Shadow's Chosen (Dark World Mates Book 3) Read online

  "We will depart tomorrow morning at dawn," concluded Qorey. "All groups should be ready and waiting at the east dock. Officer Oryn will be there to command you." Qorey waved his hand, and the map returned back to an image of Irosa. Before they rose from their seats, Toni stepped up to the dais, bowed, and spoke quickly to the officials. Qorey gestured with his hand, and Toni slipped away. "Yes, I forgot," he said. " To all who would like to prepare for their mission or who would like to test out our armory, training grounds have been situated on the mid-level common rooms. An assistant will show those who are unfamiliar with our weaponry how to use them properly. It is also a good place to interact and get to know each other before tomorrow. I highly recommend you all visit sometime today. If you have any more questions, you can contact us through your Ulink which can be found in your rooms. Thank you and good luck to you all." With that, Qorey stepped off the dais and headed out of the theater. The drogin began to disperse, a few eyeing them curiously, some nodding their heads. Elise looked around and caught Toni once again speaking to the team of outsiders. Elise couldn't hear the female drogin, but she caught her gesturing to her ear and saw a small triangular device in her hand. The purple alien (their leader, Elise presumed) took it and replaced his earpiece with the device Toni had in hand. Each of her assistants offered up more of the ear devices, and the team took them. She said a few more words then bowed, and the team left.

  "Hey, Elise, you coming or what?"

  Elise looked up and saw her team already moving out of the theater and Jerico giving her a weird look as she sat alone. She leapt up and followed them out, only to stop at the door where Toni now stood.

  "What did you give to them? That other team," she asked as Toni bobbed her head at her. When the drogin gave her a confused look, Elise pointed to her ear.

  "Oh, those are our most latest and advanced translators," Toni explained. "They not only let the user understand the common tongue but also send transmitters to the brain to aid in memory and speech. Very similar to what was given to you and your team while you traveled here. In a couple days or less, depending on how fluent they are with language, the team will be able to understand and speak drogin."

  "So, they really aren't from here?" Elise asked curiously.

  "They are not. From what we gathered, they come from Xolis. Thankfully, we are quite familiar with those within that territory. Many immigrants and refugees from that empire have made a home here," Toni said.

  Elise thought that over for a long second and became both fascinated and disturbed. Empire. Just when she thought it was shocking enough to learn about this advanced civilization, knowing that there were others was...intimidating to say the least. She wondered if the Grayhart team had known and how much the facility was keeping secret. Whatever it meant, Earth and its territories were in for a huge wake-up call. "So, they...have come all this way to help us?" Elise asked.

  "For the bounty," Toni said. "Now, if you will pardon me, I must attend to other matters. Please enjoy your stay." With the room emptied, Toni let the door close shut then turned away. Elise stood there for a moment longer. So they are bounty hunters, she thought then slowly slipped back toward the elevators where her team waited.

  "You going to the training room too?" Bruce asked as Elise came up beside him in front of the elevator doors.

  "Is that where everyone else is going?" Elise asked.

  "Not me," said Helen. "All the medical supplies will be available on site and a short video on how to use them. I'm sticking to my room and having a long bath."

  "I'll pass too," said Tom. "I wanna know what kind of tech they got. And what their network is like. Supposedly these Ulinks they provide are like our ISpads, only smarter."

  "So, you in?" Adrien asked her as the elevator door opened.

  Elise stepped into the car alongside them. "I'd like to see what they got," she said. Judging by everything else she'd seen so far, the drogin's weapons were likely way better than her team’s. And if they wanted to be on the same playing field as the others, they'd be wise to learn how to use them.

  "I heard one of the drogin mention sparring pits," said Reese. "Wonder how well they fight."

  "Better than you, I imagine," said Amy.

  Reese muttered a couple of dirty words her way, and Amy laughed. Elise grinned too. "I'll take you on, Reese," she said. "Give them a good show."

  "Yeah, right."

  The elevator stopped at mid-level, and the doors opened to a long hallway beyond. Already, there were large groups of drogin practicing with weapons inside enclosed rooms on either side. Glass walls gave Elise a close view inside each one. As Helen and Tom took the elevator up, Elise and the rest of her team went down the passage until they came to an empty room with a drogin assistant at the doorway. By the door was a rack with a load of weapons in various shapes and sizes. The drogin bowed their head to them and explained each gun to the team—how they fired and the range and power of each. Some shot blue fire, others electric rounds. There were armor piercers, smoke poppers, rocket launchers, and guns that even shot poison. As they chose their weapons carefully, they each took their positions at various firing spots and fired several rounds at concrete thick poles situated at the far back wall of the room. Elise chose a small but—what the drogin called—easily accessible yet powerful shooter and took position. The handle of the gun was light, and she was pleased with the ease of grip. What was strange, however, was its shape. It had a look of a slingshot or a small crossbow only there was no string attaching the two bow ends. As she fired, bright yellow arrows shot from the top base. When she held the trigger, the gun seemed to power up, and when she released the trigger, the arrows shot brighter and went farther. It was strange as all hell, but she loved it and chose it as her main shooter. She also chose what was largely a sniper rifle that could be easily carried behind her back as her second.

  Bruce, of course, chose the largest and most obnoxious weapon that shot heavy armor piercing rounds while Jerico and Reese chose guns that shot electric rounds. Amy went with poison shots and Adrien chose fire. Once they were satisfied with their weapons, they gave the guns up to the drogin who made a checklist of their gear for tomorrow. From there, they left the firing area and headed farther into the training quarters. The hall opened out into a wide space, leading them onto a transparent bridge that looked down into several walled off areas. One was clearly a glorified gym, with equipment that looked more like massive robotic machines than the simple weight lifts from Earth but which the drogin used easily. In the second room were simulators of some kind, with virtual headsets and game-grade guns (a glorified arcade, Elise thought), and at the far back, in the last section, the biggest by far, were the sparring pits where drogin wore padded armor and took to fighting in pairs or even groups. Beyond them was a separately closed off part of the building with a drogin guarding the door.

  Elise was convinced to try the simulators first. They were astoundingly advanced, with realistic projections of the cityscape below. She practiced with aiming and maneuvering alleyways and streets but soon grew tired of it, uninterested in the virtual copy. She tried out the machines in the gym next, guided by an assistant on how to use them. Afterward, she knew she'd be more sore than she had been in a long time but was grateful for the burn. She was finishing her last set when a pair of drogin walked over to her and Amy, who sat nearby with a pair of weights.

  "High day to you." One drogin bowed.

  Elise could see by its bulkier frame that it was male, its slender face reminding her of a greyhound. Elise bowed her head in turn as she wiped the sweat from her neck with a towel.

  "My name is Ronin," he said. "This is my brother, Bo." The other merely bobbed his head.

  "Elise." Elise tapped at her chest. "And that is Amy." She pointed to the female behind her.

  "Very nice to meet you." Ronin's eyes shifted between her and Amy. "We are scouts for this sector. We met some of those from the other team. Those who have gone missing. Terrible thing to ha
ve happened. I sincerely hope they can be found."

  Elise smiled out of politeness. "I hope so too."

  "We will be helping your team tomorrow to track a path to them."

  "You've been down in the undercity before?" Elise asked.

  "Yes, a few times for smaller missions."

  "What is it like?"

  Ronin tilted his head back, his honey-colored eyes looking up at the ceiling then back at her. "If I can be very honest...it is a dark place. Not for the weak willed. There, the immoral and tainted make their home. Perhaps I shouldn't be saying but...you deserve to be warned. It is a very dark place, not just physically."

  Elise looked over to Amy, who merely shrugged. "Well, we wouldn't have expected a cheery wonderland."

  "Of course. I wish there could be another way..."

  Elise was about to ask him "another way for what?" when Jerico hollered for them at the stair.

  "We got a situation at the pits," he called to them.

  Elise forced herself not to roll her eyes. I swear on my life if one of them started a fight already with these people, I'm going to clock them in the head myself. She smiled again at Ronin. "Thanks for the heads up."

  "Are you going to the sparring pits? May we join you?" he asked.

  Elise couldn't see any reason why not. "Let's all see what kind of trouble we started."

  Together they left the gym and headed on to the bridge. At the end of it was a small double stair leading down into a large open area set up with enclosed pits in rows of four. One could walk a path past each and look down into them. At one in particular near the back, a large group was huddled tightly together. Through the many drogin that were barking and growling, Elise saw Adrien yelling while holding Reese back from jumping down into the pit. Elise shot down the stairs along with Jerico and Amy. They pushed their way to the front once they reached the pit, and Elise looked down to see Bruce on the ground with one of the alien bounty hunters on top of him, a nasty shark-like male with rows of sharp teeth and black eyes like a doll. The shark was whaling on Bruce, who covered his face with his arms. Elise was struck speechless as she watched, the drogin and her team wild with excitement and fury all around her. When she looked over to the other side of the pit, she found the hunter's deathly leader staring back at her across the way, his eyes bright with wicked amusement. The rest of his team beside him jittered and laughed. She froze again as she stared at him, and his mouth widened into a grin that showed her a set of curved fangs, a long pair then a shorter pair beside them. A real shit-eating grin if she ever saw one.

  She responded with a tight-jawed frown, hands clenched into fists. Though her heart started hammering at the sight of him, she didn't dare look away. Oh, how she wanted to smack that grin right off his gruesome face.

  A pair of drogin in uniform jumped down into the pit and finally separated the two. The shark leapt out with ease while Bruce had to clamber out with the help of the drogin.

  "You fight as dirty as you look," Reese snarled, with Adrien still holding him back. "I'll kick your ass right here, right now, shark boy."

  The shark hissed something back, and the others of his group laughed once more.

  "Enough!" called one uniformed drogin as they exited the pit. "We aren't here to fight like this. These rings are meant for light practice only!"

  The group of hunters didn't seem to listen or care. They jeered away until Reese pulled out of Adrien's grip and dropped into the pit. The group's leader nodded to one of his own, and an amphibious looking alien joined Reese in the pit. The uniformed drogin were pushed back as the crowd huddled in closer to watch. Elise stepped to the edge to jump in and separate them but was caught at the arm by Jerico, who shook his head.

  The pair circled each other several times, the amphibian crouching low. Reese struck first but wasn't quick enough, his opponent dodging easily around him. He tried to strike again, punching left then right, but missed every time, the hunter clearly toying with him. When Reese went for a loose roundhouse kick, the alien dodged that too then hit Reese right across his neck and shoulder, taking him to his knees. Reese fumbled back up only to be hit once more across the stomach and face until he was backed into the wall. He kicked his leg out to stop the hunter from coming, but the alien didn't falter. He jumped up and slammed his feet into Reese's chest, taking him out once more. Reese buckled and fell, but the alien kept on hitting.

  "Stop," Elise shouted. "He's out! Stop!" She wrenched her arm out of Jerico's grip and dropped into the pit. As the alien was about to kick Reese in the stomach, Elise got between them and blocked the blow. She hissed at the sharpness of his powerful kick but didn't fumble back. The alien stopped and backed off but only for a second, only to assess her. Elise put up her arms and took a fighting position. Behind her, Reese stirred, and Adrien and Jerico climbed down to aid him. Elise didn't relax her stance, but the alien didn't come at her. Instead, he looked to his leader, who made a quick gesture, and the amphibian stepped back.

  Elise kept her position for a moment longer then dropped her arms. "You think it's fun to beat a man when he's down? You're sick," she called up to the head hunter.

  The crowd of drogin quieted as the leader crouched down, his elbows on his knees. He tilted his head at her, his eyes traveling down her body, and Elise felt herself flush. He said something she didn't understand and remembered he couldn't yet fully speak drogin.

  "What did he say?" she asked the drogin around her. They looked at each other, and Ronin stepped to the edge.

  "I can understand Xolien," he said. "He says that he thinks it is necessary for those to learn how to fight every way possible. That the enemy will fight dirty, so shall they."

  The head hunter said more, and his team snickered behind him.

  Ronin looked to Elise apologetically. "He also says 'yes, it is fun.'"

  The leader grinned again at her, and Elise was very close to rushing over and pulling him down so that she could show him just how fun it really was. Then she realized how stupid that would be. She hated to admit it, but he could likely overpower her, and her team had been laughed at enough already.

  "Well, I bet it won't be so fun when you get your ass beat." She scowled. The alien huffed as if the mere thought that he could be defeated was entertaining at most. He talked at her again, and Ronin repeated.

  "What? By you? I could lose both my legs and one arm, and I'd still have the upper hand." He laughed.

  "Is that a challenge?" Elise asked.

  "Elise, don't," Adrien said.

  "No. It's a warning. You don't want to fight me." His gaze fell across her once more. "I wouldn't want to put a mark on that pretty little face anyway. Though” —at this, Ronin hesitated and grimaced— "the thought of you beneath me is a tempting prospect."

  Elise felt sick. She was beyond words at first, trying to process what he said. That she had just been so very insulted and so shockingly hit on by this savage looking monstrosity shook her. She fumbled with her words then started for him when one of the uniformed drogin pushed his way back to the front.

  "If you truly wish to fight each other without severely injuring someone, take it to the mission arena." The drogin pointed to the door at the far back of the sparring pits where a metal door remained closed and a drogin continued to guard it. "There, we shall see which team has a real advantage. What do you say?"

  Elise and her team eyed the other but said nothing.

  "Not a bad idea," said Ronin. "The mission center is a great way to prepare too. Would also be a good way to let off steam."

  Elise looked over to Adrien, who glared up at the head hunter then back at her. "Do we really want to get into this before tomorrow?"

  "It's either that or risk a fight later on," said Jerico. "I say we end it here, and whoever wins wins, and let it be."

  Elise looked back to the head hunter whose eyes narrowed on her. Hers narrowed back at him. "I'm in."

  Four

  "How the hell did this fight start anyway?" A
my asked as Elise and the others suited up in padded armor in a changing room situated to one side of the sparring area. "And don't say it was because one of them looked at you wrong."