Warrior Rogue (The Drift Lords Series) (27 page)

Jen shrugged. “Who knows? Let’s talk about it later. We need to fulfill our bargain with the dog.”

“It may be too far to walk, especially in our condition. Let’s find a road and ditch a ride.”

Her mouth curved in amusement. “You’re still getting it wrong. It’s
hitch
a ride, tiger.”

Dragon Balm Gardens had closed for the day by the time they made it back to the park entrance via public transport. No one would stop to give them a ride in their bedraggled state, but they’d found a bus. They exited at the designated stop, the sole visitors at seven o’clock in the evening.

Loitering by the ticket booth, Jen observed the setting sun glint off the harbor and the spectacular cityscape below. Her shoulders slumped. If they had to stay at a hotel again, they’d have to go shopping for more supplies.

She glanced around, wondering why the Trolleks left them alone. General Morar had unfinished business with Paz, and Algie wanted Jen for her experiments. Was the enemy holding off for some reason?

A breeze lifted the hair on her arms and brought a floral scent her way. All she’d cared about before meeting Paz was how she looked in front of the mirror and what impressions her fashions made on the world.

Now as her glance slid toward the silent warrior at her side, she thought about what he could teach her. Weapons and combat skills. How to infiltrate enemy territory. What weaknesses to exploit among the Trolleks, if any.

Her brow wrinkled. Why did that last thread stimulate a figment of memory?

Arf, arf.

Her head lifted. A small dog bounded in their direction.

“Dikibie, this way.” She clapped her hands, skidding sideways to intercept him. He scooted past, dodged an oncoming bus, and aimed downhill. Not the Gatekeeper, then.

“Maybe we should just go to the airport,” she said with a resigned sigh. She barely had the energy to move, let alone haggle with airline personnel. Nor did Paz have a passport.

Frantic barking came from her left, and she whipped around. A familiar mutt scampered toward them, a pretty brunette on its tail. The woman had murder in her eyes and a weapon in her hands.

“Come here, Dikibie.” The female waved her gun. “You’re not getting away this time.”

The dog zigzagged toward them. “Stop her,” he said. “She means to kill me.”

Paz thrust Jen behind him. “It’s that Trollek woman we met in the fabric shop. She’s got an immobilizer. Stay out of range.”

Jen gazed around but they were quite alone. The bus had moved on, disgorging no one. Birds twittered overhead and leaves rustled. An insect buzzed her ear.

Paz’s eyes narrowed at the same time that Jen noticed the Trollek’s attention changing to them.

“Ah, look who we have here. General Morar will be pleased.” She swung her weapon at the Drift Lord.

Paz attacked in a flying leap, kicking the immobilizer from her hand. She responded with a roundhouse kick. He dodged the blow and brought his elbow up toward her nose. She twirled, rebounding with a thrust, and aimed at his gut. Paz parried but wasn’t fast enough. Her next kick caught his injured thigh.

He grunted, his legs crumpling. Jen stared, horrified, as he went down. The woman leapt forward, stooped, and grasped his forearm.

“You will obey me. Heed your
kabak
.”

“I don’t think so.” Leaning on his elbow, Paz sneered at her. “I’m a Drift Lord. Your spells don’t work on me.”

He swept his arm behind her ankles and yanked her off her feet. She tumbled to the ground.

Jen spotted the gun where she’d dropped it and scooped it up. The metal piece felt heavy in her hand. It had a long barrel, but where was the trigger?

“You, daughter of Odin.”

Jen spun toward the source of the voice.

“It is I, Dikibie. Did you obtain the dragon’s blood like I asked?” The scraggly dog tilted its head, peering at her with large, somber eyes.

“Yes, we did.” She moved out of range of Paz and the Trollek.

Torn between wanting to conclude her business with the Gatekeeper and helping Paz, she tucked the weapon into her waistband. Getting home was paramount once Paz defeated his adversary. Thankful he still possessed some immunity to the Trollek mind spell, she focused on the shapeshifter.

“Part the fur between my shoulder blades,” Dikibie instructed. “Take the blood and dribble it onto my bare skin.”

Jen withdrew the vial from her pocket, yanked off the stopper, and did as directed.

Nothing happened for the first few seconds. She jerked back when the air around the dog suddenly rippled.

The ripple turned into a mini cyclone that swirled around the creature from its feet upward. Higher and higher the dervish flew until an older man stood before her in his naked glory. A bearded man, with a wrinkled face and a thin body.

A pontifical look on his face, he stretched his arms toward the heavens. “At last, I am free.”

Jen’s face colored. Spying a seagrape bush, she stalked over and plucked a couple of large, round leaves. “Here, you might want to use these until you get some clothes. Now, about our reward…”

“My thanks, mistress.” Holding the leaves in place, he combed through his hair with his other hand. His fingers produced a folded paper. “Here is your prize. Go to the water’s edge, and announce where you want to go. As soon as the ship unfolds, climb aboard.”

“That’s it? A piece of paper? You’ve got to be kidding.”

He puffed out his chest. “Do you question my gift?”

Afraid he’d withdraw the offer, she snatched the item from his hand. “No, of course not. Thank you for your generosity.”

He sniffed the air, as though he hadn’t quite lost his canine sense. “We’ll meet again, daughter of Odin. So it is prophesied in the book.”

She gripped his arm before he turned away. “What book? I’ve heard one mentioned before.”

He cast her a sly glance. “Seek your sisters. Together with the Drift Lords, you will defeat the coming darkness. So it is written. So shall it be.”

“Wait, it’s written where?” Jen called after him. He’d already started down the hill, giving her a not very tantalizing view of his bare butt.

“Hey, miss!”

Jen whirled around. Now what?

From the corner of her eye, she saw Paz still holding his own against the Trollek female. Huffing up the road from the opposite direction was the man she’d encountered at Manga World. She recognized the scar on his cheek when he got closer.

“What are you doing here?” she demanded.

Pausing to catch his breath, he thumbed toward the woman slicing her arms and legs though the air as she leapt and kicked at Paz. “I’ve been tracking her. I could ask you the same thing.”

“Let me see your badge again.”

This time she leaned forward to read it carefully. It gave his name as Agent Grant Monroe and said he was with the United States Bureau of Anomaly Research.

“What kind of agency is that? I’ve never heard of it.”

His keen gaze regarded her. “No one has, lady. We like to keep it that way. Usually we’re sent out to debunk stories about alien abductions and UFO sightings, but this time─”

He stumbled back as Paz flew past them, thrown by the Trollek female. She wasn’t even breathing hard while Paz looked pale as a ghost and sweat covered his brow.

“Who’s that guy?” Monroe pointed to Paz who picked himself up and lunged at the Trollek.

“He’s my partner.” Her voice held a note of pride. Despite his wound and their recent exertions, he fought like a true warrior.

Munroe’s gaze swung to the weapon tucked into her waistband, and his eyes narrowed. “Where did you get that?”

“It belongs to that woman. She dropped it.”

“May I?” He extended his hand.

Jen stepped back. “What do you want with her?”

“We have questions to ask.” He took out a device from his pocket and frowned at it. “Tell me about your friend.”

Jen bristled at the implied threat in his tone. “Look, if your business is with that woman, we won’t stop you. Just keep in mind that we’re on the same side.” And with those words, she took out the immobilizer and tossed it to Paz in one of his free moments.

He shot the Trollek. She slumped to the ground. Then he aimed the weapon at Grant Munroe.

“Who is this fellow? Is he confounded?”

Like before, Monroe wore clothing that covered him from head to toe. Clearly, he knew what Trolleks were capable of doing to people.

“I’m an agent of the United States government.” He flashed his badge. “We should talk. I know your girlfriend isn’t vulnerable to these creatures, and we’d like to know why. As for you,” he squinted at his device, “I’m getting an anomalous reading. Who are you, and why were you fighting that alien?”

Paz’s eyes glittered right before he fired the weapon. “Sorry, I don’t have time to answer questions.” Now two bodies littered the street.

Jen gasped. “Did you kill them?”

“No, immobilizers only stun. They’ll be out for a few hours. We should hide them.” Grunting at the effort, he dragged their unconscious forms into the bushes. “There, that should solve the problem for the moment.”

“You can’t let Monroe wake up next to that Trollek. She might confound him when he’s too groggy to resist.”

“You’re right, but we don’t want Agent Monroe to capture her either. It sounds as though his agency believes the Trolleks to be aliens. Best they should stick to that belief.”

“Oh, you think it’s better they should think aliens from outer space are invading us rather than evil trolls from another dimension?” She glanced at him askance. “What about your team?”

His mouth curved into a sexy grin. “We’re helping humanity. We don’t need interference, especially if your people are provoked into what you term a witch hunt.”

“I’m afraid it’s too late if our government has caught onto the game. Anyway, we can worry about it later. I got the magic ship from Dikibie.”

His face brightened. “Supernova.” He tucked the immobilizer into his belt. “I’ll separate these two. Then when they wake up, they won’t be near each other. Too bad I don’t have my gear.”

“Why is that?”

“I’d put a locator on this female in case we needed to track her movements later. She might lead us to General Morar.” He shoved the Trollek over his shoulder with a grunt.

If it were up to Jen, she’d keep a wide swath between them and the enemy commander.

“I should check your wound.” She indicated his leg.

“Not now. Let’s move on.” He clenched his jaw as he lugged his burden down the hill.

They found a spot enough of a distance away and left the Trollek woman propped against a tree so it looked as though she’d fallen asleep. Then they hopped on a tram to the waterfront.

Junks and sampans crowded the harbor as they strode along, looking for a quiet dock where they could unfold Dikibie’s ship.

“Do you really think this will work?” Jen stopped at a food vendor selling fish burgers after a detour at a public restroom. She ordered two burgers to go and gave Paz his share.

“If not, we go to Plan B.” He stared at the water while chewing.

Jen ate too fast, distracted by his determined profile, chiseled jaw, and unruly hair. He looked even sexier when disheveled. His attempts to wash up hadn’t been much more successful than hers. At least the warm breeze had helped to dry their clothes.

Much to her surprise, televisions flickered among the vessels in the harbor. She wondered where they hooked up to electricity. Cooking smells of garlic and onions wafted on the night air.

“What’s Plan B, find a black market dealer and get you a passport?” She tossed her trash into a nearby can.

Swiping his mouth, Paz followed suit. “That’s the idea. However, with a government agent breathing down our necks and a Trollek right behind, it’s not the best option.”

They continued along until they came to a dimly lit spot on the dock just beyond a woman washing laundry at a street faucet.

“This looks like a good place to try our luck.” Jen stood at the edge of the pier and withdrew the folded paper from her jeans pocket. “Dikibie said to mention where we want to go. As soon as it inflates or whatever, we should climb aboard.”

“That piece of paper is supposed to turn into a ship?” He gave her an incredulous glance.

“Yep. Cross your fingers. I wish for us to go to Manhattan.” She held the paper in both hands with her arms outstretched.

Paz faced her, his eyes blazing. “I thought you lived in Palm Beach. Aren’t we going to Florida?”

She lowered her arms and met his stormy gaze. “I want to stop off in New York first. That’s where I live; my parents are in Florida. I need to check my mail, pay bills, and contact my friends. Plus it’s almost Fashion Week. I have things to do at the showroom. Dad has postponed the critical vote, so I don’t have to return to Florida just yet.”

She didn’t like the way his mouth tightened, as though she’d betrayed him.

“Look, I know you’re anxious to meet up with your team. You can contact them from my place. You don’t even know if your safe house in Florida exists anymore.”

He pursed his lips. “True. However, Nira Larsen resides in Florida. It is imperative for you two to exchange information.”

She’d forgotten about Nira. He was right. She had much to learn. “Okay, how about if we stop in Manhattan for one night at least? It would make me feel better to settle things there before confronting my cousin and the Board of Directors.”

“Very well, but keep in mind that our enemy isn’t far behind.” He raked stiff fingers through his hair.

“It could be a moot point. This piece of paper hasn’t done anything.” She waved Dikibie’s gift in her hand.

“Try again. Maybe it needed us both to agree.”

“We wish to go to Manhattan,” she announced in a firm tone.

As though the magic understood they meant it this time, the paper unfolded, jumped from her hands, and landed as a fully sailed motorized junk on the water.

“All aboard,” she cried in an excited voice.

A ramp extended to the dock.

Jen scampered up and onto the wood deck, Paz at her heels. The ship creaked as it swayed on the rippling current.