Tansy's Titan: Cosmos' Gateway Book 3 (5 page)

“RITA, I need Tansy’s position immediately,” Cosmos called out as his fingers flew over the keyboard.

Mak walked up behind Cosmos and grabbed his arm swinging him around. He leaned down over him and growled out menacingly. “You will tell me what is going on now!” Mak said through clenched teeth.

Cosmos looked up at Mak for a moment before letting his eyes drift over to Derik. Derik gave him a quick nod. Cosmos glanced back up at Mak before replying with a frustrated sigh.

“Sit down and I’ll
try to
explain,” Cosmos said quietly knowing it was better for Mak to know what he was about to be thrown into.

Mak moved away from Cosmos. He leaned back against the railing separating the upper level from the lower one and folded his huge arms across his massive chest. Mak’s eyes narrowed as he took in Cosmos’ expression. It was very grim compared to the way the human male normally looked.

“From the coordinates RITA has on Tansy it looks like she in Moscow. That is thousands of miles from here. It would take days, plus a lot of red tape, to get to her - days it sounds like she doesn’t have. I am going to try to reconfigure the portal to her location so that it opens to where she is. I’m not sure if it will work. I need to run a few tests first. Theoretically, it should but I don’t want to take a chance with something going wrong since I have never done it before,” Cosmos said quietly.

“Why is she in danger?” Mak asked just as quietly as a slow rage built inside him at the thought of the female he knew to be his bond mate being in trouble.

“Tansy does undercover work for our government. She puts her life on the line every day to try to make our world a better place. She will have to tell you more about it. I just know what I know from the few bits of information I’ve collected and some of the wounds I’ve seen on her. Every second longer it takes for me to get this ready means a second less that she might have. She was right about me not being able to do much to help her. I’m a scientist, not a fighter. Whatever is going to be on the other side of the gateway is probably going to be some bad shit. I’m guessing you would know how to handle it,” Cosmos added looking at Mak’s massive frame.

Mak’s smile was enough to cause a shiver to course down Cosmos’ spine. “You get me to Tansy and I will take care of anyone trying to harm her,” Mak growled out softly.

“I’m going with you!” Derik said moving up beside his older brother. While he was several cycles younger, he was almost as tall. “I can help you.”

“No,” Mak growled out looking sternly at his younger brother.

“No,” Cosmos said. “It is going to be difficult enough with one of you guys out there. If the calculations I have figured out in my head work, it will be risky enough. It would be too dangerous trying to keep track of two of you and Tansy.”

“You will return home as planned,” Mak said sternly. “If you do not return, it may cause problems. They must not know that there is anything wrong here.”

“But…” Derik began.

“It is for Terra, Derik. If father or the council feels she is in danger or is not protected here they will insist she return. If she does, she will be sent to the Isle of the Chosen. Is this what you want for her?” Mak asked his younger brother quietly.

Derik paled at the thought of his beautiful sister being sent to such a place. Even he knew it was little better than a prison. He saw a few of the females that had been sent there at the mating rite’s ceremony that he snuck into the previous cycle. Their eyes had been empty and they appeared lifeless.

“No, I do not want that for Terra,” Derik replied solemnly.

“What the fuck are you talking about?” Cosmos’ growled out standing up. “No one is taking Terra anywhere! She stays right here! Where the hell is this Isle of the Chosen?”

Mak looked at Cosmos with a satisfied smile while Derik looked puzzled. “It is an island fortress off the coast. It is a place where the unmated females are sent. It takes the life from them. I’ve seen the females from there and it is not a good place,” Derik said with a frown. “I would never let them send Terra there. She is too fragile to survive such a place.”

Cosmos’ eyes narrow and he could feel a rage unlike anything he ever felt before building inside him. “She stays here. I’ll kill any asshole who tries to take her away from me.”

“Good. She will stay under your care,” Mak said forcefully. “Now, tell me what I need to know to save Tansy.”

Over the next four hours, Cosmos and Mak worked out details of what Mak could expect. They went over how to use the modified portable gateway device and what Mak should NOT do when he encountered Tansy. Cosmos had RITA work out several coordinates for them to test the gateway before he felt comfortable enough to do a human test.

“So far
most of
the fruit we have thrown through the portal has survived. I am going to go through it before I open a gateway to Tansy. I want to do a human trial first,” Cosmos said setting up the gateway again. “I am concerned with the way the energy level keeps dropping off the gateway as soon as the fruit passed through it. Those items are small compared to a human. It may not be able to handle having something of our size.”

“But, why does it not have issues going between our worlds then?” Derik asked.

Cosmos shook his head. “I don’t know. I know we don’t have a lot of power output like your crystals do. Tink’s modifications to the generators helped but it is impossible for us to keep the amps up for any length of time. There is also some interference of some kind I am trying to work out. I need more time!” Cosmos said in frustration.

“You do not have more time. Tansy could be hurt. Each test you do means more time she is in danger. Open the gateway to her. I will take the chance of finding out if it can handle a larger being,” Mak said determinedly.

Cosmos opened his mouth to argue but the look in Mak’s eyes stopped him. He nodded instead. Moving back to the console he programmed the location showing on the tracking device in Tansy.

“I can’t keep the power up for long. You’ll have to move as soon as the gateway opens. I’ll need at least an hour to get the power levels back up. The fruit has been off by about 10 meters. You’ll need to compensate for that as well. Make sure you see an open space before you move through the gateway. I don’t want you walking inside a wall or over water. From what I can see, Tansy is inside an abandoned warehouse near the riverfront. Keep the satellite phone on you and call as soon as the two of you are safe. I have a couple of friends who live in the area. I’ll notify them you need help. I trust them with my life. They will help hide you and get you out safely. Natasha and Helene will do everything they can to help you,” Cosmos said as he finished the programming.

He turned and pulled a necklace out of his shirt pocket. Tansy had given it to his last Christmas. It was a miniature spaceship with stars around it made out of platinum and semi-precious jewels.

“Give this to Tansy. She’ll know it came from me. Tell her I expect her to return it to me in person,” Cosmos said gruffly as he handed the chain and pendant to Mak.

Mak took the offering and placed it in the front pouch of his vest. “I will. I will protect her with my life, Cosmos. You do not need to fear. I will do whatever is necessary to bring her back safely to her family.”

“I know,” Cosmos grunted out. “If what you feel is half as bad as what I’m feeling toward your sister, I definitely know.”

“That is why I am not concerned with leaving her in your care. But be warned, if you hurt her I will enjoy killing you slowly,” Mak said with a grin that didn’t soften his threat in the least.

“Thanks! I think,” Cosmos muttered under his breath. “Are you ready?”

Cosmos looked at Mak and thought that was right up there with the dumbest questions he ever asked. The man in front of him was the largest son-of-a-bitch he had ever seen. On top of that, he was carrying two long swords, two short swords, a CZ 75b semi-automatic 9mm pistol Cosmos had, and a variety of other weapons Cosmos didn’t even bother asking about. Cosmos wouldn’t let him take his laser pistol stating it was too dangerous should it fall into enemy hands.

Mak grunted his response. He wanted his bond mate. He needed to know she was safe. She had not called back and his gut twisted that he might be too late to save her. Cosmos took a deep breath, gave a sharp nod, and opened the gateway. A burst of light formed before the gateway stabilized and Mak rushed through it. Almost immediately the gateway disintegrated leaving empty space where Mak had stood moments ago. Cosmos turned and checked the tracking device he had inserted into Mak, breathing a sigh of relief when he saw it was moving. Mak was at least alive and in one piece.

“He will save her,” Derik said from behind him. “He is the strongest warrior I know. He will save her.”

“Yeah, but who is going to save him if Tansy doesn’t believe him?” Cosmos said staring at the moving dots on his screen.

Chapter 5

Mak rolled as he felt the punch of energy push him. He lay still for a moment absorbing what was around him. A sound to the right caused him to shift and move into a crouch, one short sword in his left hand while he pulled several small explosive silver balls into his right. Two old men, dressed in layers of coats with dirty woolen caps on their heads stood around a large burning barrel. Mak could smell the alcohol on them even from ten feet away. One of the men backed up and fell over the curb while the other man just stood frozen as Mak stood to his full height.

“Where is my female?” Mak growled out in a quiet, menacing voice.

The men shook their heads not understanding. Mak growled low again before remembering the small scanner Cosmos had given him. He pulled it out and looked down to see the signal pointing to the left. Mak snarled a warning to the men and pressed his fingers against his lips before he ran one along his throat letting them know what would happen if they betrayed him. Both men nodding vigorously at Mak to let him know they would be silent.

Mak turned and looked at the signal again. It was coming from further down the street. He moved along the narrow, dirty street keeping to the shadows. His eyes searched the darkness for the ones who were after his mate. He had moved about halfway down along one empty warehouse when he caught a slight movement. He paused and watched as a light flared for a few seconds before dimming. He sniffed. He smelled the acidic scent of smoke. Moving silently, he came up behind the figure leaning against a transport. He listened carefully. He needed to make sure there was no one else hiding nearby who could either surprise him or warn others.

Moving up behind the man leaning against the dark transport, he gripped him around his neck pulling him up over the hood of it and back into the darkness. He held the man up by his throat against the building ignoring the man’s struggles or frantic efforts to breathe. Pulling a device from his belt he held i
t up to the man’s head for a moment.

“You understand me?” Mak asked in a cool voice.

The man nodded in terror. “
с.
Да.”
Yes
.

Karloff
stared into the flaming silver eyes of the man holding him with one hand. He knew what he was looking at was not human. He
was huge, over seven feet tall and was too strong to be human. Long canines slowly extended from his mouth as he stared at Karloff as if he were nothing more than an insect.

“Where is my female?” Mak asked.

“What female….?” Karloff choked off as the fingers gripping his throat tightened and the huge man holding him pulled out a sharp, curved knife.

“I will not ask a question twice. Each time you do not answer, I will remove a part of your body,” Mak said letting the blade slice through Karloff’s shirt at the shoulder.

He ignored Karloff’s jerk as the blade slid through the man’s skin almost to the bone. His hand squeezed enough no sound could escape. He pulled the blade out and wiped it on the front of Karloff’s shirt.

“Do not make a sound except to answer my questions or I will cut out your tongue and let you write the answers out with your blood. Where is my female?” Mak asked as if he was having a conversation with a friend.

“In the warehouse,” Karloff whispered hoarsely.

“How many search for her?” Mak asked coolly.

“There… there are twenty men. Twenty men after her,” Karloff whispered back.

“You have served your purpose,” Mak said as he squeezed his hand crushing Karloff’s throat.

Mak removed the translator he attached to the side of Karloff’s head and pocketed it. He tossed the body into the dark alley. Moving across the open area between the warehouses rapidly, he noticed a set of windows opened on the second level. Mak looked around and noticed piping attached to the side of the warehouse. Running, he hit the side of the brick building and jumped up reaching for the piping about twelve feet off the ground. Pulling himself up, he grabbed the edge of an open window and pulled himself up. Mak slipped his leg over the sill and moved silently inside. He dropped down into a crouch listening as whispered voices moved outside the open doorway. Mak straightened along the wall and moved around to stand behind the door. Two men came in. Mak quickly slit both of their throats and disappeared out the door. He worked his way through the level, coming up behind the men and taking them out stealthily. He had dispatched with ten before he heard a shout of warning. The men thought his mate was behind the killings.