by LW Browning
Lodi followed her and watched until she went down the hall and through the doors into the kitchen. Claire smiled. She liked Lodi. Inside the kitchen, she felt that she was in someone else's domain. One of the cooks looked up to see her.
"Come inside, my lady. Can I get some food for you?”
When Claire shook her head, he said, "Does lady like a cup of hot chocolate?"
"Yes, please."
As soon as it was in her hands, she thanked the cook and got out from underfoot. The kitchen was a magical place and she was certain magic was not performed in front of non-magicals like herself. As she turned to leave, the cook stopped her. "I am called Roget. If Lady needs anything at all, Lady, tell Roget. I take good care of Lady, make sure you eat good." His smile was lopsided. He winked at her. Claire smiled at him and wondered where he was from. There were several different races here. She knew it when she felt their emotions. She was certain to miss this place and these people.
Claire was relieved to find that Osiria and Mardalane were no longer in the female parlor. She sat in one of the comfortable chairs to drink her beverage and watch the fire. She reveled in the taste of the smooth dark brew as she drank. Warm and comfortable, she closed her eyes for a moment.
***
Koda looked up to see Lodi walk down the stairs and join them. "Get Calks," Koda said.
Dare's hands flew over the crystal cube and Calks appeared on the viewer. Koda nodded a greeting to him.
"Greetings, Warlord Leader Koda. How is Claire?" Calks asked.
"She is well," Koda responded.
"That's good, better than I hoped," Calks nodded. His facial tic drew up the left side of his face. "The governing fools voted to terminate the MX project. They have activated the Special Threat Squads to hunt down the MX. Rumors that the project might be terminated caused MX to be sold on the black market already. We have lost many of them. Two that were housed at the MX Facility were taken to be executed yesterday," Calks said.
"Tell me again why we are the barbarians," Var said under his breath.
"Is it their plan to execute all the MX?" Koda asked.
"Unfortunately, yes. The Conglomerate feels the risk to keep them is too great. I feel confident Claire can assist you in your hunt for the other MX. She will be very useful," Calks added.
"I have agreed to hunt the MX for the STS," Koda said.
"That is good to know. We have reports that some of the MX have become unstable. That weighed heavily in the vote to terminate them. A reward is offered for each MX. They prefer to receive them alive so that they can execute them, however they will pay for their dead carcasses as well. Claire is worth more now dead than what you paid for her," Calks said.
"I understand," Koda replied. "Signing off." He raised his hand to indicate the end of the conversation.
Dare cut the com link and the vid went blank.
Koda looked at Dare. "STS Report."
"The STS sent us a high priority com. They are desperate for us to step up our efforts to help them hunt the MX," Dare said.
"How many have they lost?" Lodi asked.
"More than you might think possible. As Calks said, there are no secrets in the Conglomerate," Dare answered.
"So they want us to hunt and kill the MX immediately," Ache said while he twisted a leather boot lace in his hands.
"No. Our mission has been re-classified. They want us to hunt and capture the MX on sight. They will pay us for each MX; however, the price goes down if we bring them in dead. The price for an MX grows by leaps and bounds each day. People now want them as potential weapons," Dare said.
Foord looked up from his knife. "Can they be used as weapons?"
“No one knows what they can do,” Dare replied.
"Tell them we will provide assistance. Send us coordinates if they have them," Koda said.
Var nodded to Koda.
"And tell them we want more money per MX," Koda added.
Var almost smiled. Koda knew the demand for more money would sound like the mercenary barbarians they were.
Claire woke in the parlor. The hot chocolate in the bottom of her cup was cool. She smiled to herself. What a joy it would be to stay here and never have to go back to the Facility. It was a lovely dream. The thought of seeing Koda every day made her smile and suffused her with warmth. She would tell him of the plans the Conglomerate had for him. She would not let them take advantage of him as they had planned.
She left the parlor on the way to the staircase and her room. When she walked past the door under the stairs, she heard male voices. The door was open just enough to let some light escape. The deep timbre of Koda's voice thrilled her. She crept down the stairs toward the light. A man spoke about the black market and MX. She moved forward to listen. Koda told someone he wanted all the MX.
She heard Calks and moved further down to see him. He was in vid conference with Koda and the warlords.
Her heart froze while she watched. Koda signed off and the screen went blank.
Dare talked about an agreement to hunt the MX for money. Hunt and kill them or turn over the ones still alive to the STS for termination.
It was as if all the oxygen in the room was violently sucked out. Claire moved her hand to cover her mouth. She needed to scream, needed to cry, but was unable to do either.
Koda stood up. Their eyes met and locked for a moment.
As if her shock created a vacuum in the room, they all turned to look at her.
The horror on her face, the scream that would not come out of her throat, left her paralyzed while all Koda's warlords watched.
Koda's eyes were the hard ice blue of a frozen glacier.
Claire shook her head. The harsh reality of the conversation broke her soul apart. Stunned, she whispered, "You hunt us for money." She looked in Koda's eyes, her accusation clear. "Y-you bought me? You bought me and you agreed to hunt MX."
"Yes." Koda did not flinch.
"And you have agreed to kill us." Claire could not look away from Koda. Her voice sounded far away, "I am worth more dead than what you paid for me."
Koda started toward her.
A surge of adrenaline hit Claire. Years of control shattered. Grief suffocated her. Anger at being betrayed by Calks and Koda and the injustice done to all the MX exploded out of her and fractured her shields as the splinters of her essence ripped her soul apart in a projection.
The projection was rage, anger, and terror, until nothing was left except desolation. She blasted it out with so much power that everyone in the castle felt it. Her scream, when it finally escaped her wounded soul, sounded like an animal banished forever. She was a creature without hope.
Her projection hit the warlords, so intense it staggered them. Claire turned and ran. She had to get away. Somehow, she made it up the stairs and out of the room. A right turn took her down the hall to the doorway and the freedom of the garden. The raw emotions cycled through her, fear and panic, distrust and anger. She projected them as she ran. Hurt, betrayal and a deep abiding loneliness flowed out from her, slicing her spirit raw as the feelings escaped.
Servants ran, falling and screaming. Some tried to get away, some sought to hide. She made her way through them.
The garden was a refuge, but they were sure to follow. Fear fed her panic. She blasted out the renewed surge of fear and horror as she ran for the barn. Each projection was stronger than the last. The control that had helped her survive for so many years was gone. The emotions ran through her body like an electrical current, unrestrained. With her shields gone, her emotions, long hidden, finally broke out. Her pain and suffering knew no bounds.
Inside the barn, the paccar were too fearful to be mounted. She found one that was stronger than the others and sent soothing thoughts to him. The beast was still on its feet. She coaxed it to stand by the stall so that she could climb the boards and sit on it. Then she sent the urgent message to run. With her hands clutching the mane of the animal, she clung to it as they began a wild ride. She had to
get away. Her heart was dying inside. She felt sorry for the other paccar, but life of any kind held little meaning for her now that she knew her fate, understood the depth of betrayal.
All her control was blown away like smoke in a violent wind. Finally, she began to weaken from the extreme force of the projections.
***
Koda was on his knees. The power of Claire's emotions crippled even him. The other warlords were down, incapacitated. Each of them struggled with Claire's projections.
Every emotion had pushed into Koda. He knew they were not his, yet he felt them. It was disturbing, painful, yet he could not stop her projection from filling him. Some part of his mind wondered if this was what she always felt.
Weak, he was weak and helpless. His mind fought against it. He was not weak, was not helpless. He pushed away the feelings that assaulted him as if they were his own.
Betrayal. That was the worst for him. She thought he had betrayed her. He felt shame. Deep shame, but it was his own. Koda had failed to make her feel safe, failed to make her understand that he was bound to protect her at all costs. He did not tell her she was not going back to her people, but that she was staying here with him. Now she was alone like an abandoned child and unable to trust anyone. She should have trusted him. He should have made her trust him.
He had to find her and make her understand.
Another wave of panic hit him. She was running. Even knowing the panic was not his own, he felt the adrenalin shoot through him. His body reacted to it. She fought to get. Away. From. Him.
The next wave came. She was weakening. These projections cost her.
He had obligations, to her, to his people. Koda struggled to throw off her emotional assault. First he checked on his warlords.
The big silent Lars had tears streaming down his face, a face he turned to the wall as if to hide his pain.
Koda had never seen so much despair on his Reaf’s face.
Dren and Dare had their hands over their faces as if they could shut out the damning emotions.
Ache trembled. Mack beat his fists against a wall.
Revi and Vix were still, their eyes closed against the emotions that did not belong to them.
Lodi had staggered and fallen. Even Var was on his knees.
Solitude and hurt engulfed Koda. He had never known such abject loneliness.
Koda staggered to his feet, pulled the knife Foord was about to use from his hands and climbed the stairs.
A wave of grief came over him halfway up the stairs. Suffocating... as bad or worse than what he felt when his parents died. He continued up the stairs, fought for every step. He must regain control of his own emotions.
The paralyzing fear came again. Anger replaced fear and despair which was replaced by sheer panic as she sought to escape. Emotions ravaged her psyche until there was nothing left but soul-rending sadness at being betrayed by those she trusted.
Koda was in the hall now, stepping over and around distraught servants, many of whom lay crying on the floor.
He knew Claire felt everything she projected. She had been taught to hide her own emotions and she had done that for years. With the drugs out of her system, she had at last been faced with enough to crack her self-control.
No one was safe from the terror she threw out. That was the worst. Among all the other feelings, Koda felt her horror at having projected her deepest, darkest emotions to people she considered normal. He knew deep sorrow along with her guilt at having hurt innocent people with the agony she hid within herself every day. She feared that her enemies, now that they knew her greatest fears, would use them against her. Even as her soul tore apart within her, she felt profound remorse for abandoning her primary rule. She never wanted them to know what she was feeling. Keeping her emotions hidden and under control was crucial to her survival. When all else was gone, she did not even have hope. And now she was exposed. They all knew what she felt.
Koda went to his knees again. Tears ran down his face, but he could not stop. He cried for the loss of his parents, felt the abandonment again. Alone. He had lost his mate like he had lost his parents and now he was alone.
Koda felt all the shame of being unable to protect that which was his duty to protect. The most important thing in his life, and he failed. Servants looked at him in shock. He staggered to his feet, took a step, then another. She was his. And he would have her. Upright now, his boot heels hitting the floor in a steady cadence, the look on his face sent the distraught servants running for cover. She was his. His!
***
Claire landed hard on the ground. She had been riding the paccar as fast as it could go through the dark woods. The projections left her weaker than she ever remembered being. She was unable to understand what happened. Where was she? How had she gotten here?
Someone had a hand in her hair.
Koda? Had Koda found her so soon?
No... her soul cried out. No. She did not want Koda to kill her... Not after they had been together. Mated.
Strong hands held her. No, this was wrong. She was going to die alone; she refused to give him the satisfaction of killing her. How could she have been so foolish? It broke her heart that
Koda ...
Someone grabbed her hair and jerked her to her knees. He slapped her hard across the face. "Well little rillia, what a surprise to meet you here."
Koda had many enemies. She did not care. This one could kill her. She did not want Koda to be the one, anyone but Koda.
She looked up to see the male who had been with Veck at the castle. There were others with him, but no sign of Koda.
A new, cold dread settled in the pit of her stomach.
She was too drained to shield against the raw emotions that assaulted her. It was more painful than anything she had ever experienced.
Claire tried to run, but they were on her. She never had a chance. Her clothes were ripped off. Hands touched her, everywhere. Hard hands hit and held and bruised her. She tried to fight them. They laughed, their taunts were evil.
She wanted to give up and die. Die quickly, that is what she needed, but these males had no mercy to grant her the quick death she wanted. There were too many. Her body never stopped struggling. When she screamed, one of them stuffed a dirty rag in her mouth and slapped her hard. She wavered in and out of consciousness.
They mocked her feeble attempts to fight them off and assaulted her with their words, slaps, punches, and kicks, but it was the dark horror from their minds that caused the most pain. Without shields for the first time in her memory, she wanted to die rather than know their thoughts and emotions.
They continued to beat her. Her left arm snapped. She screamed her pain into the dirty rag, but the sound went nowhere.
***
Koda knew Var and the others would be behind him as soon as they recovered from the projection. Var was the best tracker they had and Koda did not hide his tracks.
He did not know how long he had been incapacitated by Claire's projection. She weakened him to the point that he no longer felt her emotions. He was alone now with his own. All that remained of her projection was the haunting memory of it. Koda could find her using the Krystile in her lavaliere, but that told him only the direction. Tracking her was the better way. He concentrated on her trail in the dark. The silly little fool had not waited for him to explain his actions. He should have told her sooner that Calks was not coming back for her. His plan to give her time to become accustomed to him and his people had backfired. Now she thought the worst of him. She could break her pretty neck riding around in the dark on a paccar. Claire could heal others, but he did not know if she could heal herself.
Koda remembered the stories of warriors of old who abducted the females they wanted, carried them away kicking and screaming and mated with them. Perhaps he had not become so civilized after all. If he had to abduct her forcefully, he would. He wanted her and he was going to have her. His greatest hope was that she would forgive him in time, until then, he was not abov
e chaining her to his bed. He had to have her, his honor and noble ideas be damned. She was his mate. Compelled to search his heart, was force the only way he had to deal with her? Shame filled him again at what Claire felt and his part in it. He would make it up to her.
Koda sighed, backed up and searched until he found her path again. The mate bond felt very faint. He needed her in his life, but he wanted her to be happy. He would find a way. When the moon broke through the clouds, he urged the paccar to a faster gait. He tracked her now with the help of the moonlight.
***
A thought of peaceful death was in Claire’s mind. Surely death was better than this. The leader of this group had been with Veck at the castle. They called him Ramil. With no way to shield from what they thought and felt, even from their memories, they raped her mind with their emotions and thoughts. Some were too horrific for her to process.
Some of them wanted to kill her slowly and painfully. They planned to rape her, waiting only for Ramil to tell them when to start. The next time Ramil touched her, she knew he was ready to allow it. He wanted to defile her. His hatred of Koda drove him as he pushed his foul virulence into her. She fought down bile at the thoughts in his mind. He planned to display her for Koda to find if she did not survive the attack. Ramil did not plan for her to survive, even though Veck sent him to kidnap her. She worked the rag out of her mouth. When a hand got close to her, she bit down. A curse followed by a hard slap that rocked her head. Blackness. Blessed blackness.
Her return to consciousness was like surfacing from the bottom of the ocean at the height of a violent storm. Peaceful acceptance of her fate pulled her down into the ocean. So sad that she was still alive. So sad. She did not want to be. She wanted only to drift away to the stillness of the deep ocean.
Someone was on top of her. His head jerked back and blood gushed from his throat. The life force of the male was hot when it hit her bare skin.
