Niklosi's Nightmare (First Wave Book 10) (21 page)

“Damn . . . I didn’t think of that.
I can’t believe he’s one of our own and is hunting us,” Nik said as he stared
at the slow moving river.

“Did you see his eyes widen when
Rolantro singled him out?” BJ asked with a snort of laughter.

Nik laughed and nodded his head.

“It was pretty funny. I can’t say I
blame them though, I only saw it from behind, and it was intimidating. I can’t
imagine what it looked like for those military guys as they stared into the
angry faces of the demigods bearing down on them.”

“I know them, and they gave me a
start,” BJ admitted with a blush. “It would have been nice to have a warning.”

“Yeah, what’s up with that?” Nik
asked, squirming on the rock to get comfortable.

“Come on, there’s a more
comfortable spot over here,” BJ said as she hopped down and gestured further
down the river.

Nik slid off the rock and followed
BJ to a small, flat rock that had been covered with a green mattress of sorts.
A canopy of vines and foliage shielded it from view. She sat on the edge of the
cushion and sighed in relief.

“I think I’m going to sleep for a
week when this is over,” BJ admitted.

“I know how you feel. I haven’t
slept in days,” Nik admitted as he sat beside her.

The soft cushiony fabric felt so
good that he laid back with his legs hanging over the edge and groaned.

“I know, it’s so comfortable,” BJ
agreed as she laid back as well.

“Whoever put this here was cruel.
Horribly cruel,” Nik said on a sigh.

“What?” Why?” BJ asked with a
laugh.

“Oh come on, the soft sound of the
river, the incredible cushion, the atmosphere . . . it’s designed to put you to
sleep,” Nik accused with a grunt.

BJ smothered a yawn and nodded her
head in agreement.

“I gotta agree with you there,” she
said as she scooted further up the mattress so her legs were on it now.

“Hey, where you going?” Nik asked
as he crawled up beside her and immediately yawned.

BJ moved to her side to face him
and laughed.

“You know where this is leading
don’t you?” she asked with a twinkle in her eyes.

Nik’s mind whirled with
possibilities before he settled on the one he knew made sense.

“Power nap?” he asked.

“I thought you’d never ask,” BJ
said with a chuckle as she got comfortable and closed her eyes.

Nik watched her for a moment before
his own eyes closed.

*****

Kyle heard screaming. Never ending
screaming, but he was too afraid to open his eyes and see where he was. That
didn’t seem to matter to the giant who shook him by the neck like a ragdoll.

“Open your eyes, you coward! See
where your traitorous deeds will bring you!”

Kyle fought to keep his eyes closed,
but they opened anyway, showing him nothing but shadows and muted darkness.
Screams erupted from the shadows all around him in a cacophony of pain and terror.
He wanted to put his hands over his ears to block it out, but he couldn’t move.

“You who capture and torture your
own, traitor to your people, you do not get to determine what you can and
cannot do here! I decide that!”

Kyle looked towards the voice
against his will and saw the large man’s eyes swirl with blue fire. The man waved
his arm, and as he did, the shadows and the darkness were swept away to show
the decimated landscape beneath. It looked like a bomb had been dropped on a
city, and only the smoldering remains were left.

Misshapen bodies dragged themselves
across the ember-covered ground, screaming out their eternal agony. Others crawled
through the debris, stalking those on the ground as if they were prey.

Kyle sucked in a sharp breath when
a pack of semi-human creatures attacked one on the ground and began to rip it
apart as it screamed in helpless agony.

“This is where you are meant to go.
This is what you are meant to feel. The betrayal and agony that you’ve
inflicted will be nothing compared to what will become of you!”

“Please . . .” Kyle moaned in fear.
“Please, no. I can’t help it. I can’t stop it! Please . . . forgive me.”

Rolantro was startled by the
admission and the energy he felt coming from the terrified major. He narrowed
his eyes as he faced the hybrid.

“Show me your deeds!” he roared as
he grabbed the major around the head.

Rolantro watched as dispassionately
as he could as the major’s memories rushed through his mind. He caught the
major as he collapsed from the energy drain and hefted him over his shoulder
gently.

“You are much like another leader I
have recently met,” Rolantro muttered to himself as he disappeared in a flash
of light.

He reappeared in the kitchen of the
mercantile and ignored the gasps of surprise as he moved down the hallway and
laid the major gently on the bed. He was just covering Kyle with a blanket when
Irwin and Grai appeared in the doorway.

“What is it?” Irwin asked, knowing
something wasn’t right.

“There is a problem. Actually, it’s
his problem,” Rolantro said as he pointed at Grai.

“My problem?” Grai asked, wondering
what the hell was going on now.

“I cannot continue with him,” Rolantro
stated as he crossed his arms over his chest.

“What’s wrong?” Irwin asked softly,
glancing over at Kyle’s sleeping form.

“I can’t show him something he
isn’t meant to see. To do so can alter him in ways that would not only be
unfair, but could cause his outcome to change. I cannot do that,” Rolantro
insisted.

“I don’t understand,” Grai
admitted, completely confused.

“It is not for me to reveal his
past, present, or future, but you are incorrect in your thoughts on this man,”
Rolantro told a stunned Grai.

Grai struggled to think of what he
could be wrong about with the major and was trying to make sense of Rolantro’s
words when Dennis popped in.

“That son of a bitch I got is so
bad I’m leaving his ass there for a while,” Dennis said before he saw Kyle and
looked at Rolantro. “Aw hell, what’s the snag?”

Rolantro held out his hand, palm up,
and Dennis held his hand against it. Dennis closed his eyes and moments later
opened them wide.

“Oh, hell! How could anyone miss
that?” Dennis asked no one in particular as he turned to stare at the major.

“How about someone give me a clue
what the hell is going on?” Grai asked in frustration.

Dennis turned back to Rolantro.

“How can we let this continue?” he
asked.

“How can we not?” Rolantro
countered.

Dennis spat a string of curses as
he shook his head.

“This isn’t right,” Dennis growled
at Rolantro. “We can fix this!”

“You know we cannot interfere. To
do so is an invitation to our dark counterparts to do the same. What innocent
would you choose to punish instead? It must play out as intended,” Rolantro
said coldly while his eyes betrayed his sadness over the situation.

“What the hell is going on?” Grai
demanded, tired of being ignored while the demigods spoke in riddles.

“We can give a clue! Something, anything
to help!” Dennis argued.

“Your reaction is clue enough. Now
go back to your charge!” Rolantro ordered, and with a wave of his hand Dennis
disappeared.

Grai took a step back when those
swirling blue eyes turned to him.

“Think about this very long and
very hard, and you will have your answers, but do not ask us to explain what we
cannot,” Rolantro said harshly.

Without another word, Rolantro
moved to the bed and carefully lifted Kyle over his shoulder. He turned back to
Grai.

“Throw out everything you think you
know, and start again,” Rolantro suggested before he disappeared.

Grai shook his fists in frustration
and growled.

Chapter
Twenty

Nik was having the best dream. He
was in an incredible paradise with his beautiful mate, and he was the most
relaxed he’d been in a long time. The only problem was the damn alarm kept
going off, and no matter how many times he tried to turn it off, it wasn’t
working.

A sharp slap to the back of his
head had him sitting up and looking to make sure BJ was OK before he turned to
the intruder of his magical world. His eyes widened when he saw BJ’s mother and
Traze’s temporary child form, standing in front of him. For some reason he
looked down to make sure he and BJ were dressed, even though he knew they’d not
done any of the things they’d done in his dreams.

Damn Bess for making me feel guilty
for things we didn’t even do!
he thought in frustration before
he gently shook BJ.

“What time is it?” BJ asked as she
sat up. She blushed when she saw her mother.

“It’s time for you to go back,”
Bess said as she looked curiously between BJ and Nik.

BJ scooted to the end of the
cushion and looked back at Nik.

“Maybe a rain check on the tour after
we’ve had some sleep?” BJ asked.

“Yes!” Nik replied a little too
quickly. “I’d like that. Thanks for showing me this place. I enjoyed getting to
know you.”  

“Yeah, nothing says I want to get
to know you like falling asleep on her,” Traze teased.

One look from Bess silenced
anything else Traze was going to say, and then she smiled at Nik and BJ.

“Come, we need to go back,” she
said then turned and pulled Traze out of sight.

“I’m sorry. That had to be
embarrassing for you,” BJ said as she stood and held her hand out to him.

Nik took her hand and let her pull
him off of the cushion.

“It wasn’t too bad. The worst part
was her knowing that I was making sure we were clothed, which of course told
her where my thoughts were,” Nik admitted then wanted to kick himself. “I’m
sorry . . . I shouldn’t have said that. I haven’t had enough sleep or coffee.
Please forgive me.”

BJ blushed to her roots but
squeezed his hand as she pulled him along the path after her mother.

“It’s OK. I looked to make sure
too,” she admitted.

Nik’s breath caught in his throat,
and he stopped short, pulling her off balance. He caught her in his arms as she
started to fall and he pulled her tightly against his chest. The feel of her
against his body sent his energy spiking, and he couldn’t imagine how he didn’t
know she was his the moment he saw her.

“Does this mean we can try
exploring more of the cave when the military is gone?” Nik whispered, his lips
descending towards hers as his mind whirled with better things to explore than
the cave. Namely her.

“Yes, you can see her later. We
need to go!” Bess called out.

Nik and BJ separated at her words,
and Nik was pleased to note that BJ seemed just as irritated as he was at the
interruption.

“Let’s go,” BJ said, taking his
hand again before she started after her mother again.

Nik followed, thoroughly enjoying
the view of BJ’s hips as she climbed the hill that led to the cave tunnel that
brought them here.

“So did your plan have the right
effect?” Nik called out to Bess. “Are they leaving?

Nik couldn’t help but pray that the
military was leaving as he watched BJ finish climbing to the tunnel entrance.
He grinned like an idiot when she turned to smile at him before disappearing
into the tunnel.

“Yes, they will be leaving,” Bess
said sharply.

BJ turned and gave Nik a curious
look before she let go of his hand and ran to catch up to her mother and Traze.
Nik jogged behind her.

“Momma? What happened?” BJ asked as
they reached the quickly-moving Bess and Traze.

“There are complications, but they
are leaving,” Bess assured them, wanting to leave the conversation at that.

“How can there be complications if
they’re leaving?” Nik asked.

When Bess refused to answer, he
contacted Grai through the shengari’ and was surprised when the communication
was abruptly cut off.

“What the hell is going on?” Nik
demanded.

BJ looked at him like he’d lost his
mind.

“I tried to contact Grai, and I’m
assuming it was your mom who cut me off,” Nik explained, not wanting BJ angry
at him when they’d come so far.

“Momma? What’s going on?” BJ
demanded, hands on her hips.

Bess sighed and turned to BJ and
Nik, her eyes betraying her sadness.

“It will be explained when we reach
the others. No more questions until then,” Bess said with a tone of finality.

BJ looked worriedly at Nik, and he
put his arm around her and gave her a comforting squeeze.

“I’m sure everything will be OK,”
he whispered as they followed Bess and Traze.

The look BJ gave him broke Nik’s
heart, and he wanted nothing more than to make everything all right for her.
When she put her arm around his waist and held him, all thoughts of what may
have gone wrong with the plan fled his mind.

As they walked arm in arm, Nik
could swear he felt the energy strands between them grow stronger and deeper.
Whether it was true or not, he decided to help out by directing more energy to
the areas that appeared to be joining with hers.

“Do not do something you cannot
undo!” Bess warned Nik sharply in his mind.

Nik only stood straighter and
tightened his hold on BJ.

“I am doing nothing against her
will. Do not interfere in my bonding to my mate,” Nik countered defiantly
through Bess’s mind.

Nik was surprised when Bess burst
out laughing. He just shook his head when BJ looked at him questioningly,
wanting to keep his conversation with her interfering mother private.

“It’s about time you realized her
worth. Unfortunately, you’ve yet to prove yours, so don’t expect small words or
gestures to impress,” Bess countered in his mind.

Nik snorted, and when BJ looked at
him oddly, he rubbed his nose as if trying to stop a sneeze.

“No offense intended, old woman,
but I couldn’t care less if I impress
you
or not,” Nik fired back at
her, still keeping his private war with her mother secret from BJ.

Bess cackled with laughter and
turned around to smile at BJ.

“At least he does have some balls,”
she said aloud before turning back around and continuing through the tunnel.

The look BJ gave Nik demanded
answers about what was going on with him and her mother.

“We were just having a chat about
whether or not I’m good enough for you. I refuse to back down from her,” Nik
admitted with a shrug.

“He called me an old woman! And
threatened me to not interfere with your bonding,” Bess said aloud through her
laughter.

Nik felt like sinking into the
ground in embarrassment when he stole a glance at BJ and saw her staring at him
with pride in her eyes. He arched a brow in question, hoping she’d explain her
reaction.

“It’s brave of anyone to stand up
to her. She’s pretty intimidating,” BJ admitted with respect.

She was trying really hard not to
get excited over the fact that he had done so for her.  

“She loves you fiercely, and she
just wants to make sure you’ll be treated right. I don’t fault her for it, but
I also won’t let her come between us. Nor will I come between the two of you,
even if she and I can’t get along,” Nik whispered, hoping the nosy Bess
wouldn’t hear him. He should have known better.

“We’ll get along just fine,” Bess
said with a laugh.

Nik wanted to believe her, but he
wasn’t buying it. He had a feeling that having the old woman in his life would never
be boring, and he was more grateful than ever that he’d be taking BJ and her
brother back with them.

With any luck, I won’t have to see
her but once or twice a decade,
he thought with a hopeful grin.

“Not a chance, fool. I will be in
frequent contact with my children,” Bess whispered through his mind.

Nik wasn’t freaked out by the fact
that she’d read his mind. Again. Instead, he chuckled, drawing BJ’s attention
again. He smiled down at his beautiful mate.

“She thinks to invade our lives at
will. She and I will have to come up with a more appropriate schedule,” he
answered BJ’s unspoken question.

“Momma!” BJ whispered in
embarrassment.

Bess nearly choked on her laughter.

“Oh, he’s exaggerating,” Bess said
as she emerged from the cave and hurriedly down the trail to the mercantile.

The four of them emerged from the
woods to see what appeared to be every light on in the mercantile. The moon was
disappearing over the horizon, and morning was coming.

Bess quickly led them into the
kitchen of the mercantile where Grai was pacing. He immediately turned to Bess
and the young Traze.

“Are you all right?” Grai asked as
Traze launched himself into his brother’s outstretched arms.

“I’m OK,” Traze whispered as his
little hands clutched Grai’s neck tightly. “Thank you. Thank you for
everything, but especially for loving me so much.”

Grai pulled back and looked into
the little boy’s watery eyes before looking over at a smiling Bess, his eyes
full of questions.

“He will be all right now,” Bess
assured Grai. “He found what he’d lost.”

Grai looked back at his brother who
was nodding his head.

“I get it now,” Traze told Grai
with a small smile.

“What do you get? What did you
lose?” Grai whispered.

“Faith and innocence. But I found
them again. The things she showed me . . . there’s more out there, and I’m
ready to trust myself to face it,” Traze promised.

Grai was completely confused, but
there was no mistaking the confidence and peace radiating from his brother. A
peace he’d never known Traze had been missing until now. He hugged Traze again
and looked over at Bess as he mouthed the words, “Thank you.”

“My pleasure,” Bess whispered
through his mind.

“I’m starving,” Traze said then
kicked his feet to get down.

Grai set him back on the floor and
watched him run to Bess, who scooped him up and sat him down at the table.

“It’s almost breakfast time. I’ll
get it started and you can stir the pancakes,” she suggested before setting a
bowl in front of the boy.

“So what’s going on?” Nik finally
asked. “Did the plan work or not?”

The question had Grai grinding his
teeth before he threw his hands up.

“I have no idea. No one will tell
me anything except that something is wrong with the major,” Grai said.

“What happened?” BJ asked as she
turned to her mother with concern.

“He’s being overdramatic,” Bess
said as she poured flour into the bowl in front of Traze.

“Really?” Grai asked. “Then by all
means, explain to us what happened.”

“It is not my place,” Bess hedged.

“Then whose place is it?” Grai
roared in anger. “We need to know what the fuck is going on!”

“Yelling will not help you,”
Rolantro said as he appeared in a flash of light.

“Then how about you explain it!”
Grai demanded.

“I have already told you that I
cannot!” Rolantro growled back. “It is out of our control! Did you even once
think of it as I asked? Try it! You may be surprised at what you discover.”

Rolantro disappeared in another
flash of light, and everyone was left staring at where he’d been standing. Grai
threw his hands up in the air and started pacing the room.

“So . . . will the rest of the plan
work? Will they leave?” BJ asked Bess.

“Oh, yes, child. They will be
leaving,” Bess said as she showed Traze how to stir the pancake batter.

She wiped her hands on her apron
and sat beside the boy.

“Traze, I want you to think of this
for a moment,” Bess said softly. “Think of what reasons Rolantro would have to
not show the major his fate and avoid what the others have gone through this
night. Why would a hybrid turn on their own?”

“Oh, come on!” Grai muttered,
wondering why the woman would bother when she knew his brother wouldn’t get it if
he couldn’t figure it out.

“Think on it, child. You know the
answer,” Bess told Traze with a smile as she went to the stove to scramble some
eggs.

Grai was stunned when his brother
watched Bess adoringly before going back to stirring the contents in the bowl.
He shook his head, wondering what the hell else could go wrong.

Nik and BJ were pondering Bess’s
questions when Traze stood up and grinned over at Bess.

“He wouldn’t,” Traze said proudly.