Forgotten (20 page)

“
Greetings,” said the
angel-lady again. “Am I correct in assuming that you two are the
couple being sent from the Kindred Mother Ship? Rone and Kate—isn’t
it?”

“
It is.” Rone cleared his
throat. “And you would be…”

“
Mistress Light.” The
angel-lady smiled benevolently. “I will be one of your
instructresses while you stay with us here at Flame and
Frost.”

“
We’re very glad to meet
you but we’re not really here for traditional counseling,” Kate
said, speaking up. “I just need a dip in your bio-chelation pool to
uh, rid myself of a bunch of toxins.”

“
We shall see about that,
Kate my dear.” The angel-lady smiled sweetly. “But in the meantime,
please feel free to dock on our landing pad. We look forward to
working with you both.”

“
Thank you, Mistress
Light,” Rone said and then the viewscreen went blank. After a
moment, it showed the curvature of a small moon which seemed to be
completely covered in some kind of colorful growth.

A large complex of
interconnecting buildings took up much of the surface. At least,
Kate
thought
they
were buildings. Actually, they looked more like giant bubbles
growing out of the surface of the rainbow-colored ground than
anything else. Weird.

“
That’s it?” she asked.
“That’s Flame and Frost?”

“
Part of it, anyway,” Rone
muttered. “I understand that half the complex is located
underground though I don’t know why. The surface of the moon is
habitable and has a breathable atmosphere.”

“
Not to mention it’s
covered in rainbow colored flowers,” Kate remarked. “It’s really
pretty in a kindergartener-doing-a-painting kind of
way.”

Rone did something else to the controls and
cast a sidelong look at Kate. “Beginning our landing sequence. Here
we go.”

“
Yes, I guess so.” Kate
nodded. But for some reason, even though the viewscreen was taken
up with the vivid vegetation and the bubble complex, her mind’s eye
kept lingering on Mistress Light, the angel-lady who had spoken to
them.

There’s more to her than
meets the eye. Depend on it,
the Knowing
whispered in her head. Kate tried to shrug off the bad feeling that
was growing in the pit of her stomach but she couldn’t help
herself. Her sixth sense was sending her a warning and she didn’t
know how to interpret it.

What’s going to happen to us down there?
Will we be all right?

She didn’t have any
answers but she
did
know she couldn’t refuse to go. This was her only chance to
regain her memory…and lose the pervading fear she felt anytime Rone
got too close and touched her. Kate didn’t know how she felt about
all the things he’d been telling her regarding their life together,
but she
did
know
she was tired of freaking out around the big Kindred.

This is the only
way,
she told herself.
Just keep alert—a warning doesn’t always mean trouble
ahead.
Which was true—sometimes the
warnings the Knowing sent allowed her to
avoid
trouble. This was going to be
one of those times, Kate decided. She would simply keep her eyes
and ears open and be very,
very
careful while she and Rone were here at Flame and
Frost. And as soon as she took a swim in their pool and got all the
damn fear toxins sucked out of her, they would be out of here and
on their way to a normal life.

She hoped.

Chapter
Thirteen

“
This way. Mistress Light
awaits your coming.”

A being with pale blue skin and long blue
hair was waiting for them when they descended from the ship. Rone
made sure to keep between the person—he couldn’t tell if it was
male or female—and Kate. He knew his mate liked to look out for
herself and might get mad if she thought he was being overly
protective, but he couldn’t help it. The contrasting rumors he’d
heard about Flame and Frost made him nervous. And he’d so recently
found Kate—he was damned if he’d take a chance on losing her again
or letting her be hurt in any way.

“
We’re really just here to
use your bio-chelation pool,” Kate said, stepping forward. The
landing area around the complex was in a large, clear bubble made
of some kind of transparent yellowish material. The sunlight that
filtered down through this barrier cast Kate in a golden light and
turned her long, curly red hair into a flaming corona around her
face. Rone thought he had never seen her look more beautiful, but
then, he had often had that thought about his mate. He longed to
reach out and put a hand on her shoulder or just touch her hair but
he knew he couldn’t. He curled his hand into a fist at his side,
resisting the urge.

“
The Pool of Purification
is on the Frost side of the complex,” the blue-haired being said in
a soft, androgynous voice. “This one may not venture there—this one
has not been touched by the Shadow.”

“
This one what?” Kate
asked blankly. “I’m sorry, but what are you talking
about?”

“
I think he…er she is
referring to herself. Or himself. Sorry,” Rone apologized. “I don’t
know your people or species.”

“
All is well,” the
blue-haired being nodded, indicating that he—or she—wasn’t
offended. “This one is a Celestial. This one’s people do not claim
to be either male or female as this one’s kind may be either in
time of need.”

“
So you can switch sexes
at will?” Rone raised an eyebrow. “That’s convenient, I
guess.”

“
It is very helpful during
some of the therapies.” The Celestial inclined his/her head
gracefully.

“
Well, we’re not here to
have
that
kind of
therapy,” Kate said quickly. “Like I said, we’re just here to use
the pool. But it is very nice to meet you.” She held out a hand but
the Celestial backed away, looking startled and a bit
fearful.

“
Forgive this one, but you
have yet to be purified and it was this one’s understanding that
your flesh has been defiled and polluted by poisons.”

“
Those are some very
strong words,” Rone growled, feeling a surge of protective anger
shoot through him. “None of what happened to Kate is her fault. And
she’s not ‘polluted or defiled’ in any way. She just
needs—”

“
She needs to visit
Mistress Light who awaits your coming,” the Celestial interrupted
smoothly. “Please, may this one bring you to her? It is better to
be timely lest you meet the Madam of Shadows instead.”

“
Is she another one of the
directors here?” Kate asked as they followed the blue—haired being
out of the landing area and into another, smaller bubble. This
bubble was made of the same transparent material but it was tinged
with orange instead of yellow. As before, the sunlight flooded
through, filling the round space like water in a bowl.

“
She is,” the Celestial
nodded and smiled as he/she led them through the orange bubble into
another. This one was crystal clear and in the very center of it
stood the being they had seen on their viewscreen—the female with
pure white hair, eyelashes, and brows. It must be Mistress Light.
She was wearing a pure white gown and her mouth widened into a
benevolent smile as they approached her.

“
Ah, Kate and Rone,” she
said, holding out plump, pale hands to them, her violet eyes
sparkling. “So very good to see you, my dears. I have heard much of
your tragedy already from Commander Sylvan.” She looked at the
Celestial. “And thank you for bringing them in, Azure my
dear.”

The Celestial nodded. “This one lives but to
serve you, Mistress Light.”

“
Yes, I know. You’re such
a darling. But come—I must greet you!” she said, smiling at Kate
and Rone.

Rone came forward first,
again putting himself between Kate and the perceived threat.
Mistress Light
seemed
all right but there was something different about
her—something strange that had his Wulven senses on high
alert.

She smelled…strange. His nose detected
crisp, clean notes that reminded him of an ocean wind and warm
comforting notes that reminded him of the apple pie recipe Kate had
gotten from her grandmother. But there were other scents too—some
so hidden that no one without his special talents could have
detected them.

Along with the pleasant, comforting, clean
smells, there was a whiff of burning and the spice of peppers—the
kind so hot it would make your eyes water and sting just to be near
their fumes. The kind that would burn your mouth like the Seven
Hells if you dared to taste one. There was something else too,
something even darker but it was so faint and buried that even Rone
could barely detect it. Still, it troubled him.

“
It’s very good to make
your acquaintance, Mistress Light,” he said, holding out a hand to
her since she was also holding out both her hands to himself and
Kate.

“
I’m pleased to meet you
as well, my dear but I must touch both of you at once to assess
your problems.” Mistress Light nodded at Kate. “Come dear heart,
don’t be shy.”

Rone didn’t like that he couldn’t touch
Mistress Light first and better assess the threat but he knew how
angry Kate would get if he tried to block her from touching the
resort director. Besides, it was probably a good thing to let Kate
touch her—the Knowing always gave her a better sense of what a
person’s true intentions were when she made skin-to-skin contact
with them.

Together, they reached out to take the
plump, pale hands of Mistress Light. As they made contact, Rone saw
Kate’s green eyes widen but she said nothing. He wished they still
had their link so she could tell him what she’d seen but as it was,
there was nothing he could do but smile genially and shake hands
with the director of Flame and Frost.

“
Ah, yes.” Mistress Light
closed her brilliant purple eyes and a troubled look came over her
face. “Oh my dears—such torment as you are both going through!” she
exclaimed when she opened them again and finally released their
hands. “I vow to you here and now that I will do
everything—
everything—
in my power to restore your relationship to its former
harmony.”

“
That’s really sweet of
you but we’re honestly just here so I can have a dip in your pool.”
Kate’s voice sounded strained. “So if you don’t mind, that’s what
I’d like to do.”

“
In time…all in good time,
Kate my dear.” Mistress Light nodded serenely. “But first, we must
get you installed in a room and get a meal into you. I assume you
must be hungry?”

“
A little, I guess,” Kate
said looking unhappy. “But…we have to stay the night? Not that your
resort doesn’t seem like a lovely place but—”

“
But we’ve heard very
conflicting reports of it which makes us damn nervous,” Rone
finished for her, frowning.

“
I see.” Mistress Light
half-closed her eyes as she regarded them. An expression that made
her look rather like a sleepy cat, Rone thought. “Well, let me
assure you, my dears, that you have nothing to fear if you have
come here fully committed to rebuilding your
relationship.”

“
But—” Kate started but
the director kept talking.

“
For those who come with
the right intentions and purposes, Flame and Frost can be exactly
what they need. But if their intentions are not pure and their
hearts are not given wholly to healing, well…” Mistress Light
frowned. “Then only pain awaits them here.”

“
We don’t want any pain,”
Kate said quickly.

“
And I won’t have my mate
put into danger,” Rone growled.

“
You have nothing to
fear,” Mistress Light said calmly. “For I perceive that your
intentions are pure. So…contracts.”

She clapped her hands and Azure, the
Celestial who had brought them in the first place, came forward
holding two large, circular pieces of vellum covered in densely
written script. The script started along the outer edges and
spiraled inward with the words and letters gradually growing
smaller and smaller until by the time they got to the center, they
were completely unreadable.

“
What does this say?” Kate
asked, frowning at the wide, round contract which Mistress Light
handed to her. “It’s as big as a large pizza,” she remarked to
Rone, who had taken a contract from the director as
well.

“
It’s a standard
non-disclosure agreement,” Mistress Light explained. “We’re very
proprietary about our methods and treatments here. We just ask that
you don’t share our secrets beyond these walls.”

“
Well, if that’s all it
is…” Kate murmured. She was turning the contract around and around
in circles, attempting to read the fine print. “Though I really
don’t like sighing something I can’t read all of.”

“
The last part in the
center is simply legal jargon,” Mistress Light said airily. “It’s
really just a formality but I’m afraid that I cannot allow you
access to our bio-chelation pool until you sign it.”

“
If that’s the case, I
guess we have no choice.” Kate still didn’t look happy about it.
“Where do I sign?” she asked Mistress Light. “Do you have a
pen?”