The others followed him out the hatch and down the gangway. Once they were clear of the ship he engaged the cloaking device.
It was nighttime and no moon was evident. That would work to their advantage.
None of them spoke as they covered the ground to the compound. Argadian eyes adjusted to brightness automatically allowing for them to move expediently. Just before they came in sight of the gate, Devon motioned for Eluria and Kierra to the side out of sight behind an outcropping of trees.
“Wait until I call for you. Don’t even think about entering until I tell you it’s safe.” His voice was a mere hint of sound over the comlink.
Eluria motioned to Kierra and they moved soundlessly toward the cover of trees and watched as Devon confidently strode toward the entrance with his diffuser trained on Corbin and Torak.
She leaned close to Eluria and whispered, “I’m going to try to reach Jarek through thoughtwalk. I may be able to determine what we will be facing in the laboratory, so we are more prepared.”
“Is it safe?” Eluria asked.
“Yes. I just need to make sure he’s all right.”
Kierra stepped away from her and leaned against a tree. She turned her thoughts inward and located the thread. Her first thought was that she was thankful Jarek had done as he’d promised and left the thread intact. What she would find at the other end she had no idea. She could only pray he would still be alive and would know her.
Kierra moved to the thread and followed it to the arch. Turmoil confronted her. Flashing arcs of lightning-like electricity surged one after the other. The red mist had grown thicker almost suffocating the soft yellow luminescent glow. It was as though an electrical storm had taken over inside Jarek’s mind.
“Jarek!” Where was he? It was hard to make out anything through the thick crimson mist.
Then she saw him on his knees in the doorway to one of his memories. A bolt of electrical energy encompassed him and he was rigid, his eyes closed, arms outstretched as though to bar entry into the room behind him.
“Jarek, no.” She raced forward, reaching him as the bolt dissipated. Jarek hunched forward, hands to the ground, and she heard him gasp. She knelt down in front of him.
He raised his head to look at her, his eyes gray storm clouds of pain. “Get out. Now.”
She reached for him, but he thrust her away. “I can’t leave you like this. What’s happening?”
He shook his head, staggering to his feet. “You can’t help me here. He’s using some sort of program to alter the memories.”
“Come with me,” she urged. “To sanctuary.”
Jarek’s eyes were dead when he looked at her. “There is no sanctuary. He’s already destroyed most of the memories from my past. He’s now trying to alter what remains.”
He grabbed her shoulders and turned her toward the arch. “Get out now. If you don’t reach my physical body before I return to consciousness, and before he alters what memories are left, there will be no way to reach me.”
He was forcing her to move to the arch and she yanked away to turn and looked at him. “Don’t give up, Jarek. Devon is inside the compound. Come with me, Jarek. Let me protect you the way you did for me.”
“No, it will do no good. They used your body, but weren’t after your mind. If I don’t stay, there will be nothing for you to save. Do you understand? Hurry.” He pushed her toward the thread.
She staggered and then ran, sobbing in the knowledge they could be too late. She stopped and turned. He was there, watching her, highlighted by the flashing turbulence behind him. Then she turned and ran.
As she re-entered her mind, she gasped and opened her eyes to find Eluria watching her with concern.
“We can’t wait any longer,” she whispered.
“What is it?”
“Odon has already destroyed parts of his memory. If we don’t reach him in time, he will be altered beyond anything we can remedy. He won’t remember any of us.”
“We can’t go in yet. You know that. We have to wait for Devon’s signal.”
Kierra shook her head. “Don’t you understand? We can’t wait. Could you, if it was Devon whose sanity was at risk?”
“Kierra, if we go in there before Devon is ready, we could put his life in danger, do you realize that? And if we fail, Jarek will most certainly die anyway. Think about it.”
She knew Eluria was right. Kierra also knew there wasn’t much time left.
“Eluria? Kierra?” It was Devon’s voice over the telecom unit.
Eluria looked at Kierra. “We’re here, Devon,” she responded in a low voice.
“The gate is secured. Get in here as quickly as you can, but keep it quiet. We want to move in before someone else discovers us.”
Eluria unholstered her weapon, checked it, and grabbed Kierra’s arm. “Come on. Get that diffuser ready in case there’s trouble.”
Kierra followed Eluria’s example and pulled her own weapon. She’d never used one before and had no idea if she’d actually be able to fire it. Silently, staying low and in the shadows as much as possible, they raced toward the gate, staying well out of sight of the security beam that queried the perimeter outside the compound.
As they entered, Kierra noticed four bodies in Enforcer uniforms slumped in a shadowed corner.
“They won’t bother us for a while,” Devon said. “They’re tied up nice and neat.” He turned to Kierra. “Which way?”
She looked around, trying to get her bearings. Then she pointed to the right. “Over there. That’s the building where the laboratory is housed. It’s below ground. There’s a tubulator to take us down.
“Does it require identification to access the tubulator?”
“Yes, I believe it does.” She motioned to the unconscious Enforcers. “They should have identification chips.”
“Corbin, check for ID chips on our friends there.”
Corbin searched each of them and came up with the required chips and handed them to Devon.
Devon, held them up to inspect them, then secured the small black discs in a concealed pocket of his skinsuit. “Stay alert. There may be guards ahead. We don’t want to be taken by surprise.
“Yes, Captain,” Corbin and Torak responded in unison.
He turned back to Eluria and Kierra. “Stay behind me,” he instructed. He pinned Eluria with a dark gaze. “Don’t argue. I don’t have time for it. Let’s go.” He led the way as they carefully made their way across the compound, dodging the security beam as it tracked across the exposed ground.
They made it to the front of the building. “Wait here. Don’t move until I tell you.” He motioned for them to step to the side of the entrance. Eluria and Kierra both moved out of the way.
Devon pointed his weapon at the door, then leaned forward and pressed the button. The door silently slid open. Kierra couldn’t see inside, but the discharge of Devon’s weapon informed her she’d been right to warn him there might be guards.
There was an exchange of fire, then Devon crossed the threshold, stepped to the side, and fired again.
Kierra waited with Eluria. She didn’t realize she was holding her breath until Devon stepped back into view. Then she released the breath on a whoosh of air. He motioned them inside.
Still holding his weapon ready, he pointed to either side. “There’s a security camera. I disabled it, but we can’t waste time. It won’t be long before they realize the problem and come to check it out. There were four Enforcers. They know we’re coming.”
He pulled one of the ID chips out of his pocket and inserted it in the slot. The tubulator doors opened and he motioned them all inside the small cylindrical room.
“Does this thing open directly into the lab? Or outside of it?”
“It will open directly inside the laboratory.”
He nodded. “Check your diffusers now. Get ready, there’s no room for mistakes. We don’t know how many are in there. Don’t hesitate. We might get lucky and take them by surprise, but don’
t count on it. They expect our visit, they’ll be waiting.” He turned to Kierra. “I know you’ve never done this before, but you can’t hesitate. You won’t get a second chance. And it’s going to mean life or death not only for Jarek, but us as well.”
“I know, Devon. I won’t hesitate.”
He nodded, then leaned forward and pressed the button and the doors slid closed encasing them within the metal chamber.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Kierra’s heart thumped, her stomach churned. Not only was she about to rescue Jarek, but for the first time in years she would again be face to face with Odon and his odious Enforcers.
These were the males who had made her life torture. They had taken her purity and used it against her. The remembered pain of those years filled her mind. The only thing that had saved her sanity had been Jarek and her link to him. And it filled her with rage to think she was unable to help him in the same way.
But she would not fail him. They would set him free.
“Prepare yourselves.” Devon’s dark tone brought her back to what lay ahead. Her hand tightened on the diffuser.
Devon moved to the side of the tubulator in front of Eluria. Without saying a word, he pivoted around to Eluria, sank his fist into her hair, and dropped his head down to kiss her. Before it could register on anyone, he had whirled around and assumed a stance of defense.
Kierra knew her reflexes would not be as fast as the others who had trained and fought before. She stepped to the other side behind Corbin and Torak—not so much for protection, but so as not to hinder their aim. She saw a flicker of emotion pass across Eluria’s face just before she crouched and pointed her weapon, one hand steadying the other, her eyes flared burgundy bright with determination.
Burgundy, the color of a tafai, in Union to Devon. So much had occurred in such a short period of time. The return of her brother, his Union with Eluria, and now the capture of Jarek. Within weeks everything had changed. This would be a decisive moment. Whether they lived or died would hinge on the opening of the tubulator doors and how quickly their reflexes would respond. And how fast the Enforcers would react.
The tubulator came to a halt and the doors slid open. Before Kierra could blink, it seemed the others had deciphered friend from foe and flashes of light surrounded her as the diffusers found their marks and forms disintegrated in front of her. Before she could target and get off a charge they had overtaken the Enforcers in the room.
Devon, moving like a blur, was out the door and into the room, with Eluria following close behind. “Out and take cover,” he shouted. Corbin and Torak surged out of the tubulator and Kierra followed close behind.
Sliding to a stop behind a desk, she spotted Jarek and her heart filled with rage. And then she found Odon. A black fog of hate enveloped her—all the memories of Before surging and blinding her.
Odon. Hated, masochistic son of a swinerd. She saw the collar around Jarek’s neck, remembered the pain in his mind. And remembered the memory room she’d encountered accidentally. What he had done to Jarek. What Jarek had suffered to protect her.
“No more!” Her scream released an explosive tempest tinged by all her memories. She stood without thought to her own safety and pointed the diffuser at Odon who was crouched behind a desk at the far end of the room. He was exchanging fire with Devon, as Eluria, Torak, and Corbin pinned two others at the end of the room with their diffusers.
“Kierra, get down!” Vaguely she heard Devon’s urgent warning. But it didn’t matter. Nothing mattered but destroying once and for all the evil that Tribunal Leader Odon represented.
Her diffuser failed to discharge. It didn’t matter. She flung it aside. Surging across the room toward Odon, she yanked the dagger from her belt. Ignoring everything, she hurled herself over the desk, directly at Odon with the dagger raised. As they fell to the floor, she brought the dagger down with all her strength and buried it to the hilt in his neck. Yanking it out, she gripped it with both hands and drove it through his chest.
His eyes bulged, his mouth opened and closed like that of a bluefish, and blood and foam gurgled out.
“Never again,” she vowed as she again buried the dagger deep. “You will never hurt another. Never.” Over and over she plunged the dagger, her memories spurring her on. Odon’s blood covered her, she wiped a hand across her eyes to clear them. Blood smeared across her face, the stench of death was overpowering.
A part of her knew he was dead, but she couldn’t stop. She raised her arm to strike again, but an iron grip stopped her.
She looked up, and found it was Devon who’d halted her. “He’s done, Kierra.” Great heaving sobs burst from her. Tears mingled with the blood.
She heard a movement and turned her head to see what it was. A man dressed in a lab coat crouched beneath the desk. Moving away from Odon’s body, she turned to the coward beneath the desk.
“Eluria,” she called. “Your ex-betrothed awaits.” Leaning forward, she curled her blood-covered fingers into the lapels of the coat and dragged him forward. Odon’s son, Skorda. This was the man Eluria’s father had sought to buy for her as taman, to achieve more power. The “thing” Eluria had managed to elude by becoming a Twilight Companion.
“Let me go! I’ll do whatever you want, but don’t kill me.”
“Why? What value do you have that you think we’d want to preserve your life?”
Skorda’s eyes shifted back and forth like a trapped rodent as he fought Kierra’s grip. “I’m the only one who knows how to manipulate the mind altering program.”
Devon’s hands gripped her shoulders lifting her away from Skorda.
“Let me handle this, Kierra.”
“No, if he knows how to manipulate the program, he can help Jarek.”
“I know. Go with Eluria.” Devon helped her to her feet and walked her away to where Eluria stood. “Help her get cleaned up. Kierra, when Jarek awakens, you don’t want him to see you like this.”
She looked down at her hands and for the first time realized what she must look like covered in Odon’s blood. Kierra turned to look back over her shoulder toward where she knew Odon’s lifeless body lay, but Devon blocked her view.
“No, Kierra, you don’t need to see him. He’s dead. He won’t hurt you or anyone else ever again. We’ll see what Skorda has to barter with. He’ll be useful in getting us out of here as well.”
Eluria put an arm around her to lead her toward a basin to clean away some of the blood. Kierra looked to where Jarek was still unconscious, still bound. “Release him.” She tried to break free of Eluria to go to him, but Eluria’s grasp was firm.
“Let Devon do what he must, Kierra.” She gently forced Kierra in the other direction.
“I need to go to him. He needs me.”
“Don’t let her thoughtwalk,” Devon said from the other side of the room. “Skorda will attempt to revert what he’s done and it could damage her mind, or inadvertently cause a problem with Jarek.”
“You don’t understand,” Kierra sobbed. “I need to let him know we’re here, that he’s safe and everything will be all right.”
“We don’t know that yet. Do not thoughtwalk. That’s an order.”
“Devon—”
“Kierra, let Devon do what he must. Let’s get you cleaned up.”
“I can’t bear to see him like this. What if he severs the thread, not realizing he’s safe?”
“It’s in Guardian’s hands now. Let them do what they must.”
* * *
An hour later, Skorda sat back in his chair. “That’s all I can do. It isn’t everything, but it’s more than he had. The process isn’t supposed to be reversible.”
“Get him out of those restraints,” Kierra demanded.
Corbin and Torak looked to Devon and he nodded. Jarek moaned and Kierra knew he was returning to consciousness. She hurried over as Corbin and Torak helped him away from the wall and settled him into a chair.
Kierra knelt in front of him. When he opened his eye
s, she was there. She waited, her breath locked in her chest. Would he recognize her? How much damage had Odon done?
She saw the bruises on his body, the cut to his head, and she knew the damage done to his mind. She wanted to hold him, wanted to thoughtwalk to be with him in mind as well as physically.
She stroked the side of his face and he opened his eyes. At least they weren’t the turbulent stormy gray—they were green. She exhaled when she saw the recognition flare when he looked at her.
“Kierra.” His voice was hoarse. He reached out and cupped her face. She saw him wince at the movement. His face was lined with deep grooves, a reminder of the pain he’d suffered. She wanted to kill Odon all over again.
Then she saw the concern reflect in his eyes. “Are you hurt?”
She looked down and realized although she’d been able to wash away most of the blood from her skin, her uniform was still drenched with it. She shook her head. “Odon’s blood.”
His gaze flickered away from her and scanned the room. “Where is he?”
“He’s dead. He won’t be causing anyone pain again.”
“How?”
“Kierra killed him,” Eluria answered. “She got to him before any of us could.”
Jarek looked up at her, confusion evident on his face. “What do you mean she got to him?”
“She used a dagger. She’s been hiding one great wealth of courage or she was just plain crazy,” Eluria said. “You’d have been proud of her though.”
Jarek cupped Kierra’s face. “You shouldn’t have come here at all. You could have been killed.”
“You know I couldn’t have stayed away. Would you have if it had been me?”
He didn’t respond, but simply brushed his lips against hers in a gentle kiss. “You saved my life.”
“Devon wouldn’t let me thoughtwalk to come to you.” She shot a venomous look at her brother.
Kierra's Thread (Argadian Heart Trilogy Book 2) Page 6
