Tribes of Man: The Beginning [Tribes of Man] (Siren Publishing Classic) (17 page)

Adder snapped again, and the room shimmered.

“Soundproof,” was all he said.

Jensen could suddenly move his (
their
) head. He was also able to speak. “What the hell is going on?” he asked.

He laughed and got right up into Jensen’s face. He (
They
) could smell Adder’s fetid breath. “I’m going to give you pain like you’ve never known before, and when I’m done you are going to go back to work and kill that Kallan bitch for me.”

Still denying what was right in front of his eyes, Jensen said, “You torture me now, I’ll be no good to you later.” Jensen was thinking that if this happened, he was gone. He thought about the stash he had in the bank deposit box. He could just make himself disappear. Raina wanted to shout at him to shut up, to stop thinking.

“Ah, you think you’ll be able to run? I’ll tell you what, I’ll give you a head start.” Adder moved back and gestured for the door. “Go ahead, run!”

Jensen tried to move toward the door, but he couldn’t. He was frozen in place.

“Good choice,” Adder said sardonically. “Take your punishment like a good boy then get back to work.”

Adder walked over to the shelf and picked up a long thin knife. He snapped his fingers again, and Jensen (
they
) were naked. Adder placed the knife, flat, on his (
their
) pectoral muscle. Then he started to slide it down, angling it slightly until a long strip of skin and part of the nipple was removed. The pain was exquisite. Jensen locked his teeth together, intending to prove that he was tough enough to take it. Once the strip was removed, Adder put his tongue on the open would and began to lick the blood away. The acidic burn of Adder’s tongue finally loosed Jensen’s (
their
) scream.

* * * *

Gideon was cooking up a storm. He had energy to burn and decided to put it into a big meal. He had to go out to the lake and practice with the Waterfire again later, but for now he wanted to make a good meal for Raina. She seemed to be exhausted lately. Between all the research into the prophecy, practicing her precognition, trying to control the clairvoyance, and their seemingly unrelenting sex life, her energy level was low. All of the activity energized Gideon, but Raina didn’t seem to be so lucky. She was sleeping on the couch, trying to rest up.

Not surprisingly, Bryce had come over to study and hang out. That was one of the reasons why Gideon decided to cook. He and Raina were careful around him. They tried to be completely casual. Bryce might be able to sense the attraction between Gideon and Raina, but he had yet to see evidence that they began a relationship.

He was going to have to deal with it eventually, but Gideon didn’t want to have problems with his brother on top of all the other shit going on. Gideon had tried to send Kristano a “message” about dinner, but he didn’t know if it was received. He knew that Kristano could sense Raina, but he wasn’t sure if it was only when she was in trouble.

Gideon had just put the chicken in the oven when a scream rent the air. After the scream, there was a shout and the sound of furniture breaking.

Gideon ran into the living room to find Bryce rolling around on the floor with Kristano while Raina screamed hysterically on the couch. Gideon ran to Raina and tried to gather her in his arms, but she was stiff. He heard Kristano say “sleep” and then the wrestling match on the floor stopped.

“What’s happening?” Gideon asked as he tried to stroke Raina’s hair off her sweaty face. “Raina, honey, wake up. Wake up!”

He looked at Kristano out of devastated eyes, “I can’t wake her up. What do I do?”

Kristano looked as stunned as Gideon felt. “I don’t know.”

Raina kept screaming, high-pitched keens of agony.

“I’ll try to get inside her mind,” Kristano suggested. “Maybe I can see what’s going on.”

Kristano sat on the floor cross-legged and held Raina’s hand. After a moment, he went stiff and groaned. Raina’s scream cut off abruptly.

* * * *

Raina felt Kristano’s presence, and the pain immediately dulled. It became like surgery under a local anesthetic. She could feel the pressure, but not the pain.

Thank you
.

What’s going on?
Kristano gasped. He seemed to be absorbing the pain so that Raina didn’t have to feel it.

Adder tortured Jensen for failing to kill me, and I think I’m here to experience it. I don’t think this is happening now because I have no control and Jensen isn’t aware of me. I think this is a memory
.

Kristano could hear the guilt in her voice.
It’s not your fault.

She didn’t say anything. Kristano called to Gideon. Next thing she knew, Gideon was there, and even the pressure was gone. It was like her consciousness was there, but she was no longer a part of Jensen’s body.

I need to see what’s going on. You need to keep the pain from her until we can figure out how to get her out.

There was yet another shift of sensation. Raina realized what they were doing.
Don’t take it on. It’s too much. Just get me out of here.

When the full force of the pain hit Gideon, he couldn’t stop the scream from escaping. Raina immediately forced some of it back on herself. Because it had already happened, their three consciousnesses shared Jensen’s pain, yet in no way relieved him of it. Jensen’s screams echoed in the chamber.

A moment later, Kristano returned. The sight of what Adder was doing to the man sickened him. There were slices removed from Jensen’s flesh all over his body: his chest, arms, legs, buttocks, genitalia. There were also bite marks on his body, some buried in the raw flesh where the skin was removed. It made him sick that Raina felt that as it was being done.

They tried to pull her out, but Raina could not break free. They managed to share the pain between the three of them, so that no one person bore the brunt of it. The men tried to keep it off Raina entirely, but she wouldn’t allow it. At least by sharing it, she could pay attention to the room and to what was happening. There had to be a reason why she was sent there.

After an interminable amount of time, Adder stopped and assessed his work. His cheeks were flush, and Raina could almost feel the magic crackle through the room. It had a different feel than Kristano’s magic, a darker edge.

Adder snapped his fingers, and Jensen was clothed and the worst of his pain had disappeared. He was left with weakness and the echo of pain. Except for one wound, the first one on his chest. There was a bandage over it, but it was still there.

Adder walked over and pinched the area where Jensen’s nipple would have been if it hadn’t been peeled off. Jensen let out one last scream, but Adder cut if off with a thought.

“You will kill Kallan for me. I own you now. Any time I want you, all I’ll have to do is to think about it. You will not let me down again, or this little session will seem like a vacation. Do you get me?”

Raina could feel Jensen’s desire to escape, even if that meant dying. She could also feel that he no longer controlled his own free will. He couldn’t commit suicide. Adder would never let him.

“How did you get into the FBI?” Jensen gasped. “Don’t they know what you are?”

“Don’t forget, this isn’t the FBI. This is the Center. And here, I am god.”

Jensen shuddered.

The next thing they knew, Raina, Kristano, and Gideon were back in Raina’s living room. Raina got up and ran for the bathroom. She made it to the toilet just in time to void the contents of her stomach.

When she came back out, she was weak and shaky. She walked through the living room and headed up to her bathroom. There she took a blistering hot shower and brushed her teeth. Gideon must have known that she needed space because he left her alone, sending only waves of reassurance and love through their mental connection.

Downstairs, Kristano cleaned up the room with a snap of his fingers. The gesture reminded Gideon of Adder, and Kristano realized it immediately so he stopped doing it and waved his hand instead. They placed Bryce on the couch under a blanket and opened his book on his lap, as though he fell asleep studying. Kristano then made the memories vague, like in a dream.

“What happened?” Gideon asked him. “How did you and my brother end up fighting?”

“I heard her distress and appeared in here by her side. He looked up at her scream, just in time to see me appear. He must have thought I was hurting her.” Kristano smiled a bit. “Your brother has the heart of a warrior. He didn’t hesitate to defend Raina. He’s young yet, but when the prophecy is fulfilled, he’ll make a fine member of the Fire tribe.”

“What?” Gideon asked.

“You have the same parents, yes?”

Gideon just nodded.

“Then he is also a member of the Fire tribe. If he was born first, he would have been the keeper. If something happened to you before you had children, he would have become the keeper. It’s the way it works.”

Gideon supposed that made sense. It was a little nerve-racking to think of Bryce as a warrior, but he was also proud of him. Bryce was a fine man. He just needed to grow up a little.

“Are you staying for supper?” Gideon asked casually as he headed back into the kitchen. He paused at the doorway. “I sent you a message, but I wasn’t sure if you got it.”

Kristano looked away. “I’m not sure if I should.”

Gideon waited for a heartbeat then walked back toward Kristano and held out his hand. “You should. You’re a part of the family, and it’s Sunday. Mom and dad always used to have dinner at their house on Sunday. I’d like to think that Raina and I will take up the tradition.”

Kristano grasped Gideon’s forearm in a warrior’s handshake. “I’d like to stay. I’ll just check in with Raina when she gets out of the shower.”

Gideon just nodded and turned back to the kitchen. Just before he went through the door, he said, “She’s out now and dressed. Why don’t you go see her upstairs?”

Kristano knew what that was, a declaration of absolute trust. Even though Gideon was already in the other room, Kristano said softly, “Thank you, my brother.”

* * * *

Raina was sitting on her bed when she heard the sound of soft tapping at her door. She knew it was Kristano on the other side.

“Come in,” she said. She didn’t get up from the bed, but continued to sit with her hands linked on her lap.

“Are you OK?” Kristano asked.

A tear slipped down Raina’s face. “I guess. I don’t think Jensen is, though. I felt his desire to die.”

“We may end up helping him out with that, eventually,” Kristano said.

“I don’t want to kill him. He’s been through enough.”

Kristano sat on the bed and took her hand. “He’s not a good man, Raina. He’s one of the men who killed all those innocent people at the school. He doesn’t deserve your pity.”

Raina thought about that. He was right, she knew, but she felt his pain and didn’t want to add to it.

“In addition to that, he’s now Adder’s puppet. He won’t have any choice but to do as Adder says. The only relief we can give him is to kill him.”

She knew he was right, but it hurt nonetheless.

“Why was I shown that? Is there a rhyme or reason to what I have to see?” Raina started crying in earnest. “I don’t want to see that stuff for the rest of my life.”

Kristano gathered her close. She also felt Gideon in her mind, surrounding her with love. Once again, the two men gave her something she needed desperately. “You were shown this for a reason. After Bryce leaves tonight, we’ll try to figure out what that reason is.”

Raina had forgotten about Bryce. “What did you tell Bryce about all this?”

“Nothing, I put him on the couch and convinced him it was a dream.”

Raina chuckled. “Poor Bryce. He’s got to be thinking he’s going crazy. How many times over the last few weeks have you influenced him to think something like that?”

“Too many to count. That’s OK. I think he’s getting himself into a relationship with his friend Gina.” Kristano let Raina go and stood up.

“Yeah? Good. Maybe he’ll forget about me, then.” Raina stood up, grabbed a tissue to rub her eyes and blow her nose, then she held out her hand to Kristano. “Ready for some family time?”

Kristano realized that she must have been “eavesdropping” on his conversation with Gideon earlier. He took her hand and let her lead him from the room.

Dinner went well. The chicken was roasted to perfection, the baby potatoes were nicely seasoned, and the fresh corn on the cob was delightful.

Raina didn’t think she’d be able to eat, but found that once she started, she was ravenous. Conversation at the table was lively, with Bryce regaling them with the comedy and drama of the wild and crazy members of the Ancient Studies Department.

“So she walked in with this mummified hand she ‘borrowed’ from the archeology storage room sticking out of her sleeve. I noticed it right away, but then I know Professor Albritton’s humor. The undergrads didn’t even notice at first. About halfway through the lesson, the snickers and whispering started. Of course as Teaching Assistant I had to look sternly around the room. Finally, one of the students got brave enough to ask what was wrong with her hand. The professor just said, ‘I forgot my hand cream this morning.’ You should have seen the look on their faces. I wish I’d had a camera.” Bryce was telling the story as he shoveled bites of roasted chicken.

“Can someone pass the potatoes?” Raina asked. When the bowl was placed in her hand, she said, “She used to dress up like a mummy for Halloween every year. I swear the Archeology Department must find their stuff missing all the time.”

As the conversation shifted from Professor Albritton’s pranks to some of Gideon’s funnier cases, Bryce took the time to watch Kristano. He wasn’t sure when the guy got there, but when he was sleeping, Bryce had a dream about Kristano hurting Raina. He didn’t believe the guy was a physical threat to her, but he began to wonder if Raina and Kristano didn’t have some kind of a thing going. He originally thought that she and Gideon were getting close, but as time passed, he saw no other evidence of it. Yet, he knew that Kristano looked at Raina with something akin to love in his eyes. He thought maybe it was time to step up his campaign.