The Koet

Chapter 6- Priorities

"I have your leader. We can do this the easy way or the hard way." Jace calls from the other side of the tracks. He holds the limp girl in his arms gently, with no real intention of harming her. He couldn't just stand there while a Koet leader, pure intentions or no, was killed by a train of all things.

Jace feels the area around him, Tanya and Ziva on the north side of the clearing, covering the other Koet's right side and flank. Ian and Felix on the south east side opposite of him just hidden in the bushes, covering the left side and flank. Alice has Jace's back maybe twenty Yards back in the forest. This clearing will do just fine, Jace thinks, running through several attack strategies in his head.

Then he focuses on the unfamiliar Energy signatures in the middle. The Asian girl and the younger one are still out cold and the Blond Male is up, but his signature is weak and slow, fueled only on adrenalin. He probably feels like Hell because of the drugs. Jace also feels the powerful yet strange signature of the unmarked girl, he concentrates on her, worried about what has happened to her while she was alone with the Blond Mark; Bearers of the Mark are known to be naturally aggressive in stressful situations. But She seems fine-- confused, scared, and angry, but unharmed. Ah, she is just lovely, Jace thinks reveling in her power. Jace recalls watching her, and remembers the young boy she was with. He searches for the boy's signature, also feeling his slightly weaker, though still pretty strong signal. 

But the fact that two Unmarked, this powerful, have gone apparently undetected and/or approached confuses Jace. One of the Bearers of the Mark's duties is to search the human population for unmarked of unusually high power, because left unchecked, they are dangerous. They hold a power that no regular human has. They can feel that they are something other, and that makes them unstable. The situation is comparable to Expecting a large dog to play nicely with many smaller puppies all its life; never being able to find someone on their level in physical and mental ability, and always unsure as to why they are different or what is wrong with them. Powerful Unmarked are a danger to the weak human population, but they fit right in with the Bearers of the Mark. 

It would very much make this aspect of Koet life easier if one could understand what makes one human's power greater than a normal human. But if any one has found out they have not bothered to inform me, jace thinks dryly. I wonder how long this has gone on, and how many other Unmarked are out there, struggling to understand. Why is this not being taken care of? Jace wonders, again. 

The smoke from the train has cleared enough for Jace to see the Blond Male, bring Jace back to the present. Aiden's face is contorted in anger as he sees his leader, Thalia, in the arms of danger. Aiden's muscel's tighten automatically, and he feels his body speed up, and his vision tints colour. Aiden tries desperately to push back his emotion, knowing that if he doesn't, and he loses control, the minimal chance he has will be lost.

He needs to get Thalia. He needs to get Jane and Amanda up and able to run. He needs to get his Koet out of the stranger's Koet's clutches. He needs to protect the Amber eyed woman standing on his right side, Tessa.  

The last instinct confuses him. She is not even of the Marked. Why should she matter to me? But Aiden thinks of the little time they spent together, and he already is trying to protect her, an outsider. Ridiculous. Aiden, try as he might not to, still takes that protective half step that puts him just in front of Tessa, and between her and the threat in front of him. He hears the small grinding sound of her teeth. He snotrts softly, she doesn't like being protected, Aiden thinks-- and really he shouldn't be protection her, he shouldn't even be thinking about her. His leader is in the arms of a stranger and his Koet has all but been captured. He should be worrying about that. Not Her. Tessa, her name is a qhisper in his thoughts. Lovely and strong. Independent and fearless. She--- He growls, Focus. He meets the eyes of the Bearer of the Mark in front of him. Focus.