Daegan

by Veronica Scott

And just as suddenly the pain was gone.

  Daegan. It must be what they’re doing to him. And then he cut the link so no one would have to share his suffering.

  Limp, wrung out by the brief secondhand exposure to the torture, she lay on the dirt and shivered. Eventually the tremors stopped and she cautiously sat up. If she’d had any doubt about what course of action she was going to take after it got dark tonight, her mind was made up now. Not even a Badari Alpha could endure torture like that and survive for long.

  As it grew dark, she crept close to the lab complex’s force barrier. She had a special implant from her military days which enhanced her night vision, not as spectacularly as the Badari could see at night, but enough to maneuver without mishap. Again she considered reaching out to Daegan, to confirm what building he was in, but if she could even touch his mind, he’d order her to leave him and escape.

  Completely unacceptable orders.

  This was a solo mission all right.

  Luckily the Khagrish security guards weren’t doing much patrolling.

  She found a spot behind a building where she could penetrate the force barrier unobserved. As she walked up to it, Flo flexed her muscles and wriggled her fingers, trying hard not to have any self-doubt about bringing off the miracle a second time. She had a MARL manifestation and she could do this. Concentrating, she began to see in pink tinted with orange and her attention was drawn to the same types of threads wriggling and flashing in the force barrier as she’d seen before. If anything, she found it easier now to insert her hands and arms into the barrier and push the roiling energy aside to create her door.

  Don’t get cocky.

  This time she was prepared for the spike headache, gritted her teeth and kept moving from shadow to shadow toward the building where Daegan was most likely to be. The winds buffeted her a bit, having picked up since afternoon and grown gustier, but nothing she couldn’t handle. Flo did a reconnaissance run and found only one Khagrish guard, stationed in the lobby area of the building. She watched him for about half an hour, growing ever more impatient, until he put his feet up and dozed off.

  Overconfident fool.

  The door would make noise when she entered but if she moved fast enough and he woke up a little disoriented, she could take him. Hopefully there wasn’t a panic button to call for reinforcements within the man’s reach.

  Flo burst into the lobby, forcing her way past the panels as they opened and attacked the guard, who fought back but within a minute he was dead on the floor. She hadn’t lost any of her hand to hand combat skills and the guard wasn’t in fighting trim and therefore ineffectual. Quickly she dragged the body completely out of sight behind the console and then crouched low, using the neurocontroller on his belt to remove her black bracelet. Relieving him of his weapons belt, her mood turned much more confident, now armed with a pulse handgun, a stunner and a knife, as well as the controller. She took a quick look at the vidscreens. MARL himself could hack into any Khagrish system and take control. Even his manifestations could do similar damage but she didn’t have the training to infiltrate the system even with the AI’s help, not without wasting precious time. From the display she inferred which room Daegan was likely to be in and hastened in that direction, pulse gun in hand.

  She took note of the doors she passed—storerooms and labs for the most part, plus a few offices. Pretty much like the layout in the other labs she’d helped to take down. Then there were several medlabs, which were always where the worst torture took place. The building was deserted for the night.

  At the end of the hall was the room she sought and she had to use the guard’s ID to gain entry. As the door slid aside, she took in the sight in front of her and swore.

  Daegan was suspended in midair, naked, his entire body contorted in an upright spread eagle position, muscles and tendons standing out in stark response to whatever the continuous pain stimulus was. His head was thrown back, mouth open, fangs deployed as if he’d been frozen while roaring defiance. As she advanced into the room she saw he was inside a special specimen stasis envelope, similar to the one she herself had been imprisoned in. The gorge rose in the back of her throat as she remembered the experience, being fully conscious but unable to move no matter what the Khagrish did. Trapped in the envelope with him, arcs of fierce blue energy touched Daegan’s body constantly, dancing over his skin, obviously the cause of the agony he was clearly experiencing.

  “Well fuck this.” Flo raised the pulse gun and shot out the top corner of the envelope, knowing any disruption to the stasis would disintegrate the entire thing.

  There was a snapping sound, as if static electricity was running wild in the room. All the hair on her body stood up and there were pops of pain against her skin as the blue arcs surrounding and torturing Daegan were freed to ricochet around the room. Sparks flew where the arcs sought metal or electronics and she feared there’d be a fire to complicate the rescue. Other than acrid smoke, however, which the building’s ventilation system sucked away, there was no sign of a blaze developing.

  He’d fallen heavily, obviously unable to make a move to help himself or break the fall. Flo winced in sympathy but Badari were tough. A fall from such a low height wouldn’t affect him and stopping the torture was the higher priority. She sprinted forward, noticing as she did so that his back was crisscrossed with lash marks from force whips, leaving open wounds. She knelt by his side, afraid at first to touch him for fear of hurting him more but then she gingerly rested her hand on his shoulder and leaned close.

  “Can you hear me? We’ve got to go, Daegan, you’ve got to stand up because I sure as hell can’t drag you.” Her mind whirled with half-baked ideas for evacuating him if he couldn’t walk.

  He groaned and contorted his body as if to escape the pain without opening his eyes but then the lids flew open, his eyeballs glowing with golden fire brighter than she’d ever seen on any Badari. Fangs and talons extended, he sat up ready to fight and checked at the sight of her. “Flo? I—I thought I was dreaming. What are you doing here?”

  Relief made her light headed and she had to battle her desire to pause and embrace him. Stay frosty, we’re not out of danger yet, not by a long shot. “Rescuing you, big guy. Let me get the damn bracelet off and then we’ve got to move.”

  Wordlessly he extended his arm and she removed the neurocontroller as fast as she could. “Do you think you can walk yet?”

  Jaw clenched, rubbing his wrist where the bracelet had rested all his life, he said, “I’d crawl to get out of here. But how—?”

  “Later.” She rose to her feet and tried to offer support as he worked to stand. It took him two tries and he was shaky, but he took the stunner from her with a fierce smile. “Lean on me,” she said. “There was a storeroom next door. I want to see if we can grab any kind of clothes and boots for you and me. But we only have a few minutes to clear the building.”

  “Guard?”

  “Dead.” She was back in icy cold combat mode, refusing to allow emotion to touch her or disrupt her focus on getting them both to safety in the minimum amount of time.

  The storeroom opened off the medlab where Daegan had been tortured. She made him sit on a stool while she rummaged through the bins and drawers, throwing items on the floor willy nilly, the mission clock in her head ticking. She found a pair of walking style shoes that fit her, maybe left by a female Khagrish lab tech, and grabbed him a lab coat and a pair of expandable-waist scrubs type pants which would probably be short on him but at least he’d be covered. “Put this on and let’s go. No boots or shoes, sorry.”

  He grimaced with pain as he eased into the coat but didn’t seem overly upset about the lack of footwear. “Badari feet are tough.”

  A minute later she led the way out the back door, emerging into rain and wind. Thunder rumbled.

  “We need to get to the force barrier,” Flo said, pushing her wet hair off her face. Relief at being outside, not trapped in a building, buoyed her confidence.

  “Th
en what? We’ll be cornered.” Clearly puzzled, at least Daegan wasn’t arguing.

  “I have a trick, you’ll see. Trust me.”

  He leaned over and kissed her, a quick caress promising more later. “I do. Let me lead the way.”

  Although Daegan was extremely unsteady on his feet, he took off along the edge of the building, staying in the shadows in a stealthy manner Flo approved as she came behind him. “Preferably somewhere secluded,” she said just above a whisper, knowing he could hear the tiniest sound.

  “Got it.”

  They ended up in an alley behind two buildings. Flo stuffed the stunner in its holster and concentrated on the force barrier. Rain ran into her eyes and she blinked. The wind drove her sideways a foot or so before she planted her feet and Daegan grabbed her to act as an anchor.

  Concentrate or we’re dead, she admonished herself. She had to find her calm center. The sight of Daegan undergoing unthinkable torture had shaken her badly and her control kept slipping despite her best intentions and all her years of combat experience and training. This mission mattered more to her than anything she’d ever done before because his life was at stake too and the thought of failure was terrifying.

  “Do what you need to do,” Daegan said in her ear. “I’m on lookout.”

  Taking a deep breath, she tried to shut out every other thought but the pink-orange energy threads she knew were traveling inches away from her. I have to see the damn things to manipulate them.

  Daegan put one hand on her shoulder and the contact steadied her. She thought she felt a buzz of energy from him and was instantly angry because he needed all his strength to heal himself, not to take care of her. The burst of emotion and the energy kicked her ability to use the manifestation’s inherent capabilities into higher gear though and the threads became clear to her. With a sigh of relief, she reached out to push the strands aside and make a hole for the two of them to pass through. “Stick close to me,” she said, “And move fast. I can’t hold this long so you go first.”

  Surprisingly Daegan didn’t protest so she must have sounded convincing. He brushed past her when she indicated it was time and stepped through the void in the force barrier with ease. She was right on his heels and nearly got caught in the energy backwash as the field repaired itself once her control was lifted. He yanked her the last foot or so clear of the fence.

  “I think running is probably asking too much of either of us tonight but we better come as close to it as we can,” she said, grabbing his arm.

  “I’ll make it.” Daegan’s voice projected utter confidence, in her and in his own ability to endure whatever pain he was suffering.

  Flo got them out of the vicinity of the complex, taking Daegan up into the hills and back to the small grotto she’d found, high on the flank of the now extinct volcano forming the skeleton of the island. They were both soaked and breathing hard when they staggered into the inadequate shelter.

  “Sorry I couldn’t do any better on the accommodations but at least it keeps the rain out,” Flo said, collapsing in a heap and massaging her leg, which ached. She’d been running on sheer willpower for the last hour. She scooted over to make room for him as he sat down and pulled her to him.

  Wordlessly he drew her onto his lap and kissed her with so much intensity she couldn’t breathe except for the air he gave her. Flo clung to him as their tongues danced in a sensual, symbolic reconnection. She couldn’t get as close to him as she longed to be.

  “I love you,” he said, holding her against his chest. “I thought I’d never see you again and I—I wished I’d said so many other things to you but that’s the important one.”

  “What happened after I ducked out the window?” she asked, running her hand over his chest and chiseled abs as if to reassure herself he was real.

  “I killed Wint. He fought but he was no match for me, no matter what he may have believed about himself. I tore his fucking heart out.”

  “Alpha-born,” she said, shaking her head. “You Alphas always win, especially in a fight against a non-alpha.”

  “It happened fast, too fast for the Khagrish to stop. Short, nasty, final. Then of course Nyddfalorr took his revenge for my killing his favorite and for being a secret Alpha.” Daegan shrugged. “I fought but the guards used the bracelet on me and the stunner. They dragged me to the medlab and showed me the error of my ways with a liberal application of the force whip.”

  “Don’t make light of it.” She shuddered. “Your back looks—”

  He pulled her closer. “It’s healing already, don’t worry. There’ll be scars.”

  “Which only make a man more interesting,” she said, kissing him.

  “Good to know.” He grinned although it was clear the effort cost him. “And then Nyddfalorr got to his true agenda.”

  “I think I felt the pain when they hooked you up to those blue arcs,” she said. “I never experienced anything like that before—it cut the knees right out from under me— and I hope I never do again.”

  “You shouldn’t have.” He frowned. “I cut the telepathic link to my men as soon as the torture began and you and I aren’t bonded. Well, not formally.”

  “Remember I said there were side effects to the transfusion of Badari blood into a human? Well, telepathy’s one. We acquire the ability to send and receive telepathically on the Badari wavelength. Some people can only hear their mate and other people can hear the entire pack. I’ve fallen into the latter category—I heard the enforcer’s warning to you this morning. And you told me to get out the window right before you attacked Wint.”

  “Instinct, sorry. I’m used to giving my men instructions that way in battle.”

  “Well, I heard it.” Flo nodded emphatically.

  “Thank goodness. What did you do then?”

  “Went deep into the Preserve and then I discovered my handy ability to cut the force barrier, which comes from the implant the AI gave me.”

  Daegan laughed and the deep sound of his genuine mirth made her smile too. “Very handy—clearly I chose an exceptional person as my ally. Can you do other things with it?”

  “Unknown. I guess we’ll find out if this adventure goes on long enough.” Although his body heat was comforting, Flo shivered as a wayward breeze found its way inside the grotto. “I wonder if we could build a fire, if we kept it small?” A more forceful gust of wind swirled into the grotto and she curled closer to him.

  “We’re not going to be able to survive a full blown hurricane in this spot,” he said.

  “Do you know anywhere else we can go? There’s nothing in the Preserve where we could shelter? Because all the Khagrish and the rest of your people and mine will ride it out in the lab complex, I’m sure.” The idea of re-entering the Preserve voluntarily didn’t appeal to her, even if she could walk through the force barrier at will, but she realized the little grotto wasn’t providing much protection.

  He shook his head. “The basic structures in the Preserve will survive but they’re open to the wind and the rain. The Khagrish didn’t want us to have any sense of permanence. We won’t make it through the storm if we go back there. If the storm lets up at all tonight or tomorrow we should search for a safer place out here in the hills.”

  “I’m afraid we’ll be caught out in the open with no shelter,” she said. “Since neither of us knows this part of the island.”

  “We’ll figure it out in the morning,” he said decisively. “I’ll have to try to hunt for food at any rate. Have you eaten anything all day?”

  She shook her head. “Grabbed a piece of fruit while on the run earlier and had rainwater to drink. Nothing else. Hey, we’re a good team—we can survive this.”

  He rummaged in the pockets of the lab jacket he was wearing and brought out an unopened ration bar. “Shall we split this?”

  Flo munched on the bar, which helped quiet her stomach and was better than nothing, but clearly not enough to fuel Daegan’s recovery, especially if he insisted on sharing it equally with her, w
hich he did.

  By mutual consent they stopped talking and curled up together to sleep, which was a challenge because of the way the wind howled around the edges of the grotto, not to mention the thunder rumbling overhead but eventually Flo drifted off.

  Only to waken as a voice she didn’t expect to hear called Daegan’s name.

  “Kierce?” Drowsily she sat up and peered through the gloom. Kierce?

  Flo, what the seven hells? How are you suddenly telepathic? And where’s Daegan?

  I’m right here beside her, the Alpha said.

  And it’s all a long story, Flo added. I thought there was a range limit to this telepathy stuff?

  There is. Aydarr sent a few of us down as an advance force under my command and we arrived barely ahead of the weather. We’ve hidden ourselves at an abandoned lab complex on an island a few miles to the north of you, seems sturdy enough to ride out the hurricane.

  Good thing the Khagrish liked to overbuild, she said.

  What’s your situation? Kierce asked.

  We’re injured and on the run. Daegan was matter of fact. Hiding in a small cave on the mountainside but it’s not going to be safe in the storm. I might survive but she won’t, which is an unacceptable outcome. Can you do an extraction tonight?

  “Are you crazy?” Flo’s jaw dropped and she stared at Daegan. “No one can fly in this weather.”

  As if to contradict her, Kierce came back immediately with an affirmative response. Gabe says he can do it, no problem but we can’t get to you where you are, as far as we can tell. There’s a flat space—a meadow to the west, across the ridge from you. Can you get there?

  Tell Gabe he’s insane. Biting her lip, Flo considered the situation.

  Eyes narrowed, Daegan checked with her. “Do you trust this pilot Kierce speaks of?”

  “Oh hells, yes. He and I are probably the only two people crazy enough to try this stunt. He may be a slightly better pilot than I am.” She grinned, the gutsiness of this extraction appealing to her. “But can we get to the place he’s talking about?”