Shifter Planet: The Return Page 23

  “It’s not what you think. You know about the ship we destroyed?”

  His cousin nodded.

  “So then, you know there was a woman, a scientist who helped me escape.”

  Another nod.

  “She took off before we attacked the ship. We didn’t know why, but since she saved my life, I wasn’t going to let her die in the swamp. I caught up with her, and what she told me is far more serious than Rhodry or anyone else knows. There’s not only a second ship, but that asshole Wolfrum’s involved. I had to leave her on her own to make time, but—”

  “You left a woman out there alone? An Earther? Are you crazy?”

  Aidan glared. “Shut up and listen. Her name’s Rachel, and she’s damn good in the wild, nearly as good as Amanda. Speaking of which, don’t mention Amanda’s pregnant. She and Rhodry don’t want that news getting off-planet as long as they can stop it.”

  “She hasn’t told her family yet?” Santino asked.

  “Not yet, but that’s not the biggest worry. It’s that damn fleet. If they find out she’s pregnant, they’ll want all manner of tests on the babes. Their scientists have been lobbying for a full DNA registry of Harpers since they first landed two years ago. That’s bad enough, but with Rhodry being the twins’ father, there’s no way in hell we can let anyone get at them. Or Amanda, for that matter.”

  “Isn’t her mother some big fleet scientist?”

  “Yes, but Amanda seems confident that Dr. Sumner will keep the secret. It’s the rest of fleet, and whomever they might tell, that’s the problem.”

  “And you think this Rachel can’t be trusted?”

  “I didn’t say that. But it’s not my decision, either. The bottom line is I don’t want her wandering the Green alone any longer than necessary. You’re going to find her and escort her to that second ship.”

  “Where—?”

  “She knows where it is.” He saw the frustration on Santino’s face and understood. It probably seemed like a task for someone younger, someone less skilled, while the serious stuff would be happening around Aidan and Rhodry. “Tino,” he said, gripping his cousin’s shoulder and using his family nickname, “it’s critical that Rachel get there quickly and in one piece. She knows the ship and Wolfrum better than we do.”

  Santino met his gaze, then gave him a somber nod. “I’ll get her there. How long ago—”

  “I left yesterday morning, this same time. Follow my back trail, but stay sharp. I told her to wait for you at the Leeward Stream hut, just this side of the swamp, but she’s skilled and more accustomed to being in charge than taking orders. She might have started after me on her own by now.”

  Santino’s grin returned. “A woman who doesn’t follow your every command? The Aidan charm must be slipping.”

  “And you’re an idiot. Fortunately, you’re a good tracker. Go.”

  His cousin raised two fingers to his forehead in a snappy salute then shifted and took off, following Aidan’s path back up and into the canopy.

  Aidan didn’t waste any time. He shifted, too, and headed directly for Clanhome.

  Two hours later, he swept through the outer perimeter of Clanhome, bypassing the patrols without a word, knowing they’d recognize him. His passage, as abrupt and uncharacteristic as it was, triggered an alarm. Two shifters soon paced him. One was his oldest brother, Gabriel, and the other a shifter his own age who’d married into the clans. Gabriel, at least, knew him well enough to read the urgency in his race through the trees, and bounded out in front to steer him toward the house that Rhodry and Amanda had built for their growing family. The thought brought a welcome bit of remembered joy, that he’d soon have two tiny, new shifter cousins living within Clanhome. Rhodry was like a brother to him, and his sons would be more than cousins.

  When the house came into view, Rhodry was already on the balcony, waiting, his gaze catching sight of Aidan and following his movements. Amanda stood next to him, but she backed up into the house, making room for the three big shifters to land next to Rhodry. Gabriel and Aidan shifted form as they landed, but the third shifter launched himself almost immediately back into the trees, heading for Clanhome’s version of a Guild hall. Every shifter patrol from Clanhome was dispatched out of there, and, like the Guild hall in the city, many of the unmarried shifters chose to live there rather than in their family homes. If a shifter force was going to be rallied out of Clanhome, it would be organized out of the Guild hall.

  Aidan crouched on the balcony floor, catching his breath and relieved to remain in one place for longer than a few minutes. He’d run nearly nonstop for well over a day. He’d endured longer journeys before, but never without food and water, even if it was on the run.

  A bottle of water appeared in front of his face. He drank it down, took a second bottle, and drank that one, too. A nutrition bar showed up next, already unwrapped. He smiled as he chewed and ate the tasteless thing. It came from Amanda’s stash and held far more nutrition than the Harp version, but he smiled because it reminded him of Rachel. She’d have preferred the Harp version.

  A folded pair of pants landed next to his foot. “No hurry,” Amanda said from somewhere behind him.

  Aidan chewed and swallowed, then sucked down half of a third bottle of water before grabbing the pants and pulling them on as he stood.

  “Let’s take this inside,” Rhodry said, gripping his shoulder. And for the first time, Aidan noticed that Rhodry was wearing nothing but a pair of loose trousers, as if he’d just recently come in from a run. “The trees have been whispering about you for hours, or about someone. We didn’t know it was you until you hit the outer perimeter. Where’s the woman?”

  “Rachel,” Adrian said, grinning his thanks to Amanda who shoved him onto a chair and placed a platter of bread, meat, and cheese at his elbow, along with a glass of fresh fruit drink that he knew would be loaded with sugar. “Her name is Rachel. She’s a xenobiologist and veterinarian, if you can believe it, with some other degrees, too. Wolfrum hired her—”

  “Wolfrum?” Amanda interrupted. “What’s he got to do with this?”

  Aidan swallowed a mouthful of food, took another drink of fruit juice to wash it down, and said, “That’s why I’m here.” He turned to Rhodry. “Wolfrum’s the traitor, and worse, there’s a second ship.”

  Everyone spoke at once until Rhodry’s voice shouted them down. “Everyone shut up!” he roared, then nodded for Aidan to continue.

  “Two separate ships, each far from the city, but close enough to Clanhome to ensure at least one shifter would come check it out. But we were wrong about what they wanted. Rachel believes Wolfrum knows about shifters. That he didn’t set out to capture a big cat for the zoo. He wanted shifters for someone’s lab.”

  Stunned silence greeted his words this time. It was every shifter’s nightmare, Harp’s biggest secret. Rhodry’s hand drifted to rest on top of Amanda’s where it lay protectively over their unborn sons.

  “We knew it was bad,” Rhodry said quietly, “but this… How the hell did Wolfrum learn about shifters?” He shook his head.

  “He married on-planet,” Amanda reminded him. “Julia. I don’t know her family name.”

  Rhodry nodded. “Aaron Regan’s youngest daughter. She must be the one who told him about shifters, or at least confirmed what he’d guessed. Though I hope to God she didn’t know what he’d do with the knowledge. If she did—”

  “If she did, then her treason is even greater than his,” Amanda said harshly. It was easy to forget that she was a Guild member—with her long blond hair and softly pregnant form. But she’d passed the harshest trial that any candidate had ever endured, and she’d done it in the face of active opposition from almost every shifter in the Guild. Opposition that had included an attempt on her life. Amanda was tough as nails. If anything, her pregnancy had made her tougher, because she now had children to protect. And there was only one punishment for treason on Harp. Death.

  “Agreed,” several voices said at once.
>
  “You know where the damn ship is?” Rhodry glanced at Aidan.

  “Near that old hunting lodge that Cristobal’s grandfather built in the middle of nowhere.”

  He frowned. “Damn it. There’s a hunting party out there.”

  “Who?” Aidan asked, alarmed.

  “Cristobal.”

  “Damn. How many are with him?” Aidan growled.

  Rhodry shook his head. “His usual six guards plus Cristobal and his son Fionn.”

  “Is Wolfrum stupid enough to attack the Ardrigh? And all those shifters?”

  “Only one way to find out.” He turned to Gabe. “What’s the status at the Guild hall?”

  “They’ve been ready to hunt since this one got himself caught,” he said, punching Aidan’s shoulder. Just give the word.”

  Rhodry nodded. “We leave in twenty.”

  Gabriel nodded sharply and turned to leave, but Rhodry’s voice stopped him.

  “I don’t have to tell any of you… Amanda’s pregnancy…” His arm tightened around her shoulders. “That’s off-topic for anyone from off-planet, including Wolfrum.”

  “I’m sure he already knows,” Amanda commented. “I see him in the city all the time.”

  “That was before he conspired with Harp’s enemies. And we still don’t know what he was after.” He nodded to Gabriel. “Go,” he said, then watched as his cousin shifted, jumped from the balcony to the trees, and was gone.

  Rhodry turned a very unhappy look on Aidan. “Amanda and I are going back to the city. With Cristobal and Fionn both gone, maybe even injured, someone has to be there to coordinate a response. Looks like it’s me, at least until Cristobal gets back. Cullen’s going with us, too. I’ll need to move around the city, and I don’t want Amanda alone until every invader and Wolfrum is confirmed dead.”

  Amanda gave a disgusted sigh. “I keep reminding all of you that I’m a Guild member, too. I’m not entirely helpless.”

  “I know,” Rhodry said, pressing a kiss to her temple. “But it never hurts to have backup.” He turned to Aidan. “I want you in charge at the second ship site. You know more about this threat than anyone. But if you’re not up to leading—”

  Aidan’s sharp response was cut off as every shifter in Clanhome froze to listen. The trees’ song, which had been a steady, but non-specific uneasiness, suddenly blared to life with an alarm they all dreaded. Fire. A bell sounded over Clanhome, alerting non-shifters to a danger that threatened everyone. Fire spread easily in the Green. Distant flames could be at your door in minutes, and with no warning.

  Rhodry gave Aidan a tortured look. “Go,” he growled.

  …

  Amanda saw the look on Rhodry’s face and knew he hated sending clan shifters off to face danger without him. Just as she hated to admit she was glad they were going back to the city because she wanted him with her. She stroked her belly, soothing her tiny shifters as they, too, reacted to the urgent tree song.

  Rhodry knelt next to her, one of his big hands covering hers, his deep voice joining hers to reassure the twins. “You ready for this?” he asked, raising his gaze to meet hers.

  “I’m not exactly in fighting shape.”

  He gave her a hard kiss. “No, you’re something far more dangerous—a momma protecting her kits.” He held out a hand to help her to her feet. “Let’s go.”

  …

  Aidan was standing outside the Guild hall, watching as shifters disappeared into the trees. He glanced at Gabriel, standing next to him. “Fire’s definitely coming from the same area where that damn ship put down.”

  “Figured that. Where’s your girl? Might be handy to have her on-site once we grab Wolfrum.”

  “Her name’s Rachel, and she’s on her way there. I ran ahead to get word to Clanhome. Sent Santino to escort her, but she won’t have waited for him. She’s pissed enough at Wolfrum that she’ll march right up to that fucking ship and force answers out of him.”

  They watched the last group of hunters leap for the trees. “That’s it,” Gabriel said. “You want to race the pack? Show ’em who’s alpha?”

  “Let’s do it.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Rachel remained alert, her senses wide open. It would be too easy for her to fall into the habits of the last two weeks, when she’d had a big, bad shifter by her side. She didn’t need to be told that Aidan’s presence had kept most of the Green’s deadly inhabitants away. Other than in the swamp—where it seemed the denizens feared nothing and no one—having him roaming above and around her kept all but the most vicious predators off their backs. With Aidan gone, she needed to be hyperalert, but not so much that she made herself a nervous wreck. That kind of anxiety could be just as fatal. She simply had to remember that before she’d arrived on Harp, she’d been the big, bad presence on her treks.

  The thought made her smile, and she reminded herself to tell Aidan about it when they met up again. Which shouldn’t be too much longer. Admittedly, she didn’t know the Green the way a native would, but she was confident in her map skills, and she’d been verifying her position several times a day to avoid getting off track. Navigating by the sun wasn’t as reliable as a good old-fashioned compass, or even the stars. But of course, a compass wouldn’t work, and she wasn’t familiar enough with Harp’s night sky to use the very distant stars, even if she’d been able to see them above the canopy. The sun, on the other hand… One didn’t need to see the orb itself to know where it was. She’d also climbed to the treetops once or twice to take a look around and judge her position relative to geographic features on her map. But the effort involved in getting up that high and then back down again was substantial, so she limited herself to once a day, at the start of her morning.

  She glanced around, noting the growing shadows under the trees. She’d have to stop soon. She’d taken to sleeping in the trees. It gave her a solid trunk at her back and reduced the number of attack vectors she had to worry about, plus not everything on Harp lived in the trees. She sighed. Damn, but she missed Aidan.

  She’d just begun to study possible nighttime perches when the forest went perfectly quiet. Experience told her what that meant. There was a predator in the area, something big enough to scare everything else into silence. Her first thought was Aidan, but he was far away by now. Eventually, their paths would converge at the second ship, but not yet.

  She came to a slow stop, unhooked her crossbow from the loop on her backpack, and nocked a pair of bolts. Putting a broad tree trunk at her back, she scanned the branches overhead to be sure there was no obvious threat from above, then shifted her attention to the surrounding area.

  “Don’t shoot,” a male voice called.

  She frowned. In her experience, bad guys didn’t typically announce themselves. And in the Green’s deep forest, with shadows all around and the thick foliage overhead, it made no sense, especially since her unseen visitor was probably a Harp native, which immediately gave him the advantage. On the other hand, with that second ship out there somewhere, she wasn’t going to take any chances. “Show yourself. Slowly,” she added.

  A crashing of branches several yards ahead of her told her he was coming from overhead and dropping fast. As fast as Aidan did, although with a lot more noise.

  Keeping her finger on the trigger of her crossbow, she watched as a tall, muscular young man emerged from the forest, dressed in loose clothing and filled with the same cocky confidence that Aidan wore like a second skin, although he was quite a bit younger and so on him it was adorable, rather than devastating. Or maybe Aidan had just ruined her for every other male in the universe.

  “Santino Devlin, at your service. You’re Rachel?”

  He didn’t offer to shake hands, which spared her the need to refuse, since she wasn’t giving up her weapon yet. “Aidan sent you?”

  He nodded. “We’re cousins.”

  “Seems like you all are,” she said, though she hadn’t actually met anyone other than Aidan. She’d just seen them from a distance
during the attack on the first ship, and she really didn’t want to talk about that. Deciding to skip ahead, she said, “Is Aidan okay? He had a long way to go.”

  He gave her a flat look. “He’s a shifter. He can handle a run like that and more when he has to. And from what he tells me, it doesn’t get more serious than this.” He cocked an eyebrow at her. “He also said you were supposed to wait for me at the hut.”

  She snorted dismissively.

  “And he said you wouldn’t. Which is a good thing, because we have a problem.”

  Rachel stiffened at the serious note in his voice. “Did something happen?”

  “There’s a bad fire in the Green. I got word of it after I started after you, but from what Aidan told me, it’s right where we’re headed.”

  She took her finger off the crossbow’s trigger, lifted the bow, and un-nocked the bolts. “Fire,” she said solemnly, thinking about the tactics Ripper and her crew had used to lure Aidan into the open. “It’s got to be connected. Can you show me where…” She stuck a hand in the outside pocket of her pack. “I have a map.”

  “Once I see where we’re going, we won’t need a map.”

  “Talking to you is just like talking to Aidan.”

  “Thanks.”

  She hadn’t necessarily meant it as a compliment, but then, from the smirk flirting around his lips, she was pretty sure he knew that. “Whatever. Look, the sun’s setting, and I don’t see as well in the dark as you guys, so we either have to check the map right now or wait ’til morning.”

  “Let’s do it now. You have one of those cool little LED flashlights like—” He cut himself off, but Rachel caught it.

  “Like Amanda’s, you mean?” she asked, trying to sound like it was no big deal. “Yeah. Probably exactly the same. They haven’t changed much in the two years she’s been gone.”

  He didn’t bite. “Let’s take a look at the map then decide what to do. I’m guessing you don’t travel well in the dark.”

  “I can, if the moon is bright enough.”