Brides of the Kindred
Book 3: Sought
Evangeline Anderson
SMASHWORDS EDITION
* * * * *
PUBLISHED BY:
Evangeline Anderson on Smashwords
Brides of the Kindred
Book 3:Sought
Copyright © 2011 by Evangeline Anderson
Smashwords Edition License Notes
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the author's work.
Author’s Note #1—You’ve all probably heard more than you want to about e-book piracy but I have to say something about it here. I recently reduced my hours at my regular job to almost nothing in order to have more time to write. That means I’m making almost my entire living from my books—especially the Kindred books which I am writing and publishing on my own.
Please people, don’t steal the books. Don’t download them illegally and give them away for free to others. Most especially don’t go on e-bay and try to sell them. (Yes, some people actually have the nerve.) I want to believe all my readers are good people. I know none of them would come to my house and take something that didn’t belong to them. But when someone illegally downloads my e-books or sells them for a profit when they don’t own the copyright, it’s the same as coming into my house and taking a gallon of milk out of my fridge.
I keep the prices on my Kindred books low so no one will have to steal them. So please don’t. And if you see anyone who is, please send me a link at vangiekitty@aol.com and let me know about it. E-book piracy is a real and growing threat. If it isn’t stopped authors like me won’t be able to make a living doing what we love the most—writing hot new books to share with you, our readers.
Thank you so much for your kindness and honesty.
Author’s Note #2—You’ve probably already figured this out but this is the third book in the Brides of the Kindred series. I recommend that you read Claimed, the first book in the series, and Hunted, the second book, before attempting to dive into Sought.
Hugs and Happy Reading to you all!
Evangeline Anderson
Chapter One
Kat O’Conner was either dying or flying—she couldn’t tell which.
All she knew was that she was hovering above her own body, looking down, and what she saw didn’t look good—not good at all.
My God, I’m a mess!
Her long, auburn hair was a tangled snarl around her head and there were deep purple shadows under her eyes, which were closed at the moment. There was a troubled look on her face even in sleep—if it was sleep. Kat looked closer, trying to see if her chest was rising and falling, but it was difficult to tell because someone had covered her with blankets. She tried to check her own pulse, but when she reached for herself, she found that she had no hands, arms, or fingers to reach with.
Just like when I joined with Lock and Deep, when we were hunting for Sophie. It had been an exhilarating sensation—the feeling of being a swift, invisible bird able to flit from place to place in space instantly. But she wasn’t joined with them now—she could tell. Because, for once in the past several weeks, she wasn’t full to overflowing with their overwhelming emotions. And overwhelming was the right word.
Anybody who says men don’t have feelings is full of crap, Kat thought ruefully as she studied the scene below her. Locks Tight and Stabs Deep, the Twin Kindred warriors who had gotten her into this mess in the first place, had plenty of feelings—enough to make her feel like she was drowning in a sea of emotion whenever they got too close to her. And lately, anywhere was too close, at least as far as Kat was concerned.
She’d been trying to avoid them ever since their last joining—the one she’d agreed to in order to find her friend Sophie Waterhouse, who had been kidnapped by the Scourge. The evil race of red-eyed, gray-skinned bastards had attacked Earth a few years ago. Only the intervention of the Kindred warriors—a race of genetic traders from beyond the stars—had saved Kat’s home planet.
The Scourge had some kind of prophesy involving an Earth girl that they would stop at nothing to fulfill. At first they’d believed that Sophie’s sister, Olivia was their intended target. Then they centered on Sophie. Kat didn’t know who was going to be taken next, she was just glad that her friends were safe.
And speaking of Sophie and Liv, where were they? So far Kat had been focusing on her own still body, but now she looked around—if you could look without a head to turn or eyes to see with, that was. God, this was so freaking weird. She wondered again if she was dead. If so, wherever she was didn’t look much like her idea of Heaven.
The full-figured form which she recognized as her own was lying on one of the floating stretchers the Kindred kept for transporting the sick or wounded. The stretcher itself had been crammed into the back of a space shuttle and there was someone sitting beside her, holding her limp white hand. But it wasn’t Sophie or Liv.
Lock, she thought with dismay, watching the large male who was carefully cupping her hand in his. And sitting in the front of the shuttle, at the controls, was his brother, Deep.
Though they were twins, it was easy to tell the brothers apart. Twin Kindred always came in diametrically opposing pairs of light and dark.
The light twin, Lock, had sandy blond hair and eyes the color of melted chocolate. He also had a more optimistic view of life in general than his brother. Of the two of them, Kat found him much easier to tolerate. He was nicer than Deep, for one thing, and she could actually have a conversation with him that didn’t turn into an argument. His feelings were easier to deal with, too. Though Lock’s desire for her was loud inside her head, it was nothing like the deafening blast of lust she felt from his brother whenever he got too close.
Deep, the dark twin, had hair so black it almost had blue highlights and eyes the color of a night without stars. They seemed to burn when they looked at her, making Kat feel naked and vulnerable—feelings she didn’t care for a bit. She had enough body issues from having been plus-sized her entire life without an irritating alien male adding to them, thank-you-very-much. The big warrior had rubbed her the wrong way from the moment she’d met him—both literally and figuratively, since he couldn’t seem to keep his hands to himself when the three of them did a joining.
Of the brothers, Lock was shorter by about an inch. But since both of them were over six foot six and extremely muscular, it didn’t make much difference. They were both huge as far as Kat was concerned—physically, and emotionally.
She should know—she’d had the two of them tramping around inside her head for the better part of a month.
The constant tension of two other people’s powerful emotions churning inside her was incredibly tiring and the headache she’d gotten from their joining was beyond painful. Lately she’d been feeling like she couldn’t take it anymore. Not that she would ever commit suicide—Kat was a fighter and her grandma hadn’t raised her to quit. But the thought of hijacking one of the Kindred shuttles and folding space to put a couple of galaxies between herself and the annoying pair had begun to seem more and more attractive.
The only problem was, she didn’t know how to fly a shuttle and she couldn’t fold space without the help of the special Kindred technology. Besides, where would she go? Sophie had recently visited Tranq Prime, one of the other worlds the Kindred had initiated a genetic trade with, and she hadn’t liked it a bit. She’d come back with stories of roach pudding and clothes that were alive and inclined to play practical jokes that weren’t funny. Not to mention extremely snooty natives—at least the ones Sophie had met. No, Kat had no wish to visit Tranq Prime.
She didn’t want to go to Rageron either—a savage world filled with blue jungles and vicious predators—which was another Kindred trade planet. And as for Twin Moons—the home planet of Deep and Lock—she definitely didn’t want to go there. Because that was exactly where the twin warriors wanted to take her. Earlier, on the Kindred Mother ship, she’d caught a few snatches of thought from them that indicated they were homeward bound—and they wanted her to come with them.
Not on your life! Kat thought, watching from above as Lock held her hand and Deep steered the shuttle through the blackness of space. Once they got me there, I’d never get away from them. Talk about having the home field advantage!
But where exactly were they taking her now? As if in answer to her question, Lock spoke at last.
“Are we almost there, Brother? I fear her pulse is weaker than it was.”
“Going as fast as I can,” Deep growled, throwing an irked glance over his shoulder at his twin. “We just passed through the fold. Home should be just ahead.”
“Well, go faster.” Lock’s voice was urgent. “My touch doesn’t seem to be stabilizing her anymore. What if we lose her before we land?”
“We’re not going to lose her. We can’t—she isn’t ours to lose.” Deep spoke in a lazy drawl but his broad shoulders were bunched with tension as he hunched over the controls.
“I wish you’d stop pretending you don’t care.” Lock stroked Kat’s hand. “Maybe if you’d let her know how you really feel instead of always putting up a wall—”
“There it is.” Despite his earlier sarcasm, Deep sounded relieved. He pointed to the viewscreen where a round gold and green orb floated like a Christmas ornament in the blackness of space. “Twin Moons, dead ahead. We’re almost home, Brother.”
Twin Moons? No! Kat was aghast. How had she gotten on board a shuttle with these two and why had they been allowed to take her back to their home world? Where were Liv and Sophie when she needed them? The last thing she remembered was talking to her two best friends before everything went black. And now I wake up dead, on my way to the last place I ever wanted to go? Great, just great.
Kat didn’t know how she’d gotten into this mess but somebody was going to answer for it. Just as soon as she found out if she was really dead or only sleeping, that was.
As she had the last thought, her vision began to waver.
“Deep—hurry!” she heard Lock say as though from a great distance. “I can’t feel her pulse any more!”
“Maximum drive engaged. It’s not safe this close to the planetary atmosphere but what the hell,” Deep growled. The tiny green and gold orb began to grow in size, filling the viewscreen with a dizzying suddenness.
Kat’s strange, otherworldly vision was growing dimmer, but she could still hear what was going on.
A speaker crackled to life and an alien voice spoke loudly in the small cabin. It wasn’t speaking English—of that she was sure. But somehow she could understand it anyway. “Unidentified Kindred shuttle, this is Control. Be advised that your approach exceeds upper limits of safe velocity. Please throttle down at once.”
“No can do, Control,” Deep responded in the same language, his big hands tightening on the steering yoke. “We have a sick female here. Repeat, a sick Earth female dispatched from the Mother ship and she may be…” He cleared his throat and his voice dropped for a moment. “She may be dying.”
“Regardless of the circumstances, your vector of approach is too steep. I cannot allow—”
“Did you hear me?” Deep demanded, overriding the voice. “I said she may be dying. Requesting clearance to land directly in the Healing Garden.”
“Negative!” The voice sounded panicked now. “Clearance denied. Spacecraft are forbidden within consecrated grounds. The gardens are filled with pilgrims at this time of day. To even consider—”
“Then get them out of the Goddess-damned way!” Deep barked. “We’re coming in now.”
The shuttle tilted alarmingly and Kat’s vision came back with a jolt. She saw a patch of green rushing toward the viewscreen at alarming speed and had a blurry impression of tiny, Barbie doll-sized figures running to get out of the way. Then her gaze was dragged back to her own still form. Lock was working on her frantically, doing some Kindred version of CPR that looked exceedingly painful as he begged her under his breath to “Live, Kat. Please, live.”
“Almost there,” roared Deep. “Hold on, Brother. Keep her with us!”
“I’m trying!” Lock’s voice sounded close to despair. “But she’s so still. She’s not responding.”
“Fucking make her respond!” Deep ordered. “And be ready to run the moment we touch down. We’re taking her stretcher straight to the center of the garden. Directly to Mother L’rin herself.”
“Yes, all right.” Lock nodded frantically, still working on her. “Please, lady Kat, if you can just hold on a little bit longer…”
There was a jarring thump that rattled everything in the shuttle and Kat saw her body jerk. Then Deep was out of his flight harness and reaching for her. “Go, go go!” he barked, nodding at the opening which had somehow appeared at the back of the shuttle.
“Going!” Lock was still holding her hand as he pushed the floating stretcher toward the pinkish-gold sunlight pouring in through the opening. “Get the other side.”
“Got it.” Deep grabbed the stretcher with one hand and Kat’s arm with the other. “Goddess, she’s cold! And her lips are blue.”
“I know. I—”
But before she could hear what else Lock was going to say, Kat felt a huge jolt, as though she’d been struck by lightning. Suddenly she was no longer hovering above her own still body, but rushing toward it on a collision course.
Wait, she had time to think. This can’t be right. I can’t—
There was a flash of brilliant light and then…
Nothing.
Chapter Two
Mother L’rin was a stern, older woman whom Lock had met only once—years ago when he and Deep had been confirmed with their mentor F’lir as a finder/seeker team. Now she paced in front of Kat’s floating stretcher, her bare feet splashing in the golden waters of the holy stream that ran through the center of the Healing Gardens. Mother L’rin practiced holistic healing and drew her powers from nature and the Goddess of All Life. The gardens around them were filled with herbs and plants mixed with flowering bushes and trees, all in shades of pink and gold and pale green.
“I remember you two,” she said, nodding at them in her slow, unhurried fashion. “Two more opposite twins I never saw.”
“Never mind about us,” Deep almost snarled. He was pacing as well, striding up and down the pinkish-gold and green grass that had been allowed to run wild along the edge of the stream. “It’s Kat we’re here for. She’s in trouble.”
“Enough trouble for you to land your shuttle in the center of my garden, almost crushing some very devout pilgrims?” Mother L’rin raised one pink-tinged eyebrow at them. She was of the native stock of Twin Moons, with no Kindred blood at all, which explained the way she blended into her own garden.
“Yes,” Deep snapped back. “I gave them time to get out of the way.”
“Barely.” Her voice was mild but her pink and gold eyes flashed. “You must care for her deeply, this Kat.”
“Not really.” Deep shrugged, trying to look unconcerned. “But we have been charged with her safety. So—”
“Yes, we care,” Lock interrupted his brother. “We care very much. Both of us.” He squeezed Kat’s hand gently and shot Deep a warning look to keep his mouth shut. “Please, Mother L’rin,” he continued. “She’s already stopped breathing once. I’m not even sure what brought her back, but it could happen again at any time.”
Kat was breathing steadily now but Lock knew he would never forget the feeling of relief that had swept over him when he saw her draw that first, shallow gasp as they pushed the stretcher out of the shuttle. He still didn’t know why she’d come back to them from the brink of death, only that he was desperate to keep her.
“How did she come to be sick in the first place?” Mother L’rin looked at them. “What manner of illness is this?”
Lock took a deep breath—this was the hard part. “You may have heard that our mentor, F’lir, died a few cycles ago, Mother,” he said, inclining his head respectfully. “So Deep and I are without a focus. While aboard the Mother ship, we found ourselves in a desperate position—we needed to use our skills but we had no one to—”
“What my brother is trying to say is that we used Kat here as a focus,” Deep interrupted in a bored tone.
Mother L’rin’s golden-pink eyes widened. “You used a female as your focus? And an off-worlder at that—one who is alien to us? You had no idea of what a joining with you might do to her mind—to her body!”
“That is true.” Lock bowed his head, accepting her rebuke. “We were, as I said, in a desperate position but I know that is no excuse.”
“It most certainly is not.” Her eyes flashed angrily. “Males must join with males and females with females on the astral plane—anything else is sacrilege. You know that.”
Lock nodded. “We know,” he murmured in a low voice.
Mother L’rin came to stand at the head of the stretcher and placed her hands on either side of Kat’s shining mass of auburn hair. “Very well.” She took a deep breath. “What were her symptoms after your joining?”
“Well, the first time—” Deep began.
“The first time?” Mother L’rin’s head jerked up and she glared at him. “You used this poor female more than once?”
“We used her twice.” Deep lifted his chin arrogantly. “And the second time we cast a net from Earth all the way to Tranq Prime. It doesn’t matter that she’s female and we’re male—Kat’s an amazing focus. She has raw natural talent that—”
“That will die with her,” Mother L’rin interrupted him.
“What?” Lock’s heart fisted in his chest. “Please, Mother L’rin, no!”
“Can’t you save her?” Deep’s voice was harsh but he was paler than Lock had ever seen him. “Are you saying we brought her to you too late?”
“It was too late the first time you two decided to attempt blasphemy with this innocent child.” Mother L’rin stroked Kat’s silky hair tenderly. “An elite, too. One blessed by the Mother. Such a pity.”
“So she’s going to…to die?” Lock heard the break in his voice but he couldn’t help it. Gods, to think they’d killed the woman they loved! Oh Kat, I’m sorry. So very sorry… From his twin he could feel similar emotions to his own. But Deep’s sorrow was shaded with a guilt so intense it was almost despair. Again, Lock heard his twin thinking in a rare burst of mental empathy. I’ve done it again. Gods…
“I will do what I can,” Mother L’rin said, pulling Lock back from his brother’s thoughts. “But I make no promises—you deserve none.” She fixed them both with a disapproving glare. “As you know, the bonds between twin males and their female is twofold—there must be a soul bond as well as a physical bond. What you two have done is created an incomplete soul bond with this girl.”
“An incomplete bond?” Lock frowned. “I didn’t even know such a thing was possible.”
“It’s very rare. In fact, in all my years of healing I have only seen it happen once before.”
“So we’re not the first male seeker/finders to use a female as our focus,” Deep said. “What happened in the other case?”
“The girl died,” Mother L’rin said grimly. “I wasn’t able to save her.”
Lock sucked in a breath and Deep went pale again. “Mother L’rin, please…”
“Her spirit is fractured,” she continued. “Which is why she is hovering between this life and the next. You must complete the bond in order to have any hope of healing her.”
“How can we bond with an unconscious female?” Deep demanded. “That’s called rape and Lock and I don’t practice it.”
“I didn’t say you should complete the physical bond.” The old woman’s eyes flashed again. “I know this is difficult to understand, warrior, as the soul bond and physical bond are usually formed at the same time during bonding sex. But it is possible to have one without the other—for a time, anyway.”
“What can we do?” Lock said eagerly. “Tell us, Mother, please.”
“Her spirit must be tethered to her body. But it must want to stay—you have to tempt it with pleasure, lure it back and heal it with your touch.”
“Not my touch.” Deep shook his head. “She’s reacted badly to my hands on her since her collapse.”
“That’s true,” Lock said reluctantly, thinking of the way Kat’s pulse had spiked after her collapse on the Kindred Mothership. “Her heartbeat increased abnormally and she moaned out loud—something about ‘too much’ when Deep put his hands on her.”
Mother L’rin frowned. “And were you touching her at the same time?”
Lock nodded. “I was. It was my touch that stabilized her the first time. But then, on our way here, it stopped working.”
“Because she needs you both. Do not dispute me, warrior,” she said when Deep opened his mouth to protest. “I know what I’m talking about. If you want to have any hope of healing this poor girl you and your brother so callously injured, you’ll listen and do exactly as I say.”
“All right.” Deep crossed his arms over his broad chest. “What can we do?”
“As I said, you must bind her spirit back to her body. It has to want to stay on this plane and be bonded to the two of you.”
Lock cleared his throat. “In that case…”
“In that case there’s no hope,” Deep finished for him. “Kat wants nothing to do with either of us. A fact I’ve been trying to make clear to you for over a month now, Brother,” he said to Lock.
Mother L’rin’s pinkish eyebrows shot up. “The three of you had an unwilling joining?”
“Kat only participated in the joining so that we could locate her friend—another Earth girl who was being held captive by the Scourge,” Deep said. “She never would have joined with us if need hadn’t forced her hand.”
“But you said the two joinings you did with her were successful?”
“They exceeded anything we’d ever done with F’lir,” Lock admitted. “Deep is right about one thing—the lady Kat is a natural focus. Her ability is unlike anything I’ve ever seen.”
“It’s not just her ability—she has an affinity for the two of you, whether she admits it to herself or not.” Mother L’rin looked thoughtful. “An affinity I’m sure you felt the first moment you laid eyes on her.”
Lock nodded. “That’s exactly how I felt.”
Deep said nothing.
“So if there is some affinity—some spark between the three of you—there is still hope. You have to bring that spark to the surface. Tempt her spirit back with it and then bind her to you with pleasure.”
“If you’re talking about sexual pleasure then we’re back to where we started,” Deep said icily. “Lock and I won’t take advantage of an unconscious female.”
“Of course she’s unconscious,” Mother L’rin snapped. “She’s is so much pain she can’t bear it. One of you must take the pain for her. Only when her agony is gone will she be able to receive your touch. Only then can you heal her spirit.”
“I’ll do it.” Deep stepped forward at once.
“Deep, no,” Lock protested. “You don’t have to—”
“I want to. And besides, Kat needs your touch to remain stable.” Deep frowned. “You stay with her, hold her hand. I’ll take care of this.”
“Before you accept your lady’s pain so easily, you ought to know what it entails,” Mother L’rin said quietly. When psychic pain is transmuted to the physical plane, it trebles in strength. And you should know that I sense a great deal of agony coming from this little one.” She stroked Kat’s hair gently.
“I don’t give a damn about that,” Deep growled. “Do whatever you have to. Just hurry up and get started.”
The wise woman nodded. “Very well.” Turning, she motioned to a small clump of golden-pink flana bushes on the far side of the stream. “Doby! Bring the whip.”
There was a rustling sound in the bushes and then the biggest male Lock had ever seen appeared. He was at least nine feet tall and so heavily muscled it was hard to see how he moved. His mottled pinkish skin proved he was of native Twin Moons stock, the same as Mother L’rin, and he wore only a loincloth made of green and gold leaves to cover himself.
Lock had never seen a native so large—he must be a genetic anomaly. As far as Lock knew, most of the native inhabitants of his home world were tiny. Small but fierce, they mainly lived in the wild lands of the uncharted continent. Mother L’rin was one of the few who had come to live in the more civilized and cultured world the Kindred had created when they first traded with the natives.
As the giant’s huge, flat feet splashed in the holy stream the leaves covering his groin fluttered. The flash of leaves caught Lock’s eye and he saw that there was nothing but a ragged stump where the huge male’s shaft should have been.
Gods! He recoiled at the sight and Mother L’rin saw him and laughed.
“My faithful Doby here is an eunuch. It is the sacrifice he made to come across the golden sea and live here in the Healing Gardens to attend me daily. Such devotion in a male is rare.”
“Rare indeed.” Lock cleared his throat uncomfortably. “What does he have in the box?” For the huge Doby had produced a lacquered green box from somewhere. He presented it respectfully to the wise woman, holding it in both huge hands.
“A transference device.” Mother L’rin opened the box and removed a plain black wooden handle. It was about two feet long and tapered on one end but there was nothing attached to it as far as Lock could see.
Deep must have been thinking the same thing. “I thought you called it a whip?”
“It is. Patience, warrior. All will be made clear.” Holding the black handle carefully, Mother L’rin pressed the smooth, round butt of it against Kat’s right temple. “Release it, child,” she murmured, stroking the shining auburn hair. “Let the pain go. Let it flow. Another has agreed to bear this burden, let me take it from you.”
Kat moaned softly and her hand jerked in Lock’s. He squeezed her fingers carefully, watching her face for any sign.
Then, slowly, the handle began to change. Wires spouted from it—three long silver wires that seemed to be made of brilliant light. They lengthened and thickened like snakes growing out of the tip of the black handle until they reached to the ground.
Lock watched in amazement as the three tongues of light blazed and sparked like live things at the end of the whip. Like hungry animals waiting to be fed, he couldn’t help thinking.
“A little more, child. Just a little more,” coaxed Mother L’rin. Suddenly the whip’s three tongues shivered and bright silver spikes grew from their ends.
Deep’s face remained impassive as he stared at the lethal device in the old woman’s hand. “And that’s a physical manifestation of her pain?”
Mother L’rin nodded. “This is the agony she’s been enduring ever since you and your twin used her as a focus. Tell me, Deep, does the sight fill you with dread?”
“Dread? No.” His mouth twisted.
Lock spoke for both of them. “What my brother feels—what we both feel—is shame. To think what she went through because of what we did. So much pain…”
“Which is about to be transferred to me,” Deep reminded him dryly. “Come on.” He jerked his head at Doby and began taking off his green uniform shirt. “I assume you’re the lucky one who gets to beat me. I doubt Mother L’rin has much time to practice her whipping technique.”
“You’re correct in that, warrior. Hands that offer healing must never deal in pain.” The old woman nodded at Doby. “Take him to the Stone Throat. Beat him until the whip is nothing more than a handle once more.”
“Wait!” Lock put out a hand, fear for his twin squeezing his throat. “How many strokes will that take?”
“As many as it takes,” Mother L’rin said calmly.
“That’s no answer!” Lock was beginning to be angry. “I know that Deep hasn’t been very respectful, Mother L’rin, but to beat him with that…that thing is—”
“Fine,” Deep finished for him. “Leave off, Brother. It’s all right. Think what Kat went through.” He nodded at the whip and its spitting, hissing tongues of fiery silver light. “Look at her pain.”
“It wasn’t your decision alone to let her act as a focus,” Lock protested. “I agreed to it as well as you. I should take half the whipping at least.”
“Pain cannot be divided between souls, it can only be transferred,” Mother L’rin said. “And if the whip isn’t used soon, the agony it holds will revert to its original owner.”
“In other words, let’s get on with it,” Deep growled. “Don’t worry about me, Brother,” he said when Lock opened his mouth to protest. “And don’t feel bad—you can tend me afterwards. It’s better this way—you’re a much better nurse than I am.”
“That’s true,” Lock acknowledged ruefully. “But though you take all the pain, the blame is half mine.”
“You can pay me back later.” Deep nodded at Kat. “Take care of her,” he said roughly.
“I will,” Lock promised.
“Go.” Mother L’rin handed the hissing, spitting whip to her huge servant. “The Stone Throat. And mind you do the job right. I’ll know if you don’t—I’ll hear it in his screams.”
“Yes, Mother.” Despite his immense size, the eunuch’s voice was as soft and high as a girl’s. “All shall be done according to your will.”
“See that it is.” She waved one wrinkled hand dismissively. “And now, let me see what I can do to keep this sweet child in the land of the living.” She stroked Kat’s silky red hair and didn’t spare another glance at her servant or Deep.
But Lock found he couldn’t look away as the massive eunuch led his brother through the tall green and pink grass. Deep’s head was held high and he walked casually with no outward sign of fear. And indeed, Lock felt no fear coming from him.
Deep was willing, almost eager to take the pain that was about to be inflicted. Because he felt that he deserved it. Every lick of the whip, every drop of blood, every ounce of pain. All earned. All deserved.
He blames himself, Lock thought as his twin’s broad, bare back disappeared in the taller grass at the edge of the Healing Garden. And not just for Kat. Oh Brother, it wasn’t your fault—when will you ever believe that?
But he knew the answer to that.
Never.
Chapter Three
Lauren Jakes walked quickly along the broad sidewalk that led around the edge of Saint Armand’s Square. Later on, around lunchtime, the entire expanse of white concrete would be filled with the idle rich—tourists mostly, who had come to see Sarasota, one of the richest small cities in the US. The beaches with their sugar fine sand and tropical blue waters were lovely any time of the year and if the rich got bored with baking their oiled bodies, they could always come here.
The Square was actually many interconnecting squares, all lined with specialty shops and expensive, chic little eateries. Marble statues of Greek gods and goddesses stood like sentries on the well trimmed verge, as pale as ghosts in the dim early morning light. Lauren’s shop, The Sweet Spot, was located between the Florida Olive Oil Company which specialized in flavored oils and aged balsamic vinegars and A Little is a Lot, a clothing store that sold only overpriced and undersized bathing suits.
Both shops were dark and quiet as Lauren fumbled for her keys. Neither one would really pick up until the lunch crowd arrived, hours from now. But while her neighbors could afford to sleep in, Lauren couldn’t. The Sweet Spot was a specialty cupcake store and she had to get the day’s inventory started or she would have nothing to sell. “Everything from scratch, everything fresh, every day,” was her motto.
“Should’ve decided to sell overpriced thongs and banana hammocks to rich old men and their trophy wives instead of baked goods,” she muttered to herself as she finally found the right key. “Then I could still be home in bed.”
But getting up early was a small price to pay to do what she loved, she reminded herself. She’d always enjoyed baking—her vanilla bean and passion fruit surprise cupcakes had won a national bake-off by the time she was twelve. Her mom had encouraged her to go to college and Lauren had, as a business major. Somehow, though, she wound up baking muffins and brownies for study sessions with her friends more than she actually ended up studying. Her grades weren’t great but her cupcakes were.
At last her mother had bowed to the inevitable. She’d helped Lauren finance the shop and given her a place to live in one of the condos she owned, just blocks from the Square. Lauren had only been open a few months but so far The Sweet Spot seemed to be a moderate success. Of course, she’d have to be much more than moderately successful in order to pay back the loan. But her mom didn’t seem worried. “Take your time, my darling,” she always said. “Enjoy your life. I just want you to be happy.”
Thinking of her mom always gave Lauren a warm feeling inside. Family was very important to Abigail Jakes—maybe because she’d become estranged from her own family back when she’d become pregnant with Lauren. She didn’t talk about it much but Lauren had gotten the idea that her loved ones had hurt her deeply—which made her mom that much more sensitive toward her own daughter. They’d always had a wonderful relationship—even back when Lauren was a teenager. And now as an adult, they were more friends than mother and daughter.
“Although I still want my mom when things don’t go right,” Lauren muttered, making sure the door was locked behind her. She wished she had her mom with her right now—she would put her to work. Her assistant, Jennie, had quit the day before which meant she had to man the whole shop herself until Lorenzo came in.
Thinking of Lorenzo with his sleek blond hair and tan good looks made her sigh. He was much better at looking good behind the counter than he was at baking. In a moment of weakness, Lauren had let him kiss her and now he thought he owned the place. She’d been putting off his advances ever since and had been planning to replace him before Jennie quit. Now it looked like she was stuck with him for awhile. Still, he was good at selling cupcakes. Especially to rich, older women who liked a little eye candy to go with their culinary confections.
Lauren went through the shop, flipping on lights on her way to the bathroom. To hell with the electricity bill—it was creepy being in a dark building all alone. And besides, for the past few days she’d had the feeling that someone was watching her. She knew it was crazy and completely impossible but she kept finding herself looking over her shoulder. Feeling like a pair of invisible eyes was watching her every move.
“Stop being stupid,” she muttered to herself as she tucked her long, silky black hair into a hairnet and checked her reflection. The girl in the mirror had smooth mocha skin and large eyes the color of fine whiskey. A tip-tilted nose made her cute rather than exotic, despite the eyes, but her full lips pushed cute to beautiful when she smiled—or so Lorenzo said when he was feeling poetic.
God, what was wrong with her? Why did she always fall for jerks and players? Just once Lauren wished she could meet someone genuine. Someone who was exactly what they seemed to be. But with her work schedule now and trying to keep the shop open seven days a week, she wasn’t going to have time to meet anyone but customers.
“Not that I have time for a love life even if I did meet someone,” Lauren muttered to herself. “As if—”
The words died on her lips. For a moment she could have sworn she saw a pair of eyes behind her in the mirror. Red eyes.
She whirled around, her heart pounding, to see…nothing.
“Of course it’s nothing. There’s no one here but me.” The sound of her own voice made her jump and Lauren put a hand to her chest to still her beating heart. It was time to stop being silly and get down to business. Today she had a brand new recipe she wanted to try out—a strawberry hazelnut with cream cheese frosting. She’d tried a small batch in the kitchen in her condo and they had come out nicely but—
Suddenly there was a popping, humming sound like electricity and the air around her seemed to be full of lightning. Every hair on her head stood on end and her nerves twanged like plucked strings. Danger—you’re in danger! an inner voice shouted. The voice of instinct—the same primitive voice that must have warned the cavemen when a fire or flood was on the way.
Lauren wanted to run—tried to run—but everything happened too quickly. The crackling electrical charge seemed to close around her, like a vast hand, and suddenly she felt herself dissolving. Looking in the mirror she could almost see it happening in slow motion—her body had been broken into a million tiny particles that were all vibrating against each other in deadly harmony. Her clothes, however, remained unaffected. In fact, they fell away from her, landing in a heap on the floor.
No! No, what’s happening?
There was no answer but suddenly she saw the eyes in the mirror again. Red eyes—blood red and laughing at her pain, her fear. She could almost feel the evil in that crimson gaze—the intent to cause harm—the desire to wound and mutilate and kill.
Before she could think anything else, the tiny white tiled bathroom of The Sweet Spot disappeared and she felt herself flying through the air in pieces. It was the most bizarre sensation she had ever felt in her life—as though someone had put her entire body through a cheese grater and shot the results into the air at supersonic speed.
I’m dying. This is dying, right?
Again, no answer. But suddenly she felt herself reforming—all the tiny particles finding their places and sticking together again. Oh, thank God! She felt her arms and legs frantically, making sure she was all in once piece. She was naked but she was whole and at least nothing seemed to be missing.
“Here ssshe isss at last. Sssee, my ssson, ssshe bears the mark. The mark the prophesy ssspoke of.”
A long, skeletal finger suddenly appeared in front of her and pointed between her breasts. Lauren looked down to her small, pale birthmark reflexively—it was shaped like a star and stood out against her creamy brown skin. She’d always had it and never even thought about it anymore, though it looked strange when she wore a bikini.
A feeling of dread filled her as she looked up, up, up the long arm clothed in billowing cobwebs and into the burning red eyes she’d seen in the mirror.
“Yesss,” hissed a voice Lauren knew she’d been hearing in her dreams for the past few weeks. “Yesss, ssshe isss the one. At last I have her. Ssshe isss mine.”
Chapter Four
Kat was flying again but this time she wasn’t looking down at herself. Instead she was hovering inside a narrow stone tunnel. There was a faint light at one end that illuminated the pinkish brown stones and she could hear footsteps coming, echoing down the long enclosed corridor. Who’s coming? Will they see me?
Looking down, she realized she couldn’t see herself. She was silent and invisible again, just as she had been before. Maybe I really am dead and this is my funeral. But why would they bury me in a cave? For some reason the thought held no fear, only fascination. Then the echoing footsteps grew louder. Kat pushed her morbid musings aside when she saw who was coming down the tunnel.
A massive male—she couldn’t really call him a man because there was nothing human about him—was leading the way. He had pinkish mottled skin and he was wearing a loincloth of large, flat leaves. In his hand he carried a fiery silver whip that snapped and crackled as though it was made of lightning.
What the hell? The question was driven out of her head when she saw someone familiar following the huge male. Deep was shirtless, his muscular chest gleaming in the light cast by the strange whip. Kat could see the silver light reflected in the black pools of his eyes too, which were otherwise completely impassive.
“So this is the Stone Throat, eh?” he said to the giant who only grunted noncommittally. “I’ve heard of this place. Never thought I’d see it in person. Not that there’s much to see.”
The enormous male didn’t even grunt this time. He just passed through the stone hallway, ducking his head to avoid hitting the ceiling where Kat was still hovering in her invisible form.
For some reason, she felt a stab of fear. What’s going on? What are they going to do? Without making a conscious decision to do it, she found herself gliding noiselessly after them down the stone corridor until they came to a thick green wooden door. Deep’s guide grasped the tarnished silver ring in its center and pulled it open easily though it looked immensely heavy to Kat.
The door swung to one side revealing a vast, round room made of the same brownish-pink stone as the corridor. The ceiling curved up but instead of forming a perfect arch, it elongated into a tall stone chimney far above. From that small opening, a perfectly round spot of sunlight streamed down to rest on the floor at the exact center of the room. It illuminated a rough obelisk of white stone streaked with reddish-brown mineral deposits.
The obelisk was at least ten feet tall and it pointed up toward the chimney like a jagged, accusing finger. Kat saw that someone had affixed two thick, rusty rings in its center. A feeling of cold dread filled her when she saw the thick chain running through the rings. What went on in this room? Why would anyone need to be chained to the strange white obelisk? She was horribly afraid but she didn’t want to let herself acknowledge it.
“Will you be chained or will you stand?” The huge male’s voice was high and almost effeminate but it echoed eerily in the vast chamber.
“I’ll stand.” Deep went to the obelisk without hesitation. Facing it, he gripped one of the rusty rings in each hand. His broad, muscular back presented the perfect target. “I’m ready.”
Ready for what? Oh dear God, please no! Kat didn’t particularly like Deep—in fact, she thought he was kind of a jerk. He made her more uncomfortable than anyone else she’d ever met in her life. But no one deserved to be whipped with that hissing, crackling silver whip. There were freaking spikes on the end of it, for God’s sake. Was it some kind of punishment Deep was about to be subjected to? But what had he done? And who had decided he had to be punished?
“Ready yourself,” the other male advised, raising the whip.
“I said I was ready.” Deep’s voice held not a trace of fear—only irritation.
How can he not be afraid? What’s wrong with him?
Kat watched in horror as the massive arm rose and the whip cracked, lashing around Deep’s ribs with a hungry hiss. Deep made a similar sound himself—a low hiss of pain—as the barbed silver tongues bit into his flesh, but no other noise escaped him.
The giant yanked the whip back, splattering crimson droplets against the white obelisk. Suddenly Kat understood that the brownish red streaks on its rough surface weren’t mineral deposits. Blood, my God, it’s blood! He’s bleeding! Stop it—stop!
But the whip rose again, ready for another blow. “Scream,” the huge torturer advised. “Release your pain into the Throat.” He nodded at the stone chimney above. “It will make the agony less.”
“Don’t want it to be less,” Deep growled. “Just get on with it, damn you.”
“As you wish.” The whip cracked again, biting and tearing the smooth, tan skin of Deep’s back, shredding it to bloody ribbons. He barely flinched.
No! Nooo! Kat tried to shriek but no sound came out. Deep didn’t cry out either. He stood at the obelisk, grasping the rusty rings in a white-knuckled grip, his jaw clenched and his eyes shut tight. Clearly he was enduring unspeakable agony and just as clearly he was determined not to make a sound.
Kat felt like she was going crazy. Rushing at the giant, she tried to grab his hand and keep the whip from falling again. But she was helpless to stop him—helpless to even touch him. It was as though she was trapped in a bad dream, one which she couldn’t wake up from.
Please, she begged silently as invisible tears fell down her cheeks. Please, please don’t. Please stop hurting him…
But nothing she said or did made any difference. The whipping went on and on…and on.
* * * * *
“She’s crying.” Lock looked down at Kat’s still-sleeping face in alarm. “Look, tears are running down her cheeks.” He cupped her jaw and brushed them tenderly away with the pad of his thumb.
“So she is.” Mother L’rin didn’t sound unduly worried.
“But what does it mean?” Lock looked at her anxiously. “What’s happening to her?”
“A bad dream, perhaps. I’m more concerned with what’s happening with that brother of yours.” Her wrinkled face creased in a frown. “I haven’t heard a single scream.”
“That’s because Deep won’t scream. He won’t give in to the pain that way.” Lock wiped Kat’s other cheek gently. “He’s too damn stubborn.” He closed his eyes. “I can feel his pain but he won’t share it with me—he’s closed tight, turned inward.”
Mother L’rin shrugged her bowed shoulders. “His choice. If he’d release the pain into the Stone Throat it would dissipate much more quickly.”
“I tell you, he won’t scream. He’d probably rather die.”
“He won’t die.” The old woman spoke with certainty. “That would put your life in danger as well and I wouldn’t do that, Lock. But he may well wish he was dead by the time the whipping is over.” She looked at him. “Are you wishing you could take his place?”
“Yes.” Lock swiped away tears of his own, blotting them angrily on his deep green uniform sleeve. “He doesn’t deserve this. He thinks he does, but he doesn’t. I know he’s a bastard a lot of them time but he’s my brother and I love him.”
“Of course you do.” Mother L’rin’s voice was suddenly softer and she laid one wrinkled old hand on Lock’s arm. “Never fear, you’ll both come out of this alive.” She looked grim. “I just wish I could promise the same for your lady Kat here.”
“Please.” Lock felt as though his heart was breaking. “Can’t we save her? Won’t it be easier for her now that Deep has taken her pain?”
“She’ll still be weak and even if you managed to complete the soul bond with her the pain may return in time.” Mother L’rin frowned. “You’ll need to take her someplace quiet and let her rest for a little while before you attempt that.”
“Of course. Deep will be in no shape for any kind of bonding activity for awhile anyway.” Closing his eyes again, Lock could feel the echoes of his twin’s agony. But Deep was still shut tight, conserving every ounce of his strength to bear the pain.
“His wounds will heal fast,” Mother L’rin predicted. “Lashes inflicted with psychic pain always do and Twin Kindred are quick healers anyway. The strokes hurt three times as much as physical wounds but they mend three times as fast as well. When Deep’s back is mostly healed, then you may attempt to finish your soul bond with the lady Kat.”
“And after we do? What then?”
“Bring Kat back and let me examine her.” Mother L’rin put a withered hand on Kat’s shoulder. “I’ll tell you what to do then if she survives.”
She has to survive. Please, Mother of All Life, let her survive, Lock prayed fervently. Do not let my brother’s sacrifice be in vain. Do not let the pain he feels count for nothing.
Kat was crying again. Tenderly, he wiped the tears from his cheeks, wishing he could ease her pain, wishing he could share Deep’s agony. But he was shut out from both of them—unable to help either of the people he loved.
Lock had never felt more alone.
Chapter Five
The human female was troublesome.
It annoyed Xairn the way she cried when he came near her. Later, when he offered her no harm, she began to talk to him and that was even worse.
“Please,” she whispered the third time he brought her food and water. “Please, I’m so cold. It’s freezing in here and I don’t have any clothes.” She was huddled in a corner of the bare nine by nine metal cell she was being kept in. Her knees were drawn up to her chin and she had her arms wrapped around her legs but even so her smooth, light brown skin was covered in chill bumps.
“It is the AllFather’s wish to keep you as you are,” Xairn said stonily. “I only obey his orders.”
“But you’re not like him.” She leaned forward, her eyes wide.
At least they aren’t green. Instead they were a brown so light it was almost golden. Amber, maybe. Xairn shook his head. “You’re wrong. I am exactly like him. I am his son.”
“That doesn’t matter. You may have his…his eyes…” She swallowed nervously. “But you don’t feel like him.”
“I haven’t laid a hand on you. Nor will I.”
“I didn’t mean feel in a physical sense.” She picked up one of the nutra-wafers he’d pushed over to her and began to nibble it. “I meant, whenever he’s near me I sense this…this evil. Hatred, malevolence—call it whatever you want, but he carries it with him like a cloud. With you…” She shrugged and took another nibble. “I don’t feel that.”
Xairn thought of telling her she would soon feel a great deal more. The AllFather was only abstaining from taking her until he reached his peak, when his seed would be most potent. It was only a matter of days—weeks at the most—before this human female became the new mother of the Scourge race.
She would probably lose her mind in the process.
It doesn’t matter. Nothing matters.
“I am his son,” Xairn repeated, not having anything else to say. “I obey his commands and do his bidding.”
“Not always,” she said softly. “Yesterday I told you I was hungry. Today you brought me three of these cardboard pop tart things instead of just one.”
Xairn frowned. “I have to keep you in good physical condition for the AllFather. I have been charged with your wellbeing.”
“Still, I want to thank you.” She looked at him earnestly. “Maybe someday I can return the favor.”
“You will never be in a position to do me any favors.” Xairn turned to go.
“Please…” Her voice tugged at him for some reason and he looked over his shoulder.
“What is it? I have other duties besides you to attend to.”
“I’m cold,” she repeated. “If you could just bring me some clothes. Or even a blanket.”
“Your constant complaints are annoying.” Xairn reached under his chin and unfastened the black cloak he always wore. It was cold on the Fathership—not that any of the vat grown soldiers noticed. Finding a new cloak would be difficult, if not impossible—he’d bought this one by chance from a clothier on a fringe colony. Still, he told himself, being a little chilly was better than listening to her whining. “Here,” he said and tossed it to her.
“Thank you.” She reached up to catch it and he caught a glimpse of her full breasts and berry brown nipples, tight with cold. The sight bothered him for some reason but he didn’t have to see it for long. She huddled quickly beneath his cloak, pulling it tight around her. “I really mean it, thank you so much,” she said.
“Keep your thanks,” Xairn said coldly. “I’ll get the cloak back when the AllFather is through with you.”
She drew in a sharp breath and her large amber eyes filled with fear. Xairn didn’t wait to hear if she had anything else to say. He slammed the heavy plasti-steel door and keyed in the lock code.
The girl was nothing to him. Nothing.
But as he walked down the bare metal corridor, he couldn’t help thinking that amber was almost as troubling a color as green.
Chapter Six
Kat was floating.
Not in the disembodied sense. This time she could feel her body, her limbs heavy with unspeakable exhaustion, her skin tender to touch. She wasn’t fully aware of her surroundings but one thing was clear—someone was taking care of her.
Gentle hands lifted her into warm water and strong arms held her securely while someone else washed her hair. The sensations were so soothing she wanted to drift away to sleep. But I am asleep, aren’t I? If not, why can’t I wake up?
The same hands dried her off and put a straw between her lips. Kat sucked reflexively and a delicious, fruity flavor that seemed to be a cross between watermelon, strawberry, and some other fruit she couldn’t name filled her mouth.
“That’s right, my lady,” a deep, somehow familiar voice murmured. “Drink deeply. Nourish yourself. It’s almost time to attempt the bond.”
What bond? Kat wanted to ask, but she was stuck, held in the same, strange limbo she sensed she’d been in for days. Was it a coma? They said that people in comas retained some consciousness and heard everything that was said to them. But would she be able to drink from a straw if she was truly unconscious? Kat didn’t think so. It was all very confusing.
She finished the drink and someone fluffed a pillow behind her head and drew a light blanket over her naked body. “Sleep now,” the familiar voice murmured. “I must tend to my brother. He’s almost healed so maybe next time…”
But he didn’t finish what he was saying.
“Next time what?” Kat wanted to demand. But she felt so warm and comfortable she couldn’t be bothered to form the words. Instead she slid into darkness and let herself dream.
* * * * *
“You’re healing well.” Lock eyed the broad expanse of his twin’s back critically. “Of course, there will be scars. Extensive scars, I’m afraid.”
Deep, who was sitting at the edge of the large bed they shared, grunted noncommittally. “All warriors have scars.”
“Most get them in battle, though.” Gently, Lock smoothed some of the healing lotion Mother L’rin had given them over his brother’s wounds. Most of them were nothing but pinkish-white lines now, criss-crossing the tan expanse of Deep’s back. The wise woman had been right—he was healing remarkably quickly. His body, anyway. Lock feared that he would carry the memory of the beating with him forever. Not that he would admit to caring about such a thing—or anything for that matter. “Do you want to help me attend Kat again tonight?” he asked, changing the subject.
Deep frowned. “She’s not going to be happy when she finds out we’ve been bathing her while she’s unconscious, you know.”
“We drape towels over her to preserve her modesty,” Lock protested. “Besides, we’re only acting on Mother L’rin’s orders. She said Kat needed to spend plenty of time in the bathing pool—warm water is healing.”
“Kat won’t see it like that,” Deep predicted sourly. “She’ll think it’s a violation. And she’ll think the same thing about completing the soul bond.”