Fallen Star Read online

  “What will we do with the ship?” Blayne asked. “We can’t leave her unattended even if she’s shielded.”

  “I’ve emptied the largest of our hangers. It will be a tight fit, but I’m sure you can manage. The choice is entirely up to you. If you’d rather leave things as they are, I understand.” She glanced at Odintar and a faint smile curved her lips. “Now Elias will explain the new developments.”

  Odintar hadn’t been aware that there were new developments. He straightened and scooted closer to the table as his attention shifted to Morgan’s lieutenant. With a muscular build, short dark hair, and sharp assessing gaze, everything about Elias Bartram screamed military. They had only interacted a couple of times, but Odintar found Elias surprisingly competent for an ungifted human.

  “The new safe house is operational,” Elias began. “It’s designed to be used as a remote headquarter and we believe the shield generator is finally producing a field dense enough to prevent even Shadow Assassins from sensing what goes on inside.”

  “At the risk of sounding rude…” Odintar started.

  “As if that’s ever bothered you before.” Blayne snickered, the humor in his silver eyes keeping the comment light.

  “Where did humans get tech advanced enough to block Shadow Assassins. We have to reinforce our shields with Mystic energy or they can sense us.”

  Elias glanced at Morgan. She nodded and the soldier grinned. “How much do you know about Operation Hydra?”

  Shocked by the question, Odintar looked at Lor. The events surrounding Operation Hydra had the highest security rating. How had humans in this era learned of events that took place nearly two centuries into their future? His commander looked as confused as he was, so Odintar turned back to Elias. “How the hell do you know about Operation Hydra?”

  He’d been looking at Elias when he spoke, but Morgan answered the question. “When High Queen Charlotte first established an alliance with Earth’s leaders, one of the terms was full disclosure. We needed to know how often Ontarians had been to Earth and what they were doing while they were here. Now tell us what you know. It will verify the information we were given.”

  If the knowing gleam in her eyes was justified, she knew more about the subject than he did. Still, he saw no reason to object. “Dr. Hydran was the human responsible for imprisoning and experimenting on Ontarians. Several of High Queen Charlotte’s relatives were among his captives.”

  Elias nodded. “He was also responsible for the technology integrated into Saebin’s body armor.”

  The technology he was referring to was incorporated into more than Saebin’s body armor. Saebin, the Overlord’s life mate, had munitions and sensory implants so integrated into her body that they couldn’t be removed. “Those technologies are from Earth’s future. Doesn’t Earth have laws preventing their use?”

  “Yes and no.” Elias chuckled. “The attitude of the current administration is to fight fire with fire. We’re allowed to utilize advanced technologies when we’re battling those with similar technologies. I think you would agree that any and all technologies are necessary when dealing with the Shadow Assassins.”

  “What other toys does this safe house provide?” Lor’s expression remained tense and watchful. “Could Shadow Assassins be incarcerated there? It would be a definite advantage if we didn’t have to take each one back to Ontariese for interrogation.”

  “As it happens, there are four detention cells in the basement of the safe house. We believe they prevent teleportation, but for obvious reasons, we’ve been unable to test them,” Morgan explained.

  “You want one of us to test drive your detention cells?” Suspicion spiked through Odintar. Was this a clever ploy to…to what? Why was he so doubtful of these humans? They had done nothing to earn his mistrust. In fact, just the opposite was true. They had been helpful, honest and supportive every step of the way.

  Obviously sensing his doubt, Morgan suggested, “Why don’t two of you go over there with Elias. One can protect the other while he’s helpless, at least we hope to make him helpless.”

  “That’s not necessary,” Blayne said. “I’ll test the containment for you.”

  “Wonderful. If it works, we’ll begin retrofitting the detention cells here. Shadow Assassins aren’t the only ones who have been a challenge to contain.” When no one had anything to add, she said, “Well then, I’ll leave you to it. Despite what Odintar obviously thinks, I don’t spend my days in meetings.” She pushed back her chair and stood. “Let me know what you decide about moving in. There are a few more arrangements I need to make if you take me up on the offer.”

  Lor nodded and she left the conference room.

  “What the hell is wrong with you?” Lor flared as soon as the door closed behind her. “I’ve never seen you be so disrespectful to anyone who didn’t deserve it.”

  The qualification made Odintar smile. Respecting authority figures simply because they were in authority was definitely not his strong suit. “When something seems too good to be true, it usually is.”

  “We’re not doing this out of the kindness of our hearts,” Elias stressed. “We have the most to lose by letting the Shadow Assassins roam free. They came here to hunt our women. Do you honestly think we’ll sit back and let others try to shut them down? They’ve invaded our space and endangered our females. It’s our responsibility to neutralize the threat.”

  “You’re right.” Odintar didn’t often make mistakes, but he was willing to admit when he did. “We’re working toward the same goal. My mistrust is inappropriate.”

  “Suspicion can keep you sharp. Just don’t let it take over.”

  Odintar nodded in agreement with Lor’s point then added, “I’ll apologize to Morgan.”

  “We’re still waiting for the translation of the notebook. Are you finished with it yet?” Elias asked after a brief pause.

  The notebook, just the thought of it made Odintar cringe. Like some ruthless madam, Sevrin Keire had composed detailed dossiers on potential mates for the Shadow Assassins. Elias found a copy of the notorious collection during the raid on Team North’s house, one of four Shadow Assassin hideouts. “I’m finished with the translation, but it wasn’t as helpful as we’d hoped. The first thirty-six entries were detailed, the information easily understood. The other entries are still encoded. Without some sort of key, the entries are basically meaningless.”

  “How many entries are there?” Blayne asked.

  “Almost three hundred.”

  That seemed to shock Elias. “There are three hundred Ontarian hybrid females on Earth? How is that possible?”

  “We don’t know that they’re all half Ontarian,” Lor said. “It’s possible that other factors landed them in the notebook.”

  Odintar hated to argue with his commander, but on this particular subject Odintar happened to be an expert. “It’s equally possible that there are even more. There were twelve renegades on the loose for roughly three years and each was intentionally trying to impregnate human females. One pregnancy per week per renegade brings the total to 576 hybrid children. And that estimate is probably too conservative.”

  “Not if we factor in how many of the pregnancies would have been carried to term,” Bryce added. “Few of the females would have welcomed the news once they realized they were carrying a child. Besides, that estimate calculates pregnancies not female offspring.”

  “Wait.” Curiosity flared in Elias’ gaze. “What are you talking about?” Apparently Odintar hadn’t been the only one hesitant to divulge secrets to their human counterparts. “What renegades? This was done deliberately?”

  “Not by us,” Lor assured. “We’re not sure when or why the renegades went out on their own, but they broke every rule in the program by doing so.”

  “What program? This is the first I’ve heard about any of this. Does Morgan know?”

  Lor hesitated, likely debating how much to explain. “We’ve only just confirmed the connection, so I haven’t shared the
details with Morgan.”

  “I’ll fill her in. Tell me what you were talking about.”

  It was an order and Odintar watched Lor closely, waiting for him to object. Master-level Mages didn’t respond well to orders.

  Rather than refuse, Lor tensed, paused for a moment then complied. It was obvious Lor intended to build a solid alliance with these humans. It was likely Odintar would have no choice but to do the same.

  “As a result of the Great Conflict,” Lor began, “the gender ratio on Ontariese is disproportionately male.”

  “I’m aware, but I thought the ratio had improved in recent years. The Great Conflict ended over a hundred years ago.”

  “We’ve made significant strides, but the problem lingers.”

  Frustrated by Lor’s generalization, Odintar took over. If they were going to fill Elias in, then fill him in. This didn’t need to be a two-hour conversation. “Thirty years ago the Ontarian Joint Council reluctantly agreed to let carefully screened Ontarian men recruit human females as life mates. Each man had to establish a connection with the female before he revealed anything about his origins.”

  “Were the females told once the ‘connection’ was made?” Elias narrowed his eyes, obviously uncomfortable with the implications.

  “Of course they were told,” Lor stressed.

  “Full disclosure was supposed to take place before the relationship became intimate, but many of the men found it easier to convince their female to leave their homeworld after they were lovers,” Odintar elaborated.

  “The women were taken back to Ontariese?” Elias still looked annoyed.

  Odintar nodded. “Risk of discovery was too great if the couple remained on Earth.”

  “What happened to the women who refused to leave but had already been told about Ontariese?” Annoyance hardened to disapproval as Elias waited for the answer.

  Lor remained silent, so Odintar continued. “The men were careful not to leave anything that could substantiate the story. Even if the women told others that they had been dating an alien, who would believe them?”

  Elias looked at him, a bit of the anger easing from his expression. “And these twelve renegades came to Earth as part of this program?”

  After another nod, Odintar explained, “They called themselves the Dirty Dozen. At first their supervisor thought they’d found females who didn’t want to leave Earth because they’d disabled their tracker chips and gone off the grid. It wasn’t until stories about their antics began to circulate that he asked for help retrieving them.”

  “You said they were on their own for three years. How did they elude capture for so long?”

  “The details aren’t important,” Odintar dismissed impatiently. He’d led the retrieval team and the entire mission had been a disaster. There was no reason to dredge up all that pain. “Numerous mistakes were made that allowed them to operate for much too long. It’s history and it can’t be undone. All that matters now is that we’re dealing with the fallout of their misbehavior.”

  Elias accepted the statement with a stiff nod. “How do you know any of the females listed in the notebook are the result of the renegades?”

  “A DNA test identified Tori and Angie’s father as one of the renegades,” Lor answered.

  “They’re the only two we’ve been able to confirm,” Blayne added, “but it’s a logical assumption that the majority of these females have latent abilities.”

  “What happened to the renegades?”

  “They were rounded up and returned to Ontariese,” Odintar obliged even though he’d tried to end the topic.

  “Their leader is believed to be dead,” Blayne countered. “But there is a small possibility he’s still out there.”

  “Which brings us back to the present,” Lor concluded. “Jillian is scheduled to be discharged from the hospital tomorrow. We need to decide what to do with her.”

  Jillian. Odintar sighed. He’d spent way too much time in the past two weeks thinking about the unfortunate human. He’d been sent to guard her after Angie’s vision identified Jillian as Nazerel’s next target. Not wanting to upset her or explain his presence in her room, Odintar had remained shielded from view during his twelve-day vigil. He’d watched her interact with visitors and medical personnel, putting on a brave façade for their benefit. Yet when she was alone, or thought she was alone, anguish and hopelessness pulsed from her in tangible waves. Her vulnerability incited his protectiveness. He wanted to comfort and heal her, help her rediscover her purpose in life.

  “It’s pretty obvious Nazerel is waiting for her to recover before he makes his move,” Blayne pointed out. “Shouldn’t we leave well enough alone?”

  “There’s another option,” Odintar struggled to keep his tone light, yet his pulse thudded through his veins. “I could heal her and equip her for the battle to come. She doesn’t need to remain helpless.” Three sets of eyes focused squarely on him. Elias looked doubtful, Blayne amused, and Lor thoughtful. Their reactions were so in character that it made Odintar smile. “We know she’s in Nazerel’s sights, which means ignorance isn’t an option. And if she knows about us, there’s no reason to subject her to any more human healing.” He let sarcasm emphasize the last word.

  “Were you able to sense what her abilities are?” Lor asked, his brows still drawn together.

  He shook his head. “She’s very guarded. I was afraid she’d feel a scan powerful enough to penetrate her mental shields.”

  Lor rubbed his chin and stared past Odintar, obviously lost in thought. “If only you could restore her health without Nazerel realizing what you’d done.” His turquoise gaze returned to Odintar’s face as he added, “It would make one hell of a surprise if he came to collect a wounded kitten and found a lioness in her place.”

  “You could use the safe house,” Elias suggested. “It would be a great trial run.”

  Lor shook his head, but the gears were obviously still turning inside his mind. “It would still look suspicious if she just disappeared.”

  “We could hire someone who could pass for Jillian,” Blayne offered. “A leggy blonde shouldn’t be too hard to find in a town full of showgirls.”

  “What if Nazerel snatches the double?” Elias looked less enthusiastic about the concept than the others.

  “It would only take me a day or two to heal Jillian and another few to unleash her abilities. She would still need training, but if we leave her at the mercy of human medicine it will be months before she’ll be able to walk again, much less defend herself.”

  Blayne nodded then reinforced Odintar’s position. “The double will be safe as long as Nazerel thinks she’s still helpless. Shadow Assassins have to take on a worthy opponent or there is no satisfaction in the victory.”

  “A double will only work from a distance,” Lor mused without dismissing the idea entirely. “If Nazerel or one of his men scans the double, they’d easily detect the difference.”

  “Even if they discovered the switch, it would be unlikely they’d harm the double. An ungifted human isn’t a worthy opponent and any action they take at this point risks us finding them.”

  Odintar had no idea why Blayne was helping him sell the idea, but he was grateful for the backup. Besides, the suggestions sounded less desperate coming from Blayne.

  Lor went back to rubbing his chin as he mulled over the possibilities. “The Shadow Assassins have been laying low since our raid on the motel. It’s almost as if they’re hoping we’ll forget about them.”

  “Or they’re waiting for reinforcements.” Elias shifted his gaze from one Mystic to the others, his hazel eyes narrowed and assessing. “Morgan is starting to wonder if they’re preparing to leave Las Vegas.”

  “We need to draw them out,” Lor concluded. “A miraculously restored Jillian could be the perfect ploy.”

  “Jillian will have to be told the truth if you intend to heal her, but what do we tell the double?” Elias asked. “She has to be aware that there’s significant danger, y
et we can’t tell her the truth.”

  The tension in Odintar’s chest increased as they moved closer to a viable plan. He wasn’t sure why Jillian had affected him so deeply, but he couldn’t shake the longing. He wanted to help her, no, he needed to help her, to see hope reignite within her eyes. “We tell the double that Jillian is being stalked by an obsessed fan. She’s at a serious disadvantage because of her injury, so we’re hiring a double to take her place. The double will only be pretending to be hurt, and she’ll be heavily guarded, so she’ll be in far less danger than Jillian.”

  “Simple, clean and close enough to the truth to be believable.” Lor nodded. “I like it.”

  “We can have Tori drive the double to Jillian’s apartment while Angie brings Jillian to you,” Blayne suggested. “Jillian will accept the truth more easily from someone she knows.”

  “You’ll need to teleport in with Jillian,” Elias told Odintar. “Even with a decoy, we can’t risk leading the Shadow Assassins to the safe house.”

  Odintar nodded, no longer able to conceal his smile. “Not a problem. I’ll work out the details with Angie. Expect us tomorrow afternoon.”

  * * * * *

  Jillian rested her hand on the hinged brace confining her right leg and stared out the car window. “Are you sure you know where you’re going? This is one screwy way to get to my apartment.” She didn’t want to sound ungrateful, but she was anxious to get home and drug herself into oblivion. She’d grown accustomed to the pain in the three weeks since her accident. The throbbing never went away completely, but most of the time she could simply ignore it. The pain meds gave her a few hours of peace from the gaping emptiness that had become her future.

  “I have an errand to run first. Hope that’s okay. It shouldn’t take too long.”