Insurrection
Page 6

Finally, she stopped falling and landed on her feet in a strange room where old fashioned monitors were mounted on steel walls. Industrial and dark, the room reminded her of some underground pit, the likes of which she’d only seen in horror scenes or games.
Hissing, she pushed herself away from the woman who’d grabbed her, then shrieked as the other two literally appeared out of thin air beside them.
What the .. ?
How did they do that?
Stunned and terrified, she turned around, looking for a door. Window.
Anything.
There wasn’t one.
Breathless, she turned on her rescuers who seemed more and more like captors. “Where am I? Where are my parents?”
The woman who’d grabbed her and brought her here, looked toward the man. “Who wants to explain this to her?”
“I vote Lobo. He’s on the Suicide Squad for a reason.”
Lobo snorted. “Not funny, Ky.”
Daria frowned at them and especially at his dire tone. “Who are you Matens?”
The male hesitated before he pulled his hood off to reveal a mass of messy golden blond hair and pale skin and eyes. “Not Materians. We’re humans. And your parents are most likely taken or dead.”
 
 
Chapter 4
Daria’s world spun out of control so fast that she would have fallen had two arms not caught her from behind and held her steady. Better still, they kept her on her feet.
“Breathe, little sister. Just breathe.”
That deep, resonant voice stirred her hair and reverberated through her entire being. Somehow it grounded her despite the panic that threatened to tear her to shreds. In spite of the tears that blinded her as she faced her worst fear and wanted to scream in terror of it all.
They were human ...
Her heartbeat picked up speed as the women removed their hoods to show her their foreign faces. One who held dark skin and hair that was a warm shade of brown that matched her eyes. While the other had skin the color of caramel and eyes of hazel and hair as black as Daria’s.
She swallowed hard as she realized that she was in the hands of her enemies.
Humans.
And if they were human, it could only mean the one holding her was one of their dreaded breed, too.
Tilting her head back as dread filled her, she looked up over her shoulder. She’d expected him to be around the height of the others. Somewhere around her own size.
But not this one.
He was exceptionally tall. Muscular, and built to exquisite steely proportions. His masculine features had been carved to perfection, and had his deep tawny skin been silver or gray, he would have been as highly sought after as Frayne. If not more so. Indeed, he possessed that rare male sexuality that women dreamed about, but seldom, if ever, saw in reality.
“There, now,” he said in that same even tone. “Deep breaths.”
Daria stumbled away from him. “Where’s the door?”
“There’s not one.”
Her eyes widened.
The human glanced to the other three who’d kidnapped her. “You’re excused.”
Ky hesitated. “Crow—”
“Your mother’s waiting, Kyisha. Allay her fears that you weren’t eaten by the Remnants or Drabs. Besides, our friend here will do better with only one of us in her face. She needs a moment to adjust to what I’m about to tell her.”
The other two vanished while Ky passed an empathetic grimace toward Daria. “I’ll be nearby if you need me.” Her frown deepened. “Sorry about your parents, Drab. We tried.” And with that, she vanished into thin air.
“How do they do that?” Daria was barely holding her hysteria in check as she tried to understand this. “Is it some sort of tech you have?”
Crow laughed bitterly. “Not exactly.” He stepped closer.
She retreated, making sure to put more space between them until she knew what he intended.
“I know you’re scared, but I’m not your enemy.”
Yeah, right. “Of course, you are. You’re here to retaliate for Xared. You’re planning to kill me. It’s what humans do!”
He snorted disdainfully. “Had we not gotten to Xed in time, yeah, I’d have ripped out your throat in a way to make a Remnant proud. You’re right about that. No power under heaven would have kept you alive had any harm befallen him. But Xed’s fine. And you have him to thank for your rescue. He’s the only reason I would have ever risked a strike team by sending them out in broad open daylight to try and save your parents.”
“What do you mean?”
“You heard me.” He tapped his ear. “Hey Master X? Can you come here and sweet talk your girl? She’s not listening to me.”
Xared appeared instantly at Crow’s side.
Daria staggered back against the wall as she tried to make sense of everything that was happening, and the speed at which it was assaulting her. Her mind whirled and rebelled against it. It was too much, too fast.
How could Xed be here? Alive and unharmed? It didn’t make sense.
They’d taken him. No one survived Dawner interrogation.
No one.
“It’s all right, Daria. You’re safe.”
She didn’t feel that way. Confused? Most definitely. But safe?
This was most assuredly not safe.
“What is this? How can you be here?”
Xared glanced to the human next to him. “They’re not our enemies.”
Well, they certainly weren’t their families or friends. Her friends didn’t dress that way.
She scoffed at him. “Are you insane?”
Yet no sooner were those words out of her mouth than she noticed something.
Something that couldn’t be true ...
Could it?
Her last thought rang in a mocking tone through her head as she stared at the two males, side-by-side. Like that, she couldn’t miss seeing a truth that horrified her. One that couldn’t be denied.
Crow and Xed were virtually the same height. Same build.
Same sculpted jaw. Their lips were almost identical in shape and form. Only where Xared’s were dark gray, almost black, Crow’s were rosy pink. And Xared had a divet in his chin that Crow lacked.
Likewise, their eyes were of identical shape and size, only opposite in color. Xared’s midnight black to Crow’s silver. But their hair was a matching shade of black and the exact mass of thick, chaotic curls...