Bane cocked his head to one side as if listening to a distant voice, and then smiled at Mac. “Duran says he and Bolt have succeeded in teaching Morgan and Finn. There's no reason you can't learn as well.”
“I wonder why Zianne never showed me how?”
“She didn't know. We've only just learned it's possible. Nattoch was the one who recognized the ability in Cameron, but until he was here and had accessed a human body and had the time to study it, we didn't know that some humans have the ability while others don't.”
“Is it something that all of us can do?” Kiera wasn't all that sure that she wanted to turn her body into nothing more than sparkles of light, but it was definitely cool.
Bane glanced at Ankar. “You've done more exploring among the humans here. Can all of them disassemble?”
“Only the ones Mac calls the dream team can do it.” He glanced toward Dink. “That one cannot. He lacks the switch.”
“Gee, thanks.” Dink frowned. It was obvious he was teasing, but Kiera was sure he was disappointed. He'd been following the conversation with avid interest.
“It's somehow tied into telepathic ability,” Dake said. “You are not telepathic. The others are.”
“Interesting.” Mac studied Dink. “I wonder if telepathy is a genetic thing, or if it's just an anomaly?”
Dink laughed. “Lord knows, if there's an anomaly, it's you.”
Kiera studied Dink's face. His laughter didn't ring true. She knew she'd be really upset if she thought she couldn't learn to do the disassemble thing, even though she didn't really want to learn because the whole idea totally terrified her. Still, it was the sense of being kept out of the game everyone else could play.
The door to the lodge swung open. Morgan, Rodie, and Finn walked in with Duran and Bolt right behind them, all wearing huge grins. They headed straight to the buffet counter, grabbed sandwiches and drinks, and then headed directly to the table.
It was already crowded, but everyone scooted around and made room for them. Rodie glanced at the group and her eyes practically glowed. “I saw Morgan do it. He turned into little sparkly stuff and disappeared.” She turned and gazed at Morgan, and it was hard for Kiera to stay out of her head, because she was dying to know what put that look on Rodie's face.
The girl obviously had it bad, but Morgan didn't appear to be any better. Kiera felt a small twinge of jealousy. She certainly wasn't interested in Morgan, but she really wanted to experience the feelings the two of them appeared to have for one another. What would it feel like to care that much?
To have those feelings shared, because there was no doubt in her mindâwhatever Rodie was feeling, Morgan was in just as deep. She tore her gaze away from the two of them and glanced at her guys. She felt so much for them, but love? How the hell would she ever figure that one out?
This morning, she'd felt an intense connection with Tor, but it was just on the cusp of developing into something more. They weren't there yetânot in the same emotional place as Rodie and Morgan.
She wondered if she'd ever be, wondered if she'd know love even if it smacked her upside the head. Enough, already. It was almost noon, thank goodness. Time to start her shift in the dream shack where she'd be too busy to dissect her emotions.
Maybe her final shift.
She wasn't sure whether to feel happy, sad, or just flat-out terrified about that.
5
M
ac checked out the five huge, very human-appearing men standing shoulder to shoulder in the lodge dining room. Decked out in worn jeans, heavy work boots, dark plaid flannel shirtsâwhich looked much better now that they weren't all wearing the same plaidâand decided this was a lot more than he'd expected.
“You guys look great.” He glanced over his shoulder. “Morgan, you said you and Finn need to work on disassembling, so I'll have Cameron show these guys where I want them to stand guard.” He turned once again to the Nyrians. “You shouldn't have to do anything but just stand there. I think merely having you present will discourage anyone from trying to cut through the fence. You're all big enough; you'd sure as hell discourage me.” He raised his head, looking for Cam. Where the hell was he?
“Anyone know where Cam went? He was here a minute ago.”
“I'm here, Mac.”
Cam pushed open the door into the lodge. Mir slipped past and held it for him while Cam backed in, hanging on to one end of a huge canvas with Niah holding the other end. They carried it across the dining room and the two of them carefully leaned it against a table about ten feet away.
Frowning, Mac stared at the dark and dramatic painting. This was nothing like Cam's usual mystical, fantastical, dreamlike art. He glanced at the one over the fireplace that Cam had done after his first nightâa painting of Nyria as the Nyrians remembered their planet. Nyria before the Gar attacked. The work was bright and beautiful, a memory of a world that only existed in the minds of the few remaining Nyrians.
Not this new painting. It was all dark energy and anger, and it spoke of endings, not beginnings. Still, there was something vaguely familiar about the scene. Mac stepped around the Nyrians and walked closer, still frowning. He squatted down in front of the canvas, though this close it was hard to tell exactly what he was looking at. Broad strokes, dark colors, a bright slash here and there. An overall sense of darkness and anger. Of doom.
Finally, Mac shook his head and stood. “I haven't got any idea at all what you've done here.” He glanced over his shoulder. The Nyrian men looked anywhere but at the painting. “Aza? Do you know what this is? Bane? Jesat? Any idea?”
Dake was the one who stepped forward and stood beside Mac. He stared at the painting for a long moment with his arms folded tightly against his chest. Obviously, something about the art made him very uncomfortable. Without looking at Mac, he said, “It's the planet you call Mars. The way it looked the last time we were in this solar system. This is a view of that world during the attack.” He sighed, glanced away, and then focused on Mac, not the painting. “When the Gar take everything from a world, it's done quickly. The people have no time to escape. Nothing survives. Not the smallest microbe, not the largest, strongest creatures. All die. All are utilized, either as energy or, in some cases, as food. We . . .” He glanced over his shoulder at his four companions and then focused again on Mac and took a deep breath. Let it out.
“We power the ship during the processâit takes a lot of energy to plunder a world, so all of us are needed in the engine room at the same time. It's bad enough knowing what our energy is being used for, but we're also forced to watch. To witness the death of entire worlds. Death by order of the Gar. It's meant to teach us fear, so that we will recognize their superior strength. They want us afraid of them.”
He lowered his head and looked away, but Mac couldn't take his eyes off the man. Anger built, starting deep inside and forcing its way to the surface. Why hadn't he realized? How could he possibly have missed their reality?
Zianne had told him much the same, but he hadn't thought beyond her fear, her terrible circumstances as a slave. He'd not truly considered what she'd admitted, that the Nyrians had been the power behind the deaths of entire civilizations. Their energy had enabled the destruction of uncounted worlds, had caused unimaginable horror. Rage had him clenching his fists and his jaw when he asked, “Does it work? This method of the Gar's to put fear in the hearts of their captives?”
Dake shook his head. “Your anger is valid. All of us would understand, should you choose not to help us further, but the Gar's orders do not always work the way they want. All they've done is harden our resolve to find a way out, though until now, until you gave us this opportunity, we've been unable to escape. It is a sin against Nyria for us to take our own lives, but we had finally decided that was our only recourse after trying unsuccessfully for so long to find freedom. Many of our people made that choice on their own. They scattered their energy rather than power the Gar ship. In that respect, those of us who remain are cowards. We were not willing to die, which made us complicit in the murder of too many worlds.”
He broke eye contact with Mac and stared toward the big windows looking out over the array. “Thank Nyria, many of the worlds were already barren of living forms. Not all worlds support life.” He shook his head and sighed before gesturing at Cam's painting. “But too many were like this one. Too many were peopled by sentient beings with well-developed civilizations. We left them as nothing more than empty shells.”
Jesat stepped up and put his hand on Dake's shoulder. Ankar, Bane, and Aza joined him, standing on either side of the two. “Dake leaves out an important part of the tale,” he said. “We did not act because we were not willing to die uselessly. When we were first captured, the Gar still had engines and power to run their ship without us. Our deaths would have had only a minor impact on them. They would have continued destroying worlds and our deaths would have solved nothing. Now they are totally dependent upon us to run their ships and keep their people alive.”
Dake glanced at Jesat and nodded. “What Jesat says is true. Before, if we'd suddenly disappeared, the Gar would have continued on with very little trouble. Now?” His smile sent chills along Mac's spine. “Now, when the last of us leave, the ship will implode and they will die.”
“You're sure of this?” Mac realized his gaze had been drawn away from the Nyrians. He couldn't take his eyes off Cam's painting. This was the future that awaited mankind should their plans fail, and yet he was putting all his trust into creatures he didn't even know.
Zianne was different, wasn't she? He loved and trusted her, but what of the rest of the Nyrians? Were they truly as honest, as honorable as she? Could he believe them without doubt? What choice did he have? His own government refused to listen. Someone had to pay attention.
He forced himself to stand, to turn his back on Cam's painting and look at the Nyrians. “Once you're gone, they can't return to their ship's original power source?”
“It's no longer functional.” Aza glanced at the others. “Three of us infiltrated their aging power plant. It's been shut down for well over a hundred of your years, so no one noticed when we destroyed components necessary for its function. The last ones capable of repairing the machinery died generations ago. The Gar have grown lazy, their equipment is outmoded, and they are totally dependent upon us.”
“I sure hope you're right.” Mac stared once again at Cam's disturbing painting. “Because that could just as easily be the earth if things don't go as planned.”
Â
“After all the excitement this morning, it's been really quiet.” Lizzie stepped aside as Kiera settled herself into the recliner and placed the mesh cap over her dark hair. “I actually napped for a while.”
Kiera smiled softly. “Sounds good. I didn't sleep much last night. Too many things to worry about.”
Lizzie punched her lightly on the shoulder. “Too many good-looking guys in your bed's more like it.” She stared at Kiera and laughed out loud. “Good gods, girl. You're blushing. I didn't know black chicks could blush.”
Kiera rolled her head to one side and glared at Lizzie. She held that look for a few seconds and then burst into giggles. “That, my dear, is not a blush. Trust me, because I'm not one bit embarrassed about what I did with my guys. It's heat. Pure heat, just thinking of what went on in my bed last night. It's been nothing but women for me for so long, I forgot what a man could do for a girl.” She fanned her fingers in front of her face. “Every single one of those guys is so damned hot.”
Lizzie leaned over and gave Kiera a hug. Funny how she'd thought this one was sort of stuck up and not all that friendly when they'd first met. Amazing how first impressions could change. “I hope everything goes okay. Arnec's going to be in that final fight against the Gar, and I know Tor's chosen to stay, too.”
“Teev and Sakel aren't back yet, either.” Kiera sighed. “I hardly know them, but I can't stop worrying. How can they matter so much to us, so fast?”
“I think it's because they've been in our heads as well as our bodies. They've taken their forms from our minds, which makes them familiar to us. And face it, we've probably been more intimate with these guys than we ever have with any human lovers, male or female. I know I've never been so uninhibited in my life. Not that I'm complaining, mind you!”
Lizzie leaned over and picked up Zianne's tote. The tiny squirrel slept soundly. She'd not moved at all during Lizzie's shift and hadn't awakened when Kiera came into the shack. Poor thing, and poor Mac. She couldn't imagine what he was going through right now. So much riding on their success, and so many things that could go wrong.
“I'm taking Zianne with me,” she said. “We've got enough Nyrians here with their soulstones; they should be able to share more energy with her.”
“I hope so.” Kiera ran her fingers over the squirrel's fluffy tail. “It would be horrible if we managed to save everyone but Zianne. I don't know if Mac could handle that.”
“Dink, either. He loves her as much as Mac does.” Lizzie took a step toward the door and thought of one more thing. “I guess Morgan's probably not going to be relieving you.”
Kiera nodded. “I know. He and Finn should be leaving about then. Can you believe those two? It still seems impossible that they're going to somehow get transported to a spaceship that's on its way to attack the earth. I mean, a week ago I thought aliens were a bunch of hooey.” She sucked in a deep breath, slowly let it out, and cocked her head to one side as she looked at Liz. “Remind me to keep an open mind about shit, okay?
Lizzie just laughed at the perplexed look on Kiera's face.
“Anyway,” Kiera said, “I imagine they'll leave from here. If Mac asks, tell him I'll stay on duty as long as they need me.”
“Okay. We'll probably all end up in here by this afternoon, anyway. I know I want to be as close to the action as I can get. And I'll admit I never thought the idea of aliens was hooey. I always figured there had to be someone out there, but to actually meet them? To be involved in a rescue and a fight against some really scary aliens? Not in this lifetime.”
Except it was all much too true. Liz opened the door and a bright shaft of sunlight spilled into the small building. She glanced at the tote she'd slung over her arm to check on the squirrel. Zianne slept on. Then she shot a quick glance over her shoulder at Kiera. “Boggles the mind, ya know? I'll see ya later.”
She closed the door behind her and took a deep, controlled breath. The August heat reflected off the rocky ground and shimmered in waves across the plateau. The nights were so clear and cold, it was hard to believe how warm it could get during the day. The smell of burned wood lingered, a reminder just how volatile the forest was this late in the summer.
And just how volatile and dangerous their position had become. She wondered about the guys that had been spotted on the back side of the plateau. Wondered what they really wanted, because no one believed all the crap about it being a religious protest. She didn't think your average religious protester carried rifles with night scopes or tried to cut through chain link fences.
Or set fires on windy days in a dry forest.
She looked around the area once again. There'd been no sign at all of that helicopter from the sheriff's department. Shouldn't they be showing up by now?
Tucking Zianne close against her side, Lizzie headed over to the lodge. That seemed to be where everyone was gathering, and she wondered if she'd missed anything important this morning.
Â
The door into the dining room opened. Mac raised his head as Lizzie stepped into the room with Zianne's tote over her shoulder. “Is she okay?” He was on his feet and halfway across the room before he realized he'd even moved. Damn. Exhaustion was taking its toll. No sleep at all last night, and there was too much on his mind today.
“She's fine.” Liz walked right past him and set the bag on the table. “I just thought that since we've got so many Nyrians here with soulstones, maybe they'd be able set up a schedule to give her power on a regular basis. It might keep her going longer, at least until we get her soulstone.”
Why hadn't he thought of that? Mac shook his head. “Makes sense. Thank you for thinking of her. I . . .” He swept his hand over his eyes. Corin and Satza, two women Rodie had helped to gain their human forms, sort of eased Mac out of the way.