She was going to be furious with them and they deserved every bit of anger she unleashed on them. He’d only been able to see his precious Atan and think of his sister. A sister that had been coddled and protected her entire life, and then when the unthinkable happened, she’d been unable to defend herself. Destiny had dropped both him and Rock the first time they set eyes on her. It was one of the many aspects he was fascinated with.
But instead of trusting her, they locked her away and took away her only weapon. True, she might’ve used it on the Raxka, but then some of them would’ve deserved it. But he’d expected her to trust them to know what was best for her and didn’t give her the consideration of asking or explaining their reasons first.
He pushed himself harder and Rock reacted at the same moment. He must’ve been thinking along the same lines as Jag. If anything happened to Destiny he would never forgive himself. In the short time she’d been in his life he’d never known such contentment. She was a balm to the ache of his memories and he wanted to make new happy memories with her.
* * * *
The scene they faced as they ran into the village was something out of a nightmare. Kimil had the villagers by the throat and were drawing the energy from their lives. He and the warriors began battling their enemies. The Kimil dropped the lifeless husks of their victims but were intent on preventing them from reaching the inner courtyard.
Rock fought with everything he had. The extended run didn’t tire him a bit. He drew energy from the ground under their feet to keep him going. His focus was on reaching Destiny and making certain she was safe. Kimil were virtually impossible to kill once they had fed on living energy. They had to fight them until the Kimil exhausted their stolen energy and then take their heads off.
It made working his way to the inner yard time consuming and exhausting. Even with the ability to pull energy from the ground under their feet, he was expending it faster than he could draw it up. His only focus was getting to his Atan. Jag kept pace with him. They fought side by side, moving as an extension of each other, each of them with the same focus, getting to Destiny. In a brief flash of insight, Rock understood his father’s decision.
He loved his people and would do anything he could for them, but Destiny came first in his heart. If it meant stepping back and allowing another to rule in order to save her life, he would. What terrified him most, a cold ache that he kept buried for the time being, was that he couldn’t feel her. She wasn’t on this plane anymore and the possibility Kimil had killed her fueled his muscles and intent. He would destroy this raiding party and torture the one who had absorbed her life. Then he would spend every horrendous moment left of this life attacking them and destroying as many of these evil creatures as he could.
“Rock!” Jag snapped out his name and pulled him back to focus on what he was doing. He looked at the world through a haze of red, a Kimil throat beneath his fist as he squeezed the bone in his neck. The creature’s malevolent yellow eyes glared up at him. “Where is our woman?”
The creature shook, and Rock knew that if he hadn’t been crushing its throat it would’ve been laughing at him. Jag roared out in fury and ripped the Kimil’s head from its body.
Rock felt his soul shatter. She can’t be gone.
* * * *
Destiny had a moment of panic when she felt herself lose her balance and fall backward into the portal. It wrapped around her like a plastic blanket in water and then catapulted her on. After a split second that felt like an eternity she hit a hard surface. She blinked and realized that she’d landed in a hole in the ground. There was an incline to the surface and she scrambled up it. The roar of rushing water sounded behind her and she turned and saw one of the creatures thrown out of the portal only to hit the Earth hard and not move.
She didn’t understand what had happened, but she didn’t wait around either. She scrambled up the incline and out into the sunshine. The sun’s rays felt harsh against her skin and the air was dry and acrid. Already she missed the beautiful scents of Lu’um.
“Ma’am! What’re you doin’ all the way out here?”
Destiny looked up and saw a man who’d been riding by as she crawled out of the hole.
“I’m lost. I fell down that hole.”
The man looked down at her as if she was demented. “What hole?”
She turned and pointed at the large opening two feet behind her. “That one right there.”
The man nodded and lifted up his hands. “All righty then. Okay, yeah, the hole, I see it.” He held out one hand to her. “Why don’t you come with me and we’ll see if we can find you somewhere to cool down. Do you know how long you’ve been out here?”
“About five minutes,” Destiny replied, not caring if her answer sounded crazy. This guy obviously thought she was by the way he was acting.
“Right, five minutes. You know you look a lot like a lady who went missing from these parts a few weeks ago.”
“A few weeks ago?”
“Yeah, Destiny Harriston. Is that your name?”
Destiny’s mind swirled. A few weeks? It’s only been a little over a week. She looked back at the entrance to the hole, afraid to see a yellow-eyed creature coming out of it. Why could she see it but he couldn’t?
“Ma’am? Is that your name?”
“Is what my name?” Act dumb for now while you figure this out.
“Let’s not worry about that now.” He wrapped an arm around her shoulders, but she stepped away. It didn’t feel right having another man touch her. She wrapped her arms across her chest and hugged herself as she followed the man to his car. Nausea rolled over her as she moved farther and farther away from the entrance to the portal. She wanted to run back and find Rock and Jag, but what if that thing was there waiting for her? If this guy watched her disappear into thin air then he would call the cops or the FBI or something. They’d invade that wonderful place and do experiments on the people there. There was no way she would allow that to happen to them. She’d been so sure she couldn’t live like a prisoner and now that she was free all she wanted to do was go back.
Twenty minutes later, Destiny was huddled in a chair in a room at the local free clinic. The doctor had called in sick that day, so there was only the nurse available. The man, David, had dropped her off and she was being treated for heat stroke. Destiny continued with the story that she couldn’t remember her name but assured them she was sure it wasn’t Destiny.
“’scuse me, Miss Kathryn. I’m hurt’n real bad!” Destiny heard a loud voice in the waiting room and the nurse gave her a sympathetic smile and a pat on the hand before leaving the room.
Destiny curled up on the small bed and wished she’d never climbed those damn stairs. She’d been so angry and scared about what was expected of her. Maybe it was for the best. They needed someone who was strong enough to face their problems, and not someone who ran away.
She needed a plan, because it sounded like the authorities had given her up for dead. It wasn’t like she had anyone to notify. Who knew who her dad was, and her mom was off with her newest husband. Sure she’d cry and carry on in order to get the attention she craved, but Destiny didn’t really think that her mother would be that heartbroken. People start over all the time right? Get new names and new identification. Only she didn’t have any idea how to go about that or even where to start to ask.
This playing dumb would only work for so long before the nurse or doctor decided to do tests or something and then they’d discover who she was. Could she tell enough lies and keep them straight to make certain the portal wasn’t discovered? David would take them out to the place he found her. He’d said that he couldn’t see the entrance, but she could and that meant that there would have to be other people who could, too. She was going to have to get out of here. Maybe she could hitchhike to another town and get a small job under the table, doing odd jobs till she saved up enough to get herself in a better life.
“Well now, no wonder Rock and Jag sent me here. I’d tho
ught that was a little abrupt. Did you follow us because those two never had a chance?”
Destiny bolted up and almost fell off the bed when her head swam.
“Whoa there, you need to slow down before you hurt yourself.” Wolfe was by her side in a blink and bracing her shoulders. “Falcon, stop teasing her.”
“What are you two doing here?” Destiny eyed the two men who were dressed completely differently than she was used to seeing them. Well, last time she saw them, they were naked in the baths. Each of them wore a T-shirt under a work shirt and blue jeans that looked sinfully good on them. “We were sent to keep an eye on the portal from this side.” Falcon stepped closer. His hair was pulled back in a long braid and he held a white cowboy hat in his hand. He looked more concerned than teasing now. “Why are you here, Destiny? Did Rock and Jag send you?”
She shook her head and tears pricked her eyelids. “Something is happening there. You need to go back and help.” If time moves faster here then they should make it on time to help.
“Shadow and Raven are already on their way out to the portal.” He pulled back his shirtsleeve and tapped on a device he’d strapped to the inside of his arm. “They’re almost there.”
“Tell them to be careful. I think one of those yellow-eyed things tried to follow me through the portal.”
“Fuck.” Wolfe tapped on the device again. “The last thing we need are any more rogue Kimil running around the deserts.”
“You mean there are more of them?”
“Yes,” Falcon replied. “We found the remains of one in the crop of rocks where Rock and Jag first chased you.”
“The panther, I remember.”
“Do you remember how it died, Destiny?” Wolf laid his hand on her shoulder, an urgency to his voice distracting her from the feeling of comfort that gave her.
“No, I don’t. It was going to crawl into the space where I was hiding and I sprayed it. It ran off before Rock and Jag found me.”
“What did you spray it with?”
“Pepper spray. I feel really bad because I’d sprayed Jag shortly before that. I didn’t know that he wasn’t there to hurt me.”
“It’s okay.” Falcon stroked a hand down her hair and patted her shoulder. She didn’t feel the same revulsion to Falcon’s touch as she had from David’s. Nor did she crave more like she did when Rock or Jag touched her. “This is amazing news. Jag didn’t suffer any permanent damage by it, but that stuff killed the Kimil.”
“Destiny, can you tell us where to get more of your pepper spray?”
“Sure, you can get it almost anywhere, especially sporting goods store. I’m sure they have one around here.”
“Good, let’s get you out of here.” Falcon looked over the IV bag and the needle the nurse had put in her arm. “What is this doing for you?”
“I think giving me extra fluids. The nurse was worried I might be dehydrated.”
“Will it damage you if we remove it?” Wolfe asked.
“No, but do you know what you’re doing?” Falcon gave her a smile that yelled “trust me,” but it still made her nervous. “Forget it. I’ll do it. Can you pass me a cotton ball from that jar? They look like little clouds.”
Wolfe reached for them as Destiny carefully pulled the tape off the needle and clenched her teeth when it rattled the needle in her arm and made her flinch. She took hold of the end of it and closed her eyes pulled the IV from her arm. It didn’t hurt, but it scared her to do it.
“Good job,” Wolfe said and passed her a ball of fluff. She pressed it against the insertion and held it down with her finger. “How are we going to get out of here?”
“Walk calmly. Eddie’s distracting the nurse.”
He opened the door and stepped out into the hallway. From behind another door she could hear low, overly dramatic moans of pain. Falcon shook his head and placed his hand at Destiny’s back, hurrying her along. Both men moved eerily silently considering they were both wearing cowboy boots. She was making more noise and she was in bare feet. Wolf paused at the reception desk and pulled the phone cord out from the wall. He made a loud, bird-like whistle as they walked out the front door and down the steps to the large SUV.
Before her feet touched the ground she was scooped up and in Falcon’s arms. “What are you doing? I can walk.”
“You’re not wearing shoes and who knows what has broken over this dirt. I don’t want you getting sick because you stepped on something.” He grinned down at her, flashing a deep dimple in one cheek. Falcon was breathtakingly gorgeous, and he knew it. But her heart didn’t skip a beat and she didn’t feel the need to bury her face in his neck.
“I’m not a princess, Falcon.”
“You’re more than that, Destiny.” His smile dimmed slightly as Wolfe opened the rear door to the SUV and Falcon put her on the seat. Destiny got in the SUV without question and immediately ducked down so no one from the clinic would see her.
“I told you,” Wolfe said to Falcon as he got in the driver’s seat.
Falcon scowled and shrugged. “It couldn’t hurt to try.”
“Until they find out and kick both our asses.”
“They’ll try.” Falcon held out his arm and Wolfe clasped it. Destiny noticed the markings on their arms matched up much like the ones on Rock’s and Jag’s did. The pattern was different. She didn’t have a clue what they were talking about and didn’t care. Right now she wanted to get out of there before someone came looking for her.
“What are we waiting for?”
“Eddie,” Wolfe replied. “Here he comes. Stay down for a moment more.”
Destiny slid her butt off the seat and crouched near the floor as the other rear door opened.
“Thanks, Miss Kathryn. I’m feeling much better now. I knew your touch would help.” An old man got in on the opposite side of the backseat, waving over the hood of the car as they pulled away. “I’ll get my boys to take me home for that nap. You give those pretty daughters of yours a hug for me.”
An older man got into the vehicle and settled down in his seat. “Told you it’d go smoothly, boys.” He glanced down at Destiny and held out his hand. “You can sit up here next to me, ma’am. I promise to keep my hands to myself.”
Now she recognized him. “You were the man in the market the other day. You were walking with two women.”
“Yes, ma’am, that was me. Have to ask, why you back on this side?”
Destiny shrugged and looked out the window. She was almost embarrassed to admit it now even though she still felt like she’d done the right thing.
“Ran away from them, huh? I’m not surprised.”
“What makes you say that?” Destiny was shocked that he nailed the truth when she hadn’t said anything.
“They’ve got a mighty different world than ours with all sorts of traditions and beliefs that we might not take a hankering to over here. I can understand if they scared you, but they’re good people.”
“I never said they weren’t.”
“No ma’am, I’m not accusing you of anything, but you were only there a few days. Do you think you really gave them a chance? I was there for a couple months and they managed to dry me out and put me back in a healthy state. I figure I owe them my life and I’ll do anything I can to help them. But it still took me a long time to get used to their world.”
“Did you feel like a prisoner?”
“In the start I was. I was a drunk and a violent one at that and tried to take their heads clean off with my gun when I first saw them.” Eddie shook his head. “Mighty ’shamed of my behavior and what I was doing to myself.”
“Were you in prison long?” Destiny was torn about her decision to leave. It wasn’t because of her fear of Rock and Jag but her fears that she wasn’t good enough, or what if they found someone else better later on?
“I wouldn’t call it prison, but they had me secured for my own good. It took a while for me to get through the DTs, but they’ve medicine over there that sped it up. I’d still
be suffering or maybe dead if I’d stayed here.”
Destiny looked out the window and watched the desert fly by. Wolfe was a lead foot and she wondered what she would do if they got pulled over. Would she tell the truth and try to get away from them? No. She was scared and she should’ve waited and talked to Rock and Jag about it. She could’ve yelled at them and thrown a complete temper tantrum, and for some reason she knew they would’ve stood there and glared at her, and then kissed her senseless to make her forget why she was mad. All they had asked her to do was stay inside the inner walls. It wasn’t like they’d confined her to a six-by-six-foot room for years.
“Eddie, where is the nearest sports store?” she asked.
“What do y’all need there?”
“Pepper spray, lots of it, so we can kick some serious Kimil ass.”
Chapter Ten
Rock threw out his arm and concentrated on the bolt of negative energy he held in his hand. Whipping that at one of the Kimil trying to climb the steps to the portal, he hit the creature between the shoulder blades. It screamed and rolled down the side of the building, landing in a heap at the bottom. It wouldn’t be out for long but long enough for Rock and Jag to make it to the top. Jag battled another Kimil a few feet away. This was one of their advantages. He and the other warriors often trained on these steps and were used to maneuvering on the steep incline. The Kimil were not and it was easier to knock them off-balance. The fall might not kill them, but it would slow them down.
He’d heard from the twins, Derechos and Storm, that Destiny had made it to the top and run into the hallway. He prayed to every god in the universe that she’d made it back to her world safely. At least she’ll be safer there than here. Jag raced up the stairs beside him and into the hallway. The portal stood at the end of the hall and for a moment, Rock considered destroying it.
“She’ll be trapped on the other side if we do it.” Jag walked backward next to him, watching their backs as Rock scanned the area in front of them for danger.
Davies, Corinne - Claiming Destiny [Midnighter Seductions 1] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Page 12
