Memory of an Immortal Heart (Immortal Hearts) (46 page)

She
frowned. “Why?”

The
door shuddered beneath another fierce impact, and even in the darkness Eva saw
the feral edge to Brand’s smile. “Do you really think
that
is your
sister in there?”

“We
don’t need to open that door,” Eva said hastily, but edged to the end of the
corridor anyway. “Do you want your knife back?”

“Keep
it. If I’m going to get one prisoner out of this place, then I’m going to take
the rest of the poor bastards out with me. Kevin?”

There
was the harsh wail of pulling metal as Kevin forced the lock and the door burst
open.

Eva
screamed as a dark, snarling bulk of blood tiger landed on top of Brand, biting
viciously for his throat as Brand growled, “Change!”

The
thick scent of Brand’s blood filled the air, pooling, and Eva hurtled back down
the corridor. “Brand!” Stark terror rose inside her, eclipsing everything else.
Brand
. Not Brand. No.
No
–
no
– no… Her vision
flickered red.

It was
too fast, had happened too fast. Like the truck that had taken her uncle, the
drain cleaner had taken her mother. She couldn’t do anything – she had to
stop… “
Brand!
”

Kevin
seized her and Eva clawed his face.

Like a
blessing, Brand’s voice came from the floor: “Stay the knife, Eva. I’ve got the
situation under control.” Then, with an edge of strained humor, “I’m not dead
yet.”

That
quickly, everything went out of Eva. Rather than hold her back, Kevin had to
steady her. “Brand Kade, if you
ever
do that to me again…” she choked
off, then swallowed. “
Bréanainn
Kade
.”

“Mother
never should have told you that name.” Then Brand’s tone altered, became harsh
and deadly so the small hairs stood up on the back of Eva’s neck. “I told you
once. I won’t tell you again.
Change
. We don’t have time for this right
now. You know what I am, I know what you are. Now we’re both injured, and the
Sakai will track our blood. I can get you out of here, but I won’t fight you
the entire way.”

The
bronze-colored blood tiger on top of Brand gave a vicious growl. After a tense
moment, it pulled away.

Which
was when Eva smelled the other Kaspian’s blood as well.

The
blood tiger backed down the corridor, fixing them all with a suspicious look
from golden eyes before Changing.

Eva
gasped, almost dropping her knife as a naked man the size of a tank appeared.
His torso was bleeding, a painful mess of claws and shredded flesh. “
Cuzão,
you
broke a rib,” the man snarled, fixing his glare on Brand as he prodded at his
side. “Maybe two.” Brand pulled himself to his feet before wiping blood on his
jeans. He treated the man to a level look.

“I
could have done a hell of a lot more damage than that.”

“Then
why’d you stop? You the rescue committee?” The man snorted, disbelief in his
tone as he took in the three of them. “How do I know you’re not one of that
bitch’s people?”

“If I
were one of ‘that bitch’s people’ you’d be dead. Stop wasting time. Are there
others in these cells?”

The man
gave Brand a disbelieving look, then shrugged and turned his back, stalking
down the corridor. He didn’t seem to be bothered by his nakedness, or to feel
the wounds Brand had gashed into his chest. And, just as apparently, he was
going to leave. Eva’s desperation peaked. “Please, I’m looking for my sis…”

“There’s
a female in here,” the man snarled, not turning around. He jammed a fingertip
against a cell door so hard the metal rang. “The bitch takes her out every
day.” He continued moving as he jammed his finger against several other doors.
“There’s a dead male in here. Enough said. A living male in here,” he continued
down the corridor, “with his cub in here, and” Eva’s breath caught as the man
stalked to the end of the corridor, tilted his head and carefully inhaled, as
if testing the air, “another female…here. I think.” As Eva moved the flashlight
away from him she saw uncertainty pull his face.

Brand
and Kevin went to work on the first door. Eva waited, breath held in hope and
terror before flinching back as a thick wave of blood scent poured from the
opening.

“
Rainey
.”
Eva ran into the cell. Kevin followed, and she shoved the flashlight into his
hands. “Shine this on her, I have to see…” her sister wasn’t moving.
Oh god,
it’s just like the Warning
.
Only it’s worse – it’s real.
Rainey’s thin shape was clothed in Asylum garb, and her sister was lying on the
cold cement floor, her body constricted into a small knot. She was unconscious,
her hair was matted, and she reeked of blood.
I love her. I love so much.
“God
Rainey,
don’t die
,” Eva choked, touching her sister, turning her –
her hand came away wet with blood. The whole floor was soaked. Eva clenched her
teeth on a sob and heard Kevin curse.

“Get it
together,” Eva whispered, low and fierce, to herself. “Get it together.
Just…just
do this
.”
She whirled to Kevin. “Can you heal?” It was
a stark demand. Kevin shook his head, and Eva leaned back on her heels, trying
to pull Rainey’s arms away from where they were locked around her chest.
“Brand!”

He was
there immediately, passing the crowbar to Kevin and pointing to the corridor.
“Help him get the cub out. Then the father, then the female. In that order.
I’ll be a moment.”

Eva
gripped Brand’s palm, pulling it toward her sister. “She needs healing. My
ability didn’t Warn me soon enough. It should have Warned me sooner. I hate it
– I hate it so much sometimes. Brand, can you…do you think…” her words
dwindled.

Brand’s
eyes were barely discernable in the light of the flashlight lying on the floor.
He was studying Rainey, his fingers gently checking the pulse at her neck. Eva
closed her eyes as she tightened her grip on her sister.

There
was a long, tense pause, before Brand said softly, “Eva.”

She met
the gold in his gaze. “What?”

“I’m
only good for flesh wounds. She needs more.”

Fear
rose through Eva before she quickly choked it down, and Brand touched her
cheek. “Don’t worry. Samuel can heal her.”

“What’s
wrong with her?”

“Unset
bones. Something with her…” Brand shook his head and swore. Viciously. “I can’t
heal internals, Eva.”

Eva
licked her lips, trying to hold onto herself as she remembered Stronghold’s
healer. Samuel Gaviros’s cool gaze floated into her mind. He had seemed so
remote. Intimidating. But frighteningly competent.

Brand
pushed to his feet again. “We’ll take her back to Stronghold. Eva?”

“Let’s
go,” she whispered.

Brand
called Kevin again. “Be careful with her,” Eva ordered Kevin as the Tracker
picked up her sister. He just nodded and, thankfully, didn’t say anything as
they left the cell.

Like a
magnet, Eva’s eyes followed Brand. He crouched before a boy, who was pale and
blank eyed, and Eva saw him exchange words with the equally tense father. Then
he moved on to the woman…

Eva
stopped, surprised.

A
human
woman. Tilted half-mad green eyes met hers. “You were here too. Before,” the
woman mused much-too-calmly.  Eva shuddered, not able to hold that gaze as
she turned away. Brand pulled up the woman’s bone-thin arm and healed the IV
gouges in her elbows; the woman watched. Then she patted Brand’s cheek in an
odd, affectionate way. “You remind me of my brothers. Too protective for your
own good.”

Eva’s
grip on Rainey’s hand tightened as the man – the naked man – hissed
and gestured roughly at the hall. “Get back. Guards coming.” He crouched low
behind the doors, having apparently decided to trust them for now.

As the
others faded along the corridor, Brand turned and strode to Eva. Kevin had
already pulled back into the cell, shielding Rainey. “The knife.” Brand’s hand
snapped out.

Eva
stared. “What?”

“The
knife.
Hurry
, Eva,” Brand snarled as she passed it over. Then he reached
up, wrapped his palm over her nape. “Now Change.”

“Why…”

“
Change
.”
Brand’s fingers dropped down, lingered on her Marque. His thumb brushed it
through her shirt, short-circuiting the tangle of Eva’s reason, confusion and
fear.

Eva
hissed as the impact of Brand’s touch rolled through her body…then Changed.

The
fight was brutal.

Rohe’s
guards hadn’t anticipated them, but they were still dangerous. Brand passed the
knife to the naked man, and Eva watched as they worked together, boxing three
of the guards into the corner before they killed them. The fourth guard ran for
the doors, his hand going to his com unit – and, before Eva knew what she
was doing, she jumped on him, ripping his throat out with her teeth.

After
he died, twitching beneath her paws, she went quietly off into the corner and
vomited.

She
could taste the blood in her mouth. It nauseated her, but she didn’t regret
killing him. The guard had probably helped torture Rainey.

And
her.

Brand
crouched beside Eva, running his hand through her fur as he checked for
injuries; Eva felt the warm pulse of his healing ability and looked up, shaking
her head to tell him none of the blood was
hers
. Brand’s face smoothed
with relief, then he murmured, “Stay safe, silver tigress.” Eva stared at
Brand, startled by the name, but he was up and moving before she could bat at
him for the blood that covered
his
side.

And
that
, Eva knew,
was
his blood. She could smell it. Eva growled
softly and padded after him, sniffing his injury as he spoke with the naked
Kaspian and Kevin. The male Kaspian and his son stood by, their expressions
limp and vacant as they watched. Kevin was holding her sister, so Eva butted
her head at Brand’s hip until he looked down; his face softened as he dropped
his hand to ruffle her fur. “It’s just a flesh wound,” he said quietly. “I’ll
heal it in a bit.” He turned back to his conversation.

Eva met
the human woman’s gaze. “Are you real?” the woman asked, pale green eyes full
of fascination, and Eva just growled, oddly sorry for her. Humans had no place
in this madness.

Brand
took his hand away. “Okay, time to go. Stay in tiger form, Eva. Stick with
Rainey and Kevin.”

There
were more guards on the stairs. Eva pulled around, trying to stay at Brand’s
side as the fighting began again, but somehow they got separated, and Eva found
herself ducking sword swipes from a pale-haired Sakai. The male backed her into
a corner, the blank-eyed man and his son at her side. The man looked down at
Eva and observed, “We’re all going to die, you know…”

…and
then he did, the Sakai’s sword through his throat.

His son
started to cry and Eva panicked, feeling that same sword bite a fiery streak
along her thigh, smelling the scent of her own blood in the air. Then Brand was
there, ripping that knife through the Sakai’s throat. “I told you to stay
safe
, Eva,” he snarled furiously at her as blood sprayed.

Eva
didn’t care. She nipped the now-sobbing boy’s too-big shirt, dragging him
forward, but he stumbled. Then the human woman arrived, picked the boy up, and
made much-too-calm sympathetic noises as they all moved for the first floor.

Eva
could smell Brand’s blood, and it frightened her. She
chuffed
, but he
ignored her, opening the door to the lobby to motion them through.

There
was another pair of Rohe’s guards waiting, but the naked Kaspian killed them
both, clawing out the belly of one while he bit through the throat of the
other, tearing it open with his teeth while still in human form. He had a long
gash in his thigh, but didn’t seem to care about it any more than the wounds
Brand had given him.

Then
they were out of the Asylum and running through the snow for the cover of the
trees.

“You
have a plan now,
meu amigo?
” the naked Kaspian male gasped as they broke
through the pines, and Brand growled something Eva couldn’t hear. But she
already knew their plan: make for the SUV and leave.
Fast.

The
trees rustled to Eva’s left and she whipped around with a snarl, lashing out
with her paw before she recognized Joshua’s scent. Eva pulled her blow, stumbled,
then rolled to her feet to resume running, Joshua at her side.

“The
Winterbourne?” Brand snapped, and Eva realized that Kieran wasn’t there.

“Lost
him on the second floor,” Joshua replied. “Couldn’t wait. You did a number on
the guards, cousin.”

Brand
grunted as they came around the edge of the trail to where the SUV was hidden.
“Had help.”

Joshua
set to ripping the camouflage cover from the vehicle, wadding it in his hands
as Brand unlocked the doors and started shoving people inside. The human woman took
the sobbing boy on her lap and climbed into the back, and the naked Kaspian
swore and accepted the camouflage cover to wrap around his body as he climbed
in beside her. Kevin was laying Rainey across the inner aisle as Eva Changed
back to human form.