soren there, I will go to that city and retrieve the people I care about.”
Zaro’s eyes had been growing wider with every word. Cole knew he had to be lit up like a Christmas tree.
Zaro fell back two steps, and one of the women gasped.
“What? What are you?”
Soren brushed Cole’s shoulder pulsing with the same internal energy. Eudala and Meris had taken up positions behind the shaken-up male, but neither had aggressive stances. Eudala’s eyes were as wide as Zaro’s, and Meris bounced ion the balls of her feet, her eyebrows rising like she had a million questions ready to burst out of her mouth. Behind him, Cole heard the other’s move to new positions, and he turned to press his back to Soren’s as the A’amoth surrounded them.
“This got out of hand quickly,” whispered Soren.
Kofa, Belin, and Lirra had fanned out to form a half circle. Cole’s hand went to his hilt, and he circled his shoulders. The once friendly expressions were closed or just plain hostile. He didn’t know what kind of fighters they were, but they were about to find out. He jumped up on the low table, bending his knees. Cole prepared for an attack.
“Wait!”
Ray shoved between his father, and Lirra and threw his arms out to the side to bar their way.
“Don’t do this! I wouldn’t have brought them here if I thought they were a danger to you. I swear! Please give them a chance to explain.”
“Explain, human,” Lirra ground out.
“I said we aren’t entirely human. I didn’t exaggerate.” Straightening, he moved his hand away from his weapon and dropped them to his sides. “We are Sentinels. We’ve been in stasis for two hundred years, and about three weeks ago the Valkyrie found and tried to infiltrate our bunker, and Keet led them to us.”
Lirra relaxed marginally, but still flexed and unflexed her deadly hands. “Two hundred? You were alive before the plague? That’s impossible.”
“You mean like your freaky weird mind-talking ability?” said Soren.
“Stand down, Ren,” said Cole, hoping to avoid a re-escalation.
“It appears we have a lot to learn about each other,” said Lirra, taking her seat. It must have been a cue because all the other A’amoth sat simultaneously.
Cole remained standing on the table.
“Please, sit and be at ease,” said Lirra.
He hopped down and sat next to Soren, who had already tired of standing.
“We have a lot to discuss, and it’s going to be a very long night,” said Lirra.
Turned out that long night was an understatement.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
Cole
Three days. Three long days of endless debates, negotiations, shouting, and worry. Cole was beginning to think there would be no real help from the A’amoth.
Lirra was practically frothing at the mouth to get a move on to help her kids, but there was still some resistance. Warriors from Eudala’s clan had already begun to arrive, and Meris was scheduled to return with an answer later in the day, but none of that helped Cole sleep at night.
Soren had disappeared as soon as he learned about their research and development facilities. He hoped to come up with a portable solution to their charging issue, but Cole had warned him about sharing that vulnerability with the A’amoth. Ray knew about it but swore he wouldn’t say anything. Not that it mattered. They needed help.
Trust was hard for him to give, and he wasn’t sure everyone was on their side. Case in point: Zaro. Nothing the guy did made any sense. The A’amoth leader contradicted every point made, and always glared at him. Was his prejudice toward humans too great that he couldn’t work reasonably with one?
Cole could hear the angry shouting in the lilting language they used long before he reached the small meeting room. The room was set up like the couch seating pit in Kofa’s apartment. A long low table sat in the center of the large pillows that lined the low walls and floor of the pit.
Thanks to Balin’s lesson in how to identify an A’amoth, he was able to recognize Eudala, Lirra, and to his surprise, Meris. The three women sat together on one side of the room and snarled angry words at Zaro who stood alone. He stood, hands on hips and tail whipping hard. Teeth bared as their voices rose in volume. Dangerous. Completely sexy.
That was unexpected. Since when did the grouchy type turn me on? Something about Zaro had appeal.
The chorus of anger stopped abruptly as soon as he entered the room proper. Four sets of eyes shifted in his direction, and he was struck with the sudden urge to back out. Zaro had made it clear on several occasions that Cole wasn’t welcome in their council discussions. He had pointed out that Zaro was welcome to try and throw him out. That hadn’t gained him any points with the man. The council had gotten over their general awe at meeting Sentinels fast and were back to treating him and Soren like the lower-lifeform humans that they were. The members of Lirra’s clan like Kofa and Balin, were open and accepting of them, but as more folks arrived from other clans, Cole could see why Ray had had some reluctance to return even when he’d learned the truth.
The A’amoth had a huge superiority complex. Problem was, they probably deserved it. In a world where humans were regressing more and more into more medieval mindsets, they not only maintained the technology and sciences of his time, but they continued to improve on it. They were brilliant people. All of them. Even the ones that identified as warriors were adept at something other than fighting. Sonya would fit right in with these people. If he could get them to agree enough to help save her.
“Cole, is there something we can do for you?” asked Lirra, her words polite but clipped. She more than the others was accepting of Cole since she believed her son was his mate-brother, something he was still skeptical about, but having him in the room only made her job harder so he’d agreed to stay away while they tried to get Zaro to agree to help.
Zaro had the largest group of independent warriors of their alliance. All men. His was the only clan without any women. The men had been rejected by female mates, mate-brothers, or just wanted their own sex. Apparently, there was a lot of them. Their preferred stance was neutrality. Zaro had no issues in being involved with the alliance and free trade among them, but committing his men to fight against humans was an entirely different matter.
Cole bobbed his head. He didn’t want to be there anymore than they wanted him there, but refused to be chased off like some naughty little kid who was caught with his hand in a cookie jar.
“Yeah. I was hopin’ to borrow Eudala for a short while. Soren had some questions for her.”
Each of the clans in the alliance had specialties. Lirra’s was biology and medicine, and Eudala’s was technology. Hardware mostly, and that was what they needed to get Soren’s device to work. His knowledge had stalled out, and after a long talk, they decided to bring someone into their confidence. What choice did they have? If Sonya ran out of juice before they could get her to the Vault, all this would be for nothing.
Cole hated it.
Eudala smiled and sauntered toward him. All the women, and some of the men, had been flirting with him and Soren, much to his friend’s delight. Cole didn’t think the man had gone to bed alone since they’d arrived.
Zaro growled she glided past him, and she stopped to glance at him with eyebrows raised. Cole did, too. What the fuck was that about? Zaro turned away from them with a huff, and Eudala shook her head. She smiled up at Cole and placed her hand on his chest. Of all the women flirting with him, he got along best with Eudala. She was deeply in love with her Cluster of men and had no i
ntention of adding him to the roster, so her flirting was harmless, light, and safe.
“What can I do for you, my dear,” she purred.
“I need to see you in private,” he said, returning her smile.
“Mm. Of course, you do,” she said, softly. She was a very good flirt.
Lirra chuckled. “We can take a break for a couple of hours. We still need to appease An’ra with something. She’s asking too many questions about the warriors arriving. Distractions only last for so long. If word gets back to Frathanel that Keet and Talic are missing, we will have bigger problems to deal with. Go,” she said waving them away. “I’ll come and find you shortly.”
“Thanks, Lirra. We’ll be in the labs.”
Eudala hooked her arm with his, wrapped her tail around his waist. “Is there a problem?” she asked seriously as soon as they were away from the others.
He didn’t understand how they were able to mentally switch channels and close frequencies, but he trusted that no one else would be able to hear them. “Yes. What we are going to share with you is in the strictest confidence, Eudala.”
She gazed up at him, her pace not slowing but her tail tightened. “You know you have my support. What can I do to help?”
Cole quickly told her about their issue with power and needing to supply it.
“If you get low enough, the Halo becomes corrupted? Cease all function?”
“That’s what happened with all of Ian’s prototypes. He hadn’t fixed it at time of install, but he’d been workin’ on it.”
“If we had more time, we could probably address the issue directly. As it is, yes I can help with the device.”
The labs were located on the main floor of the compound, the same as the meeting room, so it didn’t take them long to reach Soren, who was throwing a metal rod at the ground and frowning at it fiercely.
“Problems?” he chuckled.
Without raising his head, Soren flipped him off.
“That doesn’t seem like a friendly gesture,” teased Eudala. “Perhaps, I can help ease some of the frustration.”
