Talons (14 page)

Ty raised an eyebrow. “Are you done
with the history lesson yet?”

Jericho grinned at Ty’s obvious
possessiveness of the Newbreed. “She is more interested than my
students. I couldn’t resist.”

“
You teach here, I take it?”
Vivvie asked as she picked at her food, appalled it was a mixture
of raw chicken and vegetables and tasted delicious to
her.

“
Among other things, I’m
also a doctor, a mechanic, and a carpenter,” Jericho replied
proudly. “We must learn to do many things if we’re to advance the
tribe. What do you wish to do?”

“
I wanted to be a school
guidance counselor before I got bogged down with other things,”
Vivvie said, seeing the way the man’s eyes lit up at her
words.

“
We don’t have one of those
yet,” Jericho said with a pleased expression. “The young ones could
have used a mental health professional. This can be a disturbing
life even to one born to it, Miss Collins.”

“
Call me Vivvie, please,”
she said and dimpled at him.

Ty fumed as he watched Jericho flirting
shamelessly with Vivian after that. The two quite hit it off,
laughing and joking. Jericho left then, promising to explain the
full history to her another time. Ty gave him a warning look as he
left them.

“
Vivian, don’t be fooled by
his charm,” Ty said tightly. “He would seduce you in a minute. He’s
had every woman here and more than once!”

“
He’s quite the charmer,
you’re right,” she said in amusement, seeing Ty’s lips tighten, and
enjoying the fact he was jealous of Jericho’s interest in
her.

“
Still, he has little morals
when it comes to females. You’re new here. Every one of them can’t
resist that impulse.”

“
I’m a big girl, Ty,” she
reminded him. “I can take care of myself, even better now
apparently.”

“
Point taken, you’re right,”
he said and ate quietly, looking around to see the intense looks
from the others they received.

“
Why do they frown upon me
as they do?” Vivvie asked, looking down in the face of such scorn.
“I didn’t ask for this.”

“
The females fear you and
the men can’t help but want you,” Ty replied testily. “You must
remember you’re the first outsider we’ve ever had. You’re a bit of
an oddity right now. It’s like being the new kid on the playground,
Vivian. They must get to know you.”

Vivvie appreciated Ty standing by her,
and wondered at it. He certainly didn’t include himself in the
wanting part of his explanation. She gazed at him out the corner of
her eye, unable to keep from gawking at him. He was all male and
exceedingly handsome, even in his brooding way.

They finished their meal and Ty took
her tray. Vivvie watched as he retreated to a tray depository near
the kitchens. She knew from Jericho the women all cleaned up and
cooked the meals, well, maybe not cooked them.

They sustained themselves on raw meat,
vegetables, and a high protein diet. Dairy products like milk,
cheese, and the other things Vivvie craved, were given as treats,
like desert. Water was the primary drink. The tribe didn’t drink
soda or alcohol as it had adverse effects on their
digestion.

Ty returned and offered to give her a
tour of the rest of the compound. She was eager to be away from the
scrutiny of the tribe members. Ty showed her the lab where they
researched their own kind, trying to find some form of birth
control to limit their procreation. He showed her the
state-of-the-art media room with huge flats screens, where they
showed movies weekly.

There was a café, a disco, a bowling
alley, even an inside farm filled with horses, cattle, chickens,
and other livestock. There was a garden where their vegetables were
grown by use of fluorescent lighting and hydroponics. It was
Gideon’s pet project, to save money on buying food from the
outside.

Vivvie was amazed at how
self-sufficient they were. Ty seemed proud of the tribe’s
accomplishments, showing her the plans to build onto the compound.
They wanted to add more wings for the growing population. More
children meant more rooms were necessary.

“
I can hardly believe this
is all really happening to me,” she said as he returned her to her
room.

“
It will take time, Vivian,”
he said quietly as he looked down at her. Vivvie thought he wanted
to kiss her then. She knew her present situation made her think
that. Whatever it was, it passed and he left her at her
door.

Vivvie shook her head and entered her
room, leaning against the door, a slightly dreamy look in her eyes.
Ty encouraged her to better herself now, to make lemonade out of
the lemons dealt to her by Ryken. She was determined to not
squander this new life as she had her last. Some good had to come
out of this.

Vivvie thought of her dad and Marsha
and stiffened. The desire to contact them was strong, but Ty’s
warnings held her fast. Her parents would never understand. They
would call the authorities and it would lead them here. She could
understand why Eli looked at her with such mistrust. Allowing her
inside this compound made it vulnerable to the outside world
now.

Vivvie thought of Ryken, who camped
outside these walls to steal her back from Ty. He was determined to
get her back. Jericho said Ryken and Ty had some sort of past
rivalry.

She dwelled upon Dina and Rachel then,
wondering how her friends fared. Jericho was optimistic thinking
the girl’s lived still, if only to be breeders to Ryken and the
others. He promised all would work out before he left her. Try as
she might, she couldn’t dispel the fear she felt.

~~~~

Ty sat with the other council members
at midnight. The decision was made by Eli. They would capture Ryken
and the others and execute them, and spare those at the compound in
Florida. The plan was discussed at length.

“
We have the numbers to take
them now. Why do we hesitate?” Derek fumed, wanting to do battle
that moment, his eyes blazing.

Eli smiled at his eldest son. “You fail
to see the obvious, my son. While we all are out looking for them;
we leave those here vulnerable.”

“
You mean Ty’s Newbreed?”
Derek snapped, looking unapologetic as Ty frowned at him, a low
growl heard from his corner of the conference room.

“
Yes, the one Ryken has come
here for,” Eli explained, ignoring Ty’s displeased growling. “He
marked her for his own. He won’t leave without her. We can use her
to lure him into a trap.”

“
She is under our
protection!” Ty said angrily, his golden eyes spewing fire. “What
if she is killed? She’s not made the change yet!”

Eli gazed at Ty with a knowing look and
then stared at the others, his blue eyes filled with humor. “It
appears one of us has issues with the plan, but it will work. Ryken
expects us to seek him out. We won’t disappoint him.”

“
You would leave Vivian here
unprotected?” Ty said harshly.

“
Right now Ryken is a threat
to our very way of life, Ty,” Eli pointed out with a shrug. “We use
your pet to get him here. He will take her and then we will have
him. The others will be easier to run down without their leader to
guide them.”

Ty debated their words as he listened
to the plan, wincing to think of the terror Vivian would feel to be
at Ryken’s mercy, even for a short time. Ryken possibly hurting her
made him balk at Eli’s plan. He knew the other’s mocked the
softness he had for Vivian. He could see it in their pitying
glances. Right now, he should be agreeing with them. Stopping Ryken
was paramount, beyond any lusting he had for the human
girl.

“
Don’t you think Ryken will
question why he gets into the compound so easily?” Ty scoffed and
gritted his teeth. “His access codes don’t work anymore to open the
doors or have you forgotten? He will know it’s a trap the minute
those elevator doors open!”

“
Let me worry about my
grandson, Ty,” Jericho said tightly, his yellow-green eyes filled
with grim resolution. “I’ll deal with him.”

“
When do we leave?” Gideon
demanded, his orange eyes lighting up the room.

“
First light,” Eli informed
them, looking around at the others. “The children are being taken
into town by Mara for a field trip. The rest of the women will be
busy picking in the garden. The males will be off to work. It’s
perfect. He will come for the woman after he sees us all leave to
track him.”

“
You better hope nothing
goes wrong,” Ty said coldly, his golden eyes narrowed into slits of
displeasure.

Eli looked at Ty without concern.
“Ryken’s arrogance aside, he’s obsessed with the human to have
followed her here. He will come. She’s not made the change and will
slow him down.”

Ty didn’t like using Vivian to trap
Ryken, thinking of all that could go wrong. The council outvoted
him on using her to bait Ryken. Ty felt as though his own original
plan was rubbed in his own nose now. He was dismayed when he left
to return to his room. Mara was there waiting, looking expectant as
he entered.

“
I waited up for you,” she
said with a smile, her dark eyes, so like Gideon’s, glowing orange
with desire. Her long dark hair was loose. She wore a lilac-colored
negligee that revealed her lush figure to perfection as she
approached. Ty had little desire for her tonight, consumed by his
worry of tomorrow and for Vivian.

Mara frowned, seeing his disinterest.
She looked like she knew the source. Her lips tightened. All within
the compound mocked her now, taunting her with Ty’s interest in the
hybrid female in their midst.

“
Come to bed, Ty,” she
whispered as she came up behind him, her arms sliding around his
waist.

“
Not tonight, Mara,” he said
softly, patting her hand and disengaging himself from her embrace.
“I have much on my mind, and none of it puts me in the
mood.”

“
It’s her, isn’t it?” Mara
asked coolly, her orange eyes heating up. “You want the Newbreed
too, don’t you?”

Ty refused to lie to Mara. She was only
one of the many females who came to him, but unlike the others, who
only wanted sex and left, she seemed to care for him. He didn't
wish to hurt her feelings.

“
I won’t lie to you, Mara,”
he said quietly. “She’s on my mind often, more often than I care to
say.”

Disappointment flickered across the
woman’s face. “Does she feel the same?”

“
She hasn’t even gotten
through the change,” Ty said with a frown. “She has no idea what
she feels.”

“
The others say she belongs
to Ryken by law,” Mara said softly.

“
The others don’t know what
they talk about!”

“
They see her as a threat to
us, Ty,” Mara argued. “You brought her here, into our world, and
exposed us all! Because you want her, and for no other reason, or
she would be dead now! That was your mission was it not? You
disobeyed Eli to have her, don’t deny it!”

“
Ryken is the threat here,
Mara!” he snapped. “Not her!”

“
He is at least honest about
what he does and why!”

“
You agree with his plans
then?” Ty asked in outrage.

“
Many of us tire of hiding
here from the humans, Ty. What Ryken does is the same as what
another will do eventually. It’s our way. The humans are weak, and
we’re strong. You on the council don’t listen to your own people!”
she countered bitterly, all thoughts of pleasure gone
now.

“
Ryken would seek to rule
the world with no thought of the outcome,” Ty fumed and shook his
head. “Unleashing our kind would mean certain annihilation for us
all. Is that what you want?”

“
You don’t know
that!”

“
Mara, you spent more time
with Ryken than you ever admitted,” Ty observed sourly. “You echo
him in this.”

The woman shrugged and snatched up her
robe. Her eyes were filled with regret as they met his. “Many of us
no longer wish to hide here, and have our fates decided by five
ancient men and one woman. We would have more than
that.”

“
You will realize that
feeling you have is the beginning of your own destruction,
Mara.”

She smiled sadly. “Ryken won’t be the
last one to speak for us, Ty.” And then she was gone, leaving Ty to
analyze her words. He knew she was right. Many in their sect
resented their authority over them just because they were
elders.

Most refused to speak as Mara did to
avoid Eli’s wrath. Ty knew Eli’s grasp on power was slipping now.
He saw it when Ryken and his five followers left. It was the
beginning of something, or the end to their current way of
life.

Ty made ready for bed, glad his lover
was gone. Mara’s words made him ask the same question. Could this
world they created here ever be enough for one of their kind?
Invariably, his thoughts turned to Vivian. The newest member of
their tribe would get to see how very cruel their kind could
be.

~~~~

Vivvie went down to breakfast and
frowned. Everyone was gone. She snuck into the kitchen and grabbed
some toast, wondering where everyone went. You could hear a pin
drop in the dining room. She ate and decided to return to her room,
wondering where Ty was.