Chosen (The Chosen Few Trilogy #1) (5 page)

“Through there,” Ryan gestured towards an archway ahead.

What was I getting us into?

5

MAUI, HAWAII, U.S.A.

The man named Loki, leader of Gorgoroth’s armies, stepped out of a taxi in a busy part of Lahaina, Maui’s most popular tourist town. He paused to get his bearings, shading his storm
-
cloud eyes.

The Hawaiian heat tempered by a cool sea breeze hit him immediately
.
He set off down the high street, past busy shops, blending with and laughing at the oh-so-happy tourists who
wandered around like lost sheep
awaiting the slaughter. They had no inkling that the whirlwind was already moving among them.

He laughed aloud
when he spotted a small
church and noticed a couple of locals walking in.
What
the hell
was
the Big Kahuna
going to
do for them anyway? Their God was a lazy God, a fat walrus grown complacent whilst feeding off the uncontested worship of two thousand years.

Things are gonna change. Believe me…

Loki walked into a coffee shop opposite the art gallery where his target

worked, and ordered a cappuccino. And a muffin. If there was one thing this world did right it was these skinny orange and lemon muffins. The downside was that they were fast becoming Vice Number Two. His lip curled. He’d only been in America for two weeks and already the vi
ces were starting to mount
up
. He looked around. Maybe they’d let Starbucks stay when this world went to hell.

S
eated by the windo
w he turned his attention to an
art gallery across the road. Devon Summers worked there, a local woman ignorant of her potential. She was one of the Chosen- a group of
eight
men and women who
p
ossessed enough untapped ability to literally rip Gorgoroth’s plan apart. But the
y
could only do that if those abilities were nurtured by the Aegis
organization
in the appropriate manner. Loki’s job was to see that never happened.

Two minutes later his quarry
exited the art gallery and headed for home
.
Loki rammed down his muffin- temporarily assuaging Vice Number Two- and started after her. He knew her address
a
l
ready
, but this woman was the epitome of Vice Number One- his insatiable lust for beautiful women.

He fell in behind
her
and followed until she
vanish
ed
into
her
house
.
H
e
waited three
minutes and then pounded on the
door.

Flustered, she answered immediately, as he had gambled she would. “Yes?”

Tall, athletic, stunning, purring with a dormant ability that she would never
fulfill
, Devon Summers was a sight to behold. Red hair flowed in waves over her shoulders to the middle of her back. Striking green eyes, bright with intelligence, studied him with an unsettling innocence and curiosity.

“Are you Devon Summers?” Loki settled
into a strike position.

Look at her,
he thought. She senses nothing. Suspects nothing.

And she is one of the Eight?

The people of this world would succumb like fields of grass mown down by a
master’s
scythe
.

“Yes, who-?”

Eight seconds. A lot can ha
ppen in eight seconds. You would
n
ever imagine that a man at
your door could force his way inside and kick and punch you in vital areas, rendering you helpless and all but dead on the hallway floor, your body a world of hurt and your limbs unresponsive
,
in just eight seconds.

But it can. And when Loki stepped inside one second after that and closed the door behind him he was pleased to see that the only response Devon Summers could manage was to roll her terrified, gloriously green eyes.

“You don’t know me,” he said with a snarl as his self-control began to slip. “So I have you at a great disadvantage
,
Devon Summers of 311 Lahaina Garden Court, Maui, Hawaii. Devon has a hidden ability that could save the planet. She likes to dine out regularly around the eastern shore where it’s less touristy. She likes to surf at the weekend. Oh, and she likes to leave work early,” he sneered.  “And as for dislikes? Well, let’s see, shall we?”

6

YORK, ENGLAND

We entered a spacious
room dominated by an
oak t
able.
Around the table were
at least thirty people
.
The noise a
nd aggression level
was tremendous. I winced in shock, unprepared for this.

I tried to take it all in. Demanding the most attention was a slim
woman dressed in a
crisp business suit. She was on her feet, gesturing angrily. When Giles cleared his throat, she looked straight at me.

Giles said, “Ah. Myleene, excuse me. This is Dean Logan. And his daughter, Lucy.”

There was a sudden quiet that gave both Lucy and I a moment to adjust. I put a hand on Lucy’s shoulder.
An impression of intelligent
exasperation
dominated the room.

Surreal? I could have h
ad a field day photographing
all
the contrasting images
.

“
Mr.
Logan,” M
yleene said
. “Welcome to Aegis.”

“Cheers
,” I said dryly.

Shaking my head I noticed
a
dozen seats
to our right
arrayed in cinem
a-like rows.
I counted
ten more people, including an orienta
l guy and a striking blonde
in leather trousers. She caught my eye and held it. Her gaze seemed sharper than the rest, glinting with some kind of secret appraisal. Eyes like that would loo
k stunning in portrait
. They might even make the front cover of Photographers Monthly. Or Vogue. I glanced away, but her face
stayed in
my mind’s eye like a lingering flash image.

I couldn’t help myself. I looked back again. Now her expression
was
slightly mischievous. I noticed she wore a t-shirt emblazoned with the legend:
I’ll be nicer if you give me chocolate.
The sheer force o
f her gaze
made me want to offer her a
Kit Kat
Chunky or something.

Myleene offered
a strained smile. “Try to keep up, Logan. You know, you shouldn’t have brought your daughter into this.”

I put a protective arm firmly around Lucy’s shoulders. “She stays with me.”

Myleene nodded as if to say
your funeral
,
and then
looked to my left. “You may be our
fucking
leader, Giles, but-” Myleene brought her fist down on the table hard enough to rattle the ice in the
water pitchers. “All this damn
bickering won’t help! Christ, it’s all we ever do. It’s why we sectored the damn
organization
around the world in the first bloody place!
Hundreds of years ago.
Just remember this-” Myleene took a deep breath. “While we fight, our enemies grow stronger. They pick off our hopes one by one.”

Squeezing Lucy’s shoulder for moral support I said, “Will someone just tell us what the hell’s going on here so we can get back to our rudely interrupted father-daughter evening?”

Blank looks greeted my request. I was about three seconds from walking out.

Then an American
-
accented voice said, “You guys are unbelievable.”

I turned as the blonde girl strode to the centre of the room. My interest was piqued.
She
stood
five-six and
tanned, with eyes like blue lasers and a poise that came over as both elegant and lethal. Her muscles were clearly defined but not bulging. Straight blonde hair framed her face and brushed
over
her shoulders. She stood out as the most positive and capable person in the room.

“These guys have no manners,” she said.  “They forget themselves in their anxiety. Hi, I’m Belinda.” she held a hand out.

I shook it, feeling her smooth, warm skin. “Dean Logan. My daughter, Lucy.”

“Cool,” she held my gaze and said, “So what do you know of Vampires?”

My eyes narrowed.  “Bill Compton
from True Blood’s good,” I started, but
the intensity of her stare turn
ed
my mouth dry.

“Let me guess,” I said. “They’re all real?”

“All as real as I am,” she put her hands on her hips.

I said, “Ummm-” Classic male recovery.

Beside me, Lucy coughed and giggled at the same time.

Damn.

“F
ine,” I said, reddening
. “I believe you. Can we go now?”

Belinda relented. “
We’
ll tell you everything, Logan.
And what
you
don’t believe,
I’ll prove to you l
ater,” she gave me a slow wink.

I knew this act. She projected a playful exterior, designed to protect the person within. She was a mini dynamo
,
brimming with boundless energy, sexually charged and exuding a sparkle and confidence that perked up the entire room. For that, at least, she deserved my respect.

I said, “You’ve got five minutes.”

“Cool
,” she winked. “Aegis, has discovered there are eight people capable of saving the world, and that six so-called ‘Destroyers’ will be sent against them. You, Logan, are one o
f the Eight, one of the Chosen
.”

I stared at her, struggling to believe.
I took a deep breath. “And yo
u can prove to me?
How
”

Belinda shook her blonde hair in a spray of pale gold and grinned. “Tonight, I’ll take you to meet some of them.”

7

YORK, ENGLAND

So, o
ne minute I was a cash-strapped guy trying to kick off a brand new tourist business, striving to make greater efforts with his heartbroken fifteen year old daughter and trying to ignore the aching absence
of her mother,
the next I’m listening to
Myleene haranguing Giles
.
“Let’s agree on this then. We call a one-time crisis meeting. Everyone involved. We give them the make-or-break scenario. Let them all decide, what do you say?”

“
Everyone
involved? Don’t be stupid, Myleene.” Giles said. “Ubers as well? At this stage?”

“They have to be involved.
Vampires almost
rule
this world. And as for the easily
pl
eased Lycan
s a
nd the few Elves that are left. . .
well, i
t’s their world too.”

Giles was tugging at his collar again. I found myself wishing he’d just take the damn tie off. “We don’t
know
anything yet.
About our enemy, I mean.
”

Myleene kept her cool. “
I know
that
, but t
he text will convince them.”

At this, all conversation died. I took the opportunity to raise my hand. Well, actually I raised Lucy’s hand since she was the youngest.

“
What t
ext?” I asked
.

Lucy made a face beside me
. “And what’s an
Uber?
”

Belinda shifted in her chair, leather pants creaking. “Uber is short for Uberhuman. It’s what we collectively call, umm, ‘alternate’ species.”

I got it. “And the text?”

Myleene said, “The text
.
Well
,
the text has started-”

“The latest crisis?” Belinda finished for her.

“Latest,” Giles sighed. “And most bloody awful.”