“I’m sorry too.” Lauren blotted her eyes with her inside out sleeve. “I know this is a horrible thing to ask you but I didn’t know who else to turn to.”
“You did the right thing, calling us.” Deep stepped up behind Kat, and Lock joined him. “We will answer the call for help and come to the aid of our brother.”
“What brother? Who are you talking about and why did you call us?” Baird and Sylvan suddenly crowded into the viewing room, followed by Sophia and Liv. “What’s going on?”
“Xairn is going to confront his father—er, the AllFather right now at the Fathership,” Kat explained, feeling numb. “He’s going alone unless he gets some help.”
“He is not going alone,” Deep said. “I’m going with him.”
“As am I.” Lock nodded.
“Going to the Fathership with only a few warriors is a suicide mission,” Baird objected, frowning. “I know you helped each other on the Scourge home world, Deep, but just because this Scourge has chosen to sacrifice himself is no reason for you and Lock to join him.”
Deep shook his head. “You don’t understand. I have to help him—I was ordered to do so.”
“Ordered?” Sylvan raised one blond eyebrow. “By who?”
“By the Goddess.” Deep spoke in a low voice as he met each male’s eyes in turn. “You all know that I was on the brink of death—in fact, I was dead—during the last joining that Kat and Lock and I participated in before we were bonded. But what I haven’t told any of you—not even Kat—was how I was saved.”
“Are you saying the Goddess herself rescued you?” Baird asked, frowning.
Deep nodded. “My spirit was caught in the AllFather’s grip and I knew I would never be able to return to my body. I was ready to die and then…she saved me. While I was in her presence she told me she had a special interest in Xairn. She said a war was coming—a conflict with the AllFather that would make all our battles up until now seem insignificant.”
“And you think this is what she was talking about?” Sylvan asked. “This confrontation that Xairn is going into with the AllFather?”
Deep nodded again. “Her exact words were: ‘I charge you, Warrior, that you give him aid if he asks it of you. That you help him in any way you can. And that you not speak of this until the time is right.’” He lifted his chin. “I think now the time is right. I hope you understand, brothers, why I have to go.”
“I do.” Sylvan nodded. “And I think I must go as well.”
“And me,” Baird said.
“Baird?” Olivia’s face was white as a sheet and she cupped her rounded belly protectively. “Do you…you really have to?”
“Lilenta…” Baird drew his pregnant wife to him and kissed her tenderly on the forehead. “I know this is a frightening thing but I feel it’s meant to be. The Goddess has touched all our lives in one way or another since I first called you as my bride. I think she means for us to take part in this conflict.”
“I feel the same way,” Sylvan said thoughtfully. “She has made herself known to us in ways that most Kindred do not get to experience. We should consider ourselves blessed.”
Sophia’s green eyes overflowed with tears. “I always knew something like this might…might happen,” she whispered, clinging to Sylvan. “I guess it goes with the territory—marrying a warrior and all. But…I didn’t think it would happen this soon.”
“I didn’t either, but it has.” Kat took a deep breath and lifted her chin, trying to be strong. “Girls, I know we hoped it would never come to this but it has. And if our males are brave enough to go face this threat, I think we have to be brave enough to let them. And I think—I hope—that the Goddess will protect them through it.”
“I hope you’re right.” Liv’s silver-gray eyes were shiny with tears too. “I hope you are, Kat, because I don’t know what I’d do if—” But she stopped, unable to say it.
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry,” Lauren whispered from the viewscreen. “I feel horrible. I was hoping you could get a whole squadron of Kindred together—like an army or something—not just the four of you.”
Baird shook his head. “Not without involving the Council and that would take far too long.”
“Besides, a smaller force might be more effective.” Sylvan looked thoughtful. “No doubt the AllFather is only expecting Xairn to show up and that’s all he’s prepared for. If we attacked with an army, he’d mobilize all his forces and we’d be locked in a stand-off—unable to get to him. But a single ship with what he believes is only one passenger is no threat.”
“You’re right, Brother.” Deep sounded excited. “He’ll let us in by the front door without suspecting a thing.”
“So you’ll have him outnumbered?” Sophia asked hopefully.
“Except for the thousands of vat-grown soldiers who live only to serve that evil bastard’s will,” Liv said flatly. “Sorry,” she said when her twin gave her a reproachful look. “But aren’t they supposed to be like fighting machines?”
“They’re big but they can also be slow and stupid,” Kat said, trying to comfort Sophie. “They can’t even work guns—uh, blazers—because they’re too dumb to know how to use them.”
“We’ll use that to our advantage,” Sylvan said, kissing his bride. “Please, Talana, don’t cry. I’ll be coming back to you—I swear it.”
“You’d better.” She clung to him and pressed her face to his neck. “You’d better come back to me, Sylvan. I don’t…don’t think I could live without you.”
“That goes double for me,” Liv said in a trembling voice.
“Lilenta, please try to understand—” Baird began but she held up a hand to stop him.
“Spare me the ‘I could not love thee half so much, loved I not honor more’ speech. I know you’re going and I know why. Just remember your son, Baird.” She patted her belly again.
“I’ll remember and I’ll return to both of you.” He kissed her gently and then leaned down to kiss her belly as well.
“Well…” Kat turned to her own two males who were standing on either side of her, as always. “I guess we’d better get in on the goodbye action too. I…I…” Suddenly hot tears were pouring down her cheeks. “I’m sorry,” she gasped. “Here I am making speeches about being brave and I can’t…can’t even keep from…from crying myself.”
“It’s all right, my lady,” Lock murmured as he and Deep both embraced her, holding her in the special three-way hug she’d come to love so much.
“Hold on, little Kat.” Deep kissed her deeply and stroked her hair. “The Goddess sent me back to you once—she will not fail to keep Lock and myself safe for you again.”
“I hope you’re right.” Kat sniffed and tried to get hold of herself. “God, I really, really hope you are, Deep.”
“I am,” he said firmly but she couldn’t help thinking that she saw some doubt in his black eyes. Doubt mixed with determination—he was going to do this no matter what she said. All of their males were. The only thing she and Liv and Sophie could do was pray for their safe return.
“I love you,” she said and heard the simple sentiment echoed throughout the viewing room as all the warriors got a last hug and kiss. Then they filed out of the doorway one by one, heads up, shoulders back, the light of battle in their eyes. Though she knew it might be the last time she saw Deep and Lock, Kat couldn’t help the stirrings of pride in her heart. They were males of valor—honor and courage ran in their veins like blood. She had never been more proud—and more unhappy—to be mated to her Kindred males.
As the males left, Nadiah came in the door. “What are you all doing in here and where are Sylvan and the rest of them going? Hello, Lauren.” She nodded at the viewscreen and Lauren nodded back miserably. “What’s wrong?”
Sophia pounced on her. “Nadiah! Xairn has gone to confront the AllFather and Sylvan and Baird and Deep and Lock are going to help him. We’re all scared to death but you—you have the gift—the Sight!”
Olivia’s eyes
were wide. “She does, doesn’t she? Quick, Nadiah—can you see anything? Do you feel anything?”
Kat couldn’t help feeling sorry for the poor girl. “Come on, you guys, she can’t just turn it on like a switch.” She looked at Nadiah hopefully. “Uh, can you?”
“Not usually,” Naidah said carefully. “But…I can try.”
“Please do,” begged Sophie. “Please!”
“All right.” Taking a deep breath, Nadiah closed her eyes and appeared to concentrate deeply. But when she looked up, there was a troubled expression on her face. “Nothing,” she said quietly. “I see nothing but darkness. I’m sorry.”
Thirty-Six
Xairn stared fixedly at the controls of the Kindred ship wondering how much longer he should wait. It was stupid, really, expecting warriors who were technically his enemies to come to his aid. He was only waiting because he had promised Lauren he would. But he couldn’t put off the confrontation with the AllFather much longer—not if he hoped to keep his mother alive.
Gods, after all these years, he couldn’t believe that he might actually see her, that she might speak his name in that soft, clear voice he’d heard so often in dreams. When he was a child he used to wish for her constantly, especially after he was taken from his nurse. His father had fed his feelings of yearning and abandonment, deliberately showing him images of his mother over and over again in order to draw sustenance from Xairn’s pain.
Mother, he thought, staring out at the endless black reaches of space being displayed on the viewscreen. For so many years I longed for you. I’ll save you from him even if it kills me. I swear I will.
Suddenly a very strong feeling that someone wanted to talk to him intruded on his thoughts. Surprised, he opened himself to the new feeling. “Is someone there?”
“Forgive me for bespeaking you, Brother, but we wanted you to know we’re on our way,” a voice said in his head.
“Deep?” Xairn could hardly believe it. “Are you and Lock coming?”
“Along with two of our brothers. Together we’ll do what has to be done.” Deep sounded confident. Just the sound of his mind-voice gave Xairn a boost and he realized he really was glad that the Kindred warriors he had met so briefly were willing to help.
“Thank you, he sent. I am deeply in your debt. I know you have no obligation to help one who you consider an enemy.”
“You’re no enemy,” Deep sent back. “Though you are Scourge and we are Kindred, we’re brothers beneath the skin.”
There was a sudden hollow pounding at the door of the Kindred ship and Xairn heard Deep shout, “Open up, it’s us.”
Quickly he went to the airlock and engaged it, making a seal with the other ship. Then he swung the metal door inward, welcoming the Kindred warriors inside. Deep and Lock he knew by sight but there were two more—a Beast Kindred and a Blood Kindred if he was not mistaken, whom Deep introduced as Baird and Sylvan. One had black hair and the other had blond but both of them had grim, battle-ready expressions on their faces.
“Welcome,” Xairn said stiffly. “You have my gratitude.”
“Didn’t I tell you we were brothers beneath the skin?” Deep stepped forward and hugged him, pounding him on the back in a warrior’s embrace. Pulling back he surveyed Xairn. “And speaking of skin, just look at yours! I wondered how you were passing as human down on Earth.”
“I had my DNA altered,” Xairn said. “I believe Lauren finds my appearance much more palatable now.”
“Yeah, you’re pretty all right.” The Beast Kindred called Baird gave him a white grin. “But we don’t give a damn what you look like—it’s how you fight that counts.”
“I am ready to fight,” Xairn told him. “Ready to kill that bastard who raised me in such pain and misery. He has my mother. I don’t know if Lauren told you that but she is the reason I have to do this.”
“We understand,” Sylvan, the blond warrior said. “And we’re ready to help you make the fight. But a little strategy before we go charging in would probably be prudent.”
“I agree.” Xairn nodded. “My father will be expecting me to come alone or with Lauren. He still seeks her to fulfill the prophesy. That’s why he’s trying to lure me back to the Fathership.”
“How many guards around him?” Baird asked.
“Probably four if it’s like last time,” Lock answered for him. “His main guards are huge but slow—except when the AllFather is controlling them.”
“They’re soulless,” Deep added. “He can work them like puppets when he wants to, so beware of them.”
“It is my father’s personal power—his ability to get into your mind and control you—that we need to be most concerned with,” Xairn said. “If the rest of you will help me clear a path, I’ll try to engage him.”
“We can’t just let you fight him by yourself,” Deep objected.
Xairn shook his head. “You have to. You see, I have some of the same powers.” He took a deep breath. “I can withstand him as the rest of you cannot. At least, I hope I can.”
“Then we’ll do all we can to see that you have a clear shot at the AllFather,” Sylvan said decisively. “But if we see you struggling and there’s anything we can do, we can’t promise to hold back.”
“True.” Deep nodded. “Kat cares deeply for Lauren—she’d never forgive me if I didn’t do everything I could to be sure the mate of her friend returns safely.”
“That goes double for us,” Baird growled. “Olivia would have my hide if I let the mate of her kin die.”
Xairn felt a surge of gratitude for the strong males beside him, pledging their help and support. Here was the same feeling he’d experienced with Lauren, but in a different form. Family. Brothers. Maybe after this is over I can really become one of them. It was a hope he couldn’t help cherishing. After his lonely, cold existence on the Fathership, the idea of having people to care about, who also cared about him, was certainly tempting. But in order to get to that point, he had to confront his father first.
“I thank you,” he said again, bowing formally. “And if any of you has a weapon I could borrow, I would be grateful for that as well. Mine is completely out of charge.”
“Will this do?” Sylvan produced a black piece of metal that was curved on one end. “It’s a cryo-knife,” he explained as Xairn examined it. “Not as much range as a projectile weapon, obviously, but it’s good for close work. Plunge it to the hilt in your enemy’s chest and you’ll flash-freeze his heart and all his internal organs in a tenth of a second.”
“Intriguing—I’ve never seen a weapon like it before,” Xairn murmured. He thumbed the switch at the bottom and a thin, ice blue blade made of pure energy hummed out of the curved end. “Where did you get it?”
“It’s an ancient weapon developed on my home world,” Sylvan said. “We know a lot about cold on Tranq Prime. This particular cryo-knife was carried by my father until he passed it on to me.”
“Then I am indeed honored to carry it into battle.” Xairn nodded gravely and turned the knife off again. “If you’re all ready, I will to pilot a course for the Fathership.”
“Lead on.” Baird grinned and pounded him on the shoulder. “I’ve been spoiling for a fight for months now. I know it makes our females nervous, but a male needs to go to battle sometimes. It’s in our blood.”
“I agree.” Sylvan smiled and put an arm around Baird’s shoulders. “Let’s go knock some heads.”
“Forget knocking heads.” Deep gave him a bloodthirsty grin. “Let’s kill the bastards.”
His twin brother nodded. “We will spill their blood like water.”
“We’re in agreement then,” Xairn said. “Let’s go!”
The approach to the Fathership didn’t take long and, as Xairn had expected, the docking bay doors slid wide with no trouble at all. His father was welcoming him home—like a spider welcoming a nervous fly. But I’m not nervous, he told himself as a cold cloak of certainty dropped over him. I’m here because I need to be—this confr
ontation has been a long time coming—maybe my entire life.
He felt the males behind him tense as the small Kindred ship settled in the huge, empty space. Behind them, the docking bay door slid silently shut and then the entry level access irised open revealing…
“Nothing,” Baird said, breaking the tense silence. “There’s nobody there.”
“Where are all the Scourge warriors?” Deep wanted to know.
Xairn opened the ship’s door. “There aren’t many of us left—not true Scourge anyway. We’ve been dying out for years now, as you know, and the only way we have to replenish our race is by growing soldiers in our flesh tanks. They’re like automen—poor copies of a twisted reality. They aren’t smart or fast but there are many of them.”
“Not here, there aren’t,” Baird muttered as they all descended from the ship.
“Or if they’re here, they’re hiding,” Sylvan put in.
“Just wait,” Xairn said grimly. “Now that we’re inside the ship my father will know I’m not alone. We had all better be prepared to fight soon.”
“Where will the AllFather be, do you think?” Lock asked.
“In his throne room.” Xairn nodded down the long, empty corridor. “This way. Come—the closer we can get to him before we’re blocked by the vat grown soldiers he sends, the better.”
“Let’s go,” Deep said. “If we no longer have the element of surprise on our side, at least we can have speed.” He started off at a dead run for the empty hallway and Xairn and the rest followed. They made good progress through the echoing corridors and he was just beginning to think they might actually get all the way to the throne room unmolested, when the first wave of vat grown soldiers appeared.
“Watch out!” Deep kept charging even as he shouted. He had his blazer out and ready and was already carving his way through the silent ranks. The rest of them followed, doing the same, but for every vat grown they cut down, two more rose to take its place.
The vat grown soldiers moved forward, a noiseless, grasping mob, arms outstretched, reaching for anything they could rend or destroy. Some were armed with knives, though none of them had a kusax, Xairn was relieved to see. Though silent and stupid, they were big and strong and there were hundreds of them to their small force of five.
Brides of the Kindred Volume One: Books 1-4 Page 161
