Shadow Revealed (The Enlightened Species Book Two) (5 page)

“SOSC warriors are in the clearing, Sire,” the scout Osiris had sent announced upon his return.

Osiris waved him on and shadowed invisible against the night He picked his way alone toward the clearing. How had the SOSC found them? Fully shielded and shadowed, he watched an Aquatie male stand before Zakel, who was obviously coming out of a tranquilized state. The Aquatie was flanked by an Elven female. He could feel the pulse of the two communicating; the female shrugged to the male and left him alone to unfasten the restraints holding Zakel. Interesting. It was like they were trying to give the Morsdente a chance at escape. Sure enough, Zakel struck out feebly at the Aquatie, who went to the ground. Osiris could see the male peeking through shuttered eyes, watching Zakel, who seemed to be considering whether to strike the downed Aquatie for a fix.

Zakel must have had enough of a survival instinct left to realize his window of opportunity to escape was rapidly narrowing. He left the male and ducked into the woods, unchallenged. Osiris was about to port back to the soldiers he’d left behind when the Elven female re-entered the clearing. Instead he waited to see how the two would play this facade out.

“He’s in the wind. Are you hurt?” the female asked the rising male.

“No. I really hate this. That beast should have been put down. What are the Oracles thinking?” The disgust the male was feeling emanated from him. This had been a calculated release? Why? Were the Oracles hoping to catch him? Had they become aware of Osiris’s activities after all this time?

“At least Umbrae is safe. This may not be the outcome we’d like for this mission, but we completed it with no harm to our unit.” The female was evidently in charge of the operation.

He now knew Zakel no longer had possession of the female. Umbrae. The Latin word for shadow, perhaps this wasn’t a wasted effort after all. He had the female’s name. Sooner or later she would reemerge into the world of the productive. That was part of the SOSC code of symbiosis and integration. Osiris would bide his time and keep his ear to the ground. He would eventually obtain her, then he would be able to determine if she did in fact carry a gift similar to his own. It would be nice to find a kin after all this time.

In the meantime, he would send out an alert to his species smuggling network to steer clear of Zakel. The SOSC were using him for something, Osiris needed to determine what.

****

Umbrae had the most terrifying yet wondrous two days of her life. She was terrified when Irsu gave her a picture of a geographic place to port to. Zakel had rarely let her port, and when he had, he had always been with her. Since she was very unsure of going, Irsu talked to someone, who gave her permission to accompany Umbrae.

When they arrived, Abby was the only person waiting for her. Irsu spent a couple of hours making sure Umbrae would be comfortable with Abby before she left to rejoin her unit. Abby clutched a gadget that looked like a notebook, except instead of paper it had a TV screen. She had chin-length brown hair and kind eyes. Smiling, she extended her hand to Umbrae. “Welcome to SOSC Headquarters. I’m Abby.” Her smile didn’t falter when Umbrae felt her psyche try to shadow from the new face. Irsu placed her hand on Umbrae’s shoulder encouragingly.

“Abby is here to help you,” Irsu whispered.

Sure enough, Abby was wonderful; the two of them were given a two-bedroom suite. Umbrae had a bed, a closet with cloths and shoes, a fridge, and cupboards that were stocked with things she didn’t even know existed. If she found something she really liked, Abby would make sure there was plenty all the time. Pringles and Almond Joy candy bars were the best.

Abby, her resident therapy co-coordinator, was tapping away on something she called a keyboard. She did that a lot when she wasn’t taking Umbrae to see this person or that person. At this point, she’d seen so many specialists she couldn’t keep them straight. Abby always made sure to assure her that she could tell anyone “no” at any time. No one would force her to do or go anywhere. So far, everyone had seemed like they sincerely wanted to help, so Umbrae kept doing what was put in front of her. Except the gynecologist exams—she’d refused those.

She had been given choices and treated like she mattered. The first thing Abby had asked her after Irsu had left had been in the form of a choice. “So, Umbrae, I have a medical evaluation set up in a few hours, if you’re okay with that. They’d like to start doing blood transfusions on you to dilute any bonds you have that you may no longer want.”

That she may no longer want? Sign her up pronto. Umbra was well aware Zakel could use her blood to find her anywhere, anytime, even though Etana had assured her otherwise. She’d nodded in answer. “Great. While we are waiting, one of my friends is a hair stylist; she so wants to work with you. How do you feel about taking a shower and I’ll call her?”

With Abby’s help she learned how to take a shower. Her dark brown slightly wavy hair was cut short, framing her face, only requiring a simple finger combing. Her haircut emphasized her gray eyes. When she stepped out of her room, uncomfortable in new clothes, Abby gasped. Umbrae hadn’t meant to, but she flinched, thinking Abby was going to strike her for something. Abby had sweetly ignored her reaction acting like nothing was amiss. “Umbrae, you look beautiful.”

Even after two blood transfusions, she knew the moment Zakel’s tranquilizer wore off. He was frantically seeking her, trying to locate her. Her shields kept him from getting into her head. She was still concerned he would port to her and attempt to take her again.

“This entire structure is made with lead and platinum. You are safe from him here. There is no way he can get a lock on your location. One of the people who wants to work with you will teach you how to erect specific barriers against him,” Abby assured her.

****

Innanna reread Irsu’s report for the umpteenth time. Her despair rose with each read; it was at times like this that she hated being an Oracle. That monster had a destiny to fulfill, one important enough to let him live. If the Morsdente were killed now, poor Umbrae would never get her happily ever after. If anyone deserved one of those, it was that child.

Innanna was well aware of how long forever felt when you were alone. Sure, she had her family, her colleagues, and her friends. Those didn’t make up for spending centuries in love with a male who despised her and her gifts. Not that she blamed him for his feelings. It was her oath to her Oracle calling that kept her apart from him. She wasn’t allowed to explain her actions so long ago; she could only accept his hatred. She thought back on the fateful night three hundred years ago…

Innanna had been in her human personification, presenting herself at 5’8”-ish. One minute she was dancing a waltz in Gilgamesh’s arms and laughing at whatever he said to her. The next, she had been struck by a prophecy and dropped to the ground. She had grabbed both sides of her head as the fury of the scenes rolled across her mind’s eye. Gil had lifted her against his warm, hard chest,, and raced her to a place she could safely drop the human illusion and go to her true form. He’d stood guard over her shuddering body.

Rarely did prophecy span long periods of time; this one foretold centuries, beginning that very night with the murder of Gil’s beloved Aunt Etana. She had seen it all, from the Earth-shattering storm Enlil created in his grief, to Irsu’s rescue of the blood slave a few days ago. There was much more still to come, including a heralded bloodmating requiring a sacrifice.

When the vision released her from its grip, she realized where Gil had taken her—his bachelor quarters directly above the stables overlooking the grounds. He had gently laid her on a cot that he had taken to the attached balcony. The minute she regained her balance, he was at her side. “Are you all right, Tiny Mite?”

She’d looked over to the main house just in time to see the shadow of the Morsdente entering Enlil and Etana’s bedchamber. Then she had glanced down to see Enlil placing a gentle kiss on Etana’s cheek, bidding her a good nap. His hand covered hers where their child grew inside her. Innanna could not stop the tears; she could not even answer Gil. Shaking her head, she launched herself off the cot and backed away from Gil as he approached her

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry,” she said over and over. Then she heard Enlil’s roar of pain. Gil had snapped his head around to look back out toward the still open balcony. Innanna used that moment to port back to her apartment in Greenland. Curled up, she cried and rocked and waited for the inevitable arrival of Gilgamesh, and his demand for answers.

Innanna had bowed to Gilgamesh’s hatred when he had found out that she had known his aunt was about to die and had done nothing. She had followed protocol then and now—she never revealed her full knowledge or interfered with the course of destiny.

Chapter Five

Five Years Later

Umbrae pulled the bill of her cap lower over her face, gripping the leash attached to her partner Hans tighter. They jogged across the street from her target, and the guards at the foyer window barely looked up from the card game they were playing. She and Hans made this run every day at the same time, and had for the past few months. The guards probably assumed she lived somewhere in the neighborhood, unaware that Umbrae occupied the loft across the street, overlooking their operation.

She and Hans had been partnered together six months earlier by the SOSC. They were a good fit. A year ago something had happened within the SOSC that had bonded the council tighter than ever. Afterward, the Tellus had revealed the shape-shifting abilities they had previously hidden—a fact Umbrae already knew from her vicarious hunts with Zakel. The Tellus had limitations to the shapes they could shift into. They could only shift into forms that were at least half their true-form body weight or larger. They also did not obtain the form’s instincts. Hans could turn into a bird, but he could not fly. Right now he was a German shepherd, weaving through pedestrians with her, his tongue lolling out.

She’d been hesitant when she learned her first assignment was in Edinburgh, Scotland, five miles from the same orphanage she had been taken from nearly a century ago. The place had long since been abandoned, crumbling, the windows broken, the empty rooms haunted by crack addicts. Once she’d seen it, it had no longer held any power over her. She learned to love the Scottish countryside. The sound of the gulls in the bay every morning when the fishermen sailed into port was music to her ears, even if the very wharf where Zakel had obtained her was visible from her window.

“True strength comes from purity of spirit. Your body is merely a vessel.”
The memory of Etana’s voice vanquished her dark thoughts before Umbrae succumbed to them.

Two blocks down from their target, she and Hans turned the corner, entering the shadow of a building. Umbrae dropped her hand to make contact with the links of the conductive metal chain she’d been given by the SOSC. The metal somehow allowed her to shadow whoever was attached to it. They had told her it was one of a kind, that her ancestors had created the composition, and that no one had been able to duplicate it.

Invoking her ability, she and Hans seemed to just disappear into the shadow and slowed to a walk. She felt Hans rise to his true-form height next to her, the collar that enabled her to shield their energies and shadow them both still securely in her hand and around his neck. If they weren’t invisible, she’d look like a dominatrix. Especially since Hans would be naked. She carried emergency clothing for him in her pack. Modesty was another limitation of the Tellus shifting ability. Unlike the Aquaties, Tellus weren’t natural born exhibitionists. She had suggested he be a big poodle and wear a sweater and dog diapers, but he’d flipped her off, even after she’d offered to have him groomed with big poms on his legs, spoil sport.

Shadowed to invisible, footsteps silent, they reached the doorway to their loft. Umbrae looked up, noticing the blinds move in the main room. Someone was waiting for them. She didn’t want to risk the pulse of energy required to build a bridge with Hans for telepathic communication, so she gave the leash two tugs. He tugged back once; he’d seen the signs too. Pausing just inside the door to hand Hans his cloths, she waited, feeling the movement of the leash while he donned the basketball shorts and zip-up hoodie he’d given her before they set out. He gave another tug on the chain, she dropped her end, and Hans appeared beside her. She handed him an ivory-bladed knife. With the exception of the chain she treasured, only organic materials could be shadowed, so none of the blades she carried were metal. The second the knife went from her hand to his, it appeared. Holding a similar dagger in her hand, she wished for the millionth time she could shadow a taser gun. Hans didn’t need a taser since Tellus could create electromagnetic fields—his entire body was a taser. Of course, that made his species more susceptible to the shock if they were hit.

He indicated that she should take lead position. That was their normal way. She could go into anywhere unseen; very few could sense her energy, and no one could see it. If she saw something, she would use a hand signal against Hans’s chest to give him a heads up. She could also pick up the leash and shadow him with her. She trusted Hans to have her back. Trust was something new to her vocabulary.

Hans stopped just out of sight of the landing while Umbrae continued up. She peered into the crack of the door, and a giant chest stepped up to her face as the male opened the door further. She barely heard the high-frequency sonic wave the tall Aquatie sent out. Using her fingertip, she poked the male in the chest.

“Hey.” Greyton giggled, an oddly melodic sound.

She dropped the shadow, grinning into the face of her SOSC handler and mentor—the one she’d just handled. “Hey yourself, sir. I figured I’d let you know we were here rather than wait for the sound echo to alert you.” That echo moved fast—she’d heard it bounce off Hans on the stairs. An instant later and Greyton would have known she was standing there; he might have tried to defend against her and hurt them both.