Rage to Adore (6 page)

It was now early morning, and the light from the purple Ophiuchi
dawn cast shadows that filtered lazily through the gauzy curtains that Morana
had flung open with a flourish when Lorcan was announced.

Morana gazed at Lorcan speculatively. He was voracious in
his need to know. Eager. So eager it made her laugh. She knew what game he was
playing. She had always known what kind of man Lorcan Rodach was. As she
considered Tanith Laska, upstairs sleeping and innocently unaware of how many
predators were circling for a kill, she almost felt sorry for her. Almost.

But Morana didn’t do sorry. She wouldn’t feel bad about
playing both sides of the equation. Eunomi—Discordants, who cared, as long as
it gave
her
power? The wealth was good too. But it was the power she
really craved.

“Be patient, Lorcan. You have only recently met. These
things take time to unravel. Have you kissed her yet?”

“Of course.” His reply was indignant that she should think
otherwise. “In your garden, earlier today. That should have triggered the
marking.”

No visible signs of strong emotion. Lorcan really was cold.
Selfish. Well, that was to be expected. But he had his uses. As the son of
Phenex’s mistress, he was an occasional ally. She watched his back and he
watched hers. She didn’t need to like him.

“How do you find her?” asked Morana, curious as to his
reaction on meeting the female who was his destiny.

“What do you mean?” Lorcan’s brows snapped together in
confusion at the question.

“I mean, do you like her, do you find her attractive?”

“She’s desirable. There will be plenty of interest. Ultimately
she will go to Choronzon and he will claim her essence either by persuading her
to the cause or by force.”

No regret. No pity. Utterly selfish. Lorcan did not appear
to care that Choronzon, leader of the Discordants, would suck the girl dry,
siphoning away her essence to gain control of The Balance.

“And so you will give him control of your essence also. Your
rewards will be great. Has
your
Taijitu materialized?” Morana asked, her
eyes narrowing as he shifted uneasily.

“No. Not yet.”

Now that was a concern. The Taijitu mark, the yin-yang
symbol of duality would appear only when an Esseni potential met and kissed
their partner. It was a way of recognizing which Esseni belonged to each other.
It was rather strange that Lorcan’s was not yet showing after he had kissed the
girl. Morana concentrated her vision on Lorcan’s tall frame to get a reading.
Hmmm.

“Lorcan. The Esseni signature, the aura I sensed in you
seems weaker than before, not stronger. If you have kissed, the aura should be
stronger and the Taijitu mark should have appeared by now.”

“Damn!” Lorcan’s fisted his hands in anger.

“Lorcan,” Morana paused as a thought crossed her mind. “Were
you with her outside the club tonight?”

“No, I told you I didn’t see her there. Why?”

Morana’s eyes widened with an unwanted realization. This
would complicate things.

“Ah,” she said, taking her time, torturing him a little with
her superior knowledge.

“What?” Lorcan’s tone was sharp, suspicious.

“You did realize that there was always a possibility that
both you
and
your brother carried the potential to house the essence.”

“So?”

“I’m pretty sure that your brother was at the club last
night and that Tanith found him. She told me she had seen you and then wanted
to leave.”

“Fuck!” Lorcan punched a fist into the wall in rage. “This
could mess up everything! What do you think he told her?”

Morana paused, her brain swiftly considering Tanith’s
actions that evening. “I don’t think she realized he wasn’t you. She distinctly
told me it was you she had met, not your brother.”

“Do you think something happened between them?”

Morana nodded. “It’s possible. She seemed preoccupied when
we returned.”

“We need to check him out for the mark.”

“I agree. It is imperative to find out which of you is the
true Esseni. As twins you have both carried the potential since birth, but
inevitably it will be stronger in only one of you and it is in that one that
the duality will manifest. If it is your brother, he will need to be controlled.”

“You know my brother; he’s uncontrollable for anyone but
Phenex, and who knows what Phenex would do with this power.”

“There is another option,” Morana mused, wondering what
Lorcan would say.

“What’s that?”

“It has happened before with Esseni twins. If one dies—the
essence will automatically transfer to the other.”

“Then, if it is my brother—he must die.”

Morana laughed. “You really hate him that much.”

Lorcan spat. “He’s scum. Nothing but an animal. You know his
reputation.”

“I wonder what made him that way,” murmured Morana
pointedly. “However, you can’t kill him or even be involved in his death.
Someone else has to kill him and without your knowledge or the essence will
transfer to another.”

“And you know this how?”

“I have extensive understanding of the Esseni lore, Lorcan,
which is why I agreed to help you with your enterprise, but don’t expect me to
tell you all my secrets.”

“Fine.” Lorcan waved his hands dismissively. “What do you
suggest I do if he has the Taijitu?”

“That’s easy.” Morana smiled. “You take it from him.”

Theft

Tani awoke, having spent a restless night. Her body ached
with the imprint of Lorcan’s touch. She could feel his hands everywhere, still
taste him on her lips, the wild heady flavor of dark spices intoxicating her
already confused brain. Why? Why? Why? She still had no answer to his leaving.
And not just leaving. He had thrust her away as if she disgusted him. The more
she thought about it, the expression on his face, his savage swearing, the more
she was convinced of his anger. But his eyes—oh Gaia—his eyes! She would never
forget the beauty of those silver mercury eyes and the desire sparking to
intensity the indigo darkness surrounding those molten irises. There had to be
a reason for his actions.

She remembered his confession in the gardens, that his
passions ran deep and he feared to lose control. Maybe that was it. Hope
bubbled in her chest. Maybe all was not lost after all. Lorcan was a gentleman
and there was no way he would have taken her in the damp squalor of a back
alley. Her cheeks heated at the thought that she wouldn’t have cared. At that
moment she had been lost and the connection Irina had described, the intensity
of it, the overwhelming strength of desire had been the only sensations
controlling her brain. What brain? Instinct had taken over, her body dancing to
the rhythm of their beating hearts. She could hear the pounding beat even now,
the echoes of those brief moments vibrating through every cell in her body.
Energy thrummed beneath her skin. A tingling sensation, raw and crackling,
pinpricks of heat burning into the skin of her hip.

Tani yelped and jumped out of the bed. She hardly dared to
look but as the sensation intensified, Tani realized the truth. A wave of
ecstatic joy washed over her and trembling fingers moved to peel back the
fabric of soft silk at her waist. Creamy tan skin gave way to a dark circular
design etched right beside the pelvic bone on her left hip. The Taijitu mark!
Finally! There was no doubt about it. Lorcan was her Esseni partner, her
duality—her Hate.

A sharp rap on the door brought Tani’s brain back to ground
level. Heart still soaring with wonder, she opened the door to find Morana
outside, dressed and ready to go out. “Tanith!” she exclaimed, pushing her way
into the room. “Have you forgotten our day at the spa? We are late as it is!”
Tani groaned but hid her frustration. Morana had indeed organized a day of
pampering, saying it would be just the thing expected of a rich heiress in
search of a husband.

Personally Tani would rather have spent the day in the pits
of Choronzon’s abyss, a lava-filled cesspit of sulfurous acid, than spend her
time being waxed, primped and polished. She had also planned to visit Antares
with a progress update and assuage her curiosity by seeking out the little boy,
Sami, and his mother to glean a more personal insight into Lorcan’s association
with them. She realized it would have to wait. Morana did not look as if she
would take no for an answer. “We have to prepare ourselves for this evening’s
entertainment,” continued Morana. “It’s a surprise that I think you will enjoy.
Oh, and I have a message for you, from Lorcan Rodach.”

“Oh yes.” Tani tried to keep her tone measured and even,
wondering what he could possibly say.

Morana D’Ath’s eyes narrowed at her lovely guest’s attempt
to feign disinterest. She knew the truth. She had sources who had confirmed
sightings of Tani and the other Rodach in the alley but for now she would let
nature take its course. “He came by earlier and apologized for leaving you so
abruptly last night. He seemed very happy when I told him you would be present
at tonight’s gathering and requested the pleasure of your company.”

Tani’s expression didn’t change but Morana caught the ghost
of a smile cross her lips as she turned back inside to dress for their outing.
This was turning into a very stimulating assignment. Who knew Esseni could be
such fun, particularly when twins were involved!

Hours later, Morana had the confirmation she had expected.
Tanith Laska was an Esseni. The proof sat squarely above her hipbone. Morana
had finally spotted the circular design as Tani exited the steam room. She was
conscious that Tani had been very careful to keep her body covered. Anyone
spotting the mark would have been an idiot not to have informed Phenex of its
existence, thereby earning his thanks and a hefty purse. But no one else was
looking for it. Morana knew it would be somewhere on Tani’s delectable frame
and had watched her like a hawk through numerous treatments, enjoying the sight
of her luscious skin, particularly when she glimpsed parts of her body that
Morana itched to bite.

She had spent a pleasurable day wondering what Tani would
taste like, feeling satisfied that those thoughts were almost helping to purge
images of a different leaner, taller, more muscular body that drew her like no
other. His blood was still sharp on her tongue, refusing to dissipate even
though she had taken it more than twenty-four hours ago. Now as she dashed off
a note to Lorcan with the news that he would welcome, her thoughts insisted on
returning to the one man she could not forget. Could never forget. He was her
secret. Her weakness. No one could know about her association with him. Ever.

* * * * *

Lorcan read both notes again. The first was as expected. The
second had him fuming. He was furious. Why him? Why would his brother have
manifested as the Esseni and not himself? Jaro. Bane of his life. He hated him
almost as much as he loved his mother. Still, Morana had come through for him
so he could now put his plans into action. She had confirmed in the first note
that Tanith Laska had manifested the Taijitu as expected, that it was located
on her left hip. Lorcan touched his right hip, seething with anger at the
absence of the mark from his skin. And Jaro had the corresponding Taijitu! That
fucking bastard was her partner duality! It was lucky that Lorcan had a trusted
friend in Phenex’s employ who had been able to get a visual for him. And now
that he knew for certain it was true—he would do everything in his power to
take what should have been his.

All that Esseni power. The Discordants craved it. He craved
it! He could have put that power to good use and become someone they would
respect. He would have had more power even than that bastard Phenex. He still
could. Jaro would die one day and hopefully that day would come soon. According
to Morana, he couldn’t kill him, but someone would do it eventually. It was
inevitable. How Jaro had survived this long anyway was a mystery.

Lorcan had delayed sending the message to his friend at the
training pits where he knew Jaro would be practicing for the gladiatorial
battles that evening. He had held on to the faint hope that the mark might
still appear on his own skin but by midmorning, when it still hadn’t appeared,
he had dashed off the note. It hadn’t taken long for the reply to confirm what
he already knew in his soul. Jaro had the mark. His anger increased tenfold as
he dwelt on the paper in his hand. That also meant that his brother had kissed
Tanith Laska, that she had kissed him. He didn’t care so much about that. She
meant nothing to him but as a means to power and wealth. What really made his
blood boil was the fact that his brother was apparently more worthy than him.
His brother was the Esseni. His brother—the pitiful self-sacrificing slave!
Even his mother thought his brother was a dog! Jaro was nothing. He would
follow Morana’s advice and take back what rightly belonged to him.

* * * * *

They waited for him in a dark alleyway, one of many in the
ghetto. Lorcan knew his brother’s path. Jaro never failed to pass this way once
a week on his journey to the gladiatorial pit and the regular visits he made to
that bitch Liana and her son, Sami. Bastard! Why the fuck his brother bothered with
her was beyond him. The sniveling bitch was trash. He wished, and not for the
first time that Jaro had left her to die along with that bastard son of hers.
He glanced at the five burly men waiting in the shadows. His hired thugs were
itching for the fight, cracking knuckles as they waited.

“Remember,” spat Lorcan. “Don’t kill him. I don’t care what
you do, slice him up as much as you like but leave him breathing.” Growls of
anticipation.

“He’s coming!” Their lookout on the roof whistled down.
Lorcan clenched his fists and waited for his prey to arrive. It was dark and
raining. Perfect. He stood back and let his mercenaries do the work. As the
familiar muscular frame strode past, all hell broke loose. Five pairs of hands
dragged their prey into the pitch darkness of the side alley. The frenzy began.

Lorcan watched impassively as five brutes savagely worked
his brother over, relentlessly punching and kicking, leaving no part of his
body untouched. Jaro tried to fight back. Some people might have been
impressed. He was strong. Incredibly strong. But in the end sheer numbers
prevailed. His brother lay unconscious facedown in the mud.

The mercenaries, girls that they were, whined about their
wounds, demanding more payment. They had not expected such resistance. Waving
them away, Lorcan pulled out a knife and rolled his brother onto his back. Jaro’s
face was unrecognizable. Good! Lorcan had always hated that there was a clone
of himself walking around, living and breathing air that was his. He was
unique, special, one of a kind. He should be one of a kind. Lowering his face
to his brother’s ear, he whispered to him softly, as the knife at his brother’s
hip sliced off the layer of flesh that carried the Taijitu mark. This was a
mark that could not be replicated in ink or by any other means. The only way
for Lorcan to possess it, other than his brother dying, was to have it stitched
onto his own hip. He was thankful that the quick healing ability of his Lyrani
blood and the skills of the warloki mage he had called cast a spell that would
create the illusion the mark was truly part of his skin. Morana had advised him
that he would only have a short timeframe to use it before it faded. He gave
his brother one last kick in the ribs as he immersed the precious flesh in
preserving fluid. He felt no guilt for what he had done to his brother. The
Taijitu should have been his by rights. It belonged to him now. And so would
Tanith Laska.

* * * * *

Returning to consciousness, Jaro spat blood. He watched as
it pooled into the puddle of mud and water that lay beneath his cheek. His
hands twitched, frozen in the dirt, knuckles sore. Defeated. His brother had
done this. Fucking Lorcan! He dragged himself up, each bone in his body
protesting the exertion, fractured ribs lancing his abdomen with gut-wrenching
pain. He gritted his teeth until he was on his feet. His left ankle buckled
under him as slicing agony shot through his leg. Jaro closed his eyes in
frustration. Was this payback for the redheaded bitch? Had she told Lorcan he
had assaulted her and this was Lorcan’s way of saying hands off?

Blood was seeping from beneath his shirt. Pulling it back,
Jaro was shocked to see a gaping wound at his right hip where flesh had been
sliced off. What the…? A pound of flesh. Yes. He remembered Lorcan’s words
whispered in his ear as he lay on the ground drifting in and out of
consciousness. Words he didn’t understand. “I’ll take my pound of flesh,
brother. This was meant to be mine!”

Shit. What time is it?
He had to get back. Phenex
would want him soon, and if he was absent, they would think he had run. As if.
Been there, done that, been tortured for it. A vision of the redheaded bitch
flashed into his brain. The enticing smile that had latched on to his dick at
the club, hypnotizing him into a frenzy, kept replaying on a loop. His damn
dick stood to attention. Fuck! Had it all been a setup? If he saw her again he
would kill her. Screw it. He was fucked anyway. He’d kill Lorcan too. No he
wouldn’t. He was so screwed. He would hate him until his dying day, but he
would never kill his brother. But the redhead—well—that was a different story.