Shadow's Chosen (Dark World Mates Book 3)

  Shadow’s Chosen

  Copyright © 2021 Olivia Riley

  All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including, but not limited to, photocopying or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing by the author.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, places, locales and events are either a product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, places or events are purely coincidental.

  Cover by Olivia Riley

  Stock Photos: Depositphotos

  Before

  The city below sparkled. Its blue and orange lights spread across the planet like an infectious growth across skin. A ship floated above it in space, its nose aimed straight at the land below as if ready to strike the atmosphere and plunge. Inside, from the pilot's cabin, a dark purple shadow in the shape of a man watched the city pass by.

  "Vesra is ready," came a voice. The shadow moved. It left the cabin and headed down the passage. As a door slid open into a circular, windowless room, the shadow stepped inside and waited for the door to close before striding over to the central terminal. With swift fingers, it accepted the call. The lights in the room dimmed as a holographic display blinked to life. A man, as still as a corpse, sat in a room unseen. His black eyes stared down the length of his sharp nose to judge the shadow before him.

  "You have found the humans then?" said the seated man in a low, grated voice.

  The shadow slowly raised a hand to its head and tapped two fingers at its ear.

  The man leaned back. "Good." He studied the shadow carefully. "You never disappoint, do you, Nezka?"

  Nezka lowered his arm. "Not you. Someone else maybe."

  The man smirked, but his eyes remained cold. He took up a cup at his side but did not drink. "How many?"

  "The tracker reads maybe twenty, thirty tops."

  "Any women?"

  Nezka hardly moved. "It's uncertain. The city is not their own, we know that much. My guess is they are an expedition team new to the planet. They are trying to make ties with the people here."

  The man tapped at his glass. Nezka waited a few seconds before saying, "Do you still wish them extracted despite the deal being lost?"

  The man's hairless brow lifted. "So you have heard about the nillium prince."

  Nezka crossed his arms. "He’s dead. And the houses are fighting for power in Xolis."

  "It’s true." The man's eyes narrowed as he finally lifted his cup with a pale gray hand and took a drink. As he set the cup down, his eyes brightened. "But despite this rather surprising turn of events, the nillium are still desperate in their need for children. The fighting will end with death, and they will become more aggressive in their need to repopulate. The humans will be the nillium’s most precious resource. And our greatest bargaining weapon. I want them." The man's face darkened, his mouth set in a hard frown. "Get them to me. Whatever it takes."

  Nezka bowed his head and moved back from the terminal until only the orange glint of his eyes could be seen in the dark. "Whatever it takes."

  One

  Elise sat on the top of the terrace wall, one knee drawn up to her chest while the other dangled off the edge, looking down to the bottom of a rocky beach with crashing waves. Ahead, the sun's light was beginning to brighten the horizon, a pale white beam illuminating a sickly green sky. Elise sighed, fist under her chin, watching in disappointment at another dull sunrise. She knew what to expect, and yet every morning she came out like clockwork to watch. It was her one moment for peace, but she preferred a beautiful orange glow under a blue dome over what she saw now. Terraformed planets were never that impressive to begin with.

  Elise closed her eyes as the light hit her (a cold light she noted), and a soft breeze touched against her hair. She imagined the sound of laughter and her sister's voice in the distance along with the crash of waves. A memory of her and her sister running with sand kicking up her legs floated into her mind. She inhaled and a salty, not so pleasant ocean scent filled her nostrils. The memory faded quickly.

  "Didn't take you for much of a meditator, Stirling," came a familiar voice behind her.

  Jerico.

  Elise couldn't help smiling as she opened her eyes and turned her head to see her teammate walking toward her, a broad shouldered, dark-complected man with a grin plastered on his face in greeting. Elise brushed tendrils of brown strands out of her eyes and spat out the ones that got stuck to her mouth as the breeze whipped her hair into her face. "Just in the mornings," she replied. "And I'm not really good at it."

  "Yeah, me neither," said Jerico, shrugging, his smile dropping slightly. "They are ready for us, just so you know."

  Elise stood, not so gracefully, brushing away a small dusting of sand that had somehow managed to stick to her white shirt and leggings. "Think I got time to dress?"

  "I wouldn't worry about it."

  Elise looked over to see Jerico wearing his black pants and gray shirt, sweat forming on his collar. He'd clearly been out on a run when he'd been called in. If the others were waiting too, it meant they were wanted now, not later.

  "Let's do this then," Elise said and moved to follow him. They made their way across the terrace and passed a clean-cut lawn where a large statue of a gray and silver star with a heart cut into its center stood on display, the words "Grayhart" written beneath it along with "Discover. Learn. Connect." in small letters below. The large glass-sided building towered just ahead, alone against the dull cast of light brightening the sky. They passed beneath a covered archway before entering through a set of doors into a large foyer with a security desk at its center. The guard nodded in greeting as they walked on to the elevators.

  "You think it'll be a boundary mission?" Elise asked as they took the elevator up to thirty. They had only been on one of those before, but it had been a false lead. No outsiders or newcomers, just gyda exiles and runaways outside standard earth territories.

  "Doubt it," Jerico said, looking straight ahead. "Probably a stranding."

  "Another?" Elise said, looking at him and shaking her head. "I hope not. You think they would learn by now they need security on those ships."

  "You know how it is." Jerico crossed his arms. "They want to keep peace and look unresisting, even if it means taking heavy risks."

  Elise snorted. "Yeah, like getting stuck on some messed up world where giant crabs eat off your legs."

  "They were giant centipedes I heard."

  Elise grimaced. "Jesus."

  Jerico shrugged. "That team knew what they were getting into. I think Grayhart is finally getting the message, though. They need soldiers on their ships. Too bad they still have bad beef with the military, ever since Lazris."

  Elise frowned but had no good response. She didn't blame the research facility for breaking off from the military back when they were once part of a branch called "S. E. A. R." or for being weary of making ties after the Lazris incident. But it seemed lately they were calling for a lot of aid with more of their expedition teams exploring farther past human territory and getting themselves into worse danger.

  Good thing there were teams of operatives like Elise's team that were willing to give a helping hand. For the right price, of course.

  The doors opened, bringing them out to a central lobby where the rest of Elise's team now stood waiting. Elise locked eyes with Adrien first, their team's leader, the perfect example of a cover model for the American cowboy—bright blue eyes, clean cut hair, and a smile that got hearts racing. He gave her his usual side grin as they approached. Elise noticed most of the team still
wore casual wear like her and Jerico; only Adrien wore his full military uniform.

  "Was she out on the beach again?" Adrien asked Jerico.

  "I wasn't on the beach," Elise answered.

  Adrien smiled at her. "Your hair is a mess."

  "Thanks," she replied not so nicely.

  He tried to reach a hand out to her, but Elise backed off. His hand lowered but not his smile. "I told them we would have been better prepared if they hadn't rescheduled the meeting."

  "Forget it. They don't need to see us in full gear to know what they are getting," said Bruce, the hulking , tattooed mass standing beside her wearing gym shorts and a tank.

  "Something changed you think?" said Reese opposite her. "Calling us in early like this?"

  "Possibly," said Adrien.

  "Better late than early. I'm ready to get the hell out of here," Amy, the tall brunette on Elise's other side commented. "This place is too clean cut, and it smells like pine cleaner."

  "We will be very happy to get you on to your destination as soon as possible, Ms. Hendriz," came a voice behind her. They each looked around and saw a sharply dressed woman standing just outside a set of doors, as if appearing from nowhere. Her red dress suit hugged her body nicely, a silver star pinned above her left breast. Glittering black eyes assessed them with a sort of sly expression, though she did not readily smile. "If you will join me inside, we can begin." She gestured to the doors. Adrien took the lead, nodding to her as he passed; the others followed.

  Inside the windowless room was a long oval table with a screen stretching around the length of the wall. Displayed on the table was a holographic map of an unknown city. The team filed in and took seats while the woman in red took her position at the front.

  "My name is Sia Gray, Cohead of Grayhart along with my sister, Dahlia. I brought you here because we are in desperate need of a team of operatives such as yourselves with your unique set of experiences." Sia looked to Adrien. "It is my understanding that you all have had experience with missions involving non-human individuals, namely the gyda, am I correct?"

  "That's correct," Adrien answered.

  "As you are all well aware, Grayhart seeks to explore the vast realms of space and to find intelligent and advanced life. Ever since our merge with the gyda...and the incident at Lazris...we have been dedicated to this one goal, sending out teams on dozens of expeditions." The screen along the wall changed suddenly to that of an image of a ship taking off into the sky. A Grayhart ship. "Of course," Sia continued, " exploring other worlds comes with its own set of risks."

  Amy murmured something (Elise was sure she caught the word "centipede" somewhere), and Adrien gave her a stern look.

  Sia too looked over but did not falter. "As much as we try our best to prepare all our teams for their journeys, there are always inevitable dangers they will face. Some we have anticipated. Others not so much." Sia leaned forward, placing her hands lightly on the table. "The mission I have for you is a first of its kind, and it very well may be the most...unique mission you will face. All information from here on out must be kept confidential." Sia gestured to the holographic city on the table. "The city you see before you, as you might have guessed, is not human made."

  It was hard for Elise and the others to keep an indifferent expression. Some looked confused, others stunned. As they studied the city, Elise and Adrien leaned in to get a better look.

  "This is a real city?" Adrien asked.

  "Yes. It is called Tyrminis, on a planet named Irosa. It has been recently located by Grayhart 16. The drogin—Irosa's inhabitants—welcomed them happily. From the information they have gathered and sent back to us, we have learned a great deal." The image on the screen changed to that of a planet with a dark brown and blue surface covered by endless amounts of blue and orange lights on one large mass of land near its equator, stretching from coast to coast.

  A few cursed. Elise stared at the glittering orb, speechless.

  "We have learned that this very planet has served for some time as a sort of midway point for travel. The drogin many years ago had the same curiosity as us in finding intelligent life. Only, instead, they sent a signal for others to come to them. Grayhart 16 caught on to this signal and found Irosa. They have been on the planet for a couple months now, gathering as much information as they could, building connections, and learning." Sia straightened, taking out a remote pointer from her suit pocket. "All was going well until three days ago when team 16 went into the lower sectors of the city and ultimately vanished."

  Elise shifted in her seat. Before she could open her mouth, Jerico said exactly what she was thinking, "And you want us to find them?"

  Sia nodded her head once. "That's right.

  The team glanced around, some locking eyes, others staring at the image of the city.

  "Assuming they are still alive, what makes you think we could ever find them?" Adrien said after a short pause. "That city looks about twice the size of Texas alone, and when you say lower sector, that tells me there are levels to this city. They could be anywhere."

  Sia tilted her head slightly back as she regarded him. "That is very true. And trust me when I say we have been diligently working with the drogin to locate them. I was prepared to tell you that I was merely hoping for your best efforts with what information we could find, even if all we had was whatever the drogin told us and our trust in their honesty. However," Sia pointed her remote toward the city, and a small beacon of light blinked upward from a location near its eastern half, "only less than twenty-four hours ago, this signal started going off. We traced it and found it to be one of our own. We think it is one of the crew members who must have started the S.O.S. using one of their own devices and sending it toward our location."

  "Great, that at least gives us something," said Jerico.

  "So we fly down and grab em' up, no sweat," said Bruce. "Load up a few of the big guns in case there's trouble."

  "I'm afraid it will not be that simple," Sia stated. She clicked her remote again so that the city came into focus and actual buildings became recognizable. Below the blinking light, Elise could see a large circular complex poking out from a network of smaller buildings and streets.

  "What's that?" Elise said, pointing.

  "That," Sia answered, "is one of the city's energy deposits. The building feeds a certain area of the city its power using whatever means the drogin have learned to harness their energy." Sia zoomed out so that the wider area around the building could be seen. "It is, unfortunately, no longer in their grasp."

  "What does that mean?" Adrien said.

  "It means they no longer have control of it,” Sia said.

  "How so?"

  "The deposit, and a vast amount of the area around it, has been taken over by an underground crime organization the drogin have been battling with for years. And it has been a struggle." Sia returned the city back to a high aerial view where, this time, they could see many miles in each direction and where a set of walls enclosed the energy deposit and spread outward, encasing the city in sections. "These," Sia highlighted the walls in red, "were gateways leading to the various sectors of the undercity, but now they are overrun by crime lords, anarchists, and those working within the organization the drogin call the ‘Red Blades.’ The city officials have been fighting to keep them back at all costs, but still, the Red Blades find ways to spread and take over new territory. Now they control a vast section of the undercity, and all the drogin can do is try to keep them from spreading into the higher sectors.”

  "Why not take them out from above then? Or send in armed forces?" asked Jerico.

  "Trust me—they have tried. And still do on occasion. But the city's ships mysteriously stop working when they get too close to the bottom. Likely, the criminals are using some sort of advanced electromagnetic shields to depower the ships. As for armed forces, they have sent some in on occasion, taking back some of the territory in the process, but it is slow going. Thankfully, with the disappearance of our crew, the
drogin are taking the matter very seriously. You will not be going in alone."

  Elise looked to Adrien who glanced her way then turned back to Sia. "How do we know we can trust them? The drogin. We are outsiders to their city—what gives them cause to want to help us at all?"

  "Good question, Captain Hauk. I think someone with better convincing could answer that for you." Sia turned to the screen along the wall and an image of a man—no, not exactly a man, but close—appeared before them. Elise blinked several times as she looked into the eyes of the alien, whose large, almond shaped eyes regarded each of them in turn.

  For a second, Elise thought he looked like a rather cranky looking dog (namely of the larger breed like a Doberman) but with no long snout, just a bump and two slits for a nose and dog-like cropped ears on each side of his hairless head. There were no whites to his eyes, just golden-brown pupils encased in a watery gray. The more she studied him, the more her mind tried to piece him into a human-like image, and he started to look a little like some kind of fantasy creature, like those orcs or werewolves she'd seen in the videogames her brothers use to play.