He hit the throttle and took off, heading over the park first and reveling in the feel of flying. Rykerian loved to go fast, and that’s exactly what he did. The sun had set, so his supernatural ability of night vision allowed him to see even the tiniest of animals beneath him. He hadn’t felt this kind of peace envelop him in ages.
As he looped his speedster in figure eight patterns over the forest, he laughed out loud. He had a tremendous sensation of freedom as he flew.
It was well past midnight, and in a few hours, the sun would be rising. He decided he wanted to be up on the mountaintop near the compound to observe it. He had missed that special place, so he felt a need to be there. As a final inspection of the area, he decided to follow the four-lane highway that connected Waynesville to Bryson City. He was meandering his way around when he noticed a car moving erratically down the highway. From all appearances, the driver had to be intoxicated. The car was weaving back and forth and getting dangerously close to the guardrail.
Rykerian kicked his speedster into high gear and swooped down alongside the Toyota Corolla. Behind the wheel was a young female who appeared to be sleeping. Rykerian knocked on her window several times, but he received no response. He quickly brought his speedster to a halt and entered the coordinates in his
shadar
. Moments later, he materialized in the passenger side of the vehicle. Grabbing the wheel and correcting the deadly path of the car alerted the driver who took one look at him and started screaming.
Thinking quickly, Rykerian thundered, “I command you to stop screaming and to bring this vehicle to a halt.”
The woman abruptly was silent and slowly made her way to the side of the road. When the car stopped, Rykerian exhaled the breath he had held for far too long. His eyes lifted to settle upon the young female, and he gasped. She was the most beautiful living thing he had ever seen. With hair so blond it almost didn’t look real, she looked like a mythical creature. Rykerian could barely breathe. Her eyes were entrancing; they were the palest ice blue he had ever seen. Her features were perfection. She was mesmerizing, and he could barely tear his eyes away from her.
Without stopping to think, he delved into her mind to find out something, anything, about her. He experienced such a rush of emotion that, he found himself sucking in his breath again. This female was utterly exhausted as if she hadn’t rested in days. She was sad, heartbreakingly so. He delved deeper, wanting to uncover the source of this profound sadness. The only thing he could discern was two small children, maybe a brother or sister, for she was much too young for them to be her own. He was desperate for more information about her, so he let the tendrils of his mind penetrate and entwine with hers. He hated what he found. This beautiful creature had lived a terribly lonely life. She was under a great deal of stress as well—mainly financial stress. She was worried about school and retaining her scholarships. She felt she would be unable to maintain her grades while working two jobs.
Suddenly, Rykerian felt his protective instincts reaching toward this female. He wanted to soothe her, but he didn’t know how. He wanted to pull her into his arms and comfort her with his touch. He wanted to take her pain away as much as he wanted to breathe.
Unwillingly he released her mind, but he couldn’t take his eyes off of her. She was entrancing. He knew he had to release her from Command and obliterate her memory of him. The thought of doing that brought an intense wave of sadness to him. He had no other options though.
“I release you,” he reluctantly said. She looked at him in fear, and he immediately regretted that. Above all, he did not want her to be frightened.
“Do not fear me. I will not harm you.”
As she stared at him, he reached for her cheek, and she immediately felt a sense of peace wash over her. Her eyes sought his, and when she went to speak, he placed his fingers on her lips, halting any words she would have spoken. Then he said, “You will remember nothing of me. You will return to your home safely.”
He tapped his
shadar
and returned to his speedster. He tailed her, unbeknownst to her, for he was veiled. He stayed until he was sure she was safely at home. Then, he headed back to the Compound. He could not tear his thoughts away from her.
Who was this beautiful, sad female? What had happened to cause such pain in her? Rykerian knew there was nothing more he could do for her. He had imparted his calming ability to her, and for a brief moment, he knew she had felt peace. He prayed that whatever had affected her would improve with time and that she would be rid of her intense sadness.
He made his way back to the Compound and left his speedster in the garage. In a blur of motion, he was in the kitchen grabbing a quick bite of food. He went to the back terrace, hit his
shadar
, and appeared on the mountaintop. He sank to the ground and waited for the sun to rise. The sky was pink and then orange, and then, in a blaze of amber glory, the sun appeared. Rykerian wished he could find joy in this moment, but for some peculiar reason, his thoughts could only focus on the female with the blonde silken tresses and the sorrowful, penetrating ice blue eyes. He sent up a prayer to the Deity, begging for His blessings to be sent her way, and then, he made his way back to the Compound, obsessed by thoughts of the ethereal human.
To be continued...
in
DETERMINANT
Book 3 of The Guardians of Vesturon
Excerpt from DETERMINANT
The six men moved through the city streets in a triangular formation. Not a single soul paid them a bit of attention. Dressed unusually, even for a large metropolis such as Atlanta, they were donned in snug black leather pants, black vests and wore unusual criss-crossing bands on their bare chests. They looked like a scene from a fantasy movie. Their bare arms were heavily tattooed and their hands were covered in black gloves. However, the few that glanced their way didn’t notice any of that. Utilizing an advanced form of technology, unknown to humans, the men had altered their appearance and speech. To anyone watching, they appeared as six jean-clad men in their late teens—college students perhaps, out for a night of fun.
Conversation between them was minimal. The language they spoke, while it sounded like English to any human within hearing distance, was most definitely not. It was a guttural mix of sound that didn’t exist on Earth.
The men were tall and self-assured. Their eyes were an unusual color—a blend of lavender and indigo with flecks of silver. No one stopped to look at them long enough to notice, and if they had, all they would have seen would have been six pairs of brown eyes. The men weren’t exactly handsome, but they were nonetheless impressive, with their rugged features. Power, strength, and fearlessness emanated from them.
Never hesitant in their steps, they moved along in an unhurried, but purposeful manner toward their destination, as if they had been there dozens of times before. The leader directed them not with speech, but by the movement of his head. They carried no weapons that one could see, but they were most definitely armed. A single glance from one of them could annihilate an entire city. Not only were they their own deadly weapons, they also possessed strength, unknown to humans, and powers that would be considered impossible by any human standard.
The group separated as they neared their destination. To avoid suspicion, they would access the building using two different entrances. Once inside, they would reconvene near their goal.
Minutes later, the façade of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention came into view. Three of the men entered through the main doors and the other three went in through a side entrance. It was late evening when the premises would be mostly vacated, except for essential personnel, so it would be unlikely anyone would interfere. That wasn’t much of a concern for the men. Interfering humans were quickly indisposed by a few simple tricks. Locked doors and high security areas didn’t pose a problem either. It would be a simple task to retrieve what they came for and they would be gone in a moment, leaving no trace of their break-in.
They moved as a group of six again and traveled through the maze of corridors as if they had done this daily. It was a surprise to them when the figure of a young woman came into view, for most employees should have vacated the premises by now. What surprised the leader even more was her proficiency at mind communication, which was an impossibility for humans. He knew with certainty she was otherworldly, but from where, he could not discern. Her pale eyes intrigued him and he experienced the briefest feeling of regret for what he was about to do. He forced himself to shove that thought out of his mind, as the choice was not his to make. His family would die if he weren’t successful in this mission.
His fleeting encounter with her ended as quickly as it had begun and he was on his way to completing his task at hand. He moved through the secure area and headed for the cryogenic containment section where the
variola major
specimens were located. He gathered the most deadly of them with efficiency and replaced them with the
influenza
specimens given to him by the lab director he had so eloquently threatened. Moments later, his group was back on the streets of Atlanta, putting into motion stage two of their mission.
This phase would be completed rapidly. Entering various locations, they would spread the virus. He was glad his species was immune to this deadly disease. Humans had eradicated this illness in the 1970’s and had ceased vaccinating against it. Since he had stolen most of the viable strains, the feasibility of recreating a vaccine was nonexistent. The disease would spread rapidly and a pandemic would ensue. Once again, he felt the brief pangs of his actions, but pushed the thoughts out of his head. His family was more important to him than a group of unknown humans, no matter the number of casualties.
The virus needed to be spread quickly. Infected aerosols would be the most rapid mode of transmission, so the mercenaries released some of the virus into the ventilation system in the building before he exited. His group then proceeded to enter a few of the dorms on the Emory University campus to repeat their actions. The summer session was ending and the students exposed would shortly be traveling home before the fall semester would begin. This would give the disease a wide and various possibility of dissemination. His goal was to have an epidemic in place before he left Earth.
The men visited the most populated buildings in the city and lastly they arrived at Hartsfield International Airport. This was the ultimate place for disease transmission. With travelers moving around from plane to plane, and country to country, it wouldn’t take long for this illness to manifest itself worldwide.
January St. Davis
The fever consumed me. I gripped the steering wheel until my knuckles were white and close to bursting through my skin. I was wracked with chills, which I thought odd. How could I be freezing and burning up at the same time? I had never been sick a day in my life, not a cold, strep throat, nothing. Payback was hell and I was living through it now, literally burning in it. What a way to make up for eighteen years of health.
I must have contracted the flu. I had worked with the influenza virus all summer at my internship with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. My eight-week program had ended and I was on my way back to Cullowhee, North Carolina to resume my fall semester at Western Carolina University where I would start my junior year.
The fever had begun last night. I felt flushed and went to bed thinking it would be gone in the morning. I forced myself to pack up my scant belongings and dragged my achy body to the car for the drive home. It was just past noon when I left. I had anticipated arriving by four as it was about a three and a half hour drive.
I hadn’t been in the car for thirty minutes when everything went south.
What in the world is wrong with me?
The chills hit first. Then I was alternately burning up and shivering violently. It was hard to keep my car in the lane with my uncontrollable shaking.
The headache turned into a crushing vise. My head was piercing with pain. It started inching its way down my neck and into my back. My stomach rolled with nausea. I finally pulled off the road into a rest area. I fumbled around in my purse, hoping to land on some Tylenol but came up empty handed. Leaning my head against the steering wheel, I dozed.
I opened my eyes to the darkness of the night.
Geez, how long did I sleep?
My eyes tried to focus on my watch but my vision was blurred.
Did I sleep or pass out?
My goal was Cullowhee, so I pulled the car back on the road, heading in that direction.
God, please let me make it home.
My vision was deteriorating. I could barely discern the trees as I passed them. Even though it was dark, I shouldn’t have trouble seeing the trees. I knew I was very ill and my heart skipped a beat as I wondered what was wrong with me. I began to worry in earnest about whether I could make it back to Cullowhee.
Oh God, what am I going to do? I don’t know if I can keep driving!
I didn’t have a choice. I was in the middle of nowhere, Timbuktu if you will. There wasn’t a hospital or motel anywhere near me. I pushed on, praying I would make it back safely.
The chills and fever continued. I was using my air conditioner and heater back to back. I realized I was becoming disoriented and dizzy. I knew I should stop but I forced myself to continue driving. I was trembling, whether it was from fear or the chills from fever, I didn’t know. The road began to move, like a wave. I made several turns and the fisting of my stomach made me aware I was hopelessly lost.
Where am I? None of this looks familiar!
I stopped my car.