HeartStorm (HeartFast Series Book 3) (13 page)

            "Then why did he take off in
One
like a shistick from hell?" Seeker countered. "It would make sense."

            "He would have tripped the sensors if he'd come inside," Hunter answered. "That's two sensors that would have...that should have gone off." His voice trailed into a whisper, and he pressed his lips to Star's temple. "We'll get her back. I promise."

            Condemner leaned against the comm, arms crossed over his midriff, one hand stroking the short beard at his chin. "I think we need to look at this whole thing from a different perspective."

            Hunter looked at him. "What do you mean?"

            The long, lean man uncurled himself, placing his hands on the comm board behind him. "I mean, we keep saying this is possible, or that is possible, yet it can't be possible. But it did, folks. We have a stolen space craft and a missing baby. In my mind, the math is pretty simple."

            Bruiser moved closer to the man. "Explain the math, then."

            Condemner nodded in Hunter's direction. "You could easily bypass those sensors if you were inside your little bubble, correct?"

            "Of course, but the security grid has my profile on record. It would recognize me and allow me entrance whether I use my power or not."

            "True, true. Hear me out on this. Could you, inside your private little airlock, also reach inside the incubator and remove the baby without tripping the sensors?"

            Hunter hesitated for a second. "Yes, I could. But I didn't take her."

            "I didn't say you did."

            "Then what are you implying? That someone with my power got inside this apartment and took Callie from her cradle?"

            Condemner winced at Hunter's angry tone, but stood his ground. "That's exactly what I'm saying."

            Sender sat on the bed next to the physician. "Are you saying what I think you're saying? Someone with a power to move through walls like Hunter took the baby?"

            "It would explain how the son of a bitch got past me," Bruiser growled.

            "DiMackerlyn?" Seeker gave a humorless laugh. "Are you saying DiMackerlyn has that kind of ability?"

            Condemner held up his hands. "Stop. Change your perspective, like I suggested. Star, do you recall any time when your father appeared or disappeared in a non-conventional way? Like he popped in and out from nowhere?"

            Star bowed her head and tried to remember, but it was too many years and too many horrific incidents ago. She shook her head. "No. But as I told you earlier, I was so young. I didn't pay any attention to much back then."

            A grid suddenly appeared overhead, glowing faintly in the overhead ceiling light. Deceiver adjust his mental blocks to include all the information they already had. Lifting his hand, he deftly flicked his fingers to move some items around, until a detailed pattern of events took shape.

            Animator pointed to an obvious hole in the picture. "I think that's where we need to focus."

            Deceiver nodded. "I was thinking the same thing."

            Star stared at the grid and the gap within it. The gap next to her name. The gap labeled
Origin?

            Deceiver continued. "I believe Condemner is right. I think we need to stop trying to argue logic and look at this from a different viewpoint." With the exception of Hunter and Star, he pointed to everyone in the apartment. "Let's look at how and why we have our special abilities. Other than you two, the rest of us are native Synarians. Because of your venture through the wormhole into this world's past, we now know for a fact that a comet passed over this world eons ago, and the resulting radiation poisoning and such affected our people genetically. Within one generation, we were seeing people born with unique skills, most of which were weak and not extremely effective. But others discovered they could do impressive feats with little or no effort. That's where our powers originated. From our parents." He pointed directly at Hunter. "And that's where you got your power. From your parents."

            Hunter sighed. "Dad was affected during one of his missions in space. I was created after he was released from the medical lab and returned home. At least, that's how we believe I got my powers in the first place. But we could never understand why my younger brother never showed any extraordinary skills."

            "Probably for the same reason my younger sibling never had any," Condemner replied.

            "Or our older brother," Seeker chimed in.

            "It's in the genes," Deceiver continued. "Just like your eye color, your hair color and texture, your build, your facial features, everything. It's the luck of the draw. Not every child may have an ability. Some may, some may not. None may. Or all may." He waved in Seeker's direction. "They're twins, but fraternal, which could explain why both Sender and Seeker have powers, but different kinds. It's very possible that if they had been maternal twins, not only would they have ended up looking identical, but they could also have shared identical powers. Or a power that would need the both of them together to generate."

            "Like a co-dependency?" Sender asked.

            "Exactly." Pointing a finger at Star, Deceiver remarked. "It's very possible one or both of your parents have a power you never knew about. If they did, that could and would explain why you were born with your uniqueness."

            "Are you saying DiMackerlyn could have a special ability?" Bruiser clarified.

            "It's a possibility," the Guardian leader admitted.

            "I have another suggestion, " Time Merchant spoke up. "What if DiMackerlyn doesn't have any powers? What if he comes from a race with an inherent ability?"

            "You mean a race of humanoids who can walk through walls and such?" Bruiser clarified.

            Rather than reply, Star suddenly rose from the bed and walked over to the comm. Condemner quickly got out of her way as she reached to access the data banks.

            "Computer, do an identity search. Subject, intergalactic species. What creatures have the ability to be invisible, transparent, or to move through solid objects without detection?"

            The board hummed softly as a yellow light flashed separately, indicating an incoming call. Star hit the display.

            "It's for you, Devorah. It's from the Space Station on Gregis Minor."

            The physician jumped up from the bed to answer it, flipping the switch so that the audio could be heard by all.

            "To Doctor Perlakian of Guardian Command. This is Primary Physician Obar F'toolen of the Space Station Gregis Minor. We received you credentials and request. However, there is no, nor has there ever been a patient in our clinics by the name of Bellit DiMackerlyn. If you have any further questions, you may contact us again. We are here to help. F'toolen out."

            Several seconds passed as the import of what they'd heard sunk in. It was Blender who finally spoke aloud for them all.

            "Son of a creeg hauling slut! DiMackerlyn lied to us!"

            "But for what purpose?" Animator whispered. "Why?"

            Slamming her fist on the board, Star grimly voiced, "I don't know, but I'm going to find out. And if he's taken my baby, I will kill him. I give you my word, I will kill the man, and be rid of him once and for all."

Chapter Sixteen

Origin

            Star's words hung in the air like a red cloud. Every person present knew she meant what she said. If her father was responsible for kidnapping her baby, and by all this time they were left with no other recourse than to believe he had, then the man had done more than break the law.

            He'd sealed his own death.

            The comm board blinked green, indicating it had finished scanning its files, as well as the files of the Stellar Police Force, to which it had access. Hunter slid a chair over to her so she could sit and scan the readout on the monitor. Deceiver leaned over her shoulder to read along.

            "There are five known species with that kind of ability," she told the others.

            "Yes, but the Fajuries are a methane-breathing species," Deceiver pointed out. "Computer, delete non-humanoid data."

            The comm dinged, leaving two possibilities. Both Star and Deceiver sighed and shook their heads.

            "What? Something wrong?" Animator asked, noting their dejected expressions.

            "Dead end," Deceiver replied. "One species can make themselves invisible, but they still retain a physical presence."

            "Meaning?" Sender urged.

            Hunter answered her. "Meaning they have to physically move things in order to go from one place to another."

            "So if they touched something, it would react?"

            Deceiver bobbed his head. "Exactly. If DiMackerlyn was a Vutalite, we would have seen the bathroom door open and close as though a draft had caught it. And when he touched the incubator, it would have sent out an alert."

            "What's the other species that doesn't fit?" Seeker asked.

            "A Ga Illit. They can disburse their molecules to enable them to penetrate dense objects," Star read aloud.

            "Sounds like a possible to me," Condemner said. "Why is it a no vote for you?"

            "Because a Ga Illit continues to retain its initial shape and form," Deceiver told him. "We'd see him, but not as a solid figure. Some cultures call them ghosts or wraiths."

            "Have you checked in with Provoker and the others lately?" The soft question came from the woman standing at the back of the room.

            Star turned to look at the woman, then over at the Guardian leader. Destiny's silent implication was clear. Provoker might know. The man may be a weeping blister in everyone's book with the way he always managed to irritate and aggravate, but he also had absolute knowledge of every intelligent species in the known galaxies. The contents of his mental files often astonished them.

            Deceiver reached for the speaker when the board lit up with another incoming message. This time, however, the light was blue, meaning it was from one of the transport ships. He hit the button to play the audio file.

            "Hello, base. Provoker here." The man's lazy drawl would have easily identified him, even if he hadn't given his name. "We're here on Tur De Me Fa. Corona is blazing like a small sun, and Fire is working triage to save those who have already fallen. It would be a safe bet to say we have enough light here to rival that bitch star you have on Abernath, Hunter. As for casualties, we're estimating around nineteen percent, but it could reach as high as twenty-five percent, given how long the Me Fads were without light. The cause of the blackout is an iron-enriched cloud of small meteoroids. That cloud is the size of a small galaxy floating between the planet and its sun. Sure could have used Star's help in disbursing it. But since the little lady isn't available, Challenger is helping Wooly with a project to punch a tunnel through the cloud and allow direct sunlight to flow through. How long that'll take, we have no idea. But Challenger figured the cloud could take nearly a spacial month to flow by. And by that time, this planet would be completely devoid of life. Well, that's my report. Will await your reply. Guardian Transport Three out."

            Star beat Deceiver to the respond button. "Provoker, copy your transmission. We need immediate information. We need to know of any humanoid species who can invisibly access buildings. We're already aware of the Ga Illit and the Vutalites. This is a Code Red One request." Closing the link, she looked at Time Merchant.

            "Six minutes," the man responded, knowing her unspoken question.

            "In the interim, I suggest we move to the main hall and await his answer there," Deceiver said. Pointing to the physician, he added, "You, too." He hurried out of the apartment before Perlakian had the chance to ask him why she had to attend.

            Pulling her personal comm link from her pocket, she deftly thumbed a code into it, then held it to her ear. "We're returning to the meeting room," she told her husband as she hurried to keep up with the others.

* * *

            Hunter felt like his heart had been wrenched from his chest. Yet, as horrible as he felt, he knew StarLight suffered more. Somehow she was managing to keep her fear and worry hidden behind her anger. But inside, she was a churning mess of unshed tears. And beneath that, her anger seethed like a bottled volcano.

            Despite his wife's threat to kill DiMackerlyn, and Guardian Law prohibited the taking of life, he vowed to back her one hundred percent. If she wasn't able to do it, he would have no qualms about taking the responsibility out of her hands.

            He believed the man had Callaura. Believed it beyond any doubt. What he hadn't told Star, but knew she was already somewhat aware of the fact, was that Hunter had formed an attachment to the infant. A mental and physical attachment. As if a tiny cord had developed between the baby and himself the moment her umbilical was cut, separating her from her mother. How or why it came to be, he didn't have a clue. Perhaps it was because she shared his genes. Or maybe it was another extension of his powers just now come to light. Regardless, he cherished the newfound link between himself and his daughter.

            Which was why he knew, beyond any doubt, that the baby was no longer at Guardian Command, or even on the planet. Although his connection to her was firm, it felt distant. Tenuous yet concrete. It was a link he realized would only be severed by death.

            He followed Star into the meeting room and remained standing by her chair, too agitated to sit in his own. The other Guardians had barely taken their own seats when Deceiver made a decision.