Divided: Brides of the Kindred 10 (11 page)

And I just bet it’s not set on stun,
Kor thought numbly. He was already pressing the trigger
on his own blaster but before he could, a beam of energy left the silver barrel
and slammed into his chest like a hard, angry fist.

Kor felt a hot flare of agony lance
through him.

“Maggie!”
he sent through the mental link all Kindred shared with
their mates.
“I’m so sorry! I was too late. I—”

And then everything went black.

Chapter
Thirteen

“Something’s wrong!”

Becca sat straight up in bed, her restless
sleep abruptly broken by the sudden, overwhelming feeling of
wrongness
sweeping
over her.
Truth and Far—they’re in danger!

She didn’t know how she knew but she was
right—she could
feel
it.

Calling for the lights, she stumbled out
of bed and fumbled for something to wear. Her hand fell on the creamy silk robe
that went with her nightgown and she pulled it on.

Not bothering with shoes, she ran for the
door of her guest suite. Far’s suite was located down the same hall hers was.
But Truth was across the ship, just beside the Unmated Males area. And that was
where, Becca felt instinctively, the danger was.

She rushed down the curving metal
corridor, vaguely aware it was the middle of the night and not caring a bit. By
the time she reached Far’s door, she was breathing hard and there was a stitch
starting in her side. Becca didn’t care.

“Far!” she shouted, pounding the metal
panel with her fist, heedless of the people sleeping in the suites on either
side of his. “Far, open up—are you all right?”

The door slid open before she finished
speaking and Far looked out, his black eyes wild. He was wearing deep blue silk
sleep trousers that left his muscular torso bare and his long blond mane looked
like he’d been running both hands through it. Tucked into the loose waist band
of the trousers was the handle of what looked like a silver gun.

“It’s happening,” he said hoarsely. “We
have to get to Truth—he’s in danger.”

“You both are—I can feel it!” Becca
exclaimed.

“Which is why I’m going to get him.”

“No.” Becca shook her head vehemently.
“His suite is down by the Unmated Males area—that’s where it’s happening. Just
like in the vision we shared. If you stay here you should be safe—I’ll go get
Truth and bring him back.”

Far’s handsome face darkened.

“Like hell I will. What kind of a male
would I be if I let the female I love go running into danger by herself? In
fact, I don’t think you should go at all.
You
stay here while
I
fetch
Truth.” He started to stride down the hallway but Becca caught his arm.

“No, Far! That’s exactly what you
can’t
do. You need me—in fact, I think we need to stay together. Think about
it—the trouble we saw in the vision all had to do with the unmated males. And
you and I and Truth—I mean, we have a…a connection I guess you’d call it—but
we’re not mated. That makes both of you vulnerable.”

Far cursed under his breath and appeared
to consider what she’d said. Finally he nodded.

“You’re right.”

“Thank you. I know.” Becca felt a rush of
relief.

“All right, so we’ll go together,” Far
said. “But stay behind me.”

“No.” Becca lifted her chin and laced her
fingers through his. “No, you need me at your side. We need to be touching.”

Far frowned. “How do you know that?”

For a moment she felt a stab of confusion
but the certainty she had was too strong to ignore.

“I don’t know. I just…know it. All right?”

He sighed. “I should make you stay here.
Truth would, you know.”

“I know,” Becca said steadily. “But you’re
not like him.”

“No.” He shook his head. “Sometimes I think
it would be easier if I was. Well, come on.” He pulled her down the corridor
but before they could get too far, Becca put on the brakes.

“Commander Sylvan and Sophia—this is their
suite,” she explained when Far looked back in confusion. She slapped the metal
door with the flat of her hand. “Sophie?”

The door slid open and Commander Sylvan
came out with a weapon in his hand and a very worried looking Sophia trailing
behind him. He was wearing a thin silver wire around his temples—a Thinkme
which facilitated thought communication between Kindred.

“I know,” he said before Becca could say
anything. “Maggie just bespoke Sophia—she and Kor have a suite near the Unmated
Males area.”

“She did? What did she say? What’s
happening down there?” Far demanded.

“I’m not sure. She just said Kor was
bespeaking her and they lost contact abruptly. Now she can’t feel him through
their link which is bad—
very
bad.” Sylvan looked grim. “Come on.”

“Be careful!” Sophia stood on tiptoes to
kiss him. “Be safe!”

“I will. I love you,
Talana.
” He
kissed her back swiftly and then motioned for Far and Becca. “Let’s go!”

As the three of them set off down the
corridor at a run, Becca wondered what had happened to Kor. And what would they
find at the Unmated Males area?

* * * * *

Truth wakened from a dream he couldn’t
remember with a strange sensation that someone wanted him. Wanted him
badly.
Was it Rebecca? No, he thought sleepily, it didn’t feel like her.

How he could
feel
if she or anyone
else was wanting him didn’t bother him—in his half-awake state it made perfect
sense. Could it be Far, then? But no, the someone wanting him didn’t feel like
his brother either. So then, who…

Come outside and find out,
whispered a voice in
the darkness.

Ice bloomed at the base of Truth’s spine
and he was suddenly, completely awake. He whipped his head around, glaring
around the darkened sleeping area but he could see no one. Was there someone in
the room with him?

“Who’s there?” he called. “Lights high!”

The harsh command caused the recessed
lighting around the edges of the room to flare to life. It was so bright that
Truth had to blink a second, until his eyes became accustomed to the glare.

There was no one there and no one answered
when he called.

Truth pinched the bridge of his nose and
took a deep breath.

Just a bad dream. Stop acting like a child
with night terrors and go back to sleep.

He lay back down and settled in bed with
the light blanket thrown over his legs.

“Lights off,” he muttered and the sleeping
area was immediately plunged into gloom.

Truth sighed and rolled on his side, his
head sinking into the pillow. He let his eyes drift closed and took a deep
breath.

Something that felt like a long, cold
finger caressed his cheek in the darkness. A deep, inhumanly harsh voice
breathed in his ear,

Come out, Truth. I want you.

* * * * *

“What’s happening?”

They stood on the flat green area of the
parklands in the center of the ship. It was just opposite the Unmated Males
area, which Becca was surveying in dismay. Everything seemed to be coated in fine,
black dust and more of it was drifting down from the air ducts in the ceiling
far above like some kind of deadly snow. She didn’t know what the dust was but
she knew what it meant. Trouble. Danger. Death.

Several Kindred warriors were wandering
around in the strange dust, a look of confusion on their half-awake faces.
Becca’s heart leapt into her throat and stayed there.

Any minute now,
she thought, feeling sick.
Any minute their features
will start to run like wax. They’ll start to change…

And then, to her horror, it happened.

She saw one of the warriors facing her
wave at the air in front of his face, as though trying to dissipate the dust
floating there. But it did no good—when he took a breath the alien dust was
sucked into his lungs. He coughed and choked, as though trying to get rid of
it. Then, suddenly, his face began to change. His features shifted like they
were made of putty, molding his sleepy, slightly confused look into an evil
sneer. His body changed, seeming to grow even bigger and more menacing.
Finally, his eyes began to glow a deep, burning red.

“What in the Seven Hells just happened?”
asked Sylvan, who had also been watching.

“He’s been possessed by a greater power.
Demons from the Black Planet—and I brought enough for every single unmated
Kindred to have one of their very own.” Suddenly a small man Becca recognized
as Maggie’s ex-fiancé, Donald, came into view. She had only met him once but he
was instantly recognizable by his rail-thin frame and slightly stooped posture.

But just in case she had any doubts, he
was also dragging a half naked Maggie with him. He had one arm looped around
her neck and the muzzle of a silver weapon that looked much like the one Far
had in his trousers shoved against her temple.

“Maggie!” Commander Sylvan took a step
toward her and so did Far but Becca kept a firm grip on his hand.

“Don’t,” she said in a low voice. “Don’t
break contact, Far. It’s not safe.”

“Stay back. Maggie is mine again and this
time I’m
not
letting her go,” Donald announced in a high, cracked voice.

“Be reasonable, man,” Sylvan growled.
“She’s mated to another male.”

“Oh, you mean that idiot, Kor?” Donald
sneered. “Don’t worry about him—he’s out of the picture. I made sure of that
myself.”

At this, Maggie began to cry, tears
rolling down her cheeks.

“Donald shot him,” she whispered.
“Please—he’s in that little room with the main vent, lying on the floor. Don’t
worry about me—go to Kor.” She looked pleadingly at Sylvan. “You’re a doctor,
right? Please, go help him.”

Sylvan looked torn with indecision. “I
can’t leave you here with him,” he said, nodding at Donald.

“If you don’t Kor will die! Please, go to
him!” Maggie’s face was streaming with tears now.

“Yes, by all means,
go
to him,”
Donald mocked. “See if you can save him though I doubt it—this little weapon
packs a big punch.” He caressed Maggie’s trembling cheek with the thin silver
barrel and giggled.

Commander Sylvan still looked torn but Far
nodded at him.

“Go,” he said tightly. “We’ve got this.”

Sylvan nodded shortly. “Just try to keep
him occupied,” he murmured in a low voice, meant for Far and Becca’s ears
alone. “I’ve already bespoken my brother, Baird. He knows what to do.”

He turned and ran for the Unmated Males
area where more and more of the transformed Kindred had started to wander out
of the barracks type buildings they lived in.

No, not transformed—possessed,
Becca realized feeling sick.
They’ve been taken over
by something alien…something evil. Somehow the demons Donald says he brought
with him are finding their way inside the warriors' bodies. And it has to do
with the dust.

The dust which was currently drifting
further and further out from the Unmated Males area and into the parkland where
they were standing. Becca felt a sense of urgency that flooded her with
adrenaline. They had to do something—had to go get Truth before it was too
late. She felt in her bones that he was in terrible danger. But how could they
leave with Maggie being held hostage by her crazy ex-fiancé?

Have to do something now.
Becca had an idea but it would mean getting Far to follow
her lead. She cast him a sidelong glance and squeezed his fingers. He nodded
slightly and squeezed back. Reassured, she took a deep breath and stepped
forward, still keeping hold of his hand.

“Donald, right?” she said, trying to smile
at Maggie’s psychotic ex. “Look, I can see you and Maggie are, uh, together now
but she’s probably cold.”

She gestured at the half-naked, shivering
girl who was wearing nothing more than a thin t-shirt she must have thrown on
before she rushed out the door to find her man. Under it she appeared to be
wearing some weird golden chain contraption attached to her nipples but Becca
chose not to notice that. She had to defuse this situation and get to Truth
before it was too late. If it wasn’t already.

“So what if she’s cold? I’ll warm her up.”
Donald gave a high pitched laugh that sounded more like a scream. “I was never
very interested in coitus before but since I’ve been keeping company with
demons, I find it interests me a great deal. I guess you could say some of
their more
extreme
appetites have rubbed off on me.”

He kissed Maggie’s wet cheek lingeringly,
licking away her tears with a grayish tongue.

Gray? His tongue is gray?
Becca looked at him wide-eyed. This creature bore almost
no resemblance to the neat, fussy man she had met just a few weeks ago. He
looked deranged, ragged and…she caught a whiff of something awful and wrinkled
her nose. And rotten—he smelled freaking
rotten.
No wonder because the
arm wrapped around Maggie’s neck appeared to be just that—literally rotting
away to show bone under the gray, putrefying flesh.

Becca fought not to gag. She had to stay
in control—had to keep calm.

“You may not care if she’s cold but I
know
you don’t want other guys looking at your woman,” she said, having a sudden
inspiration. “I mean, look at her—you can see
everything.”