15 Targeted (75 page)

“Actually by killing Tier Shan, I have nullified the contract that was placed on your head and won my freedom from the
Verrak.”

“Did you really?” Emily’s eyes widened, glimmering a deep, lovely gold.

“Indeed. See for yourself.” He held out his arm and let her examine it.

“Oh! Your tattoo—it’s gone!”

It was true. All traces of the intricate tracery he had been marked with on his induction to the
Verrak
had faded completely. From wrist to shoulder, his arm was clean—his
narsh
was gone.

“Yes.” Tragar nodded with satisfaction. “It is.”

Emily looked at him uncertainly.

“How do you feel about that? Did you
want
to quit? I mean, this is kind of sudden, isn’t it?”

“It is,” he acknowledged. “But I would say it comes at the perfect time. After all, I cannot be taking life for my livelihood now that I am bonded to a
Khalla.”
To his surprise, he felt a surge of worry coming from Emily. “What’s wrong?” he asked. “Surely you didn’t
want
to be joined to a member of the
Verrak?”

“Well…
no.
Not exactly.” She frowned. “But I don’t want you to feel like you have to give up your whole career for me, either. I mean, that kind of sacrifice can be hard on a relationship and we’re just getting started here.”

“Emily…
Khalla…”
He took one of her small, shapely hands in his. “Don’t you understand? I joined the
Verrak
because I was seeking death. You have given me something to live for. That time is behind me now. From now on, I intend to live only for my future with you.”

“Oh, Tragar…” Tears glimmered in her eyes and she snuggled up to him, pressing her cheek to his chest. “You gave me something to live for too. I was just marking time until I met you—just going through the motions. But…you’re
really
sure you don’t mind giving up your job?”

He frowned. “Of course not—besides, I have a
new
job—taking care of you. In addition to being your chosen mate, I will head up your security detail.”

“My security detail? What are you talking about?”

“Well…” Tragar stroked her hair. “I don’t wish to alarm you but
Khallas
are very public figures here on Rageron. And even though the contract on your head has been nullified, I don’t like the fact that the representative of the Dark Kindred who placed it in the first place called me and lied about removing it.”

“He did?” Emily sat up and put a hand to her chest.

“He did.” Tragar nodded gravely. “And then apparently he called Tier Shan and complained that the contract had not been fulfilled yet. That was what prompted him to come after us in the first place.”

“I
wondered
what he was shouting about!” Emily shivered. “So you think this Dark Kindred guy is still after me?”

“If he is, he’ll be sorry,” Tragar said grimly. “I told you, I am not leaving your side from now on.”

“Well, that makes me feel a lot safer.” She snuggled up to him again. “Of course, I’d feel even better if I knew
why
he was after me in the first place.”

“I don’t know either,” Tragar admitted. “I think—” But just at that moment, he got the feeling that someone he didn’t know wanted to speak to him urgently. He frowned. “Wait a moment—I think someone is trying to bespeak me.”

“Bespeak? What’s that?”

“Someone is using a Think-me device to try and send me a mental message.” Tragar shook his head. “It’s considered extremely rude to bespeak someone you don’t know intimately. Normally I would refuse to take the call but in light of everything that has happened lately…”

“You’d better take it,” Emily said anxiously. “Go ahead—I don’t mind.”

Tragar took a deep breath and opened his mind. While mental communication with one’s bonded mate was natural and easy, bespeaking and being bespoken, especially by someone one didn’t know, could be arduous and mentally taxing.

“
Who is it?”
he sent, acknowledging the nagging feeling inside his brain.
“And what do you want?”

“
It’s Rone—the Wulven Kindred tracker who came seeking Emily. Forgive me, Brother, I know this is your first bonding sex with your Khalla but it has been nearly twenty-four solar hours and, well, we wanted to make sure you were both all right.”

“
We’re fine,”
Emily sent back, joining in the session of mental-communication without hesitation.
“Tragar and I are, uh, finished. We were just sitting here talking, trying to figure out about the price on my head. But has it really been twenty-four hours? No wonder I’m so hungry!”

“
We have both food and answers for you, Khalla, if you wish to come and join us.”

“
Yeah, come on out, girlfriend.”
It was Kate, Rone’s human mate this time.
“They have some kind of little pastry here like a cross between a Hostess pie and a cupcake that’s to die for. And don’t worry about the High Priestess—she’s agreed to leave the two of you alone.”

“
I don’t know that I trust her word,”
Tragar growled.
“What of the Temple Guards?”

“
Many of them have quit their posts,”
Rone answered.
“I think they were shocked that the High Priestess was willing to allow a genuine Khalla die simply because she had disobeyed her word.”

“
And there weren’t that many to begin with,”
Kate added.
“So we can take care of them easily enough if they get decide to get frisky.”

“
Enough of this four-way conversation.”
Tragar put a hand to his head.
“I find it very taxing.”

“
We’ll come out to you right away,”
Emily sent.
“Just let us get dressed. And save me one of those pie-cake things. I’m starving!”

Kate laughed.
“Will do.”

* * * * *

“Mmm, you weren’t kidding—these things are
amazing.”
Emily reached for a second pie-cake as she and Kate were calling them and took a big bite. It had flaky crust, followed by a gooey layer of fruit, then a cakey interior with a kind of creamy custard filling at the center. The combination shouldn’t have worked but it
so
did. After all the strenuous sex and not having had anything decent to eat since Saskia’s delicious stew, Emily was starving.

She and Tragar and Kate and Rone were sitting around a table in a large communal dining area Emily hadn’t even known was there. The chefs had prepared a veritable banquet of snacks in honor of their new
Khalla’s
Becoming. Saber and his mate, Kaylee, had gone back to their shuttle to contact the Kindred Mother Ship and let them know that Emily had been found and everything was all right.

Kate grinned and took a bite of her own pastry.

“Better than the Feast of Becoming? Rone told me all about that—he said it was full of special delicacies meant only for
Khallas-to-be.”

“The Feast of Becoming?” Emily shivered. “Ugh, you have
no
idea how awful that was! They served me eyeball soup and macaroni and worms with ground up chocolate heart pudding for dessert!”

“Seriously?” Kate made a face. “That’s disgusting!”

“You should have tasted it,” Emily said. “I would have asked for this stuff instead if I’d only known what to call it.”

“I’m pretty sure this is the Holy Mountains version of junk food,” Kate said, laughing.

She had a soft, lilting laugh that Emily really liked. In fact, she felt like she’d found an instant friend. Maybe it was just that Kate was the first person from Earth she’d seen in ages but she didn’t think so. Kate seemed like what her sister Anna called “a kindred spirit.” Emily felt like she’d known her forever.

“Yeah, I’m sure it
is
junk food. Nothing that tastes this good can possibly be good for you,” she said, waving her half eaten pie-cake in the air. “And it’s probably going straight to my hips and ass but I’ll worry about that tomorrow.”

“I don’t think you
do
have to worry about it,” Kate said thoughtfully. “I mean, you’re Kindred, right? Fully
Khalla
and all that. And if you’re like any of the other Kindred I’ve seen, you’ve probably got a pretty great metabolism going. You might be able to eat anything you want from here on out.”

“You think so?” Emily was stunned. “Oh my God, I hope you’re right! I know I’ve uh, changed a lot but I never thought that would be one of the side effects.” She’d been in and out of Weight Watchers and Jenny Craig and every other weight loss program her whole life. The thought of that endless struggle being finally behind her was positively
exhilarating
.

“
I’ll
say you’ve changed,” Kate remarked. “You don’t look a thing like the way Thrace envisioned you.”

Tragar frowned. “Thrace? Who is this Thrace? And why is he having visions of my mate?”

“He’s the Havoc that Two, the Dark Kindred who wanted Emily killed, showed his vision to,” Rone clarified.

“What? He knows the bastard who put a contract on my female’s life?” Tragar was positively scowling now. “How does he dare to—?”

“Simmer down, big boy,” Kate said. “Thrace is a good guy—he was really worried about Emily. Worried enough to let me go digging around in his head even though he really didn’t want to.”

“Also, he’s happily bonded to a female named Trin who has Earth DNA,” Rone put in. “So he has absolutely no interest in Emily other than her wellbeing.”

“Well…” Tragar subsided, his scowl fading a bit. “All right. But what is this vision you spoke of? Is that what caused Two to put a contract on Emily’s head in the first place?”

“Yes, it is.” Kate nodded. “According to Thrace, Two had a being called a Lud’om do a Seeing for him. In it, he saw that Thrace and Trin were going to have a child that would be the father of a new race of Kindred with Havoc and human DNA mixed in. They’ll be stronger, longer lived, and even more closely bonded to their females than any other race of Kindred.”

“So?” Emily shook her head, confused. “What does that have to do with me?”

“Well,
you
are going to bear the mother of this race,” Rone said mildly. “You and Tragar, apparently.”

“But…” Emily’s heart leapt. “But I thought that
Khallas
couldn’t
have
children. That was what Lit’aal and Turra told me anyway.”

Kate shrugged. “I don’t know about that but I
do
know that Lud’oms never have a false vision. Anyway, Two believed him—enough that he wanted to wipe you out before the new race of Kindred could even get started.”