Grai's Game (First Wave) (10 page)

“In instances, when the body cannot be recovered for the death rite, it can still be performed
but requires a holy man. When it is safe, I will send for ours from the Adaria to assist you and your brothers in performing the rite.” Ivint offered when he could speak through the horror he felt for the young man and his brothers.

He knew Kalai to be brutal, but to purposefully deny the death rite to your own
mother, and brothers was beyond cruel. For it to be done by your own brother after he viciously killed his mother was unfathomable to Ivint.

“My brothers and I would be in your debt. Thank you.” Grai choked out gruffly, his eyes tearing up from emotion and hope.

The one thing his mother had made him promise was that when she died, he would perform the Death Rite with his brothers, strengthening their soul bond.

Most species
, except the Relian’s, believed that after death, your soul ascended to your God’s realm. When a Death Rite was performed, your family members allowed a small piece of their soul to travel to the God realm with their deceased.

This would ensure that when they chose to be reborn after death that their souls would always be able to find and recognize one another
keeping the soul family together always. Making sure no one left this life alone or came into life alone.

Without strengthening the family soul bond through the death rite, family members could become lost and wander into their next life
alone and unable to find all of their family. His mother wanted to make sure that she would always be able to remain with her children, that they would never wander lost and alone.

“Looks to me like so far we are in your debt. And a death rite is not something we take lightly and would never consider a debt but an honor to assist you and your brothers with.
” Ivint responded seriously.

“Again… thank… look to the left building! Reven get him inside!” Grai shouted the warning as the first dark one ran the rooftops of the warehouses toward them, followed by dozens of others that he could see.

Grai ran to meet the dark one so Reven would have a chance to get the High Councilor inside, drawing his swords as he ran. Filtering the information being sent back and forth between Dread, Viper and Balduen; Grai found that they were surrounded, the dark ones blocking them from getting the High Councilor off the roof and safely inside.

Grai felt foolish for not realizing his brother had probably been waiting for an opportunity just like this one to strike. Calling on the mental path he’d used for his people he relayed the situation to those below who were unaware of the attack on the roof.

“Form a circle around the High Councilor! Reven, where is your head gear?” Grai asked, moving into position around Ivint
as, he finished off one dark entity and began fighting another.

“I forgot the damn thing downstairs! I can’t see any of them!” Reven shouted above the sounds of fighting, pissed off for allowing himself and Ivint to be defenseless.

“Stay with the High Councilor!” Grai ordered while he, and Balduen closed the circle on one side and Dread and Viper on the other, keeping Reven, Banatar and Ivint in between them. The larger, beast bonded men providing a human shield.

The four men, even with their heightened strength and stamina were badly outnumbered, using their legs at times to kick dark ones away while fighting others.

It couldn’t have been more than minutes, but it had felt like longer to the seven men, when the hatch burst open and the combined forces spilled out onto the roof. They immediately began engaging the dark ones surrounding Ivint and the others, but it didn’t seem to be making much of a dent their numbers.

“How fucking many are there?” Someone yelled out from near the hatch to the roof. Everyone wondered the same thing but didn’t have the energy to waste trying to speak, the strong and fast moving shadows taking all their
attention.

Long minutes later, the tide of shadows was almost non-existent, those remaining being easily finished off by the number of Valendrans and hybrids that had made it to the roof to join the battle.

Without a word, a heavily armed group of hybrids and Relian half-breeds formed a circle around the seven men. Knowing Reven would protest, Grai quickly explained.

“They are guarding you and the High Councilor to the door to get you inside.”

“We wait a moment. What happened that changed things so quickly? We were still outnumbered.” Ivint asked, having far too much time to study what happened since he’d been completely useless to the battle. A fact he would never let happen again, he thought angrily.

“I told you we had people in the warehouse down the row. They are some of the best snipers we
have, and they took positions with rifles from the row across.” Grai explained, waving his hand toward the thirty or so men and women who were lining the roofs of the warehouses directly across from them.

Ivint and Reven stared in surprise at what looked to be a
motley group standing almost defiantly on the roof across from them and back to their roof that was littered with at least sixty or more dehydrated dark ones.

Looking down there were dozens more that
dotted the parking lot, the twisted bodies reflecting the damage from the fall from the roof and an assortment of bullet holes and stab wounds.

“The sound?” Reven asked, curious why they
didn’t hear the sound of weapon's fire.

“We’ve been developing a silencing device for the rifles for a long time. Koda thought he had it
perfected, but we weren’t sure and hadn’t had the time to test it. The High Councilor was in danger; we were heavily outnumbered, and we needed to take the chance. Luckily, they worked.”

“Now we need to get you inside. Please. Dagog must be watching and if we stay on the roof, he will send more.” Grai said, his eyes scanning the row of roofs looking for any sign that they
may have missed one. Just to be sure he spoke to his people through the Shengari’ and had them starting a thorough roof to roof search.

“I don’t like this! Any of it damn it! We should not be
so… in the damn dark on everything! I want answers! All of it!” Ivint fumed as he stormed toward the door, or where he thought, the door was, being unable to see around the large Relian hybrids leading him and the other six who’d come to the roof before the attack.

“Of course. But we need to consider relocating or fortifying our defenses if we plan on staying here. A more remote location would give us greater options for defense since we wouldn’t have to worry about
weapon's fire being heard.” Balduen suggested, just as frustrated as Ivint at what was going on. He did not like his mate and his child in this kind of danger.

“Inside, where there will be no listening devices my brother can use. We have the tech scrams in place to prevent it.” Grai added hoping they would all shut up until they got inside.
His brother was much more devious than they could imagine.

Balduen cut Grai a quick, unreadable look before stepping aside to let the High Councilor go down the
single-use stairs first, everyone following suit, with Viper going down last.

Ivint didn’t stop until he reached the conference room, not the least surprised to see Risk and Traze already bringing up the screens around the room. Ivint looked at the one showing the Adaria and was grateful that they had not been attacked again as well.

He stood for a moment at each of the safe house locations that he recognized from earlier and noted that they looked calm and quiet. There were no signs that they had been attacked. He was glad but also curious.

“We were the only location attacked?” Ivint asked, knowing someone knew the answer.

“Yes. All
the other locations have reported no activity. Those are the locations that Dagog never found out about. Not that we know of anyway. This place he knew of years ago and apparently remembered. Now that he’s seen the High Councilor here, he’s gonna come back. We have to get the hell out of dodge guys!” Traze responded without looking up from the comm he was using.

“He’s right Sir! We’ve been going through the access files on Dagog’s
ship, and he issued the command to send the dark ones after Ivint and Reven got on the roof. He’s ordered the ones from the D cells released here next. What are the D cells?” Risk asked the room in general, not bothering to look up from his comm.

“Traze find out what’s coming! Now! High
Councilor, with all due respect, you have to evacuate. Port everyone out that you can. Anywhere but here.” Grai said as fear skittered down his spine.

“What is going on?” Banatar demanded.

“This is what they are sending next.” Traze answered for them all, bringing up several different scenes around the room.

The familiar growling from what they thought was the last empty room echoed loudly around the conference room in a cacophony of sound.

“How many this time?” Reven asked looking for the first guard with head gear and grabbing them.

“Thousands.” Balduen said
lowly, looking pissed off as curses erupted around the room.

“Grai… what the hell?” Traze asked with worry, holding his comm up
for his brother to look at.

Grai walked over and briefly looked at the comm with a confused look before taking it from his brother. He worked it for a few moments before handing it back to Traze, his face creased with worry.

“Put it up on the screens. All of it. Send it to Koda, he has to know about it as well. The High Councilor can decide later if he wants his people to view it. Now explain it.” Grai ordered his brother.

“Risk and I were going through all
the files and information we could get on their ships and copying it, before they found our access and cut us off. We found this.” Traze said pulling up a new set of views of what appeared to be a lab area of the ship.

Everyone in the room watched in hushed silence as Relian’s appeared in med coats and began opening cages placed on one side of the lab area. A few were startled when the audio began.

Chapter Nine

Three Relian’s appeared on the screen, one began speaking almost immediately. “Test subject one, two and three. Day ninety with DNA splice two-beta-five.” One of the Relian’s said while the other one led three dark ones from the cages.

“Stand in line!”
A Relian ordered, and the three dark ones stood in line.

Ivint noticed that the
tallest of the three Relian’s seemed to be the one in command since he continued to give directions to the other two in the med coats, while studying the dark ones that he had lined up.

“You
two," he said pointing to the two dark ones on the right, “stand against that wall.” He stood back and observed as the two did as they were instructed and moved to stand against the wall he had pointed to.

“You,"
he said to the last dark one standing in front of him, “kill my companions.”

Gasps were heard on the video and around the conference room at the order. Everyone watched in stunned silence as the dark one immediately lunged at the other two Relian’s in the room with its sharp claws extended.

The Relian in
command, moved to stand between the other two dark ones against the wall while his companions fought desperately to save themselves from the dark shadow that was quickly tearing them apart.

For those watching in the conference room that were not beast bonded
, and watching through the headgear, it resembled a dark blur that moved faster than their eyes could track.

The beast bonded could see every move and slash of the dark, powerful body as it coldly gutted the two Relian’s, almost ripping their bodies
in half. The cold and brutal killings leaving even the battle hardened among them shocked.

“Very good! The Commander will be pleased!” The Relian said with a grin before the video went dark.

“What does this mean?” Banatar asked, looking specifically at Grai and Traze.

Grai sighed; he had hoped that he destroyed Dagog’s capabilities to continue experimenting, but that was obviously not the case.

“Dude, that means my bro figured out how to make the damn things take orders.
He can control them. That makes them even more dangerous. Especially to the humans who can’t see them coming.” Traze said with a tsk and shake of his head, before he too looked to Grai to explain it better.

“Traze is right. They are no longer mindless killing
machines; they can be commanded now. Which would explain why we had such a hard time on the roof. They were specifically targeting the High Councilor.”

“Sir, Balduen is right it is too dangerous for you to remain at this location. Please consider porting yourself and your people to a safer area. At least until Traze and Risk can go through the other data and see if there is anything else that we can expect.” Grai said, echoing Balduen’s earlier suggestion.

Ivint looked around the room, he already knew that most of them not only wanted him to leave but were expecting him to do so. The only reason he was considering it was the danger; he may be putting them in by remaining. Looking hard at Grai and Traze, Ivint chose his next words carefully.

“What locations do you have
set up for porting everyone and to where?” Ivint asked Grai. He almost smirked when he saw the startled look on Grai’s face. Even Traze whistled low while Reven sucked in a breath through his gritted teeth.

“There is a port station in the warehouse down the row from this one. It is
set up to take them to an underground facility, we built inside an abandoned silver mine in North Carolina.”

“
It is the most secure facility we have here in the United States, and it contains our most state-of-the-art weapons and computer systems, including our research and development labs.” Grai explained, not even trying to lie or hide the truth from them.

“Then make a hole through these warehouse
walls and get us there. We cannot risk the safety of the others by making them go outside to get to your port and reprogramming this one would take too long. Reven, you’re with me!” Ivint said to the surprise of everyone in the room. Standing up, he left the room without another word.

Ivint
strode past the crowd milling outside the conference room and headed to the private room he had been given when they had first arrived. Reven didn’t even try to hide his anger when he slammed the door behind him once he had entered behind Ivint.

“What the hell are you thinking?” Reven demanded as he turned to face his friend and leader.

“We are too far behind this, and if we do not adapt quickly we will lose control of the whole damn planet! That’s what I’m thinking!” Ivint countered with his own anger as he paced the room.

“But to go with him? We don’t even have a clue where the hell he’s taking us!” Reven countered, his anger not lessening in the least. If anything he was getting angrier by the second.

He knew he was being partly irrational, but the incident on the roof had shaken him to his core. Never had he been unable to protect his leader, or felt so helpless to defend him as was his sworn duty.

“Right now he’s the only damn one who has any idea what is truly going on here! And let’s not forget that half of the females that are possibly mates to our people, are loyal to him!”

“Beyond that, the man has saved our collective asses at least three times now, not including what he’s been doing for Banatar, and his people for the One knows how long! If he wanted us dead he could have easily pulled it off on the roof!” Ivint argued, his own frustration level rising the more he thought about how little they knew about what was going on and what the Relian’s had been up to.

“We still
know nothing about him or where the hell he’s going to take us once we get in the port! Do you have any idea how crazy this is? Ivint, you need to stop and think about what you are doing. It could be a trap.” Reven said more calmly. He had known Ivint a very long time, and if he had his mind made up, there would be no changing it. He was hoping like hell that Ivint hadn’t made up his mind yet.

“It’s not just us! Do you not understand? If they unleash those… things on this planet, can you imagine the casualties? The humans are completely defenseless against such creatures! Hell, we’re damn near defenseless against them!” Ivint raged, his voice getting louder.

“Ivint, my friend, calm yourself. This will do no good. We need to stop and think before anger causes us to make mistakes we cannot fix later.” Reven pleaded while Ivint stormed around the room. Reven hadn’t seen him this worked up in a long time. Being trapped on the roof and reliant on everyone around you to defend you could do that to someone though, he thought. He felt the same way.

“I want volunteers, Reven. I want you to be the first to consider it. We need more beast bonded here. Not
only, to defend against the dark ones, but to protect the humans from the dark ones.”

“Dreadhawk and Viper would most likely be willing to help aid the
transition; you will ask them shortly.” Ivint muttered as he continued to pace, his mind calculating the risks and possible problems he would have with the council for such a decision.

Reven was taken aback by the suggestion. At
the same time, his heart and mind leapt at the thought. If he were honest with himself, he didn’t like the idea solely so he could see the dark ones either. A part of him had missed that friend long ago that had kept him company as a child.

As a
warrior, he was jealous of the speed and enhanced abilities of Balduen and even Dare and would welcome the chance to heighten his own senses. The biggest reason he had for wanting to agree though was that he never wanted to feel so helpless again as he had on that roof.

“I will do it. And I will send out a comm message to any that are here who would like to volunteer as well
, after I talk to Dread and Viper. I do not think we will have an easy time without their assistance.” Reven agreed.

“No argument on that huh?” Ivint asked with a knowing grin. “But don’t think that I won’t be doing it as well. Like
you, I will not be left defenseless again.” Reven nodded, understanding exactly how Ivint felt.

“I understand that we need to allow bonding’s for those that will need to fight the dark ones. There is too much of a chance that the headgear can be pulled off during battle. But I do not understand why you are intent on taking us to one of Grai’s
locations.” Reven said, still struggling to understand the logic behind that move.

“It is foolish to think our lives have not already been in his hands since before he showed up at our door. He has known every step we have made since we have arrived. Either through his own people that are here or through other means.”

“I honestly believe that he is different from his father, and we have a chance to form an alliance on this planet that will help our people as well as his own. We need more information, and he is the one to get it from. We need resources, and he has those as well.” Ivint stated plainly, the heat of his anger dissipating the more he thought about it.

Reven sat in the nearest chair and considered Ivint’s argument. He felt no malice or threat from Grai or
Traze, and they had saved their lives. However, there was still a possibility that it was a trap. And that didn’t sit well with Reven at all.

“At least let me go through first
. And we bring more men from the ships.” Reven conceded, knowing that Ivint would give him few concessions once he had made up his mind.

“Agreed. Now go speak to the Tezarian’s and get that set up. I want you and the other volunteers to begin immediately after we re-locate. I must contact the council and inform them that we
have no choice but to allow some of our people to beast-bond. I’m sure that will go over very easily.” Ivint said with a snort.

Reven gave Ivint a wry smile, “I do not envy you the task. I will return shortly.”

Ivint watched as Reven walked out of his room to talk to Dread and Viper. Sitting down heavily at the desk in his room, Ivint tried to think of a way to explain to the council that he was going to break thousands of years of laws and why.

*****

Several hours later, Grai stood in front of the port that was located in his warehouse and turned to look at the people lined up to enter. Nodding at Balduen, Dread and Gibly, who had been the first to volunteer to go through the gate with him, he walked calmly into the portal.

Walking through to the side he stepped farther into the portal room at location Delta-Echo-four and waited for his companions to come through next. Turning to his people, who were awaiting the new arrivals he commanded, “Be ready. This is the moment we have all waited for.
Remember what to do.”

Balduen
was the first to come through; Grai had expected that he would be, not wanting the High Councilor’s private guard and friend to be the first, in case he was lying.

Balduen
looked around at the assembled group, noticing immediately the lack of weapons and the welcoming smiles. The twenty or so people assembled in the large portal room were another strange mix of hybrid men and women of different humanoid races.

“Sir, I will assist you in getting a room and learning your way around Delta-Echo-four.” One of the hybrid
girls said with a shy smile, coming to stand in front of Balduen.

“Thank you.
However, I will await my commander and my mate.” Balduen said with a slight bow as he stepped away from the portal. Inwardly, he was communicating with Dare, Dread and Viper about what he had encountered.

Moments later, Reven came through and when the same girl walked up to him, Grai stopped her. “He is the High Councilor’s personal guard and
his friend, and he will wait for his commander. I will personally give them a tour of the facilities and show them to their rooms.”

The young girl just smiled and nodded
at Grai’s gentle words and tone, her face beaming as she looked to see who would come through the portal next.

Balduen looked around and noticed that everyone was smiling and seemed weirdly happy to see them. Sending out his senses to inspect the general area he was overcome with a feeling of excitement and friendliness.

Either Grai had trained his people to hide their true emotions very well, or his people were truly happy with their arrival. Why, remained to be seen, but Balduen was satisfied that Dare was in no danger that he could see. Not that it mattered, the damn stubborn woman had refused to go to the ship with Cari and Jess.

Reven also looked around the packed portal room and couldn’t help but notice the smiling, friendly faces that greeted his arrival through the gate.
Looking to Balduen to confirm that he didn’t sense any danger, he stood back to await Ivint, who was waiting for the ‘all clear’ signal from Dread.

Ivint came through
next; Reven and Balduen looked around the room at the people who gasped at the sight of the High Councilor coming into the room to make sure that no one looked to make a move towards him.

Ivint quickly stepped farther into the portal room to allow others to come through behind him. Standing off to the side he looked curiously around the strange portal room and the stranger group of people that
had greeted his arrival.