Haruki (Second Wave Book 5) Read online

  Alderic shook his head.

  “You disappoint me more every moment I am here. You are woefully ignorant of who you are and what you are capable of. Where is your Sotier? Why is your Talunaha overrun with humans?” Alderic demanded.

  “How about you start by telling us what a Sotier is and where you come from?” Mikal demanded.

  He was getting angry at feeling so helpless around the stranger. It wasn’t a feeling any of the powerful brothers were used to experiencing.

  “He’s from the Tri-Worlds, which I’m assuming is a Dranovian stronghold. There are three planets, Dakken’, Dranar and Daetz’. Somehow this place creates a portal or vortex there,” Haruki explained, trying to catch his brothers up on what was going on.

  “How can you possibly have it right and wrong at the same time?” Alderic chastised with a shake of his head.

  “How about you explain it then,” Mikal challenged, crossing his arms over his chest.

  “First, I need to speak to your Sotier,” Alderic replied.

  “What the fuck is a Sotier?” Shane snapped.

  Alderic turned glowing blue eyes to Shane and raised his arms above his head as he murmured something in a language they didn’t understand. Moments later he rose several feet off the ground and was caught in a blinding light from the capstone.

  “I am Sotier! The leader of the Dranovian Order! Guardian of the Rituals of Tongerno! Commander Priest of the Dawn! Therefore, I am the uncontested leader of all Dranovians, Guardian of your power on this world, and the Commander of all those who vanquish the evil from the beast bound! Feel my power and the power given to me by the One God!” Alderic roared.

  He extended his hands out until the golden light began arcing around and through the Dranovian brothers. Each was lifted off the ground by the golden light and unable to move as the energy rocketed through their bodies, entering through their eyes and escaping through their booted feet.

  Deanna watched in horror as Haruki, and the others were raised into the air, their arms were thrown back while the light from the capstone entered through Alderic’s hands before shooting into their eyes.

  “Don’t you hurt him!” Deanna screamed and pulled back her foot, catching Alderic in the groin.

  Alderic moaned, clutched his crotch and dropped to his knees. The moment he hit the ground the Dranovians were released from the energy and stood on unsteady feet as they looked around to make sure they were all OK. Haruki ran over to Deanna and pulled her behind his back as Alderic grunted and stood.

  “Do not fear for her, Haruki. I will not harm her. According to my own human mate, I somehow cause such things to happen to me. Helena claims it is my attitude. Although, I would appreciate it if Deanna restrained her desire to do it again,” Alderic said as he pulled light from the capstone into himself and visibly stood straighter.

  “What did you do to us?” Elias whispered as he looked at his hands.

  “I merely showed you the power that belongs to you as a Dranovian Warrior. Power you must learn to use correctly if you are to protect this world from the beast population that will overrun this planet,” Alderic warned.

  “Man, you got the wrong place. This world isn’t overrun by anything beast. It’s 99.9 percent humans,” Shane said with a snort.

  Alderic narrowed his eyes at Shane and Mikal instantly moved to stand in front of him.

  “Be silent,” Mikal growled at his brother.

  “You should listen to the Windwalker. Your disrespect is wearing thin, and I can assure you, the female will not save you next time,” Alderic warned.

  “Look! All of you! This toxic air of testosterone is starting to wear thin!” Deanna snapped, causing all eyes to turn to her. “My friends are on the ground passed out, you people,” she said waving her hand at the Dranovians and Alderic, “are a bit much for me to take right now. So stop playing at who can piss the farthest and someone tell me what the hell is going on and who you are!”

  Alderic raised an eyebrow before looking at Haruki with sympathy.

  “My Helena is much like this one. I pity you the times when she gets like this. Mine is just as feisty and still defies me. You must exert your dominance now before it is too late,” Alderic said with a sad shake of his head.

  “You son of a bitch!” Deanna yelled and tried to storm over to him, but Haruki caught her around the waist.

  “Calm down, baby,” he whispered in her ear. “We need to know what’s going on.”

  Deanna huffed but relaxed in his arms.

  “I don’t like him. He’s an arrogant jerk,” she whispered back.

  Alderic burst out laughing.

  “My mate still calls me that at times. I already feel at home here,” he said, still chuckling.

  “What should we call you,” Mikal asked, trying to gain some control of the situation and understand what they were facing.

  “You may call me Alderic. It is not necessary for you to use my title since you have no concept of what it means and the respect it demands,” he replied, studying Mikal. “At some point, I anticipate you becoming the Sotier of this world, so it would be wise for you to listen more carefully to my words than the others.”

  “What is a Sotier? What does it mean?” Elias asked.

  “Lord Justice. As the most powerful Dranovian of the Tri-Worlds, I am the maker and enforcer of the law, protector of the innocent, guardian of the humans sent to our world and bringer of justice to those who violate the commandments of our people as dictated by the Rituals of Tongerno. I am the educator and destructor of the Dranovian Order, and it is by my will and decree that you will learn the ways of the Order and your power, or it will be my duty to destroy you,” Alderic stated so calmly that it took a moment for his words to sink in.

  “I’m sorry,” Elias said with a shake of his head. “Did you just say you’d destroy us? As in kill us?”

  “Yes,” Alderic said with a nod. “Although it happens rarely and is an unfortunate duty, as Sotier I am required to ensure the balance among the Talunaha and those who taint the power must be destroyed for the good of the Order.”

  “What the hell? Just when I thought this fucking curse couldn’t get any worse,” Elias said as he rubbed a hand over his head.

  “Curse?” Alderic said in shock. “We are one of the most blessed and cherished of the All-Father’s warriors. You have been given power and duties above that of all others, and you disrespect it by calling it a curse?”

  Mikal saw Alderic becoming dangerously angry, and he popped into the middle of the group and held his hands up.

  “Wait!” he yelled out, turning to glare at his brothers before facing Alderic. “I think we need to explain our situation to you. We have no idea what a Dranovian is. All we know is that from birth, we’ve been different, and have abilities that help us destroy anomalous beasts with words we don’t even understand. There isn’t one thing you’re saying that makes the least bit of sense to us. We’ve never heard any of this.”

  “He’s right, I just found this place yesterday, and it started responding to me. The situation on this world has got to be drastically different that you have imagined,” Haruki interjected, understanding what Mikal was trying to do.

  He’d rather this Alderic guy think they were dumb as rocks than start destroying their siblings over things they were completely clueless about.

  “Oh, my God. You’re kidding me, right?” Deanna said, stepping around Haruki with her hands on her hips.

  She batted away Haruki’s hands when he tried to pull her back behind him.

  “No!” she snapped at him before turning back to Alderic. “This is it? Seriously? You? You’re so powerful and wise that you can’t figure out that they don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about? I’m the stupid human, but even I can see that if they had a clue, Haruki wouldn’t have been bleeding to death when you got here, and they wouldn’t have tried to attack you if they knew you were some all-powerful fucking leader! Oh! Excuse me! Sotier.”


  Deanna spat the last sarcastically and shook with anger and fear. They hadn’t survived Mike and all this crap just to worry about this “savior” killing everyone instead. She was exhausted, scared and damn tired of being both.

  Alderic looked to speak when Deanna stomped her foot.

  “No! You shut up for a minute! You come in here, you knock everyone out, start spouting some crazy shit no one has a clue about and then threaten to kill people you just met! And you’re the superior species? On this planet, you want respect you earn it, you don’t just come barging in here acting like an asshole! Now, fix my friends!” she shouted, stomping her foot.

  Alderic closed his eyes and took a deep breath before sighing heavily.

  “I believe it is best that we start from the beginning. First, let us move the humans to more comfortable accommodations, to appease your mate. However, they will remain unconscious while we speak of things they should not know,” Alderic conceded, surprising everyone.

  “We need Mike and his men separate, and they need to be restrained,” Haruki warned his brothers.

  “I’ll show you where everyone sleeps, and you can put them in their beds. You can strap Mike and his men to them, maybe they won’t get loose this time,” Deanna suggested.

  “Be warned that I have disabled your ability to use the shengari’ while we . . . get to know one another, as my mate would say. It will serve no purpose in you warning your . . . siblings as you call them. For a group that knows nothing of who you are, you’ve done a good job of mimicking the ways of the Order,” Alderic said as he knelt by one of the scientists.

  Deanna pointed out five of Mike’s men that slept in the same bunk house and the Dranovians dutifully carried them to the large building before helping with the others.

  Haruki saw Mikal start to pick up Mike.

  “Not him!” Haruki called out and rushed over. “This one is mine.”

  He snarled as he grabbed Mike by the collar and began dragging him across the rocky ground towards a larger building further away from where the others were being placed. Mikal and Shane shrugged and picked up Dread and Trick and carried them to some spare beds Deanna directed them to.

  Several minutes later, Haruki returned and saw his brothers had his mate firmly behind them as they faced Alderic with their arms folded across their chests. The energy swirling around them was so muddled as to be unreadable and Haruki knew he had to do something to ease the tension.

  “OK, I know that we’ve gotten off on the wrong foot and really need to talk. But my mate has gone without sleep for more than 24 hours now, and she needs rest,” Haruki said moving to stand between his brothers and Alderic. “Why don’t you guys take a look inside the pyramid while I get her settled, then we can talk?”

  “Like hell!” Deanna erupted as she stormed around her Dranovian shields and headed towards Haruki.

  “We have not the time for this,” Alderic said with a heavy sigh before flicking his fingers. “Catch her.”

  Haruki lunged and grabbed Deanna just as she dropped to the ground. He settled her gently in his arms before turning to Alderic.

  “You bastard, that was uncalled for!” he growled, checking her pulse to make sure she was OK.

  “It was necessary for her own well-being and something you should have done the moment you knew she was in distress. Now get her comfortable so we can enter the Talunaha together. I have no desire to repeat my words more than once,” Alderic stated, unrepentant over his actions.

  “Son of a bitch!” Haruki snarled before turning on his heel and heading towards Deanna’s pod.

  “Is it a prerequisite that you have to be an asshole to be a Sotier?” Shane asked.

  “You will come to realize that being a Sotier is a heavy burden to bear, requiring a fortitude you can’t fathom. It is also an honor, one that you mock at every chance. My patience with your ignorance and childishness is wearing thin,” Alderic warned.

  “Don’t make me treat you like Dad does Traze,” Mikal warned his brother in a low voice.

  “Ah, a father! Is he your Sotier?” Alderic asked.

  “No, he’s not,” Mikal replied quickly, wanting to keep Grai out of this. “He adopted us when we were abandoned as small children. Although he is beast bound, he is not a Dranovian.”

  Alderic looked puzzled for a moment.

  “Then who taught you to use what little power you wield?” the Sotier asked.

  The brothers just looked at one another and shrugged.

  “Dad demanded we work together to learn as much as possible so we taught one another as we grew up,” Mikal replied.

  “More like a lot of trial and error,” Elias added with a snort.

  “What has become of this world?” Alderic wondered aloud as Haruki returned to them. “To answer your question, she will awaken the moment her body has returned to its peak energy levels.”

  “You better damn well hope so!” Haruki snapped as he stormed off towards the entrance of the pyramid.

  “Let us enter the Talunaha,” Alderic stated as he walked in behind Haruki.

  “So a pyramid is a Talunaha?” Elias asked.

  Alderic’s laugh echoed around the tunnel as he shook his head.

  “No, novice, a Talunaha is so much more than a simple shape,” he replied cryptically.

  Haruki stepped inside the anteroom and made room for the others.

  “This is as far as I got. All I know is the one pedestal lists all of the Dranovians on the planet and everything about us, including our real birthdates and locations. There're people on there we’ve never heard of, and even Thrane and Christopher are listed,” Haruki told his brothers, seeing the shock on their faces.

  “Holy shit,” Elias whispered.

  “Another talks about the tri-worlds,” Haruki explained, placing his palm on that pedestal.

  His brothers gasped at the display of the planets while Alderic pointed at them.

  “The largest is Dakken'. Dranar is the Dranovian stronghold, and Daetz’ is the smallest, most lawless and dangerous of the Tri-worlds. It is where most of the Order spends much of their time,” Alderic explained.

  “This is pyramid information,” Haruki stated, placing his palm on that pedestal and changing the 3D image to one showing the pyramid. “I’ve never gotten further than this room and was working with the scientists to figure out more when Mike got loose and went postal. You know the rest.”

  “Did you not speak to the Xaratia?” Alderic asked in shock.

  Haruki threw his hands up in the air in frustration.

  “We already told you! We have no fucking idea what this place is, who the hell you are, or what a Xaratia is!” he barked.

  Alderic closed his eyes and prayed for patience before taking a deep breath and centering his energy.

  “Xaratia of the Talunaha, please speak to the subjects of your power with guidance . . . and patience,” Alderic called out.

  “Sotier Alderic Du’ Castine of the Tri-Worlds, it is an honor to receive you. I am Xaratia Tarona and welcome my Dranovian Warriors,” a voice echoed around the room.

  It was the same voice Haruki had heard earlier, but this time, it didn’t sound automated at all. It seemed animated. Moments later the four pedestals lit up, and blue laser beams twirled around the room, encompassing all of the Dranovians within the anteroom.

  “What the hell?” Luca asked as the lights sped up and then suddenly stopped.

  “How did you get it to respond to you?” Haruki asked, irritated that Alderic could make it work.

  “Did you ask it to?” Alderic asked, assuming they hadn’t.

  “Yeah! I did!” Haruki snapped back, thinking of how he’d asked the computer to respond to him.

  “No, you did not!” Alderic roared back. “If you did it was without the respect due to the ancient Dranovian soul that resides in the Talunaha. That soul is why you have any power at all!”

  “There’s an old Dranovian in here?” Elias whispered in shock.

&nb
sp; “No! You fool!” Alderic roared then slapped a hand over his face as he tried to calm his rising irritation. “It is the soul of Tarona, an ancient Dranovian of immense power, that resides here and harnesses the planet’s energy through the pyramid, to feed to you!”

  “Sotier,” Tarona began, “I may be able to help them to understand. Dranovians, please proceed through the ritual chambers to the center of the Talunaha.”

  Suddenly the hidden door that Haruki had been trying to get open with the help of the scientists slid aside revealing an elaborate tunnel with vivid murals that covered the floors, walls, and ceiling.

  “Wow,” Shane whispered in awe.

  “These are the ritual chambers of the Dranovian Order. Respect is required,” Alderic warned. “Come, Tarona will explain everything to you.”

  Alderic gestured for them to continue through the tunnel, and was grateful when they began moving.

  Haruki looked around in amazement as they reached the end of the tunnel and another doorway opened on the vast chamber that he’d seen earlier on the 3D image.

  “Whoa,” Elias whispered when they entered the room.

  “What is all this?” Mikal asked, stunned at what he saw.

  The chamber was the size of a department store, and the walls were covered with the largest display of weaponry the brothers had ever seen. If the sheer size of the collection wasn’t awe-inspiring enough, they appeared to be made of precious metals, gemstones and bore the mark of Dranan on them.

  “This is your sanctuary, warriors. Come closer to the Talunaha, and I will explain,” Tarona said.

  When they all looked around the room trying to figure out what the Talunaha could be, Alderic cleared his throat and pointed towards the very center of the chamber where a glowing cylinder stood surrounded by four black granite pillars.

  Haruki and Mikal were the first to reach it and stared curiously, unsure what it was. It looked like a clear glass tube that contained a substantial chunk of rock suspended in the center, and was lit from the top and bottom.

  As he studied the jagged stone, Haruki’s mind was racing over what it could be and why it was in the center of the deepest chamber within the pyramid.