Chapter 20

 

SHE SMILED.

His stomach flipped.

Seeing her alive and happy was his reward. There was nothing greater than knowing that he’d been able to save her from the hands of the fiends who’d held her captive. There was still obstacles in front of them, but he could defeat anything as long as she continued to smile.

“Against all odds, you were able to find me.” Marissa’s voice was filled with wonder. “There’s no way I can deny that we are connected.”

“Good.” Firbin turned back to the explosives in his bag. “After this is over, we can discuss the possibility of you accepting me in your life.”

“You mean as your mate?”

Firbin’s hands stilled on the ignition wire he was holding.

There had been a seriousness in her voice that he hadn’t detected before. Marissa knelt down beside him and touched his arm. A shiver of awareness and heat rushed through is body.

“We both know that there is more to this connection than you just reading my mind.”

Firbin was filled with an intense desire to bring her close. He tilted his head and saw the same flame in Marissa’s eyes. His hand brushed against her cheek as he let his fingers spread out through her hair. Sparks of passion flowed between them. Firbin didn’t hesitate. He leaned close and let his lips caress hers.

Joy and heat warred within him.

Marissa pulled him closer and opened her mouth. She darted her tongue out and glided it against his. A thrill of ecstasy swept over him and he was lost in the beauty of the kiss. He’d never dreamed something like this was possible. Nothing in his experience had prepared him for the sensation of being one with another. The kiss intensified their bond and left him wanting more.

Now was not the time.

He had to be certain Marissa was safe. With a groan of regret, he ended the kiss and looked down at Marissa. Her eyes were closed and the expression of joy on her face humbled him. To see her happy was everything he wanted for Marissa.

She opened her eyes.

“We will definitely discuss mating when this is over.” Marissa sighed and moved away. “I had better let you get back to your work. I don’t want to distract you. I’d never forgive myself if you got hurt.”

Firbin felt invincible. “You have shown me what I have to live for.”

“Good.” Marissa straightened her shoulders. “The sooner we kill the bad guys, and get out here, the better.”

Firbin grinned and inserted a detonation cap into a brick of plastic explosive. He focused all his attention on creating a system of blasts that would ensure this site was destroyed when they left. That was the only solution. Once they found the plans and any weapons that had been manufactured, they would destroy the building and any aliens left alive. There could be no survivors. To have an Ancient’s Staff unleashed on Earth would be the end of humanity. They needed to ensure that didn’t happen.

Firbin finished readying his explosives for detonation and packed them into the bag. All that was left was to set the charge. He would leave that until the last moment. It was the only way to safely carry the materials. The sound of footsteps alerted him to the other’s returning.

“The rest of the floor is empty.” Niail spoke in a low whisper. “They are prepared for us.”

“Then we must make our first attack fatal.” Firbin hiked his bag onto his back.

“Once we have the Staff, you will have to set the bombs.” Niail said. “There is no way to take them by surprise. We will have to attack in full force and move through the last room where they have concentrated all their forces.”

“If I set off a small explosion, it will gain us a few seconds of surprise,” Firbin said. “Then we can enter fighting.”

“It is an effective strategy.” Niail nodded. “You can blast the door open.”

“How do you expect to fight all of those men?” Jack’s voice was filled with doubt. “The odds against us are huge.”

“We have won against greater odds in the past.” Firbin grinned. “We have no choice. We must stop the Albireons’ plan to destroy this planet.”

“We only have your word for that.” Jack’s eyes narrowed. “I’ve not seen any evidence.”

Niail pulled the small weapon that they had confiscated from Douglas Norcott. He aimed it at the ceiling and pressed the trigger. A flash of light and then dust fell on their heads. There was nothing left of the ceiling but a dark hole. Firbin shook his head. It was amazing how often humans had to be shown the evidence before they would believe.

“The Staff we are up against is a thousand times stronger.” Niail pocketed the small disintegrator. “It is one that was thought destroyed eons ago. Somehow the Albireons have a replica of it.”

“And this is the weapon you want to get?” Jack’s hands clenched into a fist. “How do I know that you don’t intend to use it against us?”

“We do not kill innocent people.” Firbin didn’t hide his contempt. “We fight with honor and unlike the Albireons, we are human also.”

Firbin held Jack’s gaze until the man gave an almost imperceptible nod of his head.

“Are you with us?” Niail’s voice broke the silence.

“There is no other choice.” Jack clenched his rifle close. “I have to get my sister out of this mess.”

“I will protect Marissa.” Firbin’s voice was a growl.

“You have no claim on her.”

Marissa cleared her throat. “I go where Firbin goes.”

A streak of joy raced through Firbin. Marissa was publicly declaring their bond. He had never dared hope that she would come to believe in their connection. A whisper of happiness and a sensation of approval coursed through his mind. Their bond was strengthening. Soon, they would be able to communicate without words.

He held his hand out to her and she took it.

Together, they would survive the battle.

Niail motioned for Firbin to take the lead. “Let’s defeat these monsters.”

Firbin moved down the hall, making certain that Marissa was behind him. He couldn’t risk losing her now. Too much was at stake. Once the Albireons were defeated, then they could plan a life together. They reached the double doors to a large area that took up the whole south end of the floor. As Firbin stepped forward, Niail moved Marissa behind him. He knew that if anything happened to him, his brother Hunters would protect her at all costs.

He worked in silence.

His fingers moved quickly.

To maintain the element of surprise, no one behind the doors must know what he was doing. He felt the crevices along the door hinges and set the explosives so that the door would blow into the room. He pushed the material into each of the hinges and then wired it to a larger block of C4 that he set near the bottom of the door. It wasn’t a perfect setup, but the doors would be blown off their hinges and a diversion would be created.

There was the odd scuffle of boots and the clearing of a throat from behind the metal doors. It came from a distance, though. The room was occupied, but by who, and how many, was still a matter of conjecture. He had to ensure that a large amount of damage was done on their first assault. He wanted this entrance blown wide open.

He motioned everyone to move back.

He set the detonator caps and then ran the wire alongside the hall. He would trigger the charge remotely. There would be a delay before they could get into the room, but they would be unharmed. Surprise would still be on their side.

Marissa stayed behind Niail.

She was safe and that was all that mattered. He sent her a wave of strength and then he flipped the switch to ignite the charges. The world exploded with flying debris and rubble pushing down the hallway and then being sucked back into the room. The deafening noise of the assault reverberated in his ears, but there was no time to wait.

He aimed his rifle and started firing as he moved down the hall to the gaping destruction of the entryway. The rest followed.

Shots rang back, but the smoke clouded their enemy’s vision.

Instinct, and years of training came to his aid.

He hugged the wall and moved through the opening. The first man he encountered was too stunned to put up much of a fight. Firbin shot him and then moved on to the next. One by one he took aim and killed the enemy. Some were Albireon, but most were human. Together, Firbin, Niail, Thero, and Jack formed a line of attack and then moved out in a fan-like fashion until they had cleared the room of attackers.

When the dust settled, the floor was covered with bodies.

The surprise had worked.

In the far corner stood a group of Albireons. They were huddled together with their backs turned to them. A shiver of danger raced up Firbin’s spine. Something was wrong. He took a step forward, but stopped as the feeling intensified. This was the time for caution.

Firbin was the nearest to the Albireons.

Marissa was still being guarded behind Niail

“Orders?” He used mind connect to communicate. They couldn’t risk letting the Albireons know their plans.

“They are hiding something. It might be another Staff.” Niail pulled the small disruptor from his pocket and threw it toward Firbin. “Use it if necessary.”

The disruptor was only effective at short range.

Firbin turned the weapon on.

He had no intention of letting these alien monsters leave this room alive. Marissa and his brother Hunters counted on his success. He was the youngest and had the quickest reaction time. They needed the information about the Staff’s production, but not at the cost of Hunter lives.

Firbin took a step forward.

He waited.

He was within twenty feet of the enemy, but the Albireons did not turn around. They seemed to shrink closer to each other. Every self-preservation warning was going off inside of him, but Firbin continued forward. The closer he was, the better chance he had to eliminate their threat.

A shuffle from either side of him, alerted him to the movement of Niail and Thero. They were trying to fan out so that they each had a vantage point to attack. The Albireons had to be aware of their presence, but they didn’t turn around.

Another step forward.

He could see the folds of skin on the back of the Albireon’s necks.

His eyes narrowed as a slight movement caught his attention. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed one of the aliens shift his weight to the right. Imperceptible, but enough to let Firbin know where the attack was going to come from. There was no time to think, only react.

He turned the disruptor in the direction of the movement.

“Take cover.” Firbin shouted through mind connect.

The Albireons turned and exposed the Ancient’s Staff that they were hiding. It was ready to discharge. Firbin was faster. He jumped clear of the weapon’s line of fire and aimed for the Albireon holding the staff. Before the weapon could discharge, he fired a second shot at the head of the staff.

It imploded, sending waves of energy out in an arc that extended almost ten feet before being sucked back. Everything in its wake was incinerated. Nothing was left, including the walls, floor, and equipment.

The Albireons had been vaporized also.

There were several seconds of silence.

Jack was the first to speak. “What kind of weapon do you have?”

Firbin stood. “This is too small to cause that much damage.”

“Firbin hit the Staff and that caused its energy to implode.” Niail’s voice was matter of fact. “It is a technique that clan Giath has used with other weapons.”

“Clan Giath?” Jack asked.

“We are skilled in marksmanship.” Niail moved aside and let Marissa see the devastation. “Firbin’s talent is with weapons and explosives.”

She rushed to Firbin’s side. “That’s worse than the destruction at Nellis.”

“The disruptor amplified the effect.” Firbin hugged her close.

It was a comfort to have Marissa by his side. They still had a lot of things to accomplish, but the battle here at Creech was over. The building had to be destroyed, and the information about the Ancient’s Staff found, but after that, they could rejoin the others.

“Thero see if there is anything left of their computers.” Niail started to kick the rubble out of the way. “Firbin, set the charges to destroy this place.”

“You can’t do that.” Jack’s voice was adamant. “This is government property and I’ve taken an oath to defend it.”

Niail nodded. “You are free to leave.”

“No.” Jack crossed his arms over his chest. “It’s my duty to stay. I won’t stand by and let you blow it up.”

“Fine.” Niail reached out and grabbed Jack by the arm and twisted it behind his back. For a second Jack was too stunned to react. Then he bucked backward and tried to wrestle free of Niail’s grip. There was no point. Niail restrained the man with the strap from his rifle and then led him to a chair and tied him to it.

“You can remain here until we have finished our work.”

“Are you going to let them do this?” Jack turned to Marissa.

“He will not be harmed.” Firbin pulled his pack from his back. “He is your family and we would never hurt him. We cannot have him stopping our mission, though.”

Marissa glanced at her brother and then back at Firbin.

She smiled.

Firbin’s heart started to pound fast in his chest.

“Do what you have to. I will talk to Jack.”

Gratitude and pleasure filled Firbin. Marissa had taken his side in this dispute. She trusted him. It meant more to him than anything ever had before. Her belief in what they were doing meant she would accept his advice in keeping her safe. She understood what they were up against and that would make it easier to finish this mission and get Marissa to safety.

“You will be careful.” Marissa leaned close to him. “I couldn’t bear it if something happened.”

“I’m an expert at explosives.” Firbin kept his voice low. “You must promise to stay with the others until I return.”

Marissa bit her lip and then nodded her head. “I don’t want to be separated again.”

“We can never be parted. Even death won’t destroy our bond.”

Tears filled Marissa’s eyes. “That’s not any consolation if I’m left to spend the rest of my life without you.”

Firbin pulled her close. He inhaled the sweet scent of her perfume and let the tendrils of her being entwine him. He was hers forever. No matter what the outcome of this battle, he would always find her. There was no denying their bond or their connection.

“Knowing that you are waiting for me will keep me safe.” He kissed her cheek and then moved away. “I need to set these charges.”

Marissa wiped a hand across her eyes and nodded. “I will stay with Niail.”

Firbin looked back at Niail and saw understanding in his eyes. He was mated himself and knew what a difficult decision it was to leave one’s pair bond. He’d left his mate, Kimi, behind when he’d joined this battle. This was a fact of life for a Hunter.

They fought for justice.

They lived with honor.

Marissa walked to her brother. She crouched down in front of him and even though Firbin couldn’t hear the words that were exchanged, he had a sense that she was calm. She was focused on helping and keeping her brother from interfering. If she could make him understand the necessity of what they were doing, that would make everything easier.

Firbin turned away and left the room. He wanted the whole structure demolished, so that meant the explosives had to be put in strategic points around the building. That was the only way to insure it would implode and be demolished. The last thing they needed was to have reinforcements attack them through the tunnel system below.

Firbin had finished setting charges around the exterior of the building and was working his way toward the center and the elevator shaft when the noise of boots pounding on tile stopped him. They had cleared the building so this could only mean one thing. New reinforcements. There was only one place for them to enter and that was through the tunnels below.

He sent a message to Niail.

“We have company.”