Blood Love (God Wars Book 4)

by Connie Suttle

  Trajan wandered in and dropped a kiss on top of my head before settling on a chair beside Bekzi.

  "Look at this." Gentle hands cupped my face from behind. I went completely still. I knew that voice. That scent. Kooper. I sobbed; I couldn't help myself.

  "It's all right, go ahead and cry," Bill soothed after Kooper lifted me off my seat and held me. I gripped the jacket he wore so tightly I ripped it in my fingers, attempting (uselessly) to hold back tears.

  "Bree, anybody you can't read won't be hurt by your tears; Graegar said that last night," Bill soothed. Other hands and scents came. Trevor. Stellan. Trevor lifted me away from Kooper and kissed my tears. That had never happened. Ever.

  "Teeg sends this and his best wishes," Stellan held out a silk handkerchief.

  "Stellan, I missed you so much," I blubbered.

  "I know, baby. But that's in the past, now," he crooned before leaning in and kissing me.

  Chapter 3

  Breanne's Journal

  Five-pound weights did me in. Trajan probably should have laughed his head off. He didn't. I was grateful. "Your body has to come back to normal. Gradually increasing your exercise will help a lot," he said. "I'm gonna make you sweat," he added. "But somebody will help you wash it off."

  "Sure," I sighed. I lay flat on my back in Trajan's dojo, staring at his face, which hovered far above mine. I'd done three push-ups after lifting five-pound weights for ten minutes. Three push-ups. I was a vampire, for Pete's sake. Weak as I was, I should have done better than that.

  "The body goes downhill fast if it does nothing but lie in bed," Kevis' face appeared beside Trajan's. "Muscles don't respond well to that."

  "Thanks for the medical opinion," I rasped.

  "Anytime," Kevis grinned.

  "Are you breathing normally, sweetheart?" Bill's head appeared in my line of vision.

  "Yeah. Absolutely. Any day, now," I said.

  "We can work with you again later," Kooper, Stellan and Trevor appeared on my other side. "In the pool," Stellan added.

  "The pool is warm," Bill said. "It would be ideal."

  "We get in pool," Chazi, Perzi and Bekzi appeared at my feet.

  "Come on," Bill knelt beside me and helped me sit up. "I'll take you to the hot tub. Then you can nap before lunch."

  "Okay, who's making these plans?" I asked while Trajan and Bill lifted me off the mat.

  "We are," Bill said. "Can you walk, or do you want to be carried?"

  "I can walk," I muttered, wanting more than anything to walk away and leave them behind. I needed a hand to steady me, however. I got two. Stellan and Kooper stepped in, with Trevor right behind. At that moment, I wanted to growl at all of them. I was tired, out of sorts and practically helpless. I didn't like that at all.

  "Breanne, that reaction is understandable," Kevis said behind me. "Don't let it harm you or those around you. They only want to help."

  "She's not used to that—people wanting to help," Bill muttered. "She's used to people using her. She's not used to being loved, either, so we have to do something about that."

  "I'm right here," I pointed out.

  "We know that," Trajan snickered. "We just want you to argue with us," he added.

  "What Trajan is saying is that he—and the others—want your attention. If it takes an argument to get it, that's what they'll do," Kevis informed me.

  "Is that what you're doing?" I stopped for a breather and to turn and look at Trajan.

  "Baby doll, you're the most important thing here to us, so yeah, we want some attention."

  "This one needs attention, too." I whirled to see Merrill and Kiarra's son, Franklin, standing before us, his hands gripping the shoulders of the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen.

  Piercing blue eyes gazed blankly at me, while a river of black hair fell about her shoulders and almost to her waist. We were nearly the same height; I saw that immediately. I lowered my shields to read her. This was Kay—the one Bill and the others were so worried about.

  The information hit me like blows. So much. So much had happened to this one, and little of it had been kind or with her well-being in mind. I wanted to scream. I couldn't. The best I could do was moan as the images proved to be too much and darkness took me.

  * * *

  "Dearest, what did you see?" Graegar had arrived, with Barrigar right behind him. Somehow, I'd ended up back in my bed while two Larentii bent over me and the others stood around the bed, looking halfway guilty. I couldn't read most of them, but it didn't take a genius to figure out why they felt guilty.

  "Graegar, I saw awful things." I covered my eyes with a shaking hand, as if that would block the visions now buried in my brain.

  "Kevis needs to know those things, in order to help Kay," Bill said softly.

  "Kay needs my help, Bill Jennings." My retort was harsher than I meant it to be. "Kevis can work with her all he wants after I get done, but without my help, she'll never be close to normal."

  "Bree, I didn't mean," Bill began.

  "Honey, I know that. I'm sorry. Where's Kevis? I'll tell him what I know, but until I get some strength back, I can't do much for her."

  "I'm here," Kevis stepped through a crowd to get to my bedside.

  "You can stay. Graegar and Barrigar can stay. Everybody else needs to go," I sighed.

  There was grumbling, but I didn't want all of Kay's secrets poured out to everybody. At the last moment, someone else popped in. I should have expected it. Ashe.

  At least Ashe didn't speak, or demand that I spill everything immediately. This would take time, and frankly, I wanted to throw up. Was reading Kay a trigger? Oh, yes. It made me wonder if I'd ever get past my early life and be anything close to normal.

  "Kay is two people," I began.

  "Huh?" I'd taken Kevis off guard.

  "This is difficult for you, isn't it?" Barrigar said.

  "Yeah."

  "Then let me help." Graegar moved aside so Barrigar could sit on the side of my bed. Lifting me into muscular blue arms, he smiled gently at me before tucking my head beneath his chin.

  "Now," his chest rumbled with the word, "tell us."

  Barrigar and Graegar were sending me energy and emotional strength, and I had no idea how they were accomplishing that feat. It didn't matter—I felt so much better because of it, and might be able to get through what I had to say.

  "Kay has two souls inside her body," I said. "One is named Kalia, and she is horribly damaged. The other is named Kay—really—and she's somewhat damaged, too. Kay is more coherent, but Kalia's fears override everything. Right now, that's what is going on inside her body—Kay's consciousness is being squashed by Kalia's terror."

  "A walk-in soul? Are you sure?" Kevis breathed. "I mean, I've heard of it, but I've never seen it. Always thought it might be a myth."

  "It's true in Kay's case," I said. Barrigar's fingers stroked my face gently, while Graegar reached for one of my hands and kissed the palm. Both Larentii were as warm as a summer day, which was more than welcome—I felt chilled.

  "Are they fighting? The souls? Is that why she acts as though she's not really there?" Ashe broke his silence, then. He was terrified for Kay—I could tell from his voice.

  "Yes and no," I said. "Kalia is so afraid that she takes over everything with her fear. Kay can't withstand that."

  "What makes Kalia afraid, dearest?" Graegar asked softly. He was asking the big question, when he knew how awful the answers might be—for me to tell and for the others to hear.

  "Kalia was a sex slave," I said. "She was trained as such from the age of six, and sold to a pedophile criminal when she was nine. She's terrified of women, because women trained her—hurt her—when she was little. She's afraid that any man will ask her to perform, well, you know," I sighed. "There has never been real love in Kalia's life. Obsession and torture, yes. Love—no."

  "How did Kay's soul get there?" Ashe asked.

  "Kay is from Earth," I said. "She was disfigured from injuries received in
a fire that burned her house and killed her parents when she was tiny. She wasn't accepted because of the way she looked." Yeah, I knew exactly how that felt.

  "But that doesn't explain," Ashe began.

  "I'm not done, yet," I said. "Kay was shot in a bank during a botched robbery attempt. Somehow, her soul was transferred to Kalia's body, just as Kalia was being tortured by Iversti Foculis. Kay has a peculiar talent that Kalia doesn't," I said. What I was about to say made me tremble, and that caused Barrigar to hold me tighter against him.

  "What is that?" Ashe's voice was softer. Gentler. As if he'd been told that this upset me a great deal. It did. I had images burned in my brain of the criminal sadist, Iversti Foculis, cutting designs into Kalia's stomach and grinning while she screamed.

  "Show us," Graegar suggested. "Just let the images play while you connect with us," he said.

  "All right." I huddled against Barrigar and sent the images.

  * * *

  Ashe's Journal

  I saw it. It was horrible. Kalia was chained to a wall, her mouth open in a terrifying scream as Iversti Foculis cut into her belly with a knife. He'd already drawn smaller sun wheels into her flesh. This one was larger.

  He laughed while she screamed. Then I saw the sudden difference in her. Kalia's eyes changed and the scream cut off. Iversti jerked his head up—he imagined she'd fainted. That wasn't the case. Kay looked out of Kalia's eyes, and I knew in that moment that her soul had been transferred into Kalia's body.

  "You die," Kay hissed, and Iversti dropped to the floor, quite dead.

  "How?" I spoke aloud. Yes, Breanne suffered to give these images to me. How could she not? I knew that her past was just as horrible as Kalia's, and at that moment, her terror washed through the images, making my heart speed up and filling me with fear.

  That was what she faced daily. The potential triggering of memories so terrible they could be debilitating. Kalia was much the same, although most of her abuse was sexual and not just physical.

  "Kay can see most people's aura lines," Breanne sighed while Barrigar began to trill softly.

  * * *

  Breanne's Journal

  "Not just auras?" Kevis asked. He sounded confused.

  "There are lines of basic colors that form secondary aura colors," I explained. Barrigar had begun trilling softly, and frankly, it helped me push the awful memories aside so I could explain Kay's talent. "Kay can see the lines," I said. "Not only can she do that, she can change them, too. She can make someone who's sick well. If you were vampire and wanted to be able to eat normally, she could do that. If you were human and wanted to be werewolf, she could do that. Obviously, she hasn't done any of those things. So far, Kay has only used her talent twice, and both times it was to do the same thing."

  "What was that?" Ashe asked. He suspected, now, but he wanted to hear it anyway.

  "If she turns the aura lines all black, that person dies. She's killed twice. First, it was the gunman in the bank robbery, after he shot her. Second was Iversti Foculis, for torturing Kalia."

  "She can do this to anyone?" Kevis breathed, sounding shocked.

  "If she can read your lines. Anybody with power she generally can't read. That means Larentii. Gods. Saa Thalarr. Some wizards and warlocks. A few others, maybe."

  "The Elemaiya have a term for this," Ashe rose and raked fingers through his hair. "It's a myth to them," he added. "They call the one who holds this power Ri'Kita—the Changer."

  "Kalia is a pureblood Elemaiya," I said. "Kay was a quarter." Ashe's head jerked around and he stared at me. "Kalia's parents sold her when she was tiny to those fucking women who train girls for pedophiles," I gritted. "As soon as I'm able, I'm hunting those women down and making them dead."

  I didn't add that Hordace Cayetes, the criminal who'd purchased Kalia, was also on my radar, as were several others—Rezil Foculis and Q'And and Q'Ind Ribalo, to name three.

  "Dearest, there are others who need dispatching first," Graegar reminded me.

  "Yeah." My anger deflated, leaving me beyond weary.

  "How soon, Breanne? How soon can you help Kay?" Ashe had turned back to me again. Barrigar increased the volume of his trilling, making my eyes droop.

  "Don't know," I whispered before falling asleep.

  * * *

  "Traje, the next time I start to yell at anybody, punch me in the mouth," Ashe mumbled as he took a chair next to his Second.

  "Be happy to," Trajan nodded.

  "Try this," Fes set a slice of cake in front of Trajan, before cutting a second piece and offering it to Ashe.

  "This smells like heaven," Trajan grinned and cut into the cake with a fork.

  "It's really good—one of Reah's recipes," Fes grinned.

  "Oh, yeah, this is amazing," Trajan spoke around a second mouthful.

  "There's food?" Stellan walked in, followed by Trevor, Kooper and the reptanoids. Chazi, Bekzi and Perzi recognized Kooper as a lion snake shapeshifter from the beginning, and admired him greatly after he'd shifted for them earlier. All of them felt better, too, when Graegar came and explained that Breanne was sleeping and not in pain or distress.

  "Have a seat," Fes nodded toward barstools around the island. "We'll all have cake, coffee and talk."

  "How we get Bree back?" Chazi began.

  "Make feel strong?" Perzi expanded on his brother's question.

  "No idea, and I'd like that more than anything right now," Ashe sighed. "Cake's excellent, Fes. No offense, Bill."

  "None taken," Bill settled on a barstool and accepted a piece of cake. "I've been to Desh's on Tulgalan, remember? I still want to steal the fish recipe."

  "We can make it tomorrow if you want. I just need to get the fish."

  "Wait, I just had an idea," Trajan gripped Ashe's arm—hard.

  "Wow, that must have hurt," Trace walked in, grinning.

  "What?" Ashe asked.

  "Bring your cake—we'll go out to the groves," Trajan lifted his plate and fork.

  "Lead on," Ashe nodded. He and Trajan disappeared.

  * * *

  Ashe's Journal

  "You're not joking, are you?" I shook my head at Trajan.

  "Look, you're Strength, right? Isn't that what Bree needs? Strength?"

  "But how," I almost stuttered the words as it hit me. Breanne—physically, anyway—was vampire. If she took my blood—was it worth the effort?

  "What will it hurt? She'll only take a little—she gags otherwise," Trajan pointed out. "Last I heard from Charles and Jayson, you'll never know she's there. Until, well," Trajan didn't finish.

  "The climax, you mean?"

  "Yeah. Look, boss, you haven't had, uh," he floundered for a moment before giving up.

  "Not in a while," I agreed grimly. For me, sex didn't mean much unless I cared about the woman, and there'd been few of those through the years. Yes, I knew how. I'd studied it quite intensely between my seventeenth and thirty-fifth years. Practiced it too—after my twentieth birthday, Trajan and I had been in plenty of bars, from one end of the Alliances to the other. Women always approached us. Always.

  Both of us, however, had tired of casual sex. We'd begun waiting—hoping—for the one for us to come along. Kalia's face kept appearing in my mind throughout the years. I measured any woman I met against her and found them wanting.

  "Look, it won't be a big deal. What if you do need to uh, change your shorts? So what?"

  I'll admit, that made me laugh. Trajan was doing it on purpose, too. I felt as if I were sixteen again, and as inexperienced as I'd been back then.

  "You mean I'll drop my wad in my pants? Is that what you're saying?" I asked.

  Trajan bent over, and it took me a moment to realize he was holding back laughter. Finally, a loud guffaw escaped and he fell to his knees while laughter poured out of him.

  Yes, he'd been incredibly stressed when he had no idea whether Breanne would survive. Now that she was back and things were looking up, he was releasing all the tension in booming laught
er.

  "Bro, I could hear you from two miles away," Trace folded in to stare at his older brother.

  "He's releasing some steam," I shrugged at Trace. "Look, we may have an option to help Kay and Breanne. At least I hope it'll work. We just have to convince Breanne when she wakes," I said.

  "What's that?" Trace was interested immediately. "Chessman asked about her when I took Frank home."

  "Ashe is gonna give Bree some blood." Trajan stood and grinned at his brother.

  "Seriously? Sounds like a cool idea. Hope it works," Trace lifted a speculative eyebrow at Ashe. "How long has it been since?"

  "We were just discussing that, and the inevitable necessity of changing my underwear," I replied, feigning indifference.

  "You could always talk to Aedan, too," Trajan pointed out.

  "Yeah. I guess I could talk to Dad," I agreed. "See ya." I folded away.

  * * *

  "Son?" He looked up as I approached. Aedan Evans, the only father I would ever know, looked up from the seedling gishi tree he was planting.

  "Dad, I need some advice," I said.

  "What kind of advice?" He was surprised—I hadn't come to him for advice in two hundred years.

  "About the bite."

  "Ah. How is she?" he asked, going back to his task and settling dirt around the fragile stem. "Breanne," he added. Everybody at SouthStar knew. It didn't matter—they couldn't pass the barrier anyway. Not without permission and somebody powerful enough to ferry them through. Only three people could do that, and the other two wouldn't do it without my knowledge or consent.

  "Better, but really, really weak," I replied.

  "So you think to allow her to take from you."

  "Yeah. It was a thought and worth a try, since Kay may benefit in the long run."

  "Breanne can help Kay?" Dad turned his full attention to me, then.

  "Yeah. She says she can, anyway, and there's no reason not to believe her."

  "Is there any way?" he began. I knew what he wanted—he wanted to have things as they were before with my mother.

  "Dad, I don't know." What I did know—and had never told him (or my mother) was that Breanne had already helped them a great deal. The fact that they hadn't been honest with each other was what eventually drove them apart. I still had hope that they'd set that aside someday.