Talons (11 page)

Vivvie gasped in outrage and Ty sent
her a warning look. He walked with Eli and they talked quietly.
Vivvie was forced to follow them, trying not to stare at Eli’s well
turned nude buttocks ahead of her. He was as tall and as finely
made as Ty with shoulder-length dark hair. She definitely found him
sexy, but she also found the dweeb at the Sunoco in Sebastian sexy
too. Her opinion on male matters couldn’t be trusted right now. She
felt like she walked around with sober beer goggles on and nearly
giggled at her own comparison.

~~~~

“
We don’t need another damn
female here, Ty,” Eli said low, blue eyes flaring. “Why didn’t you
just put her down like I told you to?”

“
I couldn’t do it,” Ty said
tightly and his golden eyes narrowed. “She didn’t ask for this,
Eli.”

“
You had only one task in
Florida, Ty,” the leader replied tightly. “Since you couldn’t bring
yourself to do it; she’s your problem.”

Ty glared at him. “What does that
mean?”

Eli’s eyes filled with amusement. “You
teach her what she needs to know, for one. And do me a favor; get
first dibs at the newbie before all Hell breaks loose. She’s
putting off some serious scent, Ty. My guys are all close to losing
it.”

“
She’s in heat,
Eli.”

Eli’s smile faded and he uttered a
curse. “How long has she been like this?”

“
About two weeks now. It’s
her first; it’s almost over,” Ty replied.

“
You bring an unwanted
female here in her first heat?” Eli eyed Ty in disgust and shook
his head. “This is going to be a disaster. I can see that
now.”

“
Vivian knows what’s
happening to her; enough to not trust her own response to it,” Ty
assured his leader. “She has no wish to breed.”

“
Will she opt for
sterilization?” Eli asked tightly, his eyes filled with dread to
know they had another breeding female among them.

“
We haven’t talked of her
options yet,” Ty said.

“
We don’t need another
breeder, Ty!” Eli snapped under his breath.

“
Last time I heard; it was
still her choice, Eli,” Ty pointed out sharply. “Do we compromise
our laws because our numbers exceed what you wished them to be two
centuries ago?”

Eli looked furious at Ty’s words, his
blue eyes molten and glittering in fury. “Ty, we all voted on this
when we began this community. Our numbers grow too high. At last
count we’re at two hundred and twelve. We exceed our numbers by
thirty-two now.”

“
She isn’t stupid, Eli,” Ty
replied tightly. “I told her how rigidly we view breeding. I don’t
think you need to worry about her.”

“
She could double our
numbers in five years, Ty! Don’t tell me!” Eli snarled under his
breath. “I won’t let our people suffer for it! The hunting is
getting scarce as it is in these mountains.”

“
I’ll speak to her about
volunteering for sterilization,” Ty said, his golden eyes glowing
with anger. “Can we allow her to get through the change
first?”

Eli nodded unhappily, his expression
dark. “Don’t make me regret this, Ty.”

He walked ahead and Ty waited up for
Vivvie.

She was quiet, he saw. He knew she
realized they talked about her. Ty despised the fact she would face
such an unfair choice after she made the transition. It was more
than unfair, but in their world, survival was more
important.

Eli was right. The hunting was growing
scarce. Resentment was rampant within the compound already. Ryken’s
sentiment was growing. The tribe wanted more freedom, more autonomy
for themselves, and more of their own earnings. Ty was one of the
highest paid in their number next to Eli.

His annual salary was in the six
figures, and every dime went to the foundation that supported the
sixty plus who didn’t work. Many were growing discontented they
turned over their incomes to Eli to pay for the running of the
compound.

Only time would tell, if they could
survive here long term undetected by human encroachment. Eli’s
biggest concern was that they would outgrow these mountains and
Ryken’s prediction would come true.

Ty couldn’t worry about the future. He
already knew he didn’t have one. With only one soul left, he was on
his way out. The best he could hope for was another decade. A
hunter’s bullet, another animal attack, or an accident and he would
be no more. It didn’t scare him as he thought it would. He looked
sideways at the quiet girl at his side. Her future was uncertain
and he couldn’t see it anymore as he had the few weeks he watched
her.

Ty ignored his attraction to her from
the start. He told himself it was her scent driving him to
distraction. If he were honest, he would admit that during the
month he watched her, he’d come to know the sad, quiet female who
moved through life not really living in it. Vivian and he had much
in common. She had no idea how suited to their world she
was.

An elevator shaft was carved into the
side of the mountain, covered with moss. Ty pressed a button
obscured by a bush and soon the doors opened. They stepped inside.
The doors closed and Vivvie fought the wave of claustrophobia.
There were no lights inside the elevator, but both of them could
see in the dark.

Vivvie tensed as the elevator began
moving downward. Something in her face must have alerted Ty. He
reached down and squeezed her hand, his glowing golden eyes meeting
hers with understanding in them.

“
The hard part is over,” Ty
said quietly as the elevator hummed, going lower still. “Eli’s
growl is worse than his bite, Vivian. He has more pressure on him
than you can know.”

“
He doesn’t want me here,
that much is obvious,” Vivvie remarked tightly, trying to not allow
that to bother her. But it did. She was no more wanted in her new
life, than her old.

“
Vivian, once you learn how
things are, you will understand why Eli feels as he does. He
worries we will come to human notice if our numbers grow too high.
A female who could breed half our number in five years is of a
concern,” Ty confided quietly. “It’s not personal.”

“
None of this seems to be
very personal to any of you!” Vivvie snapped harshly, her eyes
beginning to glow too, emerald fire spewing from them. “It’s very
personal to me! I have been ripped out of my own life and tossed
into another one. It’s obvious I’m unwanted here!”

Ty didn’t argue with her. Eli said it
all above ground. Vivian knew she wasn’t welcome here. That was all
she needed to hear.

“
Vivian, once you make the
change you will see everything more clearly,” Ty said and looked
down at her with an encouraging smile. “If you want to impress your
new leader, find a way to make money. He seems to respond to that.
Try to stay away from him too. Eli has an eye for the
females.”

“
Don’t worry about that.
Your buddy is a total jerk off! Somebody should remind him I didn’t
ask for this.”

Ty smiled. “Eli comes off like that but
he’s very understanding, Vivian. Trust me, if he didn’t want you
here; he would have refused.”

“
Whatever! Not my
problem!”

“
Eli’s biggest concerns are
money and keeping us hidden,” Ty disclosed with a shrug. “Add to
the wealth of the tribe, and don’t seek the outside world, and he
will leave you alone.”

“
I was going to ask how all
of this is paid for. Something tells me mountain retreats in the
ground don’t come cheap.”

“
Many of us work, hold jobs.
Our income supports the whole group. It’s socialism at its best,
but necessary. Many complain of the others who don’t work. You will
hear them complain of it,” Ty explained and shrugged. “Most of the
females don’t work, I’ll be honest. There are thirty-four children
here as well. Set yourself apart from them, Vivian, and take
classes. You have nothing but time and access here if you want to
be more than just another mouth to feed.”

“
I always wanted to go to
school,” Vivvie confided and smiled, feeling a little better about
her situation now. “I never had an opportunity before. Making rent
was always more important.”

Ty eyed her approvingly. “You will be
able to now. Once we have a new identity made up for you, you can
apply to school online. We have a state of the art library with
unlimited computers. The internet signal is the best money can buy.
It has to be when you live one hundred feet under the
earth.”

“
How was this place built
without people knowing about it?” Vivvie asked curiously. “With
radar and all; I question how your presence here goes
unnoticed.”

“
The compound is surrounded
by a thick alloy material under the rock that hides the heat inside
from the radar. All the people who built it live here,” Ty replied
with a grin. “Eli owns the land. The rest is all a community
effort. We constantly add on. Eli has many concerns as leader. I
know you don’t see it yet, but he tries to be fair in all
things.”

“
Why is it fair that Ryken
kills my friends and goes unpunished?” Vivvie replied testily. “I
see nothing fair in that! Eli should worry more about what is going
on outside this place. This Ryken could snatch other women as he
did my friends and start all over.”

“
I feel the same as you,
Vivian,” Ty replied, smiling slightly at her grasp for their
current problems. “Ryken will bring the wrath of humans upon us if
he is not dealt with. Eli knows this.”

“
What does he do about it?”
Vivvie said moodily as the elevator continued to move
down.

“
That will be addressed when
the council hears my report,” Ty replied with a frown. “They can no
longer ignore what Ryken is doing. Drastic measures must be taken
now.”

“
What is he doing?” Vivvie
whispered in fear. “Why does he do this?”

“
Domination is not new to
our species, Vivian,” Ty remarked thoughtfully. “Ryken seeks very
high to go after the humans now.”

“
He intends to breed his own
community with them,” Vivvie said in sudden understanding, eyes
wide.

“
Vivvie, you do the math.
One female of our species could breed twenty like us, in a year’s
time, how many in five?” he asked and raised an eyebrow. “Put that
into hundreds and you’re looking at another country. Who becomes
hunted then? The deer and other animals will all run out
eventually. What would they begin to eat?”

“
Humans,” she whispered
hoarsely, closing her eyes to fight the horror of what Ryken
intended. “He has to be stopped.”

“
He will,” Ty assured her
and the doors to the elevator opened.

~~~~

Vivvie’s first impression of her new
home was one of wonder. The underground community she stepped into
made her gasp. She saw a huge opening within the rock. It was a
tiled courtyard of sorts, with hallways leading to, and away from
it. Potted plants were everywhere and grew abundantly from the
fluorescent lighting. Benches were lining the room. It reminded her
of a mall food court, without the food. Ty nudged her and
smiled.

“
Come on, Alice. Wonderland
waits.”

Vivvie was bemused as she followed him
down the ceramic tiled hall to the right. She fought the urge to
gape at the artwork and sculpture displayed on the walls, and in
cases as she passed. Some of it was early Indian, some Mayan, he
told her.

Glass walls along the way revealed what
looked like a fully equipped medical facility, a gym, and a huge
dining room. Vivvie was overwhelmed as they passed an Olympic-sized
pool enclosed in glass with children laughing and swimming in it.
She saw dozens of patio tables filled with adults
within.

She felt their eyes upon her and Ty as
they passed. Their expressions were openly hostile. Vivvie fought
her panic, seeing no friendly face among them. Even the children
stared with looks of contempt.

“
I take it you don’t get
many newcomers here,” Vivvie said as she followed Ty.

“
You’re the first,” Ty
agreed, his expression tense as he noticed Vivian’s chilly
reception from those at the pool. “If Ryken gets his way; you won’t
be the last.”

Vivvie dragged her gaze from the people
at the pool to the broad back of her companion. Ty didn’t say it,
but she knew she would have a hard time fitting in here.

They walked down hallways that seemed
familiar to her, like school, complete with classrooms. Lockers
lined the walls, at least forty. She saw school was over, for the
classrooms were all dark inside. The children’s artwork decorated
the glass walls they passed.

Ty finally stopped at a four way stop
in the halls. He gestured down one.

“
Down there is where all the
families live,” Ty said and pointed to the opposite hall. “Down
there is where the female’s dormitory is. That one to the left is
the single male’s dormitory.”

“
What is the last
one?”

“
That hall leads to Eli’s
quarters and where the warriors all stay,” Ty explained with a
smile.