Tribes of Man: The Beginning [Tribes of Man] (Siren Publishing Classic) (9 page)

“I w–w–w–want to take a shower first,” she said. She reached for the buttons of her blouse, but her fingers were too shaky to undo them.

Gideon started to undo the buttons for her. He was trying not to look at the skin being revealed by the parting shirt, but it was impossible. He could sense her still in his head, still looking through his eyes.

When her shirt was undone, he slipped it off her shoulders to let it pool at the floor. He could see the dark areola of her nipples under the white bra. As he looked at them, they pebbled tightly.

He swallowed convulsively and ran one finger down the strap of her bra and over her hard nipple. When he flicked it with a fingernail, she shuddered.

“Gideon,” she whispered. “I need you.”

Before he could respond, they heard the front door open.

Gideon kissed her hard and stepped back.
Later,
he promised. “Go take a shower.” Then he paused, thinking about how weak she was from the sedative. “Do you need help?” He wasn’t sure how he could give her the impersonal help she needed, but by God, he wasn’t going to let Bryce do it.

“No, I can handle it.” She walked a little unsteadily to the door. Just as she passed through, his vision went back to normal. He was stunned to realize that she had been looking through him, even though they weren’t touching. He didn’t know what it meant, but he was sure it was significant.

Gideon came out of Raina’s room just as Bryce reached the top of the stairs. He knew he was still sporting a woody, and he hoped that Bryce wouldn’t notice.

He wasn’t sure if Bryce noticed or not, but his next words sounded suspicious. “Where’s Raina?”

“She’s going to take a shower. I think she’s about to get in it. She’ll come downstairs when she’s done.” Gideon headed for the stairs. Because of his shortened ligaments, it took him a few seconds longer to make it down the stairs. Bryce walked past him.

“Should I put on some coffee?” Bryce asked.

“I don’t know,” Gideon joked. “The last time I had coffee at your apartment I lost some of my stomach lining.”

Bryce laughed. “Hey, Tony made it. Mine is only half-bad.”

“Maybe you should make it then, mine is about three-quarters bad.” Gideon was trying to keep his tone light.

Bryce put the grounds in the coffeemaker while Gideon began taking out the ingredients for sandwiches. “We were supposed to order pizza, but I don’t want anyone coming to the house.”

“Do you think what happened at the school was connected to Raina?” Bryce asked.

“Yes, I’m almost sure of it. There’s some serious shit going on here, Bryce. I don’t know who is after her or why, but I know they’re bad news.” Gideon hunted in the refrigerator for mayonnaise.

“How bad?” Bryce asked.

“I was thinking either it was terrorists or foreign nationals. Now I’m actually a little worried that the CIA or NSA might be involved. Raina didn’t say that the guys had accents.”

Bryce just stood and stared, coffeepot full of water in his hand. “You’re kidding me, right? Aren’t you being a little ridiculous?”

“Bryce, you’re going to have to be careful. If they know that you two are lovers, they might come after you to get to her.” The possibility that Bryce’s connection to Raina could put him in danger just occurred to him.

Bryce turned to pour the water in the coffeemaker and said, “We’re not lovers.”

Gideon didn’t realize he was holding his breath, waiting for a response. He knew he’d been fishing with his comment. “In any case,” Gideon continued, trying to hide his relief, “they might not know that.”

Bryce turned back around as the coffeemaker started gurgling behind him. “I’ll be careful.” After taking a long breath, Bryce said, “I do like her a lot though.”

Gideon felt everything inside of him freeze. “I know you do,” he answered casually.

“No, Gid, you don’t get it. I really like her. I want to be with her and no one else.” Bryce’s voice was earnest, as though he was trying to ram his point home.

“Are you saying that you’re in love with her?” Gideon asked, carefully neutral.

“I don’t know. I do know that I want her more than any other woman I’ve ever known. I just don’t know what to do about it.”

Bryce never asked his advice about women. The fact that he was asking about Raina created a real problem. Gideon didn’t know what to say. “Did you tell her how you feel?”

“Not in so many words. I hinted around to it this morning. I don’t want to scare her off.” Bryce’s voice was almost purposefully casual.

“Have you seen any indication that she feels the same way?” Gideon asked, torturing himself.

“No, not yet. I just don’t want to lose her to someone else because I don’t declare my feelings.” Gideon got the message that Bryce was declaring his feelings for Raina to warn Gideon off.

He might have wanted to stay away from Raina in the beginning because of his brother, but it made him angry that Bryce would assume that Gideon would just back off. What is this, kindergarten? It was like Bryce was telling him, “I saw her first.” Damn.

Gideon let out a noncommittal hum then said, “I can see your problem, Bryce. I don’t know what to tell you. You’re in a tough spot. I think you should lay it on the line. At least then you’ll know if she’s at all interested.” Gideon doubted that he’d give the same advice if they were talking about anyone but Raina. He didn’t think she was interested in Bryce in that way, and maybe if she shot him down quickly, he’d be able to move on.

Gideon felt her before he saw her come through the door
. No,
she said,
I’m not interested in Bryce in that way at all.

Gideon didn’t respond. He felt terrible that couldn’t stop himself from being with Raina, even though Bryce was half in love with her. He couldn’t get his emotions straight on the subject. He realized that no matter what he said, he couldn’t stay away from her. What kind of brother was he?

Bryce rushed to the door to help her into a seat at the table. She was walking very slowly. “Still a little unsteady on your pins, huh?” Bryce asked her.

“Yeah,” she answered. “That sedative wasn’t strong, but it definitely left me feeling a little weak and tired.”

“I’m making sandwiches,” Gideon said. “Try to eat a little, and then go to bed. We don’t have to be at the station until morning.”

Raina yawned hugely. “Sounds good. Um, guys?” She waited a moment before continuing. “Can we not talk about what happened today? I just can’t handle it right now.”

“Of course,” Bryce said and rubbed his hand on her back. Gideon just turned away.

“So what’ll you have? Turkey or roast beef? Mayo or mustard?” Gideon began to lay out bread.

“Turkey and mayo for me,” Raina said.

“I’ll take the same,” Bryce chimed in.

“That leaves more roast beast for me,” Gideon joked.

* * * *

After they ate, Raina excused herself to go take a nap. The two men hung around the house. Bryce did some reading while Gideon clicked his way through the channels.

About two hours later, Bryce’s cell phone rang. “Oh, hi, Gina. Yeah, it was terrible. No, I think she’s OK. I’m there now. Yeah. My brother is here. He’s looking after her, too. Hmm, I’m not sure. I don’t know how long she’ll sleep. Let me think about it and call you back, OK.”

“What’s up?” Gideon asked.

“Gina and a few other people are meeting at Billy’s Irish Pub. It sounds like everyone’s pretty shook up. It could have been any of us.” Bryce paused then said, “I don’t think I’m going.”

Before Gideon could answer, he heard that disembodied voice again.
Bryce, you need to go be with your friends tonight. Raina’s going to sleep through the night and you need to blow off some steam.

“I guess I could go,” Bryce said as though the thought just occurred to him. He obviously couldn’t hear the voice even though he was influenced by what was being said. “Raina’s going to sleep for awhile. No reason why we both have to be here.”

Gideon remained silent.

Bryce looked at him, “Although what if she wakes up and needs something?” Bryce was clearly thinking about the fact that he didn’t want Gideon to be there for Raina. He instinctively knew that Gideon and Raina were developing feelings for each other, and he was jealous.

She isn’t going to wake up,
the voice continued.
Go see your friends and relax. Don’t worry about drinking too much, Billy’s is right around the corner from your apartment. You can walk right home.

“I doubt she’ll wake up until morning,” Gideon said.

“True. OK, maybe I’ll go and see the gang. I know Gina sounded awfully shook up.”

Maybe you’ll get lucky,
the voice said.

Bryce just smirked.

That smirk made Gideon feel a lot better. If Bryce could contemplate having sex with someone else, he clearly wasn’t in love with Raina.

A few minutes later, Bryce said, “I think I’ll head out.” He snapped open his cell phone, dialed a number, and said, “Hey, Gina? You guys still going to Billy’s? Yeah. I’ll be there in about twenty minutes. OK, bye.”

Two minutes later, Bryce was walking out the door with a casual, “Tell Raina to call me if she needs me, OK?”

“You bet,” Gideon answered.

Just after the door closed behind Bryce, a huge blond-haired man materialized sitting in a chair. His eyes were golden brown and his shoulders spanned the back of the chair. He was lounged negligently in it, as though he didn’t have a worry in the world.

Gideon spun around and sunk into a fighting crouch, ignoring his screaming muscles.

“Kristano, I presume?”

* * * *

Consciousness came to Raina sluggishly. At first she became aware of her body in a bed, but it didn’t occur to her to wonder what time it was or who else was in the house. When the events of the day slammed back into her, she cried out softly.

Are you OK?

Raina didn’t know how Gideon heard her, but he did. Glad that her fight for tears wasn’t reflected in her mind’s voice, she said,
I’m fine. I just remember all the stuff about the day, that’s all.

Kristano is down here.

I’m on my way.
Raina went to the bathroom and put her sweatshirt on before heading for the stairs.

In the living room, Raina walked to stand with Gideon. She reached for his hand, and the sight bond immediately formed. She looked over at Kristano, still lounging in the chair.

“Thank you for saving me today.” Her voice was strong, even though it felt like her knees were quaking.

“How did you save her?” Gideon wanted to know.

Kristano shrugged. “I made sure they couldn’t see her.”

“It was more than that,” Raina chimed in. “They were standing in us.”

“That’s impossible,” Gideon insisted. “People can’t make themselves incorporeal. You must have used some hypnosis on those guys.”

“This is a gift I was given as a guardian. I have no need to hypnotize people, not that I would even know how to.” He sounded casual and confident, as though he was just shooting the breeze.

“What is a guardian? What is going on?” Raina asked.

“That’s an excellent question. We’re in some serious shit here. I don’t know who’s after her, exactly, but they have some muscle behind them.” Gideon had drawn Raina in by his side and was rubbing her back with long, slow stokes. He kept his eyes on Kristano so that she could continue to see him.

“Why don’t you sit down, and I’ll try to explain who I am, who you are, and what your destiny is.”

“Destiny?” Raina asked, suddenly fearing what he had to say.

Kristano waited until they settled then he began his story. “In the beginning there were four tribes—Earth, Air, Water, and Fire. They came together to form what we called The Nation. Each tribe contributed to society in a specific way. The Earth tribe ensured the fertility and health of the crops and the people. The Air tribe worked magic and helped control the weather. The Water tribe protected the knowledge of the tribes by maintaining libraries and schools as well as being precognitive and clairvoyant. The Fire tribe maintained order and discipline. They were the protectors of the tribes. The tribes had a symbiotic relationship. They depended on each other to stay prosperous and safe.

The governing body in The Nation was a tribunal of guardians whose job it was to settle disputes and maintain the government. Although The Three became immortal, they were originally members of the society who had proven themselves. They may have been immortal, but they only ruled for a thousand years then they helped to choose the next Three. At the end of their thousand years of service, they were allowed to sit at the right hand of the gods. There were always three: an aged one, wise and fair, a young one, brave and noble, and one of mature years to bridge the difference between the caution of experience and the passion of youth. The last Three were chosen based on their achievements.”

At this point Kristano paused. He rubbed his hand over his eyes. “I have never spoken of this before. I don’t know how to explain it all.”

“You were one of The Three, weren’t you?” Raina asked.

“Yes,” Kristano said sharply. “I was one of The Three.” He continued his story:

“Aida, the elder, was a wise grandmother and a great healer of the Earth tribe. I was of a child of the Fire tribe. Although I was young, I was a tried soldier.” Kristano paused, and when he continued anger filled his tone. “Adder was of the Air tribe. His magic was strong. Too strong. He maintained a glamour that showed his heart was true while underneath it yearned for power. Not content to share it with an old crone and a young warrior, he plotted a revolution in secret. One day he began the revolution by killing the immortal Aida. No one knew how he did it. It was thought to be beyond the ability of the people of Air’s magic. Adder had fueled dissention and petty bickering among the tribes and managed to turn them against each other. The Earth tribe became a target because they were unable to defend themselves. I tried to stop the war, but when I realized that there was nothing I could do, I had to turn my attention to protecting the Earth tribe. Eventually, Adder and I battled.”