Craving (Legacy Book 2) Page 3

  “Ily, please.”

  “Thank you, Ily. I’m sure you’ll do a wonderful job here.”

  “I’ll try, sir.”

  “I know you will. Now, I will take my leave. You have my number should you need it.”

  “Yes, sir. Thank you. Safe travels.”

  “Thank you, Ily. I’ll see you soon. John Luke, are you riding with us?

  “I am.”

  “Then let’s take our leave, son. Ily, see you soon.”

  “I hope so.”

  John Luke took her hand and gave it a squeeze as his father turned away. “Tuesday.”

  “Yes.” She agreed and watched him walk away. She followed and saw his family gathered outside.

  She returned John Luke’s wave and then headed inside the main building. She secured a beer before she was approached again by one of the Rangers assigned to the Center. She drank her beer and listened, trying to pay attention to what the man said.

  But all she could really think about was John Luke Legacy and that kiss.

  Chapter Three

  Senator Legacy rose as the men entered the room. Even though his own family was technically part of one of the Clans of The Seven, it was still a bit disconcerting to deal with beings as old as Augustus Octavius, Prince of the Vampires.

  Or perhaps the disquieting part was not his age but who he was, or had been: Augustus Octavius, Emperor of Rome. John marveled at the reality of it. He and Augustus had enjoyed some lengthy conversations on government and a leader’s responsibility to his people, and John was impressed. Augustus was truly an honorable man and one worthy of great respect.

  He was also a lonely man. John recognized it easily enough because even though he’d technically been married for forty-eight years, he had been lonely for most of that time.

  His wife’s allegiance had always been to her family, or so he thought. Now he realized that her real loyalty was to the Umbra, the term humans had given to the Dark Fae who wanted to subjugate mankind.

  “John.” Augustus offered his hand. “Thank you for making time for us.”

  “It’s an honor.”

  Augustus smiled and moved aside for Severin.

  Severin, John noticed, rarely smiled. He was either as lonely as the rest of them or perhaps Daemons had a more morose natural disposition. Whatever the case, it had not taken John long to come to realize the man’s sharp mind and sense of honor. He’d quickly come to admire and respect Severin. He’d lost the negative connotation typically assigned to the word Daemon. He didn’t know much about Severin, but he did know there was no evil inside him.

  “Thank you.” Severin smiled as he clasped John’s hand, then gestured to the third man with them. “Allow me to introduce Connor Rockbridge. He is one of our regional Governors.”

  John looked up at the big man who thrust out a hand and gave a wide smile. “It’s a pleasure, Mr. Rockbridge.”

  “Connor, please.”

  John couldn’t help but notice the size of Connor’s hand. John wasn’t a small man but felt that way standing next to Connor. “I understand you are a Shifter?”

  “I understand your family is, as well.”

  “Yes, so it seems. Although until recently we called ourselves Skinwalkers. Please, have a seat. Would anyone care for a drink?”

  No one took him up on the offer. In fact, Severin dived right in on why they were there. “We have news.”

  “Of?” John asked.

  “Iliana James.”

  John looked around at the men. “I wasn’t aware she was under investigation by The Council of Seven.”

  “She isn’t,” Augustus replied.

  “Then what’s the news and why is it coming from you? If you knew something, then why didn’t you tell me before—”

  Augustus held up a hand. “Please, I beg your patience. Severin can explain far better than I. Severin?”

  Severin looked at John. “In our dimension, the King of the Fae and his Royal Family have always been protected by a race of women warriors known as the Scythe.”

  “Sounds a little like science fiction,” John commented.

  “Or historical,” Augustus added. “The Scythian were mighty warriors, and from them, the myth of the Warrior Woman was spawned that in time became the myth of the Amazonian women.”

  “Interesting.” John turned his attention back to Severin. “And I guess this has relevance today?”

  “Indeed. The Scythe have the ability to phase between dimensions and to open a Portal between dimensions for others. King Whitehorse of the Fae ordered his personal Guardian, Ily Scythiana to open a Portal for him.

  “She did not want to obey the order as she’d had a prophetic dream about his death in this dimension, but she could not refuse her King. She could, however, convince his son, Prince Eldric, to allow her to follow the King into this dimension.

  “The problem was, the King cast an enchantment upon the Portal once he crossed through to prevent anyone else from making the crossing. Had it been a lesser being, the crossing would have stopped them on the other side or, if they had penetrated Portal, it would have destroyed them. For Ily Scythiana, it stripped her of all memories of who she was and where she was from.”

  John looked around the room. “Are you telling me that Dr. James… No, that isn’t possible. I’ve seen transcripts of her grades, grants she’s been awarded. She grew up in Kentucky, raised by her grandmother Oma James because her parents were killed in an automobile accident when she was six months old.”

  “A history that was provided for her,” Augustus said and when John looked at him in disbelief, continued, “She was quite damaged. Luckily she was taken to Oma, and Oma kept her presence in this reality a secret at the order of the Fae King.

  “Oma is a great healer. She spent months with Ily Scythiana while she was unconscious, building a history for her to remember. She also kept Ily Scythiana’s presence a secret from all but a select few for fear that our enemies would also discover her presence her and try to use her to open a Portal.”

  “Okay, so you’re saying Dr.—Ily Scythiana isn’t a virologist? She didn’t earn those degrees?”

  “No, not at all. She did. She’s remarkably intelligent and amazingly strong. She is the direct descendant of the Mistress of Scythia, after all, and her blood is the strongest of her kind.”

  “How could you know that if you weren’t aware she was even here until recently?”

  Augustus smiled. “Excellent observation, John. I was not aware of her presence, but Severin was.”

  “Yes. Ily and I were—friends. I traveled back and forth between realms for centuries. I was on a sojourn here when King Michael closed the Portal.”

  John frowned and got up to go to the bar and pour himself a drink. This wasn’t setting well with him. He’d always hated lies. Maybe more than some because he’d been forced to live one, afraid of what would happen to him or his family if anyone found out what they were.

  He took a sip from his drink and regarded the men in the room. “So, there were people concocting an entire fake history for her—a life that never existed? You made her believe in a lie. And none of you feel that it’s wrong to keep the truth of who she really is from her?”

  “We do,” Augustus answered immediately. “And would not have, but for one reason.”

  “Which is?”

  “We fear she might be captured and tortured to try and force her to use her abilities and power for the Dark.”

  John didn’t quite know what to say. He’d be the first to admit that humans could be a bloodthirsty and power-hungry lot, but it seemed that The Seven were just as bad in many respects.

  “Yes, we are.” Severin agreed and gave a fleeting smile when John looked at him in surprise.

  “May I ask a question?” John asked.

  “Certainly.”

  “If you are all Fae with different attributes and abilities, then why are some of you simply called Fae?”

  “That’s a good question,�
� Connor spoke up. “And while Severin could give you a precise and complicated explanation, I favor the simple, so it’s like this. Some of us—like you and me—we’re Shifters. Our kind has certain abilities, transformation and limited physic abilities like being able to communicate with our own kind telepathically. It’s the same with the Vampires and Angels and Weres. Then there are the Daemons and Wizards—they have something of a blend of abilities, but each sect, for lack of a better word, is stronger in one or two sets of skills like controlling weather or mind control or…or you’d have to get Severin to explain in depth. But the point is, they have specialized abilities and are not all-powerful, or omnipotent.

  “Fae are those among us who have a bigger toolbox so to speak. They have abilities from all the sects and one very special ability that sets them apart. They can take abilities from others.”

  “Which would make them…” John paused, unsure whether what he was about to say would be offensive.

  “More powerful.” Connor finished the thought. “Yes. And therefore, more dangerous. Particularly if they favor the powers of Darkness.”

  “And do you feel that Dr. James is a threat because of her unique powers?”

  “No,” Severin answered the question. “Not intentionally, but if she thought she could prevent the death of her King, she might be persuaded to do what the Dark Fae want.”

  “You mean he’s alive?”

  “No, but remember who and what we are—what you are. With practice, you could assume the appearance of another. Someone who is skilled from years of practice could masquerade as the King and possibly succeed in fooling her.”

  “Okay, but that doesn’t explain what you need her for.”

  Severin looked at Connor, and he nodded before speaking. “Several months ago, the Were population reported an outbreak of a mysterious illness. At first we thought it was a rare strain of flu, but after months we’re no closer to a cure than we were at the beginning. Our best people have been unable to unlock the viral code, and the rate of infection is reaching alarming numbers.”

  He paused and looked briefly at Augustus before continuing. “Augustus asked the Council of Seven for additional resources, and even with their approval we haven’t made progress.”

  John looked around at the men assembled. “And you think Dr. James can help? Why?”

  “In a nutshell, her education and her abilities,” Connor replied. “She’s one of the leading virologists as well as a top animal biologist in the country. Additionally, she is one of the foremost experts on wolves.”

  “Oh, the Weres you spoke of are—Werewolves?”

  “Yes, wolves, cats, a host of others.”

  John considered it for a moment. “Do you want me to speak with her?”

  “To be honest, we don’t quite know how to approach her,” Connor said. “From what we know, she believes her abilities to be something she inherited from a mother she never knew—a mother who was a witch.”

  “She thinks she’s a witch?” That shocked John. Most scientists discounted such things as witchcraft.

  “I believe it’s the only explanation she has for her experiences.” Severin offered. “Oma, the woman who raised her, did so in a Wiccan community as a way of hiding in plain sight, in a manner of speaking. As we stated previously, she was a great healer. Dr. James believes her ability to be the same as her grandmother’s.”

  “And you need someone to tell her that it’s far more,” John commented and then fell silent to think about it. A minute later, the answer came to him, and he wondered why it had taken that long to see what was right in front of him.

  “I think we should bring my son, John Luke, in on this.”

  “May I ask why?” Augustus spoke up.

  “Several reasons. First, he is trustworthy. He was a federal agent for nearly twenty years and only left the Bureau when he discovered he is a Shifter. He can identify with the shock she’ll feel when she is told the truth. Moreover, I believe there is an attraction between the two, and that might prove advantageous.”

  “You may be right,” Augustus agreed. “And we will defer to your judgment in this. I do have concerns that affect you and Dr. James, however. I believe we have a leak and if that is so, the Dark Fae could learn of Iliana and her whereabouts. Should that happen, they may send someone or several of their people to try to sway her to the Dark Path. They would not want to see her help save the Weres.”

  “I promise I’ll do all I can to protect her,” John said.

  “And I will assist,” Connor said. “With your permission, John. Perhaps some of my people could be hired by the center and would serve as extra protection.”

  “Possibly,” John agreed. “I’ll need a couple of days to work that out. Dr. James was promised autonomy in hiring staff, and I don’t want to alienate her by forcing people on her.”

  “Completely understandable,” Connor raised one hand to gesture. “Just let me know.”

  “Of course.” John stood when the others got to their feet. “Shall I proceed with bringing John Luke in?”

  “Yes.” Augustus gave his consent. “We’ll stay in touch, and if you have need of us, you have our contact numbers.”

  “I do. Thank you.”

  “I believe it is we who owe you thanks, John. Without your and Ily Scythiana’s help we could lose more of our people.”

  “I’ll get to work on this immediately,” John promised and offered his hand. “We’ll do everything we can to save your people—our people,” he corrected himself.

  Augustus smiled and clasped John’s hand, and at that moment, John truly felt the bond. As crazy as it might seem, these were as much his people as humans, and he was going to do everything he could to save those who were sick.

  Now, he just had to convince his son and Iliana to join him. He had no clue right now how he was going to accomplish that, but he would figure it out. He had to. Lives were at stake.

  John Luke stopped, cocking his head to one side as he looked at the odd sight in front of him. There were three separate pens about twenty feet apart, sitting out here in the middle of nowhere. Constructed of chicken wire and essentially limbs from trees, the pens were crude affairs.

  He couldn’t imagine why anyone would build them out here in the middle of nowhere, much less fill them with rabbits. There had to be more than a dozen rabbits in each pen, and right now they were all in a state of panic.

  Was he still on Legacy land? He hadn’t encountered a fence so assumed he was, but then had not yet thought to ask Logan if the boundary fence was intact.

  John Luke moved slowly. He approached the first pen and they went batshit crazy, running to the far end, squealing and growling as if they were facing down the devil. It was the first time in his life he’d ever paid attention to sounds made by rabbits and found it a bit fascinating.

  But the critters were obviously in a state of terror. He wanted to communicate to them that he wouldn’t hurt them, so he jumped the fence. As big as he was, the jump was easy. That didn’t do a thing to ease them. Now they were bunched together like a furry battalion, all tense and poised for battle.

  Fierce bunnies. It was kind of funny. And it occurred to him that he’d never really noticed before what a strong scent rabbits have. Just as that thought occurred, there was a sound behind him.

  He turned his head to look. Someone stood outside the pen. Despite his excellent eyesight, he couldn’t tell the sex, age, or race of the person. He, or she, as the case might be, wore a floppy camouflage hat and a camouflage jacket and pants, both baggy enough to conceal size and sex.

  John Luke felt his own sense of panic when the person pulled a gun from the pocket of the jacket. His first thought was to talk the guy down. John Luke turned toward him and opened his mouth to explain that he didn't intend to harm the rabbits. He was simply curious why someone would have them penned up out in the middle of nowhere.

  The series of growls and barks that emerged from his mouth served only to galvanize th
e person into action. John Luke didn’t have time to do more than think oh shit before the dart hit him.

  He knew what tranquilizer darts were designed to do. The dart was essentially a ballistic syringe loaded with an immobilizing drug and a hypodermic needle, propelled from the gun by means of compressed gas.

  Upon impact, the momentum of a steel ball in the rear of the dart pushed the syringe plunger and injected a dose of barbiturate or other sedative drug into the animal. From what he understood, it typically took from fifteen minutes to an hour to render the target unconscious.

  Understanding the purpose and principles was a far cry from experiencing the effect. He felt his entire body go numb.

  Then his vision started to fade. John Luke tried to hold onto consciousness but felt himself losing the battle.

  Iliana shoved the modified air gun into the jacket’s right pocket and hurriedly pulled restraints from the left pocket. Her heart was still beating fast. This was the first time she had ever used the weapon she’d modified and created a special tranquilizer for.

  She would have preferred to use a standard issue tranquilizer, but she had not yet received the promised rifle and darts, so had to improvise. The last few weeks, there had been reports from local ranchers and farmers about the loss of quite a few animals to what she assumed were wolves. She was determined to stop that trend before people decided to start hunting. Even if she’d had the rifle, she might have opted to use her modified gun and sedative in this situation. She needed to incapacitate the animal quickly.

  Typical tranquilizers, despite what one sees in the movies, didn’t take an animal down instantly. It could be a minute to five minutes or more, depending on the size of the animal. If the wolf were to run, there’d be no way for her to keep up in the dark and she wanted to get him safely back to the Center and locked up so she could get him tagged. Once tagged, they would be able to pinpoint his location.

  It was particularly important to be able to keep track of the wolf once it was released. Part of her job was to tag and track as many of the wolves as possible.