Fallen Star (2 page)

She grabbed his wrist with both hands and
glared into his eyes. “I don’t know any more than you do.” It was
unlikely he’d strangle her, but she had no doubt he would cause her
pain. She couldn’t decide if the realization intimidated or excited
her.

“We’re supposed to be partners, yet you’ve
fed me nothing but lies and half-truths ever since I arrived on
this planet.”

“When have I lied?” She kept her voice even
as she stubbornly met his gaze.

“You’ve twisted the truth and kept vital
information from me. That’s the same thing.” His fingers tensed
then relaxed without releasing her. “You didn’t just locate these
women once we’d agreed to work with you. I can’t figure out how,
but you were responsible for their… The information you’ve complied
on each woman goes back long before the Shadow Maze was liberated.
Why have the Rodytes been watching these females?”

Everything really would be easier if Nazerel
became a true ally. Trusting him with certain details was
dangerous, but keeping him in the dark had only led to frustration
for both of them. “Can we go downstairs and discus this like
civilized people or should we—”

He slammed her back against the wall and
leaned in close. “I haven’t decided if I’m going to let you live.
Start talking.”

Never one to respond well to threats, she
clenched her teeth and stared past him mutinously. His fingers
tightened again and still she remained silent. Flickers of light
danced before her eyes. Panic sent frantic impulses skittering
through her body. Before she could act on them, his fingers
gradually loosened and she sucked air back into her lungs. He
couldn’t kill her and they both knew it. Like it or not he still
needed her.

He grasped one of her wrists with his free
hand and guided it between their bodies. “Is this what you want?”
He pressed her fingers against the considerable bulge in the front
of his jeans.

Her gaze snapped back to his and then
narrowed. Her first instinct was to caress him, to encourage his
unexpected strategy. She’d wanted him ever since she saw him and
ached for him still. Even so, her pride wouldn’t let her give in.
“You’ll be my whore if I tell you about the project? Is that what
you’re offering me?” He snarled and scrambled back just as she knew
he would. “I don’t barter with my body. I hadn’t realized you
did.”

“I’m nobody’s whore.” He crossed his arms
over his chest, feet planted far apart, the picture of indignant
male. “Tell me about the project because I can’t protect my people
if I don’t understand the situation. I’ve had enough of hints and
innuendos. How long have Rodytes been on Earth and what are their
plans for these women?”

He’d said Rodytes as if it were something
toxic. She should be insulted; after all, her father once ruled the
planet and her uncle ruled there still. Instead, she wrestled with
the possibilities for another moment, then took a deep breath and
told him how it all began.

The Bunker, Arizona

Two weeks later

Odintar Voss shifted in his chair, too
restless to contain his movements. Another briefing. How could
these people waste so much time talking? His jaw clenched as he
fought to maintain his calm expression. He sat between Lor and
Blayne on one side of a large conference table. Elias faced them
and Morgan presided over the meeting from the head of the
table.

“Am I boring you?” Morgan’s sharp question
snapped his wandering mind back to the present. How a beautiful
woman could sound so authoritative, Odintar hadn’t quite figured
out. But Morgan had a way about her. She was obviously comfortable
with the power she wielded, yet she still managed to appear
distractingly feminine. With flame-red hair and intense blue eyes,
she drew attention without even trying, but being memorable could
be a disadvantage for a Black Ops agent.

“No disrespect, Director,” he muttered, “but
we’ve been here over an hour and you’ve yet to say anything we
didn’t already know.” The observation earned him a warning glare
from Lor and a smirk from Blayne. His comrades had to be as
impatient as he was. They were just better at playing the game.

“If you have important things to do, skip
the next briefing and have one of the others fill you in on what we
discussed.” Her brows arched as she turned back to the diagram
displayed on the massive monitor inset in the far wall. Then she
went on as if his attitude hadn’t disrupted her speech. “This is
the section I’m proposing. It’s secluded enough from the rest of
the compound to offer privacy and it’s not currently in use.”

Networking with the human taskforce had
given the Mystic Militia access to information and resources they
badly needed. On the other hand, quadrupling the number of people
involved in their mission increased the risk of discovery and
inevitably slowed everything down. Odintar was still debating
whether or not cooperation was a fair exchange. And now Lor was
considering moving their operation into the humans’ facility.
Granted the Bunker offered amenities not available on their ship,
but it left them at the mercy of the humans. And Odintar refused to
be beholding to anyone.

“It will be nice to have private quarters
again,” Lor told her. “My men have been tripping over each other
ever since we left Ontariese.”

That much was certainly true. The cabins on
the ship were tiny and most were shared, making the limited space
even more confining. Still, how well did they know these humans?
High Queen Charlotte had assured Lor that Morgan could be trusted
and the human’s actions thus far had reinforced the claim. Even so,
Odintar remained wary.

He looked at the floor plan Morgan was
referencing. The Bunker was much larger than he’d realized, or had
been allowed to see. A small above-ground storage unit created the
illusion of insignificance, while three subterranean levels spread
out below. How many people did Morgan command? A compound this size
could accommodate hundreds. There was so much about the human
operation they simply didn’t know.

“What will we do with the ship?” Blayne
asked. “We can’t leave her unattended even if she’s shielded.”

“I’ve emptied the largest of our hangers. It
will be a tight fit, but I’m sure you can manage. The choice is
entirely up to you. If you’d rather leave things as they are, I
understand.” She glanced at Odintar and a faint smile curved her
lips. “Now Elias will explain the new developments.”

Odintar hadn’t been aware that there were
new developments. He straightened and scooted closer to the table
as his attention shifted to Morgan’s lieutenant. With a muscular
build, short dark hair, and sharp assessing gaze, everything about
Elias Bartram screamed military. They had only interacted a couple
of times, but Odintar found Elias surprisingly competent for an
ungifted human.

“The new safe house is operational,” Elias
began. “It’s designed to be used as a remote headquarter and we
believe the shield generator is finally producing a field dense
enough to prevent even Shadow Assassins from sensing what goes on
inside.”

“At the risk of sounding rude…” Odintar
started.

“As if that’s ever bothered you before.”
Blayne snickered, the humor in his silver eyes keeping the comment
light.

“Where did humans get tech advanced enough
to block Shadow Assassins. We have to reinforce our shields with
Mystic energy or they can sense us.”

Elias glanced at Morgan. She nodded and the
soldier grinned. “How much do you know about Operation Hydra?”

Shocked by the question, Odintar looked at
Lor. The events surrounding Operation Hydra had the highest
security rating. How had humans in this era learned of events that
took place nearly two centuries into their future? His commander
looked as confused as he was, so Odintar turned back to Elias. “How
the hell do
you
know about Operation Hydra?”

He’d been looking at Elias when he spoke,
but Morgan answered the question. “When High Queen Charlotte first
established an alliance with Earth’s leaders, one of the terms was
full disclosure. We needed to know how often Ontarians had been to
Earth and what they were doing while they were here. Now tell us
what you know. It will verify the information we were given.”

If the knowing gleam in her eyes was
justified, she knew more about the subject than he did. Still, he
saw no reason to object. “Dr. Hydran was the human responsible for
imprisoning and experimenting on Ontarians. Several of High Queen
Charlotte’s relatives were among his captives.”

Elias nodded. “He was also responsible for
the technology integrated into Saebin’s body armor.”

The technology he was referring to was
incorporated into more than Saebin’s body armor. Saebin, the
Overlord’s life mate, had munitions and sensory implants so
integrated into her body that they couldn’t be removed. “Those
technologies are from Earth’s future. Doesn’t Earth have laws
preventing their use?”

“Yes and no.” Elias chuckled. “The attitude
of the current administration is to fight fire with fire. We’re
allowed to utilize advanced technologies when we’re battling those
with similar technologies. I think you would agree that any and all
technologies are necessary when dealing with the Shadow
Assassins.”

“What other toys does this safe house
provide?” Lor’s expression remained tense and watchful. “Could
Shadow Assassins be incarcerated there? It would be a definite
advantage if we didn’t have to take each one back to Ontariese for
interrogation.”

“As it happens, there are four detention
cells in the basement of the safe house. We believe they prevent
teleportation, but for obvious reasons, we’ve been unable to test
them,” Morgan explained.

“You want one of us to test drive your
detention cells?” Suspicion spiked through Odintar. Was this a
clever ploy to…to what? Why was he so doubtful of these humans?
They had done nothing to earn his mistrust. In fact, just the
opposite was true. They had been helpful, honest and supportive
every step of the way.

Obviously sensing his doubt, Morgan
suggested, “Why don’t two of you go over there with Elias. One can
protect the other while he’s helpless, at least we hope to make him
helpless.”

“That’s not necessary,” Blayne said. “I’ll
test the containment for you.”

“Wonderful. If it works, we’ll begin
retrofitting the detention cells here. Shadow Assassins aren’t the
only ones who have been a challenge to contain.” When no one had
anything to add, she said, “Well then, I’ll leave you to it.
Despite what Odintar obviously thinks, I don’t spend my days in
meetings.” She pushed back her chair and stood. “Let me know what
you decide about moving in. There are a few more arrangements I
need to make if you take me up on the offer.”

Lor nodded and she left the conference
room.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” Lor
flared as soon as the door closed behind her. “I’ve never seen you
be so disrespectful to anyone who didn’t deserve it.”

The qualification made Odintar smile.
Respecting authority figures simply because they were in authority
was definitely not his strong suit. “When something seems too good
to be true, it usually is.”

“We’re not doing this out of the kindness of
our hearts,” Elias stressed. “We have the most to lose by letting
the Shadow Assassins roam free. They came here to hunt our women.
Do you honestly think we’ll sit back and let others try to shut
them down? They’ve invaded our space and endangered our females.
It’s our responsibility to neutralize the threat.”

“You’re right.” Odintar didn’t often make
mistakes, but he was willing to admit when he did. “We’re working
toward the same goal. My mistrust is inappropriate.”

“Suspicion can keep you sharp. Just don’t
let it take over.”

Odintar nodded in agreement with Lor’s point
then added, “I’ll apologize to Morgan.”

“We’re still waiting for the translation of
the notebook. Are you finished with it yet?” Elias asked after a
brief pause.

The notebook, just the thought of it made
Odintar cringe. Like some ruthless madam, Sevrin Keire had composed
detailed dossiers on potential mates for the Shadow Assassins.
Elias found a copy of the notorious collection during the raid on
Team North’s house, one of four Shadow Assassin hideouts. “I’m
finished with the translation, but it wasn’t as helpful as we’d
hoped. The first thirty-six entries were detailed, the information
easily understood. The other entries are still encoded. Without
some sort of key, the entries are basically meaningless.”

“How many entries are there?” Blayne
asked.

“Almost three hundred.”

That seemed to shock Elias. “There are three
hundred Ontarian hybrid females on Earth? How is that
possible?”

“We don’t know that they’re all half
Ontarian,” Lor said. “It’s possible that other factors landed them
in the notebook.”

Odintar hated to argue with his commander,
but on this particular subject Odintar happened to be an expert.
“It’s equally possible that there are even more. There were twelve
renegades on the loose for roughly three years and each was
intentionally trying to impregnate human females. One pregnancy per
week per renegade brings the total to 576 hybrid children. And that
estimate is probably too conservative.”

“Not if we factor in how many of the
pregnancies would have been carried to term,” Bryce added. “Few of
the females would have welcomed the news once they realized they
were carrying a child. Besides, that estimate calculates
pregnancies not female offspring.”

“Wait.” Curiosity flared in Elias’ gaze.
“What are you talking about?” Apparently Odintar hadn’t been the
only one hesitant to divulge secrets to their human counterparts.
“What renegades? This was done deliberately?”