“It’s disgusting,” Kat said, still holding a hand over her nose. “I mean—oh!” Her foot slipped and she started to fall from the steps. Only Deep’s strong hand under her arm saved her. He pulled her back to her feet and gave her a quick shake.
“Try not to injure yourself while we’re here—all right, sweetheart?”
Kat stiffened and lifted her chin. “What do you care what happens to me? You just want to be free of me, right?”
Deep’s black eyes flashed. “Just because I don’t want to be bonded to you doesn’t mean I don’t care if you—”
“If I kill myself?” Kat finished for him, without thinking. To her surprise, instead of snapping out a sarcastic retort, Deep turned pale.
“Don’t say that.” His voice was low and hoarse and for a moment, his eyes looked almost haunted.
“Why not?” Kat stared at him, again having that niggling feeling that there was something important she ought to remember.
But Deep only shook his head, and the moment passed. “This may be a deserted world but there are still plenty of dangerous things lying around—the Scourge weren’t very careful where they left their toys.”
“Deep is right,” Lock said, unexpectedly agreeing with his brother. “This is a dangerous place. Which is why we should leave and go back to the Mother ship right now.”
“Nice try, Brother,” Deep drawled. “But I don’t think so—we’re going to do what we came here to do. Besides, don’t you have another little job while we’re here?”
Lock frowned. “Olivia did ask me to see if I could find any clues to her cousin’s whereabouts. Although what we can find on a planet that’s been abandoned for fifty cycles, I have no idea.”
“The prophesy,” Kat reminded him, walking carefully down the steps to the greasy sand below. “If we can find out the exact wording we might have a clue as to what they want her for and where they’ve taken her.”
“Possibly,” Deep agreed, his boots crunching on the sand. “Although I think we all know what they want her for.”
Kat frowned at him. “What do you mean by that?”
Deep shrugged. “What does any Scourge want with a female?”
She shook her head. “I don’t know but I take it they’re not interested in romantic candlelight dinners and long walks on the beach. Especially not this beach.” She made a face.
“They’re depraved in every way,” Lock said, stepping down to join them on the sand. “It’s one of the reasons many of our forefathers wanted to block the genetic trade with them.”
“Hold on.” Kat put up a hand. “You’re telling me the Kindred actually made a trade with them? With the Scourge?”
“Unfortunately, yes.” Deep nodded. “A small faction of Kindred, anyway.”
“It was only about a hundred and fifty cycles ago that we came across them,” Lock explained as they began to walk up the beach. “We observed them first, of course. They had the physical characteristics and DNA to make a genetic exchange possible. But the majority of the Council was against the trade from the start.”
“Why?” Kat asked, fascinated despite herself. Who could have guessed that the Kindred’s greatest enemy had at one time been an ally?
“The things they had done to their world for one thing.” Lock gestured at the dirty beach and oily black water. “To so pollute and ruin a planet showed a blatant disregard for the blessings the Mother of All Life had bestowed on them in the first place. But more importantly, the forefathers didn’t like the way the Scourge treated their females.”
Kat’s breath seemed to catch in her throat. “How…how did they treat them?”
“They’re sexual sadists.” Deep’s black eyebrows were pulled low, his face like a thundercloud. “They enjoy inflicting pain and they demand complete submission at all times.”
Kat raised an eyebrow. “So the whole planet was into BDSM? Kinky.”
“Not just ‘kinky’—depraved,” Lock corrected her sternly.
“Lock’s right.” Deep nodded. “I’ve seen vids about your sexual practices on Earth—I know a few of your people are into games of sexual control. But it’s no game for the Scourge—it’s a dominant gene, hardwired into the genetic makeup of every Scourge male. Dominance and submission isn’t play to them—it’s life or death.”
“They can’t take a female unless they’re dominating her completely,” Lock said quietly.
“And they practice and enjoy forms of sexual torture that would turn your stomach,” Deep said darkly. “The Goddess help that girl if the Scourge really do have her. I don’t like to think of the torment they must be putting her through.”
“Poor Lauren!” Kat suddenly felt for Liv and Sophie’s cousin as she never had before. Before she’d been sympathetic to her plight and worried about her, but now she felt Lauren’s pain like a fist to the gut. Lock and Deep’s words brought home what the kidnapped girl must be enduring in a visceral way that nothing else had. “I don’t understand, though,” she said. “If the Scourge are so horrible, why did the Kindred trade with them?”
“A small faction disagreed with the ruling of the Council,” Lock explained. “The Scourge were the first new species suitable for a trade that we’d seen in hundreds of years. And they argued that the Kindred genes were dominant—a new generation of Scourge could be raised who had no wish to torment or inflict pain. Who loved and revered females, as we do.”
“They pointed out that the savages from Rageron had been tamed and taught to worship the Goddess,” Deep said. “But the Beast Kindred never had the genetic need to dominate that the Scourge do. It turned out to be impossible to breed that out of them.”
“So what happened? How did you guys become mortal enemies?” Kat asked. “Was it because they wouldn’t stop mistreating their women?”
“Their continued sexual practices led to a lot of friction, yes,” Lock said. “But it wasn’t until it became common knowledge that the Scourge were experimenting on and torturing abducted Kindred warriors and their brides that all-out war broke out between us.”
Kat made a face. “But why would they do something so horrible?”
“They claimed that they were looking for the connection between the Kindred and their mates—the connection they themselves seemed to be lacking,” Deep rumbled. “But nobody really believed that—what they were doing was all about revenge.”
“Revenge?”
Lock nodded. “You see, from the genetic trade, the Scourge got the Kindred size and musculature and prowess in battle but they also inherited our greatest weakness.”
“Our inability to breed females,” Deep clarified. “With our people, only five percent of pregnancies result in female children. But in the Scourge, the trait was worse. Only one fifth of one percent of their pregnancies resulted in girls.”
“They hated us for it—they still do,” Lock said. “They blame us for the decimation of their race.”
Deep made a sound of disgust in his throat. “They had something to do with it too—right here in fact. During the Battle of Berrni. You can see the results.”
They were climbing a ridge that ran along the top of the greasy brown dunes as he spoke. What she saw when they made it to the top, took Kat’s breath away.
There, on a vast field of barren gray dirt, lay the wreckage and remains of hundreds of space ships. Some of them looked a little like the shuttle they had come in and she assumed they must be of Kindred design. Others were completely alien with strange, gleaming black skin that her eyes kept wanting to slide away from—apparently Scourge ships.
“This is the Field of Berrni—it was the final testing ground,” Lock said quietly, gesturing to the wrecked and abandoned ships. “We had broken into their medical complex and rescued the prisoners they had taken and we were about to wipe them out completely. In desperation, the Scourge deployed a viral bomb designed specifically to cause spontaneous combustion in anyone with Kindred DNA.”
Kat put a hand to her mouth. “Oh my God?
??so they burned them alive?”
Deep nodded. “Look in any of these abandoned ships and you’ll see little piles of black ash—all that remains of the pilots.”
“But the Scourge didn’t count on one thing—they themselves had Kindred DNA,” Lock said. “They thought that they had modified their virus enough so that it wouldn’t affect them—but our dominant genes are incredibly strong. The survivors of the battle escaped aboard the Father ship but not wholly intact.”
“It sterilized them,” Deep explained. “All but a few who were completely shielded from the initial blast.” He looked grim. “We think the AllFather was one of them.”
“So he might be looking for a way to replenish his race?” Kat guessed. “Do you think that’s what he wants Lauren for?”
“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.
Chapter Thirty
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.”