Defender (Battle Born Book 4) (3 page)

Pain stabbed her brain, penetrating deeply from forehead to spine. She cried out, then whipped her head from side to side, but she couldn’t shake off the pain.

A new image burned into her mind, brighter than the others. No this image wasn’t new. She’d seen it before. The forest scene had called to her, fascinating her from the first moment she’d seen it. She stared into the trees, trying to penetrate the shadows. Something was out there, hiding in the trees. She could sense it, but she couldn’t see it.

Then the perspective shifted and she
became
the creature she sensed. The scene was no longer a two-dimensional image, but an environment. She smelled the fresh tang of pine and felt the coolness created by the leafy trees. Her heart pounded and her mouth felt dry, yet she wasn’t sure if fear or excitement caused the reaction. She was certain, however, that the emotions weren’t hers. She had melded with someone else, was experiencing this scene as they were experiencing, or had experienced, it.

Her host crept forward and Chandar quickly assessed the person she’d become. Small feet and hands, smooth hairless arms, and the undeniable swell of breasts beneath a brown leather jacket. Her host was female. Leaves crunched beneath her boots despite the care with which she placed her feet. She hesitated at the edge of a clearing, debating how best to proceed. Her thoughts were vague impressions in Chandar’s mind. Her emotions registered much more clearly. Across from her sat a modest log cabin, the smoke curling from the chimney the only sign of life.

Chandar searched her host’s mind, trying to determine who she was and why she was stalking the occupant, or occupants, of this secluded cabin. Before she found the answers, the cabin’s door opened and a yellow dog bounded out into the yard. The dog sniffed the air and then growled, obviously detecting something that didn’t belong.

The scene blurred, rushing ahead with sudden acceleration. Chandar heard angry voices, but couldn’t make out their words. The perspective shifted again, the angle much different now. She was sitting or crouching near the floor and looking up at the cabin’s two occupants. Had a child witnessed the argument or was she inside the dog? She looked around the cabin, but didn’t see the dog. All of the doors were closed. If the dog had followed its master back into the cabin, there was nowhere else it could have gone. But why had her spirit flowed into a dog? This was extremely strange.

The man was red with fury as he faced off with the female. The female appeared calm at first glance, but calculation gleamed in her eyes and the tension around her mouth revealed her anxiety.

Suddenly the man’s eyes flashed and currents of energy swirled around his splayed fingers. The woman turned, lunging for the door, but the man cast an energy cloud on her like a fisherman’s net. Her body was surrounded, ending her attempt at escape.

Who were these people? She didn’t recognize either of them, so why was she witnessing these events? A harbinger’s visions generally involved people of his or her acquaintance, or events that would eventually affect those he or she knew.

“Who sent you? Why are you really here?” the man shouted. “Is someone paying you for information about Tandori Tribe?”

Tandori Tribe? Was this man a Tandori? She looked at him more closely. With long dark hair and bright purple phitons glowing in his dark eyes, he was doubtlessly Rodyte. But she had no way of confirming what his questions implied.

The female struggled within the energy cloud, slowly flowing with the rotation until she faced the man again. With obvious effort, she forced her arms to move. She reached under her shirt in back and grasped the handle of a weapon.

Fear and protectiveness surged through Chandar and the dog barked, confirming the identity of her new host. The man glanced at her without turning his head, but the momentary distraction was all the woman needed to get off her shot. Energy pulsed from her pistol, hitting him squarely in the chest. The impact drove him backward. His arms flailed as confusion and anger twisted his features, then he collided with the wall behind him. A sickening crunch sounded as his head followed the inevitable path and forcefully connected with a support peg protruding from one of the cabin’s log walls.

Sorrow, bitter and overwhelming, inundated Chandar, paralyzing her mind. Who knew an animal was capable of such emotion? The dog went to its master, rubbing against his legs as it whined in helpless grief.

Danger
. Trepidation cut through the sorrow and the dog whipped its head around and glared at the woman. The pulse pistol was now pointed directly at the dog. Baring its teeth as fury swept every other emotion aside, the dog vocalized its rage. Crouching low to draw power into its legs, the dog prepared to attack. But the woman fled, sprinting from the cabin without a backward glance. The door swung shut behind her, locking the dog inside with its dead master.

Anger subsided as a fresh rush of loss washed over the dog. Again, Chandar was struck by the complex feelings she was sensing from her host. As if to answer her unspoken question, energy pulsed through the dog, vibrating and humming as the creature transformed. The lean body of the dog stretched and expanded. Joints cracked and fur split, allowing skin to manifest instead.

A shape shifter. No wonder the thoughts and emotions seemed too complex for a dog. The shifter rushed across the cabin and eased her father away from the wall. The realization crept up so suddenly, Chandar almost missed the significance. This man was the shifter’s father. The shifter lowered him to the floor, struggling with his weight. She arranged his arms at his sides and closed his eyes, ignoring the blood pooling around his head.

Danger!
Her instincts engaged again and the shifter knew better than ignoring the warning. With one final mournful look at her father’s body, she ran from the cabin and headed for the trees. No sooner had she reached the relative safety of the forest then a concentrated beam of energy bolted out of the sky and struck the cabin, causing it to explode with earth-shaking impact. The shifter screamed, her outburst equal parts grief and fury.

The vision released as suddenly as it had engaged, but Chandar didn’t wake. She hung suspended in utter darkness, silent and cold. Why was the trance persisting if the vision was finished? She opened her mind, waiting for more information. All she sensed was endless, empty blackness.

Don’t panic. You’ll find a way out.
Her own voice echoed through her mind, but she couldn’t quite absorb the reassurance. She tried to move, tried to propel herself in any direction. She could still sense her body, but there was nothing to grab, nothing to push off of or grasp. Her pulse raced and she blinked repeatedly, trying to focus through the emptiness.

Hello? Can anyone hear me?

A large hand slapped the side of her face and sparks of pain flashed before her eyes. Confusion shocked her in the present and in the past. Why had he hit her? She’d done nothing to him, nothing at all. Before she could compose herself enough to ask, the hand was joined by another and they ripped the front of her garments, exposing her body in one brutal movement.

“No more clothes for you, bitch,” the man snarled. “If you want to cover yourself, you’ll have to earn the privilege.”

In the past, Chandar crossed her arms over her breasts and stared at him in devastated horror.
Why?
The question echoed through her mind even now, but there had never been an answer.

“This game always starts with you naked and on your knees.”

That voice. Dread gripped her soul, turning her blood cold and her mouth dry. She knew that voice, was all too familiar with his hateful “games”.

“I serve your brother, sir.” She was careful to speak respectfully even though Erkott didn’t deserve it. “You have no right to—”

Another vicious slap silenced her objection. “I have whatever rights Akim gives me, and tonight he said I could play with you.”

Not this. Not now.

She fought the images with all her strength, trying to outrun her memory. Akim had been a horrible master, unworthy of any harbinger. But Erkott had been downright evil, unworthy of life.

Fury burned through her terror, gradually calming her mind. She would not let these men break her, no matter how hard they tried. She knelt before her tormentors, her heart filled with hate, a shard of plastic hidden in her fist. The edges bit into her palm as she waited for Erkott to begin. It had taken weeks to create a point out of a piece of smashed serving tray and even longer to sharpen the edges against the coarse surface of the shower base. The opaque walls of the enclosure were as close to privacy as she could come, so no one questioned why she spent so much time in the utility room.

“Is she always so timid?” The stranger sounded disappointed.

Erkott laughed. “She won’t stay timid for long. It would be better for her if she did, but she can’t help herself.”

“Can I go first?”

“Why not.” Her head was bowed, but she could picture Erkott’s shrug. “This is my third time.”

A fresh wave of anger washed over her as they paused for another laugh. They were so casual, so callous, as if this were a victimless crime. Her fingers clenched until the pain in her hand cleared away fury’s red haze. They would punish her for this, but she didn’t care. She had to fight, couldn’t give up, or they would win. And there was no way in creation she would let them win.

The stranger approached. She kept her head bowed, her face hidden by her unbound hair. She heard the shuffle of loosening clothes and then a hand reached for her hair. Striking fast and hard, she thrust the shard deep into his thigh, missing her target by only a few inches. The stranger screamed and stumbled backward as blood spilled down his leg.

Erkott grabbed her wrist and twisted. Agony exploded through the vision, burning away the image until nothing existed but pain. Distorted flashes burst within her mind, each scene a heinous reminder of all she’d suffered. She didn’t want to relive this. Enduring it once had been more than enough.

She thrashed and screamed, projecting her desperation physically and telepathically.
Make it stop!
She had barely escaped with her soul in tatters. If she had to relive every moment of the past two years, she wouldn’t survive again.

Chapter Two

Raylon was jarred from sleep by debilitating fear and the muffled screams of a traumatized female. Through sheer force of will, he broke free of the terror and leapt from his bed. He was halfway across the room when he remembered he was naked. Not good. He tugged on his uniform pants and resumed his frantic dash toward Chandar’s suite.

Remarkably, Indigo had beaten him to the doorway, but she hadn’t been able to trigger the door.

“Security override, Raylon Lasenger, authorization 649. Open doors.” The door parted and he rushed past Indigo and ran for Chandar’s bedroom. The inner door opened as well, so he reached the bed in record time.

Chandar had stopped screaming, but her pathetic whimpering was even more heartrending. He sat on the side of the bed and gathered her into his arms. “I’ve got you, angel. You’re safe now.”

Zilor had joined Indigo by the time Raylon looked up, but they both hung back, allowing him to do what he did best. When Chandar was trapped by fear like this no one else could reach her. Raylon wasn’t sure why she responded to him, but everyone was grateful. A harbinger’s trance could become permanent if they remained semiconscious too long.

He brushed the hair back from her ashen face as he supported her back with his other arm. “Chandar, open your eyes. Let me know you’re all right.” Tense silence descended as Chandar remained motionless. “Come on, angel. Find your way back to me.”

Nothing.

His heart thumped faster and his hands began to shake. This had happened before, but each time he’d been able to bring her out of it. He rocked his arm, moving her body without actually shaking her. “Chandar.” Fear made his voice sharper than he’d intended.

“Let me try.”

He’d been so engrossed in his efforts that he hadn’t even realized Danvier had joined them. The male harbinger stood in front of him, his features composed, expressionless, as always. Raylon just nodded, his throat too tight for words.

Danvier bent to one knee and pressed his hand against his sister’s forehead. “Chandar, you must awaken. Follow my voice out of the darkness.”

She moaned and rolled toward Raylon, pressing her face into the heat of his bare chest. Then her hand stroked up his arm and across his shoulder, fingers splayed to maximize contact. Raylon tensed, barely able to breathe. She was comforting herself, nothing more. She would have done this to anyone. Raylon had just about convinced himself when her lips parted and her tongue brushed against his skin. He sucked in a ragged breath and forced himself to blink. Had Danvier seen what she’d just done? Females craved touch and taste when they sensed a potential mate.

He shook away the tantalizing coincidence. The farthest thing from Chandar’s mind right now was mating. He was being ridiculous.

“Kiss her.” The sudden tension in Danvier’s voice confirmed that he had witnessed his sister’s actions and understood their implications.

“No.” Raylon shifted her within the cradle of his arms, easing her face away from his chest. “She doesn’t realize what she’s doing.”

Rather than argue with his conclusion, Danvier said, “Kiss her,” in a firmer tone.

Raylon’s immediate reaction was to throw Danvier out of Chandar’s suite. Chandar had chosen Raylon as her protector not her stoic brother. But Danvier knew more about harbingers than anyone on the outpost. He
was
one, for gods’ sake.

“Chandar,” Raylon used a warm, intimate tone. Hoping to appeal to her feminine instincts without crossing the physical boundary he’d established for himself. “You need to come back to us. Do it now.”

She pushed her fingers into his hair and moaned, arching restlessly as if she were searching for something just out of reach.

Shit
. Maybe Danvier was right. This was taking much too long. Raylon pressed his hand against the side of her face and brushed her lips with his thumb.