Hunted

  One thing at a time, she told herself sternly. First, find some clothes and get warm. The open doorway led to a long, dark hall that reminded her of the haunted house you always saw in traveling carnivals. It was the kind of place where people dressed as ghouls and vampires always jumped out at you, screaming—the kind of place Kat and Liv loved and Sophie hated.

  Don’t think about that. It’s just a hallway and it’s bound to lead somewhere. Go on—go through it. You’re not going to find any clothes just sitting here and if you don’t hurry up you’ll freeze.

  It was true that she was getting colder the longer she hesitated. Sophie wasn’t sure if it was getting chillier in the room or if she was experiencing more effects of the Blood Fever. Certainly her nipples and pussy were feeling incredibly sensitive—just having her arms pressing against her breasts and crossing her legs was almost unbearably irritating. Not that she was about to stop covering herself.

  Slowly, carefully, she crept down the spooky black hallway. The only good thing about having no clothes on was that she was completely silent in her bare feet. She was half expecting some horrible alien monster to leap out at her every minute, so it was a relief when she finally saw a pale light shining at the end of the corridor.

  Cautiously, Sophie approached the light and peeked out into the large room it revealed. Standing at a bank of complicated looking instruments was a large, muscular man. His profile was to her, but he was looking away so Sophie studied him carefully. He had a strong nose and chin and thick black hair pulled tightly back from his forehead. In fact, if it hadn’t been for his pale, pearlescent gray skin she would have thought he was Native American in origin. He was wearing some kind of uniform and a long cape which was also pure black. Above his head was a viewscreen—the biggest Sophie had ever seen. It filled almost the entire front wall in front of the instrument panel and it was showing a clear view of a grayish-white globe revolving in the blackness of space.

  Tranq Prime, she thought, recognizing it from her earlier trip with Sylvan. We’re in a ship orbiting Tranq Prime. But this isn’t anything like the shuttles the Kindred use. In fact, it seemed much larger—almost spherical, if the curving, rounded shape of the ceiling and walls were any indication. What kind of ship was she in? And who was the person who was obviously piloting it? Sophie had no desire to find out.

  Maybe I can sneak past him, she thought hopefully. His entire attention seemed to be centered on the controls and she knew she could be quiet enough. This appeared to be a big ship—maybe there was some kind of life raft shuttle or something she could get into. Something that would take her down to the planet’s surface. Of course once she got there she would be stuck, but maybe there was some kind of radio—maybe even a Think-me that she could use to bespeak Sylvan…

  Her hopeful thoughts were interrupted by a burst of static from the viewscreen. Suddenly the view of Tranq Prime was gone and a face filled the screen. A face so terrifying that Sophie had to bite back a gasp.

  Burning red eyes filled pit-like sockets, blazing forth from the confines of a deep hood that seemed to be made of shadows. No other facial features were visible, but somehow Sophie knew there was no nose or lips beneath those burning eyes—only the stark outline of a skull. A sense of doom came over her—a dread so deep that all the strength ran out of her legs. Holding on to the wall, she sank to the cold metal floor, her eyes still locked on the viewscreen. It’s the AllFather—it has to be. She vividly remembered Liv’s description of the leader of the Scourge, but the reality was even worse than she’d imagined.

  “Father,” said the man who was piloting the ship. “It is good of you to return my call.”

  “Ssso, you’re at it again.” The AllFather’s low, hissing voice sounded angry. “I have not given the word—you sssnatched her too early. Ssshe is not yet bonded to the Kindred.”

  “The marker indicated that something was wrong with her. I had to take her quickly.”

  “Oh? And what might that be?”

  “I don’t know. She’s still unconscious. I can tell you one thing though—she is not the one we seek.”

  “What?” The AllFather’s red on black eyes blazed even more furiously. Sophie could almost feel the force of his rage pouring through the viewscreen like a flood of poisoned water.

  “I told you—she is not the one.” The man at the controls sounded remarkably calm—or maybe numb was a better word. “There is no mark between her breasts.”

  “I don’t believe it,” snapped the AllFather. “Bring her here that I may ssscan her.”

  “Certainly, Father,” the man said blandly. Could the AllFather really be his actual father? Sophie shivered at the thought. “I’ll go get her now,” he added.

  “There isss no need to fetch her. Ssshe isss already here—ssstanding right behind you.”

  He knows! Sophie gasped and turned to run, but it was too late. The tall man was on her at once, taking her firmly by the arm and dragging her out of the shadows.

  “Come,” he said sternly as she cringed back, trying to get away. “There is nothing to fear—you are not the one we seek.”

  Nothing to fear? How can he say that? Sophie’s eyes returned involuntarily to the gruesome visage on the viewscreen. The AllFather looked like something out of her worst nightmares—of course she feared him!

  “He is terrifying, is he not?” The man laughed humorlessly. “But don’t worry—he’s fifty light years away. He can’t touch your body—only your mind.”

  That’s bad enough! Sophie couldn’t forget the way Liv had described having her mind scanned. She had hoped and prayed never to have to go through something like that. And now it looked like she couldn’t avoid it.

  “Are you certain the marker wasn’t defective? Ssshe looksss fine to me,” the AllFather hissed.

  The tall man shrugged. “Perhaps she has symptoms we cannot see. After all, it’s not as if we are experts in human anatomy—their skin and hair comes in such a strange variety of colors and this one is no exception.”

  “Be that as it may, you ssshould not have taken her early,” the AllFather snapped. “Ssstill, ssshe isss here now. We must make the most of it. Come forward, my dear,” he said, beckoning Sophie with one skeletal hand. “Let me examine you.”

  Sophie didn’t have any choice. Try as she might to resist, the AllFather’s son dragged her forward until she was standing naked and shivering in front of the huge viewscreen. All she could do was turn her head away and shut her eyes.

  “Look at me,” the AllFather commanded.

  To her horror, Sophie found she was compelled to do as he said. She didn’t want to look at that awful face but her head turned toward it anyway. Still, at least she was able to keep her eyes squeezed shut. I don’t want to see…I don’t want to see…

  “I can make you open your eyesss, my dear—it would be the sssimplest thing in the world,” the AllFather told her. “But I can think of other, more entertaining methodsss to make you look at me. Sssuch asss thisss—open your eyesss now or Xairn will cut off your eyelidsss ssso you are unable to close them ever again. Would you like that?”

  Sophie opened her eyes at once and was almost overwhelmed by the sight that greeted her. The AllFather had moved closer, until his face completely filled the huge viewscreen. Each of those burning red eyes appeared to be as big as her head and they were trained on her—pinning her to the spot.

  “Very good.” The AllFather nodded in approval. “Now drop your armsss. I wish to sssee your breastsss.”

  “Please,” Sophie whispered. “Please, no…” But as before, she couldn’t help doing it. Slowly but inexorably, her hands left her breasts and dropped to her sides, leaving her bare and vulnerable. Sophie wanted to close her eyes again so she couldn’t see those evil, glowing orbs flickering over her naked body but she didn’t dare. Instead she stared straight ahead and simply trembled.

  “You see,” Xairn remarked. “There is no marking between her breasts—I have examined her thoroughly.” r />
  The AllFather hissed with displeasure, his eyes glowing angrily. “There must be sssome mistake. The DNA testsss were conclusive. A female from this line must be the answer to the prophesy.”

  “She and her twin are the only ones left in her family,” Xairn said. “If neither of them is the one, I fear we are at a loss.”

  “There must be another,” the AllFather insisted. “Look at me, Sssophia.” The red eyes bored into hers and Sophie was literally frozen with fright.

  “W-what?” she stuttered through numb lips.

  “Is there another female in your line? A sssister? Or perhaps the female offspring of one of your father and mother’sss sssiblings?”

  “D-do you mean do I have any c-cousins?” Sophia could barely get the words out.

  The AllFather nodded. “If that is what you call sssuch relationsss.”

  “No.” Sophie shook her head. “There’s n-no one, I swear. My father was an only child and my mother had an older sister but she d-died.”

  “We seem to have hit a dead end,” Xairn said, but the AllFather obviously didn’t want to hear that.

  “I will ssscan her. I cannot taste her properly at this distance, but ssshe must at least be ssscanned.”

  Once more Sophie was forced to look directly into those burning red eyes. Suddenly, though he wasn’t touching her directly, she felt corpse-cold fingers digging into her brain. It was the same terribly invasive feeling she’d had when the priestess in the sacred grove had “looked into” her, only a thousand times worse.

  “Please!” she gasped, but the AllFather wasn’t nearly finished. He sorted through all her memories, finding the worst ones and lingering over them. He spent the most time on the rape, making her relive the horror and pain, obviously enjoying the negative emotions.

  Sophie felt like she was drowning in terror and pain. Reliving it all over again. Just like when I saw him in my dream… Then, suddenly, she decided she wouldn’t panic. Wouldn’t let the dreadful memory break her again. It happened but it’s over, she told herself grimly. I let Burke steal enough of my life. I won’t let him take any more.

  Lifting her chin, she narrowed her eyes at the AllFather. Let him do his worst. Sophie was tired of being a victim.

  “Well, well…sssuch a brave little thing,” she heard him hiss in her head. “Determined not to let me upset you, eh my dear? But what about thisss…?”

  Then he turned his attention to her memories of Sylvan.

  “A great pity,” she heard him say. “Ssso very close to bonding. You would have let him bite you, would you not—despite your fearsss? Yesss, I think you would. You love him, this Blood Kindred, and he is desperately in love with you. The pain of losing you must be almost more than he can bear. He will be sssearching for you now—sssearching fruitlessly. For he will never find you…”

  Despite her determination, a sense of hopelessness flooded her. Never. I’ll never see Sylvan again. Why did I waste so much time? Why didn’t I admit that I loved him—needed him? Oh Sylvan, I’m so sorry…

  “Yesss, wallow in your sssorrow. Taste the disappointment anew. Let the pain wash over you, overwhelm you. You will never sssee your Kindred lover again…”

  The AllFather’s insidious voice fed her pain, magnified it, made it into a loop. Sophie felt tears running down her cheeks, hot and wet and hopeless, but she was helpless to stop them. Helpless to do anything but give in to the misery…

  No, fight it! I have to fight it! Clenching her fists, she tried to remember all the good times she’d shared with Sylvan. The tender way he’d touched her, the fierce way he’d fought for her. He loves me, she told herself. And I love him. Even if I never see him again, I have that much.

  It would have to be enough.

  Just when she thought she was finally going to break, the AllFather released her, the chilly fingers leaving her mind as abruptly as they had entered. Everything went grey and she sagged in Xairn’s grip. She would have fallen if he hadn’t held her upright.

  For a time she seemed to float in and out of consciousness, as though her brain was trying to recover from what the AllFather had done to it. She wasn’t aware of anything except a feeling of profound loss. Oh Sylvan. Love you…miss you so much… But finally the grey fog receded and Sophie realized that the AllFather and his son were discussing her fate.

  “She is not the one.” Xairn seemed to be arguing. “We should release her—send her back. If we keep her the Kindred will become even more vigilant.”

  The AllFather made a dismissive gesture. “They will be more vigilant no matter what. Sssending her back is a gesture of defeat.”

  “If we kill her, the warrior who loves her will stop at nothing to avenge her,” Xairn warned. “Though they are not bonded, he will still go to his death for her.”

  “Then let him die. He will never gain accesss to our ssship and even if he did, my new guardsss would kill him long before he reached me.” The AllFather’s eyes gleamed. “I find myself much taken with this little one—ssshe has ssso much more pain to taste than her sssister did. Ssso many hurtful memoriesss to fondle.” He nodded. “Yesss, you must bring her back to me. It hasss been many yearsss sssince I have tasted sssuch exquisite agony. And only think how much more unbearable it will be for her when I take her.”

  “What do you mean?” Xairn said sharply. “She is not the one. There’s no point in you trying to breed her, Father—she can’t conceive by you.”

  “But she fearsss it ssso—it isss the nightmare which keepsss her up at night, the dark vision ssshe cannot escape.” The AllFather’s eyes seemed to fill the viewscreen again and they burned with malevolent glee. “Ssshe hasss already sssuffered one sssuch attack—it isss why ssshe resisted her warrior ssso long—that and her foolish fear of his fangsss. But from me there will be no essscape.”

  Sophie felt like she was going to be sick. God, no! Please don’t let him—don’t let him do that to me! Please!

  And then the AllFather began to laugh—a high, insane screeching sound that filled her head and drove out everything else. “Sssoon,” she heard him say, speaking directly into her mind again. “Sssoon I will have you, Sssophia. Sssoon you will know the true meaning of pain…”

  Chapter Thirty-three

  Deep was already lying on the bed, on his side when Kat and Lock entered the bedroom. Maybe it was because he was still bare-chested but to Kat, the dark twin looked even bigger and more imposing reclining.

  “Lie down on your side with your back to me,” he said brusquely, patting the mattress in front of him. “Take off your robe first.”

  Kat shivered as she removed the blue satin robe. The nighty that went with it had thin spaghetti straps and the front of it was mostly see-through lace. She could feel her nipples tighten with fear and anxiety as she laid the robe aside on the end of the enormous bed.

  The bed itself—or sleeping platform as the Kindred called it—was bigger than anything she’d ever seen. It was about half again as wide as a King-sized mattress from Earth and Deep had covered it with a dark green duvet. It has to be this big, she thought, trying not to look at him as she climbed onto it. To hold two guys their size…and a woman between them. Oh God, I can’t believe I’m doing this!

  “Wait.” Deep help up a hand just as she was about to lie down where he’d indicated.

  “What?” Kat paused awkwardly on her knees, one arm held over the see-through front of her nightgown.

  “Drop your arm.” Deep’s black eyes were half-lidded with lust. “I want to see you.”

  “That’s enough, Deep.” Lock sounded angry. “Kat’s here for our help—not your personal enjoyment.”

  Deep’s eyes flashed. “But I should get some personal enjoyment from this—and so should you, Brother. We’re about to engage in the most risky, strenuous joining of our lives, with a focus we’ve only used once before. I think that merits a little pleasure on our part—even if it is only visual.”

  “No, it doesn’t,” Lock said angrily. “
You—”

  “It’s all right,” Kat interrupted and was amazed at how calm she sounded. “Deep’s right—I’m asking you to do something you wouldn’t normally do, in order to save my friend.” She looked at Deep directly. “I know you hate me and that’s all right—I don’t care how you feel about me as long as we find Sophie. But if this is what it takes to make you hate me a little less…” Slowly, she dropped her arm and sat back, allowing him a perfect view of her full breasts pressing against the see-through blue lace.

  Deep’s eyes widened as he drank her in. “Brother,” he said hoarsely to Lock, who was still standing behind Kat. “You should really see this for yourself. I’ve never seen an elite so generously endowed before.”

  “No.” Lock sounded grim. “I won’t exploit the lady Kat that way. I refuse—”

  “Lock…” Kat looked over her shoulder at him and beckoned. “It’s all right,” she said again. “If…if you want to look too, I mean.”

  “I shouldn’t…” He seemed frozen by indecision but Kat could see the hunger on his face—the same need that burned in Deep’s black eyes.

  “Come on,” she said quietly, still surprised at her own bravery. “Join us on the bed.”

  Reluctantly, Lock came around the side of the bed and sat across from Deep. At first he didn’t look at her but finally he raised his eyes. “Beautiful,” he whispered reverently, and Kat swore she could almost feel his gaze caressing her like the softest touch imaginable. “So full, so ripe…”

  Kat sat there quietly, allowing the brothers to look at her. Once again she was filled with a sense of unreality. No one had ever stared at her with such longing before—or such naked lust as she saw in Deep’s eyes.

  Her too-large breasts and full hips had always been a source of shame to her. How often had she been the butt of a well placed fat joke? How many years of her life had she spent dieting and exercising, trying vainly to get thinner? A size eighteen was the lowest she’d ever gotten to, despite all her hard work. Her body didn’t seem to care that she was eating lettuce instead of chocolate and going to the gym every day—it was determined to stay curvy. As her grandmother often told her, “Honey, some people just aren’t meant to be skinny.”