Any Price (19 page)

The royal first daughter and the One were enriching them all. Knowing a mated royal couple would bring changes hadn’t prepared him for this. Well, none of them had any idea what would happen. The hushed tales of who they really were, as told by their parents, had been lovely, exciting stories. Living the actuality of those stories was stepping into a horror fantasy. His feeling of misgiving became oppressive.

The increased input got in the way of how he normally processed a scene. It shoved his other impressions to the background, flooding him with dread he had to battle through.

Quickly assessing his options, he was unhappy with the result of the standard military method. Since he couldn’t get rid of the paranormal gift clamoring in his head, he needed to focus it. Already in alert mode, he didn’t have time to investigate this ability clouding his other senses with its unrestrained demands. He had to direct it to gain control of the situation. How could the damn building feel wrong?

Coming to the correct door, Thomas stopped and listened. Silence met his ears. New instinct impelled him to place his hand flat on the door panel and feel the apartment beyond.

Chaos! It was loud, violent and—recent! Thomas almost stumbled back at the jolt of it. His other hand came up to press on the door as he let knowledge sink in. His forehead rested on the panel between his hands for a moment and his eyes looked down. Abruptly he focused on the door handle and noticed a damp sheen. Pulling back his senses to encompass just the door, he felt slithering malevolence. Low and quiet, it had almost escaped him in the confusion of the apartment beyond.

Taking a half step back and cutting off contact with the door, Thomas studied the sheen on the handle. It appeared oily with a strange ability to capture light. Not a glow. It captured the hallway’s fluorescent light in tiny ribbons of rainbow colors that faded and disappeared as he watched.

Thomas reached for Yuri. Mentally connecting with his brother at this distance was now possible, he discovered, and immediately showed Yuri everything that had happened since he stepped out of the cab.

“Don’t touch it!”
Yuri barked as he drew Boris into the loop with them to examine what Thomas was facing. Lore became aware of the strong emotion as Yuri felt his brother’s peril and let them know he was there. Kenna awakened at the disturbance and silently joined as well.

Boris concurred with Yuri and added,
“The flavor of the evil you felt, and who knew evil could have different flavors, feels quite close to what we found in the passage. There is something old and dangerous here and now there. Walk away.”

“Passage? What passage?”
Thomas asked. Yuri showed him the events from this evening with the speed thought gave them in communicating.

“I can’t walk away,”
Thomas stated calmly as he assimilated the information.
“If this is poison like you suspect, Boris, the next person to touch the door will become infected.”

“Please sniff it,”
Boris requested.
“I think I know what it is, but need to be sure.”

“How can you be sure it’s not airborne?”
Thomas wanted to know.

“If it is, you’re already infected. Hurry, all trace of it will be gone soon,”
Boris pressed.

Thomas glanced around again to be sure the hall was empty, bent and inhaled. There was almost no odor at all, just an extremely light almond scent. He’d remained open to the others so they experienced what he did as it occurred.

“Damn! I was afraid of that,”
Boris continued.
“Since the passage in the old castle calls only to my lady and myself, I am beginning to suspect the Asp was here long ago. Now it appears the snake has his eyes on us yet.”

“You’d better be explaining the Asp thing,”
Kenna chimed in.

“Of course, my lady, but right now there is the problem of Thomas being bumped as he entered the building. That was intentional. I think we are all sure of this.

“Take off your jacket, Thomas, and hang it on the door handle. If that substance is what I think it is, it will be harmless shortly. I believe it’s an old poison used by ancient priests in Egypt. Its composition breaks down and it becomes harmless if not brought into contact with flesh very quickly. The Asp used it many times to control who became Pharaoh throughout the ancient dynasties. Get back here, the only known antidote is here and you may have been infected in the bump. The door handle would be the insurance that you touched it.”

“How long do I have?”
Thomas asked sharply as he removed his sports jacket, emptied the pockets and hung it over the handle.

“Two, maybe three days before you mysteriously collapse and die,”
Boris answered.
“It’s designed that way to ensure no one could accuse the guilty party in ancient times. He was never anywhere near to the person who died.”

“Leave the building,”
Lore instructed.
“Do not return to your hotel.”

“What is going on?”
Thomas asked.
“Why is this occurring? Is there something more here than just her possessions?”

“Yes,”
Kenna answered worriedly.
“Lore and I thought we were protecting you by not telling you the significance of what you were sent for. We felt it was safer if the importance of the safe deposit box was not mentioned. I’m so sorry, Thomas. We had no idea…”

“My lady,”
Thomas interrupted her,
“I gave you my oath. I am pleased you trust me with something this important to you. I was the right choice and the risks involved are rightfully mine. However, we must move on to what this situation needs now. Apparently there is someone looking for what you have. They knew of my actions before I arrived in New York. There are spies around you there.”

“So it would seem,”
Yuri responded in harsh tones. He felt it a personal failure that he hadn’t been aware of what was now obvious.

“I knew someone was testing Kenna after reading the note in the bomb. Forcing her to use her gifts,”
Lore interjected to Yuri.
“They gave up stealth in an effort to gain her. We all know what a big step that is in terms of conflict. The contents of the safe deposit box must not fall into the wrong hands. It could prove the difference in a battle we didn’t know we were fighting.”

“I have time to retrieve my lady’s possessions at the bank, sir,”
Thomas stated calmly as he took the stairs down instead of the elevator.
“The concern is retrieving my lady’s possessions and reaching the plane with them. We have to assume the possible use of deadly force means they will attempt to take the package.”

“Agreed,”
Lore stated.
“You can’t do it. We’ll use someone else to retrieve it while these people are busy following you.”

“Who would that be? And how would I give them the key without suspicion placed on them?”
Thomas asked as he stepped out the building’s back door. Glancing around, he noticed exactly what he’d been expecting. No visible individuals watching him, however the feeling of being watch was strong.

“I have an idea. Kenna, your contacts at the Chinese Consulate might be the solution.”
Lore flashed his thoughts to her privately and Kenna took up the directions.

“Thomas, go to the Chinese Consulate. The address is 520 Twelfth Avenue. By the time you reach it, they will be expecting you,”
Kenna stated firmly.
“Whoever this Asp is, he can’t get in there quickly, and my connections are on the highest levels.

“In the morning my friend will send out a great number of individuals to addresses across the city and they will all pick something up. At the same time you will be escorted to the plane by an armed guard. The package will show up separately as all the messengers come to the plane and leave again. Since Mr. Fu is here, communicating our needs to him can be accomplished without alerting people possibly watching us. Mr. Fu will naturally contact his home, so the instructions can be passed with a low level of risk.”

“Right,”
Thomas confirmed as he stepped around the building to the main road and hailed a cab.

“Boris,”
Kenna interjected,
“you will check on Thomas’ health regularly, right?”

“Yes ma’am. He will have the pleasure of my company,”
Boris responded.

“And you’ll do some explaining, right after I arrange this with Mr. Fu,”
Kenna added.

“At your command, my lady,”
Boris agreed. He was smiling and it showed in the tone. The extreme concern over what had happened in New York was not lessoned but all of them found it amusing when Kenna adopted her royal rights.

It was around nine p.m. Sunday evening in New York and three a.m. Monday morning in Covia.

Lore sat up and rubbed his face as Kenna scrambled off the other side of the bed. “There is a securable line at my desk. Fu going to mind the early call?”

Kenna pulled on a pair of Lore’s sweat pants and one of his t-shirts. “No, he’s called his personal banker at all hours of the night when he lived across town at the consulate. He’d be doing business on Chinese time and forget that it was the middle of the night around him in New York. Now that his banker is apparently marrying a royal, well, that’s huge in his culture. He’ll take the call.”

Lore pulled on sweat pants and followed her slight, comical figure in his clothes out to the sitting room. She was standing by the desk, frowning at the phone.

“Here, just dial his guest quarters and watch the light.” Lore dialed and then pointed at the small light blinking on the phone. “If it turns red, hang up.” Lore handed her the phone.

The light remained green as Mr. Fu’s assistant sleepily answered the phone. Kenna identified herself in Chinese and then expressed the need to talk to Mr. Fu in utmost confidence. She also explained that since Mr. Chaing, an assistant she knew personally, answered the phone and was the only one who knew of her call she’d know if word was reported to her that others knew. That not-so-veiled threat got his full attention and Mr. Fu on the phone in short order.

The explanation and what she needed from the Chinese was quickly completed. Mr. Fu was no stranger to intrigue. He assured her his son, who was currently in charge at the consulate in New York, would handle everything.

Hanging up the phone, Kenna turned to wrap her arms around Lore’s waist. His arms imprisoned her in gentle understanding. Now that she’d done all she could the full effect sank in of knowing her apartment had been ransacked and that Thomas was in grave danger.

“What’s happening? Why? Who are these people? What do they want? What did I ever do to them?”

His large hands smoothed down her back in comfort. The slight body of his woman was trembling and Lore found it unacceptable. His fierce response to the invasion of her space was not a helpful emotion, so he suppressed it to give her the comfort she needed. However, he was more concerned with the fact that another aggressive entity had aimed itself at Kenna. Vicious intent to kill was written all over this one. No pulling back, no quarter given.

“I don’t know, baby. Was there anything in your apartment? You saw what Thomas felt. They were hurried and looking for something,” he asked in soothing tones

“No. Nothing there. Grandmother kept what she called our heirlooms in a storage facility. I’ve seen them. It’s just old furniture. I’m pretty sure what we need is in the bank box. Or I guess it could be in me. Physically, I mean. Look at how the people around us are changing too.”

“Interesting developments,” Lore agreed. “We know from both our families’ histories that people have killed trying to gain possession of the thing we can’t turn off. We can’t rule out the possibility that there might be some object, but I’m inclined to agree the key may simply be you. No one is getting near you, baby. I will not allow it. You know that,” Lore murmured into her hair.

“Yes,” she responded quietly. His need to protect was now backed up with all the power at his command. That seething well of power was what concerned her. It was new and untested. His elemental base had changed in a way that made him a raw kind of dangerous.

“You do realize tonight changed everything. You changed,” Kenna stated.

“Yeah, looks like the transformations are expanding again. We don’t even have time to be surprised,” Lore agreed. “It feels like we’ve rushed into it with the blood exchange, but on the other hand, I don’t think there is any controlling what we are becoming.”

“No. Don’t be sorry. You know it was right. Whatever we are, we both needed that.” Kenna turned her face up to him, her chin resting on his chest. “We are different, really, really different. I suspect our difference has something to do with those gods Julianna is so reluctant to talk about. We both know one exists and we’re connected to him. I’m afraid of that. Afraid of what we’re becoming. It’s going too fast and not fast enough. What if he comes back and we have no idea what to do?”

“I know, baby. I can feel him,” Lore confirmed. Looking down into her worried face, he wished he could conceal the violent urge to kill the ones putting her through this. She needed him calm, not the brutal creature he was becoming.