Grady's Awakening

Chapter Thirteen

Arch looks shot between everyone in the room except Jim. He was definitely being kept in the dark about something. Jim had taken Tory’s talk of angels as ravings, or at best, as a metaphor for something else. But now these people were talking about them too—and none of them sounded like they were on the edge of insanity. Maybe there really was something to Tory’s visions. If so, he’d damn well find out.

Bill gave Gina a narrow-eyed look. “How much have you told him about the Zxerah?”

“Quite a bit, but not that. It is your secret to share or not, as you see fit. I assume your companions already know?” Gina glanced around the room at the others. Jim didn’t like being left in the dark, but he’d play it cool for now. It sounded like he was about to learn something.

Bill gave a most un-Alvian sigh. The guy freaked Jim out a little. He just wasn’t used to seeing Alvians displaying human emotions.

“I’ve got wings.”

“Come again?” Jim didn’t know what he’d expected, but this stark declaration shocked him.

“Wings. I can fly. Like your mythological angels. If the Council has heard rumors, I guess I haven’t been as circumspect as I thought when flying out over the forests.”

“Hell, it’s not your fault, Bill. There are mountain men and hidden villages all over this area,” Mike said in what sounded like an old argument. “Humans around here have gotten good at hiding their presence from aerial view. The Alvian patrols usually come by aircraft, so they keep an eye to the sky. I’d have been surprised if nobody saw you.”

“With our culture’s religious beliefs, we figured it couldn’t hurt anything if a couple of humans saw you flying around. If anything,” Dave stressed, “we thought it might give people hope. An angel is a powerful symbol in most human religions.”

“I am nobody’s deity.”

The true anger and frustration Jim heard in the Alvian’s musical voice gave him pause. He had to keep reminding himself that this guy was different from the other Alvians he’d seen—very different if he really did have wings—but that was something Jim would really have to see to believe. And so would a lot of people he knew. Jim made a decision.

“I think you should come back to Colorado with us, Bill. Just for a visit. And I’ll guarantee your safety. But there’s one foreseer in particular who needs to see you—if you’re willing. She’s been talking about angels for as long as I’ve known her and when she first saw Gina here, she swore up and down that Gina would be the one to bring the angels to us. Nobody knew what she meant and we all figured she was half-insane from the loss of her family, but if you really do have wings, I think you’re the answer to the puzzle. It would be a kindness if you’d let her see you—even if she’s the only one you show. Tory is special, and she needs hope. I think you can give it to her.”

Jim noticed David’s eyes narrowing in thought as he’d started to talk about Tory. “We’re getting ahead of ourselves a bit, but if Bill goes back with you, I’ll go too. It sounds like your seer could use my help.”

Jim felt a weight lift off his shoulders. “I’ve protected her as best I can but what she really needs is a mind healer, and we don’t have one. I’d be much obliged if you’d take a look at her and see what you can do.”

David nodded. “Let’s table this discussion for the time being. It’s late, and I’m sure you’re tired from your long journey. Bill, do you want to show them to the guest quarters? Fair warning, you’ll be locked in and Burt will be monitoring you, but he won’t report back to us unless you try to sneak out.”

“Sounds reasonable,” Jim allowed. “We’re the strangers here. We’ll abide by your rules.”

“All right then.” David stood, and the others followed his lead. “Bill will show you around a bit on your way to your quarters, and we’ll arrange for some food to be brought down to you. We’ll reconvene in the morning, once we’ve all had a chance to think this over.”

Jim was glad of the way David took the lead, though he sounded more like a chairman of the board than a general commanding his troops. Whatever his past life had been, he’d come out on top. He had a wife, a solid place to live and what promised to be a thriving community here. He was luckier than most.

The others said good night and left Gina and Jim with Bill. He led them up a flight of stairs and down a hallway to a large open area that looked a lot like the hydroponics section of the Colorado installation. This one wasn’t completely filled, however. It had the look of something just starting up. There were a few people working at the far end of the large expanse, and Jim was pleased to note they all looked human.

Bill started muttering when he saw them and shook his head. “Please stay here for a moment, I need to get the crew back on track or we won’t have much of a harvest.”

Jim expected him to walk the long distance between where they were and the crew’s position at the far end of a cavern the size of a football field, but he was wrong. Instead, shockingly, Bill shrugged off his jacket and huge golden wings expanded on either side of his torso. The man lifted off the ground with a few beats of those magnificent feathered wings and crossed the vast distance of the cavern in just a few seconds.

“Holy shit.”

Gina laughed at his reaction.

“You knew, didn’t you?” He turned to face her as Bill landed and started talking with the group of people at the far end of the cavern.

Gina’s expression was grave. “I knew. I’ve known his kind for a long time. They are part of my clan.”

“How many?” Jim’s thoughts sped ahead to the implications of having large numbers of winged beings roaming around the Earth. “How many more like him are out there?”

“I don’t know the exact numbers, but at least a battalion was created. They’re genetic experiments. They had another alien race’s DNA spliced into their own chromosomes in order to give them wings.”

“Another alien race? Do we have to fear another invasion somewhere down the line?”

“I don’t think so. From what I’ve heard, the Avarel stopped visiting Alvia Prime and all the Alvian colonies—except perhaps the Zxerah enclave—a very long time ago. I have a feeling they might already have visited Earth in the distant past. Otherwise why do most religious traditions talk about men with wings? By all accounts, the Avarel were a peaceful people. They exchanged knowledge with the Zxerah, and it was they who first warned that selective breeding to eliminate aggression in the Alvian populace could lead to disaster. When the Alvian government refused to listen, the Avarel broke diplomatic ties and were never seen again.”

The Patriarch approached Grady Prime at the hidden base of the winged brethren. The encounter seemed to be purely accidental, but Grady had his suspicions. The Zxerah leader seldom let coincidences rule his life. No, this was a man who made his own fate and decided the fate of many others on a routine basis.

“How goes your search, Grady?” the Patriarch asked. Grady Prime thought it significant that the Patriarch often fell into the speech patterns of the humans, leaving off the rank designation of other Alvians with whom he spoke.

Now that he had emotions and a better understanding of humanity, Grady Prime often thought the use of full names to be stiff and formal—much like the majority of his race and their habits. Formality seemed to go hand in hand with Alvian culture and it chafed Grady Prime’s new perceptions at times.

He wasn’t quite ready to let go of his past. He still thought of himself as Grady Prime. Perhaps one day things would change for him, but that day had not yet come.

“I have learned much about the former Sinclair Prime and have formulated a theory as to where he would have gone.”

“Truly? What is your theory, if I may ask?”

“From all accounts, he is a lover of woodlands and temperate zones. I surmise that if he was able to depart the southern continent, the forests in the northern section of this continent would be much to his liking. Of course, there are some areas on the southern continent that would be just as agreeable, but they are even more remote and harder to get to. His last mission was in the southern continent, so it would be logical to start my search there.”

“Logical, yes. But what does your gut instinct tell you?”

Grady’s answer came quickly and unequivocally. “He’s not there.”

The Patriarch seemed surprised…and pleased? “Have you always had such strong instincts? Or is this a new development since taking the experimental treatment?”

That was a question Grady Prime hadn’t expected from this man, even though he’d been asking himself similar things for many weeks. He was intrigued enough to engage on a more detailed level with the Patriarch than he had ever revealed to the techs.

“I always had inexplicable instincts, but they have sharpened and evolved since the treatment. I have no real reason to explain my certainty that Sinclair Prime Past is no longer on the southern continent, but it is a certainty in my mind.”

“Fascinating. And enlightening. I thank you for your candor, my friend, and in return I will tell you this. Seek him in the high places. Seek him near your friends of old. Seek him among the natives, fulfilling his lifelong role as warrior and protector.”

“Then you know where he is?”

The Patriarch paused, watching him with those uncanny eyes. A slight nod was all the confirmation he gave, but it was enough.

“When you find him, you will also find your heart.”

“What?” The words shocked him, their meaning ambiguous, yet striking to the heart of him—the place that yearned for understanding, for acceptance, for love.

“So I was told by the strongest of the foreseers in my clan. I know not what it means, but thought you deserved to know what had been said. I wish you clear skies and fair weather on your journey. If I am not mistaken it will take you far both physically and spiritually.”

“I thought our race no longer believed in the spirit.” Grady Prime couldn’t help challenging the Patriarch’s strange words.

“Perhaps not, but the Zxerah have never given up all that we were and all that we can become. The humans in my clan have taught me much and renewed my faith in the teachings of our ancestors. By the First Crystal and all that came after, my spirit—blindfolded and gagged by my own lack of emotion—still wants to break free. I have made it my mission in life to help it do so for myself and for all other Alvians.”

“That is a dangerous task, and one I’m not sure we’re ready for.”

“Ready or not, it is a step we must take. To stay as we are is to die—to kill all that we are and could be. And humanity cannot wait any longer for us to realize the error of our ways. Killing ourselves is one thing, but we can no longer destroy them with impunity. We’ve made a mess of this world. It is our duty to all sentient beings—to all life in the universe—to the spirit itself—to fix it.”

Grady Prime was humbled by the Patriarch’s words and his goals. Such matters were things he had thought of in the abstract but never dared believe he could change on his own. That the Zxerah Patriarch contemplated life on such a grand scale should not have been surprising but the idea that he could, and would, act to change the very nature of all Alvian existence on this planet was daunting to say the least. Grady Prime wasn’t sure it was even possible, but the more he thought about it the more he realized he had to help in whatever small way he could.

“I admire your goals, Patriarch. I don’t know what a simple soldier like me can do to aid them, but aid you I will, should you need my assistance.”

The Patriarch seemed surprised by Grady Prime’s declaration of support but also pleased in his calm, Alvian way.

“Thank you, Grady. I will remember your words and hope you will as well. There are many obstacles and tests in your path. I don’t need the gift of prophecy to be able to see that. I wish you well on your journey. Be strong of heart and have faith in the rightness of your quest. And know that by the time you leave here, your craft will have been made completely untraceable.”

“By anyone but the Zxerah, I presume,” Grady challenged with a friendly grin.

The Patriarch gave him a wicked smile and left without further words, disappearing in a moment as was the way of the Zxerah. His words of what his people had foreseen stayed with Grady Prime however, haunting him deep into the night and all the next day as he planned the next part of his mission.

Grady Prime knew exactly where he was going. He’d been there before when he tracked a runaway Alvian lab tech named Jaci 192. He’d found her frolicking in a pool with her two human Resonance Mates, laughing and displaying emotion he couldn’t understand at the time.

He thought he knew better now and wanted an experience like that for himself. He wanted a woman who could care for him as Jaci cared for her two mates, Michael and David.

Grady Prime didn’t know why he was so sure he’d find Prime Past hiding out with the natives in that old bunker he’d found, but the more he thought about it, the more he knew he needed to check it out.

Sinclair Prime saw him off when he decided to go and they parted as warriors…and as friends.

“Tell him I miss his counsel,” Sinclair Prime said when Grady was about ready to close the hatch.

“You’re that sure I’ll find him?”

“I know your skill. If he’s to be found, you’ll do it. Besides, I know you’re on the right track.”

Immediately he grew suspicious. “You sent scouts ahead, didn’t you? That’s how the Patriarch knew to nudge me in the right direction.”

“You’ll learn the Patriarch seldom leaves anything to chance, my friend.” Sinclair Prime shook his hand in the way of warriors. Grady Prime returned the sign of respect. “Your mission is important to us all. Fare well on your journey. Clear skies and gentle winds, brother.”

Grady Prime was touched by his words and the appellation. Still, he felt some chagrin to realize his mission had been completed already by one of the winged scouts. No doubt they’d already tagged and perhaps spoken with Prime Past. The other warrior would know Grady Prime was coming, and he’d be prepared. They’d just made his quest either impossible or all too easy. He didn’t like the idea of either alternative, but the seer’s words that replayed constantly in his mind kept him on his path. He’d go, if for no other reason than to meet his destiny, whatever that may be.

Grady Prime landed his craft in a copse of trees just shy of the entrance to the subterranean complex he’d found before. He hid the ship under a layer of fallen pine boughs and leaves, camouflaging it from casual discovery before he set out on foot.

The trek was as he remembered, with the bite of refreshingly chill mountain air on his face. He loved this country. The terrain was challenging enough to keep him entertained, and the weather was cool and mild at this time of year. The scenery was breathtaking.

He topped a ridge and looked around, in awe of the wonder of nature. Even Alvia Prime hadn’t been able to match this new planet for the sheer vastness of its open spaces and the majesty of its vistas. Then again, Alvia Prime had many more people living on its surface before it was destroyed. Now all those souls were scattered across the galaxy, trying to colonize a handful of worlds that were capable of supporting their unique needs.

When he felt the first of the sensors, Grady Prime made the conscious decision not to hide his approach. Coming in openly was a risk, but a calculated one. Prime Past already knew someone was on the way due to the Patriarch’s interference so the element of surprise was out. Grady Prime also had a history with the people he’d last seen living in the belowground complex. If they were still there—and he thought it likely they were—he’d gain more by approaching openly than by trying to sneak up on them.

Decision made, Grady Prime sought out the sensors. He deliberately tripped the heat and motion detectors, then smiled and waved to the miniscule cameras. If anyone was monitoring the system, they had to know by now that he was on his way to pay a call.

He liked the challenge of finding all the well-camouflaged sensors and cameras. The game was afoot as the human detective Sherlock Holmes would say. He’d enjoyed reading the adventures of the mythical sleuth when Mick O’Hara loaned him the books. Now that he had emotions, he found true joy in testing his tracking skills, and in the game itself. If his grin for the cameras was a little wider than a normal Alvian’s, well, that couldn’t be helped. He was having fun. Fun! It was a new and thrilling concept.

Grady Prime got about ten yards from the hidden cave entrance before the greeting party made itself known.

“You have a hell of a nerve showing up here again, Grady.” Michael, one of the human mates of Jaci 192, stepped out from behind a boulder, a weapon pointed at Grady Prime’s heart.

“I gave you enough warning. I wasn’t trying to sneak in. Thanks for coming to meet me.”

“This isn’t a welcoming party. This is a get off our land and don’t come back meeting.” Jaci’s other mate, David, moved in from the side, flanking him. Grady Prime held his hands up, palms outward in a show of peace.

“I need to talk to someone I think may be living with you.”

“Son of a bitch.” It was David that spoke, lowering his weapon slightly. “You can feel.”

Grady remembered this man had healing talent and some empathy. He was no doubt sensing Grady’s feelings of exhilaration, trepidation and sheer joy in the hunt.

“As your mate recommended, I took the treatment. Officially, I’m retired from active duty. Unofficially, I’ve been sent to find a former Prime I believe may be hiding out with you.”

“Don’t you mean you were sent to kill me?” A new voice spoke as the man in question strode boldly from the cave entrance.

Grady Prime was shocked to see how Prime Past had gone native. He dressed, walked and even sounded like a human. Even his pale blond looks no longer set him apart as Alvian. Long hair masked his pointed ears and his pale skin had started to tan with exposure to this planet’s yellow sun.

“I was,” Grady agreed easily, earning new vigilance from the two humans who raised their weapons once more. “But like you, I’ve got a mind of my own now. I came to talk to you, Sinclair Prime Past.”

“Call me Bill.”

Grady Prime shouldn’t have been surprised, he supposed, that the Council’s best assassin had reinvented himself. He was well trained to blend in to whatever came his way. He’d outdone himself in this case. Grady Prime wasn’t sure he would have recognized him had he run across him in the open.

“Bill.” He tested the name on his tongue and found it strong. “The Patriarch hinted I might find you here.”

Bill held his hands out to his side and shrugged. “Found me you have. Speak your piece, Grady.”

“The Council wants you dead.” Grady Prime’s voice was harsh in the light of day. “But you already knew that. They sent me to kill you, but I’ve had much time to think and to talk with your brethren, especially Ronin Prime. What I seek is your knowledge, not your death.”

“If that’s the case, then be welcome. I’ll talk with you, but I won’t put my friends in danger. I want your word that nothing about our location or this facility will make its way into your report.”

“You have it.” Grady Prime relaxed a little, letting his weariness show. “At this point, I’m not even sure I’m going back. I find it hard to live among them now. Even harder than it was before.”

Bill walked over and put a hand on Grady Prime’s shoulder, surprising everyone with the compassion in his gesture. “I understand, brother. Let’s talk and we’ll see what strategy we can devise. You may yet be able to do much good from within Alvian society.”

A short conference between Dave, Mike and Bill ensued, during which it was decided that Grady would be given access to the facility on a limited basis. As they walked to the cave entrance, Grady felt the animosity coming off the human men. He’d have to make an effort to show them he wasn’t the same man who’d hunted them down and captured them so many years ago.

“I hope your Jaci is well,” he began hesitantly. The human men gave him dirty looks, but Bill seemed surprised.

“You know about her?”

“I’ve been here once before, when they sent me after her,” he admitted to his fellow soldier. He was very conscious of the humans listening as they all walked. “I found the three of them in a hot spring some way into the mountain. They Hummed so sweetly, it made my heart stutter. That was what decided me to take the treatment. I have to thank you for that, David and Michael. I also have to apologize for capturing you those many years ago, though you have my admiration for your evasive skills. I remember that mission more than any other. You were worthy opponents and earned my respect.”

“You still caught us,” Michael said in disgust. “We must not have been that good.”

“Oh, I assure you,” Grady chanced a smile, “you would have gotten away had it not been for the snow. I had the advantage in such weather.”

“But you came after us on foot. You didn’t have a ship to protect you. We figured the odds were even,” David spoke at Grady’s side.

“Our higher body temperature allows us to move more quickly in cold weather, with less protective gear. Surely you’ve noticed Bill only wears a thin coat in the cold?”

“I thought that was so he could—” Michael broke off and looked at Bill apologetically.

“It’s all right. Since he’s been working with my men and the Patriarch to find me, I think he knows I can fly. Don’t you?” Bill shot him a knowing look.

“I do,” Grady admitted. “And you have my admiration for that ability.”

Bill only shrugged off the compliment as they entered the tunnel that would ultimately lead to the underground facility. Grady had been here before, but he’d never been as far inside as they were going to take him now. He was eager to see what the humans had built—both the facility that had been wrought before the crystal bombardment and what the current occupants had done with it.

The tunnels were as he remembered them, twining around the mountain as if following ore deposits. In all likelihood the outer section of this facility had probably started as a mine and only later turned into the underground city that Grady assumed he would find below.

He wasn’t disappointed. When they rounded the final curve, well past the grotto where his search had ended before, Grady saw a massive steel door standing open. Through the doorway he could see a very large manmade corridor that terminated in another steel blast door.

As they walked along the corridor into the facility proper, Bill walked beside him making conversation.

“Tell me of my men. Are they well?” As Grady had suspected, the ties of a commander to his men were never lost. Even in exile, Bill’s concern for his people was strong.

“The new Prime asked me to tell you that he misses your counsel. He seemed to think your decision to take the treatment was a good one, but I suspect he wasn’t ready to take command—at least intellectually—when you failed to return. He would have followed your leadership for the rest of his life, happily. He was very devoted to you, as were most of the men I spoke with. That’s a credit to you as a commander. You inspired loyalty and even love among a group of men who had little to give.”

“All that will change if Ronin has his way. I believe he is working on a way to get all of them the same gene-altering therapy that I had. Especially after meeting you, and seeing that you haven’t gone completely mad.” Bill chuckled at his own dry humor. “He’ll be pestering Mara Prime to move up the schedule. Mark my words.”

“I don’t doubt you’re right. Ronin seems like a man of strong convictions and intense will.”

“He is one of the strongest people I know. Among Alvians, he is the most dedicated to his beliefs, the surest of his purpose and the bravest I have met. Since exiling myself among the humans though, I have found much to admire among them. The things they have gone through to survive in the world we made for them would break your heart if you let them.”

“You’ve revised your opinion of humans then?”

“I have. They have a strength and resilience our people have lost. They survived against all odds and continue to thrive both in captivity and on the run. They are resourceful, intelligent and cunning, as I’m sure you know.”

Grady nodded in agreement. “I have often found myself respecting those I have hunted and captured, including the two men there.” He indicated David and Michael with a jerk of his chin. “They were among my most challenging missions. I regret their animosity toward me, but I do understand it. No one in their right mind could actually like—or forgive—the person who stole their freedom. And back when I did it, I didn’t even realize the full impact of my actions. How do you live with the regret, Bill?”

“It’s not easy.” A chilling desolation entered the former assassin’s eyes.

Grady wasn’t proud of the things he’d done to humans in his past as a warrior Prime, but he’d never killed in cold blood. He’d never been used as an assassin. At the time it wouldn’t have mattered, but now that he could feel, he was grateful for the oversight. Grady could only imagine the guilt Bill felt. Killing in self defense or defense of others could be considered acceptable but killing in cold blood was something Grady didn’t know if he could have lived with.

They entered through the second blast door, and Grady both felt and heard the reverberations of both heavy steel doors being closed and locked behind him. If things were going to turn ugly, now would be the time.

But his hosts didn’t turn on him. Instead, they led him through a central area from which he could see multiple buildings of various sizes and indications of human habitation. In fact, he could see more than a few people going about their business around the vast space, walking from building to building, carting things in small hand-powered vehicles from levels below and generally doing things to keep the facility running.

“This is quite an installation.” Grady admired the orderly way the people moved around. He even noted a few infants with their mothers and older children at play behind one of the larger buildings.

“It grows almost daily.” Bill indicated a group of people being taught how to work some of the automated instruments. “We’ve had to institute a schedule of classes so newcomers can learn how everything works down here. We’re nowhere near capacity, but it feels like a crowd. In the beginning it was just me, Michael, David and Jaci living down here. Then the others started to arrive. First, we took in people sent to us by our allies then later people started looking for us themselves as rumors spread.”

Grady would bet anything that the allies Bill had mentioned were the O’Haras. Their ranch wasn’t too far away as the Avarel could fly, and Grady had long suspected they worked covertly to assist what humans they could. He didn’t begrudge them that. It was only natural they would try to help their fellow man. They were good people he had come to respect.

As they crossed the open area, Grady became aware of another group of people. He recognized Jaci 192, who stood facing him. She was talking with two others, a male and a female. Just then the female turned, and he caught sight of the gentle curve of her cheek.

Could it be?

“Oh my God.” Gina’s voice was a whisper of sound. “Grady.”

She took off as Jim watched. She jogged toward a strange Alvian male who stood a few yards distant with Bill, Mike and Dave. She jumped into his arms, joy clear in her expression.

Her response seemed all out of proportion with what anyone could have expected. The alien man’s too. At first he seemed shocked, but he recovered quickly, folding her in his arms, kissing her for all he was worth. There was real emotion showing in every tender caress of his hands over her hair, her shoulders, her back. They were lovers reunited, and no one watching them could be unaffected.

But Jim stood frozen, taken completely by surprise. Jim felt Gina’s response to the alien like a sucker punch to his gut. He’d been blindsided by the hushed joy in her voice, the slight tremble as she recognized her old lover. Jim knew that was what he was. Even in those cold blue alien eyes, he could see the love shining down on her. It was pure, and it was deep.

Jim felt it like a burning saber to his soul.

“Who’d a thunk it?” Jaci used one of those odd colloquialisms she’d been learning from her mates. “They Hum.”

“Who is he?” Jim needed confirmation, though in his heart he already knew.

Jaci turned to him, a smile in her eyes and innocent happiness on her pretty face. “Why that’s Grady Prime. I think he’s finally taken the treatment if the look on his face is anything to go by.”

“You mean the emotion-restoring drug?” Jim didn’t like the sound of this at all—or the look of his woman in the alien’s arms. But then, he had no real claim on Gina. He’d been careful to let her know he wouldn’t leave his people. Not even for her. They were a couple for this trip only and now it seemed their time together had come to an abrupt and premature end.

“I prepared the doses for him and a new test group before I left. In fact, that’s when I accidentally dosed myself. It was the best mistake I ever made.” Her smile turned nostalgic as she looked at her two mates. “Grady found us here later, after I’d made a run for it with Michael and David.”

“He found you?”

She nodded, turning her happy expression on him. “He did, but he let us go when he heard our Hum and saw evidence of our resonance. It’s the oldest of Alvian laws—Resonance Mates may not be separated for any reason. He used that to justify letting us live here in peace. He didn’t report us to the Council. As far as anyone knows, I was his one and only failure at tracking and I thank him every day for allowing the false ruination of his perfect record.”

Jim had some idea what that might have cost the man in pride—especially an Alvian warrior who had emotions. No soldier liked to have a blemish on his record and letting Jaci go would have been a big mark against him. Maybe there was more to the man than just another pretty Alvian face, but Jim was reserving judgment.

“Well, would you look at that.” Michael joined them, standing beside his mate Jaci. David took up a position on her other side, as all three turned to watch Gina and the Alvian warrior, necking like they were teenagers in a carpark. “I reckon they’ve met before.”

“They Hum brightly.” Jaci sighed wistfully, a smile playing about her lips.

“Really?” David dug around in his pocket, finally retrieving a small, glowing crystal. “Do you think they’re causing this?” He gave the crystal to his woman.

A tear gathered in her eye. “They are. They Kiss, the crystal glows, the Hum increases. Now if they take it a step further, we’ll know…” Her voice trailed off as the couple did indeed take things a little further. Gina jumped up, wrapping her legs around the alien, aligning their bodies, for an even deeper embrace though they were both fully clothed.

There was an impatience in their movements Jim understood all too well. Clearly they’d both forgotten, or didn’t care, that they had an audience of people watching them with varying degrees of indulgence, interest and in the case of Jim, jealousy. He admitted it. He was jealous as hell of that stranger and the way Gina was climbing all over him. They might’ve known each other before, but until a few minutes ago Gina had been his girl. He wasn’t ready to let her go just yet.

If he were being honest with himself, he’d admit he wasn’t sure he’d ever be ready to let her go.

But that was beside the point. His plans—whatever they were¾had just been shredded by the appearance of the Alvian warrior.

“That’s clinched it, I think,” Michael picked the crystal out of Jaci’s hand. It was glowing yellow like a miniature sun.

“They’re mates!” Jaci grabbed both Michael and David by the arm, pulling them close for a quick squeeze. Each man bent to kiss her briefly, adding to the crystal’s illumination slightly from Jim’s vantage point. He didn’t understand everything, but he knew when he needed to bow out gracefully.

Only thing was, he didn’t want to bow out at all. In fact, he felt like going over there and punching that big Alvian badass in the nose, then breaking an arm or maybe a leg for good measure.

Jim seethed while the couple embraced, apparently lost to the world. They were that wrapped up in each other.

“Tough break, Jim.” Mike took a position beside him as Jaci headed toward the main building, grinning like a fool. Dave stood on Jim’s other side, arms crossed as if the two cousins thought they could stop Jim if he took it into his mind to go break up the two lovebirds.

“Of course, this could also be the start of a nice little family.” Dave turned toward Jim with a raised eyebrow. “Men today don’t often get to keep a woman all to themselves. In fact, you’ll be lucky if you only have to share with one or two other guys. Much as I hate Grady, he’s a strong man and he’ll be a good protector for Gina—not just physically, but also from other Alvians.”

“Gina can take care of herself.” Jim had to bite back the fury that suffused his mind and try to think logically. He hated to admit it, but Dave did have a point where the Alvians were concerned. Any person in this day and age would do well to have one of the aliens on their side.

“I’m sure she can,” Dave said in a voice that sent soothing vibrations down Jim’s spine. Damn it all if the nosy mind healer wasn’t trying to use his gift to calm him down. And double damn it that he needed calming in the first place. Still, the force of Dave’s gift brought some much-needed clarity to Jim’s troubled mind. “But you should consider what it would mean to have Grady Prime as your third. He was one of the most powerful Alvian soldiers before he got emotion. We saw firsthand how not only his fellow soldiers, but most Alvians, deferred to the guy. I can’t think that’s changed no matter how much he has. And believe me, he’s changed.”

“You got that right,” Mike put in. “That bastard used to be cold as ice. As much as I despised him, I had to respect him for his skills and the way his people revered him. He could be a useful ally.”

“Fuck.” Dave laughed ruefully and shared an ironic look with his cousin. “I suppose we’ll have to make peace with the bastard now.”

“Looks like it.” Mike grinned, but it wasn’t a pleasant expression as he looked at the newest Alvian in their midst. “I sure as hell didn’t expect to be welcoming so many damned aliens here when we moved in.”

“Me neither, cuz, but I’ll never regret mating Jaci. Bill saved her life, so we owe him. But Grady?” Dave scratched his head as he watched the alien warrior with narrowed eyes. “Hell, we’ll just have to see what happens. We should probably call the O’Haras. Maybe Caleb has some advice for us.”

“Who’s Caleb?” Jim seized on anything for respite from seeing Gina in some stranger’s arms. Thankfully, they broke the embrace and started talking, walking away as they went, clearly in their own little world.

“Caleb O’Hara is the one they call the Oracle.”

“No shit? I’ve heard of him. I even have a copy of the book of his prophecies somewhere. One of the newcomers brought it in with him and gave it to me. I passed it to my lieutenants to read.”

“You should read it yourself,” Mike advised.

“I took a look, but it’s kind of vague.”

“He had to be vague in case it fell into Alvian hands,” Dave said. “Believe us, you should study that book. In the meantime, we have an in with the man himself we should make use of. He’s a guest of the Alvians at the moment, but his nephew ’paths messages from him to his family. They’re friends of ours.”

“Nice to have such powerful friends.” Jim followed the cousins as they headed toward the communications center. His mind was still in chaos, but he felt better to have at least some task to occupy him. He wanted to hear what the infamous Oracle might have to say, if anything, about this totally fucked up situation.