In Gathering Shade

Chapter Two

Chapter TwoBryan was grateful to reach the turnoff to the camp. They hadn't heard from Alaric, but he was counting that as a good sign. Had Alaric been recaptured, he would have sent out a distress call.

The last Bryan knew, Alaric was laying a glamor over the cave where he'd hidden the Shade, protecting them from anyone that might come snooping. Bryan had argued that they needed to keep moving, but Alaric had just sent Bryan and Riley on without them.

Bryan and Riley had fled on foot down the dirt road to the car Riley had hidden, making better time than Alaric would with a wounded Shade in tow. They had planned to wait there, then get in as close to Alaric's position as they could and get the two of them into the car. But he was close to exhaustion, and Riley was done before they reached the car. He'd outdone himself in the effort to coordinate the “attack” on the facility, stretching his abilities to the breaking point.

Bryan had taken over as soon as he was capable, and he had to admit he was impressed. The younger man had never shown much in the way of what Bryan would consider useful gifts, but he'd managed remarkably well. Bryan tracked Cassandra and her team until they gave the all clear.

It wouldn't take long after that for the men chasing them to realize they'd been tricked and circle back to the facility to find the trail of their escaped prisoners. They figured it out a lot faster than Bryan had hoped, and with his energy shot, once he'd hidden them from the second snooping patrol, he knew he needed to get them out of there, leaving Alaric on his own with a burned-out Shade.

Alaric was wounded too, though he'd pushed Bryan away when he'd tried to get a look. It was obvious as they ran though. Alaric had banged himself up pretty good when he'd fallen on the tracks, and the less than gentle handling by the 8th Battalion hadn't helped any.

Bryan left Riley sleeping in the car and back tracked to a spot where he could see the long, low line of boulders that eventually ended up against a cliff. He'd reached out to let Alaric know they were leaving and that they would try to send back men to help. Instead, Alaric told him they'd get back on their own through Brettles. Bryan didn't bother trying to argue. He used the last of his strength to bolster Alaric's glamor and erase the tracks that led to their hideaway, making it seem as though the footsteps carried on south.

He'd been able to hold the illusion for a few hours, until he was too far away and stretched too thin, but by then any patrols would have followed the false trail.

Beside him, Riley stirred as they pulled off the paved road. “We good?”

“For now.” Bryan opened the wards and drove up the rutted path, stopping when they reached the inner gate. Riley got out and opened it, letting Bryan drive through before closing it again. The wards went back up behind them, and Bryan eased them up the road.

The night was frigid this far up the mountain and their breath plumed on the air as they got out of the car. Emily waited for them on the porch of the bunkhouse, a blanket pulled tight around her.

Sahara was with her, those sharp eyes watching his every move. He wasn't sure if it was flattering or irritating. He stepped up beside them and silently they all turned to go inside. There was a fire burning in the fireplace, pushing back the chill, and Cassandra, Matthew and Jacob were waiting there.

Bryan turned to Emily. “Everything good?”

She nodded. “Sahara was the first back, but Mila and Matthew weren't far behind. Where's Alaric?”

Riley stepped closer to the fire, warming his hands. Bryan sighed. Emily wouldn't like the fact that they had left her son behind. “He's somewhere behind us. He's got an injured Shade with him, had to stop to wait for nightfall. Said he'd come through Brettles.”

There was a ruffle of unease through the group at the mention of the Shade, and Bryan was not inclined to disagree with them, but it wasn't his place at the moment. That would wait until Alaric was back in charge of his people. “We should double the sentries. Keep an eye out. Not sure how bad the injuries are. They might need help.”

Jacob nodded and set off to set up the watch, the group scattering at the same time.

He held up a hand and brushed his mind to Emily's shields, letting her know everything was fine. “Alaric was fine last I saw. He's got a little bit of bruising from a fall, but other than that, he's fine. They never even got around to questioning us.”

“You were there for nearly a week.” Emily said, her face clouding.

“Yeah, day after they caught us, they got their hands on a Shade.”

She glanced past him at the others still milling about. “Is that what has you bothered?”

“They've never been nothing but trouble.” Bryan said with a sigh. He didn't have Riley's ability to see into the future, but he didn't need it to see that Alaric wasn't thinking with his upstairs brain. Bryan had seen it in his eyes. “Alaric insisted we bring him with us when we escaped. He's pretty banged up.”

“And Alaric wouldn't leave him behind.” She nodded. She knew her son better than most. “Thank you, Bryan.”

“There's a lot to do, I should go update the map, and—“ Her hand on his arm stopped him.

“That can wait. You and Riley both need some sleep.”

“I don't need a mother, Emily,” Bryan said.

She smiled at him. “Apparently, you do, Bryan.” She reached for Riley, taking his arm and walking the two of them toward the back door. “I can hold down the fort a few more hours. You two get some sleep.”

Bryan couldn't hide his yawn, and so grudgingly agreed, trudging out to the spot where the trail broke. Riley kept moving off to the right at the fork, lifting a hand in farewell as he trudged uphill toward the cabin that he shared with Emily and Alaric.

Yawning wider now, Bryan headed down the trail that led to the cabin he had claimed as his own. It was smaller than most of the others, little more than a single room, but it suited him and no one expected him to share it with anyone. The dark deepened as he headed lower into the valley, and his steps slowed. The skies above him were brilliant with stars, and it was quiet so far from civilization.

Ahead of him the shadows moved and he stopped, his eyes working to figure out who or what was waiting for him in the dark. The silhouette of a large cat, something like a lioness, separated from the brush, moving toward him slowly. Gold eyes met his. The cat looked at him like it wanted something.

Bryan shook his head and resumed his walk. He could feel her behind him, even as he climbed the stairs to his cabin door. “Come on if you're coming. I'm tired and I'm cold.”

He held the door and watched the cat bound up the last two stairs and into the cabin. He stepped in behind her, pulling the door closed. He kept his eyes averted and crossed to the wood burning stove, building up a small fire. By the time he'd finished, Sahara was a woman again, wrapped in the quilt from his bed.

The room was dark but for the light of the small fire in the open stove. “Did you want something?”

She tossed dark hair over her shoulder, her eyes still mostly gold as she moved closer. “You were a prisoner for a week.”

He raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms. “And?”

“And, I know what they do to prisoners, especially ones that they think can help them.”

Bryan moved across the room to the table to light the lantern sitting on it. “They didn't even try. That freak adept didn't even travel with us, just drugged us so we couldn't whammy our way out.”

Her eyes sparkled and the corner of her mouth tugged upward. “Is that the technical word for what you do?”

Bryan shrugged. “Wasn't my word. One of our guards used it.” He turned to lean back against the table.

“And I'm just supposed to take your word for it that they didn't break you and turn you into a killer?” Sahara asked.

Bryan knew she had every right to suspect him. She had been a prisoner longer and had been subjected to untold amounts of t*****e as they tried to find a way to break her psyche and reprogram her to work for them. Bryan knew the highlights. After Emily had read Sahara and the girls she'd shared the information with Alaric and him.

“I guess you have a point.” He met her intense stare. “What did you plan to do about it?”

She took a step closer. “I have my own ways of reading people.”

“Is that so?” Bryan asked, slightly nervous as she came closer.

Her eyes caught his, brown and gold and fierce. Before he could respond, her hand shot out and grabbed his groin, claws making themselves very obvious. If he tried to move, she could unman him without much effort.

He swallowed and held up both hands as a sign of surrender. “Take it easy. Like you, I'm not easy to break. And they didn't even try. They got the Shade and forgot we were even there.”

Her hand tightened almost imperceptibly and her eyes searched his. To his surprise, he could almost feel her pressing into his shields. He had appreciated her mind the few times he'd had reason to read the surface of it. For someone who wasn't a part of his tribe, her mind was ordered and strong. He held his shields against her for a moment, then rolled them open, curious if she was conscious of what she was doing.

Her surprising mind surged, but she didn't cross the barrier into his. The cat was strong, instinct and fire. The heat seeped into him and for a moment he thought she would devour him. The claws withdrew, but her hand didn't, and her eyes never strayed from his as she leaned in closer. Her teeth caught his lower lip and tugged lightly.

Bryan knew that what they were both thinking was a bad idea, but that didn't stop him from sliding a hand into her hair, pulling her in to return the favor, nipping at her lip until they crashed into a possessive kiss. His hand on her hip brought them flush against one another, then her hands on his hips turned them, sending a chair crashing. The quilt fell to the floor, leaving her n***d in his arms.

Sahara lifted one hip to sit on the table before she grabbed Bryan by his shirt, dragging him in to kiss again. He licked her lips open, then nipped at her chin, kissing and l*****g down her neck. Her fingers were in his hair, her hands guiding him lower.

He paused, glancing up at her. “You know this is probably a bad idea?”

Her grin was fierce. “All the best ideas are,” she responded. “I just hope you can keep up.”

* * *

“You're not even trying, Alexis.”

She closed her eyes and tried to ignore the voice. It wasn't so much that she wasn't trying; it was more that she was trying something different than what he had demanded. Wriggling against her restraints, she re-focused and tried again.

The problem, as she saw it, was that it was impossible to concentrate with him and the doctor, not to mention the goons in the observation room watching her like she might suddenly explode. Considering the experimentation they'd done on her, it was at least as possible as anything else.

The fact that he didn't react to any of those thoughts meant that at least she'd been successful in building a wall he couldn't get around, and it was well enough camouflaged that he didn't even seem to know it was there.

Which meant she could finally start planning her escape. She bit down on her sense of victory and turned her mind to the task he wanted her to complete. Her skin slicked with sweat as she reached out for the four elements set on the table.

As usual, fire came the easiest, the candle flaring to life, the flame dancing. Water responded next, sloshing against the side of the glass. The stone that represented earth shook a little, but nothing she had could make the feather lift on the air. She gasped and let it all go, panting as she opened her eyes.

“That's it. I'm done with her. If she isn't even going to try, and we're only halfway through the procedures…” He sighed and turned his back on her. “It isn't worth my time.”

“Sir, we did only complete the cycle yesterday. Give her body time too—”

“No. It's time to move on to a new subject.” The Doctor removed her restraints and she shifted to sit up. “Take my daughter back to her room.”

The doctor helped her from the procedure chair into a wheelchair and took her from the room. “I told him you'd need to complete the initiations to master them.”

“As usual, he only listens to himself,” she responded. They stopped outside the door to her room and she stood.

“Get some rest, Zero.”

“Yeah, I'll do that, Doc.” She let herself into the room that had been her home since her mother's death a few years before. The stark white of the walls was offset by splashes of neon orange and a verdant green that she'd painted against her father's wishes.

Collapsing on the small bed, she reached under it for a bag, pulling it up onto her lap. She rummaged through it without pulling anything out, keeping the contents hidden from the cameras. She was almost ready.

She'd need to move fast once she was. If her father kept to his regular schedule, he'd leave in the morning for his trip west. She would make her move when he was gone and security was lighter. She wasn't worried about getting out of the compound, she'd done that enough times in the past. No, her concern was not letting them catch up with her once she was out. She needed time to complete her initiation, before her father buried her memory of what he had done to her, before she forgot she was ready for it.

* * *

Raven ducked the punch meant for her head and moved to her left, reaching both hands out to grab her opponent and use the momentum of his jab to throw him to the ground. She pivoted fast, straddling over him and dropping to her knees, pinning him and getting her hands on his neck.

He tapped on the mat and she patted his shoulder. The instructor reached down to help the man up as Raven backed off. “And if your opponent is a Shade as Raven here is, that could be your death. Not just yours, but possibly hundreds of others.”

She looked at the line of new recruits. They were young, handpicked by Adam Darvin out of the FBI academy: three men who clearly didn't like getting beaten at hand to hand combat by a woman, and two women who were looking at her like they wanted to tear her apart on the mat. At least this group was more competent than the last, and so far, she hadn't found any of them harboring resentments that they hid to get the position.

The door to the gym opened and she looked up to see Darvin waving her over. She jogged past the class and rounded the heavy bag. “I need you.”

She nodded. “Where?”

“Atlanta. We have a problem.”

“Another Shade?” The number of rogue Shades seemed to be growing in direct response to the growing anti-Shade sentiment. There had been attacks in at least three cities since she'd gotten back to D.C.

Darvin gestured into the hall and she followed. “Probably not, unless they've all gone crazy like Darchel.”

“So more bloodless bodies?”

“Yeah, three so far.” He led the way to the elevator. She could feel the stress in his body without even touching him.

“Have you heard from Jerah?” Raven asked as they stepped into the elevator.

“No.” He rubbed his hands over his face and into his hair, ruffling the normally neat style.

“I told you California was hot.”

“I know you did. You know what I'm up against.” She did know. The agency didn't officially exist, and their mandate was hidden under the strictest clearance levels with their funding allocated from certain dark slush funds that fewer than fifty people knew existed.

They were quiet then until they were in his office. Darvin handed her a folder. “Here's what we have.”

“What's the weather in Atlanta?” she asked as she opened the file and glanced through it.

“They are holding without National Guard troops. Police are on high alert though, and if any more bodies drop, there will be riots.”

She nodded. “And I'm going there to…what, exactly?”

“Confirm that it is not actually a Shade, see if you can get any information on who is really doing the killing.”

“So standard recon then. Tell me who I'm working with.”

“Who do you want?”

That made her look up. The agency had been small when she started, with a limited number of agents from the scattered tribes. They had seen their fair share of losses in the last six months. “Someone I can trust.” She put the folder down on his desk. “The Shifter.”

Darvin scrubbed his face and for a minute she was sure he would tell her no. “Okay. He's dealing with a family matter right now. I'll have him meet you in Atlanta.”

She left his office then, aiming for the residential level of the secret government facility. Raven let herself into the small room she lived out of when she was in DC, pulling the elastic out of her tightly braided hair and running her fingers through it to loosen it. She was worried about Jerah. He was too green to be thrown into the thick of this mess, and she got the sense that his inexperience went beyond the job Darvin had him doing. He was young and sheltered, not exactly the best material for an operative.

The last word they had gotten was that the caravan taking Jerah and his handler to their next assignment was hit. The charred out remains of their vehicles had been found with very little sign of the people once in them. It was presumed they had all died, but both she and Darvin knew that the 8th Battalion was under orders to try to get a Shade alive.

Her last handler had confirmed that for them before she had disappeared into a small, dark hole reserved for traitors. She had also confirmed Raven's fear that the military had been infiltrated at multiple levels, and entire squads were serving a cause other than the will of the government.

The country was headed for civil war; she could see it and couldn't understand why the people higher up in the government couldn't. The war that was coming would be messy and rip the fabric of the country. There were no neat and orderly lines to be drawn. The people were divided everywhere.

Decisive action from the President now might prevent all-out war, but he was bound up in his re-election efforts and trying to placate both sides. No one wanted to be the person who advocated for actual war against US citizens.

Which put her in the position she was in.

Raven sighed and tried to put her thoughts to the coming mission instead. The only thing worse than a rogue Shade was someone pretending to be a rogue Shade to stir up trouble. Even with the Shifter at her back, she needed to be on her toes.