True Traitor (First Wave Book 7) (9 page)

“What the fuck is that?” someone asked as Grai stared at the warrior in stunned amazement.

“What’s a light bringer?” another asked.

The golden warrior turned to Grai and sheathed his sword.

“They will not harm you, but they intend to take you to the others and not the light bringer. You must come with me,” the warrior said.

Grai looked at the winged warrior in awe.

“Are my mate and son alright?” he choked out.

The warrior nodded.

“Yes, the light bringer is protecting his mother,” he said.

Grai’s breath caught in his chest, his mind whirling with the information but unable to comprehend it.

“How? How is my son protecting his mother,” he asked in confusion.

The warrior cocked his head at Grai, and Grai felt like the winged man had penetrated his soul somehow. He was feeling a little shaken when the warrior came closer to him and spoke.

“I am a light bringer. Your son is our leader. He called us here to aid him. This . . .” the warrior said, gesturing to his body. “Is our true form—the one we hold within the realms we command and the one we will hold when the conversion arrives and we command this one. But we cannot hold this form for long. You must follow me.”

Grai nodded his head numbly, his mind desperately trying to understand. Just as he was going to ask the warrior another question, the light became bright again and the man became a golden ball.

Grai looked up and watched the ball head back down the same tunnel, only now there were no hybrids in sight. They had all fled.

Chapter Eight

Countdown Clock to Human Discovery

17:00 Hours

This is a WSBC Channel 9 News update. The evacuation of the area near the Burnt Tree Ridge landslide is almost completed. We haven’t been able to get close to the area, but dawn has revealed what looks like a massive dust cloud in the distance where the landslide occurred. As you can see from our rooftop footage, the conditions are still so bad that officials are hesitant to take helicopters into the area.

We spoke with Garfield County Sheriff Joe Scarborough a few minutes ago. He urges drivers to use caution as alternate routes will be very crowded this morning with interstate access blocked between exits 129 and 133.

For those of you just tuning in, a landslide in the area of Burnt Tree Ridge has caused the evacuation of the area until authorities can determine the extent of the damage. We will keep you updated as information comes in.

Leif and True had been riding for a while when they saw a small group of hybrids running towards them. Leif slowed down so they could pass each other without crashing and stopped the female leading the group.

“Stephanie? What’s up?” he asked, wondering at the fear emanating from the group.

The frightened woman pointed behind them.

“Ass 1 tried to stop the boy. He turned into some kind of light being with wings! The Ass couldn’t move! And the kid and the woman just rolled past us with an energy shield of some kind! We’re outta here until the DF gets here! I’m not fighting a little kid and a woman in labor!” she said.

“She’s in labor?” True asked with wide eyes, knowing Tricia wasn’t due for weeks.

Stephanie nodded her head.

“There was no way you couldn’t feel it in her energy. She was in pain. The poor thing needs a damn bed and a doctor. And that boy needs to be in bed at this hour! What the hell is wrong with everyone? He’s got some mad skills, but he’s a kid!”

Leif nodded and cursed his luck that the woman was in need of medical care. That was going to limit their options of where he could hide her until the DF got here.

“Where are they?” True asked.

Stephanie pointed down the tunnel they had just come from.

“A few miles back. They’re going down the main tunnel, not this one,” she said.

Leif nodded.

“Get everyone to the old chamber hall. If we have to, we’ll circle the wagons. We just have to keep the asses away from them long enough for the DF to get here, ok?” he asked the group.

Stephanie sighed and nodded.

“I don’t think the kid needs our help to be honest with you. I can’t even tell what he is while standing in front of him. It’s like he’s got multiple energy sources, and I don’t recognize any of them,” she said honestly.

True smiled and nodded.

“He does, and he’s a master of all of them except for this one. But he’s learning,” Tara said with pride.

Stephanie cursed and looked at Leif.

“If this is the kid learning, you better damn well make friends with him before he actually masters it or we’re all screwed,” she said before nodding to the others, and they all took off again down the tunnel towards the old chamber hall.

Leif watched them go for a moment, a lot more apprehensive about meeting this child than he wanted to admit. He didn’t fear the boy’s abilities so much as having to make a decision to defend himself against a child if necessary.

True felt the indecision in his energy and bounced her body against his to get his attention.

“Let’s go! She’s in labor and she’s going to need help. The baby comes too early,” True said worriedly.

Leif sighed, wondering why the Fates had decided to make this his lucky day.

“How early?” he asked with a grimace.

“Two or three weeks,” True said honestly, allowing her fear for Tricia to bleed from her energy.

Leif let his head drop to his chest.

“Fuck me,” he whispered, knowing that the woman was going to need a full med team if they wanted to ensure the survival of the mother and baby.

True laughed.

“Yeah, maybe after this is all over. Right now, get moving,” she teased, surprised at how fast Leif lifted his head up and floored the vehicle.

True giggled and clutched him tightly as he flew down the tunnel system. Leif was calling out to Lauren through the Shengari’ that the woman was in early labor and possible distress. He was begging her to put her allegiance to the legends aside and help the mother and unborn child.

The response was immediate.

“I would think under the circumstances that her distress would be more than obvious and not just possible. Where are you taking them?” Lauren asked.

“Will you tell the Legends? They are determined to harm that boy, and he’s the woman’s son,” he answered, needing to know he was taking them to a doctor and not a bitch who’d turn them in to the legends.

Lauren sighed.

“I will care for them as any other patient. As my patients, I cannot and will not allow harm to come to them. Tell me where you’re taking them,” Lauren said, her tone telling him that he was indeed, speaking to the talented and amazing doctor—not Dr. Bitch.

“I’m herding them all to the old chamber hall. Can you get everything you need to treat her and the babe in there?” he asked, speeding down the tunnels.

“Yes, that won’t be a problem. Just get her there carefully, no sudden jerks or movements. Try to keep her calm,” Lauren warned.

Leif wiped a tired hand down his face and shook his head to clear it. Damn if this wasn’t becoming way too complicated for them all. There was too much room for error, and he was less and less sure that they could keep things under control until the DF arrived.

He didn’t have much time to think about it though before he crossed over into another tunnel and slammed on the brakes to avoid the dozen Sibiox jumping around the vehicle. True hopped off the back and ran through the cats to the exhausted looking woman on the vehicle in front of them. Leif looked curiously at the little boy sitting in the front of the vehicle next to his mother.

With his dark hair curling sweetly at his forehead and his dark eyes shining as he looked at True, Leif would have never suspected him to be anything other than another hybrid or human boy. It was his right hand absently moving in strange patterns in the air and the way he was rocking in his seat that told Leif there was something different about the child.

He turned to the woman as True reached her and they threw their arms around each other, dissolving into tears and high-pitched words that had Leif zoning out for a moment.

“Leif, she needs a doctor!” True yelled and brought him back to reality.

Leif hopped out of the vehicle and approached the woman and child slowly, not wanting to frighten the powerful boy. He held his hands up in the air and slowed to a stop a few feet in front of them.
He turned his attention to the distressed mother.

“I am Leif, and I don’t want to hurt you. I have a doctor friend who is getting a team and gear together to help you with your baby. If you follow me, I can take you there,” he said, hoping the poor thing would trust him. She didn’t look well and was way too pale.

He stepped back nervously when the boy left the vehicle and approached him. Determined to not be afraid since he had no intention of harming anyone, Leif stood his ground and was getting ready to kneel in front of the child, when the boy began to glow.

He shielded his eyes from the blinding light, and when it was gone he faced a man a little bigger and bulkier than he was.
With wings
, he thought in amazement.
How cool is that? This must be what Stephanie saw.

Leif ignored True’s gasp of surprise, and he looked up into the man’s eyes.

“Mind reap me, sift my energy, do whatever you have to in order to prove I mean you no harm, but please do it quickly, so we can get your mother medical care,” he said, sounding braver than he felt as he tried to comprehend the power that emanated from the man/boy.

The winged warrior nodded.

“I will cause no harm. I see the location in your mind and will divert my father and the others there as well,” Tristan said.

True looked at the warrior child she adored and tried not to stare.

“Can’t they track them there? Their Relian blood?” she asked Leif.

The warrior placed his hand on the wall, and moments later another golden ball appeared. This one broke into several dozen smaller balls that flew down the tunnel walls. He then turned to True and smiled.

“Do not worry, my cousin, we will be protected from those who do not mean us well,” he said, before turning to Leif. “We will follow you.”

Before True and Leif’s startled eyes, the golden light flashed and then shrank until nothing remained but a small boy again who got back in the vehicle with his mother and grunted and pointed to Leif.

Leif smiled and shook his head, charmed by the child, and returned to his ATV. He was surprised when True ran to him and hopped on the back. He’d expected her to stay with the mother and child.

She gave him a cheeky smile as she nudged him.

“She wanted to drive. I think she thought my weight would slow us down,” True said by way of excuse.

Leif hid his own smile, executed a 3-point turn and headed down another tunnel towards the old chamber hall, hoping the warrior was sending everyone going in the right direction. There was no room for mistakes in this.

He felt True turn her head to look behind them.

“Are they still there? Is she ok?” he asked.

True turned back and nodded.

“She’s still there, but she’s in bad shape. Are you sure we can trust the doctor?” True asked worriedly.

Leif nodded.

“Even Lauren wouldn’t harm a pregnant woman and a child. She’d give her life to protect a patient. Your friend is in no danger,” Leif assured her.

His little firefly may be a little hot to handle, but he couldn’t help but admire her loyalty to her friends and family. It was something they had in common that he hoped they could build on.

It took at least another 30 minutes to get to the chamber hall, and Leif was a little surprised to see dozens of hybrids already there setting up camp and defenses.

He drove into the middle of the huge cavern and was relieved to see Lauren and half a dozen medical techs setting up an area in an alcove that could be easily defended.

True looked around the room in awe, not even noticing the stares of the mountain hybrids as Tricia and Tristan drove in behind them.

“What is this place?” she asked on a gasp.

The ceiling of the cavern was difficult to see, but what she could see was really far up. It was shaped almost in a perfect circle and there were stone chairs carved into the floor around the room—enough to hold a hundred people, with several more in the center of the room.

There were dozens of alcoves carved out of the rock behind the chairs. Most were empty, but some had remnants of what looked like old cushions or pillows within. The most curious part was that the entire cavern was carved out of what looked like crystal. True likened it to one of those geodes that was cracked open, and someone had scraped the floor of spheres to make it flat.

There were four openings, and from what True could tell of where she thought they were underground each tunnel designated a compass point—north, south, east, and west. From a strategic standpoint, they should be able to easily defend it when Grai and the others got there.

Leif ignored her question and turned to the pregnant female, who looked several shades whiter than she had when he first met her.

“Follow me, the doctor is right up ahead,” he said and moved slowly to where Lauren was issuing orders to her team.

Lauren turned at the sound of the vehicles and gasped at the sight of Tricia. She ran forward and caught Tricia as she hunched over with a terrible contraction.

“Get over here!” Lauren called to the others, her gift springing to life as she touched the distressed mother. She immediately sent the energy needed to stop the contraction until she could better assess the mother and baby.

Tristan carefully jumped from the vehicle and approached the team helping his mother. He stayed back until they had her settled on a stretcher next to an alcove and behind a chair. With her situated halfway between two of the tunnels, Tristan nodded approvingly before he moved to stand by his mother.

Lauren looked down as the child walked up beside her, and she watched as the boy lifted one small hand up to try and touch his mother. All thought of anything other than the welfare of the protective child and his mother fled her mind. With no fear, she leaned down and picked up the small boy in her arms and smiled at him, uncaring of the gasps behind her.

“Your mommy and your baby sibling will be ok. Why don’t you lay up here with her while we get her comfortable?” she said gently as the little boy gave her a brilliant smile that Lauren swore she could feel reach inside her.

She gently put him on the bed beside his smiling mother.