Sought...Book 3 in the Brides of the Kindred series (35 page)

“It’s entirely possible,” Lock said. “Though
we won’t know for sure unless we can find the exact wording of the
prophesy.”

Kat shook her head. “Oh, poor,
poor
girl. I really feel sorry for her now.”

“We’ll do what we can to help find her,”
Lock promised quietly. “We’re not just here to dissolve the bond
between us.”

“Of course not,” Deep agreed dryly. “We have
much
more noble ambitions in mind than simply separating our
souls.”

“If you say so.” Kat gave him a look. “But
are you sure it’s safe for us to be here? Especially you two—I
mean, with the spontaneous burn-you-to-death-if-you’re-Kindred
virus running around?”

“Why do you think we landed so far from the
Complex?” Deep asked, nodding to the gray spikes and spires rising
in the distance. The sprawling building was apparently where they
were headed. “Lock and I are both wearing monitors that will detect
any stray virus strains that might be harmful long before they
become concentrated enough to hurt us.”

“The virus has had years to dissipate so we
don’t expect any trouble,” Lock explained. “But we’re moving in
slowly, just in case.”

Kat sighed. “All right—as long as you two
are safe.”

“Why, Kat.” Deep put a hand over his heart.
“I didn’t know you cared.”

Kat refused to rise to the bait. “You know I
do,” she said quietly. “And just because
you
don’t, doesn’t
mean I can turn it off just like that.” She snapped her fingers to
illustrate her point.

For a moment, Deep looked stricken. “Kat,”
he said, stopping in his tracks. “Kat, I…”

“What?” Kat stopped beside him and looked up
at him, her heart pounding. Was he going to admit that he cared
after all? From the corner of her eye she could see Lock’s face
filled with hope.

But Deep just shook his head. “I’m sorry,”
he said in a low voice. “Sorry it has to be like this. But it
does.”

“All right.” Kat nodded stoically and began
walking again. Let him do what he wanted—she wasn’t going to beg.
And she wasn’t going to remain bonded to a man who didn’t want and
love her—not even halfway bonded.
It’s for the best,
she
told herself as they trudged closer to the monstrous gray building
that Deep had called the Complex.
We all need to be free of each
other—it’s the only way.

But her heart was sore and she found she
couldn’t look at Deep as they walked. Not if she wanted to keep
from crying.

Lauren sat huddled on the tiny triangular
seat, crammed into the claustrophobically small holding cell and
tried not to cry.
It’s going to be all right. Everything is
going to be all right,
she told herself over and over. If she
gave in to panic now, everything would be lost. She had to believe
she was going to get out of this somehow. Even if her best chance
of escape—Xairn—seemed to be completely conflicted about his
feelings for her.
If he
has
feelings at
all,
she thought. He certainly didn’t seem to want to admit it
if he did. Could she break down the wall he’d built between them
and get him to see that she was important to him? That he needed
her as much as she needed him? Lauren hoped so.

The ship had decelerated and landed smoothly
and then she’d heard murmuring from the front of the cockpit. The
deep, quiet voice she recognized as Xairn’s. The other voice—high
and hissing—made her skin crawl. It belonged to the AllFather—the
one who wanted to—
No, don’t think about it. If you think about
it you’ll lose it completely.

Lauren put her fingers in her ears and
hummed softly to herself to block out those hateful, hissing tones.
The humming started tunelessly but turned into the lullaby her
mother used to sing her when she was little. After a few minutes,
she could almost hear the beloved voice murmuring the words in her
ear…
Hush little baby, don’t say a word. Momma’s gonna buy you a
mocking bird. And if that mocking bird won’t sing, Momma’s gonna
buy you a diamond ring. And if—

“Lauren?”

She looked up to see Xairn standing there
with a terrible look on his face. She couldn’t tell if he was angry
or just upset but whatever he was feeling, it wasn’t good.

“Xairn?” She stood up and took a tentative
step toward him but her legs were weak from sitting in the cramped
position so long. She stumbled and started to go down.

“Careful!” Xairn caught her and dragged her
out into the main part of the ship before swinging her up into his
arms. He held her easily, as though she was lighter than a
feather.

“What’s going on?” she asked softly, looking
into his eyes. This was the closest she’d ever been to him—the most
he had ever touched her.

Without answering, Xairn carried her out of
the ship and into a long concrete tunnel which appeared to be a
hidden landing strip. Despite the tense expression on his face, he
handled her gently—as though she might break if he wasn’t
careful.

As they left the ship, panic gripped Lauren
by the throat. “Where are you taking me?” she asked, struggling to
keep her voice from wavering.

“To a holding cell.” His red-on-black eyes
flickered to hers quickly and then away.

“But why?” Lauren begged. “This is the
perfect opportunity—we can leave in the ship together. Just the two
of us.”

“Do you think that scenario didn’t cross my
mind?” he demanded in a low voice. “Unfortunately, it crossed my
father’s mind as well. He has the control wand in his possession. I
cannot start or steer the ship without it.”

Despite the bad news that the AllFather had
the key to the ship, Lauren felt encouraged. At least Xairn had
admitted wanting to take her away—or at least admitted to thinking
about it. That was a definite start. “What are we going to do,
then?” she asked.

“I don’t know. Stop talking—these hallways
are monitored.”

Lauren was obediently silent as he nudged a
button which opened a huge set of double doors that looked like
they were made of some kind of metal alloy. The doors swung open
silently, revealing a long central corridor with many smaller
hallways leading off from it on either side.

Xairn stepped inside and the doors swung
shut behind them with a finality that had the panic clawing at her
throat again. Lauren refused to give in to the fear.
Have to
keep calm. Keep my head and trust that he wants me enough to keep
me from his father. To keep him from…
She cut off that line of
thought abruptly and rode silently in Xairn’s arms as he walked
down the long hallway, his boots echoing in the empty space.

Lauren supposed she could have walked by
now—her legs felt fine. But she didn’t want to. The echoing, empty
corridor was creepy—like some kind of a ghost town—and most of the
smaller hallways leading off from it were dark and filled with
shadows. The air was musty and foul and the few light panels that
were on overhead flickered as though they might decide to go out at
any time. It was like Xairn was carrying her into a haunted
house—one she desperately wanted to escape from. But the man
bringing her into it was her only hope of getting out again alive,
so she clung to him for dear life.

At last they came to a slightly larger
hallway branching off from the main one at an oblique angle. It was
blocked by a set of metal doors exactly like the ones that had led
into the building in the first place, only smaller. Xairn stopped
and nudged a black button which caused the doors to slide silently
into the wall, revealing a dimly lit space filled with glass doors
and strange equipment.

“What is this place?” Lauren breathed,
forgetting she wasn’t supposed to talk.

Xairn closed the door behind them before
answering. “The medical wing. We can speak here. This wing is
shielded from the rest of the Complex.”

“The medical wing?” she asked.

Xairn nodded. Where my father and his chief
medical officers used to perform… experiments.”

“Experiments? What kind of experiments?”
Lauren shivered as she looked around. There were several glassed in
rooms—some were bare but one was set up like an operating theater.
But the instruments that lay scattered on the floor and the exam
table were strange and brutal. Saws with jagged teeth, long, thin
picks with razor sharp points at their ends, something that looked
like stainless steel barbed wire unwound in a lethal, shining line
across the glassy red floor…

“What kind do you think?” Xairn said in a
low voice.

Lauren felt sick. “
Torture
—my God,
they tortured people here, didn’t they?” The fear she’d been trying
to hold back suddenly grabbed her by the throat and she couldn’t
breathe. “Oh please, Xairn. Please, no,” she whispered in a low,
trembling voice. Clinging to him desperately, she buried her face
in his neck. “Please…please don’t hurt me.”

“You think I brought you here to torture
you?” he demanded hoarsely. “To take pleasure in your pain?”

“I…I don’t know.” The tears were coming now,
hot and fast and there was nothing she could do to stop them.
“Please, Xairn, please…”

“I won’t hurt you,” he said roughly.
“Lauren, look at me.”

Reluctantly, she pulled her face away from
his neck and looked up into those burning crimson eyes. “Yes?”

“I won’t hurt you,” he repeated. “And I
won’t let anyone else hurt you either.”

“Not even your father?” she whispered.

“
Especially
not him. I won’t let him
have you.” His eyes blazed and a muscle in his jaw clenched. “And I
won’t let him harm you.”

“You…you won’t?” A rush of relief came over
her so strongly she felt faint.

“No.” Xairn shook his head grimly. “I don’t
know how I am going to manage it, but I swear on my honor, I
will
take you away from this place unharmed and bring you
back to your home planet. Do you understand?”

“Oh Xairn!” She almost laughed through her
tears. “I…I could just kiss you!” Throwing her arms around his neck
she leaned forward impulsively and pressed her lips to his. They
were surprisingly soft but before she could register much more,
Xairn jerked away from the sudden contact.

“Don’t.” His deep voice was harsh, strained.
“Don’t
ever
do that again, Lauren. Or I can’t be responsible
for the consequences. Do you understand?”

Not really? Why did a simple kiss upset
him so much?
But she only nodded contritely. “I’m sorry. I’m
just so glad. So glad you care about me enough to help me.”

“Let us be clear about one thing.” He held
her eyes with his. “You
have
aroused emotions in me—very
strong emotions. But that is
not
a good thing.”

Lauren stared at him uncertainly. “Do…do you
mean that you hate me? Is that what you’re saying?”

“Not hate, no.” He shook his head. “What I
feel for you…let’s just say it will be better—far better—if those
feelings are never explored or acted on.”

“I don’t really understand what you’re
trying to say,” Lauren said softly. “But I do want to thank you for
promising to help me.”

“There’s no point in expressing your
gratitude yet—I haven’t even worked out a plan.” He sighed. “Until
I do, I must pretend to comply with my father’s will. And you’re
going to have to trust me. Can you do that?”

Biting her lip, Lauren nodded hesitantly.
“Yes, I trust you.”

“Thank you.” He nodded gravely. “That means
a great deal to me. And now I have to put you in one of these cells
and secure the rest of the Complex before reporting back to my
father.”

“You’re leaving me alone? In here?” She
couldn’t help glancing at the instruments of torture strewn around
the surgery suite room again.

“Nothing will harm you,” Xairn said, his
rough voice almost soothing. “We are the only creatures alive on
this planet. Well—other than a few minor life forms like the black
crested lizards. But they live mainly on the beaches and won’t come
inside.” He shook his head. “The point is, you’ll be safe, even if
I’m in another part of the building.”

“But what if…if your father decides he wants
to come, uh, see me?” Lauren asked, unable to keep the fear out of
her voice. “If he touches me, Xairn, I swear I’ll go crazy. I can’t
help it.”

“He often has that effect on females,” Xairn
said grimly. “But you don’t need to worry about him—not yet. He is
ensconced in his
Souda
—it’s a special room within the
Complex which channels the power of the planet directly to his
person. Once he enters it, a
dravik
forms.”

Lauren frowned. “A what?”

“A
dravik—
a large bubble made of
nourishing blood which forms around him. He can move about the
Complex while ensconced within it, but until it bursts, he will be
unable to touch you.”

“But how long will that be?” Lauren
protested. The idea of the hideous, skeletal AllFather encased in a
bubble made of blood was horrific enough. But the idea of him
coming for her after the bubble had burst and he was covered in the
stuff—well, it didn’t bear thinking about.

“At least a few hours—most likely more,”
Xairn said patiently. “But you don’t need to fear—I will return for
you long before that. I promise. I just have to lull my father into
believing all is well and we’ll make our escape.”

“How? I thought your father had the only key
to the ship we came in?”

“He does but there are abandoned ships not
far from here—many of them—from the last battle that was fought
here with the Kindred. We can take one of those—they should still
be operational.”

“All right.” Lauren sighed and nodded. “I
trust you to do right by me, Xairn. Just please hurry—this place
gives me the creeps.”

“It has been the site of untold horrors,” he
agreed, taking her into one of the empty, glassed in cells. “But
they’re over and done and in the past. You have nothing to fear
now.”