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  Brandon started towards me and his speed was mind-blowing. I couldn't have ever kept up with him except for the fact that he was still so far away. He needed to move his whole body more than two dozen feet. I only needed to move my hands fractions of an inch and with each step he took towards me he became a bigger target.

  I pulled the trigger again and my nerves betrayed me a second time. The shot was low and right—it hit him, but it wasn't the killing shot that I'd hoped for.

  I couldn't take a calming breath, there wasn't time for that, not when I was acting and thinking with the speed of a shape shifter, but I imagined myself taking in a slow, deep breath as I fought to bring the muzzle of my gun back down. It worked, I got another shot off and this one was only a quarter of an inch off where I thought his heart was positioned, but it wasn't enough. I was running out of time.

  "Surround him! Don't let him escape!"

  It was Alec yelling the words—I knew that—but they didn't mean anything to me until Brandon shifted forms and threw his slender wolf body to the side. I got one more shot off, one that went completely through his stomach and out the other side, and then he was lost among the rest of the trees.

  The rest of our people were still a couple of seconds away, but Alec had bluffed Brandon into turning and running. By the time Brandon realized that he wasn't in as much danger as Alec had indicated, he must have decided that it wasn't worth the risk of circling back around to try and kill any of the rest of us. Even Brandon wasn't indestructible and he'd taken his share of damage over the last minute or two.

  Chapter 23

  Alec Graves

  Ambush site

  Southern New Mexico

  I was trying to ease Agony's pain when everyone arrived. I turned to thank the new arrivals and was blindsided by a backfist that sent me sprawling.

  "Stay away from him!"

  As I came to my feet I realized that I still had my sword in my hand. I wasn't a match for what I'd been earlier, but by the same measure the big gray hybrid who had just hit me was no Brandon. If I hadn't already been in hybrid form my beast would have demanded that I shift. As it was, I sent out a pulse of power that exceeded anything else I'd ever displayed.

  "Who the hell are you?"

  "I'm Dream Stealer and you'd be wise to back down and do as I say."

  My lips pulled back from my fangs.

  "Please tell me that you're really stupid enough to threaten me in real life after all of the crap you pulled the last time you came at me in my dreams."

  I stalked towards him on legs that weren't as steady as normal, but which I was confident would be more than up to the challenge of killing the infamous Dream Stealer if he didn't back down and show me the respect I deserved.

  I was only a few feet away from striking range when the oddest surge of calm washed over me. The emotion was so strong that I almost accepted it, but my beast didn't like being manipulated. His emotions were simpler than mine and he knew now wasn't the time to relax and look weak.

  "Carson, I thought you said you'd never use your gift to influence any of my decisions."

  There was a moment of silence as Carson processed my words. Taggart was still trying to figure out what was going on, but then again he didn't know that Carson was more than capable of projecting any emotion he chose into those around him.

  "You're correct, Alec. It's not right for me to manipulate you in that fashion, but I beg of you to reconsider what you're about to do. It not only dishonors your sword, it's incredibly rash. We've won today, but that doesn't mean that the Coun'hij is defeated. We can't afford to kill each other."

  "Turn it off, Carson. No, don't just turn it off, put it back the way it was."

  It was dangerous and not just because I was ordering around someone who was my superior when it came to weapons play and every other conceivable method of combat. Carson had come to me as an equal. He wasn't submissive to me, he was a partner, but by the same measure he'd been the one to escalate things.

  I was either a dominant, a force unto myself, or I wasn't. Accepting his slights would just start me down a path that would result in me no longer controlling my destiny.

  Another painfully long second passed and then my anger roared back. It was at least as strong as it had been before and possibly even stronger. It was a firestorm that demanded fuel. It wanted Dream Stealer as its first sacrifice, but that was actually the problem. The kind of rage I was feeling was never satisfied with one victim.

  I would want another sacrifice and another after that. If I let it run unchecked, then sooner or later I'd find myself surrounded with nothing but devastation. I took a deep breath and then another. My beast reveled in the promise of glorious combat, but I forced my beast back down, bottled him up and crammed myself back into human form.

  "Carson is right. I won't have the blood of potential allies on my hands."

  Dream Stealer hadn't shifted and his anger was still burning so hot that he practically glowed even to my human vision.

  "I'm not your ally, I'll never be that. Your incompetence has done nothing but get your own people killed. If you'd simply left things to us we would have easily dispatched everyone the Coun'hij sent to guard Agony."

  A blond kid who didn't look old enough to shave yet stepped forward and cleared his throat. "That's not true. We couldn't have stood against Brandon like the three of them did. I tried to blind him like I did the rest of his men but I couldn't. It's something about his gift, it doesn't make him just physically stronger, it made him resistant to my ability as well."

  Dream Stealer had practically spat his response at me, but if anything being contradicted by one of his own people fanned his anger even higher. He looked around as though expecting to marshal his troops, but he and Carson were the only two left in hybrid form. Everyone else had gradually shifted back as it became obvious that nobody other than Dream Stealer was interested in another fight.

  A familiar figure stepped up to Dream Stealer's side. "Let it go. My people aren't going to fight Alec for you. He's done nothing wrong and risked a lot to accomplish the same end we came here for."

  I did a double-take at the familiar face and the scent that up until now had been mixed in with everyone else's.

  "Isaac? You're okay? I never in a million years expected to see you here leading a force like this."

  Isaac gave me a tired smile. "I likewise never thought to be standing here opposite you. Your father was always harder on you than anyone else, but you were still his golden child. I never thought that anything could pry you away from his side."

  His words were the gentlest recrimination possible, but they were still a recrimination. I'd stood by and let Kaleb exile Isaac for no real crime at all. Isaac had been creating a fourth power pole inside of the pack for no other reason than he'd been so much more controlled than most of the other hybrids.

  Kaleb hadn't been willing to risk yet another faction inside of our pack and so he'd had one of the older hybrids challenge Isaac to a fight and then once Isaac had been beaten and humiliated, Kaleb had exiled him on pain of death.

  There hadn't been anything I could have done to stop it all from happening, but by the same measure I hadn't even tried. I should have left then rather than waiting for two more years.

  Carson looked at Dream Stealer with the kind of calm confidence that told everyone watching that he had no doubt as to his ability to defeat the other hybrid.

  "I'm not going to let you hurt Alec."

  Dream Stealer looked like he was going to throw himself at Isaac or possibly Carson, but he managed to restrain himself.

  "Can't any of you see that he's not on our side? He lured you all here to make sure that you died. He's working for Kaleb; it's the only logical explanation for the trap that was waiting for us. He didn't set out to accomplish the same thing and the cost…"

  Dream Stealer trailed off. It was like he was waking up from a terrible dream only the real nightmare was reality. He shifted forms and dropped down
to his knees next to Agony.

  I would have bet any amount of money that Dream Stealer would never show me, or anyone with me, his actual human form. Next to his name, it was the greatest secret he possessed, something he'd been guarding for more years than I'd been alive, but he seemed so overcome with grief that he'd forgotten all other concerns.

  Dream Stealer was an old man. I'd expected that, but I'd never realized just how old he was. He took Agony's hands, hybrid claws and all, and tears started making their way down his face.

  None of us needed a medic to tell us that Agony couldn't be saved. It was a miracle that he'd held on for as long as he had and it was a tragedy that Dream Stealer and I had let ourselves be drawn into that kind of dominance posturing while the man we'd both come here to rescue bled to death less than ten feet away from us.

  Carson's sword, wielded by Brandon, had pierced Agony's heart. The smaller secondary organs scattered throughout his body had continued to constrict and relax, but they were primarily designed to help take over some of the ruinous load of keeping blood circulating through the system of a hybrid in the middle of extreme combat.

  The sword in his chest was the only thing keeping Agony from bleeding out. If we removed it then he'd die in seconds, but if we didn't remove it he'd eventually bleed to death anyways.

  "Someone get on the radio and get Rachel up here with the bagged blood we've got in the coolers."

  I didn't realize that I'd dropped to my knees next to Agony until he reached up and gripped my arm. His claws could have easily ripped my arm off, but he was so careful that he didn't even draw blood.

  "I appreciate the thought, but all you could do is prolong the inevitable. Even if you put blood into me the healing kick-start I'll get from shifting back to human form isn't going to be enough to repair my heart."

  "You don't know that. Maybe it will be enough."

  The words were torn from Dream Stealer, but Agony just gave him a weak smile. "We've had a much better run, you and I, than I ever expected."

  Whatever Agony was going to say next was interrupted by a long series of weak coughs. He was bleeding more now. The movement of Carson's sword against his body as the coughs had torn through him had opened up the wound in his heart. His remaining time had just been cut in half. Maybe even worse.

  "Send everyone else away. What I'm about to tell you is for you leaders."

  I looked over and realized that Carson and Isaac had joined us at Agony's side. Even more astonishing, a slender blonde figure had taken a place next to Dream Stealer, next to Taggart with an ease that made it obvious that it was where she belonged.

  My heart practically leaped out of my chest when I recognized Adri. I'd seen her shooting at Brandon, but somehow, in the heat of the moment, I hadn't realized that Adri was the shooter. Now that I recognized her, even the grimness of our circumstances almost wasn't enough to stop me from singing out in joy that we were finally a few paltry feet away from each other.

  She made as if to stand and leave, but Agony shook his head.

  "No, you should stay too, Adri. You're Taggart's heir. Alec, Carson, Isaac, Taggart, Adri. You're the five who will be carrying on the fight once I'm gone."

  Taggart looked like he was going to protest, but Agony silenced him with a look.

  "Are they all gone, Taggart?"

  "Yes, Cyrus. Everyone else is gone. They're out of earshot, it's just us."

  Agony…Cyrus…nodded and then grimaced in pain. "I'm sorry, old friend. There is one secret I never told you. I would have, but I was always worried that they would find out and come after you. My silence was the only thing that kept you safe. As long as I didn't tell anyone about them, this could remain a purely shape shifter conflict."

  "What do you mean, Cyrus? I don't understand."

  There was an edge of hysteria to Taggart's question, but that was understandable. The things that Agony seemed to be implying were terrifying.

  "There are layers inside of layers, Taggart. It goes back much longer than any of us initially realized, but by the time we understood what we'd gotten ourselves into it was too late to back out. You've all spent your entire lives thinking that the Coun'hij was the ultimate threat, but in many ways, they are just another pawn on the board."

  Agony was visibly weakening with each passing second. He tried to get something else out, but another coughing fit came over him and when it was done his skin had gone an alarming blue-white.

  We all watched, helpless, as Agony gasped for breath one last time and then died before our eyes.

  Chapter 24

  Adriana Paige

  Ambush site

  Southern New Mexico

  Taggart's scream was a terrifying, heart-wrenching thing. I reached out to him, risking skin addiction by touching his bare arm, but he shrugged me off as he stood and pointed a finger at Alec.

  "This is your fault. You caused this to happen. Either you're a traitor or someone on your side of the operation leaked your plans to Kaleb and the rest. Stay out of my sight. The next time I see you, I'll kill you with my own hands."

  Taggart stalked off, heading towards the road and the battered Coun'hij SUV's that we'd always planned on using as our getaway vehicles. I stood to follow him, but Alec grabbed my arm, stopping me with a firm, but oddly gentle pressure.

  "Wait, Adri. We need to talk, all of us really, but if Taggart won't talk to us then you need to be here to hear what Carson and I have to say."

  My heart had started to soar when he'd said that we needed to talk, but as I realized what he actually meant my joy turned to something harder.

  "Isn't one skin-addicted girl enough for you, Alec?"

  He let go of me like I was burning him. His reaction was so abrupt that I almost fell over.

  "How did you know that?"

  I'd been cruel. I'd known that what I was saying wasn't fair even as the words came out of my mouth, but I couldn't take them back now. I'd defended Alec against Taggart, but now that I was here face to face with him I couldn't bring myself to give him the benefit of the doubt. It hurt too much to know that he'd bonded in that way to someone.

  I'd thought that what we'd shared in the dream had been something special, some kind of one-in-a-billion kind of link, but the reality of things was that it had probably been nothing more than some kind of dream-land shadow skin addiction. Alec and I had never had any kind of chance of being together, not really, not as equals.

  Alec shook his head. "Never mind. Taggart must have seen me dreaming about her and told you. It wasn't something I meant to have happen. I tried very hard to keep her from getting addicted to my touch but there were powers outside of my control working that night."

  I shook my head. "I don't care about that. Say what you need to say. I need to go to Taggart. He's just lost his best friend, the only person he knew he could count on for the last however many decades, and he's scared of what comes next."

  Alec ignored my request to focus on the business at hand, instead looking at me oddly. "Are you addicted to him?"

  "No, I'm not addicted to him!"

  "Maybe it's so subtle that you don't even realize it."

  I stood back up and turned to go, but once again a hand on my arm stopped me. I turned to give Alec a piece of my mind, to lash out at him with all of the hurt I was feeling, but it wasn't Alec who had hold of me this time. It was Carson.

  "Let her go!"

  Alec's order came out in the kind of low growl that I'd learned meant his vocal cords had already started to lengthen. He was mere heartbeats away from a transformation.

  Carson slowly released me as he made a calming gesture with his free hand.

  "Please, both of you need to avoid doing anything hasty. Adri, Agony said that you are Taggart's heir. Is this true? Are you able to enter people's dreams?"

  "Yes. As of a couple of months ago, I'm a dream walker. It's not exactly how things work for him, but it's close enough."

  Carson nodded thoughtfully. "Alec, you should kno
w that while humans with powers are very rare, there have been incidents in our history where they came into frequent, extended contact with shape shifters. There haven't ever been any recorded instances of humans with these kinds of gifts forming a Ja'tell bond with one of the moonborn. Adri is acting out of concern for a friend, nothing more."

  It should have clicked for me before then, but it took Carson's explanation to make me realize that Alec wasn't just acting like the arrogant alpha male that Taggart always described him as. He was acting protective. He hadn't been trying to control me, he'd been concerned about my welfare.

  Carson didn't give me a chance to respond. "Adri, you should know that Alec was telling the truth just now. He didn't mean for Brindi to become addicted to him. More than just being able to sense the truth of Alec's words, I have it from another source who witnessed the events on the night when it happened. I've only known Alec for a handful of days, but I've never seen him treat her with anything less than complete respect."

  I opened my mouth to tell him that he didn't need to lie for Alec, but that would have been the anger talking again. Luckily Isaac interrupted me before I could say yet another thing that I would have later regretted.

  "They are telling the truth, Adri. It's not a hundred percent certain, but either they are both incredible liars or it all really went down like they are saying it did."

  I shook my head. "I don't know how you all live like this. Always knowing when you're lying, always knowing what's going on inside of each other's heads."

  Alec gave me a tentative smile. "It's hard, but not as bad as you might think. Mostly it just makes things easier unless someone decides that you're an expert liar. Then things get harder."

  "I guess you know that I was lying a few seconds ago when I said I didn't care that you'd bonded to this Brindi chick."

  "Yeah. I really am sorry, I never meant to hurt either of you."

  Carson cleared his throat. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but maybe this is something that it would be best for Isaac and me not to be here for."