Viper (Second Wave Book 1) (24 page)

“My people, the Prime, are no
different than any other that you saved. We are worldless and have been given a
second chance on this planet, along with all of you. For you to believe such a
thing is a coincidence is far more unbelievable than realizing that we are
loved so well that the One God wishes for all of us to survive and thrive.”  

“My people have been given the duty
and honor of assisting the humans through the conversion, and I will do what I
must to complete the task given to me. With or without your assistance.”

“It is up to you,” Lara/Abexis
said, looking at each of the men on the other side of the table. “To determine
if you will accept our assistance. I will not force my will or my duty on your
people.”

Ivint stepped slightly forward,
trying to give Grai a chance to cool his temper. “What is it that you need of
us? How can we help each other?”

Lara/Abexis turned their attention
to the Valendran leader. “I need to awaken my brethren here, and we need to
send a call to those close to this location to come. Once our numbers increase,
we can send out a call with a broader range.”

“While we wait until the others to
arrive, I will need a team of your people and a Tezarian, to help the awakened
find those who are captive or who cannot come.”

“Our hunters are quite skilled in
ancient warfare unknown to any species. I have no doubt such skills would be an
asset to any battle. Each of us, like your own people, have unique gifts that
can be of great help to all of our people.”  

“In return for your assistance on
my quest, my Prime would be more than happy to help you in your battles to
retrieve our people and defeat your brother.” Lara/Abexis said watching Grai’s
reaction carefully.

Dread rushed to speak the moment
Grai looked like he was going to explode. “There is much to take in and to go
over.” He began before a commotion outside the room took their attention.

All they heard through the
Shengari’ was that the cats were assembling outside in the garden area, and
Gibly was asking to see the Prime.

“Why the hell do they want to see
the Prime?” Reven asked while Lara/Abexis smiled and turned to the door without
a word.

“Where the hell are you going?
We’re not done here!” Grai said as Lara walked out of the door, quickly
followed by Viper and the others.

Lara/Abexis walked easily among the
people that hadn’t left earlier, following the energy of the cats to find them.
Those that had remained in the building followed behind her at generous
distance, while Viper ran to catch up to her.

Lara/Abexis walked out of the
double glass doors and smiled broadly as she walked up to the cats lined up in
rows behind their leader, Gibly, who stepped forward.  

“Dog’ee has said that you are
Prime, is this true?” Gibly asked, tilting his head to the side and looking at
Lara as if to determine the truth by sight.

Lara/Abexis walked right up to
Gibly and surprised everyone by bowing before the cats. “My friends, I am glad
that you are here. It has been long since my kind have felt the warmth of your
friendship.”

Grai’s mouth dropped open when
every single cat bowed before Lara, even Gibly.

“My friends, do not ever bow for
me. We have been through too much together to be anything less than family.
Come.” Lara/Abexis said, the affection clear in her voice and actions as she
held out her arms.

Gibly and Dog’ee were the first to
rush her and allow her to hug and pet them as they nuzzled her face and hands.
The other cats formed a line behind them to wait their turn.

“What the fuck?” Grai said,
watching the animals cuddle the Prime like old friends.

Gibly and Dog’ee stared at Lara,
clearly speaking to one another telepathically for long moments before both
cats nodded and moved aside allowing the other cats time with her.

Grai motioned the two cats over to
him and the others who were still standing by the double doors. To keep Grai
from angering the cats before they could find out what was going on, Ivint
spoke first.

“Gibly, how do you know the Prime?”
Ivint asked, wanting to know as well.

“We have never met the Prime until
now.” Gibly said, his furry smile showing his teeth.

“How do you know of the Prime
then?” Reven asked the cat.

“It was the Prime who gave my
people speech and knowledge when they help your people.” Gibly said, looking at
them strangely for not knowing their own history.

“The Ancient Ones.” Ratoka said
with a little awe.

“Yes! Abexis gave us knowledge when
he gave it to your people. He emissary of the One God, we help him too.” Gibly
said, his smile getting bigger.

“Wait… you’re telling me, the beast
in her, is as old as time? That her beast is one of the beasts of legend that
helped to bring about the evolution of my people?” Ivint asked incredulously.
The events that Gibly was speaking of happened before his people began
recording time, it would make her beast more than hundreds of thousands of years
old.

“Of course!” Dog’ee added bouncing
around them.

“The Keepers of Light were created
to be the balance. They are timeless.” Gibly said simply, as if that explained
it all.

“How is that possible? Lara isn’t
that old.” Drago said, his confusion evident in his expression.

“The Prime is immortal.” Dog’ee
said, stopping his bouncing in order to stare adoringly at Lara.

“Our beasts die when our body dies,
that is a fact.” Grai said, trying to wade through the truth and myth.

“It is possible that the beast
could have evolved to survive.” Amun said, his face buried in his scanner as he
ran through the probabilities.  

“We go back to the earth. The
decaying remnants of our host’s body create a cocoon around us, where we
hibernate until the One God sends us our next host, and we are called to rise.
In Lara’s case, she was drawn to me when she was playing at the beach as an
infant and picked me out of the sand. She ate me.” Lara/Abexis said with a huge
grin, as if it were the most normal occurrence in the world.

Every parent among the group could
easily understand how that could happen. It was the first thing that Lara said
that Grai believed immediately. Even now, at four years old, his son Tristan
still tried to pick things up from the floor and eat them.

“When our leaders find out that the
Primes are here to help us, even our old will want to come!” Dog’ee said
excitedly, hoping his grandpapa would come. He loved this world, but he missed
his grandpapa.

“No, no, no! Damn it! Would you all
get hold of yourselves?! This is bullshit!” Grai said in fury. He was all for
believing the legends, but this was ridiculous. And he wasn’t this lucky. It
was either bullshit or there was something he was missing.

“You refuse to believe the words.
Believe the actions.” Lara/Abexis said, the glowing flecks in her eyes widening
until they encompassed her entire eye sockets.

Everyone watched, as if rooted to
the spot, as Lara lifted her arms and rose several inches off the ground. Holding
out both hands, Grai and Ivint began to move toward Lara until they were
standing directly in front of her.

Suddenly, Lara clapped her hands
together loudly and the three of them disappeared into what looked to be a dark
golden sphere, suspended in the air where they had stood seconds earlier.

Reven began to step forward when
the cats surrounded him and the others. “Don’t worry for them. The Prime is
giving them knowledge. They are not being harmed.” Gibly said, swishing his
tail back and forth as he looked fiercely at the crowd.

Several minutes later, the golden
sphere was gone, and Lara/Abexis was holding on to Ivint and Grai, helping to
steady them as they swayed slightly.

Looking up at the concerned faces,
Grai eased their worry. “We’re fine.” Grai said, although it was a lie.

His mind felt like it was on fire
and ice at the same time, his beast was still reeling as well from the rush of
energy and knowledge of the past that had consumed them. He had seen the
existence of the Prime, and he now understood.  

Ivint shook off Reven’s concerned
hands and turned to look at the gathered group. “We will meet later to discuss
how we will begin. You will be told when.” Ivint said dismissively, still
trembling from the experience with the Prime.

When no one made a move to leave,
Grai said more roughly. “Go!”

Those who had followed Lara through
the building immediately dispersed while those who had been in the conference
room remained.

“I apologize for the method used to
help you understand. It was not my intention to have to resort to that. Although
your concern for your people is commendable, in this case, it was interfering
with your ability to understand.” Lara/Abexis said honestly, ensuring all of
her energy had dissipated from the two men and Traze. She immediately regretted
the latter.

“Holy shit! That was freaking
awesome! Did you see the pictures run through your mind?” Traze asked
excitedly.

“Leave it to you to need pictures
in your mind to understand.” David said, shaking his head.

The affectionate smile he gave the
boy lessened the impact of his teasing. The boy was growing on him; David thought.
Traze was like having a weird little brother.

“Dude! Seriously man, that hurt.
That really hurt. But I’ll let you get away with it because I fear you now that
you’re a Prime.” Traze said with a huge grin as he grabbed his chest in mock
pain. David grabbed the boy in a headlock and rubbed his head before letting
him go, both grinning.

Grai looked over at David, shaking
his head at the thought of the beast who was even now, awakening in his head.
Fate was funny he thought. He had known the moment; he met David that he would
be a perfect mentor for his outrageous brother; he just didn’t realize at the
time how perfect.

“My energy levels are very low as I
have not had time to rest yet. If you will excuse me, I will return later.”
Lara/Abexis said before Lara felt him recede in her mind before going silent.

Viper watched in fascination as
Lara’s eyes dimmed until they were once again her beautiful light brown. The
golden flecks, no longer glowing with the energy of the Prime.

No matter what beast she held, or
how much power she wielded, the greatest power she held in her hands, was his
love. Lara walked over to Viper and took his hands in her own. Viper’s heart
flipped over in his chest when she looked up at him the way she used to, with
her love and affection for him shining in her eyes.

“Are you ok?” Lara asked, suddenly
feeling shy.

“I will always be well with you by
my side, my love.” Viper whispered, leaning down to place a gentle kiss on her cheek.

They stood, staring at each other,
while everyone else and the cats began to disperse, each going their own way.
When Grai and Ivint headed into the door Viper looked deep in Lara’s eyes.

“I’ll be right back.” He said
before running after Grai.

Lara watched with curiosity as, he
spoke quietly with Grai for a few minutes before both men grinned and nodded
their heads. They shook arms quickly, and Grai and Ivint continued into the
building while Viper returned to Lara.

“What was that about? You could have
used the Shengari’.” Lara said, wondering why he hadn’t.

“It’s a surprise and there’s no
point using the Shengari’ if you can hear what is being said.” Viper said with
a grin as he led her around the building to the parking lot. His brothers and
Ratoka already left.

Lara chuckled. “I don’t do that.
Abexis does it to ensure everyone is safe, and he is not needed. It seems to be
an unconscious thing with him. It feels like it’s been a habit for so long, he
doesn’t know how to do otherwise.” Lara explained.

“It makes sense if he’s a guardian.
Besides, I don’t mind. Unless of course, it’s a surprise.” Viper said,
squeezing her hand with affection.

“Where are we going?” Lara asked
with a giggle as Viper helped her into the SUV.

“My favorite place here. I would
like to spend some time alone with my mate.” Viper said getting into the
vehicle and pulling out of the now half-empty parking lot.

Lara smiled, her insides shaking
with excitement. She had been so worried that Viper would have a hard time
accepting her because of Abexis.  

Viper reached across the arm rest
and held her hand gently as he expertly guided the vehicle up the winding
mountain road. Slowing down around a tight curve, he pulled the vehicle onto a
wide shoulder and parked. He was holding her door open for her, before she
could wonder where they were.

Lara allowed Viper to lead her into
the woods, following a path that would be hard for an experienced tracker to
find. So caught up in their own thoughts they both jumped back when one of the
Sibiox came bounding in front of them. The cat gave Lara a quick bow before
disappearing back into the foliage.