“Just an effect of the relaxing agent, my dear.” He slipped an arm under her on one side and nodded at her uncle. “Grennly, I believe I’m going to need your help. She’s not exactly pocket-sized is she?”
“Do be careful!” Aunt Zeelah exclaimed as Kara’s great uncle grabbed her other arm. “Be sure you keep her absolutely quiet on the way to the office! We can’t have word of this leaking out—we just can’t.”
“Don’t worry, Zeelah—we have the situation well in hand,” Grennly said, doing something to the door which made it unlock.
“The paralytic will reach her vocal cords momentarily,” Dr. ThrobGood added. “And no one ought to be up at this hour. We’ll have those fangs extracted and bring her back to your domicile before even the earliest riser is up.”
As he spoke, he and Grennly had Kara by the arms, dragging her out into the Central Corridor. It was dark and quiet at this hour, only dimly lit by some natural luminescence from the ceiling above. Kara’s feet were dragging on the ground as they pulled her along and every moment it felt as though more and more of her body was going numb. Soon she would be completely under the spell of the drug the awful doctor had given her and then it would be too late…
“No!” The voice that spoke in her head was as loud as a shout but it was clear that no one but Kara heard it. “No, my daughter—you must fight this!” it insisted. It was the same voice that had spoken to her from Nadiah’s picture, Kara realized. “Fight it, Kara,” the voice urged. “Call for help and it shall be given to you.”
Kara’s mouth already felt heavy and her lips felt rubbery, as though she’d been given a huge dose of numbing agent at the dentist’s office. But somehow she managed to call out.
“Help! Somebody help me!” Her lips were so numb the words sounded more like “som-bod hel ee” but her voice carried surprisingly well down the echoing Central Corridor.
“Stop that!” Grennly hissed, clamping a clammy hand over her mouth. “Do you want the entire grotto to know you’re here?”
“She doesn’t need the entire grotto to know—she only needs me.”
The new voice coming out of the darkness ahead of them made Kara jerk her head up despite the drug she’d been given.
Standing there, blocking their path like a pillar made of smoke and shadow, was Raakshas.
Ten
The big Unbondable was bare-chested and wearing nothing but a pair of loose sleeping trousers and boots but he was still a terrible sight to behold. His muscular arms were crossed over his chest and his hair was a wild black wave around his angry face. His silver-ringed eyes flashed in the dim light.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing with Kara?” he demanded, his deep voice rolling and echoing in the long, broad tunnel.
“Who is this and how does he know your niece?” demanded Dr. ThrobGood, sounding incensed.
“I have no idea!” Grennly exclaimed. “He appears to be one of the merchants who came with the last batch—some kind of Kindred spawn—but I don’t know him.”
“You’re gonna know me in a minute if you don’t take your hands off Kara.” Raak’s voice was a deep, menacing growl.
“You have the wrong idea, my good fellow,” Dr. ThrobGood said smoothly. “We are simply taking this young lady for a necessary medical procedure and as you can see, time is of the essence. Now if you would just move aside…”
“I don’t think so.” Raak took a step forward, bending down to look Kara in the eyes. “Hey, baby girl,” he said softly, his own eyes concerned. “What’s going on here?”
Kara tried to answer him but the drug was creeping up on her again. She opened her mouth but no words came out this time.
“As you can see, she’s very ill!” Grennly exclaimed. “We need to get her to the doctor’s office at once! Now will you please get out of the way!”
Raak frowned and for a moment Kara was desperately afraid he was going to believe their lies and let them take her. Then he leaned closer, looking intently at her.
“Just tell me this, Kara—are you going with these two of your own free will?” he asked.
With a mighty effort, Kara somehow found the strength to shake her head back and forth.
“N…no,” she forced out with a gasp.
“Didn’t think so,” Raak said and punched her Uncle Grennly right in the face.
“Oh!” Cursing and swearing, Grennly toppled over, dropping his hold on Kara’s arm which caused her to sag to one side. She would have fallen to the floor except Dr. ThrobGood was still holding doggedly to her other arm.
“All right…” Raak turned to the doctor next, his big fists ready and the light of battle in his silver-ringed eyes. “Are you going to let her go or do you want some of what he got?” He nodded at Grennly who was rolling on the floor, cupping his hands to his bleeding face and moaning about a broken nose.
“You don’t seem to understand—this girl has a deformity.” The doctor spoke clearly and distinctly, as though to a slow child he was trying to explain things to. “I am taking her back to my office to fix her. To help her.”
“Yeah, well it doesn’t look to me like she wants your help.” Raak stepped forward. “Come on—give her up.”
Angrily, Dr. ThrobGood dropped Kara’s arm and shoved her away from him. She would have fallen flat on her face if Raak—moving with amazing speed—hadn’t caught her and swung her into his arms.
“This is an outrage!” The doctor’s fruity voice trembled with anger. “You cannot get away with this! You’ll be expelled from this grotto at once!”
“Oh yeah? You go ahead and try,” Raak growled.
“I’ll do more than that. I am one of the guardians of this grotto and I have the means to defend it!” Dr. ThrobGood declared, his voice echoing with righteous rage.
Cradled against the side of Raak’s chest, Kara could still see the doctor standing beside Grennly, who was still crouched on the floor. Dr. ThrobGood was fumbling inside his furry orange tharp-kilt as though looking for something in an inner pocket. When he got it out, she saw a long, tubular piece of silver with a mouthpiece at one end.
What is that? she thought fuzzily. Some kind of dog whistle?
She got her answer shortly. Putting the silver tube to his lips, Dr. ThrobGood blew a long, loud, shrill blast which echoed all up and down the Central Corridor.
“Help!” he shouted. “Rouse out! Come to the Central Corridor—there is an intruder who must be expelled! The safety of the grotto is imperiled. Rouse out!”
Raak stiffened.
“Oh shit,” Kara heard the big warrior rumble. Then he pulled her closer to his chest. “Hang on, baby girl—I think we better get out of here or we’re in for a world of hurt.”
Kara couldn’t say anything, couldn’t do anything since the paralysis of the drug was now complete. As the citizens of the grotto started tumbling out of their domiciles, all armed and looking for trouble, she thought she had never felt more helpless. All she could do was hope that Raak could save them both as the big Unbondable turned and ran with her in his arms.
Eleven
“We’re in the shit now,” Raak remarked as he ran down the access tunnel, Kara still clutched in his arms. He didn’t know if he was talking more to her or himself. Whatever they had given her—and he was certain the so-called doctor had definitely given her something—had made her nearly inert. She wasn’t a small female but luckily Raak was strong and he had no trouble keeping ahead of the angry mob that was now chasing them, even carrying her in his arms.
Still, there was going to be trouble when they got out into the sub-zero temperatures of the Tranq Prime night. Being half Y’lyn, he had self-heating blood which would keep him from freezing to death but he knew Kara didn’t. Plus, she was only wearing a skimpy blue garment which barely covered her body, leaving her extremities bare. She was in no shape to go out in the bitter cold.
Yet he was afraid he didn’t have a choice. The mob behind him was getting closer and by their yells a
nd shouts, they were out for blood. He had to make a decision—either risk Kara’s life outside on the trip between the grotto and his ship or let her be taken by the mob.
Raak knew what he was going to do—he couldn’t give her back to those bastards who had been dragging her like dead weight down the hallway of the grotto. He had to take a risk—he was pretty sure it was what Kara would want him to do. He had seen the fear in her eyes when he asked if she was there of her own free will and he had heard the desperation in her voice when she called out.
They would just have to risk it.
“Hold on, baby girl,” he told her as he came to the grotto’s exit—the same door they had entered by just a few hours before. “It’s going to be fucking cold out there but I’ll get you to my ship as soon as possible. Okay?”
Of course she couldn’t answer but the shouts of the mob were getting closer. Taking a deep breath, Raak shouldered open the heavy door and plunged out into the freezing night.
Cold…she was so cold. The wind howled around them, pounding them with stinging pieces of ice, making Kara’s hair whip around her face crazily. The bitter freezing chill knifed at her lungs every time she drew breath and made her face—the only part of her that wasn’t completely numb already—sting and throb. It was easily the worst weather she’d ever been out in—like some kind of a super chilled category 5 hurricane.
Raak’s own long black hair was whipping around his head like a flag but he didn’t hesitate a moment. The second they were out the door, he clutched Kara tighter and began to run, his feet crunching in the icy snow that covered the ground.
Though she was still feeling stunned from the drug, Kara couldn’t help marveling at the big warrior’s sheer speed and power. He was sprinting over the frozen ground as easily as another man might run on a level, even track on a sunshiny day. And her own weight—considerable though it was since she was both tall and curvy—didn’t seem to slow him down a bit.
It was as though he was running a race—but a race against who? It appeared that the angry mob had been left behind in the grotto. Which made sense—who wanted to come out in weather like this? You could freeze to death inside of a minute if you weren’t adequately protected.
Suddenly Kara realized why Raak was racing so desperately. He wasn’t running from the mob and he wasn’t running for himself—she had seen him walk through the bitter cold earlier without a care, as though it didn’t bother him at all.
He’s running for me, she realized woozily. He’s worried I’ll freeze. Not surprising considering all she had on was her new royal blue tharp.
I wonder if I’ll die out here? she thought in a strange, detached way. Or get frostbite everywhere and lose all my fingers and toes?
That certainly wouldn’t be pleasant. She was pretty sure that Yipper, the Tolleg surgeon who lived aboard the Mother Ship, could fit her with new prosthetic fingers and toes that would look extremely real and function perfectly, but it just wouldn’t be the same.
I don’t want to lose any part of me, Kara realized. Not even my fangs.
At the present, she couldn’t tell if her extremities were in danger or not. Since she was already numb from the shot Dr. ThrobGood had given her, it was impossible to say.
Suddenly they jolted to a halt.
“Here we are, baby girl,” she heard Raakshas rasp. Since her face was turned up, Kara could see that they were standing under the belly of a large black ship with red markings. Raak transferred her to one arm only and did something with the other which caused a gangplank to descend from the belly of the ship. He jumped aboard it before it was even finished coming down, his boots clanking on the metal. The move jolted Kara but she was still in no shape to protest. She simply lay limp in his arms as he ran up the plank and into his ship.
What else could she do?
Twelve
The minute they were inside with the door shut tight behind them, Raak carried her to the back of the ship and laid her on a long, low sleeping platform.
“Okay, let’s see the damage,” he muttered and began to examine her.
Kara still couldn’t move but the feeling was beginning to come back to her body slowly. She was able to feel his big hands as he ran them anxiously up and down her arms and legs, paying special attention to her fingers and toes.
She cried out weakly when his touch caused pain and Raak frowned.
“Goddess damn it, I got us here as fast as I could but you’re still in a bad way. We need to get you warmed up, baby girl.”
He left for a moment and Kara heard the sound of water running in the other room. In a moment he came back and lifted her off the bed.
“Wh…where?” she managed to get out.
“Tub,” Raak responded shortly. “Gotta get your core temperature back where it needs to be.”
Kara wanted to protest that she didn’t want him bathing her—the very idea was extremely embarrassing—but there wasn’t much she could do. Though some of the effects of the drug ThrobGood had given her were slowly fading, she still couldn’t move her arms and legs. She did manage to wiggle her toes but she cried out in pain when a sharp stabbing feeling ran through her foot at the motion.
“Easy now,” Raak cautioned her, laying her gently down in a deep tub which was already half full of warm water. “We need to get you heated up but slowly, baby girl. Can’t go too fast or we’ll make things worse than they are.”
At least he didn’t take off her tharp, Kara thought distractedly as the warm water started to lap around her skin. That would have been extremely embarrassing—no man had ever seen her naked before and she wasn’t exactly ready to start now.
The big warrior bent his attention to splashing water over her hands and feet. The warmth of the water sent painful shocks through her fingers and toes but she tried to keep from crying out. Clearly the pain was a good sign—it showed that her extremities were still in working order.
But the water began to rise and the drug in her system meant her head was sinking down as the warm liquid lapped against her cheeks. Kara gave a little cry of fear as she tried in vain to lift her head. Was she going to escape being frozen only to be drowned?
Raak heard her cry and turned quickly, frowning as he saw what was happening.
“Hang on, baby girl—I’ve got you.”
Quickly he slipped into the tub with her, insinuating his muscular bulk behind hers. Kara found herself comfortably supported with her back against his bare chest and his long legs on either side of hers. He had managed to take off his boots, she saw, but he still had on his black flight leathers which were currently getting soaked.
Not that Raak seemed to care.
“It’s okay, Kara,” he murmured, stroking her wet hair out of her face and cradling her gently in his arms. “Everything is gonna be all right now—I promise.”
She still couldn’t talk but she looked up at him trustingly. How had he found her? How had he known she was in trouble in the first place?
Kara supposed it didn’t matter. The main thing was that he had rescued her from what was literally a fate worse than death—having her fangs pulled and being neutered forever.
The feeling was slowly returning to her fingers and toes and she felt safe in his arms. Soulless or not, Raak was certainly acting like any concerned Kindred male when a female he cared about was in trouble.
Does he care about me though? She supposed he must or he wouldn’t have come to her rescue. And he wouldn’t be taking such good care of her now. As she looked up into his silver-ringed ebony eyes she felt…
Something twisting and squeezing her nipples.
“Ahh!” Kara gasped and struggled weakly. What in the Seven Hells was going on? Was Raak touching her? Taking advantage of her weakened state?
But no—she could see his big hands resting on his knees on either side of her when she looked down. So what was happening? Who or what was molesting her?
The tharp! she realized as the soft fabric tightened around her nipples even
more. They were already erect from being in the extreme cold and now the royal blue tharp was stroking her aching tips, its downy fabric more gentle and yet more persistent than any lover’s hands could be.
Not that Kara had ever had a lover but still…
She squirmed uncomfortably in Raak’s arms. The big Unbondable frowned and looked down at her anxiously.
“Kara? You okay?” he rumbled.
“Uh…uh…” Kara’s mouth and tongue still didn’t want to work properly. But even if they did, what could she say—help, I’m being molested by my dress?
At that moment, she felt the soft fabric of the tharp stroking between her thighs as well, gently teasing the top of her mound and the slit of her pussy.
“Ahhh!” Kara gasped in protest and flopped like a fish trying to get away. But there was nowhere to run—she was literally paralyzed and at the mercy of the perverted tharp which continued to stroke her nipples and now was gently opening the lips of her pussy.
Kara tried desperately to close her thighs but though the smaller muscles of her fingers and toes seemed willing to work, the bigger muscle groups were still frozen in place. There was nothing she could do as the tharp molded itself around her throbbing clit and began a gentle massage. In the warm water she was half submerged in, it felt almost like a knowing tongue lapping her open pussy.
That thought brought another image to mind—one of Raak between her thighs, going down on her. Kara had never let a male do that to her before, despite the fact that it was something all Kindred males craved. She had wanted to save her first tasting for the right one. But now images filled her head—thoughts of the big Unbondable lapping and sucking her pussy until she moaned and tugged his wild black hair, begging him to do more, to bring her to the edge…
No! I can’t be having these thoughts—what’s wrong with me? Kara wondered. I ought to be angry, not horny—this damn tharp is molesting me!
And she was angry—furious in fact. But that didn’t change the fact that what the royal blue tharp was doing felt good. Gasping, she shifted in Raak’s arms again. Oh Goddess, if the damn thing kept this up she was going to come—come while he was watching.
Unbondable: Book 1 of the Kindred Birthright Series (Brides of the Kindred) Page 8
