"You want to tell me what that was all about?" The Demon called to him in the corridor.
"What was what all about?" Lync replied through gritted teeth.
He had no clue what the hell had just happened. All he knew, was that at this very moment, his female was in there with another male, and HE was taking care of her.
"You almost taking my Homeboy's head off!" Nyx growled.
"I don't know!" Lync admitted, and it was the truth.
"Your eyes were glowing, and that scent, my friend..."
"What about it?"
"You've bonded with her!" The Demon laughed, and then shook his head.
"And that means what, exactly?"
"Well, every male mates!" Nyx started, his smile growing wider. "And every male can bond, it just depends on when and if you find her. Some can go lifetimes without ever..."
"Can you get to the point?" Lync snapped at the Demon, he didn't care that the male towered over him, his female was inside that room, her lips against another male's arm, her head resting in his lap...
"You gonna rip my head off too?" Nyx grinned and crossed his arms over his chest.
"Who's gonna throw me out this time? You're already out here?" Lync chuckled, and threw his fists against a wall panel and the thing popped open. "Shit!"
"You need to hit the gym, Homeslice!"
"No, what I need, is answers!"
"Now you sound like your female!" Nyx sighed,and rolled his eyes. "Problem is, you're both asking the wrong peeps for answers, you should be asking yourselves!"
"Because, in an opposite universe, that would make sense!" Lync rolled his eyes in kind.
"You have no idea, my brother!"Nyc laughed, as the door opened, and the other male exited the room, rolling down his sleeve.
There were no puncture marks, no bruising, not even a drop of blood left behind.
"It is done?"Nyx inquired, grasping the male's hand and embracing him with a slap on his back.
"It is done!" He replied as he took a step back. "She is resting!"
"Then let me see her!" Lync growled as he made his way around...
"Not so fast!" The male put his arm out, his eyes digging deep into Lync's. "You and I, need have words!"
"After, I see Navina!"
"She is resting! Let her be!" Nyx cut in, his hand now resting on Lync's shoulder. "Best you listen up, you wouldn't want to put your female in jeopardy."
***
"Navina?" She heard her name as her eyes began to flutter open. "She's coming out of it!"
"Navina? Can you hear me?"
It was bright, and warm, and she was...
"Can you hear me?"
"Yeah!" She let out, and shuddered as the surge ran through her. "What...?"
"Just relax! Let it work through you!" The voice said to her. "Just, remember..."
Flashes appeared before her eyes. Images, she just couldn't make out, and amidst it all, was a figure dressed in black, with a helmet like no other. It bore the images of the stars themselves... And then there was the vastness of snow, footsteps and droplets of blood leading off into the forest.
None of it seemed real, none of it even seemed to matter, but the Order...
"The Order!" She spat out as she shot up in the bed, pulling the blankets up around her neck, as even more images roamed though her thoughts.
Kion. Her hand on his throat. A sort of, bubble...and then voices.
Hundreds of them, no, thousands. All of them speaking to her, through her...
"Navina?"
"It wasn't the Order!" She managed to get out through labored breaths, as Euphamia and the Warrior female came closer.
"We know!"They told her, their eyes filled with concern, and the scent of, not fear, but something just as great, enveloped them.
"You know?" Navina was shocked.
They had known? Seriously? Then what the hell was it, that had captured her body and used her voice?
"What do you call yourself?" The Warrior inquired, a look of intrigue on her face as she toyed with a lock of her long blonde hair. "The Order, I mean. What race are you?"
"We are..." She stopped and shook her head, "I was, a Traveler!"
"Uh, huh! And, your people didn't have any other names for yourselves?" The Warrior, Mal, asked yet another question.
"Not that I know of! Though, there are a lot of things I don't remember!"
"We heard!" Euphamia piped up, as she moved across the room towards the kitchenette, and poured a glass of water."Here you go!" She smiled, and handed it to Navina when she returned to the bed side.
"I, ah? Thanks!" Navina mumbled,her throat, not so much dry, but tingling. "What, was that?"
"What happened to you, in your mind I mean?" The Warrior went on. "Could you hear anything?"
"Besides the voices?"Navina tried to laugh, letting her legs hit the floor.
"You hear voices?" The Doc with the purple eyes laughed. "Hey, Mal? You're going to want to look at this!" She added, glancing over at the view screen.
"Where is that?" Navina asked, taking a look for herself, watching, as Nyx and Lync wrestled it out on the floor. "Is that live feed?"
"They won't hurt him!" Mal chuckled, spinning a blade on the tip of her fore finger.
"They?" Navina let out, as the third male, not as large as the Demon, but still bigger than Lync, tackled her male to the ground."Shit!"
But, to her surprise, Lync rose to his feet, rolled his neck about and stretched his arms as the third male went at him again.
"Such a beautiful sight, isn't it!" Euphamia, Mia, The Doc? What the hell...?
"Mia!" The female smiled at her, "You can call me, Mia!"
"So that wasn't a dream?You really spoke to me in there?"
"No dream, Sunshine! That shit was for real!" She laughed, and turned back to the monitor. "Just like this is, streaming live!"
"We need some popcorn!" The Warrior grinned, sitting back in one of the chairs at the foot of the bed. "My money's on the Vampire!"
"Don't ever let Nyx hear you say that, Mal, he's pretty tame for a Demon, unless you bruise the ego!" Mia laughed.
"He's your mate! Not my problem!" Mal laughed back, and stretched her arms up over her head. "Yup, my bet's on Markus!"
"Markus?" Navina let out, "Mia, Mal and Markus? You guys got a thing with M's?"
"Don't forget Madrina!" Mia replied.
"Or Minerva!" Mal added.
"Who the fuck is Minerva?" Euphamia glared at her with raised brows.
"Figured I'd throw it in there for kicks!" And they both burst into laughter.
"This has got to be a dream!" Navina sighed, rubbing at her eyes.
"Why's that?" Mia asked, sitting herself down beside her, but still keeping an eye on the view screen.
"Well, for starters, you're both glowing!" She told them. "Your brown tunic looks like its... melting?" She tried to focus on Mal's attire.
The dark green tunic and brown cloak that hung from her shoulders,and the brown boots, hell she was in earth tones for crying out loud,how could she be glowing? Or melting?
"Huh!" The Warrior let out. "Good to know!"
"And you..." Navina looked at Mia, with her black leggings and tank top, prison striped hair and amethyst colored eyes, "... you look like a God, you've got some shimmering aura going on!"
"You think she has Zahara-vision?" Mal laughed, and slapped at her knee, "Shit! That had to hurt!" And all attention turned towards the screen.
"They'll kill each other!" Navina let out, watching as Lync took the Demon down by the waist.
"Should have happened already!"Mia looked intrigued, but then she turned to Mal, "It's Aura-vision, and it is possible!"
"I like Zahara-vision, better!" The Warrior grinned, and looked over at Navina. "What do you think?"
"I think... I think I need a shower! And perhaps, turn down the lights! My eyes are burning and my heart is racing, and if I keep watching that..." She pointed at the screen, only to have her words cease as she walked back to join the females. "Is that..."
"Your male?" Mia laughed, "Yes, it is!" She added.
"And that's yours, out cold on his ass!" Mal was howling. "Gods be good! He kicked his ass!"
"Seems your male is a fighter, Navina!"
"Yeah!" She let out slowly. "It... would seem... that way! What's wrong with his eyes?"
"What do you mean?" Mal inquired, suddenly alert and sitting up in the chair with a grin on her face.
"They're supposed to be green!" Navina told her, moving closer to the screen.
"You can see that?" Mal let out, "Shit!"
"She's taken of his blood, that's shit's powerful, Malice!"Another voice entered the room, and Navina all but hit the floor.
"Mine are still better!" The Warrior let out, and rose from her seat, letting loose an array of beautiful wings to match those of the male that had just appeared out of nowhere.
"I'm not feeling it!" The male let out.
Was he an, Angel? She had heard of them, in stories.
With a rustle of feathers, those long, fluffy white wisps were transformed into rock hard spirals of metal. "How about now?" She grinned at the male who stood before her.
"Fuck me, Malice! Where the hell did you get those?"He let out, his own wings tucking down towards his shoulders, before vanishing altogether.
An Angel, that swore? Navina was pretty sure she had read something about them being all 'Holier Than Thou' and this male, though he looked like one, did not act like one. Long white hair that matched his eyes and wings, a chest that captivated the eyes of all those around him, and his beige kilt and shoulder straps, woven of what looked like the finest leathers...
"Crap!" Mia let out, taking a glance at Navina, whose mouth was wide open in awe. "May I introduce his most graceful self, The Captain of The Angel Guard, Nissa!"
"Holy Shit! Is that Nyx?" He let out, glaring up at the view screen. "Homeboy needs some attention Mia! You can't leave his ass like that!"
"He'll survive!"
"That's cold! Real cold, female!" The Angel glared at her. "At least Markus is holding his own!"
"Markus, is a Vampire!" Mal reminded his with a shot to the shoulder.
"I will not hesitate to spank you, female!" The Angel grinned at her, "And I know, that Madrina would gladly join me!"
"Your mate stands a better chance between my sheets than you do!" The Warrior laughed, and then the Angel joined in.
"Everyone wants a piece of Madrina!"
"No thanks!"Mia grumbled, and then looked back at the screen.
"Seems your new Vamp can hold up to his King!" Nissa sighed, "They don't make em like they used too!"
"Lync, is not a Vampire!"Navina corrected him, "And he has no king!"
"That's, not a Vampire?"
"We don't know what he is!" Mal sighed, "But he's stronger than Nyx, that's for sure!" She added and then laughed some more.
"He is not gonna live this one down!" Nissa shook his head.
"Neither would you!" She howled some more.
"That little runt wouldn't stand a chance!" The Angel bellowed, and cocked a brow at Navina. "Sorry!"
"That runt, is her mate!" Mia told him, just as an 'Ohhhhhh.....' Filled the room, and then all looked back at the screen. "Shit!"
***
There was nothing but darkness all around them, the stars so far off in thedistance, the planets whizzing by... The shuttle was so much smallerthan Kion's ship, but Kember and Madrina had had to make do. It had been two days since she'd left Navina and Lync behind, but she had to retrieve that book. Why Madrina couldn't just blink in and out of herold apartment, was beyond her; so here she was.
Pentar, was a days journey away, and Madrina was resting in the back. There was nothing but endless darkness to keep Navina company as the minutes passed by.
'I will miss you!' He'd told her.
'You barely even know me! She'd laughed in reply.
'It does not matter, I will miss you just the same!'
Such smooth words from a Kalvashian! His kind were all about their pride,the families of old, still following horrid traditions. Some beat their children, some beat their wives, and others did both. It was a rather vile society of aristocrats and the like, but, they had managed to keep the mass crime waves under control, until now.
Now, there home world had been destroyed, and what was left of them were being hunted down like wild animals by the Insidian scum that now littered the vastness of space.
Shit! The universe was falling apart, and Madrina claimed that Navina's book, was the key.
She never should have answered that communique, she never should have gone to the reception, Madrina could have sent someone else. She should have said no, not that the female would have listened anyhow;she'd come all the way from the Null in the blink of an eye when she'd heard the book was now lost. She was convinced that what Kember had told her of Navina...
"Fuck! Me and my big mouth!" She scolded herself quietly.
Dark, spooky, and incredibly lonely.It wasn't like she was afraid or anything, but she'd much rather be back on Kion's ship; maybe even enjoying and snuggle or two. Twenty six hour, eleven minutes and fifty two, fifty one, fifty...
"You should get some sleep, Kember!"
"I tried, it's overrated!"She grinned, "But I did find a nice bottle of rum back here behind my seat..."
"You found? Or you brought?"
"Does it matter? We're probably gonna get ourselves killed in a few hours!" Kember rolled her eyes.
"And people say I'm the pessimist!" Madrina laughed.
"No, people say you're the beautiful one!You're the lady, full of elegance and grace!" Kember corrected her.
"Good! That's what they should believe!"
Kember couldn't help but laugh. The female was right! She was always fucking right; and it didn't help, that her Mother was the Lady of Freakin Light! Sure, she was a hell-spawn of Satan, a pure blood of Lord Eroch himself... But to call Her Grace, your Mother...
Not even Kember's own Mother, a Witch that was said to have crippled worlds and brought Man to it's knees, she wouldn't dare stand up and voice against the most benevolent Lady Ellaria. No one, except perhaps Madrina's youngest sister, Euphamia. That female, had a huge hate on for her Mother. Something to do with a lost mate, and her Mother could have, but wouldn't save him. Then there was the destiny crap... it was all so emotionally scarring, Kember was sort of glad she'd missed it.
She and Madrina had always been friends, since the very first day they attended the academy together. Madrina had been but one hundred and twelve, and Kember, ninety three. They shared a dorm room, attended their classes, and dabbled in what the Academy had to offer. They had loved and laughed, partaken in their youth as they explored each chapter, unlocking doors with their minds and pursuing their wildest dreams.
The Academy days had been days well spent, and prepared them in short, for what would come. Life. Madrina had been chosen as the new Warden of The Null, and Kember, well she had gone back to the isles, and began the gruesome training her own Mother had set forth.
"What you thinking about?" Madrina inquired, setting a cup of ta down on the console in front of Kember. "You look so distant!"
"I feel so distant!" Kember sighed. "Kind of lost!"
"Without Kion?" Madrina laughed, "Seriously?"
"Without Navina!" Kember admitted. "She's kind of grown on me!"
"Mother says she has an old soul! Like Mara, and Mia's new pet, Malice!"
"Valkyries are useful Madrina!" She reminded her friend, and watched the lip curl into a snarl. "You still mad about Nissa?"
The silence was golden, don't get her wrong, but she'd already wasted seven hours in the dark, she needed some conversation. And it wasn't really the Valkyries fault, the female had wings like he did, but his heart would always remain with Madrina.
"The Valkyries have ways of tempting the males they want..." Madrina mumbled, and crossed her arms over her chest.
"She's mated, and has twins with her mate!"
"And where is he? Huh? Where are they? Why is she out here with us?"
"Because Mara says she's special!"
"An Eno'tai reject says jump, and we all ask how high? Seriously?"
Someone woke up on the wrong side of the cot!
But then, when your male spent a sufficient amount of time, not only gawking at her while she was around, but dropping her nae here and there...
"You two were just mated, let the excitement cool down, and then take off,just the two of you!" Kember smiled at her, sipping at the tea she'd been handed. "Don't worry about Malice, remember in your last communique, how you said he was obsessed with the new kid in the barracks? Wanted to train him, wanted to be all buddy buddy..."
"And then the bastard dropped out!" Madrina laughed, "He was so mad! He ripped the curtains down in the washroom, tore the rod, clear off the wall with a flick of his wrist."
"And they say we're hormonal!" Kember grinned.
"They don't even know what hormones are!" Her friend added, and then sank back into her chair.
"Don't stress! Soon as we're done here, both of us,can return for a little R and R!" She smiled back at her. "I'm thinking, Earth! It's got some nice beaches!"
"So does Sanctuary!" Madrina reminded her, though, Kember hadn't needed a reminder of how absolutely incredible the place was, or, that she was not exactly welcomed within its walls. Something about a spell sh ehad placed on a certain, Captain of their Lady's Angel Guard... "Sorry!" Madrina added, lowering her head with a sigh. "I'm sure she's gotten over it by now, and she has a whole lot more to worry about with the whole, epic war going on..."
"Not! If anything, security will be heightened and I'd get black listed for sure!" Kember sighed, "No, your Mother fears that I am too much like my own, her precious realm is no place for my kind!"
"You were born into it, it's not like you chose to be a Witch!" Madrina tried to lighten the mood.
"Not just any Witch!" Kember laughed, adjusting their course before she rose to pour another cup of tea. "But a Dark Witch! That shit doesn't go away, Madrina! The blood magic is in my veins, I eat, sleep and breathe it!And not a day goes by, where I wish it could be different!"
"Why?"
"Because then, perhaps this whole secrecy and lies bullshit would go away!"
"Was it not you, who came to us three weeks ago? Crashed our reception did you not?" Madrina grinned at her.
"I didn't crash it, it was almost over!"
"It was over, in fact, I was just about to head out with Nissa, and make way for a little R and R in Sanctuary..."
"Yeah yeah!" Kember sighed, "Scared the crap out of Mia too!" She added, her grin returning.
"You brought us news of Navina. You, gave us what we needed..."
"I've given you nothing! We don't have the book, Madrina!"
"Yet!"
Right! That's what this little trip was about. Out here, in space, heading for Pentar, because Kember didn't have the guts to steal from her friend. She was going to ask her for it, she wanted Navina to know everything; but the ships had invaded before she'd had the chance.
"I hate lying to her!" Kember let out, and sat back down before the console. "She deserves way more than all this secrecy!"
"She deserves the world on a silver platter for what they did to her!" Madrina agreed. "But if the Order ever caught wind, we'd lose our chance to win this war. They would never give us the answers we need, and to ask Navina out right... they would know in a heartbeat and erase it all from her mind."
"What if we can't find the book? What if the place is destroyed?"
"Then we hope that Euphamia and the Valkyrie, can help her to remember! Navina has the memories, she has all, of their memories! And if she can unlock the answers, we can defeat the Eno'tai and all their vile little minions."
***
Nissa was the first to arrive in the gym, his feet squeaking as he tore across the mats. He found Nyx, face down and groaning as he came too, and then Markus, still out cold against the wall; but where was the third male?
Mia and Navina arrived a moment later, and letting go of her hand, Navina watched the female with the purple eyes, dart across the blue mats and hunched down beside her mate.
"Euphamia?" The Angel let out, his eyes darting about the room,his senses heightened as the feathers appeared and the wings, ruffled. "He's still here! I can feel him!"
"Nyx? Baby?"She bent down and grabbed his shoulders, giving him a good nudge and he growled at her. "Feel free to grunt and groan, but save the growling for the bedroom!" She teased, half laughing, half...
"Asshole...." He managed to get out, slowly lifting his head to look at her, and then, "Markus?"
"K.O'd!" She told him, and with a quick glance, took note of the lack of blood. "Just sleeping!" She added, kissing the back of the Demon's head. "Where is Lync, Nyx?" She asked him, helping him roll over into her lap.
"Son Bitch done flattened us!" He grumbled, "Fuck!"
"He's still here!" Nissa let out, as Navina stood in the door way behind him.
She was in total shock! How the hell had Lync done all this? A Vampire, and a Demon, flat on their asses... But where was he? She couldn't see him! She couldn't see anything. Nor could Mia for that matter, and that was choking her up something fierce.
"He was here! I'll have the scars to prove it in the morning!" Nyx growled, holding his sides as he lay his head in Mia's lap.
"He'll need... to feed!" Came a garbled voice, and Nissa sprung to the Vampire's side.
"My brother, you alright?"
"Yes, Nissa! I'm just fucking peachy!" He tried to shake his head.
"You're a lousy liar!" The Angel teased.
"You think? I just got... my ass, handed to me, Home Slice!"
Navina was still watching, as the shivers ran up her spine and an eerie image, invaded her mind.
"She's going down..." Was the last thing she heard, before her body hit the mats and it was lights out.
Wide open fields of snow, trees off in the distance, and smoke. Footprints leading off into the woods,droplets of blood, splattered a midst the deep grooves of a heavy set stride. The sky was clear, but for the trail of dust it had left behind, but as to what, it, was...
She followed the footprints until the tips of the tree branches swept against her face, and the cool chill had been replaced by the warmth and glow from the fire before her...
Such beautiful colors. Reds, oranges and yellows, mingling with sparks of blue and purple... And then she saw it, the figure in black, the helmet that reflected the stars themselves...
"Ge ther off her back! She's seizing!"
"Roll her over, hold her head!"
"What the hell did you give her?"
"Now's not the time to argue about this!"
Two female voices, two male, and yet she had no idea who they were or what they were doing.She felt as if she were in a small boat, rocking back and forth in the waves, the need to vomit rising as they churned her about. It grew, as did the alarming sensation of dread...
'She should not have been there!'
'There was no one else to witness the true death of a dying race!'
'It should not have been her! She is reckless and defiant, she is too much like her father!'
She was cold, almost frozen, unable to move and so confused as the fog drifted around her and the voices carried on.
'It could not be helped! Tarrel knew the risks before she journeyed out, it was no surprise she came back with child! That place and time was known for its savagery...'
'And yet, you let the child survive!'
'We must never interfere with the time line, what is to happen, will happen....'
'And now? How will we contain this?'
'We won't! It has already come to pass. The Order cannot interfere now!'
'But what of the female? She cannot go on with the knowledge, she will return and fight for them, you have seen it!'
'They must thrive on their own, and they will, as all new races do, and they will die off in time.'
'But she will want to prevent their demise, she will not let the Masters...'
'She will have no choice! She cannot stop, what she does not remember.'
'And the male?'
'Do not worry, it will all fall into place, just as it did, before Navina!'
"Gether up onto the bed, and you'll want Markus closer!" The voice shouted over her and hands came down to grab her.
"If her male should waken..." Another voice sounded.
"He's out cold now, trust me! Nothing can withstand a blast like that,normally!" It was the Warrior, Mal.
"Good! Let him sizzle down while we take care of this mess!"
The lights flashed over head as she was wheeled down the corridor. More voices, more orders, and then a blinding light that wouldn't go away.
"Tarrel!" Navina mumbled, but the mask was put over her face and the oxygen started.
Her Mother? They had spoken her name, they'd spoken of a choice she'd made, how she'd come back with child...
"My Mother.... The Order... Masters... " She tried again, only to have the ask removed and her head propped up as the thick, warm liquid flowed past her lips.
"Drink!" She heard the words, though she could not see the faces, but she could feel the hunger that burned within her.