Bryce, page 4
part #2 of Anarock Shifters Series
Jamison raised his eyes to the ceiling. “I seem to remember them calling one of the bear shifters Slaughter…..Lucas Slaughter.”
A choking sound came out of her throat and she croaked, “You killed Lucas Slaughter? You wiped out his whole encampment?”
“We had to. We don’t leave anyone behind. They either join or they die. That’s our first and only rule.”
Bryce couldn’t bear the sight of the young man anymore. Jamison’s smooth good looks and his casual manner of talking about wholesale annihilation and terrorism made Bryce’s blood run cold.
He noticed Alexa gearing up for another barrage. Bryce prepared himself to cut her off. He didn’t want to listen to this. These endless questions and answers weren’t getting him and Alexa any closer to safety.
Before he could speak, a shout went up outside. Jamison went to the door. People raced by heading east along the lakefront. In a second, he plunged into the crowd and disappeared.
Alexa wandered to the opening and looked out. Bryce called to her from his cot, “What’s going on?”
She didn’t answer. More bodies whizzed past their tent all going the same direction. Curiosity drove Bryce to his feet. When he got to her side, he saw the Omega Battalion streaming out of the camp. Beyond the lake, hundreds more of these unreal people marched in a long formation. They walked around the water’s edge to join their friends.
Some of the oddities who captured Bryce and Alexa advanced on their comrades holding out their arms. They fell together embracing and even crying. In a moment, they escorted the newcomers into camp. The tent city exploded to ten times its size.
“This is bad,” Bryce murmured. “This is real bad.”
“What are we going to do?” Alexa asked. “We can’t get out of here. They can block our power.”
“Only that midget can block it.” He turned back into the tent. “As long as he’s not around, we can fly out of here. No one’s guarding us. We can put a hundred miles between us and them before they know we’re gone.”
She pivoted around to face him. “We have to go back to Anarock. We have to warn them that the Omega Battalion is coming their way. We can’t just run for the hills and let Anarock twist in the wind.”
“I don’t owe Anarock anything. Anarock doesn’t want me anymore, so they won’t get any help from me.”
Alexa gasped. “How can you even think that? How can you think of putting your family and friends in danger over a petty quarrel? We can go back and warn Victor. He can….”
“Victor!” Bryce spun around to bellow at her. “So it’s Victor again, is it? Victor this and Victor that. You’ll take any chance to go running home to Victor.”
She gaped up at him with huge eyes. “This has nothing to do with Victor. You heard what they said. They killed Lucas Slaughter and all his people. They turned that pack of wolf shifters and now they’re on their way to Anarock. Do you really want to stand by and let them do that? They’ll kill anyone who doesn’t turn.”
“You could have said you were going to warn your father or your brother. You could have said you were going to warn anyone but him. You want to use this to get him back. Admit it.”
Her mouth fell open. “What is the matter with you? My feelings for Victor have nothing to do with this. He’s leader of the Prometheus Crest. Who else would I warn? He’s the most obvious person to tell and he’s your own brother. I can’t believe you would even think of NOT warning him.”
“So you admit you have feelings for him.” Bryce heard his voice rising, but he didn’t even try to stop it. He was way beyond that now. “I knew it all along.”
“Jesus fucking Christ, Bryce! Will you listen to yourself? I’ve been gone two days. Of course I still have feelings for him. I never said I didn’t. I’ve loved him for over seven years. Do you think I can just turn my back on him and forget him? This has nothing to do with that. I would still want to go back to Anarock and warn our people even if he wasn’t leader of the Prometheus Crest. I wouldn’t leave my family and friends to die so I could run off to safety.”
Bryce whirled away. “Go right ahead. You run on home to Victor and tell him whatever you want. Tell him what a mistake he made marrying Riley and he should have married you instead. I don’t give a shit what you do.”
She stood still behind him. He hated that stillness and he hated the seething rage inside him, too. Why did he blow up when he knew she was right? Could he really run away and leave Anarock unprotected?
Why not? Anarock didn’t want him. Anarock threw him out on his ear and threatened to kill him. Why should he care what happened to Anarock now?
When she spoke, her voice cut him to the quick. “Fine. I will. I hope you have a good time with your new friends. See you around.”
He heard her moving toward the tent flap. He couldn’t let her walk away. He left Anarock expecting to live the rest of his life alone. He expected to wander friendless and in fear for his life for the rest of his miserable existence.
She changed that. In one day, in twenty-four short hours, she threw him a lifeline. She let him know he wasn’t completely alone, that at least one person on this planet still cared whether he lived or died.
She could have killed him. She could have taken his scalp back to Victor as a token of her loyalty and devotion. That would have meant a lot more than any information about the Omega Battalion.
She didn’t do that. Even after he told her about Victor’s death sentence, Alexa didn’t leave. She stayed with him. She talked to him. She traveled with him. Even now, she wanted him to leave with her. He couldn’t lose this, his one companion in the world.
Bryce wheeled around one more time and caught her by the wrist. “Don’t leave, Alexa.”
She came at him spitting tacks. She didn’t hesitate a second. “What do you think is going to happen when I leave? They’re going to turn you. They’re going to use their power on you and change you into something you can’t even recognize. They’ll make sure you join. They always do. You can’t think of staying here and you can’t think of letting them do the same thing to anyone else.”
“Don’t you think I know that?” He hissed down into her face. “I don’t want to put anyone else in danger, either, but I can’t go back to Anarock. They would kill me the minute I set foot in town.”
“Did you ever think for half a second that Victor might lift the sentence if you proved yourself like this?” she fired back. “Did you ever think for half a second you could redeem yourself by proving you’re still loyal to his Crest?”
“His Crest!” Bryce snorted.
“Yes, Bryce,” she chided. “His Crest. He’s leader of the Crest whether you like it or not. When are you going to wake up and smell the coffee? Would you rather see your mother and your sister and your brothers killed or worse, or would you rather make up with Victor and prove to them you’re not their enemy after all? It’s pretty simple, really, from where I’m standing.”
“I have a better idea,” he told her. “We use the Battalion to get inside Anarock. We use them to overthrow the Prometheus Crest and then we take over. We throw Victor and Riley out and you and me run the show in their places.”
Her face went blank staring at him. “My God! You’re completely out of your mind.”
Bryce cracked a wicked grin. The more he thought about it, the more the idea took hold of him. This was the perfect solution to all his problems. “Why not? We let these morons do the fighting. Once they take down the Prometheus Crest and everyone loyal to them, there’ll be nothing to stop us waltzing in and setting up shop in Ogru-Kuche in Victor’s place.” He sauntered a few steps toward her and lowered his voice to a suggestive purr. “What do you say? How would you like to rule Anarock with me? You could have a different Griffin instead of Victor. You could be Queen and I could be King. What do you think of that? Don’t you want to pay Victor back for screwing you over?”
She didn’t melt into his arms. He didn’t really expect her to. She didn’t slap his face and storm off, either. She studied him with a curious expression on her face. “So how do you plan to get rid of the Omega Battalion after they decimate Anarock?”
Bryce cast a glance around the tent. He got so wrapped up in plotting his victory that he didn’t think about the details. He also didn’t think about the aftermath. “I’m sure we’ll figure something out.”
She strutted the last few feet to where he stood. She smoothed out her voice, too, to the same sultry murmur. “And when you say the Omega Battalion will take down the Prometheus Crest and everyone loyal to them, who are you talking about exactly? You’re talking about your mother? Your sister? Your brother Malachai? My father and my brother? Are those the people you mean? They’re loyal to the Crest. They’ve already shown themselves willing to fight and die to defend it against the military. They’ll do the same with the Battalion.”
He shrugged and turned away. He wasn’t ready to give up this pleasant pipe dream yet. He didn’t need to think about trivialities when this boon dropped into his lap. The Omega Battalion could be the greatest thing that ever happened to him. He stumbled upon a ready-made fighting force capable of taking down Victor and installing Bryce himself in his brother’s place. What could be better than that?
Alexa heaved a long sigh, but before she could say anything, one of the strangers stuck his head through the door. To all outward appearances, he looked like a normal person—all except an especially thick fringe of beard around his cheeks and jaws. It ran down his neck and plunged under his shirt in a heavy mat of fur. “McCain wants to see you two on the double.”
5
The shaggy newcomer led Bryce and Alexa across the Omega Battalion’s camp to another tent like all the others. When they got there, they discovered McCain seated on a cushion. What looked like a Persian carpet spread out on the sand under it.
The other misfits lining the tent stayed off this carpet. The arrangement gave McCain an elevated aspect even though he was the only person sitting down.
Jamison occupied the position closest to McCain. He folded his hands in front of his thighs and regarded Bryce and Alexa with his even gaze. Other strange people formed two lines curving along the tent walls to either side.
McCain looked up when Bryce and Alexa entered. He started talking as though he was picking up an ongoing conversation that never ended. “As I told you before, you have a choice: join our Battalion or die. It’s time for you to make your decision.”
Bryce and Alexa glanced at each other. “Aren’t you even going to give us a chance to think about it first?” Alexa asked. “It’s a big decision.”
“If you need to think about it first, you’re not on the right track to joining us. You’ve had six hours to think about it. Jamison here informs me that he told you about some of the other groups we converted. Now it’s your turn. Make your choice. No more waiting around.”
They exchanged another look, but that didn’t help Alexa clear her mind. “In that case, we choose to join.”
Bryce’s head whipped around to scowl at her, but he didn’t say anything. What was there to say? Their only hope of survival was to get out of this tent. They had to convince these people that they were friendly and didn’t want to escape. That was the only way the Omega Battalion would lower their vigilance and leave them an opening.
McCain looked away. He fiddled with a loose string sticking out of his carpet. “We’ll take some precautions to ensure your loyalty.” He waved his forefinger at his lieutenants and a teenaged girl stepped out of the ranks. “Susie here will put our mark on you so you can’t escape or use your power against us.”
Alexa stared at the girl. She didn’t look any different from a normal, blonde-haired, blue-eyed adolescent growing up in the New Orleans suburbs. Alexa had to remind herself this innocent child was part of the nefarious Omega Battalion.
The girl stopped in front of Bryce and rested her hand on his chest. She spoke in a piping, childish lilt. “Don’t worry. It doesn’t hurt.”
“What are you doing?” he asked.
“Marking you.” She radiated a sweet, unguarded smile up at him.
He gazed down at her with wide eyes. When she took her hand away, a glowing imprint shone through his shirt. The girl approached Alexa and touched her the same way. She left her handprint on Alexa’s upper chest above her breast.
“From now on,” McCain boomed, “you won’t be able to fly or use your power against the Battalion. If we get into a fight, it will come back instantly without anyone doing anything to reverse the spell. You’ll be able to use all your power to defend yourselves and the rest of your comrades in the Battalion. Unless that happens, you’ll just be plain old you and that’s it. Now come over here and tell me about this Anarock place of yours.”
Alexa stared up at Bryce in horror. Could this really be happening? Before they had a chance to form a plan to escape, their last prayer of getting out of here vaporized before their eyes.
Alexa didn’t notice the moment when Susie left her to return to her place in the line. Alexa stared around her at nothing. She couldn’t imagine a worse disaster. Now she had to use her power to help the Battalion. She couldn’t even fly away.
Boris the seven-eyed seer waddled to McCain’s carpet and sat down next to the cushion. In her altered state, Alexa wondered how he mustered the courage to set foot on McCain’s sacred carpet.
Boris’s head came up to McCain’s shoulder. McCain fixed his blank eyes on Alexa. “Did you hear me? I said come over here.”
She stumbled forward too dazed to think straight. She sat down on McCain’s other side. Somehow, her brain made sure she sat off the cushion, too, so she was lower than him.
Boris conjured up his shimmering window. McCain leaned forward and peered through it. “Now, here we have what looks like a large building of some kind. I don’t see any defenses or anything, but that locked gate makes me think it’s a shade more important than just a run-down derelict. Am I right?”
Alexa looked into the globe and found herself staring at a real-time view of Ogru-Kuche. A drunk dressed in rags staggered across the image and collapsed against the steps. To her astonishment, she could see Jules as plain as day. He stood behind the fence scanning the sidewalk beyond.
She cringed at the sight. Boris’s vision must be able to detect hidden changelings even when human eyes couldn’t. Jules should have been invisible to everyone except when he showed himself to lock and unlock the gate. Boris could see him plainly, though. Anyone who looked through that window could see him.
McCain’s head snapped around and he glared at her. “I asked you a question. What is this building? What do they use it for?”
Against her will, Alexa discovered her voice answering him. Did Susie’s spell make her speak or was she already losing her will to resist these horrible people? “It’s the headquarters of the Prometheus Crest. They’re the ruling Crest of Anarock. Their leadership lives in the building and they conduct all their defense from here.”
Bryce blurted out, “Alexa, no!”
McCain raised his brutal eyes to Bryce’s face. Alexa watched the scene play out from a long way off, but she couldn’t do anything to stop it. The magic holding her captive wouldn’t let her move or speak.
McCain bared his teeth at Bryce. “What do you know about it? What do you know about their defenses?”
Bryce opened his mouth to speak. He hesitated and his eyes darted to Alexa and back to McCain. When he answered, his voice cracked with strain. “They have a…..” He swallowed hard. “They have an underground war room where they plan all their defenses. They….” He broke off.
Alexa’s heart bled for him. Maybe now, when he didn’t have any choice but to betray his family and his people, maybe now he realized he didn’t really want to destroy Victor and everyone else after all.
“They what?” McCain barked. “What else do they have down there? Do they have computers monitoring the whole neighborhood? We can overcome them.”
“No computers,” Bryce stammered. “They don’t use computers. They use runners and word of mouth. They keep all their records in written form and their communications face to face. They always have.”
McCain scowled. “Do they? Huh! Well, that puts a different spin on it.” He turned back to Alexa. “What do you know about what goes on in that war room?”
She bowed her head. She sent up a silent prayer for forgiveness to her father for what she was about to do, even if she didn’t intend to. “I don’t know anything about what goes on in there. My father is their commanding officer. That’s all I know. I worked in a different department of the Crest’s offices. I never went into the war room.”
“But you did, didn’t you?” he snapped at Bryce. “You know what goes on in there?”
Bryce cast his gaze to the ground. “Not anymore, I don’t. My brother took over and I haven’t been in there since. They will have changed all their codes and encryptions since I left.”
McCain’s lips quivered back from a set of rotten black teeth. “What’s that you say? Why would they change it?”
“Because the military attacked the city,” Bryce replied. “The Prometheus Crest always changes their codes and encryptions, plus all their communications relays and message transfer systems, after an invasion and after a new man takes over. They will have completely restructured their defense in the last three days.”
McCain rounded on Boris. “Show me the war room.”
A moving picture of the Prometheus Crest war room appeared in Boris’s bubble. Alexa’s spirit tumbled into her shoes one more time. She saw her father drawing something on a whiteboard while Victor and Riley watched. She could very clearly make out the exact pattern he was drawing.
How could anyone ever defeat these people? They could see exactly what their enemies were doing at any given time. McCain could get Boris or one of his other cronies to watch the war room. They would uncover the Prometheus Crest’s new codes in no time. They would invade and put all Anarock to the torch.
