Edana led them through a number of rooms into a massive kitchen. From there she hobbled down a set of servant stairs, leading into a darkly lit basement.
Be wary, Galen warned. We don’t know what to expect. He used his energy balls to increase the light.
Brooke didn’t think Edana would betray them, but they couldn’t be too careful in this situation.
They finally reached a massive room that resembled more of a dungeon than a proper basement in a luxurious house. The Ferals had set up eleven metal cages, all but one holding a child between the ages of six or seven and maybe fourteen. The cold raised goose bumps across her body. The light was barely bright enough to highlight the center of the room, let alone the shadowed corners.
The kids all jumped up when they came in and shouted, “Dana!”, “Edana!”,
“You’re back!”, “What happened?”
Edana stood panting, bent forward and resting her hands on her thighs. “Thank Jade,” she whispered.
Galen set a number of energy balls to float around like light fixtures. Nikolai studied the set-up with hands on his hips. “That’s new.” The new light sources showed bare brick walls and windows covered in bars. The kids had no running water, only buckets for the necessities. Going by their pallor and thin bodies, Brooke wasn’t sure the Ferals even bothered to feed them.
This neglect on top of everything else the little ones had suffered through drove Brooke nearly to her knees. Nikolai sent her his strength and warmth. She took a couple of deeper breaths and nodded her thanks.
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“I wonder what else will happen.” Nikolai stepped beside her, commenting on Galen’s new power.
Galen fried the locks. In no time the kids huddled around Edana.
Any ideas what we’re going to do with them now? Brooke asked.
Nikolai shrugged. Take them to the house, try to figure out what happened to their parents and find out if they still have living relatives.
Edana will have to go to Catullus, Galen said. She’s at least half Naema.
Brooke’s eyes flew to the young woman. “We’ll have to look for her family first.” Galen touched her back. “We will, but if she has even only half our Gifts, she needs to learn control.”
“Maybe her parents have taught her. Why does she need to be trained on the Naema home world?”
“They have the best teachers and facilities. Brooke, we don’t have to make any decisions right now, but she will have to learn.” Brooke only wanted to return the girl to loving parents, ensure she still had a small chance of living a normal life after everything she’s been through.
He’s right. I’m a danger until I learn control.
Brooke braced her knees and grabbed Nikolai’s arm, the girl’s power ploughed through her defenses as if she had none. Edana’s voice echoed through her head, making her feel dizzy.
Her eyes met Edana’s.
The girl had spoken in her head. And her head only.
Her men supported her, but didn’t know what happened until she showed them.
“Who are your parents, Edana?” Galen asked.
The young woman gently ushered the younger children to the door. “I have no parents.” With the kids before her, she climbed up the steps.
Galen, Nikolai and Brooke stared after her.
“Interesting young lady,” Nikolai said.
Brooke snorted. “That’s one way to put it.”
She took Galen’s hand. His warm, calloused fingers laced through hers. “Let’s go.
We still have a lot of work to do.”
“I will start a background search as soon as we get back to the Mercy,” Galen said.
His eyes remained glued to the doorway Edana had just walked through.
“I can contact Kayla,” Brooke said. “There’s nothing she can’t find on the StarNet.” Nikolai put a hand on his shoulder.
Galen exhaled and patted his lover’s hand. “I’m all right. I hadn’t expected to find a Naema as a hostage, and certainly not one so young.” He turned to Brooke. “That would be helpful. The more eyes the better.”
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His need to find out about Edana, her story and why she would deny her parents, crashed through Brooke. She tightened her grip on his hand and braced herself for the onslaught. “We will take her to Catullus.” She kissed his palm, her lips caressing him as she offered comfort. “The rest of your team can work on the traffickers. There’s a Naema we need to identify.”
“She’s right. This one is personal.” Nikolai took Brooke’s other hand.
“Let’s do this,” Brooke said and walked upstairs into the main room, her men at her side.
She froze in the doorway when she saw a big Vampire standing in the middle of the room, looking around in disgust.
Nikolai stepped around her. “Darius, I’m glad you made it.” Darius’ dark demeanor lightened when he saw them. “I could say the same about you.”
Edana and the kids huddled together in one corner of the room, but two kids had run to a couple of the women kneeling on the floor. Life returned to their eyes. Mother and child held on tightly to each other.
The children’s voices stirred something in the other adult survivors. They seemed to come out of a trance and look around. When they realized there were no Ferals present, they slowly climbed to their feet.
Brooke and the men stood a little away. “They are going to need a lot of help and therapy,” she said.
Darius nodded. “Stasia is on the ship. She’s a survivor herself and will help in the first instance. We will take them to Rabelais. There’s a clinic there that will help them.”
“How do you know about it?” Brooke asked.
“After we freed the first group of survivors, Stasia and I realized we needed qualified personnel. We hired doctors and nurses and set up the clinic. Rabelais is close enough to the core they will feel safer, and far away enough word won’t spread to the Guard. We also have to change their memories and turn their attackers into humans.
We’re trying to stop this from turning into a war.” Do you trust him? Brooke asked Galen and Nikolai.
Completely, Nikolai replied.
Galen showed her memories of Darius fighting at their side, Darius protecting a group of humans from Ferals and, finally, an image of the big Vampire at his wedding.
His deep love for his wife was written on his face and persuaded her more than anything else Galen showed her.
Brooke relaxed even more when Darius’ lifemate Anastasia came off the ship. The woman was confident and knew exactly what to do with the survivors. Brooke helped her as much as she could, while Galen and Nikolai brought Darius up to date.
They disappeared for a little while to go through Silas’ computer. Darius updated the small group of warriors the Vampire Council had authorized. He transferred the 136
sales data and dispatched the teams in an attempt to recover as many of the settlers as possible.
Once the survivors were settled on Darius’ ship the Empress, Brooke and her men headed back to Nikolai’s house.
“Our house,” Nikolai said, his voice and grip on her hand firm as he held her gaze.
“Whatever I own belongs to you too.”
Brooke smiled, but fatigue weighed her down. It had been a long and exhausting day. Before she could take another step, Nikolai swung her up in his arms. “We’re here to look after you.” He carried her into the bathroom. Galen had already started filling the enormous tub.
Brooke looked at the steam coming off the water and moaned in delight. Nikolai dropped her back on her feet and the men undressed her. Brooke did the same to them.
Naked, all three crawled into the tub and settled down, Brooke in her now habitual position in the middle.
“What’s first?” she asked, her head on Nikolai’s shoulder and her legs entwined with Galen’s.
“I’ve started the run on Edana, no last name. There’s a lot
of data to sift through.
She didn’t grow up in a Naema community, but younglings lose control during puberty. There will be traces of accidents, suspicious occurrences, weird disappearances. She’ll have moved frequently,” Galen said, massaging her calves.
“But that can run in the background. First priority is to find the Naema involved with the traffickers.”
“And we need to track down the Spaniard,” Nikolai rubbed his hand up and down her back.
Brooke’s eyelids dropped. “Tomorrow,” she murmured. “Tonight I just want to be with you.”
She couldn’t see it, but she knew her men grinned. The warm and happy sensation through her connection was like a light purr in the back of her mind. When they took turns at washing and kissing her, she relaxed more and more.
Here she was, with her Vampire and her Naema. Her lifemates. There were still a number of issues they needed to address, but right now?
Right now Brooke was exactly where she wanted to be for the rest of her hopefully long life.
In their arms.
The End
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About the Author
Tina Christopher spent her early years flitting across the Channel between Germany and England. After touring the world extensively, she finally laid down roots in Toronto. And while Canada’s winters may be frigid, Tina’s characters are anything but!
Like most writers, Tina often hears voices in her head, but it took the encouragement of an editor friend before she actually put fingers to keyboard. While those first stories will never see the light of day, she’s subsequently honed her craft and learned to build not just worlds, but entire galaxies. Her first book from Ellora’s Cave features a galaxy filled with Vampires, Humans and angel-like aliens called Naema.
When not imagining faraway worlds and scorching-hot encounters, Tina can be found on her sofa working through her never-ending TBR pile or venturing into the real world—whether to a nearby café or a passport-required destination. She’s a member of RWA’s Toronto chapter. Her two degrees in environmental conservation, majoring in large animal studies, come in handy when wrestling with supernatural beasties.
Tina welcomes comments from readers. You can find her website and email address on her author bio page at www.ellorascave.com.
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