Viper (Second Wave Book 1) Read online

  “Are you ready?” Dread asked, combing through the energy around them to make sure Viper was under control.

  At Viper’s nod, Dread led the way out of MedLab and almost walked into Amun and a few of the techs waiting outside of the room.

  “We are going to see Ratoka. Will you let us know immediately if anything changes with her?” Dread asked the doctor, ignoring the look of concern on Amun’s face when he looked at Viper.

  “Of course, I wouldn’t consider otherwise. Maybe I should have another look at Viper…” Amun suggested, grabbing a scanner and moving towards him.

  Dread quickly intercepted the doctor and moved Viper down the hallway. “Thank you Amun. We will return later.” Dread called out behind him, not slowing his stride as he headed to the port room that would take them to the portal station in Dillon, Texas.

  Not bothering to contact Ratoka directly through the Shengari’, the man had been ignoring him for hours anyway, Dread called out on a local path once they hit Dillon to find out where he was located.

  Dread almost growled in frustration when he heard that Ratoka was up in the mountains meditating and studying the planet’s energy. It figures the man would be as far away as possible; he thought.

  Dread pulled his brother through the office building, barely acknowledging the greetings of his friends and fellow Tezarian’s as he looked around for the nearest vehicle he could use. He was startled when Jaxson Adronatof came up beside him unexpectedly.

  “Hey Dread, Viper. I heard your woman is going to be ok, Viper. Congrats man. Where you headed? Can I give you a ride?” Jax asked politely, knowing she was going to follow them wherever they went anyway.

  Dread looked around at the empty visitor lot where they usually kept spare vehicles for those coming through the portals from other locations that needed a way around town and sighed. Turning to Jax, he tried to put a smile on his face.

  “That would be great, Jax, thank you. We just need to get to the north mountain.” Dread said, trying to hide his irritation.

  “I can do that. Let’s go.” Jax answered, trying not to let it show that she was concerned for Viper. If it was possible, he looked worse now than when they had pulled him out of the forest.

  Jax relayed the information on Viper’s condition to Reven and almost cringed at his response in her mind. Without thinking she immediately snapped back at him.

  “Don’t snap at me asshole! If you thought he needed to be seen by Amun again, your ass should have stopped him from getting into the portal.”

  Freaking yell at her because she was just relaying the information that he asked her for to begin with! Damn that man was beyond frustrating she thought, glad that he had shut up and not responded back to her.

  She would make the rest of her observations to the jerk in a report through the damn comm; Jax thought to herself as she opened up the locks on her car as they approached.

  “Get in guys, we’ll be there in no time.” Jax said, pasting a smile on her face as she tried to shake off her frustration at Reven.

  Jax slid into the driver’s seat and watched curiously as Dread helped Viper into the back seat and shut his door before joining her in the front. Taking another quick look in the rear-view mirror at Viper’s pale face she backed out of the parking lot and headed up the road to the north mountain.

  “So… how are you feeling Viper?” Jax asked, trying to make conversation in the uncomfortably quiet vehicle.

  “He’s doing great. He’s just a little shaken up and needs some time to heal.” Dread said, making excuses for his brother.

  Jax looked in the rearview mirror again and noted that Viper was staring out the window, his gaze unfocused. “Should we take him back to Amun?” Jax asked, casting a worried glance at Dread.

  “No, he’ll be fine. I’ll get him to rest when we get back from the mountain later.” Dread assured her, praying they would get to Ratoka before Jax asked more questions.

  Jax turned a corner at the top of the mountain and swerved to a stop to avoid the tall, thin, robe clad figure that was standing in the middle of the road.

  Jax put the car in park and jumped out of the vehicle. “Damn it Ratoka! We’ve warned you not to do that shit! The humans come up here, and they may not have reflexes as fast as mine! So stop it damn it!” Jax huffed at the strange man.

  Dread watched in fascination as the tiny woman, who barely stood to Ratoka’s lower chest, stood toe to toe with him, her neck craned back awkwardly as she glared up at him.

  Ratoka smiled and took a step back from the little pocket rocket, as Reven called her, behind her back of course. “I apologize, dear Jax if I caused you to fear. I can assure you I was in no danger from you, and I would never attempt such a thing if it were a human driving up here.”

  The man’s apology did little to calm Jax. She knew he was only appeasing her and would continue to do as he saw fit no matter how many people told him otherwise. The man drove her crazy.

  “Just stop it!” Jax growled at him before turning to Dread. “Will you and Viper need a ride back?”

  “No, thank you Jax. We will return with Ratoka when he goes back down the mountain.” Dread said, wishing Jax would just leave already.

  Jax narrowed her eyes at the three men. She knew they were trying to get rid of her. She pasted a smile on her face and got back in her car. Doing a perfect three-point turn, Jax turned and headed back down the mountain. Not before calling a few of her friends to keep an eye on them though.

  All three men watched as the car disappeared around the curve in the road before Ratoka clapped his hands together. “Follow me.” Without another word, he turned and headed into the wooded area off the road.

  Dread looked to Viper, judging whether he thought his brother capable of walking around the mountain. His thoughts were cut off by Ratoka. “He will be fine. We cannot reverse his mistake, but we can help him. Come.”

  Dread turned to look at Viper, wondering what mistake Ratoka was speaking of. He was grateful when Ratoka took them a short distance into the forest and sat down cross-legged on a blanket. Dread helped Viper sit down beside Ratoka, before taking a seat next to them.

  “You are confused. Tell me why.” Ratoka asked Dread, looking carefully at Viper.

  “How about you explain to us how Viper’s dead mate’s soul is in a human? The soul you said was lost over a hundred years ago.” Dread asked, going right to the point. Which didn’t seem to surprise the man.

  “All things in their proper time. First, we must deal with Viper’s depleted energy levels, or he will never understand what we will speak of. There is much to fix because he didn’t listen.” Ratoka said coming to stand behind Viper and laying his hands on both sides of his head.

  Dread could see the difference in Viper the moment the spiritual leader laid his hands on him. He would worry about killing his brother later for not listening to him. Right now they both needed answers, and he wanted his brother to be alert when they got them.

  “Are you well my friend?” Viper’s beast Zaxin asked him in his mind.

  Viper sighed heavily as his beast finally spoke. The more Ratoka gave him energy, the more the fog lifted from his mind, and he could think more clearly. He realized now that he had given far too much of his energy to Lara to help her heal.

  His own levels had gotten dangerously low, and his body had to stop healing his brain injury in order to perform basic functions.

  “I am better now that you are back. Are you all right?” Viper asked his beast using the energy path in his mind.

  “I am well and sifting through your memories to try to discover what I have missed these past days.” Zaxin responded, distracted by the events unfolding in his host’s memories.

  “Ah, your beast is back. We may continue now.” Ratoka said with a smile before returning to sit cross-legged on the ground along with Dread and Viper.

  Ratoka’s piercing violet eyes studied the Tezarian brothers for a moment. Viper felt as if the man was someh
ow seeing into his soul. By the time Ratoka looked to Dread, Viper no longer felt so stressed and anxious. He breathed deeply of the mountain air and centered his energy while he waited for Ratoka to speak. He didn’t have to wait long.

  “You are correct. The human is your mate Kinara. I suspect that the man I saw in your mind that she was so close to here was her brother Jacordan. I will know for a certain when I see her.” Ratoka paused, knowing it would take a moment for the brothers to process what he had said before they would ask their questions.

  Viper’s emotions went from serene to explosive in seconds, until Ratoka placed a hand on his knee. His emotions cleared immediately and though his heart felt like it would burst, his emotions were no longer consuming his mind.

  “You must stay calm, my friend. I do not think he is done shocking us with his words.” Zaxin warned his host, trying to help him prepare for what he suspected would come next.

  Ratoka continued, “Dread; you were the first to notice the signs of the prophecy in Grai’s child, Tristan. This is another sign.”

  “How the hell is this another sign? How did her lost soul and maybe Jacordan’s get here in the first place? Lost souls are lost for a reason! I thought we could never get them back!” Dread erupted in anger and frustration, throwing his hands up in the air.

  “Where are your compassion and happiness for your brother? The God of Gods has given him a second chance at a life with his mate.” Ratoka asked Dread, calming the man instantly.

  “Viper… I’m… it’s not that I’m not happy for him.” Dread argued, feeling like an ass. He turned apologetic eyes to his brother.

  “I understand.” Viper said, remembering his brother’s fear for him the years following Kinara’s disappearance and the eventual recovery of her body and that of her brother Jacordan.

  “What does this have to do with the prophecy?” Dread asked.

  “The lost souls are being called here by the conductors, like Grai’s son, Tristan.” Ratoka answered.

  Dread felt like pulling his hair out. He forgot how evasive the damn man could be, and he wanted straight answers, not this ambiguous crap.

  “Patience, Dread. You do not need to fear for your brother this time. He will have a chance to win and keep his mate. Just as she will have a chance to choose her path more wisely in this life.”

  “Your Kinara would not have remembered anything about her past, if you had not shared so much of your energy with her. As your bond grew naturally, she would have slowly regained much of her past in a fashion that would not have been so traumatizing.”

  “Now that you have shared so much energy with her, she will be assailed by flashes of memory and intense feelings of the past that she will not understand. It will be an assault on her mind that she will need our assistance to overcome.” Ratoka said, chastising Viper for not listening and making things harder on his mate.

  “I wanted to make sure she lived.” Viper said hoarsely, devastated that he may have caused Lara more pain.

  “Do not lose hope, my friend. This is nothing that cannot be repaired, provided you listen this time.” Ratoka said, laying a calming hand on the distraught young man.

  Viper nodded his head, vowing to himself that he would not screw this up. This time. “I will listen.” He promised aloud.

  “Good. Because very few are allowed the gift you are receiving. There are people who go several lifetimes without finding their mate. You, Viper will have not only found and met yours twice, but you have a chance to keep her this time. Do you understand me? Fully?” Ratoka asked, the look on his face and the edge to his voice were a little intimidating. He knew it was imperative that Viper listen to him very carefully.

  “I understand.” Viper replied, his voice softer and calmer the more his head cleared.

  “How many lost souls are here?” Dread asked suddenly, the implications of what Ratoka said finally sinking in.

  “Ah, so you begin to see as well now. Good. We will need clear thoughts for the trials to come.” Ratoka said cryptically, irritating Dread further.

  Viper looked curiously between the two men, unsure what they were talking about. “What trials?”

  Dread gave an expectant smirk to Ratoka, hoping the frustrating man would finally speak in something other than his cryptic riddles. Dread was too tired, worried and on edge, to put up with more evasiveness. He wanted actual answers, so he could make damn sure his brother and his mate found happiness this time.

  “Like all the world Gods, ours have given prophecies to our people to assist us on our journey through life. There is one prophecy, in particular, that affects the Zendarian’s, Tezarian’s and even the Valendrans. Three of the thirteen beast nations.”

  “It is this prophecy that is coming to pass. It is this planet that will be a spiritual battleground. That is why we are here and why the conductors are calling the lost souls to this planet to be reborn.”

  “Viper and Kinara will be the first of many who will discover each other again.” Ratoka said, and even though Dread was partially prepared for the news, having figured some of it out already, it still floored him.

  “What? More lost souls? What spiritual battle? I don’t understand.” Viper admitted, having never heard of a prophecy like the one Ratoka was speaking of.

  “It was thought of as only a legend on Tezaria, you may have never heard of it. It was thought to be tens of thousands of years old. How can you possibly know that this prophecy is not only real but coming to pass here? On this planet?” Dread asked, hoping Ratoka could explain it.

  Ratoka laughed, irritating Dread and making his fist itch to hit the annoying man. “Calm yourself. Violence is not necessary here. Ask yourself this Dread fle’ te’ Trugh, how else do you explain Kinara laying in MedLab and the existence of Tristan T’Alq?”

  That gave Dread immediate pause. The man, though frustrating, was right. There was no other explanation for the existence of either and there was no doubt they both were there.

  “So that is why we were called here.” Dread said simply, knowing it was true.

  “Yes, your world Gods made sure that you would be in the right place, at the right time, if you were open enough to listen. Balduen was only the opportunity used by the Gods to bring you and your brother’s here. Where you needed to be.” Ratoka said with a gentle smile.

  “Wait… according to the prophecy, the union of the lost and their mate create the most powerful conductors, right? So Tricia is…?” Dread asked incredulously.

  “Grai’s mate, Tricia, is a Zendarian soul. If she had not died and become lost, she would have met him on Zendar when Grai came and saved our planet from his father before he settled here.” Ratoka admitted, his smile wide at the thought of the lovely soul of Grai’s mate. Ratoka had not known her on Zendar, but he would have liked her if he had. She was a wonderful mate and mother and a brilliant woman.

  “Does Grai even know? Does she remember her past?” Dread asked, curious if Tricia would remember like Lara would.

  “Grai has always suspected there was something very unique about his mate, but he still doesn’t know. Yes, she does know. She just doesn’t know that she knows.” Ratoka said irritating Dread all over again.

  “What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Dread asked, taking a deep breath to calm his frustration.

  “It means that she has dismissed her memories as something she read in a book, saw in a movie or made up in her own head. She does not realize that they are memories.” Ratoka said calmly, not the least affected by Dread’s frustration.

  “Wait a damn second. I don’t give a damn about Grai’s mate right now. What did you say about the lost and their mate creating the most powerful conductors? You’re saying all of our children will be like Tristan?” Viper asked, a part of him was terrified that a child of his would be like that.

  Ratoka squinted his eyes at Viper, who felt like the man’s stare was stripping his soul. “Each conductor is different. Not all are as powerful or unique as Tri
stan. Would you turn your back on such a gift because you do not like the challenge and responsibility it comes with?”

  Viper was taken aback by the question even though he had been wondering the same thing just moments ago. He thought of the beautiful dark haired little boy that was the light of Grai and Tricia’s life.

  Any time that he had seen the child since they had moved to Dillon, Texas, the boy had acted mostly like any other child his age. Except he spoke through the Sibiox cat, Gibly and wielded so much power, he could be damn frightening.

  “I do not know. The power that child wields is scary.” Viper admitted honestly. There was no reason to lie to Ratoka anyway, the man already knew how he felt.

  Ratoka just laughed heartily, confusing both brothers. “You have a lot to think about with your Kinara coming back to you. I do not think you need to worry about children quite so soon. However, the Gods have their own plans, and they do not speak to me of them. You need to trust that the Gods know what they are doing.”

  “Why are the conductors needed?” Viper asked, not understanding the point of creating children with so much power on one planet.

  Ratoka put both hands flat on the ground and looked at the brothers. “Feel the earth and its energy.” Ratoka said, closing his eyes. When he knew that the brothers were doing the same he continued.

  “Do you feel the skips and bursts in the rhythm? The highs, lows and blank spots that encompass the surface of its energy? Go deeper.” Ratoka said, using his own energy to magnify the effect for the brothers to help them understand.

  Viper felt the same thing he had felt every time he had tried to connect with the Earth’s energy, but this time he understood what Ratoka meant. It was the conversion. If he hadn’t been so distracted he would have recognized it earlier.

  Opening his eyes, Viper turned to look at a somber Dread and an ever-calm Ratoka and erupted in fury.