CHAPTER TWENTY

 

Nathan lay on top of the velvet blanket with his arm over his eyes. The room was dark, now, the only light coming in through the door vent from the central core of the hive. It had been lit dimly by the things that looked like lamps when he’d first come in, but that limited light had faded after a short time, leaving the room dark enough to sleep in.

But he couldn’t sleep comfortably for a couple of reasons, not the least of which was being in a strange city surrounded by aliens.

He fingered the tags hanging around his neck with his other hand, the metal cool against his skin. He’d removed the tags while the inspectors where in camp, keeping them secured in the safe aboard his ship, but he’d put them back on as soon as they’d left. He felt strangely insecure without them. When Val and the Councilors had brought up his family, he’d had to force himself not to reach for the tags. He tried not to call attention to them. The last thing he wanted was for someone to notice and consider them important. Wearing them into an alien city probably wasn’t the brightest move he’d ever made. But they couldn’t be easily deciphered. And he felt safer with them.

He listened to the hive, straining to hear movement or shuffling. All was silent. There could be an entire platoon outside his door, talking confidently to each other, and he’d never know. Though the Shifters did make noise when they moved, at the moment, he couldn’t hear anything. He was trying so hard to listen, his ears rang.

Dropping his arm from his eyes, he rolled his head to stare at the door. No locks, nothing in the room big enough to form a barricade. No door to secure the entrance to the hive. The Shifters weren’t big on internal security. Maybe they didn’t have to contend with theft and crime. Probably not when they could read each other’s minds. Could they lie? Did they ever physically fight?

Maybe it was perfectly safe here and he was letting his nerves get the best of him. BinRal had sent another “all’s clear” message. Nothing seemed amiss on the surface.

The Councilors had been honest about their ability to defend themselves if they needed to, yet they’d been more than hospitable all evening. Alex would tell him he could afford to relax a little.

Nathan was pretty sure that wouldn’t happen until he was out of the city.

Having Ti’ann in the next room didn’t help. She was bracketed between him and Krin, a place where she’d be safe. Nathan had developed a real respect for Krin and his unwavering friendship and support for her. He knew the young scientist would defend her if the need arose. They hadn’t even discussed taking the rooms surrounding her, just fallen into it as if it was natural.

Not that Ti’ann would be pleased to realize they were trying to protect her. Fortunately, he doubted she even noticed. She was caught up in the wonder of this place, her quick mind ticking over too many thoughts to notice something as mundane as her own safety. Maybe he should teach her how to use a weapon, for those times when he couldn’t be around.

He closed his eyes and groaned. Shit. He wanted to protect her. And not because she was paying him to but because he needed to.

That wasn’t good. Already he had trouble imagining not being with her. He needed to quit this job and leave. He should never have accepted it once he discovered Ti’ann was involved. But after three years, he’d forgotten how hard it had been to leave her the last time. All he’d remembered or thought about since arriving was how much he wanted to get her in bed again. He hadn’t allowed himself to remember how difficult it had been to walk out the door of that hotel suite.

He’d gone out to the lobby to take a message from Alex. About a new job. He had to leave the next day to meet his partner on Ryan Station. After taking the call, he sat in the lobby for half an hour more, deciding if he dared stay the rest of the day and another night with Ti’ann. He wanted her again and he’d only been away from her for less than an hour. He knew it was a bad idea to stay, so he made up his mind to go. He’d return to the room, pack, and say goodbye. It was the smart thing to do.

When he walked into the suite, she was wandering around the living room wearing nothing but one of his shirts. She turned toward him, her eyes sleepy, her smile soft. “Where’ve you been?” she asked in a quiet, sultry voice. And he had to have her. Just one last time.

When he’d finally left the suite, his goodbye was abrupt and dismissive. But it was the only way he could leave. If he’d tried for a tender farewell, he would never have gotten out.

Taking this job was the stupidest thing he’d ever done.

He crawled out of the bed alcove and paced circles around the room. She was next door. Just a few meters away, probably snuggled under the blankets. She’d welcome him if he came to her. He wouldn’t even knock, just go in and slip into her bed. If he wasn’t going to get any sleep anyway, he might as well pass the time doing something he wanted to do.

He kept pacing.

Caught up in his thoughts, it took a moment for him to notice the shuffling noise just outside. When he did, his head snapped up and his nostrils flared. He grabbed the blaster from beneath his pillow and edged to the door. Listening. Everything was silent again. He slowly eased his door open, blaster ready and set to high stun.

As the beaten metal fully opened, he blinked in the dim light of the hive’s central core. Not two meters from his door stood a man. A stranger, though something about him looked familiar. The man stared back, unblinking. He didn’t move as Nathan raised his weapon.

“Can I help you with something?” he said quietly. This wasn’t Zim or Sar. If it was another of the Shifters living in the city, why was it standing out here in human form?

The man tilted his head forward so he was looking up at Nathan from under his brows. He was average height, slim with a sharply angled face, pale blond hair and blue eyes. He wore multi-pocketed green/gold pants, a green t-shirt and boots. All of which blended so well with the city walls, it looked like camouflage. It was impossible to tell if he was carrying any weapons, but his hands were open and empty.

“You’re Nathan Longfeather.” The man’s voice was quiet and scratchy, as if rarely used.

“Who are you?”

“E.”

“Easy name to remember. What can I do for you, E?”

“You don’t hunt them. But you carry a weapon. You defend her. You defend them all.”

“I try.” Nathan kept his voice neutral and his weapon raised.

“You can hunt them. Why don’t you?”

“Who can I hunt?”

“Shifters.”

“Why would I want to hunt them?”

“Because you can.”

“I need more of a reason to hunt someone, E.”

“Why?”

Nathan shrugged. “I’m just that kind of a guy.”

“What reasons?”

“Why don’t you tell me what you want here, then maybe we can relax and I’ll answer all your questions.”

“What reasons?”

Nathan raised an eyebrow. Single-minded. “Okay. I only hunt people who hurt those who can’t defend themselves. I hunt when it’s to defend and protect.”

“Why?”

Nathan shrugged again. “I get paid to.”

“That’s not your only reason.”

“What do you want?”

“To understand.”

“What?”

“Why I’m different.”

Nathan would have laughed if the man hadn’t been so solemn. E calling himself different was an understatement. He hitched his shoulders and leveled the gun at E’s chest instead of his head. “I don’t have any idea why you’re different. I do know you’re not supposed to be here. And I suspect you’re a threat to the people I’m protecting.”

“I am,” E said with no emotion.

“Then I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”

“No.”

“You don’t want me to shoot you, E.”

“Your weapon is on stun.”

Before Nathan’s shocked eyes, E raised his hand and it changed, shifted to form a blaster the size of a laser cannon. “Fucking hell,” he breathed, but he didn’t lower his weapon.

“I’m not here to kill you, Nathan Longfeather. That’s not in my orders. But I can.”

“What the fuck are you? You’re a Shifter?”

“No. I don’t know what I am.”

Nathan stared at the man with a cannon for a hand and had no idea what to do next. E could easily kill him. There was no question about that. But he didn’t want to kill him. It wasn’t in his orders. That E had orders was something to digest for later consideration. For now, it was more important to learn what they were. “What are your orders?”

E lifted his head and his mouth tilted up at the edges. It would have been a smile, but it fell short of displaying emotion. “Do you know, I can almost read their minds? And there’s something about you. I can’t read your mind, but…”

“Nice to know you can’t read my mind.”

E straightened his shoulders and the attempt at a smile turned to a definite frown. “I have to leave. We will talk again.”

“You know I’m going to warn the city about you?”

“I know. It won’t matter.”

And suddenly the man was a small rodent, no evidence of clothes or the cannon or even the man remaining. Before Nathan could recover enough to stun the rodent, it had scurried away into a crack in the wall.

He slowly lowered his blaster. What the hell had just happened? He pulled out his comm-card and messaged BinRal. “I’ve just had a very strange conversation,” he muttered into the link. “A guy who calls himself E and shifts like a Shifter but says he’s not a Shifter just stopped by to ask me why he’s different.”

“Interesting. Is he still there?”

“No, but his hand shifted into a cannon you would have admired. I didn’t think Shifters could change into things like machines and guns. He says he’s not a Shifter, though. He could have killed me at any time. But he just wanted to talk.”

“Sounds dangerous. You want to move your people out of there tonight? We could keep them better secured up here.”

Nathan looked back at Ti’ann’s closed door. She must be sleeping like a rock not to have heard anything. “I don’t think he’ll cause trouble tonight. He could have done something already. I don’t mind telling you, though, he scared the shit out of me.”

“That’s not good, Nathan.”

“I know. We’ll leave first thing. I’m going to warn the Shifters here about E.”

“Buzz if you need me.”

“Thanks.”

Nathan stared at Ti’ann’s door for a long time after he disconnected with BinRal. He shouldn’t go in. She was sleeping too deeply. But with something like E running around the city, he didn’t want to leave her alone either. Would he be able to sleep beside her without making love to her? Probably not. Maybe just once and then he’d let her go back to sleep. He could protect her better if he stayed with her.

He didn’t allow himself to think any more about his decision as he quietly opened her door.