Destiny Redeemed (14 page)

And
Kalins himself? Ryu adjusted his jacket and thought about his prey. Amon Kalins
presented a formidable challenge. Physically, he was as big as Ryu had
expected. However, it wasn’t physical power that concerned him. Kalins
possessed more powers than the Council knew if the invasion of his mind was any
indication. An almost imperceptible tug but he’d felt it as Kalins had stared
at him. Bringing in a tempuster who could teleport and read minds was going to
be a bit more difficult than he’d first thought.

Maybe
it’s time for a visit with the Council.

Two
hours later, Ryu once again found himself back in Nil—“home”, as they’d called
it. As he watched the Council members file into the chamber, he wondered if
they were right. Was Nil truly his home? Could a place created for the worst of
their kind be where he was most comfortable, where he was meant to always
return to? And if that were true, what did that make him?

He’d
always told himself that he was different from the people in Nil. He’d done his
time and was no longer like them. He was better. He’d convinced himself of that
point.

He
was better.

“Mr.
Jansen, I didn’t expect to see you so soon or so alone.”

Ryu
trained his eyes on the head councilman and the displeasure on the man’s face
registered in Ryu’s mind just as his tone had. A feeling of irritation spiked
in him, and he silently complained about the man’s impatience, not caring
whether or not he possessed the power that would allow him to know his
thoughts.

He
struggled to calm himself so his tone didn’t betray all his thoughts. “You can
be confident I’ll bring Kalins in.”

“I
have no doubt, Mr. Jansen. What can we do for you now?”

“Two
things. First, he’s with a girl. I need to know who she is and what she is to
him.”

“Give
us her name and we’ll gather the information you seek.”

“I
don’t have a name. All I have is an address.”

“Very
well. What is the address?”

Ryu
finished giving Thea’s address and a page scurried off to find out what he
needed to know.

“While
we wait for that, tell us what you’ve done so far to complete your assignment.”

“I
met with the Council of New York,” Ryu said flatly, remembering the experience
with distaste.

“And
I’m sure you found them eminently helpful.”

Ryu
was unsure of how to interpret the councilman’s tone, so he said nothing. His
experience with the Council system as a bounty hunter had shown him that they
tended to protect their own, even if the council members for New York didn’t.

“I
understand from your silence that your experience with that particular council
wasn’t entirely successful.”

Carefully
measuring his words, Ryu said, “Perhaps it was because of my accent.”

The
councilman laughed loudly. “I doubt that was the problem, Mr. Jansen. I’m
afraid you were forced to deal with a council that harbors ill will toward the
one seated in front of you.”

And
obviously you don’t intend on helping me with that.

Ryu’s
anger rose at the bureaucratic nonsense that more and more seemed to be a large
part of the bounty hunter’s job.

Territorial
divas.

“What
else have you done to apprehend Kalins?”

“I
tracked him to his house in New York. That’s where I found the girl. As I
arrived, she was running from the house, so I followed her.”

“Why
didn’t you simply capture your man instead of running after some girl?”

“He’s
got some kind of magick working so no one can get near the house.”

“So
you aren’t even certain he was there?”

Ryu
knew by the tone of the questions that the head of the Council wasn’t
appreciating how he’d done his job so far, and he didn’t give a damn.

Between
the goddamned Council of New York and whatever fucking magick Kalins has
working for him, you should be pleased as fucking punch I’ve seen him at all.

“Be
careful, Mr. Jansen.”

“You
recalled me for this job because I’m good at what I do. Let me do my job then.”

“So
have you seen Kalins?”

Ryu
knew he had to control his anger. No matter how much they needed him, he had to
admit he needed them more.

“Yes.”

“Tell
us about that.”

“As
I said, I followed the girl to her house and waited to see if he’d come after
her. A few hours later, he showed up with the Sidhe and the other guy—the
magickian.”

The
page returned and handed the councilman a file. “Please continue, Mr. Jansen.”

“Well,
Kalins went inside as they remained outside and only once did they go inside,
but then they came back out. Right after that, they spotted me.”

“How
could they know who you are or why you were there?”

“That’s
what I wondered too. My guess is you’ve got Soren spies in the Directorate.”

Suddenly,
the chamber grew quiet. The fear of spies in the Directorate was a constant
concern, but proof was always elusive. The Soren was good at what it did when
it came to helping its own, and the men and women it sent in to do its spying
were professionals.

A
female council member spoke up, her voice full of fear. “Are you sure, Mr. Jansen?
It couldn’t be something you misunderstood?”

“I
don’t think so, ma’am. As soon as they spotted me, they reentered the house and
then by the time I made it to the front door, they were gone with the girl and
only Kalins remained. I don’t think it’s a coincidence. He’s got a magickian
from that group working for him, so I’m betting the Soren is supplying him with
information about your sending me from their spies in the Directorate.”

“Then
from this point on,” she said to the head of the Council, “I think we should be
very careful with the information we file concerning Mr. Kalins’ case.”

The
head councilman agreed. “And we need to investigate any recent inquiries
regarding Kalins.”

Ryu
watched in amusement as the Council laid plans to protect itself and foil the
efforts of the Soren. He knew the bad guys always had better resources, more
ways to get around the law than the good guys had to enforce the laws they
made. It was just the way of the world. He didn’t believe the fight was a
pointless one because good had to triumph over evil if there was to be any
order in the world, but he knew that more bureaucratic arm flailing wasn’t what
was going to help the good guys win. It was up to the feet on the ground,
people like him, to make sure good won out.

“Well,
Mr. Jansen, it seems an interesting wrinkle has been added to Kalins’ case. The
girl you saw with him is a healer. I suspect if I asked you to describe his
physical well-being, you’d say he appeared in the pink of good health, would
you not?”

Ryu
nodded.
No doubt he’d had help procuring the services of a healer from the
Soren.
“If I may ask, what is known about her? Is it likely she’s working
for the Soren?”

The
councilman studied the pages of Thea’s file for some time and lifted his head.
“It doesn’t appear that she is. Her record shows a long history of forty-five
lifetimes as a healer, and there’s never been any issue with her following the
Council’s orders.”

“That
would explain why she ran from Kalins’ house. She was there against her will.”

“That
might very well be true, Mr. Jansen, but I wouldn’t count on her assistance in
capturing your man.”

Ryu
looked up at the Council confused. “Why not? It’s a tactic any good bounty hunter
would use. If she’s being held against her wishes, she’s a perfect pawn to use
against Kalins. Women don’t like being held hostage, and in my experience, they’ll
turn on their captors just as soon as look at them.”

“Not
if they’re destined ones,” the councilman said in a hollow voice that
immediately silenced the chamber.

“What?”

“Kalins’
healer is his destined one. I don’t foresee any assistance from Miss Althea
Forester.”

Ryu
quickly added up the things Amon Kalins had going for him. Ancient and
powerful, possibly with even more powers than the already impressive ones he
and the Council knew about. The aid of a Sidhe who had helped him escape from
the supposedly impenetrable Nil. The support of the Soren, a group dedicated to
working against the laws of their people. A magickian of no small talents. And
now his own personal healer.

“I’ll
need to know everything about this healer if I’m to return him to Nil.”

The
female council member from just a few minutes earlier spoke up again. “You know
we can’t do that, Mr. Jansen. Just as with every other Aeveren, you are not
permitted to know of her past lives.”

Before
Ryu could protest that knowledge of her past may be just what he could use to
capture Kalins, the head of the Council of Nil gestured to a page to come
toward him and said, “Your request is granted, Mr. Jansen.”

Several
council members gasped at the extraordinary breach of Aeveren laws and ethical
principles. The female council member exclaimed, “I protest this action! The
right to privacy concerning former lifetimes is one of the most sacred rights
in our world. It is long held to be inviolable. No matter what Amon Kalins has
done to deserve his sentence in Nil, the ends do not justify the means!”

“Your
protest is noted,” the head councilman said coolly. Turning to Ryu, he
continued, “Mr. Jansen, now you have what you need. Bring Kalins back to Nil.”

Ryu
stood stunned at the scene he’d just witnessed and barely muttered the words
“thank you” as the page handed him a folder containing details of Thea’s
history. He watched as several members of the Council stormed out of the
chamber ahead of the head councilman and those who supported his decision that
was sure to be controversial.

*

Amon
awoke from his short nap and found Thea still sleeping on top of him. Her warm
breath heated the skin on his neck, and he reveled at how wonderful she felt
next to him. Long blond waves fanned out across her back and fell onto his
shoulder, and he lifted a handful of hair up to his nose to smell the sweet
fragrance of the shampoo she used. The softness of the strands caressed his
lips as he inhaled the scent that would be only hers in his mind from that
point on.

Thea
began to stir and turned her sleepy face toward his. “I must have fallen asleep
as you were talking,” she said shyly. “I’m sorry.”

“No
need to be. You were tired from your exciting day and healing me again,” he
whispered before planting a small kiss on her forehead.

She
furrowed her brow. “Amon, I need to call my sister. She’s going to worry if she
tries to get in touch with me and I’m gone.”

“Of
course. I’ll leave so you can have some privacy.”

As
he moved to place her on the bed, Thea pushed against him. “In a little while.
I want to stay like this for a while longer,” she purred.

Thea
found his mouth and kissed him passionately. She felt so good next to him, her
body soft in all the right places where his was hard.

Amon
buried his hands in her hair and tugged gently as he moaned against her mouth.
“We have someplace we have to go, but I promise after that we’ll have all the
time in the world to do anything and everything we want.”

As
he sat up to sit on the edge of the bed, he silently called Gethen and
instructed him to bring Markku also. In seconds, there was a knock at the door
and then all four stood in Amon’s bedroom.

“Markku,
it’s about time I visited my friends in the Soren. I want you to arrange a meeting
for tonight.”

“Sounds
good. They’ll be happy to see you.”

“Take
Gethen with you, and he’ll let me know when everything’s set.”

Amon
turned to Gethen and simply smiled. With a nod of his head, Gethen left behind
Markku and once again Amon and Thea were alone.

“What
did you tell Gethen?” Thea asked as she wrapped her arms around his neck and
looked up into his face.

Lifting
one eyebrow in mock surprise, he smiled. “What makes you think I told him
anything? I didn’t say a word.”

“I
know you can communicate with him without speaking, so you don’t have to
pretend you don’t know what I’m talking about.”

Amon
ran his hands down the side of Thea’s body and let them come to rest on her
waist. “Thea, where we’re going is unlike anywhere I believe you’ve ever been.
The group Markku works with is full of people who are like I used to be. Do you
remember when I told you I’d done some bad things in my forty-seven lifetimes?
These people are like that.”

Thea
ran her fingers over the skin of Amon’s neck and shoulders. “Why do we have to
go to see these people if you’re not like that anymore?” she asked innocently.

“Because
if I’m going to stay out of Nil and keep you safe, I’m going to need their
help.”

Amon
hugged her tightly and rested his chin on the top of her head. “I need you to
remember something, Thea.”

Backing
away from him, she looked up with concern on her face and squeezed his hands in
hers. “What’s wrong, Amon?”

Stroking
her cheek gently as he spoke, he whispered softly. “I just need you to remember
that the person who loves you, your destined one, is the man I am now. The
person you’re going to see in a little while is the person I have to be with
them. And I need you to keep your emotions under control. I can’t let them see
me weakened because you’re unhappy.”

 “I
promise I’ll remember. They won’t hurt me, will they?”

Rage
at the thought of anyone hurting her spiked inside him. “Thea, I would never
let anyone hurt you. I’ll kill anyone who makes the mistake of even thinking of
harming you. I told you before. You’re safe as long as you’re with me.”

“Okay,”
she said with a sweet smile. “But you never told me what you said to Gethen.”