Daughter of Destiny (19 page)

"You mean you have more
cryptic bullshit for me? Oh, goody. I think I'll pass, thanks. I've
enough on my mind without your riddles rolling around in my
head."

Quick as lightening,
Torin's hand snaked out and snatched a tumbler of liquor from a
passing server. He downed the glass in one gulp, coughed once, and
then the glass disappeared from his hand. "Damn it, Kat. I am one
who is well used to having all his way, and yet I am bound on all
sides by oaths and rules. You aren't stupid. Think,
child--"

"Excuse me," she
interrupted him. "I may be a fraction of your age, but I'm not a
child. I have a damn good idea what I am and even have a lead on
who my father is. So instead of coming here insulting my
intelligence, perhaps you could be of actual
assistance."

"What?"

"You heard me."

Torin held up one hand and
all movement in the room ceased; frozen in that moment at his
will.

Katarina pushed down her
initial panic.
It would take too much energy to actually freeze
everyone in place. Someone from outside might come in. He's trying
to rattle me.
She recalled her undergrad physics and took a
guess. "You took us a fraction of a dimension beyond the room. Out
of time or maybe time travels different here?"

He narrowed his eyes at
her. "You're a quick study." He walked a circle around her. "Are
you not human?"

"Of course, but only
half."

"Do tell."

"Is it forbidden for a
faerie to say, oh, have a child by a human woman?"

"No. Most humans aren't
compatible." He helped himself to a glass of wine on a frozen
waiter's tray. "Say it."

"I have reason to believe I
may be half Fae."

Torin stared into the wine
that he swirled in its goblet. "Not enough. You know. Say
it."

Her training in science
demanded she not draw conclusions with inconclusive data, but this
wasn't an experiment. She squared her shoulders and looked the
faerie in the eye. "I'm half Fae."

"Finally! It took you
bloody long enough." He pinched the bridge of his nose. "You still
have to guess who your father is though. Argh, I could kill him
myself for agreeing to that blasted oath."

"I met him once, in
Ireland. I don't know his name, but in here," she pointed to her
chest, "I know. I didn't understand the connection I felt back
then. Now I do."

"Okay, I can work with
that." Out of thin air he materialized a piece of paper with an
address scrawled across it. "He goes here a lot." Torin curled his
lips in a faint sneer. "I have no idea why he spends so much time
with humans."

Katarina accepted the
paper, handling it with care.
Good lord, I haven't seen actual
paper in years.
She glanced down at the writing. "Ireland? I
can't just drop everything and go to Ireland. Hell, I'm not sure
they'll let me on a plane in this condition." She pointed to her
distended abdomen.

Torin sighed. "That is a
complication I hadn't foreseen. Well, I can't send your father
here, as much as I'd love to get him out of my hair. The oath
plainly stated that you had to be the one to seek him out. Oaths
aren't to be trifled with."

Katarina scowled. "Out of
your hair? He seemed rather nice the one time I met
him."

"Nice? I'm not sure I'd use
that word in reference to your father. Moody, obstinate,
pig-headed, a bloody pain in my ass, but don't let that stop you.
You and he are quite a lot alike." He tilted his head to the side
like a dog listening to a sound beyond human hearing. "Sorry, must
run. Slan!"

She reached out her hand in
a futile attempt to keep him from disappearing. "Annoying bastard!"
she blurted before realizing the room had returned to
normal.

The waiter turned and
gawked at her.

"Sorry, not you." She
turned, hoping her cheeks didn't showcase her embarrassment.
God
I hope my father isn't that annoying.

Zane paced his cell to
loosen his stiff muscles and ignored the shakiness in his limbs. A
Goloth appeared outside the force field that enclosed the cell.
Reptilian in appearance, smooth scales acted as natural armor in
addition to the black flex-armor he wore. Large black eyes narrowed
to slits as the alien stared at him. Zane stopped in his tracks.
The Goloth spoke in an unfamiliar dialect. Having studied Goloths
for years, he knew some but not all of the Gol dialects. Hate
rolled off the alien, causing Zane's stomach to churn with nausea.
Unlike most species, Goloths possessed a natural mental barrier
which prevented him from reading their thoughts. Zane shuttered his
mind so he no longer felt the Goloth's hate. He couldn't afford to
vomit. The Goloth might take advantage of the display of
weakness.

Footsteps echoed on the
metal floor, ringing in his aching head. He smoothed his face into
an unreadable mask when two more Goloths passed by his cell. They
dragged a semi-conscious male between them. The prisoner groaned
and raised his head as he was hauled past Zane's cell. At first,
Zane thought it was another human but something about the
proportion of the limbs seemed wrong. Large dark orbs with no
whites attempted to blink him into focus. Blood matted tangled
silver hair that hung just past his chin, framing a face more
feline in shape than human. Of all the species, this one never
entered his mind. Everyone thought the Dédanann extinct.

He disappeared from Zane's
line of sight. A solid thud sounded, followed by a hum of power
emitters activating. Another Goloth entered the outer room. Clothed
in finer materials, he sported an ornamented knife in a gold sheath
belted around his waist. His ostentatious display of wealth
contrasted with the worn and inferior materials which the other
soldiers wore.

Zane focused his attention
on the serpentine face that stopped in front of his cell. A forked
tongue darted out, scenting the air. The bright lights glared off
the Goloth's shiny black scales. He rested one hand on his dagger
and sneered at Zane and took a couple of steps toward the force
field. He smiled and a chill went straight to Zane's marrow. He
spoke Standard in a heavy guttural accent. "I am Karglock, Emperor
of the Goloth people. My father died in battle against you. Your
life is mine."

Zane furrowed his brow, as
if thinking hard, and then replied, "I don’t recall ever commanding
in a battle against an emperor. I’m sure I would remember that. The
only people I’ve killed were criminals and terrorists." He paused
to watch Karglock's face mottle greenish-black and his eyes gleam
with hate. "Oh, you mean Goptemock. That puny old man was a coward.
He blew himself up rather than fight us like the warrior he claimed
to be."

Karglock hissed. "You, a
human, dare defame my father’s memory?"

"What memory? He was a
self-proclaimed ruler of a shattered empire. His death didn't even
make the interstellar news briefs."

"You lie! He chose
martyrdom for the sake of our people. Were it not for human
duplicity, you and your kind would still be under our rule. It is
time we regained our empire. Before you die you might prove useful,
but if not, your pain and death will avenge my father."

Karglock gave an order to
the guard in that unintelligible dialect as he left the
room.

Zane’s heart raced as the
guard with the feral gleam in his eyes went to an instrument panel
set in the wall and stabbed at a control button. A bolt of energy
shot from one of the force field emitters toward Zane. The beam hit
him full in the chest. A scream ripped from his lips as his body
convulsed. Every nerve ignited, and then, darkness.

***

Naia glanced sideways at
Katarina as she unlocked her front door. For the sixth time
Katarina toyed with something in her pocket. Instead of her usual
distant expression, Katarina scowled. Naia opened the front door
and her heels clicked on the hardwood floor, announcing her
arrival.

"That you,
baby?"

Naia shed her jacket,
hanging it on the rod iron coat tree, and then kicked off her
heels. "Yeah. Kat and I ditched the party. It was beyond boring.
Dr. Riley cornered me and told me so many bad jokes I thought I
might have to beat him upside the head to escape."

Robert's laughter echoed
from his office. "I'll be out in a few. I'm almost done uploading
the code into my prototype."

Naia's smile faded when her
eyes landed on Katarina. She sat on the large mocha colored sofa in
the living room. She still wore her jacket and her unfocused stare
gazed at nothing in particular. Ever since Zane left, it seemed she
spent half her time somewhere in her head rather than focused on
the world around her.

Naia walked over sat down
beside her. "Penny for your thoughts?"

"Got a million of
them?"

Naia smiled. "Okay, how
about a top ten list?"

"I don't think Zane's
coming back. He's been blocking me for over a month."

"How do you know? Maybe
stuff came up. If their military is anything like ours, there's
always tons of paperwork before you can leave. Then there are his
preparations to consider. You told me it was a risky trip. How
about not borrowing trouble? Focus on your pregnancy, on the
future, and try to be happy. Don't hang your happiness on whether
or not Zane can come back."

Katarina leaned back
against the couch cushion. "It isn't that easy, Naia. I wish it
were. I want to think he simply ran into delays, but then the old
doubts creep in. I wonder if maybe he decided I wasn't worth the
risk or that he didn't love me after all. It's just so hard to
believe that he saw everything and still loved me."

Naia frowned. "What do you
mean? Why is that so hard to believe?"

Katarina looked down at her
hands, which she folded and unfolded in her lap. "If my own mother
and father couldn't, it isn't a stretch to see how he might change
his mind."

"What?"

Katarina leaned forward,
propped her elbows on her knees, and cradled her head in her hands.
"I lost them long before they died, Naia."

Naia held her breath,
afraid speaking would push Katarina back into reticence.

"I know you skulked around
Dad long enough to figure out he was a Mage. I'm not a Mage and
while I did get my talents from my father, I didn't get them from
Dad.

"The night Brandon attacked
you, I walked in on Mom and Dad having a very informative argument.
Turns out, someone else got Mom pregnant. They were both livid that
I used magic to stop Brandon, but Dad more so. Mom was afraid of me
from then on and Dad told me I was no longer his daughter. Add in
that I have no fucking clue why my biological father abandoned me,
and you can see why I have trust issues."

Katarina got up and paced
the living room. Naia stared in shock and dawning comprehension
"You're my sister and I love you no matter what."

Katarina turned and faced
her. "I'm sorry I didn't say anything before now. I didn't think it
would do any good for you to share my anger at them. I didn't want
to ruin your happiness."

Naia stood up. "Bullshit.
You were scared and thought I'd freak out. I've been a big girl for
quite some time now, so you can get off your cross."

"I am not playing at being
a damn martyr!"

"Did you even give Mom and
Dad a chance to come around? No, you didn't. I was there. I saw the
calls from Mom you ignored and the unanswered messages. Maybe if
you'd talked to her you could have worked out your issues. How do
you know Dad wouldn't have come around too?"

"You weren't there. They
both looked at me like I was a monster."

"No one is perfect Kat; not
me, not even you. In case you don't remember, I saw what you did.
Yeah, it freaked me out, but you saved my life. That isn't
something I'll ever forget. Even if I agree that Mom and Dad would
never have accepted all your talents, you had me. You've always had
me to confide in. So stop with the pity party. It isn't becoming."
Naia fought the urge to tromp from the room and nurse her anger.
She wasn't a needy, traumatized, and insecure child anymore. Naia
folded her arms across and waited for Katarina to stop being
stupid.

Katarina stared at her in
silence for a minute and then heaved out a sigh. "You're right.
Even Zane said I should tell you everything. To be totally honest,
I ignored them not just because of what they said to me, but
because they dismissed what you went through. Somehow, my using
magic was far worse than what you being raped."

A large portion of her
anger melted at Katarina's confession. "Kat, even then I knew they
didn't get how fucked in the head I was for quite some time. Still,
they tried to do the right things. They sent me to counseling and
made sure I knew I was safe and loved. What more could I ask
for?"

Katarina fisted her hands
and turned away. "I hope they would have done that no matter what,
but most days I can't convince myself of that. I made a bargain
with Dad. If I wanted you safe and happy in our house, I kept my
mouth shut and didn't use magic, ever. That promise killed any
respect I had for him. Until the day they died, my biggest fear was
that I'd fuck up and somehow he'd make you pay just to teach me a
lesson."