Grounding Gracus (First Wave Book 6) (20 page)

Her face brightened to the point it looked like it was glowing and she squealed in excitement as the wall disappeared beneath her fingers. True stood quickly and rushed inside before anyone could stop her, followed by Scaden, then an irritated Grai.

He had expected more of True’s excitement, but once he got inside he saw that she’d pulled her weapon and was moving slowly down the hallway towards the door.
And there’s the leader he was just thinking about
, Grai thought as he drew his own weapon and took the lead from her. Not because he didn’t trust her, but because he didn’t want to see her hurt. She was family.

He went through the door to the control room with the three other tunnel entrances and stopped, turning to the teams. “The three tunnels all lead to the same living space, we’ll divide into teams to search it. True, stay here with Amun and see if you can get that control center working,” Grai said.

True turned to the non-functioning control center while Grai and the others divided into three teams and went through the doors. Amun walked around the room, looking at the walls and floor with curiosity, while True put her hands on the control center. She gasped when a single sentence appeared on a screen under her palm.

Afraid that it would go away if she moved, she kept her hand there while she moved her fingers, one by one, to read the sentence.

“Are you in danger?”
True read silently.

There was something really odd about this and True had a strange feeling that she shouldn’t say anything to Amun. Not yet anyway, she thought. She kept her palm on the screen, her hand hiding the words, as she looked around, wondering if they were being watched. She sure as hell had a creepy feeling that they were.

Looking back down, she looked for a keypad to respond and not finding one, she wondered how the hell she was supposed to answer back without one. True thought for a moment, and decided to shake her head vigorously as she looked around the room again, looking for a camera.

“What are you shaking your head at? Did you find something?” Amun asked.

True laughed and moved a little to the right to prevent Amun from seeing her palm on the control center. “No, silly man! I was just wondering at what could have made this place! Have you figured out what is causing the floor and walls to light yet? Have you found a camera or vid comm? Anything?” she asked, not only trying to divert his attention from the control center, but curious if he’d found a camera she could communicate directly with.

Amun shook his head. “No, but I’m still looking,” he said distractedly as he moved to inspect another wall.

True could feel a slight throb beneath her hand and looked back down to see a new sentence on the screen.

“Why are you here?”
True read silently with a grin.

This was so… Tomb Hunter or something that she was loving it.
Now to think of a way to communicate that
, True wondered. She hit upon an idea and turned slightly to Amun.

“So, Amun, what exactly are we doing here?” she asked, trying to sound casual.

She was grateful when Amun didn’t even look up from the wall when he answered her. “We’re here to get Gracus and his mate. They were out here and we think they got in the cave.”

True had to stop herself from laughing out loud and instead she beamed with pride as she looked around the room. She may be a little more energetic than everyone else, but she wasn’t stupid and was enjoying the challenge of communicating with the unknown person.

She waited for the throb beneath her hand, denoting a new sentence and her smile vanished when long minutes passed without one. True looked down and not seeing one, tapped her foot at she looked around with narrowed eyes, wondering if she’d made a mistake in telling the unknown person why they were there.

She turned back to Amun. “Maybe we should go in there and see if they need back-up?” she asked.

True felt the throb and almost barked out a happy laugh as Amun answered her. “No, if they need us they’ll let us know. Besides, we’ve heard no weapons fire and strangely enough, the Shengari’ works in here for me, but I can’t get anyone outside of here. Have you noticed that?”

True had noticed it right away. Her energy levels were a little higher than most hybrids and she was more sensitive to fluctuations. She’d felt the disturbance immediately when she crossed into the cave and had drawn her weapon.

She nodded her head and tried to sound casual. “Yeah, I noticed that as well. It’s odd.”

True watched Amun until she knew he was again distracted with his search of the walls and floor before looking down at the screen.

“They are fine and no harm has come to them.”
True read, wondering who it was talking about. Grai and the teams or Gracus and his mate. This way of communicating was getting old and True wanted something more effective. And faster!

“This is ineffective. You weren’t smart enough to make this easier…,” True muttered quietly to herself as she tried to think of another way to communicate when she felt the throb beneath her palm again.

“It would be more effective if you would allow a connection through the Shengari’. Are you brave enough to allow it, Elemental?
” True read in surprise. It heard her!

This was so creepy and exciting at the same time that True could barely contain her excitement. Her normally high energy was skyrocketing with each new sentence that appeared and she couldn’t help but wonder who she was talking to.

True whispered under her breath, “I’m hella brave, but not stupid. Who are you?” She immediately felt a throb under her hand and looked down.

“A friend. You can know all you wish, if you allow a simple communication bond.”
True read and couldn’t help but snort, causing Amun to look up at her from where he was inspecting a corner where the floor met the wall.

True cleared her throat. “I was just thinking that whatever is lighting this place must be beyond what we know if you still haven’t found it and have to resort to looking at the floor,” True said in her normally cheerful voice.

Amun looked at her strangely as he straightened up and tilted his head as if to see the control panel. “Have you found anything yet? Does that actually work?” he asked as he stood.

True was scared he was going to come over and see the sentence under her hand and she shifted nervously for a second before taking her hand off the control center. Looking down she saw that the sentence had disappeared and she smiled and turned back to Amun.

“So far nothing appears to be working, but I’m not a quitter!” True said with a beaming smile.

Amun nodded his head, looking at her strangely for a minute before going back to inspecting the wall. True smiled in relief and placed her hand back on the control center. Her smile widened when another sentence popped up immediately.

“If you allow the connection, this deception would not be necessary.”
True read and ground her teeth in frustration.

A part of her wanted to call out to Grai and tell him she’d found something, but there was another part of her that knew it would be a mistake, that the communication would cease. And she didn’t think that would be a good thing.

True looked around the room with narrowed eyes before whispering, “Trust goes both ways, buddy. Who are you?”

Several long minutes passed, the screen laying blank beneath her palm and True was more depressed about it than she expected to be at the lack of response. She had bluffed and whoever it was on the other end, called it and won the hand.

Angry that the silence bothered her so much, True muttered, “That’s what I thought… pussy.”

She took her hand off of the control center and walked around it to the back side, inspecting the smooth surface for a plug, knob or something that she could push or flip to turn it on. Finding nothing, she stood and walked to the other side of the room, making a concerted effort to not even glance at the screen on the control center.

True was a little surprised when her beast, Roar, spoke to her. “I am getting an insistent request for you to allow the connection or return to the control center,” he said excitedly.

She tried really hard to hide her smile and failing badly she went ahead and allowed herself to grin broadly as she tried to walk nonchalantly back to the control center.

Her beast laughed in her mind. “At least you didn’t run. You held it together nicely, my girl,” he said happily.

She pretended to run her hands over the front of it so Amun wouldn’t get suspicious before placing her hand back on the screen. Immediately she felt the throbbing of the energy and another sentence popped up.

“My name is Leif. I am a hybrid like you.” True couldn’t keep the smile from her face as she read the message.

“Why don’t you come out here and meet us? Why hide?” True uttered before she realized she’d spoken out loud.

Amun looked at her strangely. “True? You ok?”

True smiled. “I was just wondering why Gracus and Rebecca didn’t come out to meet us. Everyone has been gone a while,” she lied easily.

Amun nodded. “I was just wondering where they were as well. I can contact Grai and the others through the Shengari’ but Gracus is just a blank.”

True waited until Amun went to inspect the doors before turning to look at the new sentence on the screen.
“I do not hide, I observe.”

True snorted quietly. “You’re gonna observe my ass walking out of here if you don’t explain what’s going on,” she muttered, looking around in irritation.

She never felt the throb in her palm this time, she’d become too used to it, this time she felt a shiver run through her and knew there was a new response.
There was something strange about this place
, she thought. Something that was increasing her abilities and giving her more focus.

“Please, allow the energy bond. If you do not like what you find in me, your beast can destroy the connection. It is imperative that you do it soon or I will be forced to cease communication.”

True could feel the urgency in the energy of the panel beneath her hand. She didn’t understand what was going on and had more questions than answers. Leif could be a captured hybrid in need of help, or another traitor like the Prime. Hell, it could be some horny twelve year old, sitting in his mom’s basement who got lucky rolling the random IP dice.

But, none of that felt right to her. This was something else. True had no idea what it was, but she felt its importance vibrating through her. Even her beast, Roar, was all for allowing the bond. Not that it was anything usual from Roar.

Her beast, was a perfect match to her personality. At least she thought so. Everyone else said her beast bonding had been like throwing C4 on a bonfire. Roar, thought and spoke as quickly as she did and he was just as adventurous. So it didn’t surprise her that he was egging her on to allow the connection, his curiosity overriding his normal sense of self preservation.

What surprised True was that she was being the sensible one this time. And that alone told her how much this decision would impact her. The only time her mind went this slowly was when someway, somehow, she was getting ready to make a decision that would affect her life forever. The realization rocked her and she wondered if she should tell Grai what was going on through the Shengari’.

She felt the vibration through her body and looked down at the screen.

“I’m sorry, but I have no more time. 10, 9…”

No, no, no, True thought, knowing she had to do something, but panicking over what was the right decision to make. There wasn’t enough time to explain it to Grai now. 

“8… 7…”

Roar chanted in her mind like a psychotic cheerleader, “Do it! Do it! Do it! Do it!”

“6… 5…”

True ran her hands through her hair and almost shook with frustration and panic. She looked at the doors willing Grai to walk through, hoping that maybe seeing his face and feeling the power he exuded would help her make the right decision.

“4… 3…”

True scowled at the ceiling. “Grrr! Fine!”

She felt the rush of energy as the connection was made in her mind and heard Leif say, “Perfect timing, you’re mine now little firefly.” At the same time Grai walked through the door. She’d been had.

Chapter Eighteen

Rebecca sighed and stretched, snuggling closer to the hot, hard body next to her while the warm ball at her back adjusted to the change in her position. She ran her hand down the dream man’s side and jerked awake when she heard a sharp, indrawn breath.

She sat and stared at Gracus as he looked up at her with hooded eyes. Rebecca couldn’t believe how right it felt to lay beside him and missed his warmth immediately. She was getting ready to lay back down when she saw the room.

“Where the hell are we?” she asked, her mouth hanging open a little as she took in the all-white room. With no doors. “Where the hell is the door?” she asked in shock.

Rebecca saw Gibly and couldn’t help but pull him towards her and hug him closely. “I’m so glad you’re ok!” she whispered quietly.

Gibly let out a strangled chuckle. “I am glad we are all well,” he said, hoping she’d let go soon.

Rebecca slid off of the large bed as Gracus began to speak. “I’m not sure where we are. Our hosts have not been very forthcoming except to say that you could determine if you chose to stay here and Gibly and I are basically your guests until you say otherwise,” Gracus said with irritation lacing his words.

Rebecca turned from her inspection of the walls with a shocked look on her face. “What? What the hell do I have to do with anything? You’re the Valendran, didn’t your guy build this place?”

Gracus snorted. “Apparently, Valendrans aren’t well received around here. Seems to me, Fiorn, must have either worn out his welcome or died so long ago that he has been lost to time,” he said, frustrated as hell because he didn’t know any more than that.

Rebecca looked at him with a puzzled frown. “I thought you were the good guys?”

Gracus looked at her in surprise for a second. “We are the good guys! We’re saving and protecting hybrids and humans all over the planet!” he said defensively, before wondering why he was allowing this situation to get out of control.

Gracus took her hand in his and looked into her eyes as he spoke to her through the Shengari’, “Rebecca, you can feel the bond between us, you know I am not a bad person and you know that Grai isn’t either. Don’t let this place come between us, we need to stick together and figure out how to get out of here.”

Rebecca sighed and nodded her head. “What the hell happened? I thought we were going to go ‘pop’?” Rebecca asked as she took another look around the room.

Gracus could feel Rebecca’s concern and he led her over to the couch and helped her to sit before handing her a full glass of water. He waited until she drank the whole thing before refilling it and sitting beside her. He figured she’d be just as thirsty as he’d been when he first awakened and he’d been right.

“It seems there were hybrids watching us burn up in there and they decided to finally save us at the last minute,” Gracus said, making sure he kept the irritation in his tone.

Rebecca looked at him in surprise as Gibly came to sit in the chair near them. “I kind of expected them to be nicer…,” she said, more than a little surprised that the hybrids had let them get so close to death.

She knew how stupid that sounded. She didn’t know any of them well enough to expect anything. But, for some reason she had thought that maybe the other hybrids would be a tight knit group. The small child in her that had always wanted brothers and sisters, had been hoping for just such a thing.

Gracus sighed. “To be honest, this is the first time I’ve ever heard of us being treated this way by hybrids. To be fair, this is the first time we’re not here to save them either,” Gracus said with a shrug.

Rebecca couldn’t believe that the hybrids had saved them solely to treat them badly. It just didn’t jive with the safety and strength she felt here. It felt comfortable. And strangely, a lot like home.

Rebecca felt the need to defend them for some reason. “So, they could be being cautious and not rude. There were bad people following us. This… this could just be to make sure we’re not associated with the Relian things that were following us.” It sounded reasonable to her.

Gracus shook his head. “No. The Relians and Valendrans are two completely different species and we would never be aligned. For any reason,” Gracus said.

He’d just finished speaking when the door opened and Lauren and her four woman team entered the room. Lauren gave a warm smile to Rebecca, ignoring Gracus completely.

“We are very glad that you are well and have awakened. I am Lauren Campbell and I’m in charge of the MedLab facilities that you are in right now. Do you mind if I sit with you for a moment and explain the situation to you?” Lauren asked politely as she motioned to the empty chair across from where Rebecca was sitting with Gracus.

Rebecca couldn’t help but smile. The woman’s genuine kindness exuded from her in waves and she couldn’t figure out why Gracus couldn’t have sensed it earlier.

She nodded her head. “I’m Rebecca Carson. This is Gracus and Gibly,” Rebecca said, unsure if they’d all been introduced or not.

Lauren sat elegantly, her pristine white suit and lab coat blending in perfectly with the white furniture. She smiled at Rebecca and Gibly. “I am very familiar with Gibly. You are lucky to have him by your side.”

Rebecca grinned down at the cat. “I agree. Can you tell me where we are? How do we leave?” Rebecca said, going right to the point.

Lauren smiled. “Let me start by apologizing. We were completely unprepared for someone of your ability to even exist. Therefore, we had no safeguards in place if you entered the base facility. When we saw your ability manifest at the stones on the base of the mountain, we were going to prevent you from entering until we could make it safe for you…,” Lauren sighed sadly, then continued.

“We saw the Relians behind you once you’d started on the trail and knew allowing you inside was the safer option. We had hoped to rid the Relians from the mountain before you became dangerously ill with the energy, but there were complications that occurred outside and we were forced to try and find a way to rid you of the energy here.”

Gracus interrupted. “Wait, what the hell happened outside?” he asked, wondering if his friends were safe.

Lauren didn’t even look at him and she just continued as if he’d never spoken. “We were able to modify this room just before you… well, let’s just say we got you here just in time. You are in no way a prisoner here. There is no door on this side, because the room is designed to prevent a patient from leaving until full healing is achieved. That can be overridden, of course.”

Lauren added, “But, your condition is unique and it is too dangerous for you to leave until the energy is completely balanced within your system. We are also creating a dispersing unit for you to wear while you are here. It will allow you deflect the energy bombarding you and help you to shed any excess more quickly.”

Rebecca narrowed her eyes at Lauren as she laid a comforting hand on Gracus’s leg trying to curb some of the anger she felt building in him. She didn’t know why Lauren was ignoring Gracus, but she wanted answers and intended to get them.

She leaned forward and looked Lauren in the eyes. “That doesn’t tell me where we are. And I’d like to know what happened outside as well,” she said, her tone firm.

Lauren smiled. “Unless you decide to remain here, I can’t tell you where you are specifically. That is for the safety of all the other hybrids,” Lauren said, gesturing behind her to the other four women before continuing. “that we protect here.

When Rebecca started to protest Lauren held up a finger and said, “I said you can leave at any time. But, if you do, you can’t return. Again, it is for the protection of your fellow hybrids that we have the rule to begin with. I’m sure you can understand that not all of us grew up in loving homes and they need the protection we can provide.”

Rebecca narrowed her eyes, her quick mind not missing what Lauren said. She decided to call her out on it now. “I just told you my full name, so how did you know I grew up in a loving home?”

Lauren smiled and blushed as one of the blonde women behind her stepped forward. Lauren gestured to where the woman was standing without ever having looked behind her to see. “This is Tara Djornav. She is a hybrid and an officer with our command. She’s also a mind reaper,” Lauren laughed at Rebecca’s horrified expression.

Tara stepped forward with a scowl at Lauren, before she spoke. “They make it sound terrible. We didn’t know who you were, if you were in danger or if you were a threat. I sifted the energy in your mind to find out. It’s mind reading...”

Rebecca stood in fury. “You went through my mind and… and sifted my memories and thoughts? Did you fuck with my head too?” she asked, seriously pissed off and feeling violated.

A dark haired woman moved forward and Rebecca turned blazing eyes to her. “What? You gonna hold me down while she mind rapes me?” When the woman flinched slightly Rebecca looked at them in horror.

“Damn,” Lauren said, shaking her head sadly.

Tara sighed. “Yeah, damn. I really hate doing it this way. I’m always the bad guy and you’re always the good. It sucks,” she complained as all of the women moved their hands, except for Lauren who shook her head sadly.

By the time Rebecca realized she was paralyzed, Tara’s green eyes were staring at her from inches away. Instantly she knew the women had turned against them and that Gracus and Gibly were also paralyzed. She tried to scream, but her throat muscles wouldn’t work. Even her sarcastic beast was nothing but a cold, numb spot in her head.

Tara looked at Rebecca with a sad smile. “I hate to sound so cliché, but this is gonna hurt,” she said, before she placed her hands on Rebecca’s head.

*****

True felt like she was choking on the lump in her throat over her own stupidity. The bastard knew Grai was coming and had conned her into accepting the connection before she could speak to Grai. She ordered her beast to destroy the connection while Grai threw his packs to the ground in anger.

She was so startled by the deep, smooth voice in her head that she actually jumped. “You may want to hold off on destroying our connection until you find out what has so angered the anomaly,” she heard and immediately knew that it was Leif.
The bastard was already exploiting the connection
, she thought angrily, caught between killing the connection and finding out what Leif knew about why Grai was so upset.

Grai saw True jump after he’d thrown his packs and felt terrible for scaring her. “I apologize True. I didn’t mean to startle you,” Grai said as he paced around the room, frustration bleeding from his energy.

True just blinked for a moment before her mind kicked in, choosing to find out what was wrong and what Leif knew about it.
Just in case
, she thought. “Yeah, no problem cuz. So… what’s wrong?” she asked, trying to sound normal.

Scaden stormed into the room just then and threw his packs to the ground and then kicked them both across the room for good measure. “They aren’t fucking here! Where the hell are they?”

True’s mouth just formed an “O” of surprise, her question answered. That one anyway. Now she needed to figure out what the asshole Leif, had to do with it, where Rebecca and Gracus were and why Grai, was being called an anomaly.
You go girl!
she thought, trying to cheer herself up.

Her beast Roar, wasn’t helping much by chanting, “Go True! Go True! Go True! This is so exciting!” True sighed, thinking this was a hell of a time for her beast to be acting like the irresponsible one.

“So where could they be?” she asked, pretending to address the room, when she knew that she was addressing the new asshole, who’d conned his way into her head.

True heard a dramatic sigh in her mind before that deep smooth voice whispered, “You wound me with your suspicious tone of voice. I have done nothing to the hybrid. Or the
Valendran
.”

True didn’t miss the sneer in Leif’s tone when he’d said the word Valendran and she wondered at it for a moment before concentrating on the conversation and activity going on around her.

Grai ordered Niklosi outside so that he could call in a special task force to come and go through the cave with every damn instrument they had, while Scaden stormed off to search the living area on the other side of the doors.

Grai walked up to True. “Did you get anything from the equipment in here?” he asked, his voice betraying none of his fear for Gracus and Rebecca.

True felt torn. She wanted to try and ease Grai and Scaden’s fears for Gracus and Rebecca, but she really didn’t know what happened to them and telling Grai about Leif would only worry him more. She chose to keep silent.

She shook her head as she turned away from Grai to look at the control center. “I didn’t get anything. How the hell is it powered? I couldn’t even see where it was connected to anything.”

True did her best to act normally, but she was terrified that Grai knew something was wrong. The longer he stared at her without speaking, the more she had to force herself to stand still under his scrutiny.

Just when True thought she’d crack under his penetrating gaze, she felt a rush of energy come through the connection with Leif and she instantly calmed as her strength increased. The sound of his voice was like a balm to her. “You are stronger than this little Firefly, do not fear the anomaly. I’ll never allow him to touch you,” Leif said, fierce protectiveness flowing through his voice.