Free Mystic Militia by Cyndi Friberg

turned on the other man and Tori took an automatic step back. “Our mission guidelines are clear. No unnecessary exposure.”
    “I don’t give a damn. We don’t have time to break it to her gently or concoct a plausible excuse. You might think I’m being cruel, but she needs to understand what sort of person is coming for her.”
    Lor paused and rubbed his chin. Did that help him think? She’d seen him do it before. It was kind of cute on someone so utterly masculine.
    Not waiting for Lor’s permission, Allenton turned back to her. “We have technology that allows us to disappear. We will walk out the front door and pretend to leave, but we’ll return. You just won’t be able to see us.”
    Something in the way he’d said “technology” made her suspect it was another prop. A shiver dropped down her spine as possibilities exploded in her mind. She took the audiocom out of her ear and looked at it. The device didn’t look that different from the wireless headsets in use on Earth, just much smaller. Were they from the future? A parallel universe where magic was real? Another planet?
    “You’re not from Eastern Europe, are you?” Her voice quieted as her anxiety mounted.
    “The details are not important,” Lor insisted. “But Allenton is right. You need to know that Nazerel has powers similar to ours. He can flash into a room without warning or…” He looked at Allenton and asked, “Can he form compulsions?”
    “I don’t think so. It’s not like we posted a list of our abilities. Alpha hunters can be competitive, but we bragged about results not techniques.”
    “What is an ‘alpha hunter’?” Tension coiled inside her belly and their silence only made her more uncomfortable. She slipped the audiocom into her pocket, hoping Lor wouldn’t notice. She needed some sort of tangible proof that this was really happening. “Who are you? Where did you come from?” Fear rippled through her confusion and her gaze moved toward the door. If she made a run for it, would they let her go? But where did that leave Angie? If Tori didn’t help these two catch Nazerel, what would he do with Angie. “What does this man want with her anyway?”
    Allenton took a step toward her and Lor grabbed his arm. “Don’t.”
    “She needs to know.”
    “No she doesn’t.” Finality made Lor’s tone sharp. “We can protect her without full disclosure.”
    “I’d rather know the truth,” she stressed. “No matter how unpleasant or bizarre.”
    Lor shook his head, but Allenton twisted free from his grasp and moved in front of her. “Our world is very different from yours.”
    “Your ‘world’? You’re from a different planet?”
    “We’re from a different galaxy,” Lor muttered, clearly uncomfortable with the conversation’s turn. “And not all of it is that different from Earth. Allenton and Nazerel belong to a group of criminals called the Shadow Assassins.”
    “We were exonerated of all wrong doing,” Allenton snapped.
    “Only because your leader brainwashed Echo into championing your cause!” Lor took a deep breath, his face averted as he regained his composure. “Fifteen of the most dangerous Shadow Assassins escaped from the military complex where they’d been contained and slinked away to Earth.” Only when his features were completely calm again did he return his gaze to Tori. “Nazerel is the leader of these rebels and he must be found as quickly as possible.”
    They still hadn’t answered the most important question. “What does he want with Angie?”
    “Shadow Assassins hunt for their mates and hold them prisoner until they’re impregnated.”
    Allenton bristled. “She doesn’t need to know—”
    “You’re the one who insisted on full disclosure.” Lor was shouting again. “So by the gods we’ll tell her everything. Nazerel has set his sights on your sister. He intends to capture her and seduce her over and over until she is carrying his child. If the child is a girl, she’ll