Between Two Tiron (12 page)

room with other doorways. “They probably don‟t have any.”

Lina intended to do something about their pursuers. She checked the other doors and

made sure that they led into usable passages. She wouldn‟t leave Nerisa in a room with a single

exit. If anything should go wrong, she would make certain Nerisa had a good chance of getting

out of the room.

“We could both die here.” Nerisa sat down against the wall and propped her head in her

hands.

“We‟re not going to die.” Lina walked over and knelt beside her, squeezing her hand to

reassure her. “As soon as I‟m sure this bleeding has stopped, I‟m going hunting. They won‟t get

to you. I saw several interesting places as we traveled through this section. Although I won‟t be

able to see them until they get close, I‟ll be able to find them. I know the path we took and one of

the Santir talents is an ability to recall dimensions.”

“Hunting?” Nerisa‟s brown eyes widened. “Shouldn‟t we wait to see if your link thing

worked?”

“There‟s no guarantee that it will. They‟ve probably divided to have a better chance of

finding us. If they come this way, I can take them one by one.”

Kaleb glanced up and looked around the camp, pausing in his perusal of the progress on

the buildings being constructed on the other side of the planet. Everything seemed to be as it

should be. Most of the people were busy and others relaxed or talked in small groups. Shard was

in the artifact tent, trying to find some clue as to where to look for their
Thent’s
Seal.

Any of the
thents
built in this area could conceivably hold the Seal. Finding it was going

to be hard. This area had been home to some large, powerful clans, some of which had occupied

several of the structures at different times. The ancient Seal of Karach Thent had last been seen

in one of those
thents
. Their only problem was the lack of information on just which one had last held it.

Beyond the array of shelters, the Sendar 4 silently raised the steps which had been left in

the lowered position. Power levels climbed, systems switched to an auto-homing program.

Almost undetected, it ascended to hover for a moment above the trees.

“Ardin, the Sendar!” Jaksen yelled and pointed.

Shard rushed out of the tent and searched for Jaksen. He found the man and saw him

pointing. He followed the direction of his arm and saw the Sendar hovering over the trees. Kaleb

dropped the computer he had been holding and ran for the skimmers.

“Vellis, Caron, Vador, Belan, and Avick, come with us. The rest of you stay with the

women. Keep them in camp.” Kaleb made it to the row of skimmers first and jumped onto one of

the sleek machines.

It had taken only a breath to dispel the initial incredulous reaction. The only person even

possibly capable of doing something like that was Lina. He was almost certain she wouldn‟t try

to leave them. She‟d accepted that they were her mates, even if she hadn‟t consciously

acknowledged it yet. Something must be preventing her from using the com-link they had given

her and she had used the Sendar to bring help.

They followed the ship as it flew over the treetops. It came to a stop above a tree-covered

hillside. Landing the gliders in the dense vegetation was tricky, but in moments, they were on the

ground. As they searched the area, Kaleb saw a man running into the trees. He simply pointed

and one of his men ran after the fleeing man.

They found the women‟s scent trail and that of two human men as they approached the

entrance to an old ruin. They followed it to the entrance. From the footprints in the soft dirt near

the entrance, they knew that the men had followed the fleeing women into the structure. With

rusu
stunners drawn, they entered the darkened building.

“Do you think we‟ll find either of these two alive?” Kaleb sniffed, inhaling the mixture of

scents.

“I think it depends on how threatened Lina feels.” Shard clicked on the light attached to

his belt. “If both men took the same direction Lina and Nerisa chose, then we‟ll probably find

both men dead.”

“You think that they‟re together, Ardin?” Avick looked hopefully at Shard.

“There isn‟t a doubt in my mind that Lina kept Nerisa with her. Lina has a strong

protective streak in her.” Shard paused as they came to an intersection of two hallways.

The scents mingling in the slightly stale air were unmistakable. One man had followed

Lina and Nerisa. The other had chosen the other hallway.

“Vellis, Belan, take the one who chose the wrong path, alive if possible.” Kaleb could

feel the hair prickling under his skin. The knowledge that Lina was in danger enraged the animal

within him.

“Yes, Ardin.” The two men moved down the hallway at a steady pace.

Kaleb and Shard continued to follow Lina‟s scent trail. They found a bloody bow bolt on

the floor in one hallway as well as a few drops of blood. Shard knelt and ran his fingertip over

the bolt. He raised his finger and sniffed.

“The blood belongs to a full Santir.” Shard looked over at Kaleb. Kaleb saw Shard‟s

muscles tense, his shoulders shift.

Kaleb fought the change, the need to rush to protect his mate. Lina had been injured. In

pain and forced into hiding, she would definitely consider the man following her a threat,

especially if she took
tiron
form. The instinct of the animal would be much more dominant since she was hurt.

Kaleb knew that none of these men were from the research camp. The location of each of

the humans with that group was carefully monitored. The mystery of where these men came

from, who they were and how they got here was irrelevant at the moment. That issue would wait

until he was certain that Lina was safe. If they managed to take any of the men alive, it would be

one of the questions that would be asked.

* * * * *

“I bet that wound hurts, doesn‟t it, you fucking animal?” a harsh male voice called in a

taunting tone. “I won‟t miss the next time. I‟ll put you out of your misery. I won‟t let you

suffer.” A stone skittered in the passageway, kicked by a careless boot.

Golden eyes patiently watched the bobbing light on the wall at an intersection of

hallways. Secure in the knowledge that she was hidden from human eyes and senses, she waited

with predatory patience. A dull throbbing from her hind leg made the
tiron
edgy, heightened her temper. She listened as his uneven, slow footsteps carried him forward and the sound of his

breath, a dry rasp that spoke of some congestion, came closer.

Her muscles tensed, but she didn‟t move. This man hunted her, would kill her. If given

the chance, he‟d kill Nerisa. A snarl curled her lips, but she made no sound. She wouldn‟t give

him any indication, any warning. He wouldn‟t get the chance to cause any more harm. He‟d die

before he got close to her.

“Do you think you can hide, little animal?” The man laughed. The beam of light bobbed,

weaving across the stone walls and floor as he moved forward along the passage, stepping over

some of the debris of small collapses, but small bits of it crunched under his boots. “We have all

the time we need to hunt you and get rid of the bodies. No one will hear any message you tried to

send.”

Come closer
, Lina silently urged, her lips pulling back from sharp lethal teeth. She knew

exactly where he was and how much closer he‟d have to come before she got her chance.
You’ll

soon discover that it won’t be you who will be hiding a body.

Her body tightened, muscles coiled with tension as she waited for her prey to wander into

reach. As soon as he was close enough, she‟d ensure that he was no longer a threat to any shifter.

He would die now.

“You might as well come out. I‟ll make it quick and easy,” the man coaxed.

You will soon learn what quick and easy is.
She waited. Unmoving, ready, all predator.

She heard the scuff of his boot on the floor, just a light scrape. The loud fool was close,

moving toward the T-intersection of the hallways one slow step at a time. He came around the

corner in a leaping bound, his bow at the ready and pointing straight down the hallway. He

played his light over the wall and the debris of fallen sections of wall and ceiling.

He either missed or didn‟t notice the way two fallen pieces of ceiling seemed to grow out

of the wall, blocking half the hallway. She didn‟t care which it was. The slabs were propped

against one another and with all the rubble looked innocent, a solid mass. There was a deep niche

between those pieces and the wall.

He paced around the fallen debris and passed her. She attacked from the back, taking h im

completely by surprise. Her teeth sank into his neck as her powerful, feline body hit his back and

legs, claws sinking deep. She wrenched violently and heard a snap as his neck broke, severing

his spinal cord.

Lina shifted to human form and dragged the body into a room farther down the corridor,

hiding it out of sight, behind some debris. She checked her wound and noticed that a trickle of

blood was running down her thigh. Although it throbbed and pain lanced through her with every

movement, the bleeding would stop soon. Even now, only thin trails flowed down her thigh.

She shifted back into
tiron
form and returned to her hiding place. There were at least two

more men who might come this way. She was certain that they hadn‟t yet done so. They

wouldn‟t get past her. She would protect Nerisa.

She crouched in the dark, ready to defend her life. When they noted their friend‟s absence

or discovered the end of their own search, they would come. Men like these never ceased to hate

and when they thought they had an easy kill, they never walked away from it. She wouldn‟t let

them succeed in their aims.

* * * * *

Shard led the way. They made no effort to hide their presence. They wanted Lina to know

they were coming. She‟d be edgy and on the hunt, prepared to attack. They wanted her to know

before they approached her that those coming down the hallway were friends and not the enemy

who had hurt her.

“Lina, we‟re coming to help you and Nerisa,” Kaleb called out, his deep voice echoing

down the corridors.

“Lina, call out if you‟re safe. There was only one man who came down this passage. One

ran into the forest as we arrived. The other is in another corridor. Vellis and Belan will deal with

him.” Shard waited after he had shouted this, giving Lina time to answer.

The rumble of a
tiron
growl came back to them. “I am safe.”

“Come out. Lead us to where you‟ve left Nerisa,
i’ma
.” Kaleb looked down the hallway,

trying to see if there was any movement. “We‟ll take you home.”

Shard waited, listening and watching for any movement.

Shard laughed as he saw her furry golden head peer around the corner. “Yes,
rao nari
,

it‟s really us. Where have you stashed Nerisa and what did you do with the man who came this

way?”

“I hid him,” Lina growled as the reminder of those who had hurt her stirred the rage of

the beast once again.

Shard heard the rising anger. The
tiron
was very definitely in control. It had been injured,

its life threatened and probably felt cornered. That was a bad combination in any being, human

or animal.

“Take us to Nerisa, Lina.” Kaleb hoped that reminding her of the woman she had been

protecting would distract the animal within.

She turned and stepped into the darkened corridor. A beam of light spotlighted her for a

moment and then illuminated the hallway in front of her. She didn‟t falter as she led them to the

room.

As they entered the room, Nerisa sprang to her feet and ran to Avick. She jumped into his

arms and held on tightly. His arms wrapped around her, holding her close as his head lowered.

His chin pressed against the top of her head and they simply stood like that for a few moments.

“Change forms and get dressed,
i’ma
.” Shard motioned for Caron to go find the body.

There might be some sort of identifying marking on it. “We‟ll see to your wound.”

Lina stalked over to her pile of clothing and turned her back to the group. Muscles shifted

and fur receded as her body reshaped. With slow movements, she dressed, trying to ignore the

spikes of pain shooting through her thigh. It had been easier to do when she‟d been focused on

staying alive and protecting Nerisa. The burning ache flared with each movement.

She turned and tilted her head as she looked first at Shard, then at Kaleb. “You know

being drawn into a
thent
is supposed to be a stabilizing thing. It‟s supposed to take away some of the uncertainty and most of the danger a lone Santir faces. In all my years alone, I was never shot

with an arrow.”

“Lina, with you, I doubt we‟ll have much boredom in spite of the strength of the
thent’s

numbers.” Shard smiled at her as he walked over to her.

“Who are—were—those men?” She ran her hand over Shard‟s bare arm.

He wore a mottled brown and tan sleeveless shirt with matching mottled pants. Kaleb

wore mottled green camouflage clothing. The body-hugging clothing delineated their muscled

forms, making them seem more rugged, dangerous. She had never before seen anyone look sexy