Enviro-Scapes: Exiled Elementals Series (Book Two), page 21
It was time to party!
The pools looked refreshing, and the women were almost naked in their string bikinis. Thayden and his men fell into the sway of the music and did what the bachelors did best.
Party on!
Nhari and Piedro found a quiet place to talk while holding hands to secretly establish the elemental link. Nhari pushed more powers into his genes, activating as many as possible. She explained all that she, Tiago, and Kasha had discovered about their kind.
“We believe that elemental tattoos are only visible to another elemental when they choose to connect their elemental bonds to another elemental for life. The link is permanent and creates an instinctive nature to protect each other.”
Piedro nodded with understanding with a gleam in his eyes from the amazing blue tattoos roaming along his arms and neck. It cast a light blue haze around him that was awe-inspiring. Nhari continued her lesson.
“In the exiled realm, the elemental children found each other instinctively. They each recalled feeling a power flow to another elemental child nearby, and their elemental tattoos suddenly appeared and linked. We believe that some celestial earthly aura drew them to allied elementals.” She then cautioned him.
“However, we also theorize that it is possible that if we meet unfriendly elementals, we will not recognize each other, and no bond will be formed. Each elemental’s tattoos would simply remain hidden from the other.”
Nhari further explained that they didn’t think the elemental gene was common among humans, given the small number of children that were either dormant or active once they reached puberty. A dormant elemental male could be activated, but they didn’t know whether it was even possible to activate a dormant female. Nhari was the only elemental female so far that could activate dormant males. For this reason, the exiled children jokingly called her “Mother Nhari.”
After hearing her story, Piedro had a fascinating story of his own.
“My cousin, Javier Castillo, is already activated and possesses strong powers. He too has power over water elements.” Nhari was excited but let Piedro continue his story uninterrupted.
“Javier and I believe our powers come from our grandpapa, who was taken after the clan wars. Our grandpapa told us stories that certain members of the ruling Guardian Clans knew of his existence. Our grandpapa said they hunted and experimented on people with our gifts and used their findings to create bioengineered humans. He said that elemental children were gifted special elements of the Earth to protect Mother Earth from species that would cause environmental destruction. My grandpapa also told us that there was a battle on the horizon for Earth, and that elementals can shift the balance in that war.”
“Wow, that is an amazing story, Piedro!”
“My grandpapa never used the world ‘elementals.’ He said we were ‘brujas’ or witches.”
Nhari and Piedro didn’t know if his grandfather’s stories were real or fiction, perhaps somewhere inbetween. But they had to get Piedro out of Chile to meet with Javier in Venezuela, where Javier now lived. Then the two men needed to make their way to meet Nhari on Travalta Island in a few weeks when the Trials of Guardianship resumed. They were going to be the first two elementals in her army.
“Piedro, I have another very important task for you to complete.”
Nhari gave Piedro the holo-phone information to contact the Viking Prince Geir Johansen, the hated rival prince of the Northern Viking clan, on her behalf.
“I will have access to my brother’s shop to make the call in the morning.”
Things were finally looking up for Nhari. She had two elemental males who could fight, and she had a way to get a message to the Viking rival prince in hopes that he would still agree to meet her. If things continued positively, she was sure the Viking prince would lead her to more elementals.
In fact, she was in such a good mood she didn’t even care that Thayden left her stranded with no ride and no money. She saw him walking off with a woman for what clearly looked like a pleasure-seeking rendezvous. The woman looked like a gorgeous runway model with full-sized breasts, a tiny waist, and a swish of the hips that most women would die for. She was much taller than Nhari’s five-foot-five height. In fact, the model was nearly as tall as Thayden’s six-foot height. She carried herself cultured and refined and could have had any man on the beach. She seemed totally ready to submit to Thayden’s will and was obviously captivated by whatever he said.
So, that’s his type. Harrumph, she looks absolutely submissive and boring!
Nhari watched the two join up with another female.
You would think he learned his lesson about trusting strange women, but apparently, his hormones are taking charge. The bastard!
She laughed at herself to reign in her jealousy. Thayden would not sour her good mood. Oscar also had his hands full as she saw him get into his neuro-car with two beauties. She began her walk back to the hotel feeling like nothing could rain on her parade.
That next morning, Piedro arrived at his brother’s shop before opening. Holo-calls were very expensive, and he would have to explain the bill to his brother later. Piedro called the number Nhari provided and explained to the man who answered that Nhari sent her sincere apologies that she was unavoidably delayed. Piedro recited word for word, the coded message that Nhari made him memorize to give to the man.
“Piedro, I greatly appreciate the information. I’ve been worried sick that something happened to her when she didn’t exit the jump site at the location that we had agreed.”
The Viking prince was briefly interrupted and asked Piedro to hold the line.
Piedro could hear a man’s voice speaking quickly to the Viking prince in the background.
“I’m sorry about the interruption. I have an important friend here with me and need to attend to something. As you were saying, Piedro, I do so look forward to meeting her. I’m sending you the logistics for a new meeting so that I can meet with her at once.”
The Viking prince hung up the holo-phone and rejoined Micah, who was waiting anxiously to continue their talk.
CHAPTER 21
“Thayden, I thought you were taking the higher road.” Oscar shook his head, stifling a laugh as he overheard one of their teammates providing Thayden with an update on his surveillance of Piedro.
“Piedro Castillo is definitely smitten with Nhari. Last night he left her at the beach party and headed back to the apartment he shares with his girlfriend. He left very early this morning and went to his brother’s shop before it opened. But here is where it gets interesting. He breached his brother’s database and placed a holo-call. You’ll never guess where?”
Now even Oscar was interested in hearing more about Piedro.
“He called Geir Johansen, the hated rival prince of the Northern Viking clan.” Thayden continued, “Now what’s the chance our poor ole Piedro, a college student, no-name boxer from Chile, would know Geir?”
“Nhari is most certainly behind this! But how the hell would she be in contact with Geir?” Oscar was beside himself. The girl was clearly unpredictable.
“The real question is, does she know Geir is extremely dangerous? And if she understands his strict views on women? If Geir got a hold of her, there is no telling what he would do with her.” Thayden threw up his hands.
Oscar laughed while eyeing Thayden. “Geir would probably throw her in the ocean in a locked box and throw away the key if he were smart.”
But Thayden knew the remark was really meant for him. “Is there something that you want to say, Oscar? Out with it.”
“Well, since you asked. I usually don’t pry into your business because you’re a grown-ass man, but Nhari is becoming a loose end. And she’s endangering our mission. She stayed out all night with Piedro after a slaughter fest and met up with the guy again last night. Perhaps she is truly a murderous, crazed woman that belongs in the realm of the exiled. Maybe we should help Micah instead of possibly making him an enemy.”
“I know what you're getting at, Oscar. You don’t have to worry about Micah and me being at odds where Nhari is concerned. But as for Piedro, I don’t think there’s anything sexual between them. His scent wasn’t on her.”
Oscar’s eyes bulged as he genuinely coughed. The other men shook their heads.
“You used your powers on her? You actually scented her? Man, you really have gone all beastly on us!” Oscar laughed hysterically. The others joined in.
Thayden had to laugh himself too. He had never used his powers to scent a female for another male’s scent. Hell, he didn’t even know he could do it until his instincts kicked in when he saw Piedro with Nhari on the beach.
“She must be using Piedro to get a message to Geir. Unfortunately for us, I kind of promised her that I would help her get to wherever she was headed if she helped us get out of that club.”
“You promised her what? Thayden, we have a trail to follow for the ‘Z’s. We don’t want to get mixed up with the rival Viking Prince Geir Johansen!”
Geir was a powerful and dangerously volatile leader. That was one of the reasons that his own people banished him to the northern realms of the world and wouldn’t allow him to take his seat in the Kingdom, at least that’s the story Thayden was taught by the ruling Guardian Clan families.
Thayden knew Oscar was right that they shouldn’t get mixed up with Geir. But he gave his word to Nhari, and Thayden’s word was law. No matter how pissed Thayden was with Nhari, he gave his word, and he would honor it. Most people feared Thayden because he struck viciously and without warning at those who rose against his family or somehow betrayed him.
But it was his loyalty, his word, that made Thayden a true leader and gave him many allies with people who refused to submit to the ruling Guardian Clan families’ rule. Many factions around the world were on their own, and Thayden secretly worked alongside some of them. But Geir, he was something altogether different. No one fucked with Geir and lived to talk about it.
“Aren’t you the least bit curious why Nhari is going to see fucking crazed Geir himself? Especially considering his rival, the true prince of the Vikings, Taug Bjorn, was found dead in the Armagenon Arena? It can’t be a coincidence. She has to be behind Bjorn’s murder. If she is doing something that impacts the Trials of Guardianship, I need to know about it.” Thayden looked at Oscar intensely. It was clear that Thayden’s mind was already made up.
Oscar knew that Thayden had a valid point. But it still didn’t explain why Thayden was still willing to help her when she was backstabbing them at every turn.
“I’m sure she’s not going to simply tell you she’s going to meet Geir or the reasons. How do you plan to find out?”
“She needs bio-pills to get to Geir. We will simply watch and wait for her to make her move. But right now, we have other things to deal with. And that’s the Z’s.”
Thayden and Oscar called the men back into the room and began planning their excursion to the mines on the outer boundaries of Chile. Oscar had been told that the mines were abandoned, which went along with Piedro’s story. Something was amiss at the mines, and they needed to check them out before the submerged jump site became operational again.
“We hacked into the jump site biosignature data feed run by the ruling Guardian Clan in this part of the world. Thayden, the Z’s leave a very minuscule biosignature that is very hard to even identify. If I weren’t looking for them and knew the approximate time they must have arrived in Chile, I would have missed it. Some arrived just the day before we arrived.”
Thayden had some of the best hackers in the world on his team, and he knew that the Z’s had to be very powerful if they were almost untraceable when they used the jump sites on Earth. Thayden had his own empire of off-the-books jump sites that he and his men were able to use due to their powers. Thayden grew up around jump sites, given his mother was the scientist that broke the code and learned how to use them for travel. With that knowledge, Thayden’s own research confirmed the existence of additional unchartered jump sites. He took over the operations of those unchartered jump sites and ruled secretly in his plight as a Sword of Father Earth. Their ability to travel where they wanted without fear of being tracked by the ruling Guardian Clan families gave them an edge.
But if the Z’s could somehow manipulate jump sites leaving only a barely recognizable biosignature, they posed significant risk to Thayden’s secret operations. Thayden’s bio-pills remained a secret from the rest of the world, and he wanted to keep it that way. He sold his specially formulated bio-pills only to his true allies who didn’t have Thayden’s powers to use the jump sites without the use of bio-pills. Thayden’s bio-pills didn’t have tracers to allow the person to be tracked by the ruling Guardian Clan families. And more importantly, they were not addictive. Unfortunately, many became addicted to the bio-pills that the ruling Guardian Clan families used, making the Guardian Clans more powerful.
Thayden thought back to the fact that Nhari didn’t disintegrate during her jump from the arena to Chile.
Could she have Z’s in her system?
He shook off the idea.
That would be impossible.
Nhari had been confined to Oscar’s room while the men talked in Thayden’s adjoining suite. Despite the jubilant feeling she had last night, she awoke with a million problems to solve.
How will Piedro get enough bio-pills to get out of Chile to see his cousin Javier in Venezuela? And then enough bio-pills for the two to travel to meet me on Travalta Island?
She knew both men had few resources, and the people in Chile didn’t seem like the type that one could easily rob and steal a bio-pill. Most didn’t even have bio-pills and never traveled through the jump site that was usually submerged underwater.
And there’s no way Thayden will keep his word and help me get to Geir. I can’t possibly tell him who I’m meeting. So, I need bio-pills for my own travels.
Nhari knew most of Thayden’s men were in a meeting in his suite of rooms. But three of his men were in Oscar’s quarters with her. Two were asleep from having completed night patrols and one was clearly there to watch over her.
If I can find Thayden’s stash, he might not notice the missing bio-pills for months.
She knew it was risky, but she was desperate, and there was no other way.
Nhari was the Queen of Poisons, and her elemental powers over plants were sheer magnificent. She was going to have fun pushing her abilities to their limit today. Smiling at the mischief she had in mind, she twirled her bangles around her wrist.
This little beauty will do just fine!
She pulled out a small black vial hidden within her arm bangles. Her green elemental tattoos glowed beneath her index finger as she pulled energy from Mother Earth and touched the carpet. A tiny seedpod began to grow within seconds with a sharp needlelike point on its end.
She poured the poison inside the seedpod. She then silently sent the seedpod across the floor, spreading out below the carpet like a small slithering centipede to the closest sleeping man’s ankle.
It took mere seconds for the poison to take effect. Nhari saw the man’s pulse speedup, and his eyes opened and glossed over entirely.
Whoa! Why the heck did his eyes just do that? Well, I guess there’s a first for everything!
She quickly sat by the man and asked him where the bio-pills were hidden. He gave her the information she sought and the codes to get inside the case containing the pills. The man wouldn’t remember a thing later.
She repeated the same poisoning on the other two men, leaving all three comatose and unaware of the danger she posed to them. All three of their eyes did that same bizarre thing, but she didn’t care. She was ecstatic to get the bio-pills and get the heck out of Chile.
She danced around the room with excitement. She snapped her fingers and twirled to a beat that only she could hear.
Oh yeah, Oh, fucking yeah, Oh yeah!
She danced around the suite. She entered Oscar’s room and into the locked container inside his duffel bag. She found exactly what the poisoned man told her she would find, a stash of bio-pills. But these bio-pills were unlike any she had ever seen before. She would think about that puzzle later. So long as they worked, she didn’t care if it looked like a rat’s turd.
“This is so much fun! Why didn’t I think of this sooner?” She said out loud as she plucked five bio-pills from the container.
“Because you knew that I would kill you once I caught you!” Thayden roared as he grabbed her from behind.
Nhari yelped at the sudden realization that Thayden was standing behind her.
How the hell did he do that? I didn’t hear him enter the room!
Turning her to face him, Thayden grabbed the bio-pills from her hands.
The three men she had poisoned were all standing in the doorway, eyes glowing, looking mad as a lion who just had its food taken by a hyena.
“I can’t leave you for one moment without you whoring and stealing and lying! And now you poison my men?” Thayden cursed and swore as he got dangerously close to her.
“This is all your fault, Thayden!” She screamed. “If you wouldn’t have kidnapped me, brought me to Chile against my will, I would be far away from here. I was doing you a favor by BORROWING, not STEALING a bio-pill to leave!”
“Borrowing? Is that right! Do you even know how to tell the truth?”
“You think you're better than everyone. Don’t judge me, Thayden, with that silver spoon in your mouth.”
“We were both born with a silver spoon. But in your case, it was broken and decayed with rust!”
He grabbed her hands. He disarmed her bangles from her wrists in less than a minute.
She shrieked, but it didn’t stop him from grabbing her hair and tossing her headfirst onto the nearby chair. He ripped her pins from her hair as she screamed and squirmed to get free. But his grip was relentless. At first, he tried to gently remove her hairpins. But the more she tried to pull free, the more his fingers became tangled in her thick curly reddish-brown hair. Soon, they were both tussling to get his hands free from her hair.
