Initiation (Xylon Warriors 1) (29 page)

He’d made her feel so cherished. They’d talked and laughed, shared their hopes and dreams for the future. And she had realized during that special time together just how much she actually loved him.

Braden set down the vid-cell. “How are you feeling? Warm enough?”

“Yes. I’m fine. When are you going to tell me what’s going on?”

The smile on his face faded. “I don’t—”

“Please, Braden. Don’t pretend you don’t know what I’m talking about. Give me more credit than that.”

After a long moment of silence, a resigned look crossed his face, and he nodded. “All right.” He sat beside her on the couch, took her hand, and laced their fingers. He stared down at their joined hands as he spoke. “Keep an open mind and listen carefully. What I’m about to tell you is extremely important.” He hesitated while his gaze shifted to lock with hers. “I’ll need your full cooperation for this to work. No second-guessing my decisions. Otherwise, tell me before we start. Later it’ll be too dangerous to turn back.”

She nodded. “All right. Tell me what you need me to do. I’ll listen.”

“After you hear it all and understand, you’ll have to promise me to see it through to the end, Alexa. If you can’t do that for me, we have to stop this now before we put it into motion. I mean it.”

Her heart thudded, and her throat went dry. Braden needed her to do something that was apparently a one-way street at full-speed ahead. Scary. The story of her life since meeting him. “I understand.”

* * * * *

If his leg felt better, he’d pace. Kam studied the monitors. Erik was moving from room to room. Video, but no sound, allowed him to follow his friend’s progress.

Something had happened to the sound long ago, and they’d never been able to get it fixed properly, so he couldn’t hear anything more than static and muffled noise when he turned up the receiver. Some sort of energy field, he suspected, caused the permanent interference with the audio. But the video still worked and was, so far, undiscovered. It was better than having nothing. And when a monitored person was alone, video was better than audio anyhow, since they tended not to speak much, if at all, when by themselves.

Kam glanced behind him. Laszlo had taken a break to get something to eat. The man was holding something back. He sensed it very strongly.

He hadn’t told Laszlo the plans of the others. They hadn’t told
him
, but he knew Braden. He knew what his friend would do. Laszlo probably knew, too. Even though he hadn’t said so. Braden didn’t have many options, if he wanted to find out the truth. Alexa was the wild card in all this. She would have to cooperate for it to work, and he wasn’t so sure that was something she’d be willing, or even able, to do.

Regardless, Kam planned to stick close to Laszlo. If it came down to it, he knew which side he was on. He leaned forward when Erik entered Laszlo’s quarters.

He didn’t know if he wanted Erik to find the hidden video panel or not. When he’d first learned of its existence, he’d been appalled. Laszlo had convinced him of its necessity, but he still recognized the intrusiveness of the set-up if abused. Like with the video of Leila’s Initiation, which had been somehow copied and handed over to The Dome. Or so Laszlo had said when Kam questioned him about it. On the other hand, that video also provided proof of her abuse. Nobody could dispute what had happened. The Council’s decision to punish those involved would stand as long as it existed.

Still, right about now, he doubted everything he’d been told. And he didn’t know whom to trust. It wasn’t a comfortable feeling.

He looked down at the transport-connector he’d taken. He could zip in and zip out before Laszlo returned. Show Erik. Tell him what he knew.

But what if Laszlo
was
telling the truth? His first loyalty should be to the man who had organized and led the Society of Warriors for as long as he could remember.

“Dammit!” Laszlo’s voice exploded behind him. “Why didn’t you call me?” He rushed up to the monitors. “What’s he doing in my room?”

Kam shrugged. “Probably nothing.”

“Nothing? He’s searching the entire place. You never told him about the control panel, did you?”

“I never said anything about the video.
Control
panel? Is there something else hidden down there?”

“We need to get him out before he finds anything. If he discovers the set-up, he’ll assume the worst. And we’ll be working blind, because he’ll no doubt destroy the damn thing.”

The fact that Laszlo didn’t answer his question wasn’t lost on Kam. Wariness filled him. “Why don’t we just see what happens? You’ve hidden the panel well. He may not discover it. If we interfere, he’ll know for sure something exists that you don’t want found.”

“Why don’t you get real?”

“Get
real
?” Kam repeated in an effort to distract Laszlo and give Erik more time. If Laszlo was hiding more than just a video set-up…”Where’d you pick that up from? Some alien satellite feed?”

“It doesn’t matter where I got it from. It’s an expression. And I know what you’re doing. Don’t try to distract me by changing the subject. We can’t just sit here shooting the breeze and discussing word choices, like it’s some quiet mid-day lounge time. This is a serious—”

An alarm went off. Kam jumped up, his heart pounding hard against his ribs. He’d made his decision. His finger slid off the button on the security board. “We’ll settle this later. We have a breach. We need to get you out of here and into a safe area.”

Laszlo looked hesitant to leave. “What about Erik? We have to secure my quarters. I never believed Braden would send someone in to invade my sanctuary. The auto-vision of protection I set up to activate upon entry must have failed. Good thing I set up this secondary control area outside The Lair to monitor things.”

An auto-activated vision? He had no idea Laszlo was powerful enough to be able to do something of that magnitude. Or had been? Laszlo kept complaining that his powers were decreasing rapidly. Powers no one on Xylon even knew he had, except for Kam.

Laszlo had taken him into his confidence when his health started to fail, and he needed help, but didn’t want The Council or Warriors to know. That’s when Kam had found out about the hidden power. Visions. The ability to project images into another’s mind was apparently the result of some long-ago experiment gone awry, but Kam hadn’t yet been able to get all the details out of the man.

He pulled at Laszlo’s arm. “We’ll check back when it’s clear and handle it then. Come on.” He stared at the monitors as he pushed Laszlo toward the door.
Find the truth, Erik. I’m in too deep to turn back now. I have to see this through to the end
.

* * * * *

Alexa stood in front of the large seascape, trying to calm herself. How had her life turned out so upside-down? She felt a lot like the picture’s rolling waves—unsettled.

She glanced at the door. Braden had left over an hour ago to prepare things. Even though she’d agreed to the Branding, it was still scary. But she loved Braden and couldn’t imagine her life without him now. Not after everything that they’d been through together. She was ready to make that commitment.

A morbid thought crossed her mind. What if Braden died? Would the Brand only bind her to Braden while he lived? Could she be Branded again, by another Warrior?

All the unknowns about this situation caused her head to ache. She wished they had more time. But she knew their options were limited given the circumstances.

Something tapped against her mind. She rubbed her temple and pushed away the feeling. The strange, mental intrusion had to be her imagination. It was like what used to happen in her sleep right before the nightmares had started. And what had happened right before the erotic vision she’d had of her and Braden. She glanced toward the door.

When he’d left, Braden had posted a guard. He’d also given her a hand-held alarm in case she should need to alert him. And she had a transport-connector for emergencies with pre-programmed, safe destinations already entered. Braden had shown her how to use it. She wouldn’t be using it. The thing gave her the heebie-jeebies.

Everything he’d told her went through her mind as she tried to keep it straight. The whole thing was frightening to say the least. She truly believed the Xylon Warriors served an important purpose and feared what would happen should they fall out of existence. Who would be strong enough to fight Daegal and his followers then?

If Leila was right about the betrayal and traitor, then Laszlo was onboard the Marid ship, in a full facemask and in command. Leila even believed in the possibility that Laszlo and Daegal could be the same person.

She felt nauseous, thinking about how The Council had wanted her to
mate
with Laszlo. The birth of long-tongued, yellow-eyed Egesa came to mind, though she had no idea how that really worked. She supposed Laszlo/Daegal wasn’t really a lizard-type, but still…

She couldn’t imagine the thoughts going through the others’ minds. All this affected her too, but not as deeply. They’d lived the life since birth. She was a newcomer, with only limited knowledge of their society.

Maybe the two men weren’t the same. What were the odds that he could get away with a deception like that?

Even Braden expressed doubts that the two men were one. He’d said, if so, Laszlo would have taken her when The Council had made its decree.

His actions wouldn’t even have been questioned. He could have whisked her to The Dome of Marid, and she’d have been under Egesa control. At that point, the Warrior Council would have just assumed they’d gotten to her during a weak and unprotected moment.

Instead, Laszlo had assigned Braden to initiate and protect her.

Braden even doubted Laszlo could be the masked man. Or at least, he’d said he didn’t want it to be true. But Leila had insisted the eyes and voice were the same. Erik was searching for proof, something against Laszlo to confirm he was indeed a traitor to the Xylon people.

Whatever the truth, she trusted Braden to protect her. She wanted to build a life with him, have children. A smile eased across her face, imagining a little boy or girl with Braden’s intense violet eyes and dark hair. They could have a real future together, here on this strange world. A lifetime of love. And the Branding, according to Braden, would be the catalyst of all that happening.

* * * * *

Erik joined Braden in the ceremony room. As he looked around, he realized it had been quite a while since he’d last initiated a woman here. Somewhere along the line, he had pulled back from the ceremonies, slowly decreasing the number of rites he participated in, without even knowing why. They just weren’t as fulfilling as they used to be. More like a chore in most cases, instead of his right as a high-ranking Warrior. He’d enjoyed helping to initiate Alexa. But that was a special case, with a special woman. A once in a lifetime opportunity he didn’t figure would repeat itself anytime soon.

A pang of sadness overtook him. He wished he’d been part of Leila’s Initiation. He could have prevented a lot of heartache for her. And maybe their love/hate relationship would have taken a different turn. He shook the thought away. Nothing he could do about it now. The past was over and done. He scanned his surroundings again.

Warm reds, cool blues, and shiny brass decorated the room as usual. A large bed with a thick mattress and lots of pillows sat in the center. Picturescapes of purple and green Xylon mountain ranges, with silver clouds drifting across the sky, filled the walls. Light music, barely audible, wafted through the room. Fresh air, pumped in from the outside, slid over his skin.

“I found proof. There’s a hidden control panel in Laszlo’s quarters,” he said, focusing his attention on Braden, who was fiddling with the music controls, flipping through the selections. “Not only does it contain a Marid transmitter board, but the whole compound is wired for video, though apparently not sound. I left it active. He’ll be able to see exactly what we’re doing and when. It’s the perfect trap. Although, if Laszlo discovers I found it, he may not show tonight.”

Braden turned toward him and frowned. But then, he nodded, as if resigned to the findings. “We’ll have to take that chance. I think he’ll still come. He doesn’t have much choice. It’s the only way for him to get Alexa before she’s Branded. His last chance.”

“What if he decides one super breeder isn’t worth going up against us? Or what if he sends someone else in. There’s no guarantee he’ll come himself.”

“He’s only going to see me in the room with Alexa. He won’t think I’d put more Warriors here during the Branding. Since it is his last chance, I think he’ll be the one to come. I doubt he’d trust another. I wouldn’t.”

Erik shook his head. “I don’t know, Braden. Seems to me that Laszlo is smarter than that. We’re not dealing with Egesa here.”

“Well, we’ll find out. The Branding will take place regardless.” Braden left the control area and walked over to Erik. “Anything suspicious in Kam’s quarters?”

“Not that I could find, and I did a thorough search. There’s something else. Leila wants to be here for this. Would that be all right with Alexa?”

“Why?”

“She has a large stake in the outcome given her involvement. And she
was
the one who tipped us off. She has a right, I think.”

After a moment of hesitation, Braden replied. “I can probably arrange it. Well…” He chuckled. “I’m not really so sure, but Leila might be needed for medical purposes in case someone gets hurt. I’ll approach it from that end and see what I can do. Is there a blind spot in here?”

“The corner beside the door.” That had gone better than expected. Alexa must be fairly committed to what was going to happen if Braden thought there was a possibility of her agreeing.

“You’ll need to materialize into that location, so you’re not spotted.”

“No problem.”

“If nobody shows, you two disappear after the Branding is done. Unless there’s trouble, I don’t even want to know you’re here.”

“Understood. We’ll leave. And I won’t intrude again. Unless invited,” he added with a laugh.