Shadow Revealed (The Enlightened Species Book Two) (12 page)

“I know it is rare. I was orphaned before Master Zakel acquired me. I don’t know if I carry the Sicarius bloodline, so no, I don’t use their name, though the SOSC gave me the chance to change my name to anything I wanted. Etana called me Umbrae, so I kept it.” She answered every question but the one he needed to know.

He was becoming familiar with the orphaned Hulven phenomenon. Jess had also been raised an orphan. The Hulven offspring didn’t seem to create the same kind of parental bond the full Elven did. His own son Ediku had unknowingly fathered Hulven daughters. How many of these missed young were out there unaware of who and what they were? How many of them had become targets like Brae was? How many of them were dying at the hands of Morsdente without anyone the wiser? The implications made his blood run cold.

“What about my last question?” She looked at him, confused. “Are you okay?”

Dawning understanding replaced the confused look. “No, actually.” Her honesty was refreshing. “I can feel the bond he has more with every step we take. I am afraid he will acknowledge it soon.” That was why she had stopped.

Both of them looked up at the sound of a silenced rifle firing. Enlil looked back at her. “You still feel it?” She shook her head. “Good, then they’ve tranq’d that beast. Let’s move out.”

He followed her the rest of the way, trying not to stare at her firm buttocks displayed perfectly in her leathers. It was better than seeing the zigzag of scars along her back. He knew what caused that kind of permanent scarring in a Volaticus; she had survived much in her life.

The Morsdente was mere feet from where he and Brae had been. She had been right, it had sensed her presence, making a beeline right through the unit, intent on her and her alone.

“Oh, Fates.” Brae met his gaze, her gray eyes stormy and large. “If I can’t feel him through the bond, then Etana can’t use it to tell you what she’d waited so long to share. He can’t be killed like this.”

The warriors surrounding them were looking at Brae like she was nuts. He looked at uniforms till he located the one with a snake and staff—“medic.” He called the Elven male over. “How long until the tranq wears off?”

The male looked at him with some kind of hero worship. “About ten hours, sir.”

Irsu stepped to the side of her medic. She was the leader there, and Enlil respected that. “Would your unit be willing to restrain and guard this beast until Brae is ready to kill him?” Irsu glanced at Brae, who was rocking on the ground.

“Absofuckinglutely.” She turned and gave her unit directions. She had come to truly appreciate the Einar family.

Hans rubbed his hand soothingly along Brae’s back. The Tellus male’s intimate touch pissed Enlil off. Sargon stepped to his side. “Any chance you will tell me what the hell’s going on here, bro?” Enlil realized he’d given more information to Ninlil than he had his own partner in this. Sargon was such an easy presence, it was sometimes difficult to remember he couldn’t be aware of everything without being told. Not that it would ever really matter—when the shit hit the fan, Sargon was down, always.

He briefed his brother in law about everything, except his odd reactions to Brae, keeping one eye on her and Hans at all times. The sight of her torturer had sent Umbrae into some kind of tailspin. She was crouched on the ground, her fist clenched to her chest, rocking softly. This beautiful female should have known a life full of love and family, not the horrors the Fates had bestowed on her.

When he’d finished speaking with Sargon, he sent Hans away and sat on the ground beside her. He pulled Brae into his lap to stop her from rocking. “Talk to me, angel.” The throaty sound of his voice surprised him. She nestled deeper into his arms, her fist held tight to her chest. Her peppermint scent surrounded him and he drew it into his lungs, holding it until it burned.

“I d-don’t think I can kill him,” she admitted, her gray, tear-streaked eyes meeting his. He hated the stammer in her voice, hated that she was in pain. “I can’t release Etana. S-she’s my lifeline.” The guilt in her admission warred across her face.

He’d had the same thought. “The Fates never said you had to do it. How about we try not to worry about any of that right now? What is your favorite color?”

She stared at him, then sighed and relaxed against him. “Green.” He smiled, his body returned to life again for her.

“Good answer.” He placed a kiss to her hair. How would he ever be able to walk away from her? What would Etana do?

****

Ninlil walked casually into the bar. From the very back of the bar, she could hear the girls laughing. She headed that direction, ignoring the human men who tried stupid pick-up lines and whistled at her. Fates, she couldn’t wait for their species to enlighten. Jess looked up at her approach. “Nin, you came.” Guilt at ruining this night for her great niece tore through her. She grabbed Jess by the arm like an errant child and dragged her to the women’s restroom. “What?” Jess asked. Smart girl, Jess didn’t even struggle.

There were a few women applying lipstick and giggling. She sent a hard subliminal message for them to get out and stay out. The women’s faces went blank as they marched past her and Jess. She sealed the door closed with kinetic energy. If she didn’t have Jess out of town in the next ten minutes, Enlil was going to lose his mind. She didn’t have time to be polite.

Jess’s eyes widened as she watched the women go. “How did you do that?” Amazing how much Jess still had to learn, but not nearly as amazing as how much she’d already mastered.

“Never mind. Call Shane to you now,” she ordered.

“He’s at home, we can port to him,” Jess offered, suspicion in her voice. “Is it En? Is he okay?”

Ninlil rubbed her fingers against her temple. She tried a different tactic. “Jess, if I had time to argue with you, I would. Please do what I ask.” She didn’t use her mother’s voice very often. It was a powerful vocal tool, since everyone had a mother.

Jess nodded. Shane appeared instantly, pulling Jess into a hug, and looked over at Ninlil. “What is it? Why are you freaking Jess out?” Nin couldn’t help but smile at Shane’s slip of what his mate had told him privately; the male would learn.

Sure enough, Jess slapped his chest. “I didn’t say I was freaking out. I said Nin was freaking out.” Shane furrowed his brows; clearly the warrior did not pick up on the difference.

“The Morsdente is here.” Ninlil noted the protective tightening of Shane’s arms around Jess. “He is in the bluff overlooking your house and the campus. Enlil wants Jess to leave for Gil’s immediately.”

Shane nodded agreeably, while sparks flew from Jess’s eyes. “He wants me to hide? When my home is being threatened! Is this some kind of joke?”

“You were leaving for Gil’s in the morning anyway. What difference does it make if it’s a few hours earlier?” Shane tried to reason with his mate. Jess lifted her chin defiantly, a look Ninlil had become familiar with. The girl had a stubborn streak that rivaled Etana’s. Luckily Enlil had anticipated the firecracker’s response.

“It isn’t negotiable. Enlil is giving you a direct mentor order. You are going. Now.” If Jess refused, it was a rejection of Enlil as her mentor. Not even Shane could interfere with the order. Ninlil could see Jess building another argument and nipped it in the bud. “He would have used the mentor bond, but he didn’t want to risk tipping off the Morsdente killer with the energy. And to your next question, our bond is different—we are twins. In some ways that I don’t have time to explain to you right now, our bond is stronger than my bloodmate bond with Sargon. Got it?” Thankfully, Jess clenched her jaw and nodded.

The couple met gazes. Ninlil waited while the two communicated privately through their bond. Shane kissed his bride, and Jess gave Ninlil a small smile to let her know she forgave her and ported.

“Tell me everything,” Shane demanded. As commandant, the protection of his campus was a heavy burden. Ninlil quickly relayed everything Enlil had told her before she headed back to SOSC headquarters. Innanna had been in the midst of a seizure when Ninlil left. If the Oracle had a vision that could shed some light on what was happening to her brother, she needed to know.

Chapter Eleven

“A nursery? Are ya fuckin’ kiddin’ me, lil’ Jess?” Even the soothing, calm cadence of Gil’s voice couldn’t hide his irritation. Since his cousin Jess and her posse of cackling hens had shown up on his doorstep last night, his life had been turned into a decided pile of shit. When Jess and his mother had first approached him about using Meshy Hell to host their shindig, he had been less than thrilled. Then they had used the argument, “we’ll take care of everything, it will only be a few days, and you won’t ever know we are here.” He only agreed after Jess had pulled him aside to point out how many available females would be attending. That had got him. Now he was stuck. “Ya wanna me ta convert the sparrin’ room inta a nursery?”

Jess turned on him like a viper, her hands on her hips, her eyes flashing. “Yes. That is exactly what I want you to do.” Gil found himself stepping back from the little fireball. “There are three of them in this monstrosity of a house, and two more in the out-buildings. Don’t you give me shit about this, Gilgamesh. This one has an enclosed balcony so the kiddies can get some air while the older ones are tending them. Plus the bathroom is right outside the door.” Tipping her chin she indicated their cousin Jorie. “And watch your mouth!”

Though Jorie and Jess were both twenty-seven, Jorie was a full Elven. Maturing at a far slower pace than humans or even Hulven like Jess, Jorie was the equivalent of a thirteen- or fourteen-year-old girl. She was looking around the room, tapping her fingers to her chin.

“When I agreed ta this, there weren’t no mention a kiddies,” Gil defended himself. “An’ Jorjor’s got a worse mouth than me.”

Jess took another step toward him. Again Gil took a step back, kicking himself for his ball-less-ness. He’d once seen Jess bite into the tasty testicles of an enemy solider who had thought he had her pinned to the ground. The girl was ruthless when it came to winning a fight. Sometimes he didn’t know whether to feel sorry for his friend Shane or to envy the bastard. He put his hands up in surrender. “Fine, turn the damn thin’ inta a nursery.”

Jess turned on a smile like flipping a switch, bouncing enthusiastically, while clapping her hands. She feigned ignorance when Gil shied away from her kiss to his cheek. “Thank you, Gil. You’re the best.”

He was getting ready to make his escape when he felt the ripple of energy from his mother. Turning, he watched her step through the port into the room. Innanna was right beside her. Aw, hell, now what? Usually the arrival of Innanna, the tiny mite, was not a good sign. She was nice to look at, even if she did stand only four and a half feet in true form.

“Hey, Mom. Tell me ya came ta save my favorite sparrin’ room the abuse of small nuclear bombs, housed in the bodies of young’uns, from being set off in it.” Jorie and Jess both rolled their eyes at him. Ninlil didn’t even crack a grin, which was telling. Innanna looked at him once and then refused to meet his eye again. Ffuuuccckk. Not good, not good at all.

Soothing and calming, Nin’s voice was like Gil’s. She, however, didn’t massacre it with an accent that was a cross between a Texas drawl and an Irish brogue. That was something Gil was proud of. “Jorie, how great to see you. I am so glad you are here to help.” Ninlil pulled her youngest niece into a hug.

“Hi, G-Auntie Nin. Jess was worried that you were going to ditch out on all the fun.” Jorie innocently disclosed Jess’s annoyance at her aunt’s failure to respond to her over the last few hours. It wasn’t that she wanted Nin’s help setting up for the survivors ball as much as she wanted to know if En was okay, and to see if she could get Nin to spill about what the hell was happening. Gil had watched Jess’s bad mood grow worse with every moment his mother had failed to respond.

“You don’t say.” Nin glanced up to Jess with a hint of amusement. “Well, I am not staying, so she is probably correct in that.”

Releasing Nin, Jorie put her hand out to shake hands with Innanna, behaving very politely the way her dad had been teaching her. “Innanna, how are you doing?” Now if she could do and say all of that without fidgeting from one foot to the other, Gil would be truly impressed.

Shaking Jorie’s hand, Innanna gave Jorjor a breath-taking smile. “I am well, Jorie. Are your parents here too?” Jorie nodded. “Could you ask them both to join us?” Aw hell, Gil knew when someone was being given a task to get them out of the way.

“You betcha.” Jorjor reverted back to her normal spastic self, bounding out of the room, hollering “mmmoooomm” at the top of her lungs. Kids.

Innanna kinetically closed the door behind the child. She still hadn’t looked at him.

“What’s going on? Is Enlil okay? I tapped the mentor bond, and he didn’t seem hurt.” Jess looked over to Ninlil, who confirmed her empathic reading with a nod of agreement. Didn’t Jess realize that Enlil was strong enough to block her? Gil breathed his own sigh of relief when his mother confirmed Jess’s feeling. Enlil couldn’t hide anything from his mother—their twin bond was weird.

Innanna finally turned toward him, still not meeting his eye. What was she up to? “I really hope I’m not interrupting. I just need a moment of your time, Gilgamesh.”

“Well, I’m standin’ right here.” He winched at the harshness he heard in his own voice. It wasn’t Innanna’s fault he got wood every time she came around.

She glanced to his mother, and Nin looked at Jess. “You go ahead. I will bring Jess up to speed on what’s happening at her home.” They walked to the furthest point away in the room to speak quietly.

Innanna looked around the room. Gil was pretty sure she was looking for something to stand on, but there was nothing. That suited him just fine; he liked that she was the exact height of his nipples. He crossed his arms over his chest and waited.

Innanna let out a long sigh before she shimmered, growing to stand before him at the same height. Damn it. Then he noticed that the knee-length skirt she’d worn was now barely decent. It had even been so kind as to split up to the waist-line, giving him full view of one leg from hipbone to toes. Her halter had also not fared well in the transition, riding up her midsection, straining against the increased size and weight of her breasts. He thanked the universe they were in the one room of the house that didn’t have any furniture.