Mystics 3-Book Collection (36 page)

Zoey’s mouth fell open.

“What? You mean I’m back in the program? I’m
an operative again?”

Agent Barnes smiled. “Of course you are.
You’re probably one of the best operatives the agency has seen in
years.”

He pulled out a file from the inside of his
jacket and handed it to her.

Zoey smiled and opened it. Her mother’s
picture was exactly how she remembered it.

“Thank you for giving it back to me, and for
keeping it secret.”

Agent Barnes hesitated for a moment. “I know
you still have lots of questions about your mother—and your
father.
But at least for now you have a
location
to
start looking.”

He tapped the top of the file with his
finger.

“See you later, Little Red.”

Zoey watched him hop away on his crutches
until he disappeared around the corner.

She looked down at the file and grinned.

“New York City,” she whispered. “Here I
come.”

MYSTICS

*
Book Two *

THE ALPHA NATION

Mystics Book 2

By

Kim Richardson

SMASHWORDS EDITION

*****

PUBLISHED BY:

Kim Richardson on Smashwords

The Alpha Nation, Mystics Book 2:

Copyright © 2014 by Kim Richardson

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Prologue

T
he door swung open, and Mrs. Dupont
strode into the room. Her black suit clung tightly to her tall
narrow frame, and her short white hair glowed softly in the
semi-darkness. The angle of the light amplified her monstrous
feline features. She looked like a lioness. She crossed the room,
stood by the bay window, and looked out over the river below. She
stroked the heavy burgundy drapes lovingly with her gangly fingers
and smiled with bulbous red lips.

“The girl changes everything.” Her voice
quivered with excitement.

“With her, we can finally commence the Great
Junction. I have waited a lifetime for this opportunity to set the
worlds right, once and for all. And now we don’t need to wait any
longer.”

Nazar lounged comfortably in a lush leather
armchair facing a large stone fireplace. His single white eye
glowed in the dark like a large pearl as he watched Mrs. Dupont. He
drummed his fingers on a short crystal glass brimming with gold
liquid.

“And you’re sure
she’s
the one?” he
nodded feebly at her.

Mrs. Dupont stared out of the window for a
moment.

“Of course I’m sure. Her seventh sense is
stronger, more
potent.
She is the last of her kind…the last
of the bloodline. I’ve been researching her for most of my life. So
you see, Nazar, of course I
am
sure.”

Nazar stared at the fire. The flames
glimmered in his eye.

“But what about Elizabeth? She’s also from
that same bloodline. We had her
tested
remember? I’m sure
she
remembers what we did to her to get those results. We
could use the girl as leverage? Elizabeth will come out of hiding
when she knows we have her daughter - I’m sure she will - I know
her. We grew up together. I know how she thinks. She’s probably
been watching over her kid all this time. She’ll come to us as soon
as we have her, trust me.”

“That won’t be necessary,” answered Mrs.
Dupont, still gazing out of the window.

Nazar frowned. “We’ve been searching for
Elizabeth relentlessly since she escaped from Troll City. Are we
simply going to forget about her? She’s been spotted in Tudar
Village. I’ve already sent a team out to apprehend her. Should I
tell them to forget about it?”

Mrs. Dupont turned from the window, her face
pinched severely, looking more like a beast than a woman. “No. Let
them take her alive. I have
different
plans for Elizabeth
now that we know of her daughter’s existence. She’s been replaced
with something
far
better.”

Her eyes widened excitedly. “I know where
her precious daughter is — she’s in a North American Hive, mixing
with Agents. But not for long; I’ve already taken steps to ensure
her release. She will be with us shortly.”

She crossed the room and made her way
towards a mahogany side table. A set of decanters lay on a silver
tray. She poured herself a drink of light gold from one of the
decanters and let it swish in her mouth before she swallowed.

“The sentimental leprechauns did us a
service by releasing Elizabeth all those years ago.”

She set down the glass and poured herself
another. “I believe this was
meant
to happen, their
stupidity actually worked in our favor.”

“And what favor would that be?” Nazar leaned
back in his chair and swirled the contents of his drink with his
wrist.

Mrs. Dupont raised her glass to her lips and
said, “The girl. The leprechauns thought they were doing Elizabeth
a favor by letting her go, but in the end it was a favor to
us
. They gave us Zoey, something grander and more powerful.
We should be thanking them, really.”

Nazar watched his mistress swallow the rest
of her drink. “Perhaps we should send them a thank-you note,” he
grinned.

“Perhaps.” Mrs. Dupont’s cat-like eyes
blazed eagerly.

“The girl’s senses are more powerful than
Elizabeth’s ever were. She knew this, of course, which is why she
tried to hide the child from me for all these years.”

Mrs. Dupont laughed a sick, wet laugh. “I
should be thanking Elizabeth for getting herself pregnant in the
first place. Her child will be the key to bring about the Great
Junction. The Alphas have been waiting for her for centuries. The
true
Originals had planned for this all along.”

Nazar leaned forward, balancing his glass
with his fingers and hesitating to press the point.

“You believe she has the same abilities as
her mother? Are you quite certain?”

“Yes. I
know
she does.” Mrs. Dupont’s
face twisted grotesquely in an attempt to smile.

“…And I know her gifts are more powerful
than her mother’s ever were. I have already glimpsed what she can
do. Her talents are limitless.”

Nazar raised an eyebrow. “I’m not convinced
Zoey is the girl with immeasurable power mentioned in the prophecy.
The scriptures are vague. We can’t be certain they refer to
her—”

“I am certain Zoey St. John is the
one
.” Mrs. Dupont’s eyes flashed dangerously.

Nazar’s face tightened as he finished his
drink. “Of course, if you are certain…”

Mrs. Dupont placed her empty glass carefully
on the table and turned to face Nazar.

“We must focus all of our energies on making
sure she fulfills her potential. I cannot afford any more errors.
The end of this world is within our grasp, and Zoey is the key to
its destruction.”

“…And if she doesn’t agree to play her part
in the great matter?” Nazar smiled weakly.

Mrs. Dupont lowered her eyes. “Then she
dies.”

A
hot breeze
caressed Zoey St. John’s face, and the dry golden wheat fields that
stretched out in front of her swayed like great amber waves in a
stormy sea. The air smelled like fresh dirt and home-baked
bread.

It had been ice cold and windy outside the
Hive in Toronto. Five inches of brilliant snow had carpeted the
grounds before they had left. The instant heat had come as a
surprise when she had stepped out of the mirror-port into the vast
fields around San Antonio.

It was the first week of January, and the
second year in her operative program had begun. Zoey had been
delighted that Agent Ward and Agent Vargas had promoted her.

Second year Operatives were now expected to
handle more dangerous and hostile mystics. They were undergoing
intense combat training and went out on field assignments on a
weekly basis. So when Agent Vargas had announced that Agent Barnes
and Agent Lee had requested that Zoey accompany them on a field
assignment, she had jumped willingly to the challenge.

She was still wearing her dense wool jacket
and felt like she’d just stepped into a sauna fully dressed. She
unzipped her jacket and let the air cool her.

“So…what exactly are we waiting for?” She
traced her fingers along the golden boomerang that was fastened to
her left wrist by a gold bracelet. When she turned and glanced at
Agent Barnes, she saw that he was smiling.

“You’ll see.” Agent Barnes shared a look
with Agent Lee like they knew some secret inside information, and
she didn’t.

Agent Barnes dropped a large black duffel
bag on the ground, and the contents rattled inside like large metal
pots.

Wiping the sweat from her brow, Zoey stared
out over the rippling fields. For a split second she thought she
saw a human shadow. But when she strained her eyes against the sun,
the shadow disappeared.

“I don’t get it,” she said. “We’re in the
middle of a giant field with nothing but wheat surrounding us for
miles around. Are we going to make cereal?”

A sudden gust of wind rustled through her
jacket, and her red hair waved out above her back. A large gray
cloud covered the sun, and the shadow relieved them from the
burning rays. “Patience, Little Red,” laughed Agent Barnes.

He slipped his leather jacket from his
shoulders and let it drop to the ground. He smiled at her
mischievously.

“Get ready. Here they come.”

Zoey followed his gaze.

“Here
who
comes? I don’t see anyone
or anything! Is this like a test or something? Do you want to see
how gullible I am? I’m still very new at this.
You
found me,
remember? Why are you smiling? I don’t see any—”

The rest of her words died in her
throat.

Across the waving fields of wheat, a
gigantic black funnel hung down from a gray storm cloud. It
spiraled violently, and the bottom of the vortex whipped back and
forth like a massive tail. Thunder roared and crackled, and the
winds intensified and slapped Zoey’s face with debris. The tornado
moved in their direction at an incredible speed, destroying
everything in its path like a giant vacuum. Clouds of wheat and
dust filled the air around it as it advanced. The fierce winds
sounded like millions of animals crying out at once.

The funnel split apart, and for a moment
Zoey thought it would be all over. But a few seconds later it
reconnected itself and kept moving on. The skin on Zoey’s arms
prickled with goose bumps. As it came closer she realized that this
was no ordinary tornado.

It wasn’t wind. It was thousands of
semi-transparent furry gray creatures which were flying in circles.
Their moving bodies formed a giant mystic funnel. They had bulging
red eyes and abnormally large mouths with rows of sharp, shark-like
teeth. They looked like a cross between wolves and monkeys, with
pointy ears, large torsos, and gangly limbs. Their gaping mouths
crushed and swallowed massive rocks, earth, trucks, remnants of a
shattered shed and, to Zoey’s disgust, a few unsuspecting cows.
They devoured everything that was unfortunate enough to be in their
way. Her blood turned to ice as she saw the excitement and pleasure
gleaming in their eyes - they
enjoyed
demolishing and
killing
everything
.

The ground shook as the mystic tornado
swirled closer. Then she smelled a sickening combination of wet
dog, rotten meat, and skunk. The putrid fragrance made her eyes
water.

Zoey stared open-mouthed. “What in the world
is
that
?”

“Dust devils,” answered Agent Barnes. “Nasty
little critters. I haven’t seen a combo this size for years.”

“It doesn’t look like a McDonald’s Big Mac
combo to me — just saying.” Zoey blinked the dust from her eyes and
tried to breathe through her mouth. She coughed and inadvertently
inhaled another wallop of
eau de toilette.

Agent Barnes looked delighted and exhaled,
“Oooh!”

“Their sole purpose is to destroy,” he said.
“They crave it…need it…live for it. They take pleasure in killing
and destroying. They eat anything, and I
mean
anything. A
dust devil combo this size can wipe out an entire village in a
matter of minutes and leave the land barren.”