CHAPTER 14 #2
“I’ll see you soon then.” He closed the connection before she could reply.
Lena didn’t need him. She had her uncle and Abby’s sister, Samantha, and Aaliyah to help her.
Gauge hadn’t sensed Rafa was in the room.
So why did it bother him that she felt comfortable and safe with anyone else but him?
He should feel relieved. This was progress.
Aaliyah would never allow anyone to hurt Lena, plus Lena needed to learn how to live without him being a constant presence in her mind.
Gauge shook off his jealousy and exited her room, though he found it difficult not to turn for the recreation room just to check on the female himself.
Gauge had his emotions back under control by the time he reached Jax and Teo in the map room.
He took a moment to study Jax, growing increasingly worried about the Hunter.
Jax hadn’t said or done anything considered out of the ordinary, but he came across as distracted, detached, his mind not totally on the job at hand.
Falkner had told Gauge some of what the Hunter and his tracker had gone through at the hands of a Djinn, but obviously details had been left out.
He would need to keep a close eye on Jax during this assignment.
Earth’s leaders needed to learn to trust them if they wanted to survive the upcoming war with Djinn.
An out-of-control Hunter would not help with negotiations.
Teo motioned toward a holographic image of the facility where they suspected the Umi queen and those with her were being held.
It didn’t look like much on the outside—a two-story building surrounded by a high electric fence with razor wire across the top.
Nothing that could keep an ancient Hunter out.
But underground was a whole different scenario. “How far does it go down?” Gauge asked.
“Ten floors according to these schematics. These are what Xavier provided more than ten years ago when he rescued the male serpent being held captive there. We believe humans have added to it, but somehow they’ve managed to block not only our telepathic reach to our people but also our ship’s instruments.
There is a blank area below the tenth underground floor, but we are fairly certain there is another level there. ”
“Can we be transported to the tenth floor?” Gauge asked.
Jax answered. “The chairman prefers we seek permission to enter. If they have somehow managed to trap the Umi queen, not to mention one of our Hunters, then they will feel empowered. He suspects they won’t turn us away.”
“Do you think there is a chance Neyvarre and Amanda are truly trapped?” Gauge asked Jax.
“No. But it doesn’t mean they won’t allow the humans to believe they are.” Jax hesitated, frowning. “Unless these humans were stupid enough to work with a Djinn. If that’s the case, they could be in trouble.”
This possible scenario hadn’t entered his mind, though it should have.
He needed to get his thoughts off Lena. Perhaps it would be best to leave her with the cougar pack.
Seraphym and Samantha would be there to help and protect her.
“Did you bring up the possibility of Djinn involvement to the chairman?” Gauge asked.
“I did, but he doesn’t believe they are involved in this.”
“Why?”
“Because the council believes Djinn mean to bring down our Hunters and trackers through the hybrid human mates. But Falkner also suspects the Djinn made a mistake. In the end, he believes these females will work to help strengthen us. They may very well be the key we need to permanently defeat our greatest enemy.”
Gauge didn’t believe there was anything special about Kimberly, Neyvarre’s half-human mate.
He had never met her personally but knew word would have gotten around had she exhibited some abnormal abilities.
Elena, Kimberly’s grandmother, was a different matter.
There could be no doubt she carried Djinn genes.
The female could actually shift into a Djinn form and weave Djinn spells, but this was not necessarily a good thing.
It was said the Djinn queen could control all her people, that she was able to move in metaphysically and possess their minds and body.
She could do some real damage if she managed to take control of Elena, or others like her.
“What is the plan?” Teo asked. “Do we introduce ourselves first, or do we just go in?”
“We will do as the chairman requests,” Gauge said. “But I will have Captain Eisher keep a transporter locked on each of us. If we get into trouble, she can transport us out.”
“When do we go?” Jax asked.
“We go to the cougar pack first. Samantha and Seraphym will help the alpha and his mate convince their people to accept some of the hybrid females into their pack as we find them. The alpha there is mated to one of our wolf trackers. There is also another serpent there with his human mate. We know the serpent clans on Earth prefer to stick to themselves, but they are going to need our help if they hope to survive the upcoming war. Once their presence becomes public knowledge, humans themselves will become an issue. We’ll get our people settled, then arrange transport to the eastern part of the state where this military base is located. ”
“What about Kiernan?” Jax asked.
“The captain will start a scanning the planet as soon as we settle into orbit around Earth. If he’s not there, I must assume he is lost to us forever.”
Jax rubbed his chin for a moment. “The Sabula king will hold us accountable for the loss of his firstborn son.”
Gauge nodded. “We’ll deal with it after we free Neyvarre and the Umi queen. Perhaps Captain Eisher will have figured out by then what happened during the missing two days we were caught in the wormhole. It might give us a clue as to what happened to Kiernan.”
“And the prince’s guards?” Teo asked.
“Will have to remain in lockdown. They are understandably angry. We can’t have them roaming the ship, causing problems.”
“Agreed,” Jax said. “I’ll contact security and make sure their quarters are securely locked down.”
After Teo and Jax left, Gauge took a few minutes to study the holographic image of the military base.
Humans were incapable of creating a device that would disrupt their ability to communicate telepathically.
There were no elements strong enough to do so.
Not on Earth. Perhaps some type of energy disruptor.
He would need to give this more thought before they stepped inside.
The last thing they needed was to get more of their people trapped . . . if that were indeed the case.
The Umi and Djinn queens were supposedly full sisters, equal in power.
It was believed they were true immortals.
They could be weakened or trapped but not killed.
The only way humans could hold Amanda prisoner was if she allowed it.
The Hunter with them, another ancient, was also a formidable foe.
Neyvarre would be even more dangerous with a mate to protect by his side.
No, they were there because they wanted to be. Gauge just needed to find out why and report back to Falkner. Then he could concentrate on taking care of Lena.