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

  "I'm not finished," Elise said as he gripped the ball tight. "Hey! Do you hear me?"

  He began to press a button along the ball's top, but before he could activate it completely and end the match, Elise lunged forward and gripped his arm. She swung a leg at him again, and he took her blow. The spot where she hit his armor glowed red. With the key still in hand, he turned on her and this time blocked her punch. His eyes glowed bright with fire, but Elise refused to be burned.

  A few more blows were thrown until she was once again swept onto her back. She started to get back up when he pushed her down and started to straddle her. Elise cried out in surprise as she struggled to get out from under him, but he pinned her hard and fast.

  "Stubborn too." He glared down at her, and she thought he looked rather pissed off. Until his lips curled ever so slightly. "I like that." His fist came down, and Elise felt the strike to her chest, not as hard as the last but hard enough to make her armor glow red and make everything go dark.

  Five

  The last of the sun's light fell over the city. Nezka watched the night come, slowly but surely, swallowing everything into darkness. The city's lights glowed ever more bright, in all manner of colors. He watched them with ease as he sat along the top of a twisted statue, made to look like an odd growth, like some tree carved out of metal. The garden was empty now and quiet save for the trickle of water nearby. The plants glowed too with a yellow light. It was beautiful in its way. At least to those who could appreciate its beauty. But Nezka did not look to them, only to the city beyond the garden's balcony and what waited below.

  He would see little rest tonight. He rarely slept before a mission. Most would say that was foolish but not to him. It morphed him somehow, made him sharper, more in tune. More aggressive. And that, in turn, made him more prepared.

  Not that he felt he needed much prepping. The mission was simple, more so than many of the missions Vesra had put him on in the past. There would be a few deaths, he was sure of that. Maybe even one of his own. But that was always the risk—the price sometimes to be paid—and he wasn't worried for them. They would either hold their own or perish. This was the law of all hunters.

  Yes, with so many aiding him, the mission would be small compared to others. And when it was done, he would succeed as he always did. Dozens of worlds, unforgiving in both their nature and people, had yet to ever stop him. To see him fail. And few ever surprised him. This city was no different. Its people, as new as they were, did not impress him. As advanced as they were, they were docile, submissive. Weak. They occupied little of his thoughts, and come tomorrow, he would feel very little when he was forced to take out those who stood in his way.

  The humans, on the other hand...

  They stirred in his mind if not for the fact that they were his target. One, in particular, stirred more than the rest, and if he had any thought to notice or wonder about it, he remained unconcerned. They still had their orders. A brief meeting not even an hour ago reaffirmed to his team what they were set out to do; no matter if some had a new urge to take a few of the humans out just for challenging them. The humans were not to be harmed. When the first initial group was found, he would set into motion their capture along with the human soldiers. They would be his. Until given to Vesra.

  And perhaps as a reward his master would allow him to keep one...one with a fiery spirit brighter than all the rest. With lovely dark eyes and long silky hair.

  Nezka closed his eyes. He still could taste the blood on his tongue from where he had bitten her. An accident, really. He had only meant to graze. Not to break skin. Only to see what she would do. Well, she certainly hadn't disappointed. Though her little freak out had caused the bite in the end.

  He laughed softly at the thought. Ah, but she had been such a joy to watch. He had followed her through the arena, if only for the mere entertainment of seeing her in action. She was certainly a spry little thing. A passionate fighter. But with an embarrassing disregard for her surroundings. Several times, he could have knocked her out easily. Especially when she thought it wise to pause for a quick rest in one of the buildings and didn't so much as look around to see him crouching right nearby. Perhaps it was a human trait, a lack of awareness.

  But she had been entertaining, nonetheless. It was really too bad...

  Nezka frowned. He opened his eyes to see the city once again below him.

  It was really too bad he would have to take her to Vesra.

  He sat for a long while just looking at the city when he heard the soft patter of feet nearby. Someone had come into the garden. He did not move nor make a sound as the person in question walked close to where he sat, and when he saw who it was, he became even more still.

  As if summoned by his thoughts, the human woman he had played with in the arena came into view just below where he sat atop the statue. She was alone and considerably more calm as she walked a lighted path over to the front of the balcony only a few paces away.

  He watched her for a long moment, just taking her in. Watching the breeze catch in her hair, watching the lights shine on her skin. She wore simple clothing, but it hugged her figure nicely. When he felt he'd studied her enough, he deliberately made a sound to get her attention. It didn't take much for her to turn around suddenly and see him.

  "You," she said with extra disdain after a brief moment of staring up at him in surprise. "Why are you following me?"

  Nezka smirked. "I wasn't. I was here first."

  That answer didn't seem to please her any more than if he had confessed he'd actually been following her. She turned away from him to look at the city. The breeze picked up, brushing her hair back, and Nezka caught a glimpse of a small band of white around her outer ear where he had bitten her. Besides that one small detail, one wouldn't have thought she had been in a fight. Though he had given her a fair match, he had made sure not to hit as hard as he could. Even with the padded armor, he could have damaged her severely if he had wanted to, but he wanted her breathing.

  "Why are you here anyway?" she asked, looking back at him angrily.

  "I could ask you the same."

  She grimaced and turned once more away. "I wanted to see green before all I saw was steel and concrete."

  Nezka thought that over for a moment then dropped from the statue. He moved to the balcony and stood only a few feet away from her to lean against the rail. Though he was learning drogin quickly thanks to the translator, he was having a hard time finding words in their tongue that he wanted to say back to her, so he instead remained silent.

  "I hope you're happy then," she said after a pause. "You won your fight. I'm sure you feel real superior. Not like beating on a bunch of people would have made that any different."

  Nezka drummed his fingers along the rail. "True." From the corner of his eye, he saw her frown and cross her arms. "Not that it was much of a fight."

  Her lips thinned as she looked over at him. "Oh? If I count right, there were only two of you left at the end. I'd say we held our own pretty well."

  Nezka shrugged. "Two. Five. One. The victor remains." He looked over at her and smiled. "But if you want a rematch, I wouldn't mind seeing you on your back again."

  That thoroughly annoyed her, and all he could do was laugh. Her reactions were the funniest damn thing he'd seen in a long while. Her attempts to hide her shocked anger were useless with such an expressive face.

  "You really are an asshole," she muttered. "And I don't think I have met someone I hated so much in such a short amount of time."

  Again, he had no drogin words yet equivalent to what he wanted to say, so he said in his own tongue, "Most do when first encountering me. But that's because I'm usually about to kill them."

  She looked at him, confused. "What?"

  He took a step toward her. "Or they are very afraid. But you’re not very afraid, are you? Or at least you hide it well with your anger."

  "What the hell are you saying?"

  As he continued to approach her, he could te
ll she wanted to back away. Only her stubbornness kept her locked in place. Her hands turned to fists at her side, and she grew very still, but she did not flinch as he got as close as possible without touching her. He tilted his head and closed his eyes, waiting until he heard the soft thumping of her heart, a steady yet fast rhythm, though not as fast as he would have thought. He felt the heat of her, could taste her scent on his tongue, like the smell of a storm or of an ocean, the slightest hint of salt and the very small yet still detectable metallic scent of fear. He could see the energy radiating from her through the small sensors along his brow and the colors she portrayed were colors of rain and lightning and a sun at dusk. When he opened his eyes and gazed down at her, he saw her watching him with growing suspicion.

  As if possessed, his arm rose up without thought and reached for her, needing to collect the final sense of her. He went to touch her bare arm when she immediately slapped it away, breaking the moment.

  "Don't touch me again," she hissed. "Come tomorrow, we will have to go down together, we might have to work together, but I don't ever want to talk to you again. I don't ever want to see you looking my way. You stick to your job, and I'll stick to mine, and when it's over, we will return home, me to my world and you to whatever nightmare hellhole you likely come from, and that will be it." She pushed off from the rail and walked away then stopped mid stride and turned back. "And if you get in my way tomorrow, I won't hesitate to take you out."

  Nezka watched her go, fierce little thing that she was. Her threats brushed off him like a speck of dust on the wind, but the disappointment he felt could not be so easily swiped away. His eyes narrowed on her as she slipped out of the garden and disappeared. Too bad. She thought she hated him now? She was in for a rude surprise.

  Six

  As dawn came, Elise and her team assembled down at the east docks, not meant for ships but for other methods of transport, mainly the trams that would take them over to the gate leading to the undercity. From there, they were told, special armored vehicles would take them through and across the lower sector. Though most of the higher city’s transport was by train and ship, the drogin had built special cars to traverse the city below, capable of taking heavy fire and powerful enough to plow through walls if need be. The trams of the lower city were either destroyed or overrun, and since ships were unable to land in fear of electric strikes, shields, and outage barriers, they needed another way to get to their mark which, by their calculation, was located a little over eighteen miles out from the nearest gate not yet taken over by gangs. Theoretically, if they drove straight through without a single incident, it would take anywhere between a half hour and an hour at most. Since they knew that was unlikely in every possible way, it would take them most of the day, possibly into the night depending on what they encountered.

  The drogin soldiers waited near the tracks, geared up and ready to go, wearing armor and carrying shields. Elise knew they would mainly be used as a distraction, taking out the smaller groups and lower-tier thugs guarding their strongholds, blowing out buildings if they had to. Elise and her team were to take one of the middle cars and aid when possible until the area was cleared and they could make a quick sweep, making sure no humans might be hidden somewhere they shouldn't. The hunters would go in with them initially but would then separate throughout the process to slip inside the more heavily fortified sections to take out the leaders of gangs. Once they made it to the energy deposit, they would go in again while everyone else attacked from the outside. Once the place was cleared from the exterior point, Elise and her team would go in, take out any remaining baddies, and find the missing team. It was going to be a long day, but by the end, Elise was confident they would find the Grayhart team and get back home, still ignoring the odd feeling that clawed at her even if it seemed now they were more prepared than ever.

  Elise fixed on the last of the armor atop her suit and clipped her chosen handgun to the holster at her hip followed by the sniper at her back. The drogin's tactical uniforms were much more...flashy than any of the military's back home. Usually her team wore the same gear consisting of blue or black camo pants and long shirts with vests and pads. The drogin had given them suits equivalent to what they had similarly worn in the arena yesterday only with much more heavy-duty armor and in various colors. Bruce and Reese wore dark blue, Adrien and Jerico wore red, and Tom wore a deep green; Amy and Helen wore steel-gray, and Elise somehow got stuck with white. When they activated the chargers and lights along their suits, each one lit up with a different color ranging from yellow to orange to purple. Elise’s lit up...pink.

  She wished she could ask for another, but it was too late for that, so, as she adjusted the suit and armor one last time, she grimaced but resigned to bear it. She'd only have to wear it for today.

  So, suck it up and get serious, Elise. Who cares about the stupid color? Let's just get this over with.

  The rest of her team tested their suits carefully, making sure they could move and walk properly, that nothing snagged or pinched.

  Reese looked down at his and laughed. "We look like...shit, what's that old cheesy kids’ show? Power Knights? Power Police?"

  "Power Squad," Amy said bitterly.

  "Why the fuck did we get saddled with this while the rest are all wearing one color?" Bruce said, eyeing the drogin.

  "Probably so we stood out for them to see," Adrien answered. "It's not a big deal. They seem...sturdy enough."

  They all looked unconvinced, but before they could comment more about it, the drogin officials were calling everyone over to a dais set up by the tracks. As Elise and her team made their way over, Elise spotted a group not far ahead of them wearing silvery-black armor. The hunters. Their armor looked a hundred times cooler and more versatile. The lead hunter turned his head, and Elise immediately looked away with a scowl.

  "All right everyone, you know your place in this. Let's have a smooth ride," Qorey said, gazing around at them. "Everyone is equipped with their new Ulink which are each connected to a map and local tracker. You will also be able to contact anyone from this mission through it." He lifted up his own, an oval shaped device similar to if a bit smaller than the ISpads or smartphones back home, and pressed down on his, making it light up. "If you press and hold on each of yours, they will be activated."

  The drogin soldiers did as told and unlatched their Ulinks from the clip on their arm or at their waist. Elise had hers on her upper arm. She held it down and watched it light. As she happened to look over, she noticed the team of hunters didn't move to activate theirs. In fact, they didn't seem to have one at all. Instead, Elise saw a thick band on each of their wrists equipped with a small screen. She eyed them suspiciously when the tram came into the dock.

  Everyone shuffled around and lined up as the tram halted and the doors slid open. There was soft ping as lights lit up the edges of the dock. Elise followed her team inside, huddling close as they packed the tram to its limit. The section they stood inside smelled like a fresh pair of shoes as air blew down on their heads. Once everyone was inside, the doors shut, and the lights dimmed. Elise took hold of a bar along the roof to steady herself, but as the tram shot away from the dock, she was pleased to find that, as fast as it moved, it did not jostle her in any way. And boy, did it move. The scene from the windows turned into an unrecognizable blur of light and color. Few spoke around them save in soft whispers and occasional growls that the drogin made. Elise looked around and caught Adrien staring at her. He winked and nodded, his way of saying everything was going to work out, something he always did right before a mission started. Elise smiled and nodded back at him in return, her way of saying she was ready.

  The tram slowed to a stop, and the doors opened. The drogin spilled out, leaving Elise and her team last to exit. Beyond the green-lit station lay a road, its lines glowing yellow across the pavement. Parked along it were large tank-like vehicles with tires nearly as tall as Elise and an exterior covered in blue-gray steel. Their backsides were encased
in a sort of metal cage with thick glass windows that had small circular openings, enough to put a gun through. Drogin were already piling inside as drivers opened up the doors.

  "Earth team, follow me," shouted a drogin officer. They did as ordered. Elise stretched her head up to the massive buildings above and couldn't see the end. The shadow of these titan skyscrapers cast over them, dimming the sunlight, bathing the area in a chill gray. A light mist had fallen, and Elise wondered if it came from actual clouds or was just the dew falling off the tops of the towers above.

  They came to their vehicle and hopped into the back, taking seats on either side. From the windows, Elise could see out every angle, even to the front when standing. There, she could see, some distance away, the gate—a wall cutting off another section of the city with a large tunnel leading down into the dark. Elise eyed it with growing anticipation as she felt a tap on her hip.

  "You good, Stirling?" Jerico said, smiling up at her from where he sat, his gun resting on his lap.

  Elise nodded quietly then took her seat next to him. The drogin took theirs, and all was silent save for the hiss of air blowing out from the vents at their feet. Elise's heart began to thump noticeably in her chest. She told herself it was just excitement or adrenaline. She watched from the window as drogin emptied the street save for those guarding the station and seeing them off. She saw Qorey outside talking with the other officials, their eyes aiming down to the tunnel. Some moved away from the group to talk to the drivers, others spoke low to each other, making gestures to the street and the cars. Qorey’s gaze fell on their car, and as he and Elise locked eyes, she bowed her head to him. He did not move, only seemed to stare at her as if she were a stranger. He walked off with the other officers back to the station without another glance, and Elise thought maybe he hadn't seen her through the misted glass.