15 Targeted (63 page)

Mother Chundra crooked her finger at the one male who hadn’t stepped backwards.

“Daro,” she called, raising an eyebrow at him. “You are willing to be chosen mate to this
Khalla-to-be
despite her soiled past?”

He nodded grimly. “I am willing to take this challenge, Mother Chundra.”

“Very well, your bravery is noted. And as no one else wants this
Khalla-to-be,
is decided.” She looked at Emily who was fighting not to cry, holding the tears of shame back grimly. “Meet your chosen mate, my dear. You will have one night to prepare and tomorrow your bonding ceremony will take place before the Visage of the Goddess.”

“No!” Emily cried, curling her hands into fists. “No, you said my wishes would be considered and I don’t wish for—want—anyone but Tragar! I mean, I’m sorry,” she said to Daro who was standing there watching her with an uncertain look on his handsome face. “You seem like a really nice guy and all but you’re not
my
guy. Tragar is and he’s the only one I want!”

“You cannot have a blasphemer and assassin for your chosen mate,” Mother Chundra said sternly. “The candidates who are called to the Temple study and strive all of their lives to remain pure of heart, mind, and body—to be worthy of a
Khalla’s
affection.” She nodded at the Temple Guards who were still barely holding Tragar back. “What’s wrong with the two of you? Get help if you need to but take him away!”

“No—Tragar!” Emily sidestepped around Daro and the High Priestess and went running to throw her arms around his neck. The two guards on either side of him had his arms so he couldn’t hug her back, but she felt his big body trembling against hers.

“Emily,” he whispered hoarsely. “My
Khalla…”

“Don’t hurt yourself,” she begged him, seeing the hopelessness in his eyes. “Don’t leave me. Give me a chance and I’ll get away and come to you. Just wait for me.”

“I cannot.” He looked sad now—a terrible pain filling his golden eyes. “You heard the High Priestess. Though I do not agree with all of her reasons, I do agree with her assessment—I am not worthy of you. I never have been.”

“Who cares what she says?” Emily demanded. “We just met her today—she doesn’t know us!”

“It was not just her judgment that let me know I was unworthy,” Tragar murmured. “You know of my past, Emily. You know how I failed Landra and Jalex. I could not even fulfill a Kindred’s most sacred task—to protect the ones I loved. I do not deserve a second chance. Especially with a female as beautiful and rare as you.”

“So what?” Emily couldn’t help herself—she had started to cry. “So you’re just going to give up on me? On
us?”

“I cannot do otherwise. Try to understand, I am stepping aside for your own good.”

“No, you’re being pushed aside. And you’re
letting
it happen!” Emily stepped back, her eyes hot as fire as the
other
stirred within her. “Don’t do this, Tragar! Don’t just give in. You said you loved me—now
fight
for me!”

“My
Khalla—”
There was a stricken look in his eyes but before he could finish his sentence, two more burly Temple Guards came to help the first two. Between them, they were finally able to haul the big Kindred away.

Emily watched him go, her eyes burning so fiercely the tears that she would have shed dried in the heat before they reached her cheeks. The
other
was restless inside her, pushing forward, demanding that Tragar was theirs and should not be separated from them.

Emily wanted to push the
other
back down but she seemed to lack the strength. All the pain and rage and sorrow inside her seemed to feed the
other,
making her stronger, readying her to come out.

Soon she’ll take over,
Emily thought dully.
She’ll come forward and won’t go back again. I’ll be gone. And I won’t even have Tragar to help me. He’s gone…gone and he’s never coming back.

* * * * *

“You saw what happened.” Y nodded at the monitor where the scene at the Temple was being played out before them. Truly, his Master was a wizard at knowing where to place his small, scuttling, furry spies. They had come with Tragar and Emily aboard the Kindred assassin’s ship and then into the Temple. They were so silent and stealthy that no one had noticed so much as a whisker twitching while their red eyes recorded everything and relayed it back to Master Two.

“I saw.” Master Two did not sound pleased, which confused Y.

“What is the matter, Master?” he asked, frowning. “The matter appears to be resolved. The girl is forever separated from her Kindred lover and given to another—so the matter should be resolved.”

“No, you fool—it is
not
resolved,” Two snapped. “The Seeing foretold she would bear the mother of a new race—it never said who the father of her child would be. If she is allowed to live, she may breed with another and still propagate the new race of Kindred.”

“Master…” Y could keep silent no longer. “May I point out that this whole scenario could have been avoided if you had simply let me kill the girl when we had her in our power? But no, instead you wanted to play games—wanted to toy with your prey’s emotions like a sadistic predator. So you had the witch give her those star-silver devices to wear which were supposed to kill her painfully and slowly—but the Kindred male removed them and cured her of her affliction. And now the girl is healthy and fertile and gone beyond reach. It is too late.”

“Silence!” Master Two’s voice was an angry roar inside his head. “Do you think I did not anticipate this possibility? It is
not
too late! Have you forgotten the call we placed to the assassin’s
Verrak
commander? He or another of his order will be coming to kill her soon.”

“Unless her Kindred Warrior kills himself and voids the contract that way, as he threatened to do,” Y pointed out. “Which I believe to be very likely now that the girl has been taken from him. He literally has nothing to live for.”

“Then he must believe that the contract has been dropped,” Master Two said craftily. “You will call him, Y—tell him you are my emissary and that I put the contract on the wrong Earth female by mistake. Tell him that his superior has already been notified and the contract is void. That way he will be taken completely off guard when a second assassin swoops in to kill the girl.”

“But what if the new assassin cannot get to her?” Y argued. He had found his voice now and he was unwilling to be silenced. “You saw that temple—it will be very difficult to breach and the girl will be surrounded by guards.”

“True…true…” Master Two sounded like he was thinking hard—the chip in Y’s head, which was located just under his left ear, throbbed and grew warm. “Well, we must have a backup plan…I have it!”

“What is it, Master?” Y asked.

“The old woman—we must go see the witch who fitted the girl with the star-silver devices in the first place. She still has a lock of the girl’s hair—it should be enough.”

“Enough to do what?” Y protested but his Master refused to answer.

“Take us back to the old witch—to Grandy See-er, Y,” he demanded. “And do not disturb me again until we are there. I have much to do. I am making plans within plans within plans. The girl shall not elude my grasp, no matter what. She
will
die and if her Kindred warrior is there to see it happen, so much the better!”

Chapter Twenty-six

“You cannot go to bed now,
Khalla-to-be.
There is much to do to prepare you for your bonding ceremony tomorrow. And after that, your becoming.”

“I don’t want to be bonded to that guy,” Emily turned her head away, refusing to look at Turra who was trying to reason with her. She was back in the fairy tale suite of rooms only this time the lovely décor looked bleak and ugly to her—no better than a prison.

“But you must be bonded,” Lit’aal said gently. “I am sorry, my
Khalla,
but once your mate is chosen, your body accelerates the
Tenrah
considerably. You may go into the fourth stage or
Hel
as early as tomorrow evening. When that happens, you must have a male to help slake your lust after your
Kit’tara
emerges or you could die.”

“I’ve told you—I don’t
want
her to emerge!”

It was true that the
other
had been slightly more helpful since she had reawakened and she
felt
different in Emily’s head—like a child that has matured overnight. She had even given Emily courage to face down the High Priestess—not that it had done any good. In the past, the
other
would have simply tried to take over instead of helping. Now, Emily could feel her hovering quietly in the background of her brain, like a polite guest, waiting to be called to supper.

Emily might have been willing to
share
her body with someone like that—someone patient and kind who would help out in a tight spot instead of just taking over and pushing her to act on her most reckless impulses. But polite and helpful or not, she was damned if she’d
completely
give up her entire body and existence to the
other.
Now that Tragar was gone for good, all she had was herself and she wasn’t going to give everything up just because everyone at this stupid Temple was telling her she was supposed to.

“At least come and walk in the gardens with your chosen mate. Daro longs to get to know you before the two of you are bonded,” Lit’aal said softly. “He’s very handsome, you know. And he’s a medic that specializes in the ailments of children—you will not find a kinder heart or a more gentle male.” She sounded wistful, as though she had a crush on the handsome, dashing Daro herself.

Emily gritted her teeth. “I don’t
care
if he’s a freaking model slash pediatric specialist slash saint. He’s
not
Tragar and Tragar is the only one I want.”

“Face it,
Khalla-to-be,
the one who brought you here finally recognized his own unworthiness. Now he is gone and he’s not coming back,” Turra said flatly. “And good riddance—I was shocked to learn of what he’d done to you while he had you in his clutches.”

“In his
clutches?”
Emily glared at her.

“What else would you call it?” Turra put her hands on her bony hips. “He was sent to kill you and then he
kidnapped
you.”

“He
rescued
me,” Emily protested.

“So that he could imbibe of your nectar.” Turra looked scandalized. “I know you are very ignorant of the correct procedures,
Khalla-to-be,
but what he did to you was no better than rape.”

“How dare you speak to me about rape?” Emily’s voice was trembling now. “You heard what Mother Chundra said when she told
everybody
my life. What Tragar did to me was
not
rape and I think I would know.”