Destiny's Shift (8 page)

The Colony. It was a troubling time, but no one could pinpoint the cause, except it

seemed to start when the Six Saviors, you all,” she said, motioning to the males at the

table, but not meeting their eyes, “were declared lost to us, as well as the decline of the

military.”

Jovan thought of The Colony. One of SR44’s moons that didn’t see much light

from SR44’s sun, it was a dark place made up of nothing but black and gray sand and

rocks. It was the place that the worst offenders of their race were sent, and there they

earned the title of Colonist. It was a place where the inhabitants’ soul and colored form

turned black, a place where evil itself resided.

He had done some training on The Colony and remembered the sheer torture it

had been in comparison to the magnificent colors of the SR44 inhabitants and the high

golden buildings of the cities. He, along with Noah, had had serious problems getting

back into the swing of normal SR44 life, commonly known on Earth as Post Traumatic

Syndrome. After being among the grays and blacks for so long during training on The

Colony, the bright colors of SR44 had caused sensory overload. Not to mention the sheer

amount of beings on SR44. Jovan had felt like crawling into a hole and never coming out

for a long time as his senses adjusted to the bright beauty and hustle and bustle of life of

SR44.

Noah donated fanatically to the PTSD cause on Earth simply because he could

relate. He and Jovan had recalled the private tortures they had endured at the hands of the

disease a few times throughout the years, mainly before Jovan began distancing himself

from everyone.

Liberty inhaled, then took yet another gulp of the whiskey. “After that, with our

military decimated, and a key member of our Royal Congress losing his wits, the

universe shifted.”

Jovan reached for the bottle of whiskey, and not bothering with a glass, took a

long drink.

Liberty studied the rest of the amber liquid in her glass and remained quiet for a

few moments.

“Liberty,” Rayner said quietly, “I’m getting the feeling that there’s some bad shit

about to come down the pipeline, and I’m kind of a ‘let’s get it over’ guy.”

Liberty met his gaze, and then Faith said quietly, her large brown eyes pleading,

“Liberty, what happened next?”

“We came under attack from the
Miladrids.
”

“Seriously?” Hudson said, leaning back and crossing his arms across his chest.

The Miladrids were beings from another planet in their solar system, and they had

never shown any aggression toward the inhabitants of SR44.

“Yes,” Liberty said.

Because of the military downsizing, the planet didn’t stand a chance against an

attack from another world, and the death was great, the sadness and hurt beyond

recognition.

And then the Miladrids freed the Colonists.

“They were on a mission of destruction against their own people,” Liberty

whispered, as Jovan watched the horror play across her face. “They killed at will and at

random.”

“When it was certain that we had no more fight, when the citizens of SR44 turned

on the Royal Congress and it looked as though our world would implode, my sire decided

to put together an escape pod. The coordinates for Earth were already programmed, so it

was decided we would travel here.”

Jovan felt the emotions in the room building even though he wasn’t touching

anyone, and he hated his so-called gift more than ever. He mainly felt anger and sadness,

and he took another swig from the bottle hoping the whiskey would block some of it out.

“On that pod there were twelve of us that consisted of The Platoon—a few other

females and me.”

“Who’s The Platoon?” Jovan asked.

“They are a few of the troopers that were left in our military. They refer to

themselves as The Platoon.”

“No offense, but why you?” Rayner asked. “And where are the others?”

Jovan watched as she took a couple of deep breaths.

“The females were meant to carry on our race here in Earth,” she said, “and the

males of The Platoon were sent to sire that race. I was sent because I have royal breeding.

However, on our travels, members of The Platoon came up with another proposal for

their time on Earth.”

“And that is?” Rayner urged.

“They would avenge the destruction of our home. They would kill the son of the

Royal Council member who insisted on the downsizing of our military.”

Jovan looked to Noah, who just stared at Liberty.

“So, just to be clear, Noah’s father ordered that the military be downsized, SR44

was unable to defend themselves from the Miladrids, and now they’re coming after

Noah?” Hudson said.

Jovan heard a couple of growls from around the table.

Liberty nodded, still not meeting anyone’s eyes. She sipped at her whiskey.

“And they’re here?” Jovan asked quietly.

Liberty turned and met his gaze for an instant with tears in her eyes. She then

looked down at the table again. “Oh, yes, Jovan. They are here. When we landed in the

desert, it was a fiery mess. Some perished. Those of us that survived stayed together to

come up with a plan of action, of where we would go. It was only hours after the crash

that large aerial vehicles hovered above us, and males appeared out of nowhere dressed in

dark fabrics and carrying weapons. Those who were hurt could not escape, but some of us

did. I ran for what seemed like years and found myself alone in the desert, the city within

view.”

Jovan closed his eyes. Helicopters? Men in dark clothing carrying weapons? Man,

this had bad news written all over it and stunk like government.

“Oh, hell,” Noah said, putting his head in his hands.

“How many of you survived?” Hudson asked.

“There were twelve of us on the craft. Nine survived the crash.”

“Was there any of your . . . family on the craft?” Beverly asked.

Liberty shook her head. “No. Space was limited, and my sire said that he would

stay to the end as a leader should, whatever that end may be. My
moha
couldn’t come

because of the lack of space on the craft.
I did, however, become close with another

female named Annis.”

“Did she die?” Abby asked.

Tears welled in Liberty’s eyes. “I do not know what became of Annis. When I ran,

she was injured and I left her behind.”

There was a beat of silence.

“And SR44?” Rayner asked. “What’s become of it?”

Liberty stared at the middle of the table, and Jovan watched as her eyes slowly

turned a light pink. The other Warriors began to light up as well. Beverly’s green eyes got

slightly brighter, but nothing like the others.

Liberty took a deep breath, grabbed the arms of the chair, and closed her eyes.

“SR44 is no more. As we left, it seemed our world exploded from the inside, leaving

nothing. It is gone.”

Jovan felt pain in his chest at the loss. Then the emotions in the room welled,

soaring as if they grew wings and took on a life of their own. The blast of sadness and

anger rolled over him, suffocating him, hitting him like a hammer to the diaphragm. He

stood slowly, feeling as though he was under a massive weight, and crumpled to the floor.

The pain in the room was too great, and he thought for sure he would die from it

as it tore through his body, ripping him apart from the inside.

The last thing he saw before he blacked out was Liberty sitting in the chair white

knuckling the arms, her eyes closed, and pain contorting her face.

Chapter 15

Liberty sat on the floor next to Jovan. After she heard the loud thump of his body

hitting the ground, she hadn’t been able to open her eyes until the wave of emotion had

gone through the room.

It had been quite strong.

When it passed, she opened her eyes and saw the others tending to Jovan. His

body began to convulse as they tried to help him, and she quickly figured out what was

going on. Every hand that rested on him was transferring their emotions to him, and his

convulsions became worse when they touched him. Although she was only a guest and

born into servitude, she found the strength within herself to ask everyone to take their

leave of the room. Remembering what Jovan had said about all of them being equals

here, she had been able to find her voice to speak.

There were a couple of arguments, especially from the Warriors, but when she

explained what was happening, the females took charge and got everyone out of the

room.

Jovan’s body had eventually quieted, and now she waited for him to awake.

As she studied his face, she wondered why he had never learned to control his

gift.

It was estimated that only ten percent of beings from SR44 were born with the

gift. However, sometimes it didn’t make itself known until later in life. Perhaps he hadn’t

received proper training in controlling the gift because it flourished later in life, after he

came to Earth.

That had to be it. She couldn’t imagine the officers of the highest ranks of military

allowing a soldier to serve with an uncontrolled gift. It would become a weakness, an

Achilles heel for the Warrior.

She felt very protective of the male Jovan, especially when he looked so

vulnerable. He had given her help when she needed it, and provided her with shelter and

fabrics to cover her body. He had nourished her with that delicious meal of macaroni and

cheese. Jovan had also been kind to her, and she decided that she would teach him how to

control his gift. She couldn’t imagine the . . . horror . . . of being able to feel others’

emotions and not have any way to regulate it.

He groaned, and she let her fingers run through his blond hair. It was soft and slid

through her fingers with ease. Closing her eyes, she made sure that her own emotions

wouldn’t bleed into him causing him more distress.

Reaching for her hand, he clasped it in his own, and she watched as her small

fingers were swallowed up. She checked his face and noted that he seemed to still be

unconscious.

“I can’t feel you,” he whispered, drawing closer to her. After a moment, his head

was in her lap, and his arms encircled her waist. He seemed to be holding on to her for

dear life.

“I can’t feel you,” he whispered again.

She didn’t answer, just allowed him to hold her, her fingers moving methodically

through his hair.

Chapter 16

Jovan woke, unsure of where he was. He felt a softness below him, but it wasn’t

as plush as a mattress. Whatever he was holding felt like a lifeline, and he squeezed it

tighter.

Delicate fingers went through his hair, brushing down his cheeks, to his neck, and

back up again. When it hit him that he was actually being touched and not feeling any

emotions, he panicked for a moment, wondering if he was dead.

As he felt the gentle caresses, he knew that he wasn’t, but he was also aware that

he wasn’t ready to return to full consciousness.

SR44 was gone. There would never be any going back, any hope of that shattered.

He thought of his mother and father, and tremors of sadness wafted through him.

The wave of emotion that brought him to his knees had been so powerful. There

was anger and sadness, but the sadness far outweighed the anger. He imagined that Talin

and Cohen were particularly affected as both had lost their
lovrens
, or mates.

Two SR44 males who had just found out their mates were dead? Man, shit was

going to get ugly.

He opened his eyes and realized he was still on the floor of the dining room. His

lifeline was Liberty.

Slowly, he sat up.

“Hello, Jovan,” she said quietly.

“Hey,” he said, hearing the gravel in his voice. He felt like he had been on the

losing end of a MMA match; every fiber of his being hurt like hell. He moved to lean

against the wall, as he didn’t think he had the energy to keep upright. Liberty moved to sit

next to him.

“You don’t have control of your gift,” she said.

Jovan looked down at her, meeting the soft pink glow of her eyes. “Gift? I beg to

differ on that description, Liberty. But you’re right, I can’t control it at all.”

Her gaze moved to her hands in her lap. “If you would like, I can educate you on

how to control it.”

Jovan studied her. If his memory served him right, only about ten percent of the

SR44 population was born with the gift, or curse, depending on how you looked at it.

What were the odds that he was sitting next to another SR44 being with the same damn

gift? Slim to none.

“Seriously? You have it?”

She met his eyes again and lifted her chin in a regal way. “Yes, I do. I am in full

control of it and can teach you to do the same, if you desire.”

Jovan tried to think about a world where he wasn’t affected by others’ emotions, a

place where he couldn’t hear anyone’s thoughts, a time where he could just be a normal

guy. Well, as normal as a guy with glowing eyes could be. Would Liberty really be able to

free him from his self-imposed exile?

“That . . . would be great, Liberty. Even if I could just control it a little so I don’t

end up in a pile on the floor next time someone delivers bad news, I’d be happy.”

“Very well, Jovan. I’m honored to be able to assist a Warrior.” Liberty stood and