“Fine. These people not only survived, they thrived in areas that other, more normal, humans couldn’t. On a good day, one successful hunter with the right genes could absorb enough energy to ‘feed’ his tribe, but that ability was far rarer than the ability to steal energy from other humans. That little talent worked like a charm, as long as there were enough humans around to feed off of.”
Though Ranulf’s story was even more outlandish than Sandor’s, she found it much easier to believe. Or maybe it was because it was Ranulf doing the explaining.
“Then the Kyth began to outnumber the normal homo sapiens, to the point that both groups were suffering. Since the Kyth were stronger, they took to the seas in search of new homes.” He smiled. “Ever wonder why the Vikings and their kin traveled so far afield? Well, now you know. It takes a certain number of humans to support each Kyth’s energy needs.”
“And they figured that out way back then?”
“Not in so many words, we didn’t. All I knew was that I felt better when I went out on raids with my chieftain than I did hanging around my village.”
“When you said earlier that you’d had centuries to perfect the ability to take care of renegades, you were serious, weren’t you?”
He jerked his head in a quick nod. “We returned from one of our raids to find that our village had been destroyed. After caring for the few survivors, we went after the attackers. That went badly, and I was captured. Before they had a chance to do permanent damage, Judith showed up with only Rolf, her Consort, at her side.”
Ranulf’s mouth quirked up in a smile. “I can still see her standing before all of us big hulking brutes. Judith is on the small side, like you, but no one could mistake her for anything but royalty.”
“So she’s a queen?”
“She’s actually called a Grand Dame, but the meaning is the same. There wasn’t one of us who dared defy her, especially when Rolf was backing her up with both his energy and his sword. She’s ruled all of our kind for longer than I’ve been alive.”
“And now I’m going to meet her?” She sat up to whack Ranulf on the arm. “You’re taking me to meet royalty, and I’m wearing my oldest sweats!” Did the man not have a lick of sense?
“So? Judith won’t care.”
“When’s the last time you saw her in sweats? Or even jeans, for that matter?”
His only answer was another of those laughs that made her smile. But that didn’t mean she was going to forgive him soon for not warning her about where they were headed.
“I’m sorry, Kerry. It’s been a long, long time since I last brought a woman to meet Judith, and even then it wasn’t someone I—” He stopped talking abruptly.
“You what?” she prompted.
“It’s nothing.” He immediately changed the subject. “If I remember right, there’s an all-night restaurant at this next exit.”
She knew he’d been about to say something important, and so did he. She’d wait until his guard was down and then pounce.
* * *
“Will there be anything else?”
The waitress set a plate heaped high with bacon, eggs, and fried potatoes in front of each of them. Kerry didn’t waste a second before digging in.
“I’d like another cup of coffee.” Ranulf picked up his fork and fought the urge to shovel the food in as fast as he could. His energy levels had dropped to a dangerous level. Protein would help, but it wouldn’t hold him for long.
When the waitress returned to top off his coffee, he considered taking a hit of her energy, but she could ill afford the loss. Skinny as a rail and with hair bleached to a brassy yellow color, she looked like the poster child for famine relief.
Kerry looked up from her plate and smiled at the woman. “That’s a pretty watch.” She reached over and touched the crystal on the cheap timepiece.
The waitress looked surprised but pleased by the comment. When she walked away, she had a little more zip in her step. Ranulf yanked his eyes back to his companion, not believing what he’d just seen. Kerry had used the brief encounter to feed the woman energy. He’d seen Judith do the same thing countless times, sharing energy with humans and Kyth alike, replenishing their supply with her own.
Kerry noticed he was staring at her. “What? Do I have jelly on my chin or something?”
Was this what Judith had been hiding from him and Sandor? That Kerry carried the prized gene for healing?
He needed to talk to Judith before saying anything to Kerry, especially if he was wrong. But if he was right, it was more imperative than ever to get Kerry someplace safe until Bradan was brought to justice.
“Are you about finished?”
She gave him one of those looks women use when men say something particularly stupid. “No, I’m not, and after we eat, I want to stop back by my apartment to pick up something more suitable to wear.”
“That’s not going to happen.” Rather than continue the argument, he concentrated on finishing his own food. Judging from the dark looks Kerry was giving him, he was going to need all the strength he could muster.
* * *
Bradan watched the body bounce down the side of the gully, landing with a soft thud at the bottom. He’d been wrong about the blonde. She’d proven to have an impressive amount of stamina and will to live, especially considering everything he’d put her through. With a sharp salute to honor her contribution to his cause, he walked away, feeling as if he’d been able to fly.
Right up until she’d breathed her last, the woman had fed him with the sweetest energy he’d ever encountered. His skin tingled and felt tight, as if he’d absorbed more than his body could contain. Gods above, what a rush! The sex-blood-and-death combo had everything else beat, hands down.
Would Kerry Logan live up to the high standards set by her unfortunate predecessor? He hoped so. He really did. Dame Judith had definite possibilities, too. Considering the Dame’s advanced age, he had no interest in having sex with her, but blood and death had definite possibilities. He’d have to be careful, though. If she was at full strength, she could immobilize him before he had time to strike. Maybe it would be better to kill her from a distance, although that seemed cowardly.
He needed to get back to the remote house he’d used as a base of operations. There were a few things he needed to retrieve before going after Kerry Logan. If traffic was with him, he’d be done in time to greet the dawn with his latest victim—a very good start to the day.
As he drove back toward town, though, he passed a young man standing on the shoulder of the road with his thumb out. Hadn’t he heard how dangerous hitchhiking was? Well, well. It was almost Bradan’s civic duty to remind him. Easing his car over to the shoulder, he waited. The gods were definitely smiling on him today.
* * *
Ranulf nosed the Packard into the private driveway and punched in the code that would swing the heavy wrought-iron gates out of his way.
As the house came into sight, Kerry’s dark eyes widened slightly, and she seemed to shrink back into her seat. Then just as quickly, her chin came up and she straightened her shoulders.
“Thanks again for the warning, Ranulf. I should have known that royalty went hand-in-hand with being rich. Does she wear a crown and carry a scepter?”
“She used to, but she gave it up when people started staring at the mall.” He barely managed to keep a straight face.
Kerry’s eyebrows shot straight up. “Why, Ranulf Thorsen, I do believe that was a joke! Gosh, you’ve laughed at least twice and told an actual joke.” She fanned herself with her hand. “I think I might be overcome from the shock. Imagine—a big, bad thousand-year-old Viking with a sense of humor.”
He liked making her laugh—which was not good. The sooner he put some distance between them, the sooner he could go about making the world a safer place for her.
As he pulled up in front of the house, the front door swung open and Sandor walked out. He stood with his arms crossed over his chest, his expression grim.
&n
bsp; After Ranulf parked, Sandor opened the car door for Kerry. “Glad to see you’re alive and well.”
As she climbed out of the car, Ranulf popped the trunk to retrieve her luggage.
Sandor turned his bad mood in Ranulf’s direction. “We thought you’d be here hours ago. Kerry needs protection, not a midnight ride all over creation with you,” he snapped, glaring at him over Kerry’s head.
She stomped up the stairs and turned to face him down. “Listen here, Sandor Kearn! I do not need or appreciate your caveman tactics. I appreciate the fact that you’re worried because of Bradan, and that you take your orders to keep me safe seriously. But it was Ranulf who protected me when Bradan set fire to my building.”
Sandor’s face went ashen. “He what?” he stammered, looking to Ranulf for confirmation.
Kerry explained, “After Bradan set fire to the bushes outside my front door, Ranulf was going to bring me straight here, but I wanted to go for a ride. We missed dinner because of the fire, so we stopped at a restaurant to eat before coming here. Ranulf’s been a perfect gentleman. If you want to yell at somebody about us being late, yell at me.”
Ranulf soaked up the warmth of the smile Kerry shot in his direction. “Let’s get inside. I feel like we’ve got targets on our backs standing out here like this. Is Judith waiting for us?”
“Yeah, and Josiah is having a fit.”
Kerry looked like she was being led to her execution. “Is Josiah another member of the royal family?”
Judith stepped into the foyer. “No, he’s supposed to be my butler, but he believes his job description says ‘mother hen.’” She smiled and held out her hand. “I’m Judith, my dear. I am delighted to meet you in person at last.”
Ranulf noticed that Kerry surreptitiously wiped her hand on her sweatpants before taking Judith’s hand in hers. The two women held on to each other seconds longer than a normal handshake would take, but if Kerry noticed, she gave no indication of it.
Judith’s eyes widened as she nodded at Kerry. “So have you come to believe that you are indeed one of us?” She linked her arm through Kerry’s and led her into the living room, leaving the two Talions to follow.
Kerry frowned slightly as she considered her answer. “I’d have to say yes, although I’m not particularly happy about it.”
Judith gave her a wry smile. “There are many days that I feel that way myself. Why don’t you have a seat while I have Josiah fetch us some tea. Sandor, would you ask him, please? Once you’ve delivered the message, you can retire for the night.”
Sandor frowned at the dismissal and stalked past Ranulf, who had stopped just shy of entering the room, waiting for…what? For Kerry to pat the couch next to her, inviting him to remain close by her? He shifted Kerry’s bag to his other hand, drawing Judith’s attention.
“I’m sorry, Ranulf, did you need something?”
He fought to keep his eyes on Judith. “When do you want my report?”
Judith’s smile was a little too knowing. “I’m sure Miss Logan can fill me in on everything that happened.”
Now there was a thought that could make certain parts of his anatomy shrivel up. Judith could read a lot from a touch, but she’d always been closemouthed about what form that information took. If she was able to pick up glimpses of what had gone on at Kerry’s, he was in big trouble. Right now, he’d give anything to know how much she had sensed in that handshake.
He needed to get out of there, and fast. “Which bedroom do you want Kerry to use?”
“I’ll let you be the judge of the best place for her to sleep. Pick one on your wing of the house.”
He walked out, wondering about that odd glint in Judith’s eyes. The room next to his was empty, but so was the one next to Sandor’s—a much safer choice. Before he even realized what he was doing, he’d opened the door to the room that shared a bathroom with his. He couldn’t stand the thought of her toothbrush hanging next to the other Talion’s, much less the chance that Sandor would see that bit of lavender lace and satin Ranulf had seen Kerry tuck into her bag.
At her apartment, he’d been about to walk into her room to hurry her along when she’d held up the skimpy nightgown with a determined look on her face. He’d silently walked away, knowing that if he’d gotten any closer to her at that moment, they would have ended up right back in her bed.
And now she was going to be sleeping only a few feet away from him, wearing that skimpy gown. He stared at the king-sized bed, his mind filling with all manner of ideas on how fast the two of them could mess it up.
The talisman at his throat burned with the intense reaction of his body to the mental image of Kerry welcoming him into her bed. He hurried his steps to put some distance between them before his resolve to walk away disappeared. Rather than risk running into Sandor or Josiah out in the hallway, he cut through the bathroom. Once he reached the safety of his bedroom, he firmly closed the door and locked it, putting its solid weight between him and the possibilities he’d just turned his back on.
It was the smart thing to do. The moral thing to do. And it was the hardest thing he’d had to do in a very long time.
Chapter 10
Kerry liked Dame Judith, even though the formidable woman scared her. First of all, there was the whole royalty thing. Then there was the suspicion that the older woman knew everything there was to know about her.
Judith’s sharp gaze reminded Kerry of the raptors at the zoo, seeing her in far more detail than she was comfortable with. She felt like a very little mouse with an elegant eagle soaring overhead. Any second now, the woman would swoop down, claws extended, and expose every thought that Kerry had ever had.
“So tell me, my dear, how are you getting along with my Talions?”
Yep, she’d guessed right.
The tea and cookies and polite conversation had been designed to lull her into feeling safe. The gloves were off now.
“Which one do you want me to start with?” Kerry topped off her cup and held the teapot up in an unspoken offer to do the same for Judith.
“Why don’t you begin with Sandor?” Judith gave her an encouraging smile.
“Okay.” Kerry sipped the tea, buying herself a few seconds. “We had a good time dancing at the club, and we had fun at dinner.”
“But?”
Frowning, Kerry tried to find a diplomatic way to tell Judith what it was about Sandor that bothered her. She didn’t know if Judith played favorites and didn’t want to offend her.
“Don’t pull your punches, Kerry. I’d rather have the truth.”
“He’s obviously strong and probably a good…warrior, I guess is the right word, but he’s a little too perfect for my tastes.” Setting her cup aside, she struggled to find the words. “He’s handsome and quite the charmer when he wants to be—until the subject of Ranulf comes up.”
“And that bothered you?”
“It made me furious, actually. Although he’s the one who first told me about my being Kyth and what that means, that doesn’t make him my Yoda. I don’t need him telling me who I can and can’t trust.”
Feeling agitated, she stood up. “To be fair, I think part of my anger was hearing that I’m not completely human. It gave me the willies to hear him describe what it had been like for me growing up, as if a stalker had been watching me.”
“That’s understandable, Kerry. You’ve been through a lot in the past few days, what with the fire and finding out that you’re Kyth. As strong as you are, it was still a lot to absorb.”
The woman acted as if it were perfectly natural to have a guest power-walking laps around her elegant living room while carrying on a conversation. Maybe it was rude to stay on the move, but ever since Ranulf had walked away, it was all Kerry could do not to go hunt him down.
“And how about Ranulf?”
Kerry smiled. “He’s as blunt as Sandor is slick, which I find easier to deal with. It was much easier to accept his explanations of how things are for us, but that might be because I’d
already heard some of it from Sandor and just needed confirmation.”
She stopped in front of Judith’s chair. “Did you know that Ranulf planned on standing out in the rain to watch my apartment, instead of coming inside?”
Judith didn’t look at all surprised. “I assume Sandor told you he was out there?”
“No, actually he didn’t—mainly because he’d fallen asleep on my couch.” Frowning, she tried to recall the exact moment she’d known he’d been there. “Somehow I just knew that Ranulf was nearby. It’s happened twice now. Before the first time, we’d only met briefly during the fire, so I had no way to know he was there. It was more a feeling of being safe inside my apartment. The second time, I walked outside and looked right at him.”
“How did he react to that?”
Kerry chuckled. “As you’d expect, he was mad because I didn’t stay tucked safe inside my apartment. But then, so was Sandor. Maybe this mother hen problem you have with your butler is catching.”
The remark startled Judith into laughing. “I’d never thought of that. Perhaps I should order all three of them into isolation while we launch an immediate investigation.”
“If you do, give me enough warning to take cover when you break the news to Ranulf. I doubt he’d take it well.”
“Sounds like you know my Viking warrior pretty well for such a short acquaintance.”
She would have known him even better if that damned arsonist had waited a few minutes longer to start the fire.
“I’ve never known anyone exactly like him before.”
“How so?”
“He makes me feel calm. You know, in better control of myself. I don’t feel all edgy around him, like I’m being crowded all the time. I’ve always been rather uncomfortable around most people, but he’s different.” Especially when he had his arms around her or his skin next to hers. Even with his full weight on top of her, she’d felt cherished, not crushed.
The clock in the hall chimed twice. Good grief, where had the night gone?
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