Sought...Book 3 in the Brides of the Kindred series (38 page)

“Of course I haven’t.” Xairn lifted his
chin. “I would rather die.”

Deep gave him an appraising look. “You sound
like one of us—a Kindred warrior. We also would rather die than
hurt our females.”

“Physically or emotionally?” Kat gave him a
penetrating look.

“We have no time for bickering,” Xairn
reminded them sternly. “We must leave this place quickly, while my
father is still in his
Souda.
I was going to take one of the
abandoned ships from the battlefield and return Lauren to Earth.
But now…” His red-on-black eyes flickered over Kat, who still had
her arm around the shivering Lauren. “Perhaps…perhaps you should
take her with you.”

Deep raised an eyebrow. “I thought you
didn’t trust her with another male.”

Xairn’s eyes flashed crimson. “I don’t. But
I see now that she needs the comfort of her own kind. And…” He
looked at Deep and Lock and back at Kat again. “No matter what you
say, I do not believe the two of you have any interest in another
female besides your companion.”

“You’re right about that,” Lock said
quietly. “We have no interest in Lauren—although we will swear to
protect her.”

“She has kin aboard our Mother ship,” Deep
said. “We’ll see that she gets there safely and is reunited with
her family.”

Xairn nodded. “Then she shall go with you.
Come.” He turned to lead the way out but Lauren called his
name.

“Xairn, please,” she said softly.

“Yes?” He turned to face her.

“What about you? Will you…come with us?”

His rough voice gentled. “No, Lauren. I
cannot.”

“But why? What are you going to do?”

“Take a ship and get as far from my father
as possible.” He jerked his head in the direction of the doors.
“Come. Time is running out. My father will not remain in his
Souda
much longer. And if he finds us, none of us will get
anywhere.”

“True enough,” Deep growled. “Let’s quit
this place. We can come back later when it’s deserted again.”

“Or not at all,” Lock muttered.

Kat felt a great surge of relief.
We’re
leaving. We’re not going to do it. Not going to cut the bond!
Up until that moment, she hadn’t realized how very much she
didn’t
want to be separated from Lock and Deep. She had
forced herself to think it was all right because it was so clearly
what Deep wanted. But now that it was no longer an option, she
couldn’t help hoping that he could be made to see reason. That he
could learn to care for her as Lock did and the three of them could
be happy together.

Stupid,
whispered a little voice in
her head.
You can’t change how he feels. You need to give up
that idea right now because there’s no way it’s going to work.
But despite the negative self-talk, Kat couldn’t help the hope that
bloomed in her heart. She kept feeling that there was something
about Deep—something standing in his way. And if she could just
find that last barrier and remove it, maybe—

“Well, well, how very fortuitousss…it
ssseems we have visitorsss.”

The soft hissing voice froze all of them in
their tracks. Kat turned her head slowly, dreading what she was
about to see but completely unable to help looking.

It was the AllFather—or the outline looked
like him, anyway—encased in a huge, slimy, blackish-red bubble of
blood. And he was surrounded by four of the hugest creatures Kat
had ever seen—no doubt the vat-grown soldiers Xairn had
mentioned.

Kat couldn’t be sure, but she thought the
AllFather might be smiling—or maybe it was just his eyes glowing
with eagerness and greed as he looked them over.

Oh my God, we waited too long. He’s here and
now we’re trapped—what the hell are we going to do?

Xairn felt like the marrow in the center of
his bones had suddenly frozen. How could he miss his father’s
entrance so completely? And how much had the AllFather heard of
what they were saying?

“Ssso the Complex is sssecure, is it?” his
father demanded, drifting closer in the glistening
dravex.

“It’s about to be.” Praying the Kindred
warriors would understand, Xairn waved his shocker menacingly and
growled, “I told you to hand me your weapons and keep your hands
where I can see them.”

Deep and Lock exchanged a look and then both
of them handed over their blazers and spread their hands, palm up.
“No need to get nasty,” Deep said. “We were just leaving.”

“But now you will be ssstaying, yesss?” The
AllFather glided forward, his eyes gleaming with hungry glee. “Of
course, it begsss the question—why are you here in the first place,
Warrior?”

“They came to find Lauren,” Xairn said,
still keeping his shocker trained on the two Kindred. He hoped they
would trust him. If they all stayed calm and kept their heads, they
might still get out of here alive.

“And they
have
found her, haven’t
they, my sssweet?” The red-black bubble floated over to Lauren who
shivered and tightened her grip on Kat. “Sssoon,” the AllFather
hissed at her. “Sssoon I will have you, my lovely. And you will
bear me many, many daughtersss. And I ssshall have them too—until
the entire Ssscourge race is replenished, ssstronger than we ever
were before.”

Xairn wanted to kill him—to break through
the fragile, glistening shell of the
dravik
and wring his
neck, but he held himself in check grimly. Once released from the
bubble of blood and power, his father would be a much greater
threat. As it was, all he could do was issue orders for his rather
stupid vat-grown guards to carry out. But if the bubble burst…Well,
Xairn just hoped it wouldn’t until they were well clear of the
Complex and on their way into space. In the mean time, he waited to
see what his father would do next.

The AllFather drifted closer to Lauren and
Kat. “Ssso beautiful,” he hissed, looking hungrily at Lauren. The
sense of dread and horror in the room was almost palpable—the
AllFather carried it with him wherever he went like a nauseating
scent that permeated everything. Xairn could see that it affected
both the human women but neither of them cried or panicked.
Instead, Kat raised her chin and looked his father squarely in the
eyes.

“Leave her alone.”

“Ah, thisss one hasss ssspirit.” Skeletal
hands reached out from behind the bubble and Xairn knew if the wall
of the
dravik
had not been in the way, his father would have
caressed Kat’s cheek with his scabrous fingers.

Kat seemed to know it too because she
flinched back, ever so slightly, but never broke eye contact.
“You’re a sick, crazy bastard and you need to step back before I
pop that weird blood balloon thingy you’re floating around in and
you go down like a ton of bricks.”

The sense of gleeful lust radiating from the
AllFather shifted subtly to irritation. “A bit
too
much
ssspirit, it seemsss. And which of these is your mate?” He looked
at Deep and Lock—both of whom were poised for a fight. Xairn knew
that if his father came even an inch nearer their human female,
they would spring and all would be lost.

“They both are,” he said, moving subtly to
put himself between the AllFather and Kat, while still keeping his
weapon trained on the Kindred. “I believe they are Twin
Kindred.”

“Isss thisss ssso?” The AllFather looked at
Deep who nodded shortly.

“It is. Which means both of us are ready to
kill you if you so much as lay a finger on her.”

The bubble glided backward and Xairn
breathed an inaudible sigh of relief. “I will not touch her,” the
AllFather said, still staring at Deep. “But you will not, either.
Ever again, my brave warriorsss.”

“What do you mean?” Lock asked.

“You ssshall sssee.” The AllFather nodded at
Xairn. “Take them to the cutting lab and prepare the psychic-knife.
And bring the girl.” He nodded at Lauren. “Ssshe ssshall watch as
their bondsss are sssundered.”

Xairn nodded shortly. “Very well.” He looped
an arm around Kat’s neck and waved his weapon at the warriors. “Do
as my father says or your female will pay the price.”

Deep’s hands curled into fists and the
pupils of his black eyes turned red. “Take your hands off her!
Now.”

“I’ll release her when you do as you’re
told.” Xairn kept his voice steady and hoped the dark twin would
understand. “I believe I know what my father has in mind—you and
your female are going to be taking a turn in the
psychic-knife.”

Lock touched his brother’s arm. “Be calm,”
he murmured. “He won’t hurt her as long as we do as he says.”

“Indeed.” The AllFather nodded within the
dravik.
“Listen to your twin and behave yourself, warrior. I
may even let the three of you go once your bondsss are cut. The
thought of having my own bride to breed makesss me feel almossst
merciful.”

Xairn was sure the two Kindred would have
fought to the death for their female—it was the Kindred way. His
way too, he thought, looking at Lauren who was standing beside him
shivering. But since a trip inside the psychic-knife was what they
had come for in the first place, he was fairly certain they would
play along. Up to a point. It was going to be up to Xairn to gauge
when they should make their move—he only hoped they could do it
before the slimy bubble of the
dravik
around the Allfather
burst, releasing him in a state of supreme metal power.

“My guardsss and I will retire to the
viewing area beside the lab.” His father’s hissing voice broke into
his frantic train of thought. “The girl will come with usss.
Alpha—take her.”

“That is not necessary.” Xairn struggled to
keep his voice even as the huge vat-grown guard took Lauren’s slim
shoulders in its huge hands. Gods, just seeing another male
touching
her was enough to send him over the edge! But he
had to stay calm. “I have the situation in hand, Father. I do not
need help.”

“Of course you do, my ssson.” The
AllFather’s red eyes gleamed evilly. “And even if you do not, I
feel better with the girl in my own cussstody. Alpha, come.”

Lauren threw a pleading glance over her
shoulder as the huge guard marched her away. Xairn could do nothing
but watch her go. The muscle in the side of his jaw clenched so
hard he could feel his teeth grinding together and his grip on the
shocker tightened until he was sure he was leaving fingerprints in
the metal itself. He couldn’t even say anything to reassure
her—though the AllFather had turned his back and was gliding into
the cutting lab, he was still within earshot. Xairn felt like he
was being torn in two as he watched her go but he nodded at Lauren
as reassuringly as he could.

Trust me—I will keep my promise!
Gods, how he wished he had a link with her—the same kind the
Kindred were said to have with their bonded brides. Some way to
communicate his true intentions other than just his eyes.

But Lauren seemed to understand him somehow.
She nodded back and the look on her face became a little less
desperate.

She trusts me,
Xairn realized,
feeling like someone had stabbed a thorn in his heart.
Despite
the hopelessness of the situation, she still trusts me.

As he watched her go, he swore to himself
not to betray that trust.

Even if it meant his death.

The huge blackish-red bubble that floated
into the cutting lab through the open double doors reminded Kat of
a spider’s egg sac. It was slimy and glistening and beyond its
mostly opaque surface she could see the skeletal shape of the
AllFather moving. It seemed to bulge as it moved, as though it
might burst and vomit out some vile abomination at any moment. She
just hoped they were far away by the time it popped.

In the mean time, it looked like she and
Deep and Lock were going to have the soul bond between them cut
after all. She felt her heart sink as they entered the lab and
Xairn marched her up to the large silver drum of the psychic-knife.
So this is it. This is how it ends between us.
She felt
tears threatening but she didn’t want to cry in front of the
horrible AllFather.

He and three of his guards had mounted a
small platform to one side of the room, separated from the rest of
the lab by a low wall. It was like an observation area in a regular
operating theater. Standing by the bottom steps of the platform
were the huge guard the AllFather had called Alpha, and Lauren.

Lauren watched what was going on with
uncertain amber eyes and Kat reflected that she had the same
delicate bone structure as Liv and Sophie. She hoped with all her
heart that they all made it back to the Mother ship for a family
reunion. Already she was sure that her two best friends would love
their new cousin.

“We are ready,” the AllFather called,
breaking her train of thought. “Proceed with the cutting, my
ssson.”

Xairn motioned to Lock. “Open the door of
the mechanism and the two of you climb inside.”

The light twin did as he was told but Deep
wasn’t so easy to persuade. “Send me Kat first. I want to know that
she’s safe.”

“Very well. But if you try anything, she
dies.” Xairn’s big hand tightened on her shoulder and he hissed in
her ear, so softly she could barely hear it, “Be ready to fight or
flee the second you come out. The AllFather will be off his guard
for only a moment. Tell your males.” Then he pushed her roughly
forward with one hand, keeping his weapon trained on Deep with the
other.

Kat knew it was just for show but she
stumbled and would have fallen if Deep hadn’t caught her. “Come
on.” He led her carefully up the steps to the door of the silver
drum.

She allowed herself to be helped inside the
dark, circular space and then she felt Lock’s hands on her, gentle
and competent. Finding her way forward, she leaned against him and
whispered in his ear, “Xairn says be ready to fight or run the
minute this is over. He says the AllFather will be off guard, but
only for a moment.”