Please, God, she didn’t want to die alone in this alien world, but neither would she go down without fighting. Calling upon all her years of training, she yanked her focus away from the anxiety churning in her chest and on to the externals.
She could hear her sensei’s gravelly voice in her head. Breathe in and breathe out, slow and steady. Control yourself even if you cannot control the situation.
Good advice. As she gradually calmed down, she realized there was now a hairbreadth more room between her neck and Jeban’s blade. If he so much as flinched, she’d go on the attack, using her bare hands if necessary.
Suddenly, she could make out the vague shape of someone coming toward them. One minute the trail was empty, and the next, as if forming from the darkest of the shadows themselves, a man stepped into the farthest reaches of the firelight. He wore all black and a Kalith cloak, the hood pulled down close to his face.
Her heart sank as he calmly strode toward them, everything about him screaming that he didn’t doubt his welcome. At first glance, she assumed it was Kolar. But then she looked again. After hours of trailing the Kalith, she knew how Kolar moved. And this wasn’t him. She was sure of it.
The weight of the silence pressed down on her, making it hard to breathe and even harder to hope. If something had happened to Kolar, it didn’t necessarily translate to this guy being on her side.
Jeban shifted his weight, the first movement he’d made since he’d grabbed her. She leaned in the opposite direction, but he only tightened his hold.
Then he rattled off something in his native language. Whatever he said, it clearly wasn’t meant to be friendly. The newcomer showed no reaction at all, instead continuing his approach without a break in his step. If he was at all worried, it sure didn’t show.
Jeban spoke again, this time clearly in warning. He was growing more agitated by the newcomer’s refusal to answer because he once again pressed the blade of his sword against Reggie’s neck.
“I will kill her.” This time he spoke in English.
The hooded figure paused a short distance away and tossed the edge of his cloak back over his shoulders as he drew his weapon. A Kalith sword. Then she saw the gun in his other hand.
For the first time the new arrival spoke. “If she dies, so will you, and it will be a death without honor. You will die screaming for mercy, just as your buddy did.”
“Who are you?” Jeban demanded as he dragged Reggie back a few steps.
The stranger followed them, step for step. Then he tipped his head back and let the hood drop onto his shoulders. He was no stranger after all, at least not to her.
“Reggie, has this bastard or his dead partner hurt you?” D.J.’s dark eyes met hers, promising retribution if they had.
“I’ll be all right now,” she whispered around the pressure of the blade on her throat. “I knew you’d come.”
Her captor didn’t like that remark one bit. His hand dropped from her throat to her breast. “Tell me, human, is she really that good that you risk dying for the chance to have her underneath you again?”
Did Jeban see his own death reflected in the Paladin’s angry gaze? Reggie hoped so. She might not survive the night, but at least the two men who had dragged her into this hellish world would pay for their crimes.
Then she realized that Jeban was now pointing his sword toward D.J. rather than at her. This might be her one chance to break his hold on her. She slowly blinked three times right at D.J. and then slowly tilted her head to the side, trying to convey her intent. The corner of his mouth twitched up in a small smile.
“So, tell me, Other, do you prefer death by bullet or blade? This sword was loaned to me by a Kalith friend, if you’re curious. Didn’t want you to think I stole it off your dead friend.”
As soon as Jeban started to respond, Reggie lunged to the side, dropping to roll out of his reach and leave him an open target for D.J. The Kalith charged after her, his sword raised and ready to slash down in a lethal arc. She had instinctively held up her arm to block the blow when a series of shots rang out. Jeban’s murderous fury evolved into a look of stunned surprise as his life ended in a burst of blood and brains.
Pure panic took over as Reggie stared at the aftermath. Jeban lay sprawled on the ground, crumpled and broken. His unseeing eyes stared at her in dead bewilderment as someone screamed loud and long. Even when she realized that she was making all the noise, she couldn’t seem to stop. It went on and on, ripping her throat raw.
Damn, D.J. hadn’t meant for Reggie to catch the brunt of the Other’s death. But if he’d delayed even a second longer to see if she could get out of range, the Other could’ve gutted her with his sword. Why the fucker had gone after her instead of D.J. was a mystery, unless he thought to hurt D.J. in the worst way possible by taking her life.
If Reggie had to end up covered in gore, at least it was the Other’s. D.J. paused to cover the body with the guy’s own cloak before kneeling down to wrap Reggie in his arms. She buried her face against his chest, still keening her pain and fear.
“Shhh, honey, it’s over for now. I’ve got you. You’re safe.”
Slowly, her sobs slowed down and then stopped. But when she tried to wipe away the tears on her cheeks, her hands came away covered in blood.
She held out her bloody palms, her hysteria ramping up again. “Get it off! Please get it off!”
He’d love to accommodate her, but he had to prioritize what came next. He caught her hands in his as he looked around the Kaliths’ camp.
“I will take care of this, but it will have to wait until I make sure there aren’t any more of these bastards in the immediate vicinity. By the looks of things, this place was set up for more than just the two of them and you.”
Reggie looked back toward the shrouded figure on the ground with a shudder.
“Jeban said the rest would be here late tomorrow.” Her words came out in hiccups as she fought to control the sobs.
“Good. That’s real good, Reggie. Okay, I’ll go back and get some water. The creek I passed is some distance away, but I promise I’ll haul ass. Will you be all right alone while I’m gone?”
“No, wait.” She held out a shaky hand to point in the opposite direction. “Past the tents. There’s water that way.”
Better yet. “Good, we’ll go wash all of that off you.”
He picked her up and carried her over to the side of a quiet pool of water that fed into a narrow stream. After setting her back down, he rooted through his pack for something Reggie could use to clean up with. A spare shirt would have to do. He tore off a strip to use as a washcloth while keeping the rest for a makeshift towel.
Then he tested the temperature of the water with his hand.
“The water is clear but a little cold.” He considered their options, none of them good. Best to just get on with it.
“Reggie, your clothes are covered in blood, so I need you to strip them off. Afterward, you can cover up with my cloak and sit by the fire while I wash out your clothes and hang them up to dry.”
She nodded, but her hands were shaking too hard to manage by herself. D.J. reluctantly took over, starting with her shoes and then working his way up to her tunic and trousers. Yeah, he’d been wanting to get Reggie naked, but not like this.
For both their sakes, he left her bra and panties in place for her to deal with. He did his honorable best not to notice how her nipples pebbled up in the evening chill or the way her narrow waist gave way to the gentle flare of her hips. God, he was a bastard for even thinking about such things.
He held out the pieces of his shirt. “You’re good to go. Use these to wash up.”
Then he noticed a dark streak caught up in the curls of her hair. When he touched it, his hand came away bloody.
“Uh, looks like you need to wash your hair, too.”
Her eyes widened in horror as the implication of what he was saying sank in. “How am I going to do that from the edge of the water?”
She was
right. “Maybe a quick rinse won’t get the job done. Maybe you should just go for broke and take a quick bath.”
Reggie studied the dark sheen of the water suspiciously, but finally she nodded. “All right, if you think it’s safe.”
“It should be,” he assured her, mentally crossing his fingers. “Give me a second so I can see what kind of supplies I have that you can use.”
He dumped the pack out on the ground and studied the contents: shampoo, a toothbrush, a bar of soap, and even a spare tunic. Damn, Devlin and Barak had thought of everything.
He arranged the items on a flat rock next to the edge of the water. “Here you go, Reggie. I’ll turn my back, but I’ll stay close by in case you need me.”
He did as promised, but listened to make sure she was doing all right. The rustle of fabric sliding down skin, the almost silent plop of something dropping on the ground, and then the splash of water, followed by a bloodcurdling squeal.
What the hell? He spun back around, gun in hand and ready to defend her against all comers. Except no one was there except a totally nude Reggie, standing thigh deep in the water and glaring back at him.
“I thought you said the water was just a little cold!”
He tried not to laugh, he really did. But she was so cute, standing there naked and absolutely furious. She had no idea how clearly he could see in the dark, so she wasn’t trying to cover up. At least the little lost girl was gone, momentarily replaced by her usual feisty nature.
“Yeah, I may have exaggerated a bit on that point,” he said, trying to sound apologetic and failing miserably.
“You think, you big jerk?”
She gave him a disgusted look and then gingerly waded out farther into the water. “Remind me to get even with you for this.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He turned his back again, more to keep her from realizing that he was having a hard time not laughing rather than from any sense of decorum.
It didn’t take her long to bathe. When she started to wade back out of the water, he backed toward her and held out his cloak. “Dry off with the shirt as best you can. I found a spare tunic you can put on and then you can wrap yourself in the cloak.”
“Thanks.”
More rustling, then she said, “I’m freezing, but at least I’m clean.”
“That’s the spirit. We’ll get you to the fire, and then I’ll come back and rinse these out.”
“Before you go to all that trouble, let’s check the supplies Jeban—”
As soon as she said the name, her eyes shot past D.J. to the dead Other’s body. She swallowed hard and tried again.
“They had supplies we can look through.”
He nodded. “Let’s get you situated first.”
Then, before she could protest, he swept her off her feet again to carry her across the camp, setting her down so that her back was to the body. He ran over to his pack and brought back one of the space blankets. He peeled open the package and unfolded the silvery fabric.
“This will help keep you warm.”
He waited until she was settled and then added additional wood to the fire. He’d have to find more before turning in for the night.
But first he had to get rid of the body. He probably should bury the Other, but he wasn’t going to waste the energy. Right now, he had more important things to do. Grunting from the effort, he hefted the Other up and over his shoulder and carried him off into the darkness.
He set the corpse down in between a cluster of rocks and some scrubby trees. Would anyone miss this guy? Maybe. Once they were back across the barrier, he’d get word to Berk so that he could locate the two dead Others if he wanted to retrieve the bodies.
Satisfied that he’d done as much as he could for the dead, D.J. walked away. Time to focus on the living.
Chapter 14
“Hey, kid, time to wake up.”
A big hand landed on Cody’s shoulder and shook it. Awareness came rushing back as he fought his way up from oblivion. He wished he could’ve stayed there. Lately reality sucked. Blinking sleepily, he peered out into the darkness, trying to see where they were.
On the outskirts of Portland. Okay, he hadn’t been asleep all that long.
“You back with me?” Trahern’s voice rumbled in the cab of the truck.
“Yeah, I’m getting there.”
Cody stretched to work out the kinks in his neck and get his blood flowing again.
“Sorry to conk out on you like that.”
“Not a problem. I’d have let you sleep longer, but I need directions from here.”
Cody glanced at the street sign on the side of the highway. “Two more exits north, go east.”
Now that he was awake, he felt guilty. He was full, warm, and safe. Could the same be said for Reggie? Fear for his friend settled like a gray fog in his mind.
“Do you think she’s okay? Reggie, I mean.”
The Paladin glanced over at him. “Do you want the truth or platitudes?”
“The truth.” He kept his eyes pointed toward the windshield, not wanting the big man to see his fear.
“I keep wondering how long a human can survive in that alien environment.”
Trahern spoke in a matter-of-fact tone, but then evidently he’d been dealing with weird for a long time. “The air is thinner than ours, but breathable. The ecology is all fucked up because their suns are burning out, so the whole place is dim. Dusty and dry is how I would describe it.”
“Sounds like you’ve spent time there.”
Trahern’s smile gleamed in the flash of another car’s headlights. “I did. One of my buddies crossed over and met up with Barak’s sister. She’s what they call a Sworn Guardian, a warrior who polices their world with a squad of assistants. Everything went to hell in a handcart from there. Cullen helped her smuggle her two adopted kids back across to our side, but Lusahn got captured along with Larem, one of her Blademates. They were sentenced to die for betraying their kind.”
Trahern quit talking while he cut across two lanes to the exit ahead. “Where to next?”
“Drive straight for the next ten blocks and then hang a left.”
“Got it. Anyway, Cullen, Barak, Lonzo, and I crossed back into Kalithia to rescue Lusahn and ended up dragging Larem back here, too. It was quite an adventure.”
He paused as if considering his next words. “I have no idea why those two Others wanted to drag your friend into their world, but it can’t be good. And why wait until now instead of when she first started playing cybergames with D.J.?”
Okay, that was a shocker. Reggie had been in contact with the Knightwalker for months and hadn’t said anything? Right now he was too worried about her to be pissed that she’d been keeping secrets, but they’d definitely have words when she got home.
If she got home.
Trahern was waiting for him to speak. “She wasn’t playing. We work for a company that does internet security for other companies. Someone just hired us to track down a hacker known as the Knightwalker.”
“I take it that’s D.J.’s alter ego?”
“Yeah, the Knightwalker is a legend among hackers, but Reggie never said she already knew who he was. I do know she hacked into the Regents’ server and printed out a history of the Paladins. Maybe that’s why.”
Trahern looked disgusted. “I swear, every time we think we’ve cut the head off the snake, it grows two more.”
What did that mean? Before Cody could ask, Trahern started talking again.
“We’ve had some problems in the organization lately. Greedy bastards robbing both worlds, that kind of thing. As soon as we caught wind of it, we started hunting for everyone involved. Obviously, we’ve missed a couple. They may have wanted to stash Reggie over there where no one could find her until the heat dies down. That would make sense if somebody on this side is calling the shots.”
Trahern’s answer was no help at all. It just meant Reggie was in danger, but they already knew that. Frustration had Cody pounding his fist on his
thigh.
“Damn it, I should’ve gone with D.J.”
Trahern’s big hand caught Cody fist in midswing. “No, you shouldn’t have. To be brutally honest, until we get your fighting skills up to par, you’d be more of a hindrance than a help out in the field. It’s damn hard to be stuck on the sidelines, but that’s the hand you’ve been dealt. Believe me when I say that if I were Reggie, there’s no one I’d rather have hunting for me than D.J. The man’s fearless, and there aren’t many who could best him at either tactics or weapons.”
That might be true, but it didn’t make it any easier to swallow. Glad for the excuse of giving directions to change the subject, Cody pointed out the windshield.
“That’s my building over there.”
Trahern parked the truck and climbed out, obviously planning to go inside with him. Cody really wished he wouldn’t. His apartment was barely one step up from living on the streets, furnished with stuff he’d picked up at yard sales or sitting by Dumpsters.
“If you’d rather wait in the truck, I’ll just take a minute.”
Trahern shook his head. “Sorry, no can do. I promised Devlin I’d stick to you like a tick.”
The big man stopped inside the door of the building and looked around. “Cody, just so you know, a lot of us started off with nothing. Hell, I was living on the streets in St. Louis until I got lucky and ended up in the right judge’s courtroom. Turns out he was a Regent and recognized what I was.
“I’m not the only one either. D.J.’s story is his to tell, but it’s not much better. Bottom line, you’ve got no reason to be embarrassed by where you live. Hell, you’re going to college and have a good job. That’s more than I was doing at your age. I’m impressed and I know Devlin is, too.”
What could Cody say to that? It was hard to talk around the big lump in his throat.
“Then come on in. I’ll throw a few things in my pack, and then we’d better get over to Reggie’s place.”
Half an hour later they were inside Reggie’s apartment. Trahern had the same totally sick lock-picking skills that D.J. had. Cody couldn’t help but admire the talent.
The Darkness Beyond Page 16
