Sought...Book 3 in the Brides of the Kindred series (36 page)

“I hope you’re right.” As he deposited her
gently onto her feet, Lauren reached up impulsively and gave him a
tight hug. “Come back soon,” she whispered in his ear. “I’ll be
waiting for you.”

“I will come as soon as I can.” Xairn gently
disengaged her arms from around his neck and when his face came
into view, it wasn’t at all happy. “But you must stop touching me
that way, Lauren. It…is not a good thing.”

“Because it makes you feel?” she asked
softly.

Stiffly, Xairn nodded. “Yes. I must go
now.”

“All right.” She stood with her back to one
glass wall and watched as he locked her in. “Goodbye.”

“I’ll return,” he said shortly. “Remember,
you’re perfectly safe. There is no one else on the entire planet
besides the two of us, my father and his guards. And they are
programmed to stay exclusively with him and protect him.”

“All right.” Lauren nodded and watched as he
left the medical wing. She listened as the echo of his boots died
away to silence and then began to pace. The glass holding cell was
small—barely bigger than the one she’d been kept in aboard the
Fathership, although thankfully larger than the tiny cramped space
she’d been shoved into on the adjunct ship. Still, it only took her
five steps to get from one end to the other and eight steps to go
across diagonally.

Lauren supposed she ought to conserve her
strength but she couldn’t help it—she was nervous. She had faith
that Xairn would keep his word—or try to, anyway—but she didn’t
like being locked in a cell on a dead planet with an evil being who
wanted to rape her. Not to mention his monstrous, soulless guards.
Those things were eight feet tall if they were an inch and she had
no idea how Xairn was going to get around them if they got in the
way when she and Xairn attempted their escape. Or—

Lauren stopped pacing suddenly and listened.
What’s that sound?

At first she thought Xairn was coming back
because the faint noise sounded like the echo of his boots in the
hallway. But it was coming from the opposite direction he’d left
from and soon she could tell that it wasn’t just one set of boots
approaching her. There were at least two, maybe more, and the deep,
masculine voices she heard murmuring over the tap-tapping of their
boots were wholly unfamiliar.

My God,
she thought, panic rising in
her like a tidal wave.
There are other people here—strangers—and
I’m locked in this cell like a sitting duck. They can do anything
they want to me and I can’t stop them, can’t get out.

She was trapped.

“I thought I told you not to disssturb me.”
The AllFather floated forward, his skeletal form partially obscured
by the round crimson-black orb of the
dravik
which
surrounded him in a bubble of polluted blood. In each of the four
corners of the
Souda
stood an eight foot tall soldier—the
AllFather’s personal guard were silent as always. Xairn ignored
them.

“I know what you said, Father, but I wanted
to let you know that the Complex is secure.” He kept his voice
neutral.

“I sssee.” The shape inside the blackish-red
bubble nodded. “Well then, that isss all to the good. Where isss
the girl?”

“Securely imprisoned within the medical
wing, as you requested.”

“Very good. Sssee that ssshe isss ready.”
The AllFather’s voice was a hiss of pure lust. “I’ll take her the
moment my
dravik
burstsss.”

Xairn felt a muscle in his jaw clench and
forced it to relax.
Nothing I feel nothing.
But it was no
longer true. Lauren had woken something inside him. Something that
would have been better left undisturbed.

“My ssson?” The AllFather floated closer,
seeming to glide within the confines of the
dravik
. He was
always in the exact center of the glistening, blackish-red bubble,
no matter which way he moved. “Isss all well with you?” he
enquired.

“Yes, Father.” Xairn did his best to appear
stoic and unconcerned. “Of course.”

“I sssense sssomething from you. A
disturbance…” Claw-like hands reached out but the AllFather
couldn’t penetrate the wall of the
dravik,
which was feeding
him power, and his fingertips stopped inches from Xairn’s face.
Thankfully, the bloody bubble also kept his mental powers in check
so he couldn’t rifle through Xairn’s mind—though it was obvious he
could
sense that something wasn’t as it should be.

Xairn didn’t move. “I yearn for the
completion of the prophesy. The fulfillment of our race. Perhaps
you sense that.”

“Perhapsss.” The fingers withdrew and the
vast, quivering, slimy bubble moved away. “We ssshall sssee in
time. For now, leave me and prepare the girl. My guardsss and I
will be in the medical wing presently.”

“Of course, Father.” Xairn bowed
submissively and left the room. As the door to the
Souda
hissed shut behind him, he took a deep breath and pressed the palms
of his hands to his eyes.

The feelings were growing stronger. The need
to possess, to dominate, was flowering in his heart like an evil
bloom. Xairn had always known that the seed was there—it was part
of his very DNA. But he had hoped and prayed that it would never
sprout, that he would never be tempted to the depravity he had
witnessed for so long in his father.

I must be calm. I must repress these
feelings for a little longer—until I can get Lauren safely
home.

But how safe would she be if she was with
him and the feelings continued to develop? Xairn feared to answer
that question, even to himself. The need that was growing inside
him was already so
strong
. Though he hated to admit it, he
knew she would be better off away from him.

I must take her home as quickly as
possible,
Xairn thought.
The need is too great, the desire
already too strong within me. If she is to be kept safe, she must
stay away from me.

The thought of just dropping her off on her
home planet and leaving, made his heart ache fiercely. But it was
the only way. And besides, what had he thought was going to happen
between them? It wasn’t like he could stay with her once this was
over. They had to go their separate ways and never see each other
again.

His life would be empty again without her.
Meaningless. But if he cared for her, the best thing he could do
was take Lauren home and then chart a course for the farthest star
he could find.

Lifting his chin, Xairn continued down the
corridor, heading for the medical wing. He had no time for the
storm of emotions boiling within him now—there was a plan to carry
out.

And if it didn’t succeed, they were
dead.

“Here it is—the psychic knife.” Deep pushed
open a door and ushered them into a large space that appeared to be
set up like some kind of laboratory. To one side was a vast silver
cylinder that looked to Kat like a massive oil drum turned up on
its end. There were steps leading up to it and a door cut into its
side which seemed to indicate that you were supposed to go inside
it.
Although I’m sure the people who went in there, didn’t go
voluntarily,
Kat thought with a shiver.

To be honest, the whole place gave her the
creeps. The empty, echoing corridors and the medical complex, which
Lock told her was just beyond this room, felt haunted.
This is
the place where they did those horrible experiments on the Kindred
and their brides,
she thought.
How awful to be trapped down
here and know that you were about to be torn away from the man or
men you loved forever.

But wasn’t that pretty much what was
happening to her right now? Kat pushed the thought away angrily.
Yes, she cared for Lock—maybe even loved him. And yes, despite all
the hateful things he’d said, she cared for Deep too. But one half
of the dynamic duo didn’t want her and since they came as a matched
set, she was going to have to get over both of them at once.
I
just hope it won’t be too painful,
she thought, staring
uneasily at the psychic knife. The more she looked at it, the less
she wanted to get into it, or go anywhere
near
it for that
matter.

To one side of the large silver drum was a
bank of control panels. Deep went to them immediately and began
manipulating the various slide-boards and holo-graphs.

“Good power flow,” he remarked as he worked.
“Must be running on a longevity source.”

Lock frowned as he watched his brother work.
“I don’t care how good it is, Deep, this is madness. Look at this
place—this thing is an instrument of torture. And you want us to
risk our lives in it?”

“You won’t be risking anything but your
pride,” Deep snapped. “When you find out what a coward you’ve
been.”

“Don’t be a dick,” Kat said, putting a hand
on her hip. “I’m with Lock on this one—this entire place gives me
the willies. And how do we know that thing is safe? I mean it has
the word ‘knife’ in its name and it was previously used to torture
people. Somehow I doubt it would get the Good Housekeeping Seal of
Approval—you know?”

“No, I don’t,” Deep said coldly. “But I
do
know this is our only option.”

“It’s
not
our only option.” Lock’s
voice was quiet and tense. “We can go back home to the Mother ship
and bond the lady Kat to us completely. Then we can spend the rest
of our lives trying to make her happy.”

Deep laughed harshly. “
Trying
being
the operative word, Brother. Bonding her to us would bring her
nothing but unhappiness and pain, no matter how hard you
tried
to do otherwise.”

“That’s not true,” Lock protested angrily.
“Or it wouldn’t be if you could just stop—”

“Stop what?” Deep raised an eyebrow. “Stop
being myself? I’m afraid I can’t do that, Brother.”

“Don’t call me that.” Lock’s voice was a
dangerous growl. “I told you I don’t want that relationship with
you anymore. I don’t want
any
relationship with you.”

“Then press your hand to the scanner and get
into the machine, damn you.” Deep sounded exasperated. “Look.” He
pressed his large palm to a flat black screen on the control panel
which lit up immediately with a low hum. “I’ve got the damn thing
all set up—we just need to activate it and step inside.”

“How will separating the two of us from the
lady Kat free
me
of
you?”
Lock demanded.

“Stop clouding the issue and just do it.”
Deep took a step toward Lock who was standing his ground with his
fists clenched. “You stupid bastard. If you think—”

“Stop it! Stop it!
Stop it!”
Kat
couldn’t take any more. She pressed the heels of her hands to her
eyes, trying to hold back the tears as their negative emotions
filled her to overflowing. More than anything she couldn’t stand it
when they fought, when they hated each other out loud like that.
Next they’ll be throwing things or Dad will hit Mom… No!
She
took a deep breath.
They’re
not
Mom and
Dad. They’re Deep and Lock. Get hold of yourself, Kat. Suck it up
and deal.

She opened her eyes to see both of them
staring at her with concerned looks on their faces.

“My lady?” Lock asked tentatively. “Are you
all right?”

“Fine, I’m sorry.” Kat ran a trembling hand
through her hair. “It’s just…you two shouldn’t be fighting.
Especially not over me.”

“Are you saying you’re not worth it?” Deep
gave her a penetrating glance. “Because I would have to
disagree.”

“I’m worth it, all right.” Kat raised her
chin and glared at him. “But I don’t want it. And I don’t want to
come between you and be the reason you two start hating each
other.”

“You’re not,” Deep said shortly. “So don’t
worry about that.”

“I am,” Kat insisted. “And it’s not right.
Twin Kindred aren’t supposed to fight like this, are they?”

Lock looked troubled. “It’s true that we’re
supposed to be of one mind on just about everything. We used to be,
anyway.”

“Well we’re not of one mind on this,” Deep
snapped. “You want to keep the soul bond and I don’t. So let’s just
do this and get it over with.” He pointed to the flat black screen
which had scanned his handprint. “Go on.”

Lock folded his arms over his broad chest.
“I won’t.”

“Well,
I
will.” Kat stepped forward
and slapped her palm down on the scanner. There was a low humming
sound and her hand was briefly outlined by a brilliant white light.
“There,” she said, stepping back when the process was complete.
“I’m sorry, Lock,” she said softly, seeing the agonized look on the
light twin’s face. “But I’m not going to stay with a man who
doesn’t want me and since you two are a package deal…”

“I understand.” Nodding slowly, Lock pressed
his palm to the scanner as well. Then he stood back and looked at
Deep with real hatred in his brown eyes. “Now what,
Brother?”

Deep took a deep breath and a look passed
over his dark features too quickly for Kat to read. Remorse? Grief?
Whatever it was, it was there and gone again, leaving his face
perfectly blank. She tried to read his emotions but all she got was
a storm cloud of negativity—too thick and black to penetrate or
understand.

“Now,” he said. “We need to—”

“What you need to do is turn around slowly
and keep your hands where I can see them.”

The deep voice behind them startled them
all. Kat’s heart began to pound when she turned her head to see a
huge male with glowing red-on-black eyes pointing some kind of
weapon at them. He looked horribly familiar and suddenly Kat
realized where she’d seen him before.
That’s the one,
she
thought numbly, staring at him.
The Scourge who kidnapped Sophie
and was going to kill her. Oh my God, what is he doing
here?