Page 12

Marinah

It wasn’t fair, and not getting my way made me peevish. I’d been a very spoiled child during my formative years and learned to use tears and plain stubbornness to get what I wanted. Usually, it worked. Unfortunately, my sad, moping eyes popping out of my Shadow Warrior head didn’t seem to do the trick.

I needed rest, though, and I had guard duty later. King had assigned it to me specifically to avoid another tantrum. Smart man. I was almost asleep when I overheard Labyrinth whisper to Beck, “What, no temper tantrum because she isn’t getting her way and luring the Federation out?”

Beck’s reply was priceless. “She’s right, and our mighty leader is wrong. She knows she’ll get her way.”

A small smile tugged at my lips as I rested against King’s chest. “Don’t get any ideas,” he mumbled sleepily, his voice rumbling through me.

I slept until Labyrinth woke me up for my shift. King’s arm tightened briefly around me before he released me and rolled over. I resisted the urge to smooth my hand over his head. It would probably end with me taking out one of his eyes. Even in sleep, the man was imposing. In his Warrior form, he was downright breathtaking. I carefully rubbed my face and stood, stealing one last look at him before grabbing my weapons and heading for the roof.

Using my rifle’s scope, I scanned the silent streets; my Warrior eyesight allowed me to see into the darkness. The cleared section of the city below looked ideal. If I could make it back here after drawing the Federation’s attention, I could take out anyone who ventured through that open area.

Lowering the rifle, I gazed out over the dark ruins. In the distance, one tall building stood, almost untouched by the destruction around it. Its eerie facade caught my attention.

I headed back to our camp on the top floor, descending the stairs to ground level. The sleep had done its job. I no longer felt the oppressive weight of exhaustion dogging my steps.

My thoughts drifted to Che and Ruth. It hadn’t been that long, but I missed them. I’d never really thought about having children before, and now? I just didn’t know. But the feeling lingered more often than I expected. It was crazy. Who would want to bring a child into this world? Ruth and Che were more than enough. No, not just enough, a complete handful. King’s child would definitely be their match.

I was too young for my biological clock to start giving me problems. There was plenty of time. Maybe, one day, King and I could talk about it.

For now, though, I had Ruth to deal with. Training would benefit her, and maybe I’d find a way to curb her irrational behavior. And maybe pigs would fly. Oh well, it was a thought.

I forced myself to tune back into the sounds around me. The street was quiet, except for the occasional rustle of small nocturnal creatures. I found a spot between two large slabs of cement that offered cover and a good vantage point in both directions.

If I wasn’t on watch, I’d scout high ground for our attack. Firing off several rounds and moving to the next location could make the Federation believe we had more Warriors than we did. It might also force them to release the hellhounds.

I turned the plan over in my mind, analyzing angles and contingencies. The horseshoe shape of the railcars might work in our favor. If we used a large beam, we could block the doors. If I could keep the soldiers away from the hounds, King could sabotage the railcars.

I wasn’t even sure why I was so focused on figuring it all out. That was King’s job, and he always knew exactly what to do. But the itch inside me wouldn’t go away. It was a craving to be useful, to contribute as much as anyone else. Maybe it went back to my human insecurities, but I wanted to prove I was just as much a Warrior as the rest of them.

I sank deeper into my thoughts, turning over the stories in Nalista’s books and what they meant. The female Warriors had blamed the men for the loss of their home planet. The males had always been volatile, and when the Warriors came to Earth, the women had given the men another chance, hoping the destruction of their world had finally been enough to change them.

But it wasn’t. The male Warriors began fighting among themselves, and several died. The others didn’t bat an eye. They easily returned to their old ways and refused to learn from history. That was when the women broke away, severing ties and leaving the men to their own fate. They didn’t want the men’s violence to destroy another planet or to betray their secrets. They no longer trusted the males to keep them safe.

The destruction of their home planet might not have changed the male Warriors, but the women leaving did. Their loss wiped out any chance of a fullblood Warrior being born again. The men had known the women were right, and it had shattered them. Unfortunately, it had been too late. They finally made the decision to change their lives forever by becoming farmers and slipping beneath human radar. They survived in rural farm country, waiting for the moment they would be needed. No one knew Shadow Warriors existed until they emerged to save humanity from the hellhounds.

I couldn’t help wondering if there might be another female Warrior out there. I was a descendant of one, which increased the odds. The thought had kept me awake on more nights than worrying about Ruth ever had. I had so many questions, and the only way I’d ever get answers was if someone else like me existed.

One question burned brighter than the rest: why was I able to control the K-5 better than the men? The mating rage still affected me but only slightly, and it was nowhere near as bad as King’s. Unfortunately, I didn’t have enough answers to know the right questions to ask.

I turned my thoughts to General Smythe, and Ms. Beast purred inside me, Kill. I wanted him dead too, by my hand. It was personal, a vendetta I couldn’t ignore. I owed him for my friends as well. Skylar, Mila, and Landan, all human, had escaped the Federation stronghold with me. Skylar’s husband and Kara had died. We’d all worked together before I was promoted to Secretary of Defense and sent to negotiate with the Shadow Warriors.

Skylar’s husband had died during our escape, and Kara was tortured for information. King had invited those who survived to stay on the island, but Landan requested a transfer to the western outposts. After he left, Skylar and Mila moved to the other side of the island, where King kept a home away from the citadel. They found a place near it. We hadn’t been to that house in months, and I hadn’t seen them recently. Though, the last time I saw Skylar, her eyes still held that haunting sadness, and the shadow of her husband’s death lingered still.

I owed Smythe several times over, and I’d even the score for Skylar.

My thoughts twisted again, this time to my father. He’d known I was a Shadow Warrior, and I still hadn’t forgiven him for keeping the truth from me. After reading Nalista’s history, I understood better. Females didn’t necessarily change into Warriors like the men did. There was no way my father or mother could have known I was a shifting female. Still, the weight of their decisions lingered, especially on my mother’s shoulders. Raising me vegan? That wasn’t a coincidence. She’d known it could suppress the change. Nalista had written about the practice. It was common on the home planet; the females didn’t want their daughters to be part of the war mongering Shadow Warriors.

It made me wonder. Was my mother ashamed of what we were?

I shook my head and forced the thought away. Dwelling on my mother always brought me down, and I needed to stay sharp.

My focus shifted to President Barnes. The scientist.

I knew he was responsible for creating the hellhounds; I just couldn’t prove it. Why would a scientist become president? Before his name popped up as the Federation’s first leader, he’d been no one. And then suddenly, he was President Barnes.

The president.

Science had created the hellhounds, using genetically modified protein added to formaldehyde that seeped into buried human remains and turned them into misshapen monsters. These creatures killed everything in their path. Before the hellhounds emerged, the massive corporations that controlled agriculture and food production had run things their way, unchecked by the wealthy assholes in the house and senate, no matter who sat in the Oval Office.

For years, corporate agriculture had filled our heads with assurances about the safety of GMOs and so many other things. They paid scientists to endorse their modified products and had enough money and influence to bury anyone who tried to expose the truth. Hell, Mexico fought GMO corn for more than a decade before it finally took over their crops.

The government shut down independent research, silenced critics, and destroyed the careers of those brave enough to speak out. No one realized the full extent of the devastation until it was too late. Even when hellhounds began killing us, we didn’t know they were man-made, products of science designed to cut costs.

The first wave of hellhounds had nearly destroyed the world. It was only with the Shadow Warriors’ help that we managed to survive. Now the formaldehyde had begun attacking the older dead, reanimating them as more intelligent, more terrifying versions of the monsters we already knew. Their twisted bodies were even scarier. And the thought of the ancient dead awakening? That was a nightmare waiting to happen.

A small squeak in the corner of my hideout pulled me out of my thoughts. I’d known the mouse was there since I entered. No, I would not lick my lips. I wouldn’t give the men any more material to mock me with.

With a quick pounce, I caught the creature in one hand, its tiny body squirming between my claws. I lifted it by the tail, its panicked little eyes meeting mine, his filled with terror, mine with reluctant hunger.

Without thinking, I plopped it onto my tongue and closed my jaws. The mouse wiggled frantically, its tiny feet scratching at the roof of my mouth. I couldn’t crunch it, no matter how hungry I was. I tried to swallow, but there was no way.

I tipped my head forward and opened my mouth. The mouse sprang out and scurried away, disappearing into the rubble. Thank goodness none of the men saw that. They’d laugh themselves to death. Apparently, I wasn’t much of a predator when it came to small, cute animals. I needed something bigger to hunt for, maybe a boar or something less adorable. The only reason I’d been able to eat the mouse King gave me was because it was already dead. For now, I’d stick to the wretched MREs.

Two hours later, I slid back into the sleeping bag beside King. Garret had the next watch, giving me a few solid hours of rest before we went after the Federation.

“How was it out there?” King whispered.

“Quiet.”

“Come here.” He pulled me close, and I nestled against him, finding the familiar spot where my head fit perfectly against his chest. The leather straps he still wore made it less comfortable, but King’s unique scent was all I needed to let sleep take me.

∞∞∞

The men found enough mice and rats to satisfy their appetites the next morning. Garret and I stuck to cold MREs, exchanging silent, squeamish looks. King missed our little exchange, but I caught his raised eyebrow when I refused his offer of a fresh catch. Thankfully, he didn’t push me.

King called a meeting, and we gathered around a dusty area. Using a stick, he began sketching a map of the soldiers’ camp so the layout would be fresh in our minds. There were two main ways in: north and south. We were currently at the southern edge of the city. King’s scaled-to-size drawing impressed me. I could barely draw a straight line.

“The boxcars are here,” he said, pointing with the stick to the cluster of shapes. “We don’t know Smythe’s location, and that bothers me.”

My earlier thoughts on handling the soldiers had shifted. “What if we block the fronts of the shipping containers with something heavy to keep them from releasing the hellhounds?” I went on before King could stop me. "One of the large construction beams," I said, waving a hand around us, “would work. There’s a tall building about a hundred yards from the railcars. I could stage on the roof and pick off anyone who tried to remove the beam. It would take several humans to lift it."

King shook his head slightly. "That still doesn’t cover how we get the beam in place."

Beck interjected. "We take the beam in early tomorrow morning, a few hours before sunrise. It needs to be heavy enough that the humans can’t lift it easily. If two of us manage it quietly, we should be able to drop it in place without being spotted."

I was beginning to understand why King wanted Beck at his back. "With me on the roof, whoever goes in will be safe."

"What about their snipers?" King asked, his words edged with skepticism.

I gave him my duh face, which probably looked identical to my bored Warrior face. "If they had snipers, they’d have spotted us yesterday when we went to their camp." I held back the eye roll threatening to break free. King was being stubborn.

"No, I’m being smart," he snapped, answering my silent thoughts. Drat the man. He knew me too well.

"A third person could take out the perimeter guards," I added, shifting my tone to reasonable.

Finally, after running the plan through his head and weighing its feasibility, King gave a sharp nod. "We need to know how often the guards change. If we attack right after blocking the containers, it could work."

"I’m on it," Labyrinth said, standing. "I’ll watch the camp and get the timing." He gave me a quick smile, but it vanished as soon as King grumbled under his breath.

Garret spoke up for the first time that morning. "I’d like to scavenge the city and see if there’s anything we can take back or stash for a return trip."

Axel stood as well. "I’ll go with Garret. I need to check out what’s left of the hospital." At King’s approving nod, Axel glanced at Garret. "If we find medical supplies, you can have them. I’ll know what’s needed."

"Deal." A look passed between the two men, something subtle but noticeable. Or maybe I imagined it, because when they caught me staring, they raised questioning brows.

"Be safe," I said, feeling a bit ridiculous for stating the obvious.

They emptied their packs and set off, hoping to refill them. That left King and me alone. I could’ve used a bath, but I didn’t see that happening anytime soon. We had too much time to kill before tomorrow, and my patience was wearing thin.

"Well?" I asked, raising a brow at King. "We’re alone. What are we going to do to fill the time?"