Hunting Julian

by Jacquelyn Frank

  “What about me? My choice? They are going to heedlessly make me a nightfly!”

  “We could never destroy a healthy woman. It’s like cutting off a crucial limb to do something so reckless,” he agreed quietly.

  “So tell me, Julian, where in all of this would it have been my choice? I was never aware of your laws or punishments. I never asked for any of this! You and your precious Ampliphi would make me a whore, rape victim, and baby incubator for no reason other than the fact that someone shed blood while I was in your house, and you don’t see anything wrong with that?”

  “Of course I do!” He lurched forward to grasp her by her shoulders. “Why do you think I am so terrified for your safety? As long as you remain in holding you are not nightfly, but if I should fail you tomorrow in front of the Ampliphi…”

  “Wait a minute. I don’t even get to defend myself?”

  “No, Asia. You will remain in holding until the Ampliphi say otherwise. It will take us most of the day to get to the holding colony as it is.”

  “Most of,” she said almost numbly before moving toward the kitchen. “Then we don’t have much time. We need to find out how she did this so you have solid proof tomorrow. But I…but then we’ll be consigning her to become nightfly,” she realized softly.

  “It will be either you or her,” he reminded her gently. “The criminal must serve her punishment. It’s the only way the Ampliphi will be satisfied. But if it makes it any better, she is not likely to spend all her years in the nightfly colony. Just a designated amount of time parallel to her crime.”

  Asia nodded, realizing that this wasn’t home and there was a very different justice system to be reckoned with. If she didn’t find the proof she needed, then Ariel would get her way. Asia would be sent out of Julian’s life for good, forced into a prison where any man who could pay the price would have the right to get her with child.

  “Asia, I have warned you that there are dangers here. What you are seeing now is what is ugly in my world. Let’s quickly figure out how she did this so I can start to show you the beauty of it as well.”

  Chapter 10

  Lucien knew his friend was in a great deal of trouble, and that was all it took to send him hurrying through the colony. The way he leapt from one walkway to the next with determination attracted the attention of Kine, who dropped into the space behind him, following closely.

  “Gatherer,” Lucien greeted him briefly.

  “Lucien. Heading for Julian’s?”

  “Why, are you come to witness the carnage?” Lucien stopped short to turn on Kine, almost forcing the other man to run over him. Catching balance on an unrailed walkway was no small trick, but Lucien knew Kine was capable and in no danger.

  “I’ve come to help,” Kine said defensively. “Why would you assume otherwise?”

  “It’s not enough for the Ampliphi and their Gatherers that Julian’s going to be forced to step down because of his kindra, they have to come and obliterate him besides? Are you here to spy for Sydelle and her cohorts so they are prepared for the morrow?”

  “No! If any of the Ampliphi is friend to Julian, it would be Sydelle,” Kine said defensively of his mentor. “She is softer than the rest. Wiser, too.”

  Lucien took the distinction with a small, grudging nod. “But Kloe is not his friend any longer. The jealous bitch couldn’t wait for this girl to slip up in some way. She’s a vengeful, bitter creature, everything opposite to the man she mentored.”

  “That is very likely true. Kloe was very displeased when he claimed Asia as kindra. But it is more like she is doing this to get him back rather than destroy him, Lucien. If he fails to prove the claim of kindra in time, then Asia will transition to Chosen and Julian—”

  “Julian will be sentenced to death for lying about her being his kindra. That is the law. Those who covet and try to steal a woman all to themselves by falsely claiming kind will die for their trespass. Now she is to spend an entire day traveling to the colony, and the second day will be spent traveling back if she is so lucky as to be exonerated. That will leave him with no time to prove his claims.” Lucien squared his shoulders. “But what is more likely is that you are right. Kloe wants him back. She doesn’t want to train another and she doesn’t want to lose that which she has all but owned for all these years. If his kindra goes to jail, it nullifies his claims, sparing his life and destroying hers.”

  “Lucien, you haven’t seen him with her…you haven’t felt it. She is kindra. Neither Shade nor I have doubt of it. If he loses her…” Kine didn’t have to continue the thought. They both knew it would destroy a king to lose his destined queen. Kloe would win…only to lose. She would have an empty hull of a man for her trophy, and a potentially innocent woman would be cursed to the bitter life of a nightfly.

  “Well then, we’ll have to see to it this doesn’t happen.” Lucien turned and started back into determined strides. Kine kept close all the way to Julian’s door. Lucien gave a cursory bang on the door to announce himself before throwing the wheel and pushing his way into Julian’s home. When they stepped inside it was to Julian standing in the doorway of his kitchen, holding aside the beaded curtains for a woman who crouched over a pool of spilt blood.

  Julian straightened when he saw them, frowning at them. “Kin,” he said in greeting. “I think next time I would appreciate you waiting for me to bid you enter.”

  Lucien waved the directive off, the black spear-point mark on his wrist flashing as he did so. “We are here to help you. To find evidence if needed—to escort you to the holding colony if also needed.”

  The dark-haired girl hovering over the floor finally looked up at that, a pair of icy blue eyes narrowing on him with a distinct lack of appreciation for his offer. He didn’t blame her. She was in an untenable position, victim to things she didn’t even begin to understand. After a moment, she turned back to the blood before her.

  “She bled herself nearly to death, but it shouldn’t have been nearly so bad if the knife was left to plug the wound and she lay still. But look.” She pointed to the wide scrubbing swirls and finger streaks, like some kind of grotesque child’s finger painting, with no sense or apparent definition to it. Julian’s kindra smiled a little when he frowned at the mess. “She moved. A lot. Scrubbed her hands all around in her own blood.”

  “She’s covering something up,” Lucien realized.

  “Blood trail, so we can’t figure out where she did it and how.” Asia rose in a single lithe movement, the hands resting on her hips pulling the scrap of silver she wore tight across her shapely backside. It accented the amazingly long length of her legs, as well as their obvious strength. Lucien suddenly found himself very envious of his friend. She was extremely beautiful and exotically tempting.

  Lucien quickly checked his reaction. He cursed himself and cut his gaze to Julian. Sure enough, his friend and kin was glaring at him with no small amount of anger. Lucien held out his hands like a surrendering man. His friend had a right to be possessive, but it was irrational for him to expect a colony of deprived men to not notice how striking his mate was.

  Unaware of the havoc she was causing between lifelong friends, Asia stepped deeper into the kitchen. “Lord. It’s like she was making a snow angel in her own blood. Sick. Guys, help me look through this mess. Take it inch by inch. All we need is a gravitational drop. A drip,” she clarified when they all looked at her blankly. “Blood drips as you travel, pools as you lie still. The directionality of the drip will tell us where this fiasco started. That will lead us to the evidence we need to catch her.”

  All the men quickly entered the room, heeding her warning to watch their step. The fire roaring in the pit was already drying the blood fast to the floor. That was a good thing, Asia thought. It was solidifying evidence. And despite how much Ariel had tried to cover it up, she knew they would find something eventually.

  Asia took a moment to glance at the new male in the room with them. Julian hadn’t seen fit to introduce him to her as a
nything other than kin. He was almost as tall as Julian, but there was a huge difference between beefcake like Julian and rock-solid beef like his kin. This was a man who did nothing with his time except to perfect his body as a weapon. She could see it in the way he moved, for one thing. And for another, he was the first one she’d seen with a weapon. Hooked onto his belt was an engraved steel crescent, big enough to sit in a large palm and gleaming sharp on the outside curve. Attached to one of its corners was a brilliant metal wire that looped round his entire waist and was attached to a ball on the other end. The ball was hooked behind the crescent, forming a deadly belt. She had no idea how he used the thing, but she had no doubt it was a killer…and so was he.

  “What are you doing?”

  The sharp demand startled her, just about as much as the tight hand around her arm that jerked at her did. Surprised, she looked up into Julian’s dark and angry eyes.

  “I’m looking—”

  “At Lucien,” he cut in sharply.

  “Oh, is that his name?” she snapped back. “Thanks for the intro. And yeah, I was looking at Lucien.” She stressed the name. “Or more specifically, below his belt.” She only let a beat pass, knowing from experience that she could only bait him so far. But he deserved it if he thought he was going to pull this caveman bullshit on her. “At his weapon,” she finished, giving him a smug little smile. “And I do mean the one made out of steel, not flesh.”

  Lucien was glad she was getting a laugh out of this, because every other man in the room was waiting with a sick feeling in his gut to see how Julian was going to react to this torment.

  “Listen, I barely want anything to do with you,” she said. “What in hell makes you think I’d want anything to do with him?” She jerked her thumb to indicate Lucien. Then she seemed to second-guess herself with a look. “Well, there’s always a sparring partner. But otherwise, I don’t have any use for the whole lot of you!”

  Kine spoke up almost timidly. “Except to look for blood drips.”

  “Yeah, that, too.”

  She went back to doing exactly that, working her arm free of Julian’s lax grip as she did so. In utter silence, everyone else went back to the hunt. Lucien exhaled fully and silently. He’d be damned if he knew how she’d pulled that off. He or Kine would have been missing an eye by now had either of them been caught staring at her. Lucien was already in trouble for just a momentary glance. Well, actually, it was the reaction after the glance he was in trouble for. But he didn’t waste time worrying about it. He’d set Julian straight later, after this was settled and the man had had the chance to lose himself in his kindra for a while.

  “Wait.” The single word brought all heads up except for Kine’s. The Gatherer slowly crouched down and touched a finger to the floor. “I think this is it.”

  Asia stepped over to him carefully and crouched down with him. A neat trick in that skirt, Lucien found himself thinking. But somehow she pulled it off.

  “Yes!” she cried when she saw the minuscule drop of blood. “This means she came from this side of the room.” She quickly stood up and began to examine the tall storing cabinets that stood there side by side. “Oho,” she said a moment later. “Clever bitch! I know how she did it!”

  Julian was by her side in a flash, peering at the spot where she had touched her fingers. It was a space, very tight, between the two cabinets. And very obviously, something had been forced between them.

  “She jammed the knife in here by the handle. Then I guess she threw herself back against it. The wood is all torn up here and I’ll bet the knife has matching distress on it as well.”

  “I’ll head down to the infirmary and get the knife before it disappears,” Kine said, quickly navigating the morbid room and leaving the residence.

  “Yes!” Asia cried victoriously, jumping up to impulsively hug her kindri. The act was so obviously pleasing to Julian that Lucien had to smile. But unlike Asia, he knew that celebration was premature. The Ampliphi, while wise and fair about most things, were also just as stubborn and flawed. The nature of the sometimes volatile energy they must feed from had its way of making them unpredictable. It all went through the Ampliphi first, then was filtered and meted out. It was made stronger and cleaner. It was amplified, just as their reverent name suggested. The amount of power and fortitude needed for them to do what they did was immeasurable, and so was the list of effects, both adverse and positive, they suffered from as a result.

  But they were usually wise and fair. He knew Julian was hoping this evidence was enough. Flouting Ampliphi Kloe’s sentence was going to be a heavy insult to the bitter female. Even if they won the day, it might not bode well for the future of the village to have an Ampliphi angry with their king.

  Julian became aware of Lucien’s thoughts and concerns even as he gratefully absorbed Asia’s voluntary hug. He wished he could just lose himself in the sensations of her eager affection, but Lucien’s worries were too strong, and too well founded. No one knew Kloe as well as her Gatherer did. He was well aware of her shortcomings. Kloe’s attitude toward the humans they were forced to rely on could be chilling at times. She saw them as little more than cattle, disdaining to credit them for their spirits and their souls. Oh, she knew they had them, but she was fixedly convinced they were savages, not worthy of the roles they were being given in their society. Luckily, she also knew they had no choice but to depend on them to help replenish their world. She grudgingly gave respect for that much.

  But Kloe was part of the reason they were so strict about which humans came into their world. He had been told time and again to learn their nature and weed out the violent ones. But Asia was only violent when she felt she had to be, when she felt she was in danger or backed up against a wall. It was highly unfair of Ampliphi Kloe to pass so summary a judgment without looking into the details first.

  “We can’t clean any of this away. It must remain as proof for us to use tomorrow morning,” Julian said soberly. He put Asia away from him. “We should leave the room so nothing is damaged or affected by us.”

  He took hold of Asia’s hand and led her out of the room, but when he went for the door, she pulled back against his grip.

  “No way. I am not leaving here. I’m staying right here to make sure no one messes with the only evidence I have that can save my ass.”

  Julian frowned at her. “You can’t stay, Asia. You’ve been ordered to go to the holding colony. We can’t afford to disobey a direct command from the Ampliphi if we hope to win them over to our way of thinking tomorrow. We need to act as respectfully as possible.”

  “If it makes you feel better,” Lucien added, “I will find Shade and have him and Kine sleep here tonight and guard your evidence.”

  “It does make me feel better,” she said warily, “but are you sure they can be trusted?”

  “I am positive,” Julian said. “They are Gatherers, two of the best men I know, and very trustworthy friends. They will protect your innocence with their lives.”

  “Oh.” Asia was beginning to see just how seriously things were taken in Julian’s world. “Well, then, I guess we better get going to this holding colony.”

  “We will, after we find you some appropriate clothing,” Julian countered. “It is a trying journey,” he explained lamely, making it all too clear why he really wanted her to change. Asia had half a mind to taunt him a little, but the truth was she was sick of showing her ass every time she took a wrong turn.

  “I think Corla is about her size,” Lucien said with a smothered grin. Julian was being unwittingly entertaining at the moment. Lucien had never seen him so off his mark before. Jealousy, possessiveness, outright hostility—all caused by a single woman. “Corla is my sister,” he explained to Asia as a way to keep himself from tormenting his friend.

  “Oh, well thanks. That’d be great.”

  “I’ll be back shortly, then we can begin the journey to the holding colony.”

  Lucien made his exit, and Julian led her into the living a
rea. His mouth was set in a grim line and he turned her toward him.

  “This is a dangerous journey,” he told her. “All travel between colonies is.”

  “You said Kenya was traveling from another colony,” she said, suddenly breathless with fear. “Just how dangerous? In what way? Is it the okriti?”

  “That’s one of the dangers, yes. But don’t worry. She is well protected. She will be here waiting for you when this is all over and done with.” Julian moved stiffly away from her.

  “Wait…”

  “I can’t wait, zini. I must arm myself and prepare for this journey.”

  “Well, I hope you plan on arming me as well.”

  That got his undivided attention. He turned back to her.

  “You still don’t get it, do you? You don’t know how to use any of our weapons, zini. They aren’t like what you would find on Earth. There are no nine-millimeter handguns here. We won’t contaminate our people with such easy weapons of opportunity.”

  “And you still don’t get it,” she retorted, her long fingers curling into fists. “All I need is a damn stick about a yard long and I’ll be able to take care of my own damn self! Stop underestimating me and stop treating me like some delicate butterfly you have to protect in a jar. You’ll just end up killing me!”

  Her temper was justified, he realized, because that was exactly what he was doing to her. “I’m sorry. I cannot help myself. Please appreciate how I am used to treating women and why. I don’t mean to be insulting.”

  “I know you don’t, and you aren’t really. It’s actually refreshing to be around a bunch of men who don’t think slapping their wives around is an Olympic sport. But you have to let me take care of myself. Hell, I may even be able to protect you.”

  “I worry,” he said, the words sudden and soft as he closed in on her, his amazing body heat washing up over her like a Caribbean tide. “In fact, I feel as though that is all I have done since you arrived.”