Found (20 page)

The Judge frowned. “This is highly irregular.
The Scourge always own their females.”

“Not in this case,” Xairn insisted. “In fact,
if either of us should wear a brand, it should be me.” Pulling his
shirt open, he knelt suddenly before the tree-like being. “I submit
to your ruling, your Eminence, and ask that you brand me now with
my female’s name.”

“Xairn.” Lauren whispered his name through
numb lips. “Xairn, please…”

He glanced back at her. “It is my wish,
Mistress
. And you would have branded me anyway, once we
reached your home planet. This simply saves time.”

The Quinlow frowned. “I am willing to make
the substitution but for the brand to be meaningful, I must know
what to write.”

“Her name.” Xairn lifted his chin. “Write it
in the language of her people, here, across my chest.”

“Then I must have knowledge of this
language.” The Judge held out one burning hand to Lauren who was
still standing beside the kneeling Xairn. Its creaking voice
softened slightly. “Come, child, I can read your thoughts, but in
order to make your mark properly I need a direct transference.”

Lauren looked at the flame-tipped fingers.
“You want me to…to touch you?”

“Not the hand,” Xairn said sharply. “Brush
your fingertips over its arm—that should be sufficient.”

Taking a deep breath to steady her nerves,
Lauren reached out to do as he said. The Judge leaned forward
obligingly, reminding her of a tree bending in the wind. Careful to
avoid its burning hands, she let her fingertips brush lightly over
the knotted, branch-like arm. Her whole arm went instantly numb and
she gasped as she felt something pass between them—like a burst of
electricity. Then it was over and she pulled back her hand and
tried to massage some life back into her tingling fingers.

“That is well.” The Quinlow nodded at her. “I
have what I need. Scourge, are you prepared? I warn you that my
brand will not be light or painless. Many have died at my hands. I
have no easy touch to give.”

Xairn’s face was like stone. “I understand,
your Eminence. I am ready.” He looked briefly at Lauren. “Step
back. I don’t want you hurt by the energy transfer, Mistress.”

Feeling numb, Lauren did as he asked.
Me,
he’s doing this for me. So I won’t be hurt,
she thought as the
Quinlow bent to press its burning fingertip to Xairn’s broad, bare
chest. There was a hissing sound like burning flesh, but he didn’t
even flinch as the moving finger began to write.

Lauren watched in mingled parts horror and
fascination as her name slowly appeared in two-inch high letters
across Xairn’s muscular chest. It was terrible to see because she
knew he must be in agony—her name was being literally burned into
his body, after all.

But though the whole scenario was surreal,
the strangest thing was that the Quinlow was writing in
her
handwriting. The same loopy scrawl she used when signing letters
and checks was what came out of the burning blue fingertip. It made
her feel like she herself was doing the branding, as though she was
disfiguring Xairn’s body like a vandal would mark a priceless piece
of art. Her hands clenched into fists and tears sprang to her eyes
again as she watched helplessly.

Xairn bore the agonizing operation in silence
and when the Judge was finished, her entire first name was there,
in raised black lines on his flesh. The pain must have been almost
unbearable but he only nodded his head and said, “My thanks, your
Eminence. I will wear my mistress’s name with pride.”

“Go and do not return.” The Quinlow frowned
and stepped back. “Your welcome in
O’ah
has expired.”

“We’re going.” Rising stiffly, Xairn took
Lauren by the hand and pulled her away, through the milling crowd
of seed clones.

Lauren had to run to keep up with him but she
didn’t care. All she knew was that they were finally getting out of
this strange and dangerous place. But as relieved as she was, she
was still horrified by the price Xairn had paid for their freedom.
God, how could he do that for me—let my name be burned into his
flesh and never even flinch? He must
hate
me now!

In the time he’d know her he had lost his
father, his race, and his entire way of life. He’d even had to
alter his entire appearance. And now
this
.

Was it any wonder he wanted to leave her on
Earth and never come back?

The burning pain of the Quinlow’s touch still
lingered on his chest, setting his nerve endings afire, but Xairn
didn’t care. The agony he had endured to be branded with Lauren’s
name was nothing compared to the fierce ache around his heart.
Gods, to think that I almost lost her again, and for good this
time! If the DNA alteration hadn’t changed her scent
—no, he
couldn’t allow himself to consider it. Not now.

They reached the ship and he pushed Lauren
inside as quickly as possible, wanting to get her to safe
territory. The Judge had made what he considered to be a fair
ruling but it was based on a lie—he had not bonded Lauren to him.
And I never will,
he vowed to himself.
There would be too
much chance of losing control.
But bonded or not, she was still
his. Or rather, he was hers. Xairn knew that now and there was no
going back from that knowledge, no matter how it pierced his
heart.

Just as he was about to enter the ship
himself, he felt a light tap on his shoulder. “What?” he snarled.
He turned to see Blix standing there, smirking.

“I simply wanted to remind you to return the
slippers. Unless you wish me to make a short visit to your lady
love’s home planet someday soon?”

Xairn’s hands curled into fists and he felt
his eyes growing hot—almost as though some other part of him was
trying to get out. He wanted to rip the calmly smiling bastard into
a thousand tiny pieces and listen to each one scream but there was
no time. “If you come within a hundred light years of her again
I’ll fucking kill you,” he grated. “That’s a promise, Spider.”

“One I’ll remember.” Blix nodded, still
smirking. “You’re a worthy opponent, Scourge—you countered every
trick I had. I can’t remember the last time anyone was able to do
that. And now, the slippers if you please?”

Xairn turned to get them but Lauren was
suddenly standing at the doorway of the ship. “Here they are!” With
surprising speed and accuracy, she flung both of the crimson-soled
slippers in quick succession. Both hit Blix in the face and the
second one knocked his nose completely off. It lay twitching on the
ground beside him like a slug.

“Why, you—She’s not really bonded to you!” he
shouted at Xairn. “No female truly subdued by a Scourge would act
like that!” He started to surge forward but Xairn put a hand on his
chest and pushed him back. The thought thief stumbled and fell on
his ass, an almost comical look of surprise on his noseless
face.

“Thanks for the shoes,” Lauren told him, her
eyes flashing. “But I’ve never been into designer footwear.
Especially if it costs me my freaking
life.”
She looked at
Xairn. “Come on, let’s get out of this crazy place!”

Xairn gave her a look of admiration and then
glanced back at Blix. “Forgive me, Spider but I have to go. My
mistress calls.”

“Come back!” Blix stormed, spitting into two
and then three and four other Blixs in his fury. “I am calling for
a re-judgment on this case. I want that female thoroughly examined.
I’ll—”

“You’ll rot in the seven hells,” Xairn
growled over his shoulder. “Now get the
fuck
out of way or
I’ll fry you with the ship’s engines.” Not waiting to see if the
thought thief complied, he slapped the door switch closed and
turned toward the pilot’s chair. “Strap in,” he told Lauren who was
already sitting in the passenger seat. “We need to get out of here
quickly. The Spider wants to reopen proceedings with the
Judge.”

She shivered as she pulled the safety harness
in place. “I can’t believe he got so upset that I pegged him with a
couple of overpriced slippers. I mean, I bit his fingers off
earlier and he didn’t care about that.”

“The slippers he gave you had crimson
soles—they were footwear reserved exclusively for whores,” Xairn
explained as he started the ship. “Hitting him in the face with
them was a grave insult.” He gave her a quick smile. “It made him
angrier than anything else you could have done—you hurt his
pride.”

She tried to smile back but her lovely face
looked uneasy. “Good for me, I guess.”

“Hold on.” Xairn gunned the engines and the
ship went racing down the long stone corridor. Both of them were
thrown back against their seats. The pressure eased as the ship
lifted up into the purple haze of the
O’ah
sky. “We’re
leaving now before things get ugly.”

“Seriously, like they weren’t ugly before?”
Lauren laughed but the sound ended in a sob.

“Are you all right?” He spared her a quick
glance before looking back at the controls. He had to get a good
distance from the planet to make sure they weren’t followed.

“I’m fine.” She lifted her chin but her voice
trembled. “Is…is it safe now? Will we be okay?”

“We should be all right. It might take me a
little while to find the right worm hole but I think I can promise
to have you home in a fairly short time,” Xairn said.

“I see.” Lauren nodded stiffly. “Then…can
I…is it safe to go to the restroom?”

He nodded. “You can unstrap your
harness.”

“Thank you.” She was already fumbling with
the straps and as soon as she had gotten lose, she almost ran to
the back of the ship. Xairn frowned and cast a glance over his
shoulder to watch her retreat. Was she really all right? Should he
go to her?

He felt a surge of frustration at his
uncertainty. What would a normal male—one who had been raised
around females and knew how to treat them—do? Many of Lauren’s
emotional responses still confused him. He could tell she was upset
and hurt and he wanted to fix that somehow—to assuage her pain. But
he didn’t know how. And he didn’t know if he would ever be able to
learn.

Forgive me, Lauren,
he thought,
staring blankly into the black reaches of space displayed on the
viewscreen.
For my ignorance and uncertainty. For not knowing
how to ease your pain. I am no fit mate for you.
He looked down
at the burning letters of her name branded on his chest.
And yet
I don’t know how to be anything else.

Lauren slapped the bathroom door shut and
clapped a hand over her mouth to stifle a sob. It felt like she’d
been crying off and on all morning but what a hellish morning it
had been! She honestly couldn’t remember a worse one. Even waking
up naked on the cold metal floor of the Fathership didn’t
compare.

She sank to the floor and wrapped her arms
around herself, trembling. She didn’t want to be weak but just for
this one moment, she couldn’t help it. She had to give in to the
tears.

Over and over she relieved the terrifying
sensation of being grabbed and then watching as the clones tried to
take her place. The fear that Xairn wouldn’t know the difference,
that she would be left behind on a strange planet trapped in a life
of prostitution until she died. And then watching as he endured
agony for her—as he allowed himself to be branded with her name
without saying a word.

It should have been me! I should have been
the one who was marked! I shouldn’t have let him do it.
Though
she wasn’t sure how she could have stopped him. Now, even though he
was going to leave her, he would have a permanent reminder of her
stamped forever on his chest. Lauren wanted to go to him, to treat
the burns with some of the cooling gel she’d found in the Kindred
first aid kit earlier, but she couldn’t bring herself to face him
again. Not yet. For now she could only try to deal with what she’d
been through…and try not to think about how she was going to feel
in a few hours when he left her on Earth and went away for
good.

She cried quietly for awhile, muffling the
sobs with her hand so as not to disturb Xairn. Letting out the
terror and pain of what she’d just gone through seemed to help and
at last, she began to feel calmer.
It’s all right, Lauren,
everything is going to be all right,
she told herself fiercely,
blotting her eyes on the sleeve of her muumuu.
You got through
being kidnapped, held prisoner by the AllFather, having your DNA
altered, and being cloned. You’ll make it through this too. You’ll
make it through him leaving…
But she didn’t know how she
could.

Out of everything that had happened to her
since she’d been plucked her from her normal life on Earth and sent
on a dizzying, out of control rollercoaster ride of adventure and
fear, knowing she would never see Xairn again hurt the worst. The
idea of never being held in his arms, of never looking into his
eyes—whether they were red-on-black or blue-green, she didn’t
care—was so painful it hurt to breathe when she thought of it. She
didn’t blame him a bit for wanting to go but God, how was she going
to—

A soft knocking on the other side of the
bathroom door broke her train of thought abruptly. “Lauren?” Xairn
sounded concerned. “Are you all right? Can I see you?”

“Just a minute.” She jumped up and turned to
the sink to splash some cool water on her face. Blotting her cheeks
with a towel, she studied her reflection in the mirror.
Red
eyes? Check. Puffy face? Check. Great, just great.
Well, there
was no way to hide from him that she’d been crying but at least she
could be calm and collected now. Xairn had been through enough
having her name freaking
burned
into his flesh. He didn’t
need to deal with her crazy emotions too.