“Well, well, well,” Kyler said, his voice smooth. “Look what I caught in my little web.”
No one responded.
He reached out to Alex. Are you okay? What happened?
We were ambushed at the Great Hall. He must have known what the plan was all along.
“Indeed I did,” Kyler said, as if Tory and his mate had spoken aloud. He gritted his teeth. Shit. This asshole was able to read them, listen to their thoughts.
Kyler grinned at him. “What a simplistic view you have of my power.” He strode over to Tory. “I can do much more than that.” He stroked the Drav, his long fingers caressing it like a pet. “I can read your fears, your weaknesses.” He studied Tory from head to toe. “Why anyone related to me would mate with you is beyond me, but that’s beside the point.”
He was enjoying this. Center stage, the great performer finally getting the spotlight. “I find it amusing that my brother,” he spat the word, “decided to try to stop me.” He kicked Jezar and Tesia cried out.
“You see, my little half sister, you are ignorant of my true power.” Casually, he placed the end of the Drav against Tory’s hipbone. “I can see into your very soul.”
A jolt careened through Tory. It ripped away everything but the pain. His dick felt like it was on fire. Shooting agony tore along his veins, making him convulse. Every thought bled away. He was vaguely aware of trying to breathe. It felt like something was burning his cock off and kicking his balls against the wall. Nothing else penetrated his mind. Even though he knew it was all nerve induced, he couldn’t grasp the thought long enough to relax his tensed muscles. Someone was grunting and he realized it was him. The pain escalated again and his hoarse shout was drowned out in his ears by the rush toward oblivion. He lost control of his bladder and the pain increased as urine slid down his legs and dampened his pants.
When it stopped, Tory almost sobbed in relief and then shame. He knew Kyler had intended just that. He’d left Tory’s pants on so that he would be humiliated by his own weakness.
Fuck him, his mate’s voice said in his head and Tory lifted his gaze to meet hers. He’s wrong. You are strong. Stronger than he is. He can only inflict pain on you because he’s incapable of joy.
Satisfaction shot through Tory as Kyler’s eyes narrowed in displeasure at what Alex had said. He was still breathing heavily. He met Kyler’s gaze, his shame gone, his pride intact. He might die, but he wouldn’t die crawling.
Kyler smiled.
Shit. What now?
The Ardasian opened the door. Foche came in. Only it didn’t look like Foche anymore. His brown eyes were blank, empty.
Tesia shouted, “Malak!”
The blank eyes swerved to look at Tesia and Tory shuddered. Like the vids on Ardasia of the plague victims, Foche wasn’t there anymore.
“Malak is mine now, Tesia.” Kyler licked his lips. “And you’re quite wrong, my dear Alex. I can experience joy. Nothing will give me more pleasure than watching Malak rape you.”
* * * * *
Once, when Alex had been down in a foxhole on Teran Five, she had spent a night certain that the next morning would bring her capture by Teran Four. In the aggressive invasion, Teran Four hadn’t been too concerned about wartime etiquette. She and the three men in that hole with her knew what it meant. In war, rape of women was common enough, but Teran Four took it to a whole new level. Female combatants were repeatedly raped by Teran Four soldiers, the brutalization recorded and publicized. It was their duty, according to their fucked-up way of life.
She told the man she trusted the most in the foxhole to put a bullet in her brain. That man had been Tory. Kyler had probably gleaned this from Tory and was using it against her.
With every ounce of energy, she faced her fear. She poured strength into a wall, trying to block Kyler from her thoughts. Would this be bad? Hell yeah. Foche was taking off his clothes, his cock huge, just like the rest of him. But worse would be Tory’s agony if she showed any sign she gave a shit. Worse would be Kyler’s satisfaction if she broke.
She wasn’t going to break.
Kyler’s smile wasn’t helping. “It’s too bad, really,” the man said. “He wants to rape her,” he hand waved toward Tesia. “He’s very put out that she seems to prefer my brother over him.” He kicked the prostrate form of Jezar. “But I’ve promised him you, Alex.”
Alex’s chin rose. Naked, pinned to a wall, helpless, she couldn’t stop what was going to happen here but she sure as hell wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of seeing her fear. Of course, he could read it in her mind, but she layered her thoughts with her love for Tory and her duty to Teran One. She wasn’t going to let despair take over.
Inside her mind, she could feel him probing, seeking to raid her thoughts. What she didn’t understand was what he wanted from them. All he had to do was kill them. End game, he wins. Why did he have them captive?
“Do you know how I’ve controlled him?” Kyler grinned now and studied his naked slave. Foche stared at Alex, with drool dripping from his mouth, something hungry and feral on his face. Kyler nodded. “The mistake you and your friends made was thinking the plague turned humans into mindless zombies.” He met her gaze with a wicked, gleaming gaze. “The plague is so much more. My brother knew. You see, it kills humans slowly, but while they’re dying, someone like me can completely control their minds.” Kyler strode over to Tesia. He laid the Dav against her pale skin. Alex gritted her teeth. Kyler only zapped her briefly, but Tesia’s scream echoed in the room and her skin turned an angry red. “But some of you have the gene to resist the plague. Like you,” he sneered at Tesia and released her. He crossed to Johan and stuck him with the Dav. The man didn’t cry out but agony crumpled his features. “And you.”
He released Johan from the Dav and turned back to Foche. “He doesn’t.”
Fear shot through Alex. Kyler had released the plague. Teran One was going to become the wasteland she’d seen in the vision. She gulped for breath.
Kyler clearly caught her fear because he grinned at her. “The ones who don’t have the gene are mine, Alex. They all belong to me. All I have to do is send the word ‘kill’ to their pathetic minds and they’ll tear anyone who isn’t infected limb from limb.” He laughed and it had a high, shrill sound. He glanced at Johan and shook his head. “I’m afraid your friends who were holding Pulzer are dead now, torn apart like raw meat. He wasn’t too careful, I’m afraid.”
His silver eyes flashed, but Johan said nothing. Alex had to think and think quickly. Mind control. After she and Tory had bridged, she’d realized Jezar hadn’t been able to poke around her mind anymore. Somehow, the action of connecting with Tory had enhanced her mental capabilities. She’d always thought the Old Earth plague turned people into zombies but if something was controlling them, then perhaps she had a defense.
Tory? She opened her mind to him, following the thread between them. They connected, touching, and she spun the thoughts toward him. She ignored the rage on the surface about Foche and Kyler’s plan to have her raped. She pushed aside all the heavy emotion and pain hanging over him. She needed his rational mind.
Speed was essential. She poured her thoughts toward him. The way they had practiced their wall, their blocking with each other, might come in handy now.
The two of us, Tory. Together, we might be able to fight him. Free Foche or get Foche to free us.
What’s your plan?
To use our Adarsian blood against him. It’s our one chance.
We don’t know what that will do to us. He wasn’t afraid for himself, she saw, but for her. What would it do to her?
It doesn’t matter. We can’t lose here.
Connected, they worked together to strengthen her wall, the ability to push back, which she’d developed in her bridge with Tory. Vast reserves of power were flooding her mind. Tory shoved everything he had at her, fueled by his anger.
Kyler had given Foche the order to attack her. The huge man grabbed her breast in a pain
ful squeeze, his brown eyes dead and lifeless. Tesia cried out the man’s name but he didn’t hear her.
She had nowhere to hide—Alex was spread-eagle and her position was set up perfectly for what Foche intended to do. Alex fought the fear and brought her mental fist up to push at Foche’s mind. The man’s dick pressed against her naked thigh, inches from his intended goal, and she swallowed. Focus. She made herself focus. She pushed harder, all her mental pressure brought to bear on Foche.
What she found was a mass of resentment and violence. Kyler wasn’t using anything that wasn’t already there. Normally, Foche kept all these horrendous impulses under control, but the plague stripped him of that control. Part of Foche recoiled in despair at what he was being forced to do. Alex discovered his feelings for Tesia, intense love, almost obsession, were being amplified and twisted by Kyler’s mental control.
Determined to break it, Alex dove at the lines the connected Foche and Kyler. One hard shove and she severed the connection between Foche and Kyler. The answering attack almost crumbled the wall, but Tory was there with her, doubling the power. Together, they repelled Kyler from Foche’s mind.
Foche dropped to his knees, his stricken expression matching the horror in his mind. Alex, still in the driver’s seat of Foche’s mind, forced him to lurch to his feet and unlock Tory’s restraints first. One press of the button and Tory was free.
Kyler screamed in rage, the Dav shooting out to connect not with Foche’s body, but Tesia’s. Foche, in the agony at seeing the woman he loved in pain, sent a wave of emotion over Alex, weakening the wall. She fumbled for a moment and her control over Foche slipped.
What Kyler hadn’t anticipated was Foche’s ability to respond on his own. The man flung his body at Kyler, completely disregarding wisdom and safety.
Kyler deflected the huge man easily. Alex sought control again, shoring up the wall in Foche’s mind, but also dealing with the huge amount of energy from the man’s rage.
Suddenly, someone helped—something helped her control over Foche’s mind and held back the wave of emotion from him so she could hold the wall.
Jezar.
Tory! Jezar is conscious.
She sent the thought along their bridge but it was all she could do.
Tory stumbled to his feet, his body still reeling from the Dav torture earlier, but he reached Jezar. Tory tore at the restraints.
Meanwhile, Kyler grappled with Foche mentally and physically. Kyler lost his physical hold on Foche and the Dav slammed into Foche’s ribs. The pain was so intense, Alex cried out even as she forced her mind to hold the wall between Kyler and Foche.
Foche writhed on the ground, his body in convulsions, Kyler standing over him.
Then, Tory plowed into Kyler. The Dav flew from Kyler’s hand and skittered across the floor. Jezar hadn’t moved, but he and Alex both held Kyler at bay in Foche’s mind.
But when Kyler gripped Tory’s throat, Alex lost focus. Suddenly, an anger, a killing emotion, ripped through her. Without thinking, she combined with Tory’s mind, experiencing the way Kyler squeezed his Adam’s apple, the way Tory’s remaining air slowly faded. She lashed out, her mind strengthened by the bridge, and attacked Kyler directly.
Kyler’s grip loosened. She whipped out again, flinging her mental fist against his mind. Then, she discovered a fact in Kyler’s mind that made her blood run cold.
The man had a mental grip on thousands of Teran One humans. Thousands upon thousands. The only reason she’d been able to wrest away control of Foche was because he was holding the minds of so many others. One mental command from Kyler and the horrific vision she feared would come to pass.
And he was calling for reinforcements. More of his zombies were on their way. She couldn’t stop them all.
Jezar’s voice was in her head, faint but there. We have to stop him. Now. Ignore Foche. Combine with me and Tory. You are half Ardasian and more gifted than you know.
The way she gathered power from Tory and Jezar was almost too easy. Oddly, two other minds connected as well. Tesia and Johan were both there, their latent power adding to hers. It was similar to a bridge, but one built out of necessity and less a meeting of minds than a combining of power. Still, she glimpsed thoughts and feelings in each person that discomfited her. She just wasn’t going to deal with that shit now.
Now she was going to crush Kyler.
“No!” Kyler’s scream didn’t even faze her and Alex pressed on his mind, bringing everything to bear on him.
Kyler staggered to his feet. Tory gasped for air on his knees. But Kyler gripped a disintegrator and aimed for the nearest target.
Tesia.
Harder, Alex pushed to stop him, but it was too late.
The weapon sizzled, its buzz electrifying the air.
And hit Foche, who had covered Tesia’s body with his own. In horror, Alex watched the slow disintegration of Foche’s body as it crumbled into dust particles. Tesia’s agonized scream and her responding mental anguish increased her power and pushed against Kyler harder.
The door burst open and their window of opportunity seemed lost. The zombies, controlled by Kyler, would swarm in and kill them all. Still, she kept the attack up, determined to damage if not win. Scorched Earth mentality.
She was distracted by the figure that burst into the room.
Celeste.
Her red hair was flying, her blue eyes flaming. She was pissed off. She faced Kyler. “Kyler, look at me, you fucking son of a bitch.”
The Ardasian jerked his head toward her and the disintegrator aimed at Celeste but lowered when he saw it was her. Apparently, he missed that she was one enraged woman looking for his blood.
“She’s dead. So is he. They’re both dead. Ena and Pulzer. What did you do to them?”
Kyler’s gaze narrowed on Celeste’s face. A standoff. They both had fully charged weapons aimed at the other. The Ardasian fought off Alex and the others in his mind trying to send his kill order.
“I freed them. They were subhuman anyway. Ena, so convinced she had the gene that would make her immune to the plague, begged me to release it.” He smiled. “She wanted to know which of the rebels would be infected. She had no idea she’d be one of them. So much pride. She didn’t even check. And Pulzer? He died doing what he really wanted to do. Killing Teran One humans.”
“They were my friends. They saved my life. Die, you motherfucker.” Celeste’s weapon whined as she prepared to fire.
Kyler’s hand swerved and the disintegrator aimed directly at Alex. “I wouldn’t. If you fire, I’ll discharge my disintegrator on your sister.”
Celeste shot a glance at Alex. Harder, Alex pressed against Kyler’s hold. Celeste, who clearly hadn’t noticed Alex until that moment, hesitated.
Kyler smiled, confident he would win, that his mindless zombies would come and he’d kill them all. His thoughts were clear to Alex.
Then, Jezar somehow managed to slam into Kyler’s body. The disintegrator was caught between them and Alex held her breath.
The two Ardasians struggled, their death grips both physical and mental as Jezar still supported Alex and the others to hold Kyler back from the hordes of infected humans.
The disintegrator discharged, the sizzle echoing against the walls of the dark room.
Kyler’s surprised expression slowly crumbled away, the dust of his body dropping to the floor like dead leaves.
With his death, Kyler’s mental wall against all of them disappeared and Alex collapsed, her mind suddenly alone, tired and strained.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
“Alexandra, honey, please! Wake up!” The voice came from a long way down a dark tunnel. Alex didn’t want to go. She was warm, safe, comfortable. Of course, she seemed to be falling…somewhere. It hurt to think. But that voice kept calling her.
Tory.
She snapped back, her eyes flew open and met Tory’s frantic gaze. “I’m okay,” she managed though her throat was sore.
“Saria,” he murmured a
nd touched his forehead to hers. She was still fuzzy, but she realized her hands and feet were unbound. Tory held her in his arms and rocked her back and forth.
Her arms were heavy but she forced them around his neck and buried her face in his chest. It was over. Wasn’t it?
“Honey, you have to wake up. We’ve got to move.” Though Tory’s voice was gentle, she caught the urgency from him. What was going on?
Shouts penetrated her mental fog. Fighting, screaming, something awful was happening outside the door. “Tory?”
“Kyler released the kill command before he died.” He answered her unspoken question.
She lurched to her feet and stared around her. Wrapped in a blanket, Tesia clutched the material around her naked body. Johan was supporting Jezar, who still seemed weak. Tory’s arm was around her waist. Celeste stood in the doorway fighting off a crowd of mindless killers.
“Weapons?” she croaked out.
“Two. Celeste’s and the one Kyler had.”
“The Dav.”
“Right. I forgot about that.”
They were trapped. Too many of the infected humans were outside the door.
Suddenly, Johan moved across the room and gripped Tory’s arm. His gaze slid up toward the ceiling. A vent.
“Up you go, honey.” Tory bent down and ducked between her legs to lift her onto his shoulders. Still naked, she scrambled up to stand on his shoulders and slammed her hand into the cover on the vent. It gave way and she gripped the edge, hauling her body up into the air duct. Tory found a blanket on a chair in the corner, tossed it up and she caught it.
Tesia was next. Alex gripped her hand and hauled her up to the vent. “Which way do we go?”
Alex pointed. “That way slopes up, which probably heads toward the surface. Hurry. And look before you come out of the duct.”
Tesia started scrabbling up the duct. Jezar followed, easily levering himself on Tory’s shoulders and into the duct and quickly followed Tesia.
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