“What in the Seven Hells?” he growled, giving Donald a very unfriendly look. “Why the fuck did you do that?”
Donald smiled. “You’ll see my friend.”
“You—” Suddenly the Beast Kindred’s face changed. His features began to contort and shift, melting and reforming almost like candle wax. The change only took a second to complete. When it was done, though his bone structure and features were essentially the same, it was clear there was another being looking out from the Kindred’s golden eyes.
Donald grinned even wider. “There now. Feeling better?”
An answering grin overspread the face of the former Beast Kindred. An expression of unspeakable evil.
“I feel.” The deep, grating voice issuing from the warrior was too deep and distorted even for his huge frame. “I breathe.” The vast chest inhaled deeply. “I live!”
“Good,” Donald snapped. “Now take the mesh off the vent intake.” He nodded approvingly as the guard did as he said.
“And now?” it asked, straightening up again after leaning the two foot by three foot metal mesh against the wall.
“Now guard this vent while I seed it. I must not be interrupted until all the dust has been distributed. Once it is, go and wake the other sleeping males—but not until each has been inhabited by one of your brothers.” He had given similar orders, relayed to him by the dark voice, to the other two guards he had “converted” at vents one and two.
The former Kindred inclined his shaggy head.
“To hear is to obey. But how will I know if they have been indwelled? I find I cannot hear the voices of my brethren in this body.” He frowned. “It is most…disturbing.”
“There is not visible outward sign—except for the eyes.”
“Indeed.” The former Kindred warrior’s golden eyes flashed red, then he hesitated. “But if they are sleeping and their eyes are closed…”
Donald frowned. “I thought all demons were maniacal masterminds. But you’re not going to be earning a genius grant any time soon, are you, my friend?”
The former Kindred frowned. “Are you insulting me, puny human? You are but a tool of Ur, he that leads us, you know.”
“Yes, yes…” Donald waved his rotting arm airily and a few more bits of flesh dropped off with sick plopping sounds. “I’m a tool, you’re a tool—in fact, you’re the biggest tool I’ve ever seen.” He snickered. “As to how you will tell if they are indwelled, you don’t have to see it happen. Just one deep breath of the dust is all it takes to open a pathway in an unmated male. Give the dust a chance to fill the air in the third part of the area and all will be well.”
“Understood.” The shaggy head nodded again.
“But…” Donald put up one finger. One rotten finger, whispered a little voice in his head and for some reason this, as well as the sight of his own skeletal and blackened finger, made him giggle again.
“Yes?” The demon housed within the Beast Kindred’s body sounded impatient.
“Remember, the dust will only work on unmated males. If you see a male without red eyes wandering around in the dust, one who is clearly not indwelled, do not hesitate to kill him. If he is mated, his mind will be shielded against your kind. We cannot risk anyone sounding the alarm before all the unmated are indwelled. Understand?”
“Yes,” the demon growled.
“Good. Then I must—”
“Step away from the fucking vent!”
The new voice was deep and also familiar. Donald felt a tingle of anticipation as he turned to face Maggie’s new paramour.
* * * * *
“Well, well, if it isn’t the Neanderthal that walks like a man. How are you, Kor?”
“Better than you’re about to be,” Kor growled. His eyes flicked over the human scientist who looked really fucking awful. Not surprising if he’d been keeping company with the demon Ur.
“Oh, I don’t think so.” Donald smiled, showing a mouthful of gray teeth. Kor frowned. Gods, had the corruption spread everywhere throughout him? The sight of Donald rotting from the inside out turned his stomach but at the same time, he felt pity creeping through him as well. This poor bastard was done for and he didn’t even seem to know it.
“Put down that sack,” he said, motioning to the bag slung over the human’s scrawny shoulder. “What is it full of anyway? Shadow stone?” That had to be it, if what he’d heard while listening outside the small room was true. Had Donald truly gone to the Black Planet and brought back the evil substance along with a host of demons to inhabit the unmated Kindred? Kor was very much afraid that he had.
“Very apt.” Donald nodded thoughtfully. “One might almost be tempted to think there was a brain in that thick skulled head of yours after all.” He nodded at the Beast Kindred beside him. “What are you waiting for? I thought I told you to kill all mated Kindred on sight?”
The Beast Kindred looked confused.
“But his eyes…”
The inhumanly deep and resonant sound of his voice as well as the flash of red in his golden eyes let Kor know what was happening. The Beast Kindred had been indwelled—thankfully not with the sharpest of demons, apparently, because the thing was just standing there staring at him.
He let his own eyes get red and hot, feeling their heat as he allowed his power to come to the surface as he hadn’t since he expelled Ur.
“That’s right,” he growled. “I may have cast out Ur—the demon who rode me—but I retained my powers. They’re a birthright. One I choose not to use anymore—unless I have no other choice.”
“But…” The Beast Kindred demon looked more confused than ever. “You are the one who cast Ur out?”
“I am.” With a sudden lunge, Kor struck, snatching the blaster from the Beast Kindred’s belt. A quick glance showed it was on stun setting. “Sorry about this, Brother,” he rumbled and shot the other male in the chest.
With a low groan, the Beast Kindred went to his knees and then slumped to one side in front of the vent intake. Without his shoulders in the way, the opening seemed to yawn like a hungry mouth, waiting to be fed.
Donald hissed in annoyance and Kor gave a sigh of relief. He hadn’t been at all sure that the blaster would work on the possessed male. When he himself had been indwelled by Ur, his physical body had become invulnerable to almost any kind of attack. However, Ur was an exceptionally strong and smart demon, who had been able to extend his power outward to ward Kor’s physical body, which he had been wearing as a skin suit at the time. Luckily, the demon who had taken over this particular Beast Kindred appeared to be neither very strong or very intelligent.
He was still a threat, however, for he was still inside his host. Kor knew that just because the body had been knocked out, didn’t mean the demon was gone. On the contrary, the moment the physical form of the big Kindred regained consciousness, the demon would come to the forefront again and control the body it had taken over. Without a bond with a female to anchor the Kindred warrior and help him fight to expel the demon, he would be trapped, a prisoner inside his own body while the demon used him to do whatever it liked.
“Well, well—still quick on the draw, I see,” Donald said, breaking into his grim thoughts.
Kor waved the blaster at him. “Drop the sack.”
“As you wish.” Donald turned quickly and dumped the contents of the sack into the open mouth of the vent intake. Then he dropped the sack on the metal floor. “Oops,” he said blandly. “I may have spilled some.”
“You little bastard!” Kor growled. But to his relief, the dust wasn’t being sucked up into the air system. It was still just lying there in a glittering black heap like a pile of volcanic sand in the floor of the vent intake.
“Funny thing about these vents,” Donald remarked conversationally. “I noticed it when I was studying the Mother Ship’s schematics—which were not easy to get, by the way. Anyway, the thing is that they’re on a kind of cycle. I mean, the air gets circulated constantly of course, but once every hour there??
?s a massive intake—a powerful surge as the system revs up.”
Kor began to get a very bad feeling. “Get that poisonous shit back in the sack,” he growled, gesturing with his blaster. He could have blasted the son of a bitch with his eyes—he could feel them heating up again—but he was afraid if he let the old rage overtake him he might not be able to regain control. “Now,” he added, gesturing again.
Donald grinned, showing those gray, rotting teeth again.
“I would but I don’t think there’s quite…enough…time.”
On his last word, there was a dull roaring and all the air seemed to be sucked out of the little vent room at once.
Kor gave a despairing cry as he saw the pile of shining black dust sucked into the massive pipe of the air vent and circulated into the Unmated Males air supply. Within seconds it would be raining down like fine black death from above, infiltrating his Kindred brothers’ lungs and blood streams, making them vulnerable to the invading demons.
“No!” he shouted, staring at Donald. “Do you know what you’ve done?”
“I know exactly what I’ve done.” The human scientist giggled madly. “I’ve given the unmated Kindred a very permanent change of heart—and mind—and everything else, really.” He giggled again and then his rotting face grew serious. “But that’s nothing to what I’m going to do to you.”
From beneath his ragged, one armed lab coat, he suddenly produced a weapon with a shiny silver barrel.
And I just bet it’s not set on stun, Kor thought numbly. He was already pressing the trigger on his own blaster but before he could, a beam of energy left the silver barrel and slammed into his chest like a hard, angry fist.
Kor felt a hot flare of agony lance through him.
“Maggie!” he sent through the mental link all Kindred shared with their mates. “I’m so sorry! I was too late. I—”
And then everything went black.
Chapter Thirteen
“Something’s wrong!”
Becca sat straight up in bed, her restless sleep abruptly broken by the sudden, overwhelming feeling of wrongness sweeping over her. Truth and Far—they’re in danger!
She didn’t know how she knew but she was right—she could feel it.
Calling for the lights, she stumbled out of bed and fumbled for something to wear. Her hand fell on the creamy silk robe that went with her nightgown and she pulled it on.
Not bothering with shoes, she ran for the door of her guest suite. Far’s suite was located down the same hall hers was. But Truth was across the ship, just beside the Unmated Males area. And that was where, Becca felt instinctively, the danger was.
She rushed down the curving metal corridor, vaguely aware it was the middle of the night and not caring a bit. By the time she reached Far’s door, she was breathing hard and there was a stitch starting in her side. Becca didn’t care.
“Far!” she shouted, pounding the metal panel with her fist, heedless of the people sleeping in the suites on either side of his. “Far, open up—are you all right?”
The door slid open before she finished speaking and Far looked out, his black eyes wild. He was wearing deep blue silk sleep trousers that left his muscular torso bare and his long blond mane looked like he’d been running both hands through it. Tucked into the loose waist band of the trousers was the handle of what looked like a silver gun.
“It’s happening,” he said hoarsely. “We have to get to Truth—he’s in danger.”
“You both are—I can feel it!” Becca exclaimed.
“Which is why I’m going to get him.”
“No.” Becca shook her head vehemently. “His suite is down by the Unmated Males area—that’s where it’s happening. Just like in the vision we shared. If you stay here you should be safe—I’ll go get Truth and bring him back.”
Far’s handsome face darkened.
“Like hell I will. What kind of a male would I be if I let the female I love go running into danger by herself? In fact, I don’t think you should go at all. You stay here while I fetch Truth.” He started to stride down the hallway but Becca caught his arm.
“No, Far! That’s exactly what you can’t do. You need me—in fact, I think we need to stay together. Think about it—the trouble we saw in the vision all had to do with the unmated males. And you and I and Truth—I mean, we have a…a connection I guess you’d call it—but we’re not mated. That makes both of you vulnerable.”
Far cursed under his breath and appeared to consider what she’d said. Finally he nodded.
“You’re right.”
“Thank you. I know.” Becca felt a rush of relief.
“All right, so we’ll go together,” Far said. “But stay behind me.”
“No.” Becca lifted her chin and laced her fingers through his. “No, you need me at your side. We need to be touching.”
Far frowned. “How do you know that?”
For a moment she felt a stab of confusion but the certainty she had was too strong to ignore.
“I don’t know. I just…know it. All right?”
He sighed. “I should make you stay here. Truth would, you know.”
“I know,” Becca said steadily. “But you’re not like him.”
“No.” He shook his head. “Sometimes I think it would be easier if I was. Well, come on.” He pulled her down the corridor but before they could get too far, Becca put on the brakes.
“Commander Sylvan and Sophia—this is their suite,” she explained when Far looked back in confusion. She slapped the metal door with the flat of her hand. “Sophie?”
The door slid open and Commander Sylvan came out with a weapon in his hand and a very worried looking Sophia trailing behind him. He was wearing a thin silver wire around his temples—a Thinkme which facilitated thought communication between Kindred.
“I know,” he said before Becca could say anything. “Maggie just bespoke Sophia—she and Kor have a suite near the Unmated Males area.”
“She did? What did she say? What’s happening down there?” Far demanded.
“I’m not sure. She just said Kor was bespeaking her and they lost contact abruptly. Now she can’t feel him through their link which is bad—very bad.” Sylvan looked grim. “Come on.”
“Be careful!” Sophia stood on tiptoes to kiss him. “Be safe!”
“I will. I love you, Talana.” He kissed her back swiftly and then motioned for Far and Becca. “Let’s go!”
As the three of them set off down the corridor at a run, Becca wondered what had happened to Kor. And what would they find at the Unmated Males area?
* * * * *
Truth wakened from a dream he couldn’t remember with a strange sensation that someone wanted him. Wanted him badly. Was it Rebecca? No, he thought sleepily, it didn’t feel like her.
How he could feel if she or anyone else was wanting him didn’t bother him—in his half-awake state it made perfect sense. Could it be Far, then? But no, the someone wanting him didn’t feel like his brother either. So then, who…
Come outside and find out, whispered a voice in the darkness.
Ice bloomed at the base of Truth’s spine and he was suddenly, completely awake. He whipped his head around, glaring around the darkened sleeping area but he could see no one. Was there someone in the room with him?
“Who’s there?” he called. “Lights high!”
The harsh command caused the recessed lighting around the edges of the room to flare to life. It was so bright that Truth had to blink a second, until his eyes became accustomed to the glare.
There was no one there and no one answered when he called.
Truth pinched the bridge of his nose and took a deep breath.
Just a bad dream. Stop acting like a child with night terrors and go back to sleep.
He lay back down and settled in bed with the light blanket thrown over his legs.
“Lights off,” he muttered and the sleeping area was immediately plunged into gloom.
Truth sighed and rol
led on his side, his head sinking into the pillow. He let his eyes drift closed and took a deep breath.
Something that felt like a long, cold finger caressed his cheek in the darkness. A deep, inhumanly harsh voice breathed in his ear,
Come out, Truth. I want you.
* * * * *
“What’s happening?”
They stood on the flat green area of the parklands in the center of the ship. It was just opposite the Unmated Males area, which Becca was surveying in dismay. Everything seemed to be coated in fine, black dust and more of it was drifting down from the air ducts in the ceiling far above like some kind of deadly snow. She didn’t know what the dust was but she knew what it meant. Trouble. Danger. Death.
Several Kindred warriors were wandering around in the strange dust, a look of confusion on their half-awake faces. Becca’s heart leapt into her throat and stayed there.
Any minute now, she thought, feeling sick. Any minute their features will start to run like wax. They’ll start to change…
And then, to her horror, it happened.
She saw one of the warriors facing her wave at the air in front of his face, as though trying to dissipate the dust floating there. But it did no good—when he took a breath the alien dust was sucked into his lungs. He coughed and choked, as though trying to get rid of it. Then, suddenly, his face began to change. His features shifted like they were made of putty, molding his sleepy, slightly confused look into an evil sneer. His body changed, seeming to grow even bigger and more menacing. Finally, his eyes began to glow a deep, burning red.
“What in the Seven Hells just happened?” asked Sylvan, who had also been watching.
“He’s been possessed by a greater power. Demons from the Black Planet—and I brought enough for every single unmated Kindred to have one of their very own.” Suddenly a small man Becca recognized as Maggie’s ex-fiancé, Donald, came into view. She had only met him once but he was instantly recognizable by his rail-thin frame and slightly stooped posture.
But just in case she had any doubts, he was also dragging a half naked Maggie with him. He had one arm looped around her neck and the muzzle of a silver weapon that looked much like the one Far had in his trousers shoved against her temple.