Page 27 of On A Rift’s Edge (Riftworld #2)
K at had never wished for a rift storm more. The ranch was in a lockdown after the attack by Teo and the Pouch Twins, he was supposed to be at a strategy meeting in Garreth’s office, and a clingy Lyall had been downright mutinous when Kat had explained he needed privacy for a phone call.
But if he didn’t call his mother back right now he’d be disowned.
Kat had gone into the ranch’s bar to talk to her.
There was usually a scattering of guests even during the day in the comfortable space, chatting while they sat on stools topped with riding saddles or enjoying the view of the ranch’s beautiful desert landscaping while playing the antique board games Chrissie collected.
But the guests were tucked away in their cabins, and the windows were now reinforced with living crystal shields and writhing vines of guardweed. He set the phone in his watch on dual project mode and made the call.
“Hi, Mom, it’s me.” Kat gave his mother his cheeriest smile as a holographic view of her in the kitchen appeared.
“Kat, I was frantic!” His mom plopped the cat sitting on her lap on the floor next to her wheelchair and leaned forward, volume rising with each word.
“No messages, no calls, no nothing from you. Naomi left a message yesterday. You didn’t answer, and now the news is saying there are more monster problems at the ranch. ”
Kat kept up a perky tone. “Everything’s fine. Well, there was a security incident, which is being looked into, so I’ll be stuck at work for a while.”
He wasn’t fine, but he had stopped shaking.
Not so much from the fear he had felt facing yet another kidnapping attempt.
No, what had disturbed him was shooting Teo.
Or trying to shoot him. He hadn’t been sure his trick to free Lyall would work, but he had been confident a shotgun wasn’t enough to kill a Riftworld baddie like the hopper.
It had still been an awful moment.
“An alien demon dog rampaging through the grounds.” Winkie Nakamura would have made a great narrator for docudramas about the Riftworld. “There are pictures of that monster all over the feeds. Glowing red eyes and huge fangs—it was terrifying.”
Pictures of Lyall in his true form had gone viral. Lovely.
“Some of the riftpeople helped secure the ranch, and no one was hurt.” Kat put all the reassurance he could into his words. “I got busy and forgot to call or text Naomi back, and I’m sorry. I’ll be at dinner tomorrow like always.”
“You’d better be,” his mother said. “Naomi was calling to see if we should invite that nice Paul fellow you’ve been dating.”
Kat winced. “I don’t think Paul will be up for dinner tomorrow. He was visiting the ranch when the security issue happened. Don’t worry. He’s okay, but he’s a little rattled.”
They had found their VIP guest cowering in the sauna room adjacent to the pool. He was decidedly moist from the steam but unhurt. Physically, at least. He had fled to the private limo that had been waiting for him at the ranch entrance and left as soon as he could.
Winkie, for once, was stunned into silence for a moment. “Did the alien dog attack Paul?”
“No, that’s not what happened.” Speaking of Kat’s favorite alien dog monster, as his mother put it, he needed to prepare her for having Lyall as a dinner guest. “I’d like to bring a friend to the house if that’s okay. His name is Lyall, and he’s doing security consulting for the ranch.”
“You haven’t mentioned this Lyall before.” His mother could zero in on the faintest hint of romance like a bloodhound. “Are you seeing him and Paul?”
“I’m not in a relationship with anyone right now, Mom.” Kat glanced at the door leading to the back rooms and saw Lyall leaning against the doorframe. It was reassuring, but it reminded him that he needed to wrap this phone call up. “I have to go to a work meeting. I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?”
He cut the connection before his mother began to grill him about every detail of Lyall’s home life, work history, and dietary preferences. So many lies. Dinner was going to be even more stressful than usual, but that was a tomorrow problem.
For the first time since the attack, Lyall had a smile on his face as he walked up to him. “I like your mother. She wants to keep you safe.”
Kat clapped him on the shoulder. “Let’s see if you feel that way after enduring a Nakamura family dinner.”
That lightening of the mood didn’t last long. The two of them joined Garreth and Remi in the back office. Kaveh was there as well, flustered after rushing off when he received a panicked phone call from someone sounding exactly like Remi. This had been a well-planned attack.
Garreth was behind his desk on a projection call with several of the senior wranglers.
It was a relief to see friends like Javier and Jeannette calling in to confirm everything was okay, but Kat’s stomach clenched as he took the open seat Garreth gestured to.
There weren’t enough chairs for everyone, but Lyall clearly wanted to hover in the back, and Remi perched on the chair arm next to Kaveh.
Garreth ended the call and let out a long sigh of relief. “No one hurt, no animals missing, and only minor damage to the petting zoo, thank God.”
“I shouldn’t be at the ranch,” Kat blurted out. “I’ve put everyone here in danger. First I let a dangerous Riftworld criminal loose, and today he and two other gangsters got into the ranch.”
“None of this is your fault.” Garreth sounded as kind and firm as always, and that made Kat feel even worse. “You were the one in danger, and I’m relieved that you and Lyall are okay. The ranch and its people are a family, and together we all keep our family safe.”
“I just arrived, so help me put the pieces together.” Remi held up a hand. “Our new froggy enemy came back with two of my cousins and told Kat he was taking him to my father?”
“Pretty much,” Lyall said. “They went after Kat first, and only took me on when I showed up.”
“That sounds like Ari is close, not back in Boston.” Remi had told Kat that his mafia boss father preferred Remi use that nickname for him. It sounded odd, like this was all only a family dispute.
Which it was for Remi.
“My father doesn’t often get his hands dirty doing Colony work.
” Remi let out a long sigh. “But I have a feeling he has this time. Teo was locked in a giant pool of goo for years, and he wanted Kat to teach him about passing for human. Contacting the Colony should have taken him some time. My guess is the groundwork for this was laid months ago, and Kat and his crabby friends let him loose early.”
“Should we call law enforcement?” Garreth looked taken aback by Remi’s answering laugh. “He is a mafia boss, after all.”
“The only government agencies that deal with Riftworld “crimes” are shadier than my family, which is saying a lot.” Remi turned to Kaveh. “I hate to say it, but if Ari’s playing on drakone turf, you need to let your clan know.”
Kaveh nodded. “I’ll send a message to Tarasque, but I’ll need to travel to the Keep and talk to the matriarch personally.”
Given that Kaveh had broken off relations with Xiang Jao over his drakone clan’s attempts to either kill Remi or keep him as a prisoner, it couldn’t be easy for him to have to meet with his adoptive mother.
Kat still felt guilty, but Remi’s logic did make sense. “So, we’re facing a criminal mastermind who has access to Riftworld tech and weapons, like the collar Teo used on Lyall.”
“Please don’t say things like that if you ever have the misfortune to meet my father.” Remi held up both hands in protest. “He has a big enough ego as it is.”
“Speaking of that collar, I’d like to know how the hell you got me out of it by shooting Teo.” Lyall sounded more upbeat when talking about assassination attempts. “You told me you didn’t like guns.”
Kat shared a baffled look with Garreth. “I said I don’t like them. I didn’t say I don’t know how to shoot.”
Everyone kept looking at him, expecting more, so he continued.
“As for how it worked, it was more luck than anything else. When Teo grabbed me in the base, he created an energy field that reversed the living leathers you gave me. I remember my watch lighting up and delivering a message from my sister Naomi when that happened.”
“Which shouldn’t have been possible since the base is now in the Riftworld.” Kaveh gave a slow nod as he processed Kat’s line of thinking. “Teo can alter the physical laws of nature from those of the Riftworld to those of Earth.”
“And vice versa,” Kat added. “He’s like a two-way rift storm.
I had read something about this ability in a journal article last night, but it didn’t click.
It all came to me when Teo transformed Lyall into an Earth canine.
I shot him because I thought he would use that ability to change the immediate area around him to a riftland.
When he did that, the bullet stopped working, but Lyall reverted to his true Riftworld form. ”
“Fuck, but you’re smart.” Lyall beamed at him, and Kat flushed at the praise. He liked that Lyall found him attractive but was even happier the hellhound thought he had handled a tough situation well.
“You’re a good shot, too,” Lyall continued. “But guns won’t work against Teo or Arimanius for that matter. If Kaveh has to go to the Keep, I’m staying with you until all of this is settled.”