Wyvern and Company (12 page)

Mom's hands glowed as she touched Mack's head. They'd called
her First. I hadn't asked about that before. Uncle Lion would have to tell me,
since nobody else explained what that meant.

"There," Mom took her hands away. "You'll be
able to
Look
and to mindspeak others with the talent. Don't misuse your
Looking
skills to bypass study and homework. Joey will know and you'll be in trouble
with everybody."

"I guess we'll have to be careful," Mack grinned.

"I'm warning you, Martin Everett Walters, Junior,"
Mom shook a finger at him. He laughed. It was a good sound.

* * *

"Aunt Marlianna," I grinned at her when she and
Uncle Lion walked into the kitchen ten minutes later. Mom sent us to the
kitchen, and said to wait there for Lion. I had no idea that Aunt Marlianna
would come, too.

"I wanted to thank your mother," Marlianna beamed at
me. "You're going to get a cousin in about nine months."

"Seriously?" Mack said. "That's so cool."

"It is cool," I agreed. "He or she can go to
school with my sister."

"That's what we were hoping for," Marlianna hugged
one of Lion's huge arms against her. I could tell he didn't mind a bit.

"Baby, go ahead and see Kee," Lion urged. "I'll
teach these young ones how to use what they have without getting into trouble."

When Marlianna disappeared down the hallway toward the indoor
pool, Lion turned to us. "
Looking
," he began, "is a way
to search for needed information. I warn you not to make your search too broad,
because the information you get will overwhelm you. Narrow it down and
Look
for specifics. It'll be like looking for Fred on the internet, which will
produce thousands of possibilities. You'll have to narrow your Fred search to
Fred James from Greenville, Alabama. That will produce a more reasonable
response," he said.

"It's like the Internet?" Mack asked.

"The most accurate version you'll ever see," Lion
nodded. "You'll only get precise information, and nothing that is wrong or
dishonest. It's one of our best abilities."

"How will this help in hunting spawn?" I asked.

"All right, try now.
Look
for spawn," Lion
instructed. "I'm prevented by our superior, but you aren't held back by
that command."

I'll never forget that first session. Ever. I
Looked
,
thinking I might find a few here and there, not far away. After all, we'd
killed so many already.

"They're all over," I whispered in alarm when my
eyes focused on Uncle Lion again.

Chapter 7
 

Justin's Journal

"Narrow each search to a city, then look for the location
within that city," Dad said, spreading a paper map of the U.S. on the
kitchen island. When I'd
Looked
the first time, I'd seen red, glowing
spots on states across the union. Dad was now asking me to focus on individual
states, and cities within those states.

"There's a shitload in Florida," I mumbled, focusing
my skills on that state. "In the Everglades. Here." I tapped the map.
"A bunch in Texas—maybe more there than in Florida," I confirmed.
Mack had seen them, too, just not as easily or as clearly. That meant I'd take
point on the
Looking
for spawn thing.

Inside my head, I could see cities. Streets in those cities.
Street signs and building numbers in those cities. I was surprised the spawn
hadn't made their presence known there already. Were they waiting for
something?

"Son, they're building their army," Dad said softly.
"They want to hit us and hit us hard in those areas, so they're taking the
population a few at a time, probably from the homeless and those whose absence
won't be so readily noticed. They do this on other worlds, too. It's their
attempt to overwhelm the population and make it ready for the real invasion."

"Real invasion?" I croaked. Images of space ships
firing on hapless populations swam through my brain.

"Not like that. Who has need of ships when they can fold
in and eat whomever they want?" Dad muttered. "Worlds die within a
few months after the Ra'Ak and their spawn arrive to feed."

"And you're the only ones standing between those people
and the Ra'Ak?" Mack's voice cracked.

"Yes. Seven of us, against that army," Dad agreed. "There
are rules, but there are times when the rules are broken—on their side. This is
one of those times. We fought and won this planet twenty years ago. Now they're
back."

"How long are they supposed to stay away?"

"A thousand years."

"You think there's something here that they want?" I
asked.

"We worry that it could be exactly that," Dad
agreed. "That whatever it is may be very important to us in the future,
and very bad for them at the same time."

"So we can't give it up," I said, squaring my
shoulders. "We can't let them have that."

"And we've had our hands tied in fighting them," he
said. "That leaves you, Mack and a handful of vampires and werewolves to
fight for us."

"This is so weird," Mack sighed and shook his head. "I
have questions, but maybe I'll wait to ask them."

"We'll be going to Texas on Tuesday," Dad said. "There's
nothing to prevent us from providing transportation for my son and his friends,
so Dragon and I will drop you off in Dallas Tuesday evening. Pay attention to
Merrill, Daniel and the others—you'll learn much from their tactics. Between
now and then, Dragon and Lion will give you a brief lesson in combat."

* * *

"I will teach you bladework someday," Dragon said as
we stood before him and Lion in the backyard half an hour later. "The
first thing I wish to teach you is this; never let your enemy slip behind you.
Always keep him in front of you, or as much in your sight as possible."

"It's better to have at least one or two allies at your
back if you are surrounded," Lion said. "Form a triangle. A circle is
better if you're surrounded, but take care to keep the circle intact. It cannot
be breached, you understand. Close in if one of your comrades falls, but give
each other enough room to fight."

"Be prepared," Dragon took over the lesson. "You
will see humans in all stages of turning to spawn. Never forget that the human
is dead and spawn is what you face. Ignore that you are fighting women or
girls. Spawn are asexual. Take them down no matter what."

"They smell nasty. Acidic," Mack confirmed. "All
of them."

"Then let your nose be your guide," Lion jerked his
head at Mack. "Do not let them live for any reason, no matter what their
appearance may be. Any one of them can destroy the population if allowed to
attack unchecked."

"What about little kids?" Mack mumbled.

"Most of those you saw the other day would have been completely
eaten if we hadn't arrived to interrupt the meal," Lion sighed. "Those
are the first choices as a food source goes, because the meat is tender. You understand
that the lake areas and Yosemite are now closed after this latest attack.
Authorities are saying to proceed with caution at any vacation spot, as a large
group of people provides no safety from what is attacking them. The National
Guard is looking for these creatures, too, but they have no idea what they are
tracking."

"They're showing the footage from the school attack every
five minutes on the news," Mack grumped. "We probably won't be the
only ones pulled out of school over this."

I blinked at Mack for a moment. "Do you think Gina can
have her classes with us? Do you think her mom will allow it?"

"Dude, will
your
mom allow it?" Mack asked.

"We're off topic," Lion cleared his throat.

"What? Oh, yeah," I said, feeling embarrassed.

"You cannot allow anything to distract you when you face
the enemy," Dragon's eyes narrowed as he studied me. "Always stay
focused. You'll keep your life that way."

"Yes, sir," I nodded.

* * *

At five-thirty that evening, I was on my way to pick Gina up
for our date. That meant I had a ton of stuff shoved aside in my head to make
room for her. Her mother answered the door when I arrived, and I knew she
wanted to make sure I was a good candidate for dating her daughter.

I was as honest as I could be when she asked questions.

"You've lived in Fresno all your life?" She offered
me a seat in the small living room.

"Yes, ma'am—for as long as I can remember."

"I know your father owns a construction company."

"He does." I watched as her fingers twisted together
and worried blue eyes wandered to a photograph sitting on a table beside my
chair. Shamelessly, I
Looked
to see who it was.

It was Gina's father, who'd died in Afghanistan. His body was
never recovered and that probably left a big hole in Mrs. Allen's life. I knew
she wasn't married—Gina never referred to a step-dad.

Somebody was taking her daughter out, now, and in Mrs. Allen's
mind, threatening to interrupt her close-knit bond with Gina.

"I like Gina," I blurted. "A lot. There's no
way I'll interfere with your relationship. I promise."

"Mom, stop with the inquisition," Gina walked into
the living room shoving long, dark hair over her shoulder and giving me a
lovely smile. "It's just dinner and a movie. I'll be home by eleven, I
promise."

"I wish you had another option than going back to Valley
High," Mrs. Allen grumbled. "But we don't have the money for private
school. I—just don't want you anywhere near those monsters and let's face it,
they seem to be stalking Valley High students."

"My parents are arranging to have me home-schooled—at
least for a while," I said. "For pretty much the same reason."

"Who's teaching?" Mrs. Allen brightened up
immediately.

"My Uncle Joey is teaching science and math—he has a
master's from MIT, with honors. Whenever I need help in Calculus, he's the one
who explains things for me. My Uncle Bearcat is teaching English, history and
everything else. Mom says that when they get done with Mack and me, we'll get
into any college we want afterward."

"Is that true?" Mrs. Allen's eyes lit up. "And
the Walters boy will be studying with you?"

"Mom doesn't lie," I shrugged. "And she considers
Mack to be an extra kid, since he's at the house so much. So, yeah."

"Will you have your mother call me?" she pleaded. "At
least she can give me advice, if your uncles don't want to include Gina in
their classes. MIT? Really?"

"Oh, yeah," I nodded. "Uncle Joey's kind of a
genius at that stuff. If you have any question about computers, he's the one to
ask."

"Mom can barely use the Internet," Gina whispered
with a smile.

"I heard that," Mrs. Allen said, but she laughed,
letting us know it was all right. "Where are you going to eat?" She
added.

"I thought maybe Mr. Wong's," I said. "Do you
like Chinese?" I turned to Gina.

"I love Mr. Wong's. They have the best wonton soup,"
she beamed at me.

"I like that, too," I agreed. "And the shrimp
fried rice."

"Have a good time, and be back by eleven," Mrs.
Allen waved us toward the door. Somehow, I'd passed her test, when I didn't
think there'd be one to pass to begin with.

* * *

I got Gina home by eleven, with three minutes to spare. I
almost didn't kiss her good night because of a sudden onset of awkwardness.

Thank goodness she met me halfway. I drove home after that,
with the hardest erection I'd ever experienced. Joey met me at the door leading
from the garage into the house.

"Here," he slapped a bottle of lotion in my hand. "I
hear cold showers are supposed to work, too."

"What?" I'm glad I couldn't see my stunned
expression, because it surely looked as uncomfortable as it felt.

"It was either me or your dad," Joey shrugged.

All right, meeting Dad at the door would have caused me even
more embarrassment. "Good call," I mumbled and stalked past Joey
toward my bedroom.

* * *

"We've already cleared it with the school," Mom said
while Mack and I had bacon and eggs for breakfast Monday morning. "They've
canceled classes for this week anyway, because of the attacks and deaths last
Friday night, but Pheligar made all the necessary changes for you and Mack. I
understand we're not the only ones pulling students out of Valley High—the
Catholic school in Clovis has been bombarded with requests."

"Gina's mother wants you to call her," I said,
attempting to shove aside the fear that threatened to envelope me. I was
terrified Mom would say no. After all, we would be hunting spawn between
classes and homework. Plus, Gina was human; Mack and I weren't.

"I've already talked to Marie Allen," Mom smiled. "I
told her it wouldn't be a problem for Gina to study with you and Mack. Joey and
Bearcat convinced me it wouldn't be a bad thing to add another student or two.
They've cleared out the two bedrooms behind the garage to make two classrooms,
complete with computers at each desk and everything else you may need to do
your lessons."

"This, and this," Joey walked in and placed a new
tablet in front of each of us. "I have another two for Gina and her
friend, Sarah. These have all your textbooks on them, plus access to reference
materials and anything else you might need."

"Sarah's coming, too?"

"They'll be here in an hour. Class starts at
eight-thirty. Finish your breakfast and clean up," Joey commanded. "You
belong to Bearcat and me until three."

"Does Gina have a ride?" I asked.

"Sarah is picking her up. They'll ride together on most
days," Mom said. "Eat. You don't get to shirk, just because you're
studying at home."

"You're not getting an apple," I teased, pointing a
finger at Joey.

"If I depended on you for food, I'd starve," he
teased right back.

"I can actually hunt for food," Mack pointed out,
grinning.

"I really prefer cow to venison," Joey said.

"Please stop talking," Mom said, slipping off her
barstool. She looked green.

"Uh-oh," Joey said. "Come on," he took Mom's
hand and they both disappeared. I figured she'd be losing her breakfast in
short order. Mack blinked at me. I just shook my head.

* * *

"I have already stretched my authority to the limit,"
Thorsten complained.

"And things are going in the proper direction," his
creator offered a cunning smile. "With this forced pregnancy you have manufactured,
you have effectively removed the First from combat, making her an easy target.
Now, we can take her grown child, too. Then, when we destroy the unborn child
with her mother, it will destroy the Former Falchani's will to live and The Saa
Thalarr will fall with those two. This has become too easy."

"I can only take this so far," Thorsten whined. "If
Belen discovers what I've done, I can't guarantee I'll keep my job."

"Then we'll make sure Belen is occupied elsewhere, shall
we?"

"I have to leave that to you," Thorsten countered. "If
you expect me to do your will in this, Belen must continue to trust me."

"I will arrange it," came the reply.

* * *

Justin's Journal

Joey was an unrelenting taskmaster in the classroom, and he
wouldn't let me stare at Gina for more than five seconds before sending
mindspeech. I decided right then that mindspeech could become more of a curse
than a blessing.

The good thing, I suppose, was that classes with Joey and
Bearcat were much more advanced than anything we'd ever gotten at Valley High,
and it honestly kept us better engaged. Who knew?

Even Mack enjoyed it, and he'd never particularly liked school
before. The assignments, too, weren't dull and dreary retreads on what students
had done for the past decade or two. These made you think, asking for research
and input. Bearcat asked us plenty of questions, especially on how mass
unemployment in Germany, the great depression and ensuing economic failure in Europe
were contributing factors in World War II.

Mom was right—this was college level stuff and would help
prepare us to score higher on admission tests.

I walked Gina to Sarah's car after classes were over, while
she actually gushed about how our classes would help her, especially the math
and science classes. She liked Joey so much more than Mr. Draper, because he
explained everything in a better, more energetic way.

"I can't wait to tell Mom what a good idea this was,"
she said, giving me a peck on the cheek. I watched as she and Sarah drove away,
wondering whether my future days would all include cold showers.