Return of the Ascendant (The Ascendant Series) (5 page)

Chapter 8

Something was wrong.

Ty lifted Kyr and strode away from the transition point. He knew Sem would follow. If someone had been monitoring the Earth’s atmosphere at the right frequency, they might have detected the transition of the others. If they also happened to know the location of the Alametrian ship, their location was compromised.

What had prevented their transition?

His question was answered seconds later. Behind them, a blast of cold, foul-smelling air signaled the arrival of a new host of Shelvaks. Their ship had obviously been the one that captured the signal.

“How many of those bastards can possibly be on one ship?” Sem asked, drawing his weapon.

Ty didn’t even pause as he broke into a run. Now wasn’t the time to fight. Kyr was already weakened by the last Shelvak attack. Whether he liked their odds or not, he wasn’t about to put her at risk again.

Give her to me
, Sem thought.
You’re faster. Get your keys and get to the damn car so you can start it
.

He was right. Trusting his cousin to catch Kyr, Ty tossed her. She let out a squeak that faded as he pushed himself to his full speed. Any human who saw him wouldn’t have believed how fast he ran. Unfortunately, Shelvaks were faster.

He raced to the car, unlocking it with the key fob as he ran. Sem and Kyr were still beyond the light of the parking area as he threw the door open. The lights made it impossible to see how many Shelvaks followed them.

Hauling himself inside the vehicle, he started it, jammed it into gear, and floored the gas pedal without even bothering to close his door. It slammed shut of its own accord as he went from zero to sixty in less than four seconds. He reached the far side of the parking lot and slammed on the brakes, leaving rubber and smoke on the pavement as he stopped inches from Sem and Kyr. Reaching over, he shoved the passenger side door open.

He itched to get out of the car and grab Kyr. His instincts to protect her were at their height. She caught his eye through the windshield. Whatever she read in his expression had her wriggling free of Sem and hitting the pavement at a run. She dived through the open door, climbing over the armrest in the middle and pouring into the backseat. Sem was right on her heels and tossed himself into the passenger seat just as Ty hit reverse.

The locators
, Ty thought, tossing his to his cousin.

On it
, Sem returned.

Ty sped away from the warehouse, keeping one eye on the rearview mirror and the other on the road. Beside him, Sem entered the self-destruct codes into the locators and tossed each of them out the window. Flashes of light burst behind them as the locators were destroyed. He felt Kyr’s curiosity over it, but she didn’t ask any questions. If she had, he would have explained that those locator signals were now known by the Shelvaks, and therefore easily traceable.

“Where would your parents have left their second locator?” he asked her.

She met his gaze in the rearview mirror. Her face was pale, her eyes huge and frightened. But her voice was level when she replied, “At home, I guess. Somewhere at home.”

“All right,” he said, mentally pulling up the map he had studied before coming to get her.

The drive to her home was quiet. During the trip, he tried to reason through what had happened. Was it merely a coincidence that Kyr had fallen just as the transition was taking place? He didn’t believe in coincidences. So what had happened to her? Did it have anything to do with the mental block keeping him from retrieving her memories? If so, who had done it?

He noticed Sem throwing worried glances at Kyr. His cousin had reason to want Kyr to remain on Earth and away from Ty and her other obligations. Yet Ty detected only confusion and concern in Sem’s thoughts. Kyr’s Kyndred and Avana, as well, had only conveyed love and protectiveness towards her.

Who did that leave? There were other Alametrians on Earth, of course. Some, like Kyr, were there learning life lessons. Others served as Kyndred. Still others had moved to Earth permanently many millennia ago, though as far as he knew, they had separated themselves from humanity. Most modern humans knew nothing about them.

He supposed there was a possibility that one of the Alametrians had figured out Kyr’s identity and tried to prevent her transition. But he had no idea how to identify who or why. He also didn’t know how the Shelvaks were involved. They had known far too much about Kyr’s location and the transition point. It all hinted at them receiving inside intel. If that was true, there had to be more than one traitor. No single Alametrian knew enough details about Kyr’s location and Ty’s evacuation plan to have organized all of this.

Sem’s comment about the number of Shelvaks that could possibly travel on one ship had been running through his mind, as well. His cousin had a point…one that troubled him. Because the only logical answer was that the Shelvaks had more than one ship.

There were more questions than answers. All he could do now was figure out how to get them all safely transitioned and hope they didn’t encounter any further trouble.

Almost an hour after leaving the warehouse, they pulled up to a modest home in a quiet residential area. The porch light was on, as was a light inside the house.

“Is there someone inside the dwelling?” he asked.

“No,” Kyr said. “The family room light is on a timer.”

“All right. Stay in the car with Sem. I will ensure the home is clear before we enter.”

Not waiting for a response, he opened the door and got out. He heard the vehicle’s doors lock and knew Sem had secured it. Walking along the exterior of the house, he drew on all of his senses to try and detect any danger. He looked in windows, explored every shadow, breathed in deeply to ensure the night air carried no malice. By the time he circled back to the car, he was convinced there were no enemies waiting for them.

Giving Sem a nod, he waited until his cousin told Kyr they could exit the car. When they did, Sem started to pull Kyr to him to lift her up, but she gave him a snippy response and walked on her own. The stress was clearly getting to her.

“Do you have a key?” he asked her when she joined him on the front porch.

“Oh, sure,” she said. “I keep it stuffed in my underwear.”

His gaze lowered along her body as though he could figure out where the key was.

“She’s being sarcastic, dumbass,” Sem said. “She doesn’t have a key.”

Ty glanced sharply at him.

“Sorry,” Sem grumbled. “
Dem-Shyr
.”

He made the title sound like a curse word. Ty would deal with the insolence another time. They had to get inside the house and find the second locator.

“The lock on the dining room window is broken,” Kyr said, keeping her voice down. “It’s also on the side of the house, so we’re less likely to be seen. Most people are in bed right now, but our neighbors aren’t known for minding their own business.”

Ty had seen the room in question during his surveillance and started around the house with Kyr and Sem in tow. Reaching the window, he placed his palms against the glass and pushed up. It took a few wiggles to break the seal, but eventually the pane lifted.

He climbed in first, helping Kyr in after him. Sem came in last and closed the window behind him. Flipping the light switch and looking around, Ty tried to identify any logical hiding places. His gaze passed over a wall containing pictures of Kyr at different stages of her life. All of the earlier ones had been manufactured to maintain the training scenario. There were some that had definitely been taken in the last two years, however. She looked genuinely happy in all of them.

Pushing aside his feelings about that, he pulled a device out of his pocket and looked at her. “I have a portable scanner that will help us find the locator, but it can only process small areas at one time and it must be close to the locator to sense it. We should start with the most likely places first. The locator would be hidden somewhere safe. Do you have any idea where your Kyndred might have stored it?”

“I’m guessing their room. It’s this way.”

“No,” he said when she tried to move past him. “I always lead the way.”

She sighed. “Fine. Into the hallway and to the right. Second door on the left.”

Nodding, he stepped carefully into the hall. He verified it was clear before moving on to the room in question, turning on lights as he went. The doors along the hallway were open, so he spotted a bedroom that probably belonged to Kyr on his left before he reached the bedroom shared by her Kyndred. He knew her favorite color was purple, and that bedroom had been decorated in several different shades of the color.

Her Kyndreds’ bedroom, however, was more sedate. Warm neutral tones accented with touches of earthy reds and oranges made the rich wood of the furniture stand out. He gave the room a thorough security check before returning to the task at hand.

“Do they have a safe?” Sem asked Kyr.

“Yes, a small one. In the closet.”

Sem moved in the direction she pointed. Ty started to do the same, but Kyr grabbed his arm. He paused and looked down at her.

She cleared her throat and avoided his gaze. “I have to use the bathroom.”

“All right.”

He tossed the scanner to Sem and started walking back out to the hallway.

“The master bath is right—” she began.

“That room has a window, making it insecure. You will use the other bathroom we passed.”

She heaved another sigh, but made no further comment. When they reached the bathroom, he searched the small space and then waved her inside.

“I don’t suppose I could take a quick shower?” she asked.

She sounded weary and forlorn. Although he wished he could respond otherwise, he said, “There isn’t time right now.”

Nodding, she closed the door, leaving it unlocked when he instructed her to. She was holding up well, he thought, under the circumstances. The fact that she was filthy and tired would have made the Kyr of years past pitch a fit. Now, she just seemed resigned.

After a moment, he heard the toilet flush and the water in the sink start running. She took an exceedingly long time to wash her hands. Just when he was about to open the door to check on her, she stepped out. He noticed that her face, throat, and arms were now free of the Shelvak dust and realized that she had done at least a little cleaning.

Not commenting on the extra time she had taken, he took her arm and guided her back to the bedroom. Sem had moved on from the closet to the drawers. Catching Ty’s eye, he shook his head. Nothing so far.

They used the scanner to systematically search the house, coming up empty.

“Is there another place it could be hidden?” Ty asked.

Kyr rubbed her eyes as though trying to ease her exhaustion. “I don’t know. They both worked from home, so there isn’t an office building anywhere. Maybe they have a safety deposit box at the bank, but I wouldn’t begin to know how to find it or access it. I’m sorry.”

Looking at Sem, he thought,
Any ideas?

None
.

“Very well,” Ty said. “It appears we have no choice. We must travel to the safe haven established for these types of emergencies. Kyr, you may change into clothing that I scan for any possible trackers. Sem, wash up as best as you can. We’ll be seen by the public, so we should attempt to blend in.”

His cousin nodded and walked into the kitchen to use the sink and soap there. Ty led Kyr to her bedroom. He had been correct that the purple one was hers.

“The room is clear,” he said after searching it. “Choose your outfit and allow me to scan it.”

She walked over to her dresser. “How long will we be gone?”

“I have no idea.”

“Shouldn’t I bring more than one outfit with me?”

“No. We need to conserve the scanner’s power because we have no way to recharge it. The Shelvaks found you somehow. I won’t risk the possibility that they have tagged your clothing without your knowledge.”

He saw her shiver and knew the idea disturbed her. Good. At least she was using sense rather than emotion or sentimentality.

“Shouldn’t you scan yourself and Sam, too?”

“
Sem
and I have already scanned ourselves,” he said, emphasizing his cousin’s name.

“Oh.” She frowned, tossing a couple of items of clothing on the bed. “I don’t keep much here. Most of my stuff is packed up for the move. Will it be warm wherever we’re going?”

“Yes.”

“Okay.”

She carried a few more things over to the bed, including a pair of sneakers. He spotted jeans and a short-sleeved T-shirt. It was light purple with a feminine black floral pattern on it. Raising an eyebrow, he lifted a lacy white bra by one of its straps.

Her face flooded with color. “This is awkward enough as it is, don’t you think? The bra I’m wearing was sliced and diced, in case you’ve forgotten.”

Properly chagrined, he just scanned the bra and set it aside, not even batting an eye over the matching lace panties. The scan of the rest of the clothing items resulted in no hits, so he was satisfied that they were tracker-free.

“You may get changed,” he said at last.

She gave him a pointed look. “Do I get some privacy?”

“Not with that window in the room.”

Tossing her hands in the air, she huffed, “Fine. At least make yourself useful and unzip me.”

She turned and presented him with her back. He reached for the dress’s zipper, his gaze brushing over the long scar across her shoulders. Was he imagining things? It seemed to have faded over the past ninety minutes.

He decided that was wishful thinking. Shelvak poison left permanent scarring if the Alametrian survived.

He concentrated on the zipper rather than the evidence of the pain he’d inflicted on her. His fingers fumbled with the tiny clasp, making the simple task feel unachievable. He told himself his unsteady hands had nothing to do with the fact that he was helping Kyr undress.

“Having issues?” she asked, glancing at him over her shoulder.

He avoided her gaze. Thankfully, the zipper finally cooperated and slid down. Without a word, he locked the bedroom door and walked to the window, facing it to give her at least a little privacy.