Chase awoke to a thumping on his forehead. Ahhh, the thunder, he thought. Opening his eyes, he smirked as Technik stood before him, fingers poised to thump again.
“Man, I thought you were never going to wake up. It seems like you guys have been knocked out for hours!” The man chuckled as he turned and began returning the books on the table to where they belonged on the shelves. “Adrian snores!” He laughed deeper.
“I do not!” Adrian, who had awakened just in time to hear the words, sat up beside him. She looked over at him, blushing, before removing her feet from where they’d been resting in his lap. Slowly lifting up the edge of his shirt, so Technik couldn’t see, Chase raised an eye brow to Adrian; indicating she look underneath. Using her big toe, Adrian lifted the shirt further up his chest and then erupted into giggles. Ignoring his questioning look, she jumped up from the couch and moved towards Technik. She wrapped her arms around him, laughing.
“I’m glad you guys are back. The conversation here was lacking. Now I actually have someone to talk to!” She then skipped from the room, laughter following her from the room. Technik, who was just as surprised at her behavior as Chase was, stood with his mouth wide open.
“Uhh…Did I miss something? I’m not sure what just happened.” He murmured, a confused but happy look covering his face.
“She’s just been feeling a little bit of cabin fever.” Chase said as he collected himself from the sectional. Turning to walk from the room, he lifted his shirt at his side as he walked past the window and groaned as he glimpsed the tip of a blue resting against his hip in the reflection. Why couldn’t that have stayed in his mind? Then he smiled to himself. If he had his, wouldn’t that mean that she had hers as well? He chuckled and lowered his shirt and left the room, ignoring whatever Technik was saying behind him.
***
“…and then he was just like ‘…Our team is full’.” Adrian laughed as Julius recounted the meeting with the European Dark Warriors team. They had changed, things were different. She couldn’t explain why but she knew that the mood of the team had changed since they’d come back from their trip. The joyful team that had left was different than the one that had come back. They seemed more reserved, more in their own minds than anything else.
“I have a question.” She spoke aloud over the yelling and converse. Technik had made a joke about Vectio that he didn’t like. He’d laughed but it was Mendax that stood up for the silent man. They’d been yelling at each other but Adrian knew it was all in good mirth. She hated to be a Debbie downer but needed to understand the situation.
“Yes?” Apprehensive, Tristan sobered from his hunched position at the other end of the table. Arinth, also aware, leaned forward and tilted her head slightly.
“What happened while you were gone? What did you find out? Things seem different and I know I’m nothing special here but I’d like to know.” She spoke softly as not to offend or overstep her bounds.
“We are going to be attacked.” Tristan, looking towards Chase who he’d not yet talked to, cleared his throat before continuing. “The Malus are looking for something. While they have always been in the process of ‘taking over’ they hadn’t actually made any moves to destroy Earth. It’s been two thousand years since their last attack on a planet. We will try to save as many people as we can but from our stand point, and if history repeats itself, there is little we will be able to do.” He stood at the head of the table coming up to his full height. “I know we have been coasting for a little while here on Earth but it’s time to wake up.” He looked around at each of the Dark Warriors. He came to rest his gaze on Arinth. “I know you have secrets you can’t share with us but we need your help. I feel like somehow you have been helping us before now and we just didn’t know it. I have so many questions that need to be asked and you not answering them is truly not an option if you want to save this planet.” Arinth glanced down at her hands and didn’t respond, neither confirming nor denying. “Well, we need your secrets, Arinth. I wouldn’t stress this if it wasn’t an issue. I won’t make you, I won’t use my Influence. You know that isn’t how I work. I am asking you because I need it willing, the team needs it and you know I never usually beg.” He then cleared his throat again. “We also need you, Adrian. You have powers that would be of use to us in battle, provided we train you to use them. You are strong and of solid mind. Join our team and help us save your world.” Her eyes grew big at the last statement.
“Wha…what can I do? I’m only a human!” she gaffed.
“Actually, we know that isn’t true,” Chase turned his full attention on Tristan wondering what he would say next. “We found a man, a Dark Warrior, banned to live on Arinth for the rest of his lives for decisions he’d made some twenty two years ago. Decisions he’d made that were, at that time, against the rules and could even be considered treasonous by the Council. At first we didn’t know where to look, it’s why we spent a few more days out on our “mission” than we’d originally told you guys. Then we seemed to uncover a marvel and everything fell into place from there. We stumbled upon a team member that had been here in this region before we came here. They seemed to remember a man who’d been barred from Earth but didn’t really have too much information on him and what he’d done. That was, however, all that we needed and Technik took care of the rest.” He turned toward Technik who, out of nowhere, handed him a folder. “We found your father, Adrian.”
“Uhhh, what?” Adrian shook her head, standing.
“He’s a Dark Warrior, Adrian. He’s one of us. He’s been banned from Earth and he currently resides at a training base camp on Arinth. He trains new Dark Warriors in learning their abilities. He seems to excel at all of the abilities and therefore is named the best of all. He’s the master. Would you like to see him?” Seeing her small nod, Tristan came around the table and knelt before her. The folder he held contained photos of a tall, muscular, handsome man with a chiseled chin and beautiful eyes. His skin was creamy, tanned and golden. It’d explain her mixed features, her brown blonde hair and her honey eyes. Her mother, who was browner than Adrian’s cream complexion, held strong beautiful African American genes but Adrian knew her father had to have been a different race. Caucasian most likely, something different. She had been correct as he turned out to not even be human. In the photo he looked serious, dangerous, a streak of blood cutting across his brow. He held a blood blade in his hand, pointed at the ground. A spider tattoo, like the one her mother had but a darker green in color, stretched across one of his forearms. “He’s a great warrior, or he was.”
“What did he do to get banned from Earth?” Adrian touched the photo and almost flinching as it came alive under her touch. The man in the photo shifted his stance and climbed up from the two dimensional image, grasped the sword with two hands and mock swung it through the air. Little droplets of blood flung out in the motion but disappeared as they flew away from where he stood on the paper. He then smiled to where the camera would have been before returning back to the beginning stance. He flexed slightly and bent a knee, straightening one arm diagonal up to the sky, assuming a warrior pose, before laughing. The sound rang out in the room, sounding much like her own but deeper, more masculine. Adrian took a deep breath, it wasn’t a trick. The photo was real and it was really her father. Her father’s Essence was in the photo. She wondered where he’d gotten the photo. “Is he a criminal? Tell me. Why did he get banned?”
“He was banned because he mated with your mother.” Tristan’s voice was sure, firm.
Adrian barely heard him; a rushing filled her ears and buzzed through her head. Looking up, she saw Tristan peering at her questioningly. He waved a hand before her face, concerned.
“How do you know he’s mated to her? They most likely hid if the relationship was against the rules!”
“We are warriors, we are aliens, and we aren’t stupid. They were found out eventually. That and the tattoo he holds, I can assume your mother has the same one or at least a variation of it. It’s a definite sign of a mated pair. No two pairs Imprinting is the same.” He took the folder from her and placed it on the table where her father could stand where they could all see him. He swung the sword, staring forward.
“Can he...?”
“He can’t hear you or see you, if you were stronger maybe but even then only the prophets and the Light Warriors can speak with the Essence.” She nodded, her eyes wide. Her face went still and a tear dripped onto her cheek and down around her chin.
“Adrian.” Chase’s voice rang out in the middle of the storm. “Are you ok?” Slipping a hand under the table, where no one could see, Chase stroked the tip of the butterfly wing on his side. He didn’t know what made him do it but it seemed like a good idea. Suddenly feeling comforted, Adrian glanced up at Chase and smiled softly. The storm subsided in her mind and a confused look covered her features. The softer Chase rubbed his fingers over the butterfly, the smoother her features became. He opened his mouth to speak, “are you ok?” his voice was calming.
“Yes, yes, I’m fine. I’m sorry I just…” she trailed off as she again looked down at the picture on the table.
“His name is Anders Culvert. He, we believe, is also a Conduit like you. It might be the reason he does his position so well.”
“We have the same last name and our first names are so close. My mother must have known.” She whispered, her voice just cracking at the end. “A Conduit?
“Yes, a conduit is a channel in which all the abilities are born, they are very rare; or maybe not as rare as we are beginning to find more and more of them over the last few weeks.”
“That makes sense. Wait, he was banned for mating with my mother?”
“Yes. It is against the rules, Adrian.” He looked into her eyes, compassion filling him. “We aren’t allowed to mingle as Dark Warriors or mate with humans that are unaware of our existence. We are to remain hidden, deep in the shadows, charged to protect and serve but also protect and serve our home planets. It’s our creed and our oath. He broke it.” Tristan’s voice carried through the room and Adrian looked up as she noticed the other Warriors nodding in agreement.
“I’m sure he loved her but not only did he mate with her, he made a child with her.” Tristan shook his head. “It is most unbelievable that he wasn’t sent to prison, it’s treasonous. He will most likely never be allowed back to Earth; unless you leave this planet for another you will most likely never meet him.”
“Why…why would you tell me about him if I’ll never get to meet him? “I…don’t know what to say.” She shook her head, tears welled in her eyes. she pushed the photo away from her.
“I thought you might want to know where you came from.” Tristan stood to his feet and held his hands out to her. “I’m sorry we can’t offer more than that. I can try and find a way for you to see him but I don’t want to promise you anything. You’re one of us now. You will see that soon. It’s why you were so comfortable around us after only being here for a few days. You know us, our blood calls to you, we are the same. We need your help and we know you can help us.” He pulled her into his arms, giving her an awkward hug. They could tell he wasn’t used to that kind of emotional connection and despite the mood of the room Technik almost laughed out.
“You said one way to tell someone is mated…is a matching tattoo.” She lowered her eyes, stepped back and quickly brought her hands up to her shirt; making sure to keep it above the butterflies that lay just under her skin.
“Adrian…” Chase’s voice called out but it was raspy, her name wavering on his lips.
“I…” She shook her head as the tears fell. Glancing up, she locked eyes with him, ignoring the rest of the people in the room. Tristan groaned as he noticed what the look meant, along with the rest of the team. Arinth, slowly stood and reached a hand out to Chase, who skirted her touch.
“Adrian…”
“I’m so sorry! You’re going to be banned from Earth, possibly prosecuted and it was all my fault. We can tell them it was all me. I’ll leave!” She moved away from her chair and the team, as her voice choked.
“No! It wasn’t all you. I could have stopped what happened just as much as you. We will…figure out what to do.” Chase grabbed her before she could bolt from the room and brought her into his arms. The room was silently, deathly so.
“Your tattoos. Let me see them.” Tristan’s voice boomed out, the Influence pressing against their wills. Chase lifted his shirt to just under his breast to uncover the butterfly that moved beneath his skin. Adrian turned, removed the over shirt and the tank top, covering her breast with the cloth. The collection of butterflies flickered against her skin. Arinth gasp in wonder as the butterfly resting at her lower back twitched as if to fly away. The rest of the team watched silently, wary and in awe as the beings glowed under their skin.
“I see.” Tristan cleared his throat as he shuffled the photos and papers back into the folder. “Well, as far as I am concerned, for the time being, I didn’t approve Chase to get any new tattoos or any more markings on his body. And as for Adrian, I’ve never seen her naked and therefore I couldn’t possibly know if she has a tattoo or not.” He looked around at his team, nodding to them each in turn as the silent agreement was made, a hardened expression over his face. Arinth smiled softly along with the rest of the team. Adrian jumped forward and threw her arms around him. This time he did not return the hug.
“Ok, ok,” Chase spoke softly, steering the converse. “Tell us, how do we get these bastards and save Earth? Do we know when they are going to attack? Do we know how?” Chase came forward, uncomfortable with him touching Adrian. He wrapped an arm around her and pulled her a step away from Tristan, who rubbed his arms thankfully.
“Well, first we need to find the Malus. Technik has had a few spurts but they seem to be either hiding out somewhere we can’t see or haven’t been able to find yet. Either that or they aren’t based on this planet. Secondly, we need to train Adrian, provided she’ll help us, and find out what other abilities she has. Once we know what all she can do we can figure out how she can benefit us.” The room grew silent when he finished and all eyes were on her. Adrian squirmed in Chases arms but didn’t respond immediately. Looking up at him, she saw trust in his eyes, honesty and hope. Nodding silently she turned back to Tristan.
“I’ll help. What do I need to do?”
"The only way to be a writer is to write, write and write. The only way...is to write." -Jade Elyzabeth
No comments:
Post a Comment